Reader’s Links for October 28, 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

111 Replies to “Reader’s Links for October 28, 2020”

    • How Turkey manufactured a ‘crisis’ with France over ‘cartoons’
      {snips}
      Turkey has sought to leverage a crisis that Ankara largely invented with France to push its influence in the Islamic world by portraying Ankara as a “defender” of Islam.…

      The way Ankara invented this crisis is similar to other manufactured crises pushed by … Erdogan and his regime’s support for Muslim Brotherhood affiliates across the Middle East, such as Hamas.

      Since last year, Turkey has created a new crises every month, with the US in Syria in Oct. 2019 and then with Libya and then Egypt, then Europe, Russia, the Syrian regime, Libya again, Greece, Cyprus, Iraq, then Armenia, Greece again, then Armenia and then Greece yet again and then with France.

      Turkey has bombed Iraq, invaded and ethnically cleansed Kurds in Syria, invaded Libya, challenged the French Navy at sea, harassed Greek F-16s, used Russia’s S-400 air defense system and prodded Azerbaijan into a war with Armenia, while sending Syrian mercenaries paid by Ankara to fight in Libya and Azerbaijan and using drones to attack Kurdish activists in Syria and Iraq, all while claiming Turkey is fighting “terrorism.”

      …Turkey was increasingly in tensions with France over the Eastern Mediterranean and France’s willingness to speak out against Turkish aggression…

      …Turkey… used S-400 radar to track NATO-member Greek F-16s in August, showing that Ankara was using Russian weapon systems against NATO. Ankara used the radar during a joint exercise between France, Italy, Greece and Cyprus.…

      On Sept. 30 Macron slammed Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan’s war against Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh.…

      Turkey decided to shift its crises policy from attacking Armenia to harassing Greece with the declaration of a new naval Navtex drill with its navy near a Greek island. France condemned Turkey for harassing Greece, a NATO ally, on Oct. 12.

      Ankara’s leadership then decided to push a new crisis with France over Macron’s comments about Muslims…

      Turkey mobilized its state media … to attack France, coordinating with Qatari media. Iranian media also followed suit, bashing France for “anti-Islam comments.”

      …Turkey, Qatar and Iran have coordinated, putting pressure on countries from Malaysia to Pakistan, Kuwait to the Kurdistan region, with many forced to respond in some way to the France “controversy.”

      https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/how-turkey-manufactured-a-crisis-with-france-over-cartoons-647069

  1. Empty shops reveal China’s economic situation; 390,000 officials punished for corruption this year

  2. Protests continue in Islamic world against France over cartoon row | World News | WION News

  3. Belarus and Russia will respond to external threats, Lukashenko tells Pompeo | World News

    • So this is the guy shot on Monday:

      Update: A local Philadelphia TV station reports on Wallace’s violent history, including assault of a police officer.

      Court records show Wallace was currently awaiting trial for allegedly threatening to shoot a woman and her house up.

      In 2017, he pled guilty to robbery, assault, and possessing an instrument of crime after kicking down the door of another woman and putting a gun to her head.

      He was sentenced to 11-23 months behind bars.

      And in 2013, he pled guilty to assault and resisting arrest after punching a police officer in the face.

      A court had ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation and treatment in 2013, and his family reportedly said he was bipolar.

  4. Merkel, the scourge of Germany.

    Red Pill Germany

    Hey guys, today is another one of these infamous meetings between our chancellor and the governors of our federal states.
    These unconstitutional, or at least highly questionable meetings are used to decide how life will look like in the coming weeks and months in Germany.
    Of course at no time is there a vote or even a debate in any parliament, federal or on the state level.

  5. Armenian, Turkish Nationals Scuffle in France at Rally in Support of Karabakh – Photo, Video (sputniknews, Oct 28, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/202010281080899697-armenian-turkish-nationals-scuffle-in-france-at-rally-in-support-of-karabakh—photo-video/

    “Representatives of Armenian and Turkish communities clashed in France’s eastern department of Isere during a demonstration by Armenian diaspora in support of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh republic, national media reported on Wednesday.

    According to Le Dauphine Libere newspaper, since Wednesday morning, participants in the demonstration initiated by the Armenian community have blocked traffic on the A7 highway calling for the recognition of the independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh republic, also known as Artsakh.

    Clashes between two communities started when representatives of the Turkish diaspora came to the scene of the demonstration. Four people were injured during the confrontation, the paper reported.

    Photos and videos from the scene where the reported clashes took place have been posted online…”

  6. Iran’s Rouhani Hopes Mistakes Made by West in Relation to Islam Will Be Fixed (sputniknews, Oct 28, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/world/202010281080900638-irans-rouhani-hopes-mistakes-made-by-west-in-relation-to-islam-will-be-fixed/

    “Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday expressed the hope that the mistakes committed by some Western countries with respect to Islam would be corrected.

    “I hope that those who have made mistakes will fix them as soon as possible, and return to the path of morality and justice,” Rouhani said at a government meeting broadcast by IRINN.

    According to Rouhani, the use of caricatures of Islamic prophet Muhammad as a manifestation of the freedom of expression demonstrates a lack of morality and provokes more violence.

    Macron has faced much criticism from the Islamic world after his speech at a commemoration ceremony for a French history teacher who was beheaded by a radicalised teen after he had shown caricatures depicting prophet Muhammad to his students. Macron called for people to “free Islam in France from the foreign influence”.

    The standoff between France and several Muslim nations began earlier this month after an 18-year-old French Muslim of Chechen origin beheaded Paty after the teacher had shown Charlie Hebdo’s controversial depiction of the Islamic prophet during a lesson on freedom of speech.”

    • Submit and Obey: Iran’s Rouhani Warns Freedom of Speech Ends on Contact with Islam (breitbart, Oct 28, 2020)
      https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2020/10/28/submit-and-obey-irans-rouhani-warns-freedom-of-speech-ends-on-contact-with-islam/

      “Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday warned freedom of speech is no defense against insulting Islam because “every single European is in debt to the Prophet.”

      Instead he said it may encourage “violence and bloodshed” following Paris’ backing of the publication of cartoons that caused upset and “hurt feelings” in the Muslim community.

      “Insulting the prophet is no achievement. It’s immoral. It’s encouraging violence,” Rouhani said in a televised speech during the weekly cabinet meeting, the semi-official IRNA newsagency reports.

      “It’s a surprise that this would come from those claiming culture and democracy, that they would somehow, even if unintentionally, encourage violence and bloodshed,” he added.

      French President Emmanuel Macron has strongly defended the right to mock any religion following the beheading of a French schoolteacher who had shown his class cartoons of Mohammed.

      Emmanuel Paty had taught a class on freedom of expression, showing his students cartoons of Muhammad published by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, before he was publicly executed.

      The assailant was shot dead by police shortly after the killing and was later identified as Abdullakh Anzorov, a Moscow-born Chechen migrant…”

  7. Western Countries ‘Attacking’ Islam Want to ‘Relaunch the Crusades’, Says Erdogan (sputniknews, Oct 28, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202010281080899437-ankara-has-legitimate-right-to-act-against-militants-on-turkish-syrian-border-erdogan-says/

    “Turkey said earlier that diplomatic and legal action will be taken as a response to the caricature of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was published by French magazine Charlie Hebdo.

    Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that western countries want to “relaunch the crusades” by attacking Islam. The comment was made as Erdogan addressed members of his AK Party in parliament.

    “France – and Europe as a whole – does not deserve this provocative, dirty, hateful and divisive policy pursued by Macron and those who share his views”, Erdogan said during his speech, after relations had worsened between Erdogan and his French counterpart this month.

    According to the Turkish president, it was “a question of honour” for his country to take a stand against attacks on the Prophet Muhammad.

    Erdogan and Macron at Loggerheads Over Islam & Charlie Hebdo Cartoons
    The most recent spat between the French and Turkish presidents came after a teacher in Paris, Samuel Paty, was murdered for showing his pupils, during a class on freedom of speech, cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that were published in the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2015. Paty was subsequently beheaded by an 18-year-old of Chechen descent, Abdoullakh Anzorov, in an act French President Emmanuel Macron described as an “Islamist terrorist attack”.

    Macron defended the teacher’s action and called him a “quiet hero”, despite the fact that it is considered blasphemous among Muslims to depict the Prophet Muhammad in such a way.

    Macron then announced a plan to “reform Islam” and make it more compatible with republican values, adding that the religion of billions of Muslims in the world was “in crisis”. Erdogan replied to the comments by suggesting the French president undergo “mental checks”.

    The Turkish President then urged Turks to boycott French products; France responded by recalling its ambassador to Ankara.

    On Tuesday night, Charlie Hebdo released a front-page, featuring a caricature of Edogan, who was depicted as drinking beer and making an indecent move towards a woman wearing a hijab.

    The image was strongly condemned by French officials, with Erdogan accusing the magazine of sowing “the seeds of hatred and animosity”. His office added that Turkey will now take all necessary diplomatic and legal action against Charlie Hebdo, with Ankara’s Chief Prosecutor’s office now reportedly launching an investigation into the matter.

    Turkey-Syria Border Tensions
    On Wednesday, Erdogan also said that Ankara has a “legitimate right to act once again” if soldiers along its border with Syria are not removed.

    On Tuesday, Russia called on Turkey to take joint action to eliminate terrorist groups in the Idlib de-escalation zone and “release citizens illegally detained by militants”. In recent days, Moscow has stepped up its fight against terrorist groups in Syrian Idlib with airstrikes.

    According to information from Russian military officials, terrorists in Idlib are at present holding more than 2,000 people in custody, including medical workers and journalists.

    Commenting on a recent Russian airstrike in Syria’s Idlib, Erdogan claimed that “lasting peace in Syria was not wanted”, despite Moscow’s calls for joint action against terrorist groups in the territory.

    In October 2019, Turkey launched an assault against Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Northern Syria, whom Ankara views as terrorists, dubbing the act an “Operation Peace Spring”. Ankara announced back then that it would “clear out terrorists” on the border with northern Syria if the Kurdish YPG militia fails to withdraw from the territory.”

  8. Crawley stabbing: Man dead after deadly Three Bridges attack – Police hunt underway (express, Oct 28, 2020)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1353042/crawley-stabbing-three-bridges-attack-knife-crime-latest-russell-way-skyfall-apartment-ont

    “A MAN has died after being assaulted in Crawley last night, with police on the hunt for a suspect.

    Social media pictures show emergency services surround a building in Three Bridges. Sussex Police announced the incident took place late last night, and issued a statement on Twitter. They said: “Sadly, a man has died after sustaining critical injuries in an assault in Russell Way, Crawley, on Tuesday evening. We are searching for a suspect known to the victim, but are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.”

    Three Bridges saw emergency services including police, ambulances and the NAPS converge on to a building at around 11pm BST.

    Police forensic teams followed shortly after when the emergency services discovered the dead body.

    Social media reports also claimed helicopters were circling overhead above Downland Drive and Brighton Road.

    UK Crime Stats holds that as of August 2020, Three Bridges has seen 238 incidents of violent crime this year…”

  9. Watch: Palestinian Islamic Scholar Warns Muslim Armies Coming to ‘Crush Paris’ (breitbart, Oct 28, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2020/10/28/watch-palestinian-islamic-scholar-warns-muslim-armies-coming-to-crush-paris/

    “Palestinian Islamic scholar Sheikh Ali Abu Ahmad used an address at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem to warn French President Emmanuel Macron and all the “infidels who have acted with insolence against Muslims” to get ready for holy war.

    Sheikh Ahmad said boycotts of French products “do not change a thing” and the only solution is the reestablishment of the caliphate, according to footage obtained by the Middle East Media Research Institite (MEMRI), which specializes in translating media in the Middle East.

    Ahmad added the caliph would lead the Muslim armies to crush Paris completely as part of a triumphant march through Europe designed to crush those who challenge the primacy of Islam.

    The wild threats againt Paris have been sparked by French President Emmanuel Macron closing Islamist-linked associations and groups after the brutal beheading of 47-year-old teacher Samuel Paty.

    Paty had recently taught a class on freedom of expression, showing his students cartoons of Muhammad published by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. The assailant was shot dead by police shortly after the killing and was later identified as Abdullakh Anzorov, a Moscow-born Chechen migrant.

    Macron honored Paty at a ceremony at the Sorbonne university in Paris on October 21, posthumously awarding him with the Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest civilian honor.

    Boycotts of French goods are under way in supermarkets in Qatar and Kuwait, with further calls to spurn French products in Jordan and other states as well as Turkey, all in retaliation for Macron’s vow to take the fight to Islamic radicals and their followers.

    Elsewhere photos and videos circulating online to show the Islamic State terror group flag at a demonstration against Macron on Sunday in northeastern Syria, as Breitbart News reported.

    The anti-Macron protest took place in Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain), a town currently controlled by Turkish-backed jihadists.

    “[S]everal ISIS flags were spotted at the protests in Sari Kani,” Kurdish news agency Rudaw reported on Monday, citing photos and videos shared on social media. “A poster at the same protest read, ‘with the help of Allah, we will cut the tongue that trades on the Prophet of Allah.’”

    Sunday’s protest “consisted of some hundred men and children. They also burnt the flag of France and shouted slogans against President Macron,” according to the report.”

    • JERUSALEM – Sheikh Ali Abu Ahmad : all the “infidels who have acted with insolence against Muslims” to get ready for holy war.

      […]the only solution is the reestablishment of the caliphate.

      He added that the caliph would lead the Muslim armies to crush Paris completely.

  10. French Police Chief Warns of Heightened Islamic Terror Threats (breitbart, Oct 28, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/10/28/french-police-chief-warns-heightened-islamic-terror-threats/

    “The Director-General of the National Police has warned the government and other police services that France faces a heightened terror threat from radical Islamic groups.

    Frédéric Veaux warned that memos had been sent through the Al-Qaeda affiliated Thabat news agency that directly threatened terrorist attacks against the French Republic.

    “France is the target of a high and constant number of terrorist threats,” Veaux said. He added that those threats were “reiterated today in a statement of the Thabat agency, close to the Al-Qaeda organisation”, broadcaster BFMTV reports.

    The National Police head went on to state that safeguards and extra security must be put in place in any large gatherings of people, “particularly on the occasion of the Christian religious celebrations of All Saints’ Day, but also with regards to Muslim associations and places of worship whose representatives have publicly condemned the terrorist attacks”.

    French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has also issued his own directive to security services, asking for increased security measures after the publication of the new terror threats. Darmanin went on to say that authorities would be focused on monitoring Islamist messages on social media to prevent possible future attacks.

    Darmanin has been a proponent, alongside President Emmanuel Macron, of shutting down Islamist-linked associations and groups after the brutal beheading of teacher Samuel Paty. A teen terrorist killed him for showing cartoons of the Muslim prophet Mohammed to his class.

    Before the attack, the father of one of the students at the school had formed a social media campaign against Paty, along with another well-known Islamist radical.

    It was later revealed that the father, Brahim Chninam, was in direct contact with 18-year-old Chechen refugee Abdoullakh Anzorov before the terrorist attack and the pair had spoken on WhatsApp.”

  11. UK Urges NATO Allies to Challenge Turkey: Back French Support of Free Speech (breitbart, Oct 28, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2020/10/28/uk-urges-nato-allies-to-challenge-turkey-back-french-support-of-free-speech/

    “Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called on NATO allies Wednesday to back shared values of tolerance and free speech, in a direct rebuke to Turkey which demands a boycott of French goods because Muslim feelings were hurt by cartoons.

    Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has urged Turks and the wider Muslim world to reject French trade while accusing it of pursuing an anti-Islam agenda. Britain, France and Turkey are all NATO members.

    Erdogan is one of several leaders in the Muslim world angry with France over its response to the brutal beheading of teacher Samuel Paty by an Islamic terrorist…”

  12. ‘Send Them Back!’ — Migration Watch UK Calls For the Deportation of Suspected Nigerian Hijackers (breitbart, Oct 28, 2020)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/10/28/send-them-back-migration-watch-calls-for-the-deportation-of-suspected-nigerian-hijackers/

    “Migration Watch UK called for the deportation of the suspected Nigerian illegal migrants — who allegedly seized control of an oil tanker off the coast of the Isle of White on Sunday — after two former British immigration chiefs warned that the migrants may be eligible to apply for asylum after their prospective prison sentences.

    “Shockingly, if the experience of dealing with previous hijackers is anything to go by, this latest group of criminals could claim asylum and remain here for years, even if asylum is not granted,” Migration Watch chairman Alp Mehmet told Breitbart London.

    “Should this happen, yet again, the rules and conventions governing asylum will have been shown to be totally unfit for purpose and in urgent need of root-and-branch reform.

    “If determined young men – for that is what they are – can get away with hijacking their way into Britain, it will act as an open invitation to others to do the same,” Mehmet warned.

    “Like we have seen with those crossing the Channel illegally to claim asylum, the route will see numbers increase. The right action now is to try, punish and remove. No question,” the Migration Watch chairman concluded…”

  13. Turkish leaders condemn Charlie Hebdo cartoon of Erdogan (abcnews, Oct 28, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/turkish-leaders-condemn-charlie-hebdo-cartoon-erdogan-73873128

    “Turkish officials on Wednesday railed against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo over its cover-page cartoon mocking Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and accused it of sowing “the seeds of hatred and animosity.”

    The cartoon could further heighten tensions between Turkey and France, which erupted over French President Emmanuel Macron’s firm stance against Islamism following the beheading of a teacher who showed his class caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad for a free speech class.

    Leaders from around the Muslim world also added their voices to criticism of what they see as attacks on Islam in the West, while France vowed not to back away from its defense of the freedom of expression.

    The Prophet Muhammad cartoons upset many in the Muslim world. But it was Erdogan who led the charge against France and questioned Macron’s mental state. France then recalled its ambassador to Turkey for consultations, a first in French-Turkish diplomatic relations.

    “We strongly condemn the publication concerning our president of the French magazine, which has no respect to faith, the sacred and values,” Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, wrote on Twitter.

    The Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into Charlie Hebdo managers over the cartoon, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Insulting the president is a crime in Turkey punishable by up to four years in prison.

    Erdogan himself said he had not looked at the drawing and had nothing to say about the “dishonorable” publication.

    “My sadness and anger does not stem from the disgusting attack on my person but from the fact that the same (publication) is the source of the impertinent attack to my dear prophet,” Erdogan told his ruling party’s legislators in parliament.

    He went on to criticize France and other Europe nations’ colonial past saying: “You are murderers!”

    Tensions between France and Turkey have mounted in recent months over Turkish actions in Syria, Libya and the Caucasus Mountains region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

    The cartoon depicted Erdogan in his underwear holding a drink and lifting the skirt of a woman wearing an Islamic dress.

    “I condemn this incorrigible French rag’s immoral publication concerning our president,” Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay wrote on Twitter. “I call on the moral and conscientious international community to speak out against this disgrace.”

    Macron’s stance sparked anti-France protests in Turkey and in other Muslim countries as well as calls for the boycott of French goods.

    French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said the country would not back down in the face of what he called “efforts of destabilization, of intimidation.”

    “Despite this intimidation, France will never renounce its principles and values, and notably the freedom of expression and freedom of publication” Attal said.

    “It was hateful comments toward journalists, toward a newsroom, that led to the bloodshed we have seen in recent years in our country,” he said, referring to the 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo attack that killed 12 people and was the first in a series of extremist attacks on France.

    Attal announced the disbanding of another French group that authorities say is spreading dangerous radical Islamist messages.

    In Egypt, the country’s top Muslim cleric called on the international community to adopt universal legislation criminalizing anti-Muslim discrimination and activities.

    At a gathering celebrating Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam, also condemned the slaying of the French teacher in Paris as “an odious and painful murder.”

    He said that offending Islam and Muslims has become a tool to mobilize votes. He called the “offensive cartoons” depicting Muhammad “a blatant hostility against this noble religion and its prophet.”

    Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said that offending the prophet undermines “high values” many Muslims believe in. “We, too, have rights; right of not to hurt our feelings and not to offend our values,” he said.

    Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani also weighed in on the debate.

    “If Europe and France are after rights, ethics and culture they have to withdraw from intervention in Muslim affairs,” Rouhani said.

    Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan meanwhile, wrote letters to the heads of Muslim states, expressing his concern over the “ridicule and mockery” of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and desecration of the Quran in the Western world, especially in Europe.

    Khan wrote that “covert and overt discrimination” against Muslims is widespread in Europe.

    “I believe the leadership in these countries, often acts out of lack of understanding of the intrinsic deep passion, love and devotion Muslims all over the world have for their Prophet,” he wrote. He urged Muslim leaders to take the initiative to call for an end to this cycle of hate and violence.

    About 300 members of Pakistan’s radical Jamaat-e-Islami party rallied in the port city of Karachi to denounce Macron. The demonstrators wanted to march toward the Consulate of France but police stopped them.”

    • Muslim nations call for boycott of French products (abcnews, Oct 28, 2020)
      https://abcnews.go.com/International/muslim-nations-call-boycott-french-products/story?id=73858014

      “Several Arab countries are condemning French President Emmanuel Macron after he said he would propose legislation to tackle Islamist separatism and paid tribute to history teacher Samuel Paty, who was murdered after showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class. Macron has previously called Islam a “religion in crisis.”

      Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Bangladesh and the Gaza Strip this week after Macron’s comments led to social media channels to be flooded with the hashtags #BoycottFrenchProducts and #NeverTheProphet.

      Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an publicly called for the boycott of French products on Tuesday, decrying “rising Islamophobia in Europe.” Some shops have already removed dozens of French brands from their shelves. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Monday the French ambassador to Turkey would be called back to Paris for consultation amid rising diplomatic tensions.

      Leaders and officials in Iran, Pakistan and Qatar have also come out to denounce Macron’s support of the Prophet Muhammad cartoons, which many Muslims find disrespectful. Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, even called on Facebook to place a ban on Islamophobia and hate speech against Islam “given the rampant abuse and vilification of Muslims on social media platforms.”

      The Qatari State has condemned an escalation of “populist rhetoric inciting the abuse of religions.”

      Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif said insulting 1.9 billion Muslims for “the abhorrent crimes of such extremists is an opportunistic abuse of freedom of speech.”

      The Oct. 16 killing of Paty has led to protests across France. The French Council for the Muslim Faith denounced the history teacher’s murder as “a betrayal of the message of the prophet” but said “forcing [the cartoons] on everyone by projecting them on public buildings or showing them to children in a compulsory education setting is another thing.”

      On Sunday, Macron pleaded for unity.

      “We are united,” he tweeted, adding, “We will not give in, ever” in both English and Arabic.

      Debate around Islam is raging as the French government seeks to implement strong measures against radical Islamism.

      Meanwhile, European leaders are standing behind France. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called Erdogan’s comments “completely unacceptable” and European Union High Representative Josep Borelles said Turkey needs to “stop this dangerous spiral of confrontation.””

  14. Egypt’s Sisi calls for stopping ‘arrogant’ actions that hurt feelings of 1.5 bln Muslims

    El-Sisi also condemned the actions by what he described as a minority of Muslims who use Islam to justify extremism; his comments came during the celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad

    Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called on Wednesday for the world to respect the beliefs of 1.5 billion Muslims, while stressing his categorical rejection of all forms of violence and extremism from any party or group.

    The president said that “tolerance is the essence of the religion,” affirming that extremism is not linked to a specific religion.

    “Unfortunately, there are extremists from all religions who seek to enhance the spirit of strife and ignite anger and hatred,” El-Sisi added.

    The president affirmed “categorical rejection to any violent or terrorist acts committed by any party under the slogan of defending religion and sacred religious symbols.”

    El-Sisi also condemned the actions by what he described as a minority of Muslims who use Islam to justify extremism.

    The president’s comments came during the celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad at Al-Manara International Conference Center in Cairo.

    The event was attended by the Minister of Religious Endowments, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the Prime Minister, and a number of religious and state officials.

    Freedom of belief but mutual respect

    “I assure everyone that the position of the great prophet, the master of people, Muhammad, peace be upon him, in the hearts of Muslims worldwide cannot be affected by any words or actions.”

    President El-Sisi said “offending the prophets and messengers is disparaging to the high religious values that many people believe in.”

    El-Sisi said adding that “he expects these actions to stop when it comes to hurting the feelings of more than 1.5 billion [Muslims].”

    “Whoever does not believe [in Islam], it is their own business,” the president said, adding that this does not justify hurting the feelings of millions while extremism is limited to a small percentage.

    “In 1.5 billion or more Muslims, how many of them are extremists? One per cent? One per cent equals 15 million… The number is not like that in any way, and, therefore, I can never imagine that Muslims are being blamed for the sins and evils of a small portion who have gone astray.”

    “I say this and I hope it reaches everyone who cares about awareness and understanding and also cares for human rights. We also have rights. We have rights that our feelings are not hurt and that our values are not harmed”.

    “I do not direct any bad words or blame to anyone, but I say that the matter requires all of us to rethink ourselves. I am not only talking about Egypt. I am speaking about Egypt and the whole world. Please, stop hurting us.”

    The president, on the other hand, urged Muslim people to stick to Prophet Muhammad’s values and ethics, which include “respecting people and preserving their rights.”

    He said Egypt has respected non-Egyptians residing in Egypt and is looking to show further respect to them, “to emphasise our extent of respecting, appreciating and loving others. All others”.

    “Even people, who, say they hold other beliefs, we respected that … We accepted and respected it”.

    El-Sisi urged people residing in other societies to abide by the values and principles of these societies.

    “As I said once before, and many people probably blame me for it and say: what if others do not respect your values and principles? I imagine that generosity and good manners ultimately prevail.”

    “I will say that I believe, and I don’t think I am wrong, that arrogance while practicing the values of freedom is nothing but a form of extremism, when this practice affects others’ rights.”

    “The message of Islam that we have received from our noble prophet came as a victory for freedom; the freedom of faith, choice and belief and the freedom of opinion,” the president said.

    “But these freedoms have not been absolute so that they are not turned by whim of the human soul to chaos that permits sabotage and destruction. Also, these freedoms should stop at the limits of other people’s freedoms,” he added.

    The president’s comments come amid a worldwide Muslim uproar and condemnation of comments by French President Francois Macron on Islam as well as calls to boycot French products after Macron defended Charlie Hebdo cartoons deemed offensive to the Prophet Muhammad.

    They also come after a Muslim student beheaded earlier this month a French teacher for conducting a classroom discussion on the cartoons, an act which was strongly condemned by Egypt, Al-Azhar, and Muslims worldwide.

    Al-Azhar has also condemned the French president’s charges that Islam encourages “separatism and isolationinsm.”

    The president praised the Prophet Muhammad “who established with wisdom and sound instructions great and immortal pillars and foundations for the whole of humanity.”

    Extremism and religious discourse

    The president reiterated his rejection of attempts to use Islam to justify extremism.
    “Justifying extremism under the cover of religion is beyond Islam … it is forbidden and prohibited … it is no more than a tool to achieve limited interests.”

    “The purpose of religions is achieving the interests of nations and the benefit of the people, through tolerance and ease, not through extremism and hardship.”

    The president argued that Islamic jurisprudence is based on the concepts of mercy and tolerance.

    “Our celebration today of the birthday of the master of people and the prophet of mercy – peace be upon him- invokes all the meanings of mercy in our true religion, and reminds us that the tolerant Sharia of Islam is based on building, not demolishing, and this is an indication of what God Almighty said: ‘We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the world.”

    The president reiterated his call for renewing religious discourse to protect society from the ploys of what he described as “the people of evil.”

    This “requires the continuation of the heavy task and responsibility that religious scholars undertake to correct misconceptions, in order to protect society and the state from the plans of sabotage, and in order for the whole world to realize the tolerance of the great Islamic religion that is based on mercy, tolerance and peaceful coexistence among people … among all people.”

    “Hence, the issue of wise awareness and a correct understanding of religion will remain one of the priorities in the current stage in confronting the people of evil,” the President said.

    He added that these [evil] people “distort the meanings of the [religious] texts, quote them out of context and interpret them according to their purposes or rely on wrong interpretations of them.”

    Commending El-Sisi stances

    Minister of Religious Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa gifted the president two newly published religious books at the event.

    In a short speech, Gomaa commended the president on his stances against terrorism.

    “We did not forget and will not forget the day when you took a great patriotic stance at a very difficult time and said ‘you will take bullets directed at the chests of Egyptians,'” Gomaa said.

    He also warned against what he described as “fourth generation warfare.”

    “Armed gangs are one of the most important means of fourth-generation warfare to destroy countries,” Gomaa stated.

    The president honoured a number of Islamic clerics during the event.

    The Prophet’s birthday is a holiday widely celebrated across Egypt and the Islamic world.

    The observance of the birthday of the Prophet is commemorated on the 12th of Rabi’ al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar, which falls this year on Thursday, 29 October. The anniversary will be a paid holiday for public and private sector workers.

    Grand Imam rejects strife, hatred

    Meanwhile, in his speech at the event, Egypt’s Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb called for drafting an international legislation that criminalises acts of hate and discrimination against Muslims worldwide.

    El-Tayyeb said cartoons insulting to the prophet “are an explicit act of hostility” against Islam and its prophet.

    The grand imam reiterated the condemnation by the Islamic world and religious institutions of the murder of the recent of French teacher in Paris, after he had exhibited anti-prophet cartoons in his classroom, calling the crime a “painful” incident.

    “But it is most regrettable and extremely painful to see insulting Islam and Muslims becoming a tool for mobilising votes and being used in election markets,” he added.

    “I am surprised the fire of strife, hatred, and abuse is ignited in countries that have long been chanting that they are the cradle of culture and incubator of civilisation, enlightenment, science, modernity, and human rights,” El-Tayyeb said.

    He added that these countries had their standards mixed up, as they “hold the lantern of freedom and human rights in one hand and hatred and fire in the other.”

    El-Tayyeb urged Muslims in Western countries to “abide by peaceful, legal and rational ways to resist hate speech and obtain their legal rights, following the example of the noble prophet.”

    He also called on them to “positively integrate into these societies,” adding that this kind of integration preserves Muslim peoples’ religious and cultural identities and protects them from being drawn into the provocations of the far-right movements and racism, as well as political Islamist groups.

    During the event, El-Tayyeb announced launching an international platform to inform people about the “prophet of mercy and the messenger of humanity” in many languages.

    He also announced an international competition on the manners of Prophet Muhammad and his contributions on the path of love and peace.

    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/389434/Egypt/Politics-/UPDATE–Egypts-Sisi-calls-for-stopping-arrogant-ac.aspx

  15. Al-Azhar Grand Imam calls for int’l legislation to protect Muslims against acts of hate, discrimination

    El-Tayyeb said cartoons insulting to the prophet ‘are an explicit act of hostility’ against Islam and its prophet

    Egypt’s Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb called for drafting an international legislation that criminalises acts of hate and discrimination against Muslims worldwide.

    El-Tayyeb’s call came at a ceremony to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, which was attended by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, and other state and religious officials.

    El-Tayyeb said cartoons insulting to the prophet “are an explicit act of hostility” against Islam and its prophet.

    The grand imam’s comments come amid a worldwide Muslim uproar and condemnation of comments by Franch President Francois Macron on Islam as well as calls to boycot French products after Macron defended Charlie Hebdo cartoons deemed offensive to the Prophet Muhammad.

    They also come after a Muslim student beheaded earlier this month a French teacher for conducting a classroom discussion on the cartoons, an act which was strongly condemned by Egypt, Al-Azhar, and Muslims worldwide.

    Al-Azhar has also condemned the French president’s charges that Islam encourages “separatism and isolationinsm.”

    “Cartoons insulting our great prophet, which are promoted by some newspapers, magazines and even some policies, are absurd. They are a break from all moral restrictions, international customs, and general law.”

    The grand imam reiterated the condemnation by the Islamic world and religious institutions of the murder of the recent of French teacher in Paris, after he had exhibited anti-prophet cartoons in his classroom, calling the crime a “painful” incident.

    “But it is most regrettable and extremely painful to see insulting Islam and Muslims becoming a tool for mobilising votes and being used in election markets,” he added.

    “I am surprised the fire of strife, hatred, and abuse is ignited in countries that have long been chanting that they are the cradle of culture and incubator of civilisation, enlightenment, science, modernity, and human rights,” El-Tayyeb said.

    He added that these countries had their standards mixed up, as they “hold the lantern of freedom and human rights in one hand and hatred and fire in the other.”

    El-Tayyeb urged Muslims in Western countries to “abide by peaceful, legal and rational ways to resist hate speech and obtain their legal rights, following the example of the noble prophet.”

    He also called on them to “positively integrate into these societies,” adding that this kind of integration preserves Muslim peoples’ religious and cultural identities and protects them from being drawn into the provocations of the far-right movements and racism, as well as political Islamist groups.

    During the event, El-Tayyeb announced launching an international platform to inform people about the “prophet of mercy and the messenger of humanity” in many languages.

    He also announced an international competition on the manners of Prophet Muhammad and his contributions on the path of love and peace.

    http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/389462/Egypt/Politics-/AlAzhar-Grand-Imam-calls-for-intl-legislation-to-p.aspx

    • Sen. Ted Cruz to Twitter CEO: “Mr Dorsey, who the hell elected you…?”

      Sen. Ted Cruz to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey: “Mr Dorsey, who the hell elected you and put you in charge of what the media are allowed to report and what the American people are allowed to hear?”

  16. Living statues paint Trump as racist ‘relic’

    A week before Election Day, living statues depicting a golden Donald Trump in unflattering poses were on temporary display at the Lincoln Memorial and Trump International Hotel.

    • BBC – US election: ‘Trump needs to be denied a second term’, says John Bolton – BBC Newsnight

      + comments on the YT page

    • USA: More than 200,000 white flags on display in DC to honour COVID-19 victims

      Over two hundred thousand white flags were displayed at DC Armory Parade Ground, each representing a victim of COVID-19, in Washington DC, on Tuesday.

      The installation, called ‘In America, how could this happen’ was created by artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, she intended to send a strong message about the high death toll as well as to set a place for people to mourn.

      Brennan Firstenberg said, “When the numbers of deaths in the United States got so large, it was impossible for people to even comprehend. When numbers get too large they are easy to dismiss and so I wanted to make sure that no one would sweep this under the rug.”

      Behind the rows of flags is placed a billboard that shows the current number of fatalities due to the coronavirus. Locals can also add more flags, as the death toll from the coronavirus continues to rise.

      On display through Nov. 6, with Webcams streaming birds-eye views of the installation.

      https://linktr.ee/Inamericaflags

    • VICE – The Pregnant Doc Telling the Truth About COVID-19 | Informers

      As the coronavirus pandemic spread throughout the population, hospitals became overrun with patients.

      The lack of personal protective equipment meant that doctors, nurses and other staff risked their lives in order to save others.

      A doctor, who was pregnant during the pandemic, explains the chaos within the NHS, why she was forced to quit and how it was covered up.

  17. Election ‘crisis’: Will we need the federal government to keep online platforms available to Republican speech? – Liberty Unyielding
    J.E. Dyer

    The feel of the coming election seems to swing back and forth from one hour to the next. At times it seems as if the positive vibe is winning: all the dire threats and warnings and terrors from the Left will come to nothing after all. The vote will be an odd one, but it won’t devolve into chaos. No one from the anti-Trump side who has war-gamed a no-kidding coup – a way to get rid of President Trump regardless of the election’s outcome – will be able to manufacture either the excuse or the opportunity to execute it.

    I hope and pray that the “positive vibe” does win out. The negative vibe continues to manifest itself every day, however. Riots and threats and appalling news accumulate. The thought that we may genuinely have more reason to distrust the vote than to trust it can’t simply be waved away.

    One of the most disquieting concerns about an extended bout with a disputed vote is the plan of social media to suppress information about it. What this plan amounts to is preventing half the population from sharing basic news items and data points, as well as its point of view about what’s happening, on the premise that this disfavored half is spreading “misinformation.”

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/10/28/election-crisis-will-we-need-the-federal-government-to-keep-online-platforms-available-to-republican-speech/

  18. China melts like cheap wax after India and US sign the BECA pact
    9,531 views
    •Oct 28, 2020

  19. Gravitas: India-China standoff: How Indo-US military pact helps Indian forces
    17,082 views
    •Oct 28, 2020

  20. Istanbul, first Islamic prayer in Chora: Christian frescoes and mosaics covered

    The first Muslim rite is scheduled for Friday 30 October in the former Christian basilica, later turned into a museum.

    A story similar to the even more famous Hagia Sophia.

    A white veil drawn over original symbols of the building. But there is no shortage of criticism: risk of destroying “its nature and the artistic value”.

    Istanbul (AsiaNews / Agencies) – Turkish authorities have covered frescoes and mosaics of the former monastery of Christ the Saviour in Chora ahead of the first Islamic prayer service to be held in the building which was formerly a museum and recently converted into a mosque at the instigation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    The function is scheduled for Friday 30 October, when the Byzantine building will be open to the faithful of Mohammed, completing its transformation into a Muslim place of worship.

    Following the presidential decree that provides for the transformation of the Chora museum to a mosque, the images of Jesus, frescoes and icons that testify to its Christian roots were covered with a white curtain.

    The building dates back to 534, during the Byzantine period. The internal walls, pillars and domes are entirely covered with mosaics and frescoes that are dated around the 11th century.

    http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Istanbul%2C-first-Islamic-prayer-in-Chora%3A-Christian-frescoes-and-mosaics-covered-51426.html

    Authorities install automated screens to cover priceless Byzantine icons at Kariye (Chora) Church

  21. Judge refuses to block ‘No Boycott of Israel’ measure

    A federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit in which a Muslim civil rights group sought to block the state of Maryland from enforcing its ban on contracting with businesses that boycott Israel….
    Hogan’s order requires contractors to certify in writing that they don’t boycott Israel. The order was called “Prohibiting Discriminatory Boycotts of Israel in State Procurement.”

    The Council on American-Islamic Relations sued Hogan and state Attorney General Brian Frosh on behalf of software engineer Syed Saqib Ali, a former state legislator. CAIR argued the order has an unconstitutional chilling effect on First Amendment-protected political advocacy supporting the Palestinians.

    The executive order says a boycott based on religion, national origin or ethnicity is discriminatory. A business boycott of Israel and its territories “is not a commercial decision made for business or economic reasons,” it says.

    “Contracting with business entities that discriminate make the State a passive participant in private-sector commercial discrimination,” the order says.

    Ali’s lawsuit said Hogan’s order bars him from bidding for government software program contracts because he supports boycotts of businesses and organizations that “contribute to the oppression of Palestinians.”

    But Ali hasn’t submitted any bids, so Blake ruled Monday that he cannot proceed on the basis of a “direct injury.”

    https://apnews.com/article/technology-israel-boycotts-lawsuits-larry-hogan-97ca89c483fbed090aeae57e3312233b

  22. SCOTLAND – SNP’s new hate crime law could see people prosecuted for expressing views in OWN HOMES

    THE SNP’s new hate crime bill could criminalise free speech in people’s own homes, MSPs have been told.

    MSPs questioned Scottish Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf over the controversial legislation during an evidence session before the Holyrood Justice Committee for the first time today. The new proposed legislation will introduce a stirring-up of hate offence on characteristics including disability, sexual orientation and age.

    However critics fear the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill, which centres around plans for a new offence of “stirring up hatred”, will stifle freedom of expression.

    BBC Scotland, Catholic bishops, the Humanist Society of Scotland, and the Scottish Police Federation are amongst those to have raised concerns, along with Mr Bean star Rowan Atkinson and writer Val McDermid.

    Because of this, Mr Yousaf was forced to amend the legislation and change the controversial “stirring up” offences section which has been condemned by opponents.

    It now means “stirring up offences” would be limited to “intent” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and variations in sex characteristics and therefore prosecutions could only be brought in this respect.

    […]“This latest admission from the justice secretary confirms what so many respondents to the consultation have warned – that as drafted, this Bill means free speech could be criminalised within the home with friends you’ve invited over for a dinner party, and that Mr Yousaf is perfectly comfortable with that.

    “The SNP need to be clear with the Scottish public about exactly what they intend this Hate Crime Bill to do.

    “They can’t keep trying to force through dangerous attacks on freedom of speech.”

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1352957/snp-news-scotland-hate-crime-law-humza-yousaf-holyrood-latest-nicola-sturgeon
    ========================================================
    Scotland’s justice minister wants to punish citizens over ‘insulting’ conversations AT HOME

    Scotland’s proposed hate crime bill will penalize anyone whipping up hatred against “protected groups.” That includes people making “insulting” remarks within their own home, Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has revealed.

    Quizzed on the bill by the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee on Tuesday, Yousaf assured critics that the proposed legislation would protect the “right to be offensive.” However, anyone “stirring up hatred” against others on the basis of religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, transgender identity or “variations in sexual characteristics” will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, he said.

    […]”Let’s just give an example, which is intentionally stirring up hatred against Muslims,” he said. “Are we saying that that is justified because it is in the home?”

    The bill’s definition of hate speech is a broad one, and its text would criminalize anyone acting in “a threatening, abusive or insulting manner” towards one of its protected groups.

    more :

    https://www.rt.com/uk/504813-scotland-hate-crime-at-home/

  23. Emails obtained by Judicial Watch and the Daily Caller News Foundation via a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit show that White House coronavirus adviser Anthony Fauci in late January approved of a World Health Organization-sponsored press release supporting China’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The email refers to the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, an independent advisory body created by WHO and the World Bank Group. It specifically notes “consensus for the GPMB to issue a statement supportive of countries’ (especially China) and WHO response efforts, and to call for urgent actions to further strengthen global preparedness and response to this outbreak.”

    “Looks fine,” Fauci responded. “Please see my comments in attached document.”

    https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/coronavirus/released-emails-show-fauci-signed-who-statement-approving-chinas

  24. Five individuals have been arrested in the US, accused of targeting opponents of the Chinese Communist Party.

    The five, and three others believed to be in China, face charges of trying to coerce people to go to China to face punishment.

    Those charged are said to be a part of an operation called Foxhunt which China says targets fugitives but critics say is aimed at communist opponents.

    The FBI said China was “violating norms and laws left and right”.

    Court documents say the accused were charged with conspiring to act as illegal agents of the People’s Republic of China.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54724471

  25. BBC – Coronavirus: Macron declares second national lockdown in France

    […]for at least the whole of November.

    Mr Macron said under the new measures, starting on Friday, people would only be allowed to leave home for essential work or medical reasons.

    Non-essential businesses, such as restaurants and bars, will close, but schools and factories will remain open.

    […]Mr Macron said the country risked being “overwhelmed by a second wave that no doubt will be harder than the first”.

    […]He said that half of all in intensive care beds at French hospitals were being occupied by Covid patients.

    The president said that under the new rules, people would need to fill in a form to justify leaving their homes, as was required in the initial lockdown in March. Social gatherings are banned.

    more:

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54716993