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.
Webster’s Redefined ‘Sexual Preference’ After Amy Coney Barrett Used It To Match Leftist Talking Points
by Jordan Davidson – October 14, 2020
https://thefederalist.com/2020/10/14/websters-redefined-sexual-preference-after-amy-coney-barrett-used-it-to-match-leftist-talking-points/
Sen. Mazie Hirono scolds ACB for using the term “sexual preference” when answering a question about Obergefell this morning, saying that the term is “offensive and outdated.”
Daily Caller – October 13, 2020 – Twitter
https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1316124089296343040
London Calling – Ricochet
Do Not Pass “Go”
Hosted by James Delingpole, Toby Young
https://ricochet.com/podcast/london-calling/do-not-pass-go/
Walmart Scraps One-Way Aisles That U.S. Shoppers Mostly Ignored
by Matthew Boyle – September 22, 2020
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-22/walmart-scraps-one-way-aisles-that-u-s-shoppers-mostly-ignored
Bad Machine
I do almost all of the shopping for our household. On the rare occasion that my husband would come along he was very respectful of the arrows on the floor. I was much more intent on getting the item I needed and getting out of the store. My husband attempted to correct me and I told him to go according to the arrows and meet me…
I actually had a Karen approach me once and ask if didn’t I see the arrows? I said no, I’m looking for the low salt soy sauce not arrows.
I went into a drug store to buy a birthday card for my granddaughter, I held a scarf over my mouth and nose so I could not smell the hand sanitizer that everyone uses. A Karen asked me if I would like a mask and I said no I use my scarf to cover my face. I explained I have allergies and have a problem breathing with the smell of the hand sanitizer and can not wear a mask. I was told she would do the shopping for me and I could wait outside. I left, walked down the street to another drug store where the employees wear masks around their necks until some crazy comes in and up go the masks.
I have always wondered what kind of people reported their friends and neighbours to the Nazis, the scary part is I am witnessing a nasty part of history, and I seem to be the minority.
I had my first encounter with two Karens that were restocking the paper aisle. I was shopping for a relative and was not familiar with this grocery store and their one way policy. I don’t look down, so I didn’t see the arrows. I turn the corner and was stopped by the Karens, who said this is a one way aisle! I parked the cart at the top of the aisle and walk passed them and picked up the item. Oh, and the aisle was empty! No one was there. Not one person but these two Karens. When I walked passed them they said something about the law. I said, what law? Cuomo’s law? They said you know there is a pandemic! I said you have no idea what a pandemic looks like.
My only regret was that I did not think to do this:
Lol ty EB Keep on the sunny side.
How Donald Trump destroyed Xi Jinping’s Chinese Silicon Valley
Europe overtakes US in daily caseload | Worried Europe nations revive curfews | World News
Last party for Dutch as lockdown starts | Who is afraid of coronavirus? | WION News | World News
Gravitas: Vatican’s first sexual abuse trial
Gravitas: Argentina approves use of genetically modified wheat
Just ask the fire to wait a minute:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-54551789
“Uncle Vlad” is a nicely sardonic handle for a scumbag who operates so naturally on the level of corruption and disinformation:
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/has-vladimir-putin-always-been-corrupt-and-does-it-matter
More Putin. Assembling “support” of national media outlets seems critical to the success of budding dictators. Dear Leader is learning by example:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rferl.org/amp/putin-20-years-power-corruption-scandals/30100279.html
Grafting through corporate cronies like Dear Leader’s WE charity, then channeling the money through friends and family…
https://panamapapers.sueddeutsche.de/articles/57161f07a1bb8d3c3495bc36/
Enemies of the Putin mafia:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/03/23/here-are-ten-critics-of-vladimir-putin-who-died-violently-or-in-suspicious-ways/%3foutputType=amp
Why can’t he get SSorossssssSS?!
The color revolution attempts in his near-abroad should inspire Uncle V to creative solutions.
(Novichok is bungling old hat, cheap false-flag.)
Tucker on BIG “tech” censorship and Hunter Biden……
https://www. bit chute .com/video/bWb7SkjdKNsS/
Caveat: remove spaces from link.
Sarkozy Placed Under Formal Investigation for ‘Collaboration With Wrongdoers’ (sputniknews, Oct 16, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/202010161080789778-sarkozy-placed-under-formal-investigation-for-collaboration-with-wrongdoers-reports-say/
“Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been placed under formal investigation for “collaboration with wrongdoers” as part of a case over alleged Libyan sponsorship of his 2007 campaign, BFMTV reported Friday, citing the national financial prosecutor’s office.
The French financial prosecutor’s office confirmed on Friday that new legal charges have been issued against former President Sarkozy.
According to the BFMTV broadcaster and the AFP news agency, Sarkozy claimed he was “completely innocent” in the case during previous interviews with law enforcement in June 2019.
The new indictment against the politician is yet another charge against him, as the former president has also been accused of “passive corruption”, “concealment of embezzlement of public funds”, and “illegal campaign financing”. The accusations claim that he received campaign funding from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
During the NATO campaign against Libya (in which France was actively participating), Gaddafi’s eldest son Saif al-Islam publicly demanded that Sarkozy “give the money back”.
In 2018, Sarkozy was placed under “judicial supervision”, while his bid to avoid trial over the financing of his 2012 re-election campaign has been rejected by the highest appeals court of France.”
India Says ‘No’ to Talks With Pakistan as Atmosphere Not ‘Conducive’ (sputniknews, Oct 16, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/india/202010161080780153-india-says-no-to-talks-with-pakistan-as-atmosphere-not-conducive/
“Pakistan’s newly appointed National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf claimed India was keen for the resumption of stalled talks on contentious issues between the two nations. In an interview with an Indian media outlet last week, Yusuf also laid out five pre-conditions for talks, which included the inclusion of Kashmiris as a third participant.
India has declined to show any interest in initiating talks with Pakistan while clarifying that it feels “the atmosphere is not conducive” for that.
India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said on Thursday, “No such message was sent from our side.”
“The statements made by him (Pakistan National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf) are contrary to facts on the ground, misleading and fictitious,” he added.
The spokesperson added it was another attempt by Pakistan to “divert attention from failures of the present government and mislead its domestic constituents by pulling India into headlines on a daily basis.”
Explaining New Delhi’s position, Srivastava said, Pakistan continues to “support, aid and abet cross-border terrorism” and its leadership continues to indulge in “inappropriate, provocative and hate speech” against India.
“Such support to terrorism against India and use of derogatory and abusive language are not conducive to normal neighbourly relations,” said Srivastava during his weekly press conference held in New Delhi on Thursday.
Islamabad suspended diplomatic relations, trade and communications with New Delhi after India abrogated the special status enjoyed by Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 in August 2019. With this step, India integrated the region into the country’s administrative and political mainstream, a move decried by Pakistan.
The last political contact between India and Pakistan was in May 2014, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif held talks in New Delhi. Sharif had been invited to attend Modi’s swearing-in ceremony as prime minister of India.
In 2015, Modi made a surprise visit to Pakistan’s Lahore city on his way back from Afghanistan on Sharif’s birthday and the wedding of his granddaughter.
Relations between India and Pakistan have been topsy-turvy ever since both countries gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947, and Kashmir has always been central to their disputes.
While both countries claim the entire Jammu and Kashmir as part of their territory, they each rule it in parts. India and Pakistan have also waged two full-fledged wars over Kashmir.”
Paris, Berlin Warn Ankara Against ‘Provocative Acts’ After Turkish Survey Ship Returns to East Med (sputniknews, Oct 16, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/world/202010161080780915-paris-berlin-warn-ankara-against-provocative-acts-after-turkish-survey-ships-returns-to-east-med/
“Late last week, the Greek foreign minister condemned Turkey’s decision to restart operations of its gas exploration ship in the Eastern Mediterranean as a “direct threat to regional peace and security”.
France and Germany have warned Turkey against continuing to provoke the EU with its actions in the Eastern Mediterranean, as they gave Ankara a week to clarify its position on exploring natural gas in the area.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a news conference on Thursday that “it’s clear to us that Turkey is permanently carrying out provocative acts, which are unacceptable”.
He was echoed by his German counterpart Heiko Maas, who slammed Turkey’s recent decision to send its research vessel back to the Mediterranean as “inadmissible”.
“It’s been twice that expected discussions have not taken place and we don’t know when they will happen. We must wait to see if there is progress in a week and then we’ll see what attitude needs to be adopted by the EU”, Maas said when asked about the possibility of the bloc slapping economic sanctions on Ankara.
The warning followed the Greek Foreign Ministry slamming Ankara’s move last week to restart its gas exploration activities in the Mediterranean as a “major escalation”, which the ministry said endangers regional security.
The statement came on the heels of Turkey’s announcement that it would send its research ship Oruc Reis back to a disputed Mediterranean area after the vessel returned to the country’s shores in mid-September following a political standoff between Ankara and Athens…”
Paris, Berlin Warn Ankara Against ‘Provocative Acts’ After Turkish Survey Ship Returns to East Med (sputniknews, Oct 16, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/world/202010161080780915-paris-berlin-warn-ankara-against-provocative-acts-after-turkish-survey-ships-returns-to-east-med/
“Late last week, the Greek foreign minister condemned Turkey’s decision to restart operations of its gas exploration ship in the Eastern Mediterranean as a “direct threat to regional peace and security”.
France and Germany have warned Turkey against continuing to provoke the EU with its actions in the Eastern Mediterranean, as they gave Ankara a week to clarify its position on exploring natural gas in the area.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a news conference on Thursday that “it’s clear to us that Turkey is permanently carrying out provocative acts, which are unacceptable”.
He was echoed by his German counterpart Heiko Maas, who slammed Turkey’s recent decision to send its research vessel back to the Mediterranean as “inadmissible”.
“It’s been twice that expected discussions have not taken place and we don’t know when they will happen. We must wait to see if there is progress in a week and then we’ll see what attitude needs to be adopted by the EU”, Maas said when asked about the possibility of the bloc slapping economic sanctions on Ankara.
The warning followed the Greek Foreign Ministry slamming Ankara’s move last week to restart its gas exploration activities in the Mediterranean as a “major escalation”, which the ministry said endangers regional security.
The statement came on the heels of Turkey’s announcement that it would send its research ship Oruc Reis back to a disputed Mediterranean area after the vessel returned to the country’s shores in mid-September following a political standoff between Ankara and Athens.
Turkish-Greek Row Over East Mediterranean
Bilateral tensions escalated in August, when the Greek Foreign Ministry urged Turkey to immediately stop its “illegal” drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, warning that Athens will defend itself if necessary.
The warning followed the Turkish research ship Oruc Reis starting to conduct its seismic survey work in a disputed zone of the Mediterranean Sea south of Antalya and west of Cyprus.
This was preceded by Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy claiming that Greece’s actions, specifically its “pirate agreement with Egypt” on the creation of an exclusive economic zone (EEZ), violated Ankara’s own continental shelf rights and “demonstrated that it was not sincere and honest about dialogue”.
The spokesman was referring to a deal that Turkey and Libya clinched in 2019 to appropriate the lion’s share of the Mediterranean waters that Greece considers part of its own EEZ.
Egypt, in turn, joined Greece in condemning the 2019 Turkish-Libyan maritime delimitation agreement as “illegal”, with the EU also taking Athens’ side in the dispute and threatening to sanction Ankara over its drilling off Cyprus.”
Turkish Police Reportedly Arrest ‘Dangerous’ Daesh Terrorist Wanted by Interpol, France (sputniknews, Oct 16, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/202010161080789710-turkish-police-reportedly-arrest-dangerous-daesh-terrorist-wanted-by-interpol-france/
“The arrested woman denies joining the terrorist organisation, claiming that she fled France for Syria in a bid to escape her abusive husband. She had a fake Syrian passport on her at the time of the arrest.
Turkish police have allegedly arrested a 30-year-old Daesh* terrorist of Tunisian origin, Soumaya Raissi, in Adana province, several Turkish media outlets reported, citing anonymous security sources. She was arrested in her house on 14 October and was interrogated for two days by Turkish security services, the Daily Sabbah reported.
According to the media outlet, Raissi, who has been wanted in France for four years and had an Interpol red notice for committing “dangerous actions”, denied the charges against her. There is no red notice with her name on the Interpol website at the time of publication.
The woman reportedly claims to have left France for Syria in a bid to get away from her abusive and violent husband. Law enforcement found a fake Syrian passport in her possession during the arrest, Turkey’s Anadolu News Agency reported.
According to reports, Raissi successfully reached Syria around four years ago and married a Daesh* member – a relatively common practice of the terrorist organisation at the time when it came to female newcomers. Her first husband, Richard Raissi, was in turn arrested in the southern Turkish province of Gaziantep in 2016 and was eventually deported, the Daily Sabbah reported. Raissi’s brother-in-law is reportedly also a member of the global terrorist organisation…”
#GenghisKhan #China #Mongols
Part of campaign against ethnic Mongols | Chinese meddling halts Genghis Khan | WION News
Swedish Muslim ‘Integration Expert’ Wrote Antisemitic Social Media Posts For Years (breitbart, Oct 16, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/10/16/swedish-muslim-integration-expert-wrote-antisemitic-social-media-posts-for-years/
“A Swedish Muslim “integration expert” and school principal has admitted to making antisemitic and homophobic comments online for years under a pseudonym.
Over a period between 2011 and 2016, Hamid Zafar is said to have made numerous offensive posts on different websites and social media platforms and has claimed that they were made in reaction to the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, where he was born, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
“In retrospect, I look back on it as a very destructive period. But that’s what it looks like on social media, there’s a lot of opinions and I was part of it,” Zafar told Swedish broadcaster SVT after newspaper Dagens Nyheter revealed his comments.
Zafar, who worked as an integration expert for the centre-right Moderate Party, added, “Since I have re-evaluated my opinions, I have thought that it would come to light, that it was only a matter of time.”
According to Dagens Nyheter, Zafar made several comments including one on a book about the Holocaust for Swedish students saying, “The purpose of the book is to create a kind of collective mass psychosis in which students are fed with how terrible the Holocaust was.”
He also spoke against the highly liberal and pro-LGBT Chruch of Sweden saying to another person on Twitter, “What does your master say about blessing sodomites in His Church?”
Following the revelations, Zafar has been forced to step down from his role as an integration expert. Moderate Party Secretary Gunnar Strömmer commented on the situation saying Zafar’s prior statements did not reflect the values of the party.
“The information is brand new to us, we took note of it for the first time in the media today. The views are incompatible with the Moderates’ values,” he said.
According to statistics released last year by the Swedish Crime Prevention Council (Brå), antisemitic attacks are on the rise in Sweden. The agency stated that attacks had gone up 52 per cent from 2016 to 2018.
The multicultural city of Malmo, in particular, has been criticised for its high levels of antisemitism with several young members of the Jewish community speaking out about the issue last year.
“Uncertainty means that you cannot go to school with a visible Star of David because then there is a high risk of being threatened, or that someone follows you from the school or even being beaten,” one local teen said.”
Switzerland: 38 Per Cent of Over-15s Have ‘Migration Background’ (breitbart, Oct 16, 2020)
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/10/16/switzerland-38-per-cent-migration/
“People with a migration background now make up almost 40 per cent of the adult population of Switzerland, according to official new figures.
On Tuesday, data from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) showed that 37.7 per cent of Switzerland residents aged over 15 had a migration background in 2019 — a rise of 1.3 per cent from the year before.
Eighty per cent of Swiss residents with a migration background were born overseas while the remaining 20 per cent were born in Switzerland, the French-language, newspaper 20 Minutes reports.
As a result, Germans and Italians were the most frequently recorded nationalities of migrants living in Switzerland in 2019, each making up 10 per cent of the total.
Presenting the demographic figures for 2019, the FSO notes that migrants have an unemployment rate just under three times higher of that of the native Swiss population. However, the bureau stressed that variables such as age and level of education were likely to be factors in the disparity.
Switzerland has seen a significant amount of immigration in the last few decades, but most migrants have come from Europe, with migration from outside the EU tightly restricted.
However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to open Europe’s borders in 2015, which hailed a massive wave of illegal, third world migration, had prompted the number of asylum applications in Switzerland rise.
The country registered 18,088 asylum claims in 2017, granting asylum to 6,360 and temporary admission to 7,839. The majority of those granted some form of leave to stay hailed from Eritrea, Syria, and Afghanistan, while the country rejected many asylum seekers from nations including Georgia, Guinea, and Nigeria.
Breitbart London recently reported on demands that the native Swiss population take classes on integrating with foreigners in order to get used to “becoming a minority” in the own country as it is transformed by an unstoppable wave of mass migration from the third world.
This will result in the traditional culture of Switzerland being replaced with a culture of “hyper-diversity”, a development which will ‘overwhelm’ much of the native population, asserted sociologist Ganga Jey Aratnam, stating: “That’s why I think there should be integration courses for locals.”
While he admitted that around 90 per cent of asylum seekers in Switzerland receive social assistance, with the majority of Eritreans in Switzerland not in work, even after years, the University of Basel scholar claimed that there was “considerable untapped potential” in the migrant population from outside Europe.
Figures published last year revealed the severe economic underperformance of many migrant populations in Switzerland, with several nationalities having welfare dependency rates of more than 50 per cent.
Data released by the FSO and the State Secretariat for Migration revealed that 83.7 per cent of Somalis in Switzerland are living at taxpayers’ expense, compared to 2.3 per cent of Swiss people and just 0.6 per cent of Japanese nationals.”
Reports: Turkey tests Russian-made S-400 defense system (abcnews, Oct 16, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/reports-turkey-tests-russian-made-400-defense-system-73653729
“NATO-member Turkey has tested its Russian-made advanced air defense missile system, Turkish media reports said Friday, raising the specter of a new standoff with the United States.
A Haber television, which is close to the government, said on its website that Turkey’s military test-fired the Russian S-400 air defense system in the Black Sea province of Sinop. It based its reports on an amateur video, reportedly filmed in Sinop, showing a contrail shooting into the sky. Other media carried similar reports.
Turkish military and defense officials have refused to comment on the reports.
Washington strongly objected to Turkey’s acquisition of the Russian anti-aircraft system and suspended Turkey from its hi-tech F-35 fighter jet program, saying the S-400 are a threat to the stealth fighter jets.
It has also warned Ankara that it risks U.S. sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act if the S-400 system is activated.
Turkey insists it was forced to purchase the Russian system after Washington refused to sell it the U.S. Patriot system.
Russia delivered the the first batch of the Russian defense system last year. Turkey had initially said the S-400 would be operational in April but it has since delayed activating the system.
During a visit to Turkey earlier this month, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated that the Russian-made S-400 system cannot be integrated into the NATO air and missile defense system and can lead to sanctions by the United States.”
Jihadist attacks increase in Burkina Faso’s Sahel region (abcnews, Oct 16, 2020)
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/jihadist-attacks-increase-burkina-fasos-sahel-region-73652903
“At least 20 people were killed, injured or remain missing after attacks by extremist rebels on three villages in Burkina Faso’s Sahel region, the government announced.
The attacks occurred in Bombofa, Peteguerse, and Demniol towns, in Seno province and the army is searching the area, government spokesman Remis Fulgance Dandjinou said.
The victims were internally displaced people attacked on the road while trying to return to their villages, the Emir of Liptako Dicko Ousmane Amirou whose home is near the attacks, told The Associated Press on Friday. One of the victims was the son of a chief, he said.
“It’s concerning for everyone,” said Amirou. “The government no longer has a monopoly on security … It is only once security and justice are guaranteed that displaced people can be asked to return to their villages,” he said.
Burkina Faso’s army is struggling to stem jihadist violence that has spread across the country, killing almost 2,000 people so far this year and causing more than 1 million to flee their homes. This week’s attacks come after one last week in the Center-North region where extremist rebels killed 25 displaced people also trying to return home to collect their belongings, according to three survivors of the attacks.
The extremist violence has created a humanitarian crisis and civilians living in makeshift displacement sites in insecure areas say they are living in fear.
“I’m afraid of terrorists, I hear that they’re all around us,” Mariam Sawadogo told the AP during a visit to Boulounga village this week in the Center-North region where some 4,000 people have been displaced. The remote village is one of two towns where people have fled for safety in the hard-hit area.
As violence against communities increases, Burkina Faso experts warn that more empty villages could “potentially turn into new bases or harbors for jihadists, while the state keeps losing ground,” said Flore Berger, a Sahel analyst.”
From “Sea Foam” to “Indo Pacific NATO”, how the Chinese perception of the QUAD changed in 2 Years
Hunter Biden’s China ties exposed; Xi Jinping returns to Beijing early, causing speculation
Europe faces ‘exponential growth’ in coronavirus cases | COVID-19 Pandemic | World News
Thai police fire water cannon to disperse Bangkok protesters
371 views
•Oct 16, 2020
Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict | Azerbaijan strikes inside Armenia | World News | WION News
Gravitas: Record violence threatens Afghan talks
DAILY CALLER – Giuliani Previews UNRELEASED Info From Hunter’s Hard Drive — Could Sink Biden Before Election
( 26 min 54 )
Direct evidence implicating former Vice President Joe Biden in a pay-for-play corruption scandal will be released to the public 10 days prior to the 2020 election, Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, told Daily Caller’s senior White House correspondent Christian Datoc in an exclusive interview.
The former New York City mayor spoke with Datoc for a half-hour in New York City Thursday evening about all of the new allegations raised by emails and text messages alleged to have been pulled from a hard drive previously owned by Hunter Biden. Datoc pressed him to release a copy of the hard drive in full so that Daily Caller could verify it, but Giuliani declined.
Giuliani further accused Datoc’s questions about the veracity of the information originally published by the New York Post and other news outlets as “pettifogging nonsense” pushed by the “liberal press.”
“We can deal with the process all you want, but nobody dealt with the process when they stole Donald Trump’s tax returns and published it without verifying anything, and they don’t even have an unnamed source for it,” he continued. “What’s the difference between that and this? This has three people on the record, now four. It’s a hard drive and text messages. If you read them, it’s almost impossible it’s not Hunter Biden’s.”
FBI probing if Russia involved in Hunter Biden email story
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI is investigating whether emails that were published by the New York Post related to Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, are connected to a possible Russian influence operation to spread disinformation, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The newspaper said in its story Wednesday that it had obtained a hard drive from Rudy Giuliani containing the emails, and that the messages were found on a laptop that had been left last year at a Delaware computer repair shop for service but never retrieved.
The unlikely account of how the emails surfaced raised immediate questions about Russian involvement, particularly because U.S. officials have warned that Russia — which backed Trump’s 2016 campaign through hacking and a covert social media campaign — is interfering again this year.
The episode is being investigated as part of a possible Russian influence operation, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press to discuss an ongoing matter. It underscores the extent to which Giuliani, through his activities, is a risk to a White House that spent years shadowed by a federal investigation into whether Trump associates had coordinated with Russia.
The authenticity of the emails remained unclear as of Friday, including whether they were hacked or possibly forged or both. Giuliani did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment, but he said in a Fox News interview Friday that the material was “authentic as hell.”
An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment Friday, citing the bureau’s practice of neither confirming nor denying investigations.
NBC News was the first to report the FBI’s investigation.
https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-russia-024b553e9a4ffb2716286dd134876f8a
MSNBC – Did Giuliani Get Bogus Hunter Biden Dirt In A Russian Intel Op
CNN – US investigating if emails connected to Russia disinformation against Biden
US authorities are investigating whether recently published emails that purport to detail the business dealings of Joe Biden’s son in Ukraine and China are connected to an ongoing Russian disinformation effort targeting the former vice president’s campaign, a US official and a congressional source briefed on the matter said.
The conservative-leaning New York Post claimed in a series of articles this week that it obtained “smoking-gun” emails about Hunter Biden and his dealings in Ukraine. CNN has not determined the authenticity of the emails.
President Donald Trump and his allies have used this topic to smear the Bidens over the past year and seized on the recent articles to attack Biden in the final weeks of the presidential election. The specific new allegations touch on the same topics as the Kremlin’s ongoing disinformation campaign against the Bidens, which the US intelligence community said this summer was intended to weaken Biden’s candidacy against Trump.
The FBI is leading the investigation, the official and congressional source said. NBC was first to report the inquiry.
The probe is part of a larger investigation into Russian disinformation that dates back to before the impeachment inquiry last fall. The alleged disinformation campaign is aimed at tying the former vice president to his son’s dealings with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, according to US officials familiar with the matter.
The New York Post says it obtained the emails through two Trump confidants: His personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his former chief strategist Steve Bannon.
Giuliani has openly coordinated with a known Russian agent to promote disinformation about the Bidens. The Washington Post reported Thursday the White House, and Trump personally, were warned in 2019 that Giuliani “was being used to feed Russian misinformation” to the President. Separately, Bannon was recently charged by the Justice Department with orchestrating a million-dollar fraud scheme and accused of deceiving thousands of donors to his nonprofit.
In a Fox News interview Friday, Giuliani said Trump never mentioned the warning to him and that he hasn’t been told by US intelligence officials that he is peddling Russian disinformation.
Washington Post – White House was warned Giuliani was target of Russian intelligence operation to feed misinformation to Trump
U.S. intelligence agencies warned the White House last year that President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was the target of an influence operation by Russian intelligence, according to four former officials familiar with the matter.
The warnings were based on multiple sources, including intercepted communications, that showed Giuliani was interacting with people tied to Russian intelligence during a December 2019 trip to Ukraine, where he was gathering information that he thought would expose corrupt acts by former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
The intelligence raised concerns that Giuliani was being used to feed Russian misinformation to the president, the former officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information and conversations.
The warnings to the White House, which have not been previously reported, led national security adviser Robert O’Brien to caution Trump in a private conversation that any information Giuliani brought back from Ukraine should be considered contaminated by Russia, one of the former officials said.
The message was, “Do what you want to do, but your friend Rudy has been worked by Russian assets in Ukraine,” this person said. Officials wanted “to protect the president from coming out and saying something stupid,” particularly since he was facing impeachment over his own efforts to strong-arm Ukraine’s president into investigating the Bidens.
But O’Brien emerged from the meeting uncertain whether he had gotten through to the president. Trump had “shrugged his shoulders” at O’Brien’s warning, the former official said, and dismissed concern about his lawyer’s activities by saying, “That’s Rudy.”
Giuliani visited the White House on Dec. 13, shortly after the House Judiciary Committee voted to proceed with articles of impeachment, and he met with Trump at the president’s resort in Florida eight days later.
Officials’ warnings about Giuliani underscore the concern in the U.S. intelligence community that Russia not only is seeking to reprise the disinformation campaign it waged in 2016, but also may now be aided, unwittingly or otherwise, by individuals close to the president. Those warnings have gained fresh urgency in recent days. The information that Giuliani sought in Ukraine is similar to what is contained in emails and other correspondence published this week by the New York Post, which the paper said came from the laptop of Hunter Biden and were provided by Giuliani and Stephen Bannon, Trump’s former top political adviser at the White House.
The Washington Post was unable to verify the authenticity of the alleged communications, which concern Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine and China.
The former officials said Giuliani was not a target of U.S. surveillance while in Ukraine but was dealing with suspected Russian assets who were, leading to the capture of some of his communications.
Giuliani was interested in acquiring information from his foreign contacts about Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company where Hunter Biden held a board seat, as well as Biden’s activities in Ukraine, China and Romania, two former officials said. Giuliani’s eagerness was so pronounced “that everybody [in the intelligence community who knew about it] was talking about how hard it was going to be to try to get him to stop, to take seriously the idea that he was being used as a conduit for misinformation,” one former official said.
Earlier in 2019, U.S. intelligence also had warned in written materials sent to the White House that Giuliani, in his drive for information about the Bidens, was communicating with Russian assets.
Several senior administration officials “all had a common understanding” that Giuliani was being targeted by the Russians, said the former official who recounted O’Brien’s intervention. That group included Attorney General William Barr, FBI Director Christopher Wray and White Counsel Pat Cipollone.
Spokesmen for the FBI and the Justice Department declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence referred inquiries to the White House.
“National Security Advisor O’Brien and White House Counsel Cipollone meet with the President frequently on a variety of matters. Ambassador O’Brien does not comment on sensitive intelligence topics, or on the advice he provides President Trump,” National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot said in a written statement. The national security adviser “can say that the President always treats such briefings with the utmost seriousness. The characterization of the meeting as described in this article is not accurate.”
In a text message on Thursday, Giuliani said that he was never informed that Andriy Derkach, a pro-Russian lawmaker in Ukraine whom he met on Dec. 5 in Kyiv, was a Russian intelligence asset. Giuliani said he “only had secondary information and I was not considering him a witness.” But Giuliani met again with Derkach in New York two months later, hosting him on his podcast, and he has promoted his unsubstantiated claims about the Bidens, describing Derkach as “very helpful.”
In September, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Derkach for allegedly running an “influence campaign” against Joe Biden, calling the Ukrainian “an active Russian agent for over a decade” who has maintained “close connections with Russian intelligence services.”
In August, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence publicly described Derkach as part of a Russian effort to interfere with the 2020 election by smearing Biden, accusing Derkach of “spreading claims about corruption — including through publicizing leaked phone calls — to undermine” Biden and the Democrats.
For some officials, Trump’s willingness to meet with Giuliani despite warnings about Russian influence smacked of the collusion allegations that dogged the president after the 2016 election. Special counsel Robert Mueller III said he did not find evidence to substantiate a criminal charge of conspiracy against anyone in the Trump campaign. But his investigation documented numerous instances in which Trump associates knowingly sought damaging information from Russian individuals and their proxies about Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate.
Giuliani was not shy about his pursuit of information that might damage Biden, taking a documentary film crew from the right-wing One America News to Ukraine in December when he met with Derkach. At the time, Giuliani claimed that Trump had directed him to share his findings with the Justice Department and Senate Republicans.
Officials’ fears about what Giuliani might tell the president were compounded by Trump’s generally furious reaction to negative intelligence about Russia and its efforts to influence U.S. politics.
NBC News – CIA, other spy agencies told White House about Rudy Giuliani’s dealings with alleged Russian agents
The U.S. wasn’t spying on Giuliani, but on people with whom he talked, including Andrii Derkach, identified by the Treasury Department as a Russian agent.
WASHINGTON — The CIA and other spy agencies gathered intelligence on Rudy Giuliani’s dealings with alleged Russian intelligence agents last year and passed that information on to the White House, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The existence of the intelligence was first reported by the Washington Post and later confirmed by The New York Times, both of which reported that White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien warned President Donald Trump about it. NBC News has not confirmed that detail. The Post cited four former officials while the Times relied on four current and former officials.
John Ullyot, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said in a statement that “the characterization of the meeting as described in reports is not accurate,” but he did not dispute that the president was informed that his lawyer was dealing with alleged Russian agents.
Spokespersons for the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.
American intelligence agencies were not spying on Giuliani, but on the people with whom he was talking, the source said, including Andrii Derkach, who has been identified by the Treasury Department as a Russian agent. That collection led them to learn about Giuliani’s dealings with Derkach and other Russian operatives who wanted to feed him information attempting to discredit Democrat Joe Biden, the source said.
Giuliani met repeatedly with Derkach on Dec. 5, 2019, as part of his efforts to gather derogatory information on Biden’s Ukraine dealings . Derkach has released what American officials call selectively edited audiotapes of Biden conversations with Ukrainian officials, at least one of which was retweeted by the president.
Giuliani did not respond to a request for comment. In an interview on MSNBC last month, he downplayed his interactions with Derkach and said he was unaware the man was a Russian agent.
“I don’t know what’s in the Treasury Department investigation, nor have I ever seen any evidence that [Derkach] is or is not a Russian agent,’ Giuliani said. “So I don’t know anything about that.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/cia-other-spy-agencies-told-white-house-about-rudy-giuliani-n1243718
yahoo news : Rudy Giuliani targeted by Russia: Report
CNN – Giuliani’s daughter breaks with dad to vote for Biden
Federal Crimes Uncovered In Biden Hard Drive
OAN – Thousands of emails, salacious photos mire Biden campaign
Yahoo – Twitter suspends Trump campaign account here’s a look at why:
Yahoo Finance’s Rick Newman breaks down the reason why Twitter suspended President Trump’s campaign account which had the email address of Hunter Biden in a video which was part of story that came from the New York Post.
Trump chuckles as Florida rally crowd calls for Hunter Biden’s imprisonment
Donald Trump chuckled and smirked as a crowd of supporters in Florida chanted “lock him up” after he mentioned Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and his business dealings in Ukraine.
The president made the remark in Ocala after telling a group of seniors in Fort Myers he views the Biden’s as an “organised crime family” even though no US or Ukrainian government entity has accused either father or son of criminal actions.
Road Blocking Protesters Dragged From Supreme Court
MEMRI – French Islamic Scholar: Muslims Built, Liberated France; Terrorism Has Come from France’s “School”
Imam Hassan El-Houari of the Muslim Theological Council in France said in an October 6, 2020 interview on Al-Hiwar TV (U.K.) that the French government forgets that Muslims are a part of France’s identity.
He argued that Muslims built France, liberated it, prayed for the defeat of the Nazis, and even built the metro system.
Furthermore, he argued that recent terrorism came from France itself, not “the mosque”.
France terror: Man BEHEADED near school in Paris in horrific attack
The man was decapitated in the Val d’Oise.
A police source said French officers shot dead a man who attacked another with a knife and beheaded the victim.
The suspect had fled following the attack.
He had been chased by police, and managed to reach the town of Eragny-sur-Oise , in the Val-d’Oise
France’s anti-terror prosecutor is investigating the attack, which took place in Conflans Sainte-Honorine, a suburb north-west of Paris.
A second police source said witnesses heard the attacker shout Allah Akbar, or God is Great.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1348747/france-terror-attack-paris-beheading-latest-police
Val-d’Oise : Un homme décapité en pleine rue à Éragny, l’agresseur neutralisé par balles par la police
Un homme a été décapité en pleine rue à Eragny-sur-Oise (Val-d’Oise) ce vendredi en fin d’après-midi, peu après 17 heures. L’agresseur a été neutralisé par balles par la police.
18h54. L’assaillant est décédé. Au moment où les policiers sont arrivés à son contact, l’homme a refusé de lâcher son arme blanche, se montrant agressif envers les fonctionnaires qui ont fait feu à plusieurs reprises.
18h47. Le parquet antiterroriste (PNAT) se saisit de l’affaire. Une enquête a été ouverte pour « assassinat en relation avec une entreprise terroriste » et « association de malfaiteurs terroriste criminelle ».
INFO ACTU17. Terrifiante scène de crime à Eragny-sur-Oise ce vendredi en fin d’après-midi. Un homme a été décapité dans la rue du Buisson Moineau. Les policiers ont pris en chasse l’agresseur qui a été neutralisé par balles sur l’avenue Roger Salengro, située à quelques centaines de mètres, non loin de la commune de Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (Yvelines).
La victime est un enseignant
Selon nos informations, la victime est un enseignant du collège du Bois d’Aulne de Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. L’homme aurait montré les caricatures de Mahomet durant un cours, ce qui aurait motivé l’acte du tueur. Ce dernier est connu des services de police, toujours selon nos informations.
https://actu17.fr/val-doise-un-homme-decapite-en-pleine-rue-a-eragny-lagresseur-neutralise-par-balles-par-la-police/
19h05. L’agresseur a revendiqué son acte sur Twitter, en diffusant la photo de la victime décédée. « A Macron, le dirigeant des infidèles, j’ai exécuté un de tes chiens de l’enfer qui a osé rabaisser Muhammad », a-t-il écrit. Le compte concerné a été suspendu.
20h29. L’assaillant serait un homme âgé de 18 ans d’origine Tchétchène. Le compte Twitter qu’il a très vraisemblablement utilisé pour revendiquer son acte, diffusant la photo de la victime décédée, se nommait « @tchetchene_270 ». Un compte qui a été suspendu.
DIALY MAIL – Gunman ‘shouting Allahu Akbar’ BEHEADS a teacher in Paris attack ‘motivated by cartoons of the Prophet’ before being shot dead by police
A gunman has beheaded a man in northern Paris, local reports have said Friday
The incident occurred in Conflans-Saint-Honorine, 25 miles from the city centre
The suspected terrorist was thought to have been wearing an explosive vest
Police chased him to the nearby town of Eragny-sur-Oise where he was shot
A suspected terrorist thought to be wearing an explosive vest has been shot dead by French police near Paris after allegedly beheading a school teacher with a knife.
Local reports have suggested the attack was motivated by cartoons of the prophet Muhammad.
The first bloodbath took place in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a suburb some 25 miles from the centre of the French capital on Friday.
French anti-terror prosecutors confirmed they were investigating an assault in which a man was decapitated on the outskirts of Paris.
The attack happened at around 5 pm (1500 GMT) near a school in Conflans Saint-Honorine.
‘The body of decapitated man was found at around 5.30 in the afternoon,’ said an investigating source.
‘When police arrived, the person thought to be responsible was still present and threatened them with his weapons.’
The unidentified killer then fled to the nearby town of Eragny-sur-Oise, around two miles away, where he refused to surrender.
‘He was waving a gun by this time and further threatened officers,’ said the source. ‘This is when he was shot dead by police.. Around ten shots were heard.’
Anti-terrorist prosecutors immediately became investigating the incident, said the source, who said the attacker was being viewed as a ‘suspected terrorist’.
French news station FranceNews24 suggested that the attack was related to cartoons of the prophet Muhammad published by Charlie Hebdo.
Witnesses watched the man decapitating his unnamed victim – who was also male – in broad daylight, and close to a school.
Officers rushed to the scene after the alarm was raising, and watched the killer running away, towards Eragny.
By 7pm, the scene of the suspected murder, and the scene where the killer was himself gunned down, had been sealed off.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin was ‘making his way to the scene of the attack,’ said a spokesman for his ministry, who also confirmed as a terrorist enquiry.[…]
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8848509/Gunman-shouting-Allahu-Akbar-BEHEADS-man-northern-Paris-shot-police.html
Daily Mail
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8848509/Gunman-shouting-Allahu-Akbar-BEHEADS-man-northern-Paris-shot-police.html
Man decapitated near Paris, police confirm to Euronews
Euronews – October 16, 2020
https://www.euronews.com/2020/10/16/man-decapitated-near-paris-police-confirm-to-euronews
Man decapitated near Paris, police confirm to Euronews
euronews – October 16, 2020
French Police Shoot Attacker Who Allegedly Beheaded Teacher for Showing Prophet Muhammad Cartoon (sputniknews, Oct 16, 2020)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/202010161080793437-french-police-shoot-attacker-who-killed-man-in-paris-suburb-by-stabbing-him-in-throat-reports-say/
“The attack occurred shortly after 5 p.m. local time. Reportedly the perpetrator was still present at the scene when police arrived and discovered the victim. The attacker refused to surrender and allegedly threatened police officers with a knife.
French police have said they shot an attacker who earlier in the day killed a man in a suburb in Paris. According to French media, the victim was a middle-school teacher who had showed his class caricatures of Prophet Muhammad. This apparently motivated the attacker, who was known to the police. Reports say the perpetrator had a shotgun and a vest stuffed with explosives. The area has been cordoned off and a demining unit has been called to scene.
The attack occurred shortly after 5 p.m. local time near a school. Police opened fire after the perpetrator refused to surrender and fled the scene. French media say about 10 gunshots were heard. The attacker is dead.
Conflicting reports have been coming from local and international media about how the victim died. Initially, French media said the victim was decapitated, but Reuters later cited French police as denying that this was the case and said the man was stabbed in the throat, before eventually stating that the victim was indeed decapitated.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office has been called in to investigate the attack, which has been classified as “murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise”.
DETAILS TO FOLLOW”
https://twitter.com/DamienRieu/status/1317153148797071361
What more proof do we need that “islamophobia” is a codeword for blasphemy?
https://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/val-d-oise-un-homme-retrouve-mort-un-suspect-abattu-16-10-2020-8403562.php
Also
https://twitter.com/CNEWS/status/1317145494188138502
Somebody claims it was this cartoon:
https://twitter.com/FritePitchou/status/1317149556774178816
Not sure if it’s a joke or not, but it’s a cartoon worth posting.
Un prof décapité : à cause des caricatures de Mahomet?
SKY PRAVDA : Paris attacker shot dead by police after stabbing a teacher to death
ironic comments on the YT page
L’Islam et le Prophète insultés dans un collège public
Lorsque l’école publique perd sa vocation et devient le champ des croisades dans une guerre contre l’Islam où les victimes sont des enfants de moins de 13ans et lorsque la fonction honorable de professeur d’histoire est délaissée à un voyou sans morale ni étique, sachez que vous êtes au collège Bois d’Aulne à Conflans-Sainte-Honorine.
it is said that this video triggered the attack
https://streamable.com/wec8t8
Teacher beheaded near Paris after showing class images of Mohammed
A history teacher who opened a discussion with high school students on caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed has been beheaded in a French street and police have shot dead the suspected killer, authorities say.
The French anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said a murder investigation was underway after the incident in Conflans Sainte-Honorine, a suburb north-west of Paris.
A police official said the suspect, armed with a knife and an airsoft gun, which fires plastic pellets, was shot dead after he failed to respond to orders to put down his arms, and acted in a threatening manner.
It was about 600 meters from where the male teacher was killed.
“A citizen has been murdered today because he was a teacher and because he taught freedom of expression,” President Emmanuel Macron said near the school where the teacher was killed.
The teacher had received threats after opening a discussion “for a debate” about the caricatures about 10 days ago, said a police official who could not be named because they were not authorised to discuss ongoing investigations.
The parent of a student had filed a complaint against the teacher, another police official said, adding that the suspected killer did not have a child at the school. The suspect’s identity was not made public.
French media identified the teacher as Samuel Paty.
Parents said Mr Paty had shown pupils in his class a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed — which are considered by Muslims to be blasphemous — as part of a class on freedom of expression earlier this month.
One parent, Nordine Chaouadi, said Mr Paty had invited Muslim pupils, including his son, to leave the classroom, advising them he would be showing the caricature.
Mr Chaouadi said his son interpreted the teacher’s actions as done out of kindness and respect for their faith.
“He did this really to protect the children, to not shock them,” Mr Chaouadi said.
But some parents took offence.
In a video circulated online, one man identifying himself as a parent of a female student in the class, branded the history teacher a thug.
“This thug should not remain in the national education system, should no longer teach our children. He should go educate himself,” the man in the video says.
The video could not immediately be verified, but it was shared by a Paris mosque, among others.
[…]
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-17/french-police-shoot-dead-man-who-slit-teachers-throat-paris/12778064
SAMUEL PATY on flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/modigliani77/2824947529/
====================================
https://www.flickr.com/photos/modigliani77/
the gateway pundit – Terrorist Boasted About Beheading Paris Teacher on Twitter, Posted Graphic Photo of Victim’s Severed Head
[…]On Twitter, a now-suspended account by the name of Al Ansar claimed credit for the terrorist attack.
He wrote “in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. From Abdullah, the Servant of Allah, To Marcon, the leader of the infidels, I executed one of your hellhounds who dared to belittle Muhammad, calm his fellows before you are inflicted harsh punishment.”
Included in the tweet was a photo of what appeared to be a decapitated man, still partially wearing a medical mask.
The Gateway Pundit has censored the image, but it is still horrific.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/wp-content/uploads/2-15-502×600.jpeg
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/10/breaking-terrorist-boasted-beheading-man-paris-twitter-posted-graphic-photo-victims-severed-head/
Macron arrives at scene where teacher was beheaded
Muslim killer gunned down by French police
Noam Anouar : «L’islamisme a gagné de longue date. Des post-adolescents terrorisent la France»
“Life is just a social construct!”
Please, let’s get this trending on social media.
This whole ‘gender is a social construct’ and ‘race is a gender construct’ and related claptrap are all forms of Lysenkoism.
Permit me to explain: I was born and raised on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, so I was subjected to Marxist indoctrination at a young age and can accurately detect it, and call it out by its real name.
Lysenko was – well, words fail me to describe what he was, but he championed putting ideology first, then trying to “scientifically prove it” and implement it, even if the resulting famines killed millions of actual humans.
As a result of that, the term ‘Lysenkoism’ came to mean a pseudo-scientific theory that is ideology first and the facts be damned…and facts opposing it must be suppressed and lied about…and the lie must overpower the truth!
That is why we must call out the Race Critical Theory and its cousins for the Lysenkoisms they are – and I hope the term ‘life is just a social construct’ will redpill people to this reality, even if they never encounter the term ‘Lysenkoism’.
zero hedge – Gilead Disputes WHO Data Confirming COVID-19 Drug Remdesivir Is A “Flop”
Since the WHO publicized its finding that Gilead’s overhyped remdesivir treatment, which was “repurposed” by the company after initially being developed to treat Ebola, the pharmaceutical company has been pushing back, trying to cast what many scientists – including former FDA head Dr. Scott Gottlieb – have described as “high quality” trial data in a negative light.
Gilead claimed that the WHO’s data were “inconsistent” with earlier studies that found the drug could potentially reduce the length of hospital stays. These data were widely touted by Gilead, which had planned to charge $3,000 for a course of the drug before “science” got in the way. In fact, as the FT effectively pointed out at the time, the company appeared to be whitewashing data being shared with the public, while the FT reported early trial data showing the drug was a “flop”.
That Gilead believes it can fool the public and regulators with this argument despite the WHO data is hardly surprising. Early data shared by the company were apparently convincing enough to fool Dr. Fauci, who claimed that data shared by the company showed the drug’s impact was “statistically significant.”
Here’s more from Reuters.
Gilead Sciences Inc., the U.S. company that developed the drug, said the findings appeared inconsistent with evidence from other studies validating the clinical benefit of remdesivir, which was used to treat U.S. President Donald Trump’s coronavirus infection.
“We are concerned the data from this open-label global trial has not undergone the rigorous review required to allow for constructive scientific discussion,” Gilead said.
Richard Peto, an independent statistician hired by the WHO to ‘kick the tires’ of its study data, dismissed Gilead’s criticisms of the Solidarity trial data.
“It’s a reliable result, don’t let anybody tell you otherwise, because they’ll try to,” Peto told reporters. “This is real world evidence.”
The massive international study also found that three other potential therapeutics had no impact on mortality in seriously ill COVID-19 patients, though trials on hydroxychloroquine and an HIV treatment were abandoned earlier this year.
Gilead claims that other smaller trial data showed the drug reduced recovery time by 5 days and even helped reduce mortality in patients needing oxygen. However, if these effects were real, then why didn’t they surface in the WHO trial?
The company didn’t have an explanation for this – or at least it wasn’t included in the Reuters story – and Peto, a professor emeritus at Oxford, said the results of those studies could have been mere “chance,” explaining that trials with “large numbers” of test subjects – more than 11,000 patients participated in the WHO trial – are the only way to achieve reliable data.
“The real disappointment is that remdesivir has also failed in a larger number of cases and in the ‘real world setting’,” Clemens Wendtner, Chief Physician of Infectiology and Tropical Medicine at Munich’s Schwabing Clinic, said. “A major clinical breakthrough looks different and warns us that the battle against COVID-19 is far from won.”
Not that any of this is all that surprising. From the beginning, “experts” like Dr. Fauci expressed optimism about remdesivir, despite the paucity of clinical rial data. This view led to Gilead striking several lucrative deals with governments – deals that will most likely now be abandoned – to sell what many decried as an overpriced drug.
Earlier, former FDA Director Dr. Scott Gottlieb reminded viewers that President Trump was administered a full course of the drug during his battle with COVID-19, but added that it would be impossible to determine whether the drug actually benefited the president.
Even one scientist who agreed that drug could benefit from more scrutiny told Reuters that the WHO’s results are clear: Remdesivir is “no panacea”.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/gilead-disputes-who-data-confirming-covid-19-drug-remdesivir-flop
COLLEGE ORDERS COVID-CARRYING STUDENTS TO WAIT IN ROOM – ‘LET OTHERS OUT FIRST’ IF FIRE BREAKS OUT
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/shocking-new-rule-uk-college-tells-covid-students-wait-room-one-minute-during-fire-alarm
Rudy Previews UNRELEASED Info From Hunter’s Hard Drive, Claims ‘You Will Be Absolutely Convinced…’
Daily Caller – October 16, 2020
Hunter and Joe Biden Scandal Takes a Dark Turn — FBI’s Top Lawyer on Child Porn Involved in Case
Guest post by Bill Hennessy – October 16, 2020
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/10/hunter-joe-biden-scandal-takes-dark-turn-fbis-top-lawyer-child-porn-involved-case/
Armenians block a border crossing between Belgium and the Netherlands. They want to do this all over Europe, to raise awareness about the war in Nagorno-Karabach:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-qH363wKvk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFsKY47OvZc
https://www.dumpert.nl/item/8001379_9c0c880d
BREAKING: Americas Frontline Doctors has organized another White Coat Summit Press Conference on the steps of the Supreme Court!
You won’t want to miss this.
Watch live tomorrow at 12pm ET on http://AFLDS.com/stream
Dr. Simone Gold – October 16, 2020 – Twitter
https://twitter.com/drsimonegold/status/1317216994727374848
During town hall, Biden resurrects myth that cops should ‘aim for the leg’ of a suspect
By Ben Bowles October 16, 2020
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, the conventional wisdom goes. And Democratic candidate Joe Biden is living proof.
During last night’s town hall on ABC, Biden, who has suggested sending along a psychologist or psychologist with police officers “to keep them from having to use force,” reprised his recommendation from June that cops “aim for the leg” when rushed by an “unarmed” suspect “with a knife or something.” A video follows along with a partial transcript.
http://libertyunyielding.com/2020/10/16/during-town-hall-biden-resurrects-myth-that-cops-should-aim-for-the-leg-of-a-suspect/
That would require a level or marksmanship that few people have. If the suspect was successfully shot in the leg the riots would be because the police deliberately crippled the suspect.
More Than 10 Somali Soldiers Killed in Shabaab Ambush
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2020/10/16/somali-soldiers-killed-shabaab-ambush/
“At least 10 Somali soldiers were killed and an unknown number wounded when Al-Shabaab Islamist fighters ambushed them near a southern village, a military official and family member said Thursday.
The attack took place late Wednesday in a village near Afgoye town, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the capital Mogadishu.
“The soldiers were traveling with two military vehicles when ambushed near Afgoye. More than 10 soldiers including the commander in charge were killed,” said Colonel Mohamed Hassan, a military officer in Afgoye.
“We don’t know about the wounded,” but the army sent reinforcements to the site of the ambush, he added.
The Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab claimed the attack in a statement carried by the SITE Intelligence Group.
“Twenty-four governmental militia elements were killed, including three officers, and 32 others were wounded, military vehicles were destroyed, and military gear was captured as spoils,” the group said.
A relative of one of those killed confirmed the incident…”
COVID-19 spreading faster in Europe than in the United States
By Hans Bader October 16, 2020
Europe suffered more coronavirus infections than the United States this week. Europe had 74,500 new coronavirus cases from October 7 to October 14. The United States had only 52,300. The gap between Europe and the U.S. widened further over the last several days, meaning that Europe may soon have twice as many new cases as the U.S.
Other countries are suffering even worse from COVID-19. Many countries in Latin America — such as Brazil, Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia — have had higher fractions of their population die of COVID-19 than the United States. Mexico’s death rate from the coronavirus is about the same as America’s per 100,000 people, even though Mexico was hit later by the virus, and had more time to prepare for it.
Other countries also have much more suffering to economic contraction as a result of COVID than the United States, whose economy has fared better than most world economies during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the second quarter of 2020, the United States fared better than any other major economy in the OECD than Japan, with America’s economy falling by less than half the rate of the United Kingdom. The U.S. unemployment rate peaked at less than half of what many experts had predicted.
http://libertyunyielding.com/2020/10/16/covid-19-spreading-faster-in-europe-than-in-the-united-states/
General: Iran to Take Revenge on US for Gen. Soleimani’s Blood
https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2020/10/16/2370637/general-iran-to-take-revenge-on-us-for-gen-soleimani-s-blood
“A senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Quds Force warned the US that Iran will definitely take revenge for the assassins of Lt. General Qassem Soleimani.
Addressing an event in commemoration of Iranian martyrs, held in the city of Arak on Thursday, IRGC Quds Force deputy commander for coordination warned the “criminal US” that Iran will definitely exact revenge for the assassination of Lt. General Soleimani and his comrades.
The enemies should be mindful that assassinating the commanders and fighters will never force the Islamic Republic to retreat, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Fallahzadeh added…”
UN Deeply Concerned over Deteriorating Human Rights Situation in Iran
https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2567816/un-deeply-concerned-over-deteriorating-human-rights-situation-iran
“UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern over the deterioration of the human rights situation in Iran.
In a report on Wednesday, the UN chief stressed that the human rights situation in Iran “remains a matter of grave concern due to the continuous and massive violations.”
He revealed “violent repression in which the security forces used excessive and lethal force in the face of nationwide protests in November 2019 and January 2020.”
Guterres also expressed concern over the implementation of the death penalty at high rates, including against child offenders.
He said the authorities are issuing charges against individuals who are critical of the regime, including human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists, imposing on them long prison terms.
The UN chief mentioned “reports of widespread acts of torture and arbitrary detention, as well as the continuing discrimination against women, girls and minorities.”
Guterres urged Iran to hold fair trials in accordance with international conventions and respect the rights of citizens to free speech, assembly, and peaceful protests, and uphold the rights of minorities and political prisoners and civil, human rights, and labor activists.
In a related development, independent human rights experts have welcomed the release of long-imprisoned Iranian woman human rights defender Narges Mohammadi, after an Iranian court made use of a new law to reduce her sentence.
“We are encouraged that the decision of the Iranian judiciary has led to Ms. Mohammadi’s release after so many years in prison,” they said. “We hope that others who are currently detained arbitrarily – human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, conservationists, prisoners of conscience and dual and foreign nationals – will also be freed.”
Mohammadi, released on October 8, has been imprisoned for her human rights work many times.
The experts said there are many other individuals who remain behind bars in Iran simply for exercising their human rights.
“We urge the Iranian authorities to also urgently review their cases, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its presence in Iran’s prisons, and to immediately release all individuals who are being arbitrarily detained in violation of international human rights law.””
China Threatens Japan in Disputed Waters
Greece, Cyprus Seek More EU Pressure to Stop ‘Provocative’ Turkey
https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2568036/greece-cyprus-seek-more-eu-pressure-stop-provocative-turkey
“Greece and Cyprus pushed for a tougher European Union response to Turkey’s natural gas exploration in contested Mediterranean waters at an EU summit on Friday, after Ankara restarted operations of a survey ship.
Two weeks after their last summit where leaders discussed economic sanctions, the EU has so far failed to persuade Ankara to stop exploring in waters disputed by Greece and Cyprus.
Turkey said on Wednesday it was restarting operations of a survey ship that it withdrew last month, Reuters reported.
“I sincerely hope that we will be able to strongly and unanimously support Greece and Cyprus against the newest provocations made by Turkey,” Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa told reporters as he arrived at the summit.
France and Germany said earlier this week that Turkey had only “weeks” to revise its stance and stop what they also said were provocations, but declined to give a strong ultimatum as Athens and Nicosia would like.
EU leaders had agreed on Oct. 2 to give Turkey until early December before considering economic sanctions and Germany, which has so far led diplomatic talks with Ankara, wants to give dialog a chance because of close EU-Turkey trade ties.
“There will be an effort to give a strong warning (to Turkey),” a senior EU diplomat said.
Cyprus is frustrated that, in addition to the Turkish exploration ship off a Greek island, Turkey has sent another vessel to Cyprus’s economic zone to conduct seismic surveys.
EU member Cyprus is also furious that Turkish Cypriot authorities have partially reopened the beach town of Varosha, a former resort area fenced off and abandoned in no-man’s land since a 1974 Turkish invasion that split the island.
“Turkey remains consistent in its provocative and aggressive behavior,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday in Brussels.”
US Court Jails Iranian over Sanction Evasion
https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2567516/us-court-jails-iranian-over-sanction-evasion
“A US judge on Thursday sentenced an Iranian citizen to 23 months in prison for running a business that helped people in Iran evade sanctions to buy from American firms, the Justice Department said.
Seyed Sajjad Shahidian, 33, pled guilty to charges related to running PAYMENT24, which the Justice Department said charged a fee for providing services which Iranians could use to make online purchases from the United States.
The Iran-based company, which has offices across the country and employed 40 people, brought in millions of dollars by selling a package of fraudulent documents.
US law bans unauthorized exports by Americans businesses to Iran, and Shahidian was arrested in London in 2018 before being extradited to the United States this year.
“Shahidian was the founder and CEO of a financial services firm that employed a variety of fraudulent tactics designed to circumvent United States sanctions lawfully imposed on Iran,” said US Attorney Erica MacDonald. “Such actions are criminal and threaten our national security interests.”
Shahidian admitted to using forged passports to set up hundreds of PayPal accounts that appeared to be for people outside of Iran, which were used to buy computer software, licenses and servers, the Justice Department said.”
Iran wants conflict in Yemen to continue: Saudi foreign minister
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/599199/SAUDI-ARABIA/Iran-wants-conflict-in-Yemen-to-continue-Saudi-foreign-minister
“Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan stressed that Iran wants the conflict in Yemen to go on and it continues to supply the Houthi militia with weapons.
Prince Faisal Bin Farhan made these remarks during a virtual talk session with the Washington Institute, a think tank based in Washington, on Thursday.
The Saudi minister said that the ”maximum pressure campaign is working and the Iranian regime is less capable of supporting its proxies,. The campaign has constrained and contained Iran more than in the past.”
On the Saudi Arabia-US strategic dialogue, Prince reaffirmed that the bilateral relationship is still relevant, strong and joint interests are extensive.
Prince Faisal described the US-Saudi Arabia relationship as beneficial for the world. “Saudi-US partnership is critical in addressing Iran’s behavior.”
“Saudi-US relationship remains strong. There is a mutual mission to bring people and nations together, value peace and security, and to always seek negotiation and diplomacy,” Prince Faisal said…”
Saudi Arabia arrests 45 in latest ‘anti-corruption’ drive
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-purge-arrest-45-anti-corruption
“Saudi authorities arrested at least 45 people, including military officers and public servants, as part of kingdom’s so-called anti-corruption drive.
An anti-corruption body known as Nazaha said in a statement on Thursday that it had begun almost 900 investigations for criminal and disciplinary cases, including probes into “suspicion over corruption, profiteering and influence peddling of public posts”.
Those arrested included four army officers and five Defence Ministry contractors over suspicion of profiteering in a project.
Another 14 people, including two police officers, were detained over alleged embezzlement and bribery. Some were workers in the country’s ministries of justice, transport, and human resources.
Authorities also seized funds and real estate assets worth $160m, the statement said.
Previous waves of detention have been widely condemned by critics and rights groups that accuse Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) of utilising anti-corruption sentiments to purge potential rivals to the crown or anyone deemed a threat to his rule.
Scores of the kingdom’s economic and political elite were detained in 2017 at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel in a crackdown that unsettled some foreign investors.
The royal court said last year it was winding down that campaign after 15 months, but authorities later said they would start going after graft by ordinary government employees.
Still, in a bid to shore up his rule, MBS has levelled corruption and disloyalty charges against several of his rivals in recent months, including his predecessor Mohammed bin Nayef. He’s also arrested his uncle Prince Faisal bin Abdullah al-Saud, the son of the late King Abdullah.
In September, MBS dismissed princes Fahd bin Turki bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and Abdulaziz bin Fahd from their positions and referred the two to the anti-corruption watchdog for investigation.
The crown prince also sacked a number of senior Saudi security commanders in August over graft allegations at tourism projects.”