Reader’s Links for November 16, 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

95 Replies to “Reader’s Links for November 16, 2020”

    • To live in a country where your ‘public servants,’ deface or destroy Repubcan votes, fake Democrat votes, and then demand a recount.

      To decide on the legitimate socialist votes alongside legitimate missing republican votes. You couldn’t make this up.

      Another vote is required.

  1. Warning: “The Morning Call” places a limit on the amount of articles that you can access. After that – sign up and pay.

    “Your PA election questions answered: Do I need an absentee ballot or a mail-in ballot? Why is this so complicated?”
    by Tom Shortell – September 5, 2020

    Excerpt:

    While COVID-19 poses a serious health threat to voters, having concerns about the coronavirus alone is not a qualifying reason for an absentee ballot. However, voters who are receiving inpatient treatment in a hospital or are isolating because they are contagious with the disease would qualify for an absentee ballot.
    The 2020 election cycle introduced a new option for voters, though. A 2019 law created mail-in ballots, which allow voters to cast ballots by mail without having to provide an excuse. Voters who want to avoid long lines, are nervous about the coronavirus or for any other number of reasons can get a mail-in ballot.
    https://www.mcall.com/news/elections/mc-nws-absentee-20200905-oiquj5wrkvc7rnor5jw54zyi7a-story.html

    *~!MAX ALERT!~*SOO BUSTED(!)NEWLY UNCOVERED INFORMATION NOW PROVES *DEFINITIVELY VOTE FRAUD IN PA(!)
    Florida Maquis – November 14, 2020

  2. Swedish Discrimination Ombudsman Rules Islamic Veil Ban Illegal (sputniknews, Nov 16, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/202011161081178083-swedish-discrimination-ombudsman-rules-islamic-veil-ban-illegal/

    “The Skurup municipality, whose clothing policy specifically prohibits Islamic headwear at preschools and primary schools, has found itself on a collision course with the Discrimination Ombudsman.

    The Swedish Discrimination Ombudsman (DO) has weighed in on the debate involving the acceptance of religious headdresses in public places.

    In ruling that the Skurup municipality’s ban on “the headscarf, burqa, niqab, and other clothing intended to hide students and staff” is incompatible with the Discrimination act, the ombudsman confirmed that the Islamic dress code is thus protected under the law.

    “When the inspection is now completed, the DO makes the assessment that even though the policy, according to its wording, affects all clothing that hides students and staff in the municipality’s preschools and primary schools, the purpose is precisely to ban religious clothing. This means that the application of the policy in relation to people bearing such garments will be related to their religion or beliefs”, the ombudsman’s office said in a press release.

    Deputy discrimination ombudsman Martin Mörk emphasised that “with the exception of situations where such clothing affects a student’s or employee’s objective conditions to carry out an educational element or a task the ban constitutes direct discrimination related to religion and other beliefs”.

    In late 2019, the liberal-conservative Moderate Party, the national-conservative Sweden Democrats, and the local Skurup Party teamed together to pass a ban on Islamic headwear in the town of Skurup in Skåne County and the surrounding municipality’s schools and preschools. The ban involves headscarves, burqas, niqabs, and other garments that have the purpose of concealing the face and is valid for students and staff alike.

    Earlier in 2019, Moderate-governed Staffanstorp Municipality in the very same Skåne County decided to introduce “zero tolerance” for Islamic head garments for young children as part of its integration plan. The ban was designed to ensure that equality and Swedish values apply.

    Both of these cases sparked hot debates in the media and stern condemnation from liberal politicians, according to whom these constitute negative bias, oppression, and encroachment upon freedom of religion and women’s rights. Their opponents countered that secular traditions should be maintained, cited the French ban as an example, and underscored that it is Islamic headwear that is deeply oppressive of women and doesn’t belong in feminist Sweden. Some argued that allowing religious headdresses is a slippery slope.

    “If you accept that women have to cover their faces, what are you going to accept tomorrow? Do you also intend to accept polygamy, child marriage et cetera?”, Sweden Democrat Lars Nyström wondered during the debate.

    The number of Muslims in Sweden has soared in recent decades, from several hundred in the 1950s to over 800,000 in a country of over 10 million today. The conflict between the Islamic view of society and Sweden’s feminist philosophy has raised issues previously unknown to the largely homogeneous and predominantly Lutheran nation. Among other things, some Nordic Muslims may find it hard to agree on issues such as women’s rights and the acceptance of sexual minorities, which are seen as staples of Nordic society.”

  3. “Trump Lawyer Sidney Powell: ‘We’re Getting Ready To Overturn Election Results In Multiple States'” + comments with video links
    Authored by jack Philips via Epoch Times – November 15, 2020
    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-lawyer-sidney-powell-were-getting-ready-overturn-election-results-multiple-states

    One Comment Video Link

    Giuliani – Foreign Software That’s Been Used To Steal Elections In Other Countries
    The Report – November 15, 2020

  4. ‘Legitimising Violence’: Macron Slams Media for Calling France ‘Racist and Islamophobic’ (sputniknews, Nov 16, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/europe/202011161081178177-legitimising-violence-macron-slams-media-for-calling-france-racist-and-islamophobic/

    “Earlier this month, the French president berated the Financial Times for “distorting” his words on Islamist separatism, referring to an article in the newspaper that has since been removed.

    In an interview with The New York Times on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron hit out at the English-language media over its coverage of a series of terrorist attacks that recently hit his country.

    “When France was attacked five years ago, every nation in the world supported us”, Macron told NYT columnist Ben Smith, in an apparent nod to a terror attack on the editorial staff of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in January 2015, which claimed the lives of at least 12 people.

    “So when I see, in that context, several newspapers which I believe are from countries that share our values […] when I see them legitimising this violence, and saying that the heart of the problem is that France is racist and Islamophobic, then I say the founding principles have been lost”, the French president argued.

    He insisted that “foreign media failed to understand [the essence of] ‘laicite'”, or secularism, which is seen as one of the pillars of French policy and pertains to separation of ?hurch and state.

    The president also referred to the French “model” as “universalist, not multiculturalist”, adding, “in our society, I don’t care whether someone is Black, yellow or white, whether they are Catholic or Muslim; a person is first and foremost a citizen”.

    Macron Blasts FT for ‘Distorting’ His Words on Islamist Separatism
    The remarks came a few weeks after Macron sent a letter to the editor of the Financial Times (FT), clarifying his stance towards French Muslims after the newspaper accused him of “stigmatising” the minority community “for electoral purposes and of fostering a climate of fear and suspicion towards them”.

    “Let us not nurture ignorance by distorting the words of a head of state. We know only too well where that can lead”, Macron tweeted at the time, also posting a link to his letter published on FT’s website.

    In the letter, he specifically underscored that he would “not allow anybody to claim that France, or its government, is fostering racism against Muslims” and that his country was in a fight against “Islamist separatism, never Islam”.

    Listing a series of Islamist terror attacks France has witnessed over the past five years, Macron indicated that there are unfortunately still “certain districts” in France and online which become “terrorist breeding grounds” where “small girls wear the full veil and are raised to hate our values”.

    “This is what France is fighting against […] hatred and death that threaten its children – never against Islam. We oppose deception, fanaticism, violent extremism. Not a religion” the French president pointed out.

    The Financial Times later removed the questionable article from its website, saying that the decision was made after “it emerged” that the piece “contained factual errors”.

    Macron’s letter to the newspaper followed the beheading of French history teacher Samuel Paty by a radicalised teenager in mid-October and a knife attack outside a church in the city of Nice on 29 October.

    Paty was killed after he showed his pupils a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad during a lesson about freedom of speech. Last month, Macron sparked a wave of protests and calls for French goods across the Muslim World to be boycotted after he praised Paty, pledging that France would never renounce its freedom of speech laws.”

  5. COVID in Italy | Anti-lockdown protesters scuffle with police in Rome

    A number of protesters were arrested at a rally against COVID restrictions in Rome as some three hundred demonstrators gathered at Piazza Venezia to condemn the government’s virus measures.

  6. MEMRI – Arab Jihadists Fighting against Armenia in Azerbaijan

    On October 10, 2020, the Armenian media outlet Aysor TV posted on YouTube a video showing Arabic-speaking militants fighting for Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh.

    According to the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, militants from Syria belonging to groups such as Jabhat Al-Nusra, Firkat Hamza, Sultan Murad, and some Kurdish groups are active in Nagorno-Karabakh fighting against Armenia.

  7. Assassination of senior al-Qaida leader is clear message to Iran

    The story surrounding the assassination of senior al-Qaeda leader Abu Mohammed al-Masri was intentionally leaked. The report is replete with accurate details. Whoever relayed the information wanted to send a message to al-Qaeda, which lost yet another senior leader. It was also meant for Iran, which was exposed as harboring al-Masri. And it was meant for any other extremist actor in the region, that the U.S. and Israel will continue working together in the war on terror.

    According to foreign reports, this level of cooperation has been evidenced many times in the past. For the past 15 years, Israel and the U.S. have shared operational intelligence. The operation indicates the Americans lack a sufficient operational infrastructure in Iran while, based on foreign reports, Israel has proven over the past decade to possess impressive operational capabilities on Iranian soil.

    Iran understands it is again penetrated and is in the crosshairs of the Israelis and Americans. As Iran is mulling its nuclear options, it must know this comes with zero-tolerance.

    https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/11/15/israels-assassination-of-senior-al-qaida-leader-is-clear-message-to-iran/

    • What’s behind Israel’s reported hit on Al-Qaida leader in Iran

      “… The assassination of Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, aka Abu Muhammad al-Masri (as well as previous operations on Iranian soil), is a morale-sapping and psychological blow to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, which sheltered him for nearly two decades.

      “It makes the Guards realize that Israeli intelligence has good sources in Iran. After each “defeat,” Iranian intelligence chiefs must ask themselves who’s next, and open a new hunt to locate the traitors. And when they’re in pursuit of real or imaginary enemies, their mind is preoccupied with defending themselves and they have less time to hatch offensive plots….”

      “It’s… likely that the CIA subcontracted the Mossad to lend a hand in the manhunt for Abdullah. The Mossad’s readiness to assist the CIA is more evidence of how intimate the relations are between the two agencies, and how closely they work together not only in gathering and sharing intelligence at headquarters level, but also during field operations….”

      “It’s also reasonable to assume that because he was a minor target for Israel, the Mossad would not have risked its own staff combatants to kill Abdullah. Most probably, the Israeli foreign service activated foreigners who had worked on similar operations in the past. In this context, it’s important to note that Iran and some foreign media outlets have accused Israel of previously working with Iranian opposition groups or mercenaries….”

      “Finally, the timing of the publication is interesting. It’s highly likely that the information about the August 7 operation was leaked to The New York Times by the U.S. intelligence community only after it made sure the operational risk would be minimal and that agents and modes of operations would not be put in harm’s way.…

      “[O]ne can assume that the leak was facilitated by the U.S. intelligence community and not by the White House. Otherwise, the defeated president, Donald Trump, would have rushed to spill the beans – as he did in the past – and take credit for it.

      “It’s also interesting to note that the story was released after the U.S. presidential election. It’s not out of the question that U.S. intelligence agencies, Netanyahu and Mossad chief Yossi Cohen wanted to send a clear message to President-elect Joe Biden, and to remind him that America has to be strong and determined whenever it deals with Iran.”

      https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-hit-al-qaida-leader-in-iran-mossad-trump-biden-1.9309824
      ….
      Loathsome Haaretz editorialization – though not necessarily inaccurate.

      • Timing of report on ‘Israeli hit’ could aid Biden-Israel relations

        The killing of one of the world’s most-wanted al-Qaeda terrorists provides evidence of the close relationship between the U.S. and Israel and why it is such a key ally. The relationship is not just one of Washington supporting Jerusalem. Israel provides key capabilities in the region for the Americans.

        The revelation that al-Qaeda operatives are being hosted in Iran shows that it specifically harbors those who killed Americans. Iran could have ejected these terrorists as part of the Iran deal to show it is moderating. But it did not.

        This illustrates what many experts in the region have been saying about Iran: Its threat is not just about the nuclear program but is the sum of all of the threats it poses, including its willingness to work with al-Qaeda.

        https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/timing-of-report-on-israeli-hit-could-aid-biden-israel-relations-649157

    • TV: Al-Qaeda No. 2 was planning attacks on Israelis, Jews when killed in Tehran

      The US and Israel both had ‘scores to settle’ with terror chief al-Masri, reportedly shot dead by Israeli agents in August; Iran now said to fear more hits in Trump’s last 2 months

      https://www.timesofisrael.com/tv-al-qaeda-no-2-was-planning-attacks-on-israelis-jews-when-killed-in-tehran/
      …..
      Some intrigue here, Israeli TV report. Cloak and dagger, lots of details, some speculation. It’s really a big deal, _yuge_.

  8. ‘Glitches’ found in key swing states flipping votes; More voters than eligible in Michigan | NTD

  9. India rejects RCEP invitation because of China | IND vs CHINA | WION News | World News
    55,304 views
    •Nov 16, 2020

  10. Pennsylvania judge rules in Trump’s favor; CA businesses sue governor over lockdowns | NTD Business

  11. Caroline Glick:

    1. It is futile to ask/demand @CNN to fire Amanpour and it is ridiculous to ask her for an apology for her Holocaust denying slander of @realDonaldTrump. For decades, CNN has lied about Israel and Palestinian terrorism. For decades Amanpour has legitimized the murder of Israelis

    2. Amanpour has thrived because her hatred for the Jewish state is considered “sophisticated” in her little, sick bubble of Western elitists who have spent the past 70 years pretending that anyone could have been Nazis — especially the Jews. This erases Germany’s culpability.

    3. It also erases the culpability of all the nations of Europe who collaborated with Germany in their joint efforts to annihilated the Jewish people. Note, Amanpour continued the practice. She said that Kristallnacht was the start of the genocide of an “identity group.”

    4. “Identity group” not “the Jewish people.” She is effectively maintaining the collaboration by erasing the Jews from the story of their annihilation.
    Instead of demanding an apology, the @IsraelMFA should shut down @CNN’s offices in Israel, strip its reporters’ credentials.

    5. The only way for Israel to properly fight anti-Semitic media organs is by refusing to accept them on their own terms. Amanpour is not a reporter. She is an anti-Semitic propagandist. @CNN isn’t a news organization. It’s a propaganda tool that is used against Israel by design.

    https://twitter.com/CarolineGlick/status/1328227477534232577

  12. U.S., Israel tracked and assassinated al-Qaeda’s second-in-command
    By Daily Caller News Foundation November 16, 2020

    The U.S. and Israel worked together to hunt down and assassinate a top al-Qaeda terrorist in Iran earlier this year, according to the Associated Press.

    Abu Mohammed al-Masri, al-Qaeda’s second in command, was shot and killed on Aug. 7 in an alleyway by an elite unit within the Israeli government’s spy operation called Mossad, AP reported. The Israeli forces were reportedly acting upon American intelligence as to al-Masri’s location and his alias, according to the AP.

    The top terrorist’s daughter, Maryam, was also killed in the operation, AP reported. Al-Masri’s daughter was the widow of Hamza bin Laden, the son of 9/11 orchestrator Osama bin Laden, and U.S. authorities believed her to be a potential terror threat, according to AP.

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2020/11/16/u-s-israel-tracked-and-assassinated-al-qaedas-second-in-command/

  13. Heavy Clashes Reported at Eritrean Border With Ethiopia’s Rebelling Tigray Region (sputniknews, Nov 16, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/africa/202011161081183510-heavy-clashes-reported-at-eritrean-border-with-ethiopias-rebelling-tigray-region/

    “The use of heavy weapons and bombers has been detected at the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia’s northern Tigray Region, which has recently been clashing with the country’s federal government over political disagreements, the Somali Guardian has reported. According to the online media outlet, the exchange of fire has already forced some Eritreans living near the border to flee their homes and seek shelter in nearby mountain caves.

    The report of heavy border clashes comes as the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) continues its military standoff against Ethiopia’s federal forces. The TPLF claims that Eritrea is helping the federal government and alleges that Eritrean armoured units have already crossed the border into the Tigray region to start an offensive.

    A representative of the TPLF earlier confirmed that the rebelling region’s forces conducted a missile strike on Eritrea’s capital, Asmara, on 14 November in response to its alleged deployment of 16 divisions across the two countries’ border. Two missiles struck Asmara’s airport, while one fell within the city limits. Eritrea’s government denies being involved in the armed dispute between the Tigray region and Addis Ababa.

    The conflict between the two first started in 2019, when the TPLF withdrew from the governing political coalition, refusing to merge into a larger Prosperity Party. Following the escalation of tensions between the former political allies, the last straw was the Ethiopian government’s refusal to recognise the results of the September 2020 Tigray parliamentary elections, in which the TPLF secured a landslide victory. Subsequently, TPLF-supporting regional special forces purportedly attacked a military camp of the Ethiopian National Defence Force located in the Tigray region’s capital Mekelle. Ethiopia’s federal government then launched a counter-offensive with the stated goal of bringing the rebellious region back “under the rule of law”.”

  14. Turkish Presidency Reportedly Submits Motion on Sending Troops to Azerbaijan (sputniknews, Nov 16, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/military/202011161081178863-turkish-presidency-reportedly-submits-motion-on-sending-troops-to-azerbaijan/

    “Turkey’s presidential office has submitted a motion to the country’s parliament for the deployment of Turkish troops to Azerbaijan, the Anadolu news agency reported on Monday. The parliament is expected to consider this issue in the next few days.

    The Kremlin, in turn, referred to Turkey’s “internal procedures”, adding that submitting such a motion pertains to Ankara’s domestic affairs.

    The report comes after Turkish President Recep Tayiip Erdogan said last week that Moscow and Ankara had signed a memorandum on setting up a centre for control over the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh.

    The Kremlin pointed out at the time that Turkey and Russia would cooperate via the centre located on Azerbaijani territory, but that there was “no discussion of joint peacekeeping forces”.

    Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the deployment of a Turkish peacekeeper contingent in Karabakh wasn’t coordinated with any party, recalling that a recent joint statement by Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan makes no mention of Turkey in any manner.

    “This is what I can say: the statement does not say a single word about it, the three sides have not agreed on it, the Turkish soldiers’ staying in Karabakh has not been coordinated”, Peskov told reporters…”

  15. Western Sahara’s Independence Movement Declares End of Three-Decade Truce With Morocco (sputniknews, Nov 16, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/africa/202011161081182782-western-saharas-independence-movement-declares-end-of-three-decade-truce-with-morocco/

    “The Sahara Press Service, a news agency belonging to Western Sahara’s pro-independence Polisario Front, announced last week that the group’s attacks on the Royal Moroccan Army had caused a “loss of lives and equipment”.

    Brahim Ghali, the leader of the Polisario Front – Western Sahara’s pro-independence movement, has vowed to end a nearly 30-year-old ceasefire regime with Morocco.

    The statement comes days after Morocco, which still adheres to the ceasefire, announced that it would launch military operations in the El Guergarat crossing – a buffer zone between Morocco and the self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

    “[Morocco] seriously undermined not only the ceasefire and related military agreements but also any chances of achieving a peaceful and lasting solution to the decolonisation question of the Western Sahara”, Ghali said.

    At the same time, Morocco’s Foreign Ministry has said that the decision to launch the operations was made as the Polisario Front had allegedly blocked the movement of people and goods and was harassing UN troops at the crossing.

    The UN, however, has denied that its personnel have been attacked, adding that its mission has engaged peacefully with both sides.

    “MINURSO has engaged peacefully at Guergerat with both the demonstrators supported by the Polisario Front and with the Morocco army with the aim of reducing tensions, since the beginning of the demonstrations on 21 October”, UN spokesperson Nick Birnback stated.
    Western Sahara has been a disputed territory since Spain abandoned its rule there in 1975. At the time, a war for the territory erupted between Morocco, Mauritania, and the Polisario Front, which proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) while its government was in exile.

    Four years later, Mauritania gave up its claim to control the territory, with Morocco securing de facto control over most of the region.

    In 1991, the UN recognised the region as a “non-self-governing territory”, saying that the Polisario Front is a legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, who have the right to self-determination. Since then, the UN has maintained its MINURSO peacekeeping mission in the region.”

  16. Entry to Islamabad Blocked Off Amid Continuing Anti-France Rallies in Pakistan (sputnikenws, Nov 16, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/asia/202011161081182368-entry-to-islamabad-blocked-off-amid-continuing-anti-france-rallies-in-pakistan/

    “In statements, French President Emmanuel Macron defended the right of the nation’s citizens to draw cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, an act deemed blasphemous in Islam, and condemned the violence against French people on religious grounds.

    Some of the entrances into Islamabad have been blocked off after a two-day anti-France rally in the neighbouring city of Rawalpindi threatened to spill over to the Pakistani capital, AFP reported. The road connecting the two cities was sealed off by the authorities leading to several thousand protesters gathering at the established roadblock.

    Islamabad’s residents have thus been forced to seek alternative routes into the capital, which remained open.

    The measure was taken as the government seeks to tone down protests organised by the party Tehreek-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), which takes a hardline stance on religious matters. In addition to blocking the entrance to the capital, authorities cut off the range of mobile phone services on 15 November for 24 hours in an attempt to thwart the efforts to organise rallies. The services have since been restored…”

  17. ‘Egregious Example of State-Sponsored Terrorism’: Indian Foreign Minister Hits Out at Pakistan (sputniknews, Nov 16, 2020)
    https://sputniknews.com/india/202011161081181613-egregious-example-of-state-sponsored-terrorism-indian-foreign-minister-hits-out-at-pakistan/

    “Last week, Pakistan claimed it would present evidence to the United Nations and other international bodies of India’s involvement with militant activities against Islamabad. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi made the claim after the armies of the two countries engaged in a cross-border firefight on the eve of Diwali.

    India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has slammed Pakistan, without directly naming it, saying that Delhi has in its “immediate neighbourhood” an “egregious example of state-sponsored terrorism”.

    Speaking at an event, Jaishankar said, “As regards terrorism, the era of ‘not my problem’ came to an end in 9/11 but it is yet to produce a wholehearted international collaborative effort. We have, in our immediate neighbourhood, a particularly egregious example of state-sponsored cross-border terrorism”.

    The minister added that India’s goal is a “comprehensive convention”.

    “World is becoming aware of [the] global nature of international terrorism. Our relentless efforts kept it in [the] spotlight, bringing out related aspects like terror finance, radicalisation and cyber recruitment. Our goal is a comprehensive convention and we will not rest till that happens”, Jaishankar pointed out.

    Jaishankar’s comments came a day after the Indian External Affairs Ministry gave a dressing down to Pakistan on its claims that it has evidence that India is using its soil for terror activities against Islamabad, and that it would submit proof to the United Nations and other international organisations.

    “The press conference was a deliberate attempt on the part of the Pakistani establishment to shift focus from its internal political and economic failures. It also seeks to justify cross-border terrorism, including ceasefire violations and infiltration across the LoC and IB (International Border)”, said Anurag Srivastava, a spokesperson for the Indian External Affairs Ministry.

    On Saturday, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said during a press conference, “Islamabad has irrefutable evidence to the world to demonstrate the Indian state’s direct sponsorship of terrorism in Pakistan that has resulted in the deaths of innocent Pakistanis”.”

  18. Prof. Hillel Frisch:
    Normalizing with Cairo Rather than Riyadh Could Be a Major Achievement

    Normalizing relations between the two veteran peacemakers, Israel and Egypt, rather than making peace with Saudi Arabia could be the crowning achievement of the Abraham Accords peace process. An official Egyptian approval of the normalization of relations between Israel and Sudan could be the harbinger of change.

    https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/israel-egypt-normalization/
    ………
    ………
    Really important. Egypt is the most populous, most important Arab country. Unlike the others, Egypt is not a colonial artifact: its history is national, an identity unique within the Islamic world.

    The West lost sight of that in its pursuit of energy resources in the Gulf. Saudi Arabia was over-valued, Western leaders mistook guardianship of the holy sites for prestige within the Islamic world. In fact the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula were routinely dismissed as little more than doormen and janitors for the Holy Sites.

    Though their wealth has bought courtesy, Gulfies are still widely despised as “jumped-up camel-drivers”. The sparse native population couldn’t survive without the skills it imports. Social and political organization remains tribal; attempting to modernize will destabilize most of these governments.

    In fact, they’re all extremely precarious. For non-Arab Ottomans and Persians, they’re revanchist objectives, not nation-state peers. Crafting a regional foreign policy around a character like Crown Prince MbS is a fiction tacitly acknowledged as American power projection. A sandcastle.

    but, sigh…

    Egypt is unlikely to warm up to Israel. Since the peace treaty, shortcomings of government have been ascribed to the Zionist entity and the satanic jooos. Popular antisemitism is more pervasive than ever, worse than during shooting wars.

    Worse than in Iran.

    There’s considerable cooperation at the highest levels of government, but that’s a closely guarded secret. It’ll take a concerted effort over a generation – if ever – to achieve genuine normalization between the peoples.

    • For perspective, Egyptians also hate Shiites, detest Persians.
      Turks are ok, Ottomans are not.
      Lebanese are oily and deceitful mongrels.
      Chinese are fathomless, sinister aliens…

  19. UK troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan by Christmas as staying without US ‘untenable’ (express, Nov 16, 2020)
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1360362/military-uk-troops-afghanistan-commanders

    “MILITARY commanders are drawing up plans to withdraw more than 1,000 UK troops from Afghanistan by Christmas, writes Marco Giannangeli.

    The move comes after President Trump told senior US army chiefs he wants his personnel out of the Middle East before he leaves office in January. Britain has 1,000 troops in Afghanistan, drawn from the 2nd Battalion The Rifles and the Yorkshire Regiment, who are based in and around Kabul on a non-offensive deployment. The UK also has a 40-strong force of SAS and SBS soldiers at Bagram air base, working alongside a US-led Coalition Joint Special Operations Task Force.

    But last night senior sources revealed that commanders had warned Defence Secretary Ben Wallace that remaining in Afghanistan without US support would be “untenable”.

    Officially the US has just over 5,000 personnel in the country, along with an undisclosed number of special operations units. Their withdrawal was already on the cards following a peace deal brokered with the Taliban, despite pleas by Kabul to reconsider.

    But new US defence secretary Chris Miller has already directed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley to expedite the move, after instructions by President Trump that he wants to end his term of office with the legacy of ending major US operations.

    And it is not clear whether president-elect Joe Biden, who recently wrote that it was time to “end the forever wars which have cost the United States untold blood and treasure”, will alter the policy.

    Last night a senior source said: “The feeling is that we cannot safely remain in Afghanistan without US support.

    “Therefore we are looking at a number of contingencies, including the deployment of a small force to protect the departing units.

    “If we do go it will be a major operation. We will need RAF transport and we will need to focus on security at Kabul airport to protect our planes and troops.””

  20. Muslim convert who stabbed prayer leader in neck in front of worshippers at London mosque asks to be sent to prison so he can learn Quran ‘from start to finish’ (dailymail, Nov 16, 2020)
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8954831/Muslim-convert-stabbed-prayer-leader-neck-asks-sent-prison-learn-Quran.html

    “A Muslim convert who stabbed a prayer leader in the neck in front of horrified worshippers in a London Mosque has asked for a prison sentence so he can learn the Quran ‘from start to finish.’

    Daniel Horton, 30, has admitted stabbing Raafat Maglad, 70, as he held prayers at the London Central Mosque in Regent’s Park.

    Islamic elder Mr Maglad is left unable to feed himself with his right arm alone and is scared to stand in front of his congregation for fear of a repeat attack, a court heard today.

    Footage taken moments before the stabbing shows a man in a red hoodie kneeling on the floor and ‘praying strangely’ at the front of the beautiful prayer hall.

    Police found a blood stained prayer mat at the mosque along with a knife on the carpet which Horton used to carry out the stabbing on February 20 this year.

    Horton, of no fixed abode, was supposed to be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court today.

    But the ruling was delayed pending further clarification on psychological reports after Horton asked his lawyer to be sent to jail where he could learn the Quran and not a hospital order.

    Mr Sam Blom-Cooper, in mitigation, said: ‘Mr Horton has been clear in the limited interactions I have had with him that he wants to be sentenced, that he wants to be punished for the harm that he has done.’

    He added: ‘Mr Horton wants a prison sentence. He does not want a hospital order.

    ‘He wants to learn the Quran off by heart. He wants to learn the Quran from start to finish.’

    Benn Maguire, prosecuting, told the court how the attack has shattered the sanctity of the mosque which should have been a safe haven for worshippers.

    He said: ‘This should have been a spiritual haven of worship.

    ‘Mr Horton’s attack on an innocent man shattered the sanctity of this place.’

    A fellow worshipper grabbed Horton and held him back after he stabbed Mr Maglad at the mosque during prayer time and the attacker was detained by those at the mosque before police arrived…..”

  21. Germany charges press office worker with spying for Egypt (abcnews, Nov 16, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/germany-charges-press-office-worker-spying-egypt-74231689

    “German prosecutors say they have formally charged an employee of the government’s press office with spying for an Egyptian intelligence service.

    Federal prosecutors said Monday that the man, identified only as Amin K. for privacy reasons, had used his position in the press office’s visitor service to obtain information for Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, or GIS.

    Prosecutors said the suspect, a German citizen with family roots in Egypt, took up his espionage activity from July 2010 on instructions from the Egyptian embassy in Berlin.

    He is accused of compiling reports on Germany’s domestic and foreign policy relating Egypt, including through the use of research tools available to him at press office. Prosecutors say he was also involved in an unsuccessful attempt to recruit agents for the GIS in 2014 and 2015.

    In exchange, the suspect hoped that his family in Egypt would receive special treatment from authorities there. Prosecutors said his handler helped the suspect’s mother obtain pension rights in Egypt, and he was occasionally invited to receptions at the embassy.

    The case came to light in July, when it was mentioned in an annual report by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.

    At the time, government spokeswoman Martina Fietz said that people who work at the visitor service didn’t have access to other databases at the press office, including those that contain reporters’ accreditation details.

    The man faces up to five years imprisonment if he’s convicted of spying for a foreign intelligence agency.”

  22. Migrant arrivals putting pressure on Spain’s Canary Islands (abcnews, Nov 16, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/migrant-arrivals-putting-pressure-spains-canary-islands-74234413

    “Spanish rescue services have located 1,300 migrants in four days in the Atlantic Ocean and transferred them to the southern Canary Islands, further straining local emergency response capabilities as makeshift military camps for the newcomers were being readied.

    The latest to arrive were 27 men from northern Africa who were picked up from the high seas early Monday, Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service told The Associated Press, adding to the 1,275 people found from Friday to Sunday aboard 42 boats.

    More than half of the 16,000 migrants who arrived this year in the Spanish islands off northwest Africa did so in the last four weeks, a sharp influx worrying international and non-profit organizations.

    That’s compared to around 1,500 arrivals recorded last year in the archipelago, better known for its vacation resorts popular among northern Europeans.

    Officials from the U.N. refugee and migration agencies were visiting the islands this week to assess the crisis, which the IOM and UNCHR agencies said has been fueled by people fleeing violence in the Sahel region or the Ivory Coast, extreme poverty, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic.

    “The COVID-19 context poses an additional challenge, taking into account the profiles and special vulnerability of some newcomers, including women, girls and boys, some unaccompanied, victims of trafficking or people in need of international protection,” a joint statement from the two agencies said Monday.

    The government has halted all but a few transfers of the migrants from the archipelago to mainland Spain, a decision that high-ranking officials from the Foreign Ministry have justified in private as part of the government’s “zero tolerance” toward migrants who don’t qualify for legal work or asylum.

    But that has led to a concentration of people on some of the islands, especially at a dock on the southwestern coast of Gran Canaria island, where a steady number of 2,000 people have been spending night after night on hard concrete and under Red Cross tents.

    The Spanish government says it plans to increase aid for Africa while speeding up deportations of those who don’t meet the criteria to stay in Europe and funding police operations against people traffickers in Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal, the northwestern African countries that are the main points of departure for migrants bound for the Canaries.

    Several makeshift military camps have also been prepared to host migrants who are crammed at the Arguineguin dock, and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said Monday that the transfers would be initiated “soon.”

    Interviewed on Antena 3 Television, Grande-Marlaska said that the makeshift camps were only for the first 72 hours when the migrants are in police custody while deciding whether they meet the criteria to stay, and rejected the idea of turning the Canary Islands into Europe’s “new Lesbos,” in reference to the Greek island infamously known for its refugee camps.

    The new migrant focus on the perilous Canary Islands route, first seen in 2006, has come as authorities crack down on previously popular passages across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to European Union countries.

    With at least 493 deaths recorded so far this year, up from 210 in all of 2019, the route to the Spanish archipelago has seen proportionally more deaths per every arrival than the Central Mediterranean journey from Libya to Italy or Malta. The perilous trip from far-flung Senegal can take up to two weeks in rough waters.”

  23. Dutch prosecutors: Saudi embassy shooting had terror motive (abcnews, Nov 16, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/dutch-prosecutors-saudi-embassy-shooting-terror-motive-74234840

    “Dutch prosecutors said Monday that the shooting last week targeting the Saudi Arabian embassy building in The Hague was carried out with a “terrorist” motive.

    A 40-year-old suspect arrested on the day the embassy was sprayed with gunfire appeared Monday before an investigating magistrate. He was ordered held for a further 14 days as investigations continue.

    Nobody was injured in the early morning shooting last Thursday that left the white façade and several windows of the embassy riddled with bullet holes.

    Prosecutors said in a statement that the man, whose identity was not released, is suspected of crimes “with a terrorist motive” including attempted murder or manslaughter of an embassy guard and “violence toward the building of an internationally protected person.”

    The terrorist motive “is evident from the fact that the suspect appears to want to impose his will on the embassy,” prosecutors said in a statement. It added that the suspect had previously been fined for defacing the building.

    The embassy last week condemned the attack and urged its citizens in the Netherlands to exercise caution.

    The Dutch foreign ministry said in a statement that it was taking the shooting “extremely seriously” and was in close contact with Saudi authorities.”

  24. New York sheriff takes defiant stand against Gov. Cuomo’s COVID restrictions impacting Thanksgiving

    ‘People have common sense’

    One New York sheriff is taking a stand for those residents who live in his jurisdiction, pushing back against Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s new coronavirus-related Thanksgiving restrictions.

    Just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, Cuomo announced new restrictions as COVID-19 cases surge worldwide.

    Although Cuomo declared victory over COVID-19 despite his nursing home scandal — even writing a book about his leadership during the pandemic — the Democratic governor announced gatherings in the Empire State would again be limited to just 10 people, including at private residences.

    https://www.theblaze.com/news/new-york-sheriff-defiant-cuomo-covid-thanksgiving?utm_source=theblaze-breaking&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20201116Trending-NYSheriff&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Breaking%20News

  25. Kurdish-led authority releases dozen of Syrians from IS Camp (abcnews, Nov 16, 2020)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/kurdish-led-authority-releases-dozen-syrians-camp-74237236

    “Kurdish-led authorities Monday released dozens of Syrian families from one of the largest camps in northeastern Syria holding tens of thousands of women and children, many of them linked to the Islamic State group.

    The release of 120 families comes a month after senior Kurdish officials said all 25,000 Syrian nationals in the sprawling al-Hol camp will be allowed to leave as part of a general amnesty to ease pressure on authorities maintaining the camp.

    The release, announced through the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council, is voluntary. Unlike previous releases it doesn’t require sponsorship agreements with local Arab tribes to which those detained belong. Only identification papers are needed, according to the SDC.

    The camp is also home to about 30,000 Iraqis, most of them children, and 10,000 additional foreign nationals.

    The camp’s population mushroomed after Kurdish-led forces transported families of IS fighters and supporters of the group who had remained holed up in the last territories IS held in Syria. The military campaign ended in March 2019, with thousands transferred to the camp, including many foreigners.

    Those released Monday are from Deir el-Zor province, a majority Arab province that has seen protests against the Kurdish-led administration. The Rojava Information Center, a media group that covers Kurdish-administered territories, said 17,000 of the 25,000 Syrians in the camp are children.

    Sheikmous Ahmed, a Kurdish administration official in charge of displaced, said the Monday release is the first in a series.

    Ilham Ahmed, a senior Kurdish official, said last month that running the camp has become a financial and security burden on the Kurdish-led administration. She said foreign nationals would be returned to their countries of origin through separate deals.

    The Kurdish-led administration has called on Western countries to take back their nationals, but very few have been repatriated, mostly children, sometimes with their mothers. Conditions in the sprawling camp are dire, with poor hygiene and lack of security.

    Ahmed said no Syrians will be forced to leave the camp, particularly those who have security concerns about returning to their hometowns. Parts of Deir el-Zor are controlled by Syrian government troops, while Islamic State militants still operate sleeper cells in the deserts of Syria and Iraq.

    Kurdish-run prisons also house thousands of suspected IS militants, including some 2,000 foreigners. Some have been released in an amnesty also in recent weeks.”

  26. GOP congresswoman-elect who fled Soviet Union: ‘Not pretty when socialism runs out of money’
    Victoria Spartz, recently elected to Congress in Indiana, says she saw first-hand the problems with socialism

    Congresswoman-elect Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., appeared on “Fox & Friends” to share her personal experiences living under socialism.

    “I grew up in a socialistic country, the Socialist Republic of Ukraine. I saw what happens when it runs out of money and it is not pretty,” Spartz said.

    “And now, I came to America 20 years ago with a suitcase after meeting my husband on a train in Europe. He’s a raised and born Hoosier. And now we’re building socialism. I’m kind of going full circles. I can tell you what is going to be next. It’s very sad for me to see that.”

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/victoria-spartz-soviet-union-socialism-runs-out-money

  27. Horowitz: Pro-mask study withdrawn after virus spread in counties analyzed by researchers

    ‘Because there are increased rates of SARS- CoV-2 cases in the areas that we originally analyzed in this study’

    Call it the divine rule of masks. You shall not utter a negative word about them. You shall never question their effectiveness, even when they’ve failed to work for six months. You shall never be caught without the idol on your face – even on the face of your two-year-old, for that matter. You shall worship the cloth until the bitter end.

    POLL: Who is the most corrupt?

    It doesn’t take a scientist to see that masks don’t work. The experience of unprecedented universal mask-wearing for months – even in places that had few COVID cases to begin with but then skyrocketed after mask use – demonstrates that the idea of wearing a mask to block a respiratory virus is sheer lunacy. Yet one group of researchers tried to cherry-pick data from a selected counties to show that cases dropped after the mask mandate, without any regard for the fact that each wave only lasts for about 6-8 weeks in a given area before dissipating – regardless of what actions are taken by the local population. Then it comes back a few times until everyone has been exposed to the virus.

    https://www.theblaze.com/op-ed/horowitz-pro-mask-study-withdrawn-after-virus-spread-in-counties-analyzed-by-researchers?utm_source=theblaze-breaking&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20201116Trending-HorowitzMaskStudy&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Breaking%20News

    • Japan, Australia, So. Korea, Philip – how craven to sign on to this! And they expect us to defend their territorial waters? I just don’t get it.

      India’s economy is deeply entangled with China. No matter how Indian propaganda describes victory in mountain skirmishes, it’s China that holds vast economic advantage.

      But Mr. Modi is really tough, a fierce Hindu patriot. If anybody can achieve decoupling, it’s Narendra Modi.