Reader’s Links for September 19, 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

66 Replies to “Reader’s Links for September 19, 2020”

  1. “The media reports “new cases” or “new infections”, when really, they’re just positive tests…”
    Coronavirus Plushie – September 17, 2020 – Twitter
    https://twitter.com/CoronavirusPlu2/status/1306590493854240768

    “Positive tests are not “New cases” of #Covid_19
    (they’re not sick people, as the mainstream media
    would have you believe).
    The virus has a 0.3% infection fatality rate
    99.7 % of those infected will be OK
    80% will be asymptomatic
    Govt. reaction will kill more than the virus itself”
    Coronavirus Plushie – September 15, 2020 – Twitter
    https://twitter.com/CoronavirusPlu2/status/1306024473498353665

    • Prof. Carl Heneghan: A PCR Test Positive Result Doesn’t Tell You if You Had the Virus 78 Days Ago
      Rubber Ring – September 17, 2020

    • ‘For those who do have symptoms, it will be like a bad flu…’

      Sorry, but it will be like a bat flu…

  2. Watch How ‘The View’ Treats Conservative Black Voices | Kim Klacik | POLITICS | Rubin Report

  3. “The activist, from Indianapolis, was a member of the Indy10 Black Lives Matter group and in 2017 acted as a spokesperson for the family of Aaron Bailey, who was shot and killed by police following a traffic stop in June 2017.

    Cole – who uses the pronouns they and them – is just the latest in a string of people who have admitted to lying about being black.

    ‘Friends, I need to take accountability for my actions and the harm that I have done,’ Cole wrote on a Facebook page with the name Satch Paige.

    ‘My deception and lies have hurt those I care most about. I have taken up space as a Black person while knowing I am white. I have used Blackness when it was not mine to use.

    ‘I have asked for support and energy as a Black person. I have caused harm to the city, friends and the work that I held so dear. I will do the work to take responsibility for my actions and try to reduce the harm that I have already caused. ”
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8749525/BLM-activist-Indiana-admits-race-faker-posing-black-person-years.html

    This definition of Gay: An identification for affection. Resulting in sociopathic behavior and self loathing, in an ever dimishing cycle of love-hate. To end with a renewal of vows that they could not ever be co-joined by their hungered love towards those with superpowers. “I’m not worthy”. That they are virtuously unfit of being equal to Mohammad, Jesus, Blacks, men, women, animals and a long line of idols and imprints that childhood traumas has led them to mix up their arrested sexual developments with.

    No apology for this identifying as Black is also seriously harmful for the black people who do it. Those identified with the world.

    This was no repentance at all. But another St Paul seeing the Light.

  4. Gimme Just a Shot of Jesus

    Well, I’ve never cared much for the Born Agains,
    They tend to drone on and on,
    They got tunnel vision but at the end,
    The light for me ain’t on,
    And commies are the same damned animal,
    They’re dyed in the True and Blue,
    Whatever means they use is justified,
    So long as it’s the end of you,
    But I’m gettin’ fed-up with this chaos,
    And I’m tired of this Wuhan Flu,
    I may have the sniffles but that’s ok,
    ‘Cause I know just what to do:

    (Chorus)
    Gimme just a shot of Jesus,
    And a bucket of bullets to go,
    And a bag of silver and golden coins,
    And we’ll have us a show,
    We heard about your colour revolution,
    You tried it in U-kraine,
    You tried it there to practice for,
    The good ol’ U.S.A.,
    I say just one shot of Jesus,
    Will straighten me just right,
    ‘Cause you’re full of shit,
    Collectivists,
    And the time has come to fight.

    Well I never was a genius,
    No fancy school for me,
    The biggest word I think I know,
    May just be liberty,
    And like I say I ain’t so smart,
    But in the end this serves,
    ‘Cause playin’ dumb’s my ropey-dope,
    And now I’ve found my nerve,

    So gimme just a shot of Jesus,
    And a bucket of bullets to go,
    And a bag of silver and golden coins,
    And we’ll have us a show,
    We heard about your colour revolution,
    You tried it in U-kraine,
    You tried it there to practice for,
    The good ‘ol U.S.A.,
    I say just one shot of Jesus,
    Will straighten me just right,
    ‘Cause you’re full of shit,
    Collectivists,
    And the time has come to fight.

    (Dr. Sissy Wackhorse)

  5. Red Pill Germany

    Hey guys, I just learned that the association of German employers us getting worried about the cost of our social programs. This is another mosaic stone in the big picture if you want to understand why Germany is in big trouble. These programs are funded in part by them and in part by the employees.

    • Yup Darth Vader has passed, this event probable ensures that Trump will win re-election, His re-election will ensure that there is a conservative majority court that will return the court to ruling on cases the way the laws and the Constitution are written instead of how the Judges “feel” about the issue.

      This election was already the most important one since the 1864 election when Lincoln was running for re-election. This just added incentive for the Patriots to turn out in mass to ensure that the Dems don’t find a way to steal this election.

    • Very worried.

      Note how they are talking about a report, the Department of Justice is not in the business of writing reports, they are in the business of indicting people. By using the working “report” they are trying to cast doubts on the legitimacy of the investigation and of any indictments.

  6. Deputy Head of Afghanistan’s Paktia Provincial Council Shot Dead by Unknown (sputniknews, Sep 19, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202009191080510747-deputy-head-of-afghanistans-paktia-provincial-council-shot-dead-by-unknown/

    “Ayub Gharwal, the deputy head of the provincial council of Afghanistan’s eastern Paktia province, was assassinated in a shooting attack on Saturday, Mumtaz Karokhel, a member of the Paktia provincial council, said.

    Gharwal was approached by unidentified gunmen on the morning of Saturday as he was walking from his office to the university in Gardez, the capital of Paktia, Karokhel said.

    The man was injured and succumbed to his injuries before reaching the hospital.

    No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.”

  7. 51 Far-Left Antifa Anarchists Arrested After Attacking Police (breitbart, Sep 19, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/09/19/51-far-left-antifa-anarchists-arrested-attacking-greek-police/

    “Police in Thessaloniki arrested 51 far-left Antifa anarchist extremists who attacked officers following a demonstration in the city on Wednesday night.

    The arrests came after the anarchist extremists held a demonstration in the city and then caused damage at the White Tower, a former Byzantine fortification along the harbourfront that has since been converted into a museum.

    Police attempted to get the anarchists under control and were met with force as the group attacked the officers with bats and other weapons, Greek newspaper Proto Thema reports.

    Officers arrested 45 men and six women. Police also confiscated 28 stick weapons, 15 helmets, a Swiss Army knife, and a metal baton.

    The arrests come after a wave of far-left Antifa activity in Thessaloniki in recent months and after the raiding of a squat occupied by anarchist activists last month. Officers seized weapons along with explosives after clearing out the squat, known as “Terra Incognita”.

    It is believed that extremists were using Terra Incognita as a base of operations to plot attacks against both police and political opponents. Investigators were also able to seize a financial ledger containing information on those who had donated to the Antifa group…”

  8. French Doctors Angered by Plan to Stop Them Doing Virginity Tests for Muslims (breitbart, Sep 19, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/09/19/doctors-slam-french-govt-ban-virginity-tests-used-muslims/

    “Several doctors and academics have criticised a French government proposal to ban virginity tests used by France’s Muslim community.

    The ten academics and medical professionals signed a letter addressed to the French government and Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, claiming that they thought the tests were “barbaric, retrograde, and totally sexist” — but arguing that banning virginity tests and punishing doctors was the wrong move.

    The letter, which was published by left-wing newspaper Liberation, claimed that “this practice is extremely rare and affects a very small number of patients,” and that “In an ideal world, of course, you should refuse to sign such certificates.”

    “To refuse these certificates is to defend women’s freedom and their fundamental right to dispose of their bodies. It’s respecting their privacy,” the letter suggested grandly — but immediately went on to complain that giving penalties to doctors who issue the certificates would not help secularism or stop the problem.

    “To penalise us is to attack the consequence by neglecting the cause, which is rooted in ignorance and fear. Only education will enable the emancipation of these young women,” the authors of the letter proclaimed, arguably self-servingly.

    The comments come after Emmanuel Macron’s interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, spoke out against virginity certificates earlier this month.

    “Some doctors still dare to certify a woman’s virginity in order to allow a religious marriage, despite this practice being condemned by the Council of the Order of Physicians. It should not only be formally banned, but we must propose to penalise it,” he declared.

    Virginity tests have long been criticised by the World Health Organization (WHO), which has actively — if ineffectively — campaigned to have them scrapped, releasing a report in 2018 that stated there was no medical value to the tests whatsoever.

    Along with so-called virginity tests, France has also seen a rise in female genital mutilation (FGM) cases across the country in recent years. A report from the French National Public Health Agency released last year claiming that in just ten years cases had more than doubled.”

  9. Iran vows ‘hit’ on all involved in US killing of top general (abcnews, Sep 19, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-vows-americans-killed-top-general-73114121

    “The chief of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Saturday to go after everyone who had a role in a top general’s January killing during a U.S. drone strike in Iraq.

    The guard’s website quoted Gen. Hossein Salami as saying, “Mr. Trump! Our revenge for martyrdom of our great general is obvious, serious and real.”

    U.S. President Donald Trump warned this week that Washington would harshly respond to any Iranian attempts to take revenge for the death of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, tweeting that “if they hit us in any way, any form, written instructions already done we’re going to hit them 1000 times harder.”

    The president’s warning came in response to a report that Iran was plotting to assassinate the U.S. ambassador to South Africa in retaliation for Soleimani’s killing at Baghdad’s airport at the beginning of the year.

    “We took out the world’s number one terrorist and the mass murderer of American troops and many, many troops and many people all over the world,” Trump said. “Qasem Soleimani is dead. He’s dead. Bad guy. Bad guy. Very bad guy.”

    Salami rejected the report of an Iranian plot to assassinate Ambassador Lana Marks, but made clear that Iran intends to avenge the general’s death.

    “Do you think we hit a female ambassador in return to our martyred brother?’ the general said. “We will hit those who had direct and indirect roles. You should know that everybody who had role in the event will be hit, and this is a serious message. We do prove everything in practice.”

    In January, Iran launched a ballistic missile attack targeting U.S. soldiers in Iraq in response to the fatal drone strike.

    Trump has stepped up economic pressure on Iran with sanctions since he pulled the United States out of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018.

    Tehran has continued to expand its stockpile of enriched uranium and pressured other nations to offset the harm of U.S. sanctions, while insisting it does not want to develop a nuclear weapon.”

  10. Ethiopia charges prominent opposition figure with terrorism (abcnews, Sep 19, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ethiopia-charges-prominent-opposition-figure-terrorism-73114487

    “Ethiopia’s most prominent opposition figure, Jawar Mohammed, and 23 other people have been charged with terrorism-related offenses, telecom fraud and other criminal activities, the attorney general’s office announced Saturday.

    The office said they will appear in court on Monday. The charges relate to deadly violence that erupted in July in parts of the capital, Addis Ababa, and the Oromia region after the killing of singer Hachalu Hundessa, a prominent voice in anti-government protests that led to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed coming to power in 2018. Authorities said over 180 people were killed in the July unrest.

    Jawar, a media mogul-turned-politician, has huge support among youth in the Oromia region and returned to Ethiopia after Abiy came to power and urged exiles to come home amid sweeping political reforms that led to him receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

    The Oromo make up Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group but had never held the country’s top post until they helped bring Abiy to power. Now ethnic tensions and intercommunal violence are posing a growing challenge to his reforms.

    Jawar has been fiercely critical of the Ethiopian leader over the postponement of the general election once planned for August because of the coronavirus pandemic. The government’s mandate expires late next month, and a new election date has not been set.

    Jawar has been detained since the July unrest. His lawyers have repeatedly asserted he was locked up because of his political views and have called for his release. Human rights groups have warned that such arrests show that Abiy’s political reforms are slipping.

    Youth in Oromia have staged a number of recent protests calling for the release of political prisoners, including one in late August that left “scores” of people dead, according to the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and witnesses who spoke to The Associated Press.

    Abiy in a opinion piece published this week in The Economist wrote that “individuals and groups, disaffected by the transformations taking place, are using everything at their disposal to derail them. They are harvesting the seeds of inter-ethnic and inter-religious division and hatred.” He rejected “dangerous demagogues.”

    The prime minister also acknowledged alleged abuses by security forces during the bouts of unrest, saying that “given the institutions we have inherited, we realize that law-enforcement activities entail a risk of human-rights violations and abuse.” Security reforms take time, he said.”

  11. India to export 25,000 tonnes of onions after Bangladesh expressed concern | Onion Crisis in Dhaka

  12. Stuttgart: Tunisian stabs Italian to death https://www.bild.de/regional/stuttgart/stuttgart-aktuell/mordverdacht-gegen-mann-36-in-tuttlingen-er-kam-gerade-aus-u-haft-72961814.bild.html

    Switzerland: Turk stabs Portuguese to death (“for the prophet”) https://anfenglish.com/news/turkish-jihadist-behind-murder-of-portuguese-man-in-siwtzerland-46606

    For the funeral of the mother of the infamous Abou Chaker Clan, about 700 members and friends gathered on Friday morning at the New Twelve Apostles Cemetery in Berlin-Schöneberg. 200 police officers had to keep order.

    It is not only the costs of these operations that burden the taxpayers, but also the restrictions imposed on tradesmen by the mass gatherings.

    In the case of this funeral, an entire industrial estate cannot be driven over, so that companies cannot serve their customers and deliveries cannot be received.

    The AfD member of parliament Hanno Bachmann tried to find out the costs of the city of Berlin in a parliamentary question. The senate is keeping these under lock and key. Politicians of the old parties refuse to participate in the debate.

    At the funeral, according to Islamic custom, first the men were allowed to enter the cemetery and then the women. When asked about this, a police spokeswoman from Schöneberg said that this was due to the “hygiene concept” of the Abou Chaker clan.

    During the funeral, only visitors who had a personal concern or wanted to visit a relative were allowed to enter the cemetery. Press representatives or other external visitors were not allowed to enter the cemetery during the funeral.

    The Muslim cemetery with 346 graves in the New Twelve Apostles Cemetery was officially inaugurated on 10 June 2015 by Schöneberg’s District Mayor Angelika Schöttler (SPD). From now on, burials will take place here regularly according to the Muslim rite (oriented towards Mecca and without coffin). The cemetery and also the Muslim burial ground remain under the sponsorship of the Protestant community, which assures that the “Christian character of the cemetery will not be touched”.

    https://www.ruptly.tv/en/videos/20200918-051-Germany–Hundreds-attend-funeral-of-clan-boss-Abou-Chaker-s-mother-in-Berlin

  13. UK – LONDON – Anti-mask mob clash with cops in Trafalgar Square to protest against Covid-19 vaccine & UK lockdown

    Hundreds of maskless demonstrators clashed with riot cops in London today during a rally against virus vaccinations and lockdowns.

    The chaotic protests saw crowds of coronavirus sceptics and so-called “anti-vaxxers” causing mayhem after descending on Trafalgar Square.

    At one point, scuffles broke out between protesters and the uniformed cops trying to keep them in order.

    Metropolitan Police officers then moved in on the crowds as they massed around Nelson’s column.

    • DAILY MAIL – Anti-mask mayhem in Trafalgar Square: Conspiracy theorists clash with police as hundreds rail against Covid restrictions in central London protest

      Hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters clashed with Metropolitan Police at a mass rally at Nelson’s column
      Army of police moved in on angry demonstrators defying Boris Johnson’s coronavirus restrictions today
      Protesters carried placards warning ‘this is now tyranny’ and ‘plandemic’ while others called Covid-19 a ‘hoax’
      Outnumbered officers were pushed back by the huge Resist And Act For Freedom Rally in central London

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8750505/Anti-mask-mayhem-Trafalgar-Square-Conspiracy-theorists-clash-police.html

    • Sky News – Coronavirus: Breaking self-isolation to be made illegal in England

      People who may have coronavirus will be required to self-isolate by law, with those who refuse facing fines of up to £10,000 in England.

      Ministers are toughening up their stance by making the current guidance a legal requirement in a bid to try and prevent a second spike of COVID-19 ballooning across the UK and a potential second national lockdown.

  14. The MOST Tax Revenue collected EVER, and the Coffers are empty.
    I wonder who benefitted here?

    German Top Socialist Calls for Bailouts of Indebted Cities

    Red Pill Germany

    Hey guys, one of the leaders of the social-democratic party of Germany just demanded that the federal budget should be used to bail out leftist cities.
    He said it is a good investment and a great use of the tax money from German workers when these cities can go into debt once more, after that.

  15. Dubai Cop Crucified Online After Tweeting ‘Nine Million Jews are Better Than 400 Million Arabs’ (sputniknews, Sep 19, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/viral/202009191080514276-dubai-cop-crucified-online-after-tweeting-nine-million-jews-are-better-than-400-million-arabs/

    “The United Arab Emirates agreed to normalise ties with Israel last month, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed joining US President Donald Trump and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani for a formal treaty-signing ceremony in Washington on Tuesday.

    Dhahi Khalfan, Dubai’s outspoken deputy police chief, has sparked a major online scandal after an impassioned defence of the UAE-Israel peace deal which included the suggestion that Jews are better than their “Arab cousins” at science, finance and politics.

    “Peace is the pillar of development. Some say that peace with Israel has not served countries which [signed agreements with it] before and did not contribute to their development. We were already developed before peace. Peace with a respected country like Israel serves the region,” Khalfan wrote in a multipost Twitter thread.
    “The Jew does not have any problems except that he is stingy and loves money a lot,” the official, who has a habit of making controversial, off-the-cuff remarks, continued. “I have read a lot about the Jews. What I found is that historically, what causes anger against them in the countries they have been in is that they control the money. Ok, this is an insult.”

    “But our criticism of the Jews is meaningless, and our fears of Israeli expansion are unjustified. If nine million Jews are better than 400 million Arabs in terms of scientific, financial and political capabilities, the problem is in us, and not in the Jews. Why do we always blame the other?” Khalfan asked.
    The deputy police chief added that Arabs should “learn from their cousins” in the arts of “sophistication and cunning”.

    Mixed Response
    Khalfan’s tweets sparked a massive debate containing hundreds of responses. Some of his followers agreed with his sentiment, pointing to the history of infighting among Arabs or suggesting that the Israeli-Palestinian issue was not the UAE’s problem.

    “Accurate diagnosis,” one user wrote. “Of course our fears of Israeli expansion are unjustified. We are not Palestine. Palestine essentially is not a sovereign state. It has no currency, no army, police, president or ministers…It has become clear that it is possible to reach an understanding with the Israelis through diplomatic channels and conclude peace treaties,” another suggested.

    Others blasted the official, asking him to keep his opinions to himself and not speak for the whole Arab world. Some recalled Tel Aviv’s alleged history of refusing to make peace with the Palestinians and fighting multiple wars with its neighbours. “They are invaders of our land and you want us not to blame them!” one user angrily wrote.

    Some also took issue with Khalfan’s claims about Israelis’ “scientific capabilities”, recalling great Arabic scholars of both the ancient and modern world and their contributions to humanity’s scientific knowledge, suggesting that “there is not one advanced country that doesn’t have scholars of Arab origin in every field.” Others accused Western intelligence agencies and Mossad of assassinating Arab and Muslim scientists, or killing them in wars, such as the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

    A few users also suggested it wasn’t a matter of Israelis versus Arabs, but of political systems. “Ok, why are the Israelis better than the Arabs? Because they have rulers who appreciate their people, and know that they are employees, not the owners of a country…and know that if they do something wrong they will be held accountable,” one commentator pondered.

    Controversial Police Chief
    Khalfan, the former police chief in charge of investigation into the 2010 assassination of senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel, has repeatedly praised the normalisation deal between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi in recent weeks, and repeatedly called for a peace agreement between the two countries even before the deal was agreed.

    The police officer has repeatedly ended up in hot water for speaking his mind. In early 2017, he heaped praise on US President Donald Trump for his executive orders blocking travel from Muslim majority countries. Later that year, he blamed a Daesh (ISIS)* attack on a mosque in Sinai, Egypt on Qatari television network Al Jazeera and encouraged Egypt to bomb the TV channel’s HQ. Earlier this year, he was in trouble again after praising British colonial rule. This summer, he was attacked for calling on Gulf countries to mount an invasion of Qatar.
    Israel formally established diplomatic relations with the UAE and Bahrain on Tuesday, with the agreements arranged by Washington. Officials from the Palestinian Authority and Hamas called the agreements a “betrayal” of the Palestinian cause and a “treacherous stab” in the backs of Palestinians. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed this criticism, saying the Gulf States’ decision shows that the Arab world won’t be “held hostage by the Palestinians”.

    Four Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan, the UAE and Bahrain, now have formal relations with Tel Aviv. The remaining 18 members of the Arab League continue to have no formal ties with the country.

    * A terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.”

  16. UK Gov’t to Begin Weekly Flights of 1,000 Migrants Back to European Mainland, Report Says (sputniknews, Sep 19, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/uk/202009191080513665-UK-deport-migrants-flights/

    “The development comes just a few days after the UK government said it was “bitterly disappointed” by a High Court Ruling that grounded a flight scheduled to deport asylum speakers back to Spain. The government said that “we are bitter disappointed with the court’s ruling, which has prevented us from returning people who have no right to be here.”

    The UK Home Office is preparing weekly flights for upward of 1,000 migrants who recently took the risk-fraught journey across the English Channel back to the European countries that they came from, including Italy, Germany and France.

    According to The Telegraph, Home Secretary Priti Patel is planning to fly arrivals back to Europe on a weekly basis. The 1,000 migrants will be flown back to those countries where they had already received asylum.

    Talks are also said to be underway between the French and British governments to allow more UK-funded personnel to operate on France’s beaches in an effort to prevent migrants from making the crossing.

    According to the UK Immigration Enforcement Secretariat, both the Home Secretary and the government more broadly are “frustrated by the severity of the situation.” More than 6,000 refugees are said to have crossed over from France in rubber dinghies so far this year.

    An Immigration Enforcement Secretariat spokesperson told The Telegraph: “there is considerable policy work underway to address where the UK’s immigration and asylum system is being exploited and abused… As it currently stands, the system is inflexible and rigid, and is open to abuse by both migrants and activist lawyers to frustrate the returns of those who have no right to be here.”

    It was recently revealed by The Home Office that two former army bases will be used as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers while their claims are being processed.

    Reportedly, about 400 refugees will be housed at the Napier Barracks in Kent. Another facility, the Penally Training Camp in Wales, which could take in around 250 refugees and sits well over 300 miles away from the English Channel. Both bases were offered to the Home Office by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

    A Home Office spokesperson has been quoted as saying that, “during these unprecedented times, the government is working with a range of partners and across departments to secure further accommodation and the MoD has offered use of some of its sites.”

    “When using contingency accommodation we work closely with organisations, including local authorities and law enforcement, throughout the process to ensure value for money and that vulnerable asylum seekers, who would otherwise be destitute, have suitable accommodation while their claims are processed,” the spokesperson added.”

  17. Kosovo police officers arrested in crackdown on illegal casinos (BBC, Sep 19, 2020)
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54219185

    “At least 10 police officers have been arrested in Kosovo during a large-scale operation to close down illegal casinos.

    Hundreds of officers took part in the raid in the village of Karachevo on the border with Serbia.

    Police said it was the biggest operation of its kind ever carried out in Kosovo and followed a year-long investigation.

    Kosovo banned all gambling last year in a bid to crack down on crime.

    Jetish Maloku, chief prosecutor for the eastern district of Gjilan, told reporters that police had arrested at least 35 people on suspicion of illegal gambling, prostitution, and trafficking people, guns and drugs.

    At least 10 of those were border police who were alleged to have facilitated illegal cross-border activity…”

  18. Dozens killed in air strikes amid conflicting Kabul, Taliban versions (trtw, Sep 19, 2020)
    https://www.trtworld.com/asia/dozens-killed-in-air-strikes-amid-conflicting-kabul-taliban-versions-39892

    “The Afghan air force has conducted multiple strikes on Taliban positions in which more than 30 insurgent fighters were killed, officials said.

    Taliban immediately disputed the claim saying the strikes on Saturday instead killed 23 civilians.

    “This morning, Taliban fighters attacked (Afghan army) positions in … Khan Abad district in Kunduz province,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement on Twitter.

    The military “intercepted the attack in accordance with ‘active defence’ procedures,” the statement added, noting that more than 30 Taliban fighters including two commanders were killed.

    The Taliban claimed the strike killed nearly two dozen civilians including women and children in the latest mass-casualty incident in Afghanistan that came even as peace talks were under way in Qatar.

    In a statement, the Taliban denied its fighters were hit and said 23 civilians had been killed.

    Provincial officials and Taliban officials told Reuters news agency the strikes on a Taliban base killed at least 12 civilians and injured more than 10 people.

    Civilains hospitalised

    The Defence Ministry said it was aware of the claim and would investigate.

    Local hospital director Mohammad Naeem Mangal told AFP news agency that three dead and three wounded civilians had been brought to the facility.

    Ghani seeks ceasefire

    The attack came shortly before Afghan President Ashraf Ghani once again called for a humanitarian ceasefire “to protect our people, prevent violence and terrorist incidents, and to achieve a dignified and lasting peace.”

    The insurgents have so far ignored such requests, though they have unilaterally called two short, separate truces this year in the run-up to peace talks, which opened a week ago in Doha.

    Talks have progressed slowly so far, with the two sides still undecided about an agenda.”

  19. Within hours of news of Ginsburg’s death, media gets busy politicizing it
    By Ben Bowles September 19, 2020

    Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s body was scarcely cold before the liberal media began politicizing her passing. NBC News posted an headlined “Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dying wish: Not to have Donald Trump choose replacement.” I mean, what kind of ogre to you have to be to ignore an old woman’s dying wish?

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/09/19/within-hours-of-news-of-ginsburgs-death-media-gets-busy-politicizing-it/

  20. ILHAN’S DISTRICT: 17-Year-Old GOP Volunteer Shot Dead Outside of Gas Station in Minneapolis

    He was volunteering for Omar’s Republican opponent.

    A 17-year-old conservative volunteer of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Republican Congressional opponent was shot dead outside of a Minneapolis gas station on Monday.

    17-year-old Andre Conley is dead after being gunned down in a city that is looking more like Omar’s native Somalia than a town in the land of the free these days. Another volunteer for Omar’s opponent Lacy Johnson was struck by gunfire as well but is expected to survive.

    “It is shocking and unnecessary acts of violence like this that prove why change is needed now more than ever in our community,” Johnson said. “The shooting did not occur during a campaign or outreach and we do not believe it has any connection to their work for the campaign.”

    https://bigleaguepolitics.com/ilhans-district-17-year-old-gop-volunteer-shot-dead-outside-of-gas-station/

  21. CCP member denied US entry; 4 children under house arrest in China after mom, poet father arrested

  22. COVID-19 started from Wuhan. The popular unrest against the CCP regime has also started from Wuhan

    • This You Tube Channel is an Indian Propaganda Channel so they are probably exaggerating what is happening in China.

  23. ‘Iran cannot be appeased’: British MP urges harder line against Tehran
    https://www.arabnews.com/node/1736991/world

    “The UK should take more assertive action against Iran by ditching the nuclear deal and following the US lead in introducing economic sanctions that “bite,” a British MP has said.

    Bob Blackman, a UK Conservative Party MP, also told Arab News that Tehran’s diplomatic footprint across Europe should be reviewed for its role in facilitating the IRGC’s (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) “nefarious activities.”

    Speaking ahead of his appearance on Friday at a summit hosted by Iranian resistance group the NCRI (National Council of Resistance of Iran), Blackman said the UK has “a clear approach of trying to appease Tehran — I think that’s a problem. I don’t think you can appease Iran. I think you have to stand up to them.”

    Blackman believes Britain should take a stand on the Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The agreement, struck by eight international powers, including Iran, curbed Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

    According to Blackman, this was a major mistake.

    “Iran did not stick to the terms of the deal, and it gave the regime a lifeline just as economic sanctions were starting to yield results.”

    Britain should “immediately” end its support for the deal, he argued.

    “At the moment, the UK continues to stand by the nuclear deal and tries to use its seat at the UN Security Council to keep that deal alive — in my view, that’s the wrong approach.

    “It’s quite clear that Iran is in breach of the deal, and we should depart from it as fast as possible,” he said.

    The MP said that given Iran’s breaches of the agreement and the regime’s human rights abuses, he supports US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s plan to “snap back” sanctions on Tehran on Sept. 20, and that the UK should follow suit.

    “I would reimpose sanctions — and make them bite,” Blackman said.

    He also urged European states to scrutinize Iranian diplomats working in their countries…”

  24. US to Restore Iran Sanctions Saturday Night
    https://www.newsmax.com/us/nuclear-deal-snapback-sanctions-uranium/2020/09/19/id/987776/

    “The United States will unilaterally declare this weekend that UN sanctions against Iran are once again in force, a move that risks increasing Washington’s diplomatic isolation while also stoking international tensions.

    “Virtually all UN sanctions on Iran will come back into place this weekend at 8:00 p.m. ET [midnight GMT] on Saturday the 19th,” said Elliott Abrams, the Trump administration’s special representative for Iran.

    But on this point, Washington is almost alone in the world: All the other great powers – China, Russia and also the U.S.’s own European allies – have challenged the claim…”

  25. IRGC Chief Dismisses Trump’s Threat, Pledges Harsh Revenge for Gen. Soleimani Assassination
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/09/19/2351866/irgc-chief-dismisses-trump-s-threat-pledges-harsh-revenge-for-gen-soleimani-assassination

    “The IRGC commander shrugged off the US president’s recent threat of military action against Iran, saying the terrible revenge for the martyrdom of Lt. General Qassem Soleimani would target the people with a role in the assassination, not a female American envoy to South Africa.

    In an address to a gathering of IRGC personnel on Saturday, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Hossein Salami hit back at US President Donald Trump for threatening military action against Iran.

    In a tweet on Monday, Trump said any attack by Iran would be met with a response “1,000 times greater in magnitude”, after a Politico report alleged that Iran has plans to avenge the assassination of top commander Lt. General Qassem Soleimani by killing US Ambassador to South Africa Lana Marks.

    The IRGC commander made it clear that the “decisive, serious and real” revenge for the assassination of Lt. General Soleimani would be taken in an honorable, fair and just manner, not on a female ambassador to South Africa.

    “We will hit the people who, directly and indirectly, played a role in the martyrdom of the great man (General Soleimani),” Major General Salami underlined, giving a serious warning that anybody with a role in the January assassination plot will be hit.

    Downplaying the American threat of a response 1,000 times greater in magnitude, the IRGC commander said hundreds of Iranian missiles had been prepared to “devastate” the US targets in a possible confrontation after the retaliatory strike on the US airbase of Ain al-Assad in Iraq in January.

    The enemy is being monitored by the IRGC everywhere and would get hit if necessary, Salami added.

    The commander described the termination of the US as an undeniable reality, denounced Washington’s bid to trigger the so-called snapback mechanism to reinstate the sanctions on Iran, and said not a single bullet would be fired even if the US pulls such a trigger.

    He finally highlighted the growing capabilities of the Iranian Armed Forces, saying the Islamic Republic has enhanced its influence as far as the Mediterranean and would chase the enemies.

    Iranian military and political officials have repeatedly warned the enemies about the dire consequences of a military action against the Islamic Republic.

    In comments in April 2018, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said the US is aware of the crushing response it will have to face in case of taking military action against Iran.

    The era of hit and run is now over, and the US knows that if it gets entangled in military action against Iran, it will receive much harsher blows, Ayatollah Khamenei underlined.

    The US is seeking a way to evade the costs of standing against Iran and place them on regional countries, the Leader said, reminding certain regional countries that if they confront Iran, “they will definitely suffer blows and defeat”.”

  26. India Arrests 9 Qaeda Militants Planning Attack in New Delhi
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2516926/india-arrests-9-qaeda-militants-planning-attack-new-delhi

    “India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Saturday it has arrested nine al-Qaeda militants who were planning attacks in several locations including the capital New Delhi.

    “The group was planning to undertake terrorist attacks at vital installations in India with an aim to kill innocent people and strike terror in their minds,” the country’s main counter-terrorism arm said in a statement.

    Those arrested “were motivated to undertake attacks at multiple places” including the capital region, Reuters reported.

    Six of the militants were arrested in the eastern state of West Bengal and while three in the southern state of Kerala, the NIA said, adding the individuals were “associated with Pakistan sponsored module of al Qaeda”.

    The militants will be produced in court for police custody and further investigation.

    India has stepped up an offensive against militants in Kashmir and elsewhere. Last year, Indian forces killed the leader of an al Qaeda-affiliated militant group.

    In the latest raids, the NIA seized sharp weapons, domestically made firearms and locally fabricated body armor.”

  27. Yemen Demands Extension of Arms Embargo against Iran
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2517616/yemen-demands-extension-arms-embargo-against-iran

    “The legitimate Yemeni government urged on Saturday the need to extend the arms embargo against Tehran after busting a Houthi cell that confessed to smuggling weapons from Iran.

    In a series of tweets, Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said the cell admitted to receiving training in Iran and to having connections to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.

    “This is damning evidence of Iranian complicity in running smuggling operations and supporting the militias with weapons (ballistic missiles and drones) to implement their destructive agenda in the region,” he said.

    The confessions confirm that the Houthis were exploiting the Stockholm agreement on Hodeidah in order to use the coastal city’s ports “to smuggle Iranian weapons, escalate their terrorist military operations in Yemen and target civilians in Saudi Arabia and oil and trade ships in the Red Sea, he continued.

    Moreover, the minister said the Iranian regime’s ongoing smuggling of arms to the Houthis was a flagrant violation of relevant international resolutions on Yemen.”

  28. 5 civilians injured after Houthi projectile hit Saudi border village
    https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/598208/SAUDI-ARABIA/5-civilians-injured-after-Houthi-projectile-hit-Saudi-border-village

    “Five civilians were injured by shrapnel of a projectile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia from Yemen toward a bordering village in Jazan, the General Directorate of Civil Defense said in a statement on Saturday carried by Saudi Press Agency.”

  29. Rights groups: UAE hired 450 mercenaries to carry out assassinations in Yemen
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200919-rights-groups-uae-hired-450-mercenaries-to-carry-out-assassinations-in-yemen/

    “The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has hired thousands of mercenaries and deployed 450 of them in Yemen to carry out high-profile assassinations, the International Institute for Rights and Development, and the Rights Radar Foundation revealed on Thursday.

    These remarks came in a statement that the International Institute for Rights and Development and the Rights Radar Foundation read during the 45th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council held in Geneva.

    “The International Institute for Rights and Development and Rights Radar Foundation are deeply concerned about the escalation of assassination cases in Yemen by the mercenaries,” the statement read.

    It added:

    The UAE hired American mercenaries to carry out high-profile assassinations in Yemen. They conducted several operations in Aden and several cities, resulting in the assassinations of dozens of politicians and public figures during the past five years of conflict in Yemen.

    According to the statement: “Among 30,000 mercenaries from four Latin American countries hired by the UAE, at least 450 mercenaries have been deployed to Yemen after they received training by US trainers.”

    “They take advantage of the UN’s disregard for their human rights abuses in Yemen to continue their crimes with no accountability.”

    In the statement, the rights groups confirmed that: “Over 80 per cent of Yemeni politicians, lawmakers and media professionals have been displaced locally or globally, seeking safety as they become potential targets for assassination.”

    The rights groups warned that “the right to life in Yemen is in extreme danger,” stressing that the situation: “Needs the UN to offer effective action not just kind words. Enough is enough.””

  30. Iraq compensates 90,000 civilians affected by Nineveh battles
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200919-iraq-compensates-90000-civilians-affected-by-nineveh-battles/

    “A senior Iraqi official announced on Friday that Iraq has decided to compensate 90,000 civilians harmed by the “liberation battles” in the Nineveh governorate, in the north of the country.

    This came in a statement made by Mohammed Mahmoud, director of the sub-committee for compensating people affected by war operations in the Nineveh Governorate, to Anadolu Agency.

    Mahmoud explained that: “It was decided to compensate 90,000 civilians in the Nineveh governorate, who suffered material and human losses during the battles that the security forces fought against Daesh in the region.”

    He added: “So far, 9,000 civilians have received the compensation money, and about 50,000 requests for compensation have been approved.”

    The Iraqi official did not reveal the amount of compensation awarded to those affected, but he expects that the actual number of war victims will exceed the recorded statistics…”

  31. Anti-Sisi protests erupt in Egypt’s Suez ahead of planned demonstrations
    https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2020/9/19/anti-sisi-protests-erupt-in-egypts-suez

    “Protests erupted in Egypt’s Suez city on Friday, local media reported, with dozens of demonstrators calling for the downfall of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi days ahead of planned September 20 call for action.

    Footage that emerged online showed protesters chanting against the president.

    Chants including “We will not sleep, we will not rest, fall Abdelfattah, fall” and “We are not afraid, between us is September 20” echoed through the streets of the city, referencing a call to demonstrate by dissident Egyptian construction contractor Mohammed Ali.

    A number of arrests were made at the site of the protests, according to local opposition television channel, Makameleen.

    Ali’s call to action sparked the protests, which come as Egypt struggles to navigate through harsh economic conditions.

    The Spain-based dissident urged Egyptians to take to the streets on September 20, the first anniversary of demonstrations one year ago.

    The 45-year-old businessman triggered a major scandal in Egypt in September 2019 when he revealed details of autocratic President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s corruption.

    In a series of videos watched by millions of Egyptians, Ali, whose company had previously worked with the Egyptian army, said that Sisi had built a number of luxurious palaces and residences for himself and his family using public funds, at a time when austerity measures were being imposed on ordinary people and poverty rates in Egypt were increasing.

    Sisi appeared on television to answer the allegations but did not deny them, saying that he built the palaces for the state and would continue to “build and build and build”.

    Anti-Sisi hashtags started by Ali quickly became the top trending Twitter hashtags worldwide, and thousands of Egyptians took part in protests in Cairo and other cities, braving the risk of arrest. The scandal became known as ‘Palacegate’.

    Sisi’s government responded with repression, detaining thousands of people, and the protests fizzled out. While Ali’s exposure of financial corruption posed a major challenge to Sisi, his videos were often rambling and he failed to present a coherent opposition political programme.

    Ali himself said that he was inexperienced in political life and announced his retirement from politics at the end of last January, saying that people had failed to protest against Sisi on ninth anniversary of the 2011 Egyptian revolution.”

  32. 114 migrants rescued from Mediterranean: German NGO
    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/383426/World/International/-migrants-rescued-from-Mediterranean-German-NGO.aspx

    “German NGO Sea-Eye said Saturday it had rescued 114 migrants from two vessels stranded off the Libyan coast.

    Sea-Eye said its Alan-Kurdi rescue boat first picked up 90 people from an “overloaded rubber boat” before taking aboard a further 24 from a fishing boat.

    Eight of those rescued were children and another eight were woman, one of whom was pregnant, according to the NGO.

    “For fear of being picked up by Libyan militia these people did not put out a distress call, putting themselves at high risk,” Sea-Eye president Gorden Isler said.

    Jan Ribbeck, Sea-Eye director of operations, said that whereas migrants usually had to choose between the Libyans and the sea they were “now on a German vessel and are finally being treated as human beings.”

    The NGO did not indicate where it intended to bring the group ashore.

    This year has seen a renewed spike in the number of vessels, many of them barely seaworthy, taking a chance on reaching Europe.

    Attempts from Libya rose by 91 percent from January to July over the same period last year with 14,481 people attempting the risky crossing.

    The same period saw 10,174 people make an attempt from Tunisia — a rise of 462 percent on 2019.

    At least 300 people have died in the process — though the International Organization for Migration says the figure could be far higher.

    Earlier this month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the closure of migrant detention centres in Libya, denouncing what he called rights violations committed there in “horrendous conditions.””

  33. Turkey: 94 ex-army officials with FETO links remanded
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-94-ex-army-officials-with-feto-links-remanded/1979067

    “At least 94 former Turkish military personnel arrested for links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup, were remanded in custody on Saturday, according to a judicial source.

    The suspects were among 131 ex-military officials arrested on Sept. 16 in anti-terror operations in 34 provinces, with a primary focus on Istanbul, said the source, requesting anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

    The arrested individuals included former army commanders, lieutenants, non-commissioned officers, and sergeants.

    FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 251 people were martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

    Turkey accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.”

  34. Afghanistan: Hekmatyar ready to join hands with Taliban
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/afghanistan-hekmatyar-ready-to-join-hands-with-taliban/1978842

    “Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, veteran Afghan mujahideen leader and head of the Hezb-e-Islami party, has expressed his willingness to form an alliance with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

    “Hezb-e-Islami is ready for direct talks with the Taliban, as well as for partnership and cooperation. We believe that if these two groups join hands, the crisis in Afghanistan will end soon and no force will be able to stand against it,” he told supporters at the party’s headquarters in the capital Kabul on Saturday.

    “When the first round of talks between Kabul [the Afghan government] and the Taliban is completed, we are ready for the Hezb-e-Islami and the Taliban to start talks. The decision now rests with the Taliban.”

    The Taliban, engaged in landmark direct talks with the Afghan government since last Saturday, is yet to comment on the offer.

    Hekmatyar asserted that the Afghan government was “weak and divided,” while the Taliban and Hezb-e-Islami “share mutual beliefs, values, and ideology.”…”

  35. Islam still faces obstacles on path to be part of Germany
    https://www.dw.com/en/islam-still-faces-obstacles-on-path-to-be-part-of-germany/a-54972234

    “Some ten years ago, German President Christian Wulff said Islam was very much part of German society. What about today?

    It was a short statement that had a lot of impact. In his speech almost 10 years ago on the 20th anniversary of German reunification, Germany’s then-President Christian declared that Islam was a part of Germany.

    The claim sparked a nation-wide debate on the role of Islam in the country — one that had continued to this day. Wulff’s 2010 statement enraged some, while resonating deeply with others.

    Today, millions of Muslims call Germany their home. Some families have been living in the country for two, three and even four generations. But, for some, the question of integrating into German mainstream society, and gaining recognition, has not been without its difficulties.

    Riem Spielhaus, an expert on Islam at the University of Göttingen, says Wulff’s statement struck a chord. In the following years, she says, much progress was made in terms of the integration of and acceptance towards Muslims. But by 2016 this process stagnated, she says. “And we have partially seen advances undone.”

    Where, exactly, has progress been made? And where are improvements needed? Spielhaus says the German government rarely has the power to push for nation-wide changes, such as the introduction of a Muslim chaplaincy in the German military.

    In many cases, the expert says, Germany’s various states are the ones with the legal means to make society more accommodating towards Muslims. This relates to things like Islamic burials, giving time off on Islamic holidays, offering spiritual care in hospitals and jails, and teaching Islamic theology at universities. German states differ the most when it comes to Islamic religious lessons in school.

    Spielhaus welcomes that German courts are changing their perspective, too. When ruling on fundamental religious issues, many are now emphasizing the importance of religious plurality.

    A patchwork of associations

    Unlike in Christianity, where Churches are structured hierarchically and have official leaders, this is not the case in Islam. Some large Muslim organizations that are active in Germany, like the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (Ditib), are funded from abroad. German lawmakers, therefore, avoid close cooperation with the association, fearing outside interference.

    A broad range of Muslim associations exists in Germany today. Not all, Spielhaus says, are as representative of the Muslim community as they might claim. This has become evident for instance during the German Islamic Conference, when different Muslim associations vehemently disagreed with one another.

    This disunity has made progress difficult. Cooperation between the German state and the country’s numerous Muslim associations is fraught with difficulties. In July this year, for example, Germany’s Foreign Ministry endeavored to make Muslim lawyer Nurhan Soykan an adviser in one of its departments. The announcement drew criticism, however, with some accusing Soykan — who serves as vice president with the Central Council of Muslims in Germany — of doing too little to counter religious extremism. Germany’s Foreign Ministry then reversed its course, and dropped Soykan.

    Promising grassroots cooperation

    While cooperation with official Muslim associations has not always proven easy, working together on a smaller scale has often been successful. Serap Güler, a lawmaker with the Christian Democrats (CDU), who serves as state secretary for integration matters in Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, cites the Coordination Council for Muslim Civic Activism as an example.

    She says it cooperates with some 200 Muslim civil society organizations in the state, such as a Muslim Carnival group, a scout organization and integration initiatives. According to Güler, lawmakers are keen to empower such citizen organizations.

    Young Muslims in Germany

    Dennis Sadiq Kirschbaum heads an organization working to give German Muslims a greater say in public affairs. JUMA, which was founded in 2019, represents young, active Muslims in Germany. Kirschbaum says traditional Muslim associations are losing appeal among his generation, with some turning their backs on them entirely. He says there are plans for 16 Muslim youth organizations across the country — none of which define themselves through religion alone — to create an alliance to give young German Muslims a voice.

    Yet Spielhaus says Islamic groups often possess fewer “financial resources and personnel” than Christian organizations. This may limit their influence. Moreover, she warns of “growing religious skepticism and an Islamophobic climate in Germany.”

    Indeed, when a racist shot and killed nine individuals with a foreign background in the town of Hanau near Frankfurt in February this year, Germany — and the country’s Muslim community — was shocked. In a search for a better understanding of the issues, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has set up a special expert body to investigate the problem of Islamophobia in the country.”