Reader’s Links for August 15, 2020

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

51 Replies to “Reader’s Links for August 15, 2020”

  1. Millie Weaver is one of my favorite independent journalists. She’s also a young mom. I was shocked to see this heavy-handed arrest. With her friends’ permission, I have set up a GoFundMe — please join me in chipping in. http://gf.me/u/yqjnrq
    Ezra Levant – August 14, 2020 – Twitter
    https://twitter.com/ezralevant/status/1294401893553192960

    “Millennial Millie Husband Arrested As They Release ShadowGate Trailer”
    The American Awakening – August 14, 2020

  2. ‘Huge Mistake’: Iran’s Rouhani Decries Israel-UAE Deal as Betrayal of Arabs (sputniknews, Aug 15, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202008151080177757-huge-mistake-irans-rouhani-decries-israel-uae-deal-as-betrayal-of-arabs/

    “The United Arab Emirates is set to become the first Arab nation in a quarter of a century to officially normalise relations with Israel. The Israeli prime minister, Benyamin Netanyahu, clinched the deal at the cost of withdrawing his plans to seize parts of the West Bank.

    Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has fiercely denounced the United Arab Emirates’ decision to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel as a “huge mistake” and a betrayal of the Arab world.

    In a televised speech on Saturday, Rouhani warned the Emirates against allowing Israel a “foothold” in the Middle East.

    “They (the UAE) have committed a huge mistake, a treacherous act,” Rouhani said. “We hope they will realise this and abandon this wrong path.”
    He added: “Why then did it happen now? If it weren’t a wrong deal, why was it then announced in a third country, in America? So a gentleman in Washington wins votes, you betray your country, your people, Muslims and the Arab world?”

    On Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and the Emirates would establish full diplomatic relations in a US-brokered deal, which would see Israel halt its long-standing plans to annex parts of the West Bank.

    If the deal is signed, the UAE will be the third Arab country, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, to establish diplomatic ties with Israel. It caps several years of growing behind-the-scenes cooperation between Israel and Sunni monarchies of the Gulf to counterbalance Shia Iran as an ambitious regional power broker.

    The European Union, Egypt, Bahrain and Oman, have welcomed the agreement, which was strongly condemned by all Palestinian factions and Turkey. Ankara (which has active diplomatic relations with Israel) has threatened to suspend its ties with the Emirates and recall its envoy.

    Russia and China have praised the deal for the halt on West Bank annexation it proposes.

    Rouhani’s statement came hours after the UN Security Council rejected a US resolution to extend an arms embargo on Iran. The ban, imposed in 2007, is due to expire in October.

    The United States was the only member of the 15-strong council, alongside the Dominican Republican, to vote in favour of the resolution.

    “The United States failed in this conspiracy with humiliation,” Rouhani said. “In my opinion, this day will go down in the history of our Iran and in the history of fighting global arrogance.””

    • Iranian Media Says Israel-UAE Deal Makes Abu Dhabi ‘Legitimate Target for the Resistance’ (sputniknews, Aug 15, 2020)
      https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202008151080178235-iranian-media-says-israel-uae-deal-makes-abu-dhabi-legitimate-target-for-the-resistance/

      “On Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and the United Arab Emirates had reached a deal aimed at fully normalizing relations and establishing diplomatic ties, with the UAE set to become the third Arab nation to do so. Officials in Iran, Turkey and Yemen have slammed the agreement, and called it a ‘betrayal’ of the Palestinians.

      The Israeli-UAE Abraham Accords to establish diplomatic relations will turn the oil-rich sheikdom into a target for the anti-Israeli “resistance,” Iran’s conservative Kayhan newspaper, whose position is said to echo that of Iran’s Supreme Leader, has warned.

      “The UAE’s great betrayal of the Palestinian people and its signing of an agreement to normalize relations with the Zionist regime, if it has only one result, it will be to turn this small, rich country heavily dependent on security into a legitimate and easy target for the resistance,” the newspaper noted.
      According to the daily, the efforts by “reactionary Arab regimes” of the Gulf to move closer to Israel has intensified under President Trump.

      “Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are three countries which have stabbed the Palestinian people in the back many times in the past few years. The culmination of these betrayals was Trump’s announcement of a ‘Deal of the Century’ plan in the shadow of the support of these three dependent Arab countries,” the paper suggested.

      “To justify their tremendous stupidity, UAE officials have said that they had been able to stop the occupation plan of the [Israeli] regime (the plan to annex 30 percent of the West Bank to the occupied territories). Benjamin Netanyahu immediately said that this plan had not been stopped but only delayed! US Ambassador [to Israel] David Friedman has also stated that the accession plan has not been abandoned!” Kayhan added.

      The reason the UAE agreed to the deal, according to the newspaper, “goes back to the lack of independence of the Persian Gulf states and the fact that the reactionary Arab sheiks are not even allowed to drink a glass of water without Washington’s permission.” Politically, the peace deal is aimed at improving Trump’s chances in the upcoming election, and to provide support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “who is deeply involved in a political, social and internal security crisis.”

      Ultimately, Kayhan warns that “the dagger that the UAE struck Palestine with from behind will not affect the determination of the Palestinian resistance groups and their supporters, but will have a profoundly negative effect on the small and sparsely populated kingdom…The existence of the UAE is 100 percent dependent on economic enterprises and presence of foreign capitalists who will flee without security. Announcing the normalization of relations [with Israel] is suicide…and will make the UAE an easy target for resistance groups.”

      Iran Blasts Agreement
      Iranian authorities have formally attacked the Israeli-UAE deal, with President Hassan Rouhani calling the agreement a “very big mistake” and urging Abu Dhabi to “reverse their approach and realize that this is the wrong path.”

      Other countries in the region with poor relations with Israel have also criticized the agreement, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatening to sever diplomatic ties with the UAE and close Turkey’s embassy in Abu Dhabi.

      The Palestinian Authority also denounced the agreement, as did political and militant group Hamas.

      However, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman and the European Union welcomed the peace deal, while Jordan’s foreign minister suggested that the agreement could help push forward stalled Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

      With the formal signing of the agreement at the White House expected to take place three weeks from now, the UAE will become the third Arab nation in 41 years to reach peace with Israel. Egypt did so in 1979, while Jordan did so in 1994.”

  3. Dutch Police Arrest More than 20 Amid Overnight Rioting (breitbart, Aug 15, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/08/15/dutch-police-arrest-more-than-20-amid-overnight-rioting/

    “Rioters on rooftops and streets threw stones, eggs and fireworks at police overnight during a second night of unrest in a low-income neighbourhood of The Hague, Dutch police said Friday.

    More than 20 people were arrested for offences including incitement, public violence, and assaulting a police officer, police said in a statement. On Thursday night, the municipality imposed an emergency order that gave police extra powers to detain people.

    Young people in the neighbourhood have been clashing with police for two nights since water authorities acted to stop people opening fire hydrants to cool off amid a weeklong heatwave.

    In the early hours of Friday, youths damaged two police vehicles as riot officers moved in to restore calm. The neighbourhood was peaceful by Friday morning.

    There were no immediate reports of injuries.”

  4. EU Urges Turkey to ‘De-escalate’ Tensions with Greece (breitbart, Aug 15, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/08/15/eu-urges-turkey-de-escalate-tensions-greece/

    “The European Union’s foreign policy chief expressed “full solidarity” with Greece and Cyprus and urged an “immediate de-escalation” by Turkey after EU foreign ministers held urgent talks Friday on high military tensions over offshore drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean…”

  5. Three-Quarters of Britons See Illegal Migration in Channel as Serious Issue (breitbart, Aug 15, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/08/15/three-quarters-britons-see-illegal-migration-channel-serious-issue/

    “The majority of the British public believes that illegal immigration is a “serious” issue, as record numbers of boat migrants pour into the country after crossing the English Channel from France.

    A poll from YouGov that was released on Thursday showed that nearly three-quarters of Britons, 73 per cent, feel that illegal migration is a serious problem. Of those, 45 per cent see the issue as “very serious”, and 28 per cent see it as “somewhat serious”.

    This is compared to just 21 per cent who feel illegal migration is “not serious”, 13 per cent who say it is not “very serious”, and eight per cent who think that it is “not serious at all”.

    Opinions on illegal migration still largely fall along partisan lines, with 97 per cent of Conservative voters seeing the issue as a serious concern, as opposed to Labour voters, of which 49 per cent see it as a serious to 45 per cent who do not.

    Commenting on the poll, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said on Friday: “These figures show how out of touch our politicians are. Mainstream media even more clueless. People care about this issue.”

    Professor of Politics in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent, Matthew Goodwin, said in response to the poll that “immigration has fallen down the list in British politics since Brexit. It might be about to climb back up.”

    So far this year, an estimated 4,500 illegal migrants have been recorded to have successfully reached Britain by crossing the English Channel. However, the true number is most likely much higher, as it only reflects those actually caught. The Home Office has also stopped publishing the number of migrants under the age of 18, further driving down the figure…”

  6. ‘British FBI’ Makes 16 New Grooming Gang Arrests in Rotherham and Leeds (breitbart, Aug 15, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/08/15/british-fbi-makes-16-new-grooming-gang-arrests-rotherham-leeds/

    “Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has made sixteen new grooming gang arrests in Rotherham and Leeds as part of an investigation into historic sex crimes.

    The NCA, roughly equivalent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States, announced that ten people aged between 35 and 53 had been arrested in Rotherham “on suspicion of offences relating to the abuse of girls who would have been between aged between 11 and 16 at the time [of the abuse].”

    This followed the arrest of five men in Rotherham and Leeds between July 28th and July 30th, with another suspect being detained last week — all as part of the Operation Stovewood investigation into grooming offences which took place between 1997 and 2013, launched in response to the Alex Jay inquiry into the mismanagement of such crimes by the authorities.

    The NCA said that “around 150 people have now been arrested as part of Operation Stovewood” and that “Jail terms of almost 250 years have been handed down to the 20 people convicted so far” — although this is somewhat misleading, given 250 years averages just 12.5 years across 20 people, and criminals in Britain are in any case typically released early on licence automatically at the halfway point or, more rarely, the tw0-thirds point in their sentences.

    “This has been a significant week of operational activity and, working closely with local partners in Rotherham and across Yorkshire, we continue to focus on supporting victims and bringing offenders to justice as part of Operation Stovewood,” commented Philip Marshall, Operation Stovewood senior investigating officer.

    “While that work goes on it is important we still reach out and appeal to victims or witnesses to come forward,” he continued.

    “We’re interested in speaking to anyone who might have information to help investigations into child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

    “They should know that we will support them and they can speak to us in the strictest of confidence.””

    • Better late than never, I guess but it is criminal that so very many lives have been destroyed through politicians and even clergy turning their heads. DIVERSITY is proving to be a “dirty” word, perhaps someday Georgie Schwartz / Soros / Dr. Evil will FINALLY be held accountable.

      • I wonder if there has ever been a study of the number of baby boys who are born with undescended testicles who go on to be politicians.

  7. Migrant Transport NGO Expects Italian Port Access for New Vessel (breitbart, Aug 15, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/08/15/migrant-transport-ngo-expects-italian-port-access-new-vessel/

    “The German NGO Sea-Watch expects Italy to allow it access to a port as it launches its latest transport vessel, the Sea-Watch 4.

    The new ship is set to take to the Mediterranean sea and head for the search and rescue (SAR) zone off the coast of Libya as early as this weekend. The NGO purchased it thanks to a crowdfunding campaign promoted by the German Evangelical Church.

    Jacob Framann, an Austrian national and member of the ship’s crew, said according to Il Giornale: “We assume that sooner or later we will be assigned an Italian port. In theory, it might as well be Malta, but in recent months the country has resisted massively.”

    When asked his motivation for taking part in the mission, Framann said: “Among other things, I studied theology and am here partly from Christian motivation. I feel uncomfortable when politicians want to isolate Europe. This is in blatant contradiction to Christian values.”

    The new mission will also see the NGO partner with Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières/MSF) which previously partnered with the French NGO SOS Méditerranée that operates the Ocean Viking transport ship.

    The relationship between MSF and the French NGO soured earlier this year over disagreements on operations during the coronavirus pandemic, with MSF wanting to continue picking up migrants while SOS Méditerranée suspended operations.

    The launch of the Sea-Watch 4 comes just over a month since the group’s previous vessel, the Sea-Watch 3, was seized by the Italian government over several ship “irregularities” on board.

    The ship and its crew had dropped off migrants just weeks prior, with at least 28 of them testing positive for the Wuhan coronavirus.

    The new NGO activity will likely aid the fresh wave of migrants arriving in Italy, which has overwhelmed the island of Lampedusa and seen many migrants test positive for the Chinese virus.”

  8. Woman member of Afghan peace team survives attack by gunmen (abcnews, Aug 15, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/woman-member-afghan-peace-team-survives-attack-gunmen-72390363

    “A female member of Afghanistan’s peace negotiating team and a former parliamentarian survived an assassination attempt, Afghan officials said Saturday.

    Tariq Arian, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said that Fawzia Koofi was attacked late Friday afternoon near the capital of Kabul returning from a visit to the northern province of Parwan.

    Koofi is part of a 21 member team charged with representing the Afghan government in upcoming peace talks with the Taliban, following a U.S. deal with the militants that was struck in February.

    The head of the Afghan peace delegation, Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, tweeted that Koofi had survived the attack and was “in good health.”

    No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Both Taliban and Islamic State affiliates continue to carry out attacks against Afghan government figures.

    Koofi is also a women’s rights activist who has been a vocal Taliban critic…”

  9. Police arrest 20 youths in The Hague in third night of disturbances
    https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2020/08/police-arrest-20-youths-in-the-hague-in-third-night-of-disturbances/
    The Hague police have arrested 20 more youngsters in a third night of disturbances in the Schilderswijk district of the city. As on Wednesday, large groups of youths had gathered in the area, south of the city centre, and threw eggs and fireworks at police when told to disperse. Mayor Jan van Zanen had visited the neighbourhood earlier in the day to show his support for locals, and police and residents began their own patrols in an effort to nip any trouble in the bud. However, the problems began around 11pm, forcing the mayor to invoke his emergency powers and it took several hours before calm was restored, local media reported.

    Also:
    https://nltimes.nl/2020/08/15/third-night-trouble-hague-building-torched-dozens-held

    Article in Dutch:
    https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/nederland/artikel/5177461/schilderswijk-haag-jongeren-scooters-vuurwerk-stenen

    Videos:
    Moroccan and Tunisian flags:
    https://twitter.com/muntverzamelaar/status/1294408843867361280
    improvised explosive goes off:
    https://twitter.com/AltoInvasion/status/1294537627509624832
    https://twitter.com/Eckleben/status/1294039101151350787

    where police is absent, locals take care of business:
    https://www.dumpert.nl/item/7967275_ea7ab435
    https://twitter.com/NuchtereDe/status/1294430077678231554

  10. More stabby 7 shooty news from the Netherlands:
    Police shoot suspect in Amsterdam ferry boat knifing; One badly hurt
    https://nltimes.nl/2020/08/15/police-shoot-suspect-amsterdam-ferry-boat-knifing-one-badly-hurt

    Video: Man with knife killed in Amsterdam police shooting
    https://nltimes.nl/2020/08/14/video-man-knife-killed-amsterdam-police-shooting

    Confession in murder of Bas van Wijk at Amsterdam park
    https://nltimes.nl/2020/08/14/confession-murder-bas-van-wijk-amsterdam-park

    In the last case, the suspect’s description as “lightly tinted” (code for Moroccan) was downgraded in an official police bulletin to “light skinned”.

  11. Migrants Increasingly Reaching Italy by Sea from Tunisia (breitbart, Aug 15, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/08/15/migrants-increasingly-reaching-italy-by-sea-from-tunisia/

    “The number of migrants reaching Italy by sea shot up from the previous 12-month period, but in contrast to recent years, the majority of the arrivals didn’t need rescue and made it to shore by themselves.

    According to Interior Ministry figures released Saturday, from Aug. 1, 2019 through July 31 of this year, 16,347 migrants reached Italian shores in small boats without help, while 5,271 were rescued at sea, most of those by charity boats.

    The total represents a 149% increase compared to the previous 12-month period, when 8,691 migrants arrived, most of them rescued at sea. But those numbers are very low when compared to several recent years.

    In the year up through July 2015, some 175,000 migrants were plucked to safety in the Mediterranean from smugglers’ boats and brought to Italy. From August 2016 through July 2017, the number was even higher — about 183,000.

    In the last few years, Italian authorities have made it difficult for humanitarian rescue ships operating in the central Mediterranean Sea. Some of the charity boats have ended up impounded in Italian ports for technical reasons. And when anti-migrant leader Matteo Salvini was Italy’s interior minister in the previous government, humanitarian rescue boats were sometimes kept at sea for days or weeks at a time with migrants aboard while waiting permission to disembark.

    Commenting on the latest figures, Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese said many of those setting out from Tunisia in small boats and reaching Italy are Tunisians determined to escape economic hardship in their homeland, not refugees fleeing conflict.

    She and Italy’s foreign minister will visit Tunisia on Monday, along with two European Union commissioners, to try to boost solidarity with Tunisia and its “young democracy,” Lamorgese said.

    While thousands of migrants, many from sub-Saharan Africa, still set out for Europe from lawless Libya, where human traffickers have been based for years, according to Italy’s latest figures more migrants reached Italy by sea from Tunisia than from Libya.

    Italy has a repatriation agreement with Tunisia that allows Italian authorities to relatively quickly send back to Tunisia those found ineligible for asylum.”

  12. Germany: Afghan Arrested for Beating Wife to Death in Front of Their Children (breitbart, Aug 15, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/08/15/germany-afghan-arrested-killing-wife-front-their-children/

    “German police have arrested a 38-year-old Afghan asylum seeker on suspicion of beating his 33-year-old wife to death in front of their five underage children.

    The alleged killing took place at an apartment in the district of Kreyenbrück in the city of Oldenburg two weeks ago. Neighbours had heard the sounds of violence coming from the three-bedroom apartment and called the police.

    When paramedics and police arrived, they found the woman with serious head trauma. According to a Bild report on Thursday, her face was smashed beyond recognition. She was taken to hospital for treatment but died as a result of her injuries.

    Police arrested the husband in the hallway of the apartment complex and have since placed the couple’s five children into protective care. Prosecutors have charged the 38-year-old Afghan with manslaughter.

    The migrant woman had separated from her husband, living alone in the apartment with her two daughters aged five and six, while her three sons remained with their father. The 38-year-old man and the three boys had allegedly come to visit the woman when the brutal assault took place, the tabloid reported.

    The case is not the first time a migrant has killed his wife in Germany since the height of the migrant crisis in 2015. In 2016, a Chechen migrant threw his wife out of a window in the town of Senftenberg. She survived the eight-foot fall, but the Chechen then came outside and stabbed her to death with a knife.

    Earlier this year in Dortmund an Iraqi migrant allegedly murdered his 30-year-old wife after she wanted to take their children away from him. The woman was found dead in her apartment after having suffered massive blunt force trauma to the neck.

    Last month, in the municipality of Obergünzburg, a 37-year-old Afghan asylum seeker stabbed his estranged wife to death on a bus. Several people witnessed the attack. Passengers and the bus driver were offered counselling after the incident.”

  13. STAND UP FOR FREEDOM, Cherish it – once it is gone, it is gone. When the loons knock you down, get right back up and fight for your FREEDOM. You may get tired but you will survive. Remember only the strong survive.

  14. ‘Degrading and inhumane’: Court slams France for callous treatment of refugees which forced them to flee to Britain
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8631515/Court-slams-France-callous-treatment-refugees-forced-flee-Britain.html

    “Judges have condemned France for its ‘degrading and inhumane’ treatment of refugees in a scathing landmark ruling.

    The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said the French authorities ‘had failed in their duties’ to support those who applied for asylum in the country, leaving them to sleep rough on the streets for months in ‘constant fear of being attacked or robbed’.

    Its criticism came after three asylum-seekers accused the French government of failing to uphold its own domestic law which requires the state to provide basic necessities such as food and shelter while refugees await a decision on their asylum application.

    The ECHR ordered the French government to pay a total of £32,000 in compensation to the three men.

    News of the ruling comes as British and French charities accuse police in Calais of meting out violence to migrants, with the assaults said to be another factor persuading them to make the perilous journey across the Channel.

    Aid workers claim French riot police now regularly raid migrant camps, slashing their tents with knives and confiscating their belongings.

    The police have also been accused of attacking migrants on the streets, and videos posted on social media appear to show officers dragging migrants off buses.

    Tensions grew to such an extent that a group of Eritrean refugees wrote an open letter listing eight alleged examples of violence by officers, including assaults that left migrants with broken limbs.

    The ECHR case involved a Russian, an Afghan and an Iranian journalist who had to wait up to eight months before the French authorities acknowledged that they had lodged asylum applications.

    Without such a formal acknowledgement, the men, who were not identified by the court, could not apply for housing or welfare payments and were at constant risk of deportation.

    Judges heard how the Iranian, 46, slept rough on the streets of Paris for six months before being granted refugee status.

    The Afghan, 27, slept under canal bridges in the capital for around eight months before he was finally granted access to shelter and a benefit known as ‘temporary allowance’.

    The 30-year-old Russian slept rough in the South-West French town of Carcassonne for six months. Each of the men were forced to survive on handouts from charities.

    In a blunt judgment, the ECHR ruled the ‘French authorities had failed in their duties towards the applicants’ under domestic law.

    ‘They had to be held responsible for the conditions in which the applicants had been living for several months: sleeping rough, without access to sanitary facilities, having no means of subsistence and constantly in fear of being attacked or robbed.

    ‘The applicants had thus been victims of degrading treatment, showing a lack of respect for their dignity. It had aroused in them feelings of fear, anxiety and inferiority, likely to cause despair.’

    It is not the first time that the ECHR has slammed the French government’s treatment of asylum seekers. Last February, judges ordered it to pay almost £15,000 to an Afghan migrant who, as a 12-year-old, had lived alone in a makeshift migrant camp in Calais.

    French police have gradually stepped up efforts to clear migrant camps. Charities say that around 2,000 people live in either the Jungle camp in Calais, or in GrandeSynthe, an area outside Dunkirk, at any time.

    The camps are used as a staging post for gangs to smuggle people to the UK in the back of trucks or in small boatss.

    Poppy Cleary, a British aid coordinator with the charity L’Auberge des Migrants, said French police had doubled their raids on refugee camps in Calais in recent weeks. She claimed tents were destroyed and belongings, including clothes and medicines, confiscated.

    ‘They then bus the migrants out of Calais then leave them there, so they have to make their own way back,’ she alleged. ‘The police treatment is another factor why so many migrants are making the journey across the Channel.’

    In one incident, two men, apparently African migrants, were filmed being dragged off buses in Calais by the police.

    And in their letter, the Eritrean migrants said that the CRS [riot police] ‘don’t think we are humans… they started threatening our lives by beating us every time they get a chance’.

    Last night, the French police in Calais and the French embassy in London were unavailable for comment.

    But Calais MP Pierre-Henri Dumont defended the police and said ‘there is no link between the dismantlement and the crossings’, which he attributed to it being ‘easier for migrants to live clandestinely in the UK, to work and find a place to live, than in France.’”

  15. Turkish Police Foil ISIS Plot in Bursa
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2449471/turkish-police-foil-isis-plot-bursa

    “Turkish security forces foiled an ISIS plot to attack Bursa police station and arrested the terrorist who had planned the attack.

    Security sources said the police teams in Bursa were also examining surveillance footage in the region after five furniture workshops were burned by arson in July.

    The footage showed suspect recording arson footage by his cellphone and decided to further conduct investigations. The suspect was seen leaving the scene on a red bicycle, which counter-terrorism teams found in front of a house, the source added.

    Police units then raided the house of the suspect, identified as M.A, and found ISIS flags, three explosive devices, a suicide vest, and materials used in bomb-making.

    The suspect was arrested and confessed to being a member of ISIS terrorist organization. He admitted that he contacted the group members through the Internet as he did not have a SIM card in his phone…”

  16. Trump: Seized Iranian Fuel Shipments Taken to Texas
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2449661/trump-seized-iranian-fuel-shipments-taken-texas

    “US President Donald Trump said Friday Iran should not be sending cargoes to Venezuela and added that four seized shipments were bound for Houston, Texas, suggesting they may have already arrived.

    “They’re going to Houston. And, they’re there,” Trump told a White House news conference. “We’re moving them, and moved, to Houston.”

    The US earlier said it had confiscated the Iranian fuel shipments that had been bound for Venezuela.

    The US Justice Department said the seized cargo was now in US custody “with the assistance of foreign partners,” adding that the amount confiscated from four tankers was about 1.116 million barrels of fuel, making it the largest-ever US seizure of Iranian fuel.

    The US State Department credited its outgoing special envoy for Iran for the seizure operation.

    “Our diplomacy, led by Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, was able to both halt these shipments and assist the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security in executing a US seizure order,” it said in a statement.

    Neither the Justice Department nor the State Department specify when, where or how the seizure took place.”

  17. Arab Coalition Downs Several Drones Launched in Yemen
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2450041/arab-coalition-downs-several-drones-launched-yemen

    “The Saudi-led Arab coalition intercepted and downed several armed drones that were fired by the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen.

    Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said the aircraft were shot down while they were still above Yemeni territories.

    The drones were launched from the capital, Sanaa, he added.”

  18. Number of migrants landing in Italy more than doubles in past year
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/number-migrants-landing-italy-more-doubles-past-year

    “The number of migrants landing on Italy’s shores has more than doubled in the last year as an economic crisis in Tunisia fuels migration in boats across the Mediterranean, Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese said on Saturday.

    More than 21,000 people reached Italy between August 2019 and the end of July, up 148% year-on-year, the minister said on Saturday.

    Lamorgese said the majority of the arrivals were “autonomous landings, hard to manage… with small boats and dinghies”, rather than those rescued at sea and brought ashore. Many of them land on Italy’s southern Mediterranean island of Lampedusa.

    In the 12-month period, just over 5,000 people were rescued, mainly by ships operated by NGOs, according to data from the ministry.

    Some 41.6 percent of the migrants who arrived over the past year departed from Tunisia, followed by Libya at 40.5 percent.

    Over a third of those who arrived listed Tunisian as their nationality.

    Tunisia is battling high unemployment and political instability, pushing more economic migrants to cross to Italy.

    “The numbers aren’t very high – they are certainly higher than last year’s but we must put them into context: Tunisia is in a deep economic, social and political crisis,” Lamorgese told reporters.

    “We have seen entire families leave to reach Italian territory.”

    For years Italy has been the primary route into Europe for hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers and other migrants and Libya’s west coast a main departure point for African migrants hoping to reach Europe.

    From 2016 to 2017, Italy recorded 182,877 migrant arrivals.

    After Italy signed a deal with Libya for its coast guard to prevent migrant departures, the number fell to 42,700 in the 2017 to 2018 period.

    Lamorgese’s predecessor, head of the anti-immigrant League party Matteo Salvini, took a hardline against charity ships that rescued migrants at sea, closing Italian ports and accusing the rescue groups of de facto collaboration with human traffickers.

    Lamorgese said that she would meet Tunisian President Kais Saied on Monday to discuss the issue, along with Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio and EU Commissioners Ylva Johansson and Olivér Várhelyi.”

  19. Turkey to respond to any intervention in East Med: Minister
    https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-to-respond-to-any-intervention-in-east-med-minister-157413

    “Turkey has responded to all interventions on its energy exploration ship in the Eastern Mediterranean and will continue to do so in the future, the Turkish defense minister said on Aug. 14.

    “No intervention on our ships have been or will be left unanswered. We want everyone to know that we are unyielding on this issue,” Hulusi Akar said in a video conference with top commanders on duty in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea, including the ships accompanying its seismic research vessel, the Oruç Reis.

    “We’re determined to protect our rights and interests in our seas and to do what is necessary and we’re capable of doing so,” Akar added.

    “The Republic of Turkey as a state doesn’t covet anyone’s land,” said Akar, underlining that Ankara respected its neighbors’ territorial and political integrity.

    “Greece doesn’t recognize international law in the Aegean and Mediterranean, only selfish, one-sided demands and approaches that protect its own interests and are incompatible with the facts. We endeavor to explain that the activities carried out this way are not compatible with reason, logic or law and that it doesn’t benefit anyone.”

    Akar stressed that a recent maritime delimitation agreement signed last week between Greece and Egypt had “no legal basis” and that both countries were “at loss.”

    He also asserted that international disputes must be resolved through dialogue as the “most important tool in solving the problems between Turkey and Greece.”

    Earlier this week, Turkey resumed energy exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean region after Greece and Egypt signed a controversial maritime delimitation deal.

    The agreement came only a day after Ankara said it would postpone its oil and gas exploration as a goodwill gesture.

    But after declaring the Greek-Egyptian deal “null and void,” Turkey authorized the Oruc Reis seismic research vessel to continue its activities in an area within the country’s continental shelf.

    The ship will continue the two-week mission until Aug. 23 along with the Cengiz Han and Ataman.

    President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an said the only solution to the dispute was through dialogue and negotiation and urged Athens to respect Turkey’s rights.

    Turkey has consistently opposed Greece’s efforts to declare an exclusive economic zone based on small islands near Turkish shores, violating the interests of Turkey, the country with the longest coastline in the Mediterranean.

    EU urges dialogue, negotiation in Eastern Mediterranean

    Dialogue and negotiation are key in addressing issues of delimitation of maritime boundaries and exploitation of resources, EU foreign ministers said on Aug. 14.

    “Three words reflect the outcome of the discussion: solidarity, de-escalation, and dialogue,” a statement said following the video conference meeting.

    It reaffirmed the bloc’s solidarity with Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, and underlined “the serious deterioration in the relationship with Turkey is having far-reaching strategic consequences for the entire EU, well beyond the Eastern Mediterranean.”

    The statement claimed that Turkey’s recent activities mount tension, and “Immediate de-escalation by Turkey was considered crucial.”

    Also stressing the importance of relations with Turkey, the ministers said, “issues related to delimitation of maritime boundaries and exploitation of resources therein can only be addressed through dialogue and negotiation, in good faith, in accordance with international law and in pursuit of the principle of good neighborly relations, and not through unilateral actions and the mobilization of naval forces.”

    Recalling the outcome of the Foreign Affairs Council on July 13, the ministers reiterated strong support for efforts to re-establish dialogue and facilitate re-engagement with Turkey.

    “At the same time, the High Representative/Vice-President [Josep Borrell] is to prepare options on further appropriate measures in case tensions do not abate,” it said.

    It noted that a broader discussion about ties with Turkey will be held in August, at the informal Foreign Affairs Council (Gymnich).”

  20. Wanted PKK terrorist among 3 neutralized in Turkey
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/wanted-pkk-terrorist-among-3-neutralized-in-turkey/1942900

    “A wanted PKK member was among three terrorists neutralized by security forces in eastern Turkey, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday.

    Sultan Oruc, codenamed Ardem Ararat and Berivan, was neutralized in the eastern Bitlis province on Aug. 13 along with two other terrorists, the ministry said.

    She was in the gray category of the Interior Ministry’s wanted list and carried a bounty of 500,000 Turkish liras (nearly $68,000).

    The wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red as the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange, and gray.

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

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

  21. MAID OF DISHONOUR Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton and others pose for chilling pics with Epstein’s ‘complicit’ maid who died mysteriously

    DISTURBING pictures appear to show Prince Andrew as well as other celebrities and members of the world’s elite with Jeffery Epstein’s “complicit” maid.

    The images posted on Facedbook by Epstein’s former worker, Jun-Lyn Fontanilla, also known as Rosalyn, who died in 2016, show her with the Duke of York as well as his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, Bill Clinton and Chris Tucker.

    The 2010 photos posted by the maid, accused of being an Epstein recruiter, show the Prince between her and her husband, who both worked at Epstein’s New York Mansion for more than a decade.

    There are also several smiley snaps with the Prince’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson who was also thought to be close to the now-deceased paedophile after he lent her money to pay off a divorce debt.

    The images were captured in 2010 around the time the Duchess of York travelled to New York to address the United Nations on the devastating Chile earthquake that killed over 500 people.

    It seems Fontanilla and her husband were no strangers to the rich and powerful as further pics show them next to former US president Bill Clinton, who admitted taking several trips on Epstein’s infamous private jet dubbed the ‘Lolita Express’ but always denied ever being linked to the investigation.

    They are also pictured with American actor Chris Tucker, who is also believed to have flown on Epstein private jet with Clinton, as well as a picture with former US senator John Kerry.

    Jun-Lyn Fontanilla worked for the disgraced tycoon as a housekeeper in the Manhattan mansion where much of his abuse is believed to have taken place, and was accused of being a recruiter for the dead paedophile.

    She was named by Epstein victim Jennifer Araoz in a 2019 complaint along with three other women who she says “facilitated” his shocking abuse but she was never named as a defendant due to her death in 2016.

    Her cause of death is unknown.

    Even Epstein himself is seen in the eerie photos, many that seem to be snaps from an album, captioned with the words “our boss” as well as shots in his gym showing zebra print equipment.

    His famous taxidermy tiger also makes an appearance as workers pose in an oak-panelled room with the stuffed animal.

    Representatives for Prince Andrew declined to comment.

    POWER HUNGRY

    Prolific paedo Epstein was known to mingle with the world’s elite along with alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell, and a new documentary claims that Epstein trafficked women to them in order to hold power over them.

    During the Surviving Jeffery Epstein documentary victim Virginia Roberts, 35, said: “There were times that he would send me on a commercial flight to go meet the people… saying, ‘I want you to take care of them and report back to me what they liked, what you did for them’.”

    Fellow accuser Lisa Phillips also alleged that other women were trafficked to Prince Andrew by Epstein after mentioning that he “needed to have something on people”.

    She said: “Most of the girls didn’t speak about what happened with Prince Andrew, but I had one very good friend who confided in me about her experience with him.

    “She told me that Jeffrey kind of instructed her to go into a room and have sex with Prince Andrew. She told me, ‘Jeffrey isn’t really who he says he is’.”

    Other notorious images have previously come to light after Roberts filed multiple lawsuits against the paedophile, who she says abused her when she was underage.

    Released photos showed her riding a horse at the tycoon’s Mexico ranch as well as posing for a picture showing her next to Prince Andrew, thought to be taken at Maxwell’s London home.

    She claims to have been abused by Epstein and former girlfriend Maxwell, who is currently being held in a Brooklyn prison facing six counts of child sex trafficking charges and perjury.

    She also claims that she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew on three occasions while working for Epstein in the early 2000s, once after they attended a London nightclub.

    The Duke has also vehemently denied the claims.

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12401072/prince-andrew-bill-clinton-pics-epstein-maid-died/

    • Strip away all the lurid gloss, there’s no there there.
      Teenage hookers living like royalty, with royalty. Horseback riding, globe-trotting, star-struck.
      What’s their beef?

  22. France: Hundreds show solidarity as second mosque suffers arson attack in Lyon

    Hundreds gathered in a show of solidarity in front of the Essallem Mosque, in Lyon on Friday, which was damaged in what is believed to be an arson attempt on Wednesday night.

    Crowds gathered including local politicians, worshippers and representatives of different faiths.

    The fire destroyed the door to the entrance and the prayer room in the mosque. The public prosecutor’s office of Lyon believes the act was of a criminal origin and an investigation has been launched.

    Worshippers attended Friday prayers in a local gym.

    “Our mosque has burnt, so we did not have other options than to use this gym for our Friday prayers which has been granted by the city. Where are we supposed to pray? We cannot use our mosque,” said one attendee.

    The first of the two mosques to be damaged in a fire this week was Omar Mosque of Bron, which occurred on Friday. Both are believed to be deliberate. No arrests have been made yet.

    *SOUNDBITE TRANSLATIONS*

    SOT, Richard Wertenschlag, Lyon’s chief rabbi (French) “This mosque is rooted in the city, it has been here for 30 years and has never been a problem. It’s a shame for the reputation of the French Republic, who should guarantee religious freedom and the right to exist to certain people who dare to attack places of worship. It’s ominous. We are here to try to be together and show that we are attached to the cohabitation and friendship between the leaders of the different religions in Lyon.”

    SOT, Mohammed Moussaoui, President of French Council of Muslim Faith (CFCM): “It’s important that the mosques in France can benefit from a security system, which by the way is already implemented in many of them. But, further more than that, I think that the current discourse is encouraging certain weak spirits to commit these kinds of acts. There is work to be done in education and pedagogy, so we can reinforce respect for our plurality.”

    SOT, Participant in gathering (French): “We are here because today in France our mosques are being attacked, places of worship that are harmless. As a Muslim, I do not understand why there is this anger against our mosques.”

    SOT, Worshipper of Essallem mosque (French): “Our mosque has burnt, so we did not have other options than to use this gym for our Friday prayers which has been granted by the city. Where are we supposed to pray? We cannot use our mosque.”

    • Turkish Radio & Television – TRT – France: Second mosque fire in Lyon within a week

  23. test 01

    Netherlands: Hundreds join rally against coronavirus measures in The Hague

    Several hundred protesters gathered in The Hague to rally against coronavirus restrictions and related emergency legislation on Friday.

    The proposed law, which is currently being debated in parliament, would enshrine social distancing requirements in legislation and empower the government to mandate other safety measures such as compulsory face masks, the closing of schools and local businesses and prohibition of mass gatherings in the event of an increase in cases.

    Ferdinand van der Neut, one of the organisers of the “Day of Connection” rally, said that he thought the government should resign, commenting “how can you push our society to the edge, based on what selected scientists say?”

    “They don’t prove it, they just say it. So there is no proof, but still, they push our society to the edge,” he added.

    Coronavirus infections have been rising again in the Netherlands in recent weeks, with over 3,000 new cases being diagnosed within the last seven days, prompting fears of a second wave of the virus.

    Since the beginning of the outbreak there have been more than 63,000 coronavirus cases in the Netherlands, with over 6,000 people dying with the virus.

    Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte defended the restrictions at a press conference on Wednesday, August 6, warning that “The virus is advancing dangerously. The data does not lie. The number of infections has been increasing for a few weeks and we are in danger of losing the gains we have made.”

    SOT, Ferdinand van der Neut, Protester: “We think our government should step down. We think they should not have leadership anymore of this country. Because they fail in many ways. Like, how can you push our society to the edge, based on what selected scientists say. They don’t prove it, they just say it. So there is no proof, but still, they push our society to the edge. So many businesses go bankrupt. Children are traumatised.”

    SOT, Ferdinand van der Neut, Protester: “But the main reason is that we want a better world, honest world and a free world. To get there, we have a view things to accomplish, because we see a few blockages to get there.”

    SOT, Ferdinand van der Neut, Protester: “We think the media is failing tremendously to put this into a right perspective. There are lots of infections going on, they say, and they bring it in a way that causes a lot of anxiety. Why not say: We have a group immunity building up. Without any deaths, or without any people being extra hospitalised. So, that’s good news, you would say. But no, they bring a lot of anxiety. They say: “There are a lot of infections, infections, infections,” so people get scared. A lot of people in the Netherlands are scared nowadays. But there is not much to be afraid of, because the tests are not showing corona, they are not showing covid. They are showing something.”

  24. CBC – Could a fall COVID-19 surge cause an even bigger outbreak?

    New modelling has health officials warning of a “fall peak” of COVID-19 cases across Canada.

    Dr. Peter Lin answers your COVID-19 questions.

  25. CBC – Fighting COVID-19 misinformation with video game

    As a new study reports hundreds of deaths around the world that were likely due to misinformation about COVID-19, a University of Waterloo student has developed Quarantrivia, an online trivia game designed to make it fun to learn the facts about the coronavirus that causes the illness.

    • The infectious diseases community begins to push back, if only email-wise. Stories about dogs “dying of coronavirus, COVID-19” are just too much.

      For example:
      Dog with coronavirus dies in North Carolina
      A North Carolina dog died after testing positive for the coronavirus last week, state health officials said Tuesday.

      The dog’s owner took it to a veterinary hospital, reporting breathing problems, and told staff a family member had earlier tested positive for the coronavirus and recovered. A test for the dog came back positive, according to a local CBS affiliate.

      Health officials noted there is no evidence animal-to-human transmission of the virus is a major risk.…

      The first dog to test positive for the virus in the U.S. died on Staten Island, N.Y., in late July. The dog, a German shepherd named Buddy, was also believed to have had lymphoma.

      Two cats also tested positive for the virus last week, according to researchers at Texas A&M. Researchers said study results indicated transmission is possible in higher-risk environments.
      https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/511546-dog-dies-from-coronavirus-complications-in-north-carolina
      ……….
      Vet epidemiologist says this is outrageous:
      “Unless verified and diagnosed by postmortem examination with ancillary diagnostics, it seems premature and inappropriate to make claims that dogs (NC dog and NY German shepherd) are dying of COVID-19. I cannot argue with the positive test results; however, coronavirus infection and coronavirus disease should not be considered synonymous.

      Any animal, domestic or free ranging, that dies with a historical positive coronavirus test should undergo a full postmortem examination by a veterinary pathologist.

      Only then can such statements like “…dog died from coronavirus [COVID-19] complications…” actually be verified. Until this happens, these statements continue to create confusion and panic…
      …..
      Response to the above:
      “[The doctor] makes a very valid point regarding the difference in coronavirus infection and coronavirus disease.

      “A canine coronavirus infection (CCV) is a highly contagious intestinal disease that can be found in dogs all around the world. This particular virus is specific to dogs, both wild and domestic…

      “I am unaware of a coronavirus test for dogs distinguishing between these coronas … Consequently, stories about a dog dying from coronavirus complications is only a sensational article without much fact.”