Reader’s Links for November 25, 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

92 Replies to “Reader’s Links for November 25, 2020”

  1. Iran Swaps Jailed British-Australian Academic with Iranians Held Abroad
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2647041/iran-swaps-jailed-british-australian-academic-iranians-held-abroad

    “Iran has exchanged a jailed British-Australian academic, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, with three Iranians who had been detained abroad, Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reported on Wednesday.

    Moore-Gilbert, a specialist in Middle East politics at the University of Melbourne, was detained in Iran in September, 2018 and had been serving a 10-year sentence for espionage.

    State TV said that an Iranian businessman and two Iranian citizens who had been held abroad “on baseless charges” had been exchanged for Moore-Gilbert.

    It gave no further details about the three Iranians, but said they were detained for trying to circumvent US sanctions, reimposed on Iran in 2018 when Washington exited Iran’s nuclear deal with six powers.

    Footage aired by state TV showed Moore-Gilbert at the airport with a headscarf, appearing to be waiting to board a plane to leave Iran.

    The footage also showed three men wearing face-masks with Iranian national flags on their shoulders and one in a wheelchair with his both legs amputated at the knee, were welcomed at the airport by Iranian officials.

    There was no immediate comment from Britain’s Foreign Office.

    Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals in recent years, mostly on espionage charges.

    Rights activists have accused Iran of arresting dual nationals to try to win concessions from other countries. Tehran denies it holds people for political reasons and has accused many of the foreigners in its jails of espionage.”

  2. Arab Coalition Thwarts Terrorist Attack in Southern Red Sea
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2647031/arab-coalition-thwarts-terrorist-attack-southern-red-sea

    “The Saudi-led Arab coalition announced on Wednesday that it had foiled a terrorist attack targeting a commercial vessel in the southern Red Sea.

    In a statement published by state media, the coalition said a commercial vessel suffered minor damage from shrapnel in the failed attack.

    It slammed the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen for threatening international marine trade routes.

    Athens-based TMS Tankers said the Maltese-flagged vessel it managed was “attacked by an unknown source”.

    “The Agrari was struck about one meter above the waterline and has suffered a breach,” TMS Tankers said in a statement.

    “It has been confirmed that the crew are safe and there have been no injuries. No pollution has been reported. The vessel is in ballast condition and stable,” the company said, adding that an investigation was underway.”

  3. UAE’s Fatwa Council denounces Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-muslim-brotherhood-fatwa-council-terrorist-organisation

    “The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Fatwa Council has denounced the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation, backing a ruling by the Council of Senior Scholars of Saudi Arabia earlier this month.

    The UAE council, a government body establised in 2018 responsible for licensing Islamic authorities to issue rulings, warned on Monday that Muslims should stay away from the Muslim Brotherhood, which it described as a rogue group.

    The announcement followed a regular meeting of the council held via video conferencing and led by the Mauritanian Islamic scholar Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, the chairman of the council.

    In recent years the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have also denounced the transnational Brotherhood, which was founded in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna in 1928.

    “The UAE Fatwa Council declared its full support for the Council of Senior Scholars’ statement, which echoes the previous proclamations of the governments of the UAE and Saudi Arabia that consider the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation, due to its support for violent extremist groups, disputes and with leaderships, and disobedience,” the Emirati news agency WAM reported on Monday.

    The Council cited several verses from the Quran, as well as sayings and practices (Sunnah) of the Prophet Muhammad to affirm: “It is not permissible to pledge allegiance to anyone other than the ruler, nor is it permissible to pledge allegiance to a clandestine ‘emir’.”

    ‘An inviting and reformist organisation’
    On 10 November, the Saudi Council of Senior Scholars issued a statement stating that the Muslim Brotherhood group “blindly follows partisan objectives that are running contrary to the guidance of our graceful religion, while taking religion as a mask to disguise its purposes in order to practice the opposite such as a sedition, wreaking havoc, committing violence and terrorism”.

    “Out of its [the Muslim Brotherhood’s] womb, many extremist and terrorist groups have emerged, wreaking havoc on so many territories, which has been clearly demonstrated by their violence and crimes all over the world,” it said.

    On 11 November, in response to the Saudi announcement, Talat Fehmi, a spokesperson for the Muslim Brotherhood, told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency that “the Brotherhood is not terrorist but an inviting and reformist organisation”.

    “The Brotherhood… is far from violence, terror and tearing apart the ummah. Since its establishment, it has been calling people to Allah with good advice,” said Fehmi, adding that the organisation denied all accusations of the Council.

    Fehmi also said that the Muslim Brotherhood had always been a victim of violence and dictatorial regimes.

    Turkish haven
    The Muslim Brotherhood was outlawed by Egyptian authorities in 2013 following the ousting of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, in a military coup led by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has replaced him.

    Morsi, who was affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, collapsed during a court hearing on espionage charges at Cairo’s Tora prison complex in June 2019, and later died suddenly, reportedly of a heart attack.

    Thousands of members have been imprisoned in Egypt, often on claims of inciting violence, with some facing maximum prison sentences and others the death penalty.

    Since the 2013 outlawing, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to provide a safe haven for members of the movement.

    Turkey is home to some 20,000 Muslim Brotherhood members, according to an August report by US think-tank the Century Foundation.”

  4. Erdogan says ‘There is no Kurdish issue’ and accuses Kurd leader of supporting ‘terrorism’
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201125-erdogan-says-there-is-no-kurdish-issue-and-accuses-kurd-leader-of-supporting-terrorism/

    “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed that “there is no Kurdish issue” in his country and accused an imprisoned Kurdish political leader of supporting and defending “terrorism”. Selahatting Demirtas, said Erdogan, has the “blood of thousands of Kurds on his hands.”…”

  5. Minister: 90% of Daesh operations caused by Iraq security negligence
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201125-minister-90-of-daesh-operations-caused-by-iraq-security-negligence/

    “Some 90 per cent of Daesh’s military operations in Iraq took place because of the negligence of the security and military forces, Defence Minister Juma Enad said.

    In an interview with Dijlah TV channel, Enad explained that Daesh militants in Iraq possess modern weapons, “but they cannot control a security checkpoint or a certain area, and they cannot engage with the Iraqi forces for more than half an hour”.

    “Iraq has problems with terrorists infiltrating across the Syrian border, and the security forces must fight the terrorists, not pursue them, because it will lead to ambushing our forces,” he added.

    On Saturday, eight people, including five security officers, were killed in an attack by Daesh in the northern province of Saladin.”

  6. Saudi Arabia announces new penalties against abusing women
    https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/saudi-arabia-announces-new-penalties-against-abusing-women-1.1606319255245

    “A fine of up to 50,000 riyals and one-year imprisonment for those who physically and psychologically abuse women in Saudi Arabia, the Public Prosecution warned. ‘Anyone found guilty of abusing women physically or emotionally will face a fine of up to 50,000 riyals and a jail sentence to up one year,’ the Public Prosecution said in a statement posted on its twitter account.

    According to local media, these penalties will make anyone thinks twice before daring to abuse his wife, sister or any female relatives. The move comes as part of ongoing Saudi efforts to eliminate violence against women, and as part of the Kingdom’s reforms that give women more rights and freedoms…”

  7. Marital dispute: man killed by sister, her lover
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2273462/marital-dispute-man-killed-by-sister-her-lover

    “A woman with the help of her lover allegedly killed her brother in Chichawatni on Tuesday after their marital dispute could not be solved.

    The victim was a father of two children.

    Police said 24-year-old Asad Mumtaz alias Cheeta Masih’s younger sister, 21-year-old Maya and Ehtesham, a resident of Faisal Colony, had been allegedly in a relationship for 3 years.

    The two wanted to marry but they faced opposition from Asad, which became a major obstacle to their marriage.

    Reportedly, in order to marry Ehtesham, Maya Bibi had left her ancestral religion and converted to Islam 10 month ago.

    As their marital dispute was prolonged, the two lovers were deranged and decided to kill Asad who they saw as a major obstacle to their marriage.

    On the day of the incident, Asad had called Ehtesham to discuss the martial issue with him at his home. The two were seated in Asad’s living room when, during the serving of snacks, Ehtesham allegedly mixed intoxicants in Asad’s tea.

    This resulted in Asad losing consciousness. After a while, Maya also reached there and put a scarf around Asad’s neck and they both began to pull the scarf in opposite directions to strangle the victim. Meanwhile, the victim’s wife, along with her neighbour, came to the drawing room unexpectedly.

    She shouted when she saw the murder of her husband happening.

    The two accused fled on a motorcycle parked in the street before the locals gathered.

    As soon as the tragic murder was reported, City Police Station SHO Malik Nadeem Anwar along with his men rushed to the crime scene.

    After taking the body of the deceased into custody, it was sent for postmortem. Police also began searching for the accused.

    Police traced and arrested the accused involved in the heinous murder within a few hours.

    Both pleaded guilty during the initial police investigation.”

  8. China’s Xi breaks silence, sends message to Biden; Beijing claims all poor counties ‘out of poverty’

  9. Turkish politician selected as delegate of US electoral college for first time
    https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-politician-selected-as-delegate-of-us-electoral-college-for-first-time-160332

    “A Turkish politician living in the U.S. state of New Jersey has become the first Turkish-American to be appointed on behalf of the Democratic Party to the United States Electoral College, a group of presidential electors.

    Derya Ta?k?n will participate as one of the delegates when the 538 electors of the U.S. Electoral College cast their official votes for president and vice president on Dec. 10.

    The U.S. Electoral College consists of 538 electors who are selected at the state level every four years for the sole purpose of electing the next U.S. president and vice president.

    Of those 538 electors, an absolute majority of 270 or more electoral votes are required to elect the nation’s next president.

    Expressing her happiness on becoming one of the delates of the U.S. Electoral College, Ta?k?n said that it made her proud for all the efforts and years of work done in the Democratic Party.

    Ta?k?n has shared the information that 14 delegates, including her, will officially cast their votes for the president-elect Joe Biden and the vice president-elect Kamala Harris in Trenton, the capital city of the state of New Jersey.

    Ta?k?n is a businesswoman who had served as the deputy mayor of Paterson, one of the largest cities of New Jersey and a county that is home to the largest Turkish-American immigrant community in the U.S.

    She is also an executive committee member of the National Coalition of Turkish-American Women Political Action Committee.”

  10. UAE halts visas to 13 countries including Turkey, Iran
    https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/uae-halts-visas-to-13-countries-including-turkey-iran-160343

    “The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has suspended travel visas for nationals from 13 countries including some Arab nations, Turkey and Iran.

    The decision took effect Nov. 18 and includes those from Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Kenya, Lebanon, Tunisia, Algeria, Turkey, and Iran, according to a document issued by the Dubai Airport Freezone Authority.

    An officer at the agency confirmed the move to Anadolu Agency but said visa applications from those countries will be reviewed separately.

    Authorities did not provide further details on the reasons for the ban or how long it would last.”

  11. 3 gangmasters arrested in Veneto
    https://www.ansa.it/english/news/2020/11/25/3-gangmasters-arrested-in-veneto_057d2dfb-94e2-4176-99d4-a9cf5195f351.html

    “Three alleged gangmasters, A Moroccan man, an Albanian man, and an Italian woman, were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of exploiting Moroccan labourers on farms in the provinces of Vicenza, Verona and Padua.

    Police said dozens of farm hands were made to work up to 12 hours a day for derisory sums.

    The probe started in march last year.”

  12. Migrant surge gains momentum via Czechia as many try to reach the West before winter hits
    https://rmx.news/article/article/illegal-migrants-attempting-to-reach-the-west-before-winter-hits-leads-to-surge-in-detentions-in-czechia

    “The state of emergency in spring closed borders and slowed the transit of migrants through the Czech Republic to the West of Europe. But in autumn, authorities are reporting the “usual” numbers of migrants being detained in Czechia.

    Police reports flowing in reveal a surge in migrants in November. In the Ústí nad Labem region in the northwest of the country, authorities detained eight Afghans hidden in a truck in mid-November, and is the type of incident that highlights what police are facing at the moment.

    “In November, we recorded an increase in the number of migrants,” confirmed Milan Mayer from the Prague directorate of the Foreign Police Service.

    While in the first half of November, police revealed 111 such individuals, since the beginning of the year, there were 413 detained migrants overall.

    “It is due to the approaching winter,” explained Interior Minister Jan Hamá?ek about the pickup in cases.

    “It will last another month, and then, they will settle in the camps again and wait until spring to try again,” said Mayer, who is basing her assumption on past migration patterns.

    Police officers are also finding foreigners unauthorized to be in the Czech Republic on international trains and buses, at railway stations, or just walking on foot through the country.

    Czech authorities have the latest technology at their disposal, which had helped tremendously, such as Schengenbus. It is the new generation mobile laboratory for detecting forged travel documents. The facility is able to quickly determine whether apprehended migrants have genuine documents or not.

    Another useful tool is the Heartbeat system, which can detect heartbeats through walls, cargo containers and other solid objects.

    “It allows us to find out if there are people in the truck without having to open it,” explained Hamá?ek, adding that German police are said to sometimes point out that Czechia is better equipped for combating illegal migration than they are.

    “It is a confirmation that investments in border protection proved helpful in recent years,” Hamá?ek said.

    People from European countries outside the EU, the Middle East, and North Africa use the Czech Republic as a transit point, sometimes accompanied by a people smuggler. Other times, a truck driver gives them a ride on purpose or unknowingly. Foreigners head mainly to Western Europe to reach family or friends or to apply for asylum there in countries that offer far better social benefits than can be found in the east of Europe.

    Even if these asylum requests are eventually rejected, countries often tolerate them in their territory for some time during the asylum procedure. The destination of 90 percent of migrants traveling via Czechia is Germany, followed by Belgium and France.

    TheForeign Police Service primarily try to return detained illegal migrants to the neighboring country where they originally departed from before reaching Czechia. If they are unable to do so, migrants are placed in a detention facility for foreigners where their identity is verified, as foreigners often pretend to be someone else or provide false data. For example, many Afghans claim that they are from Syria.

    There are now around 200 foreigners in Czech detention facilities, with another 60 migrants currently in quarantine. If the country of origin cannot be ascertained, the foreigner is released with an exit order to leave the country. If he disobeys, he risks prosecution. However, according to Mayer, authorities are, in most cases, able to determine the migrant’s country of origin.”

  13. Migrant-smuggling German NGOs are trying to silence free press
    https://rmx.news/article/article/migrant-smuggling-german-ngos-are-trying-to-silence-free-press

    “The silencing of independent media critical of NGOs based in Germany is raising fears about freedom of the press in the country.

    The censorship case has to do with dozens of NGO volunteers and employees who were arrested by Greek authorities in September, which were accused of espionage, ties to organized crime and people smuggling networks. As Remix New previously reported, the NGOs, some of them based in Germany and Norway, have allegedly co-ordinated their operations with Turkish people-smuggling gangs to bring over 3,000 illegal migrants to European shores, mostly to Greek and Italian ports.

    Members of the pro-migrant NGOs were reportedly illegally monitoring the radio traffic of Frontex and Greek coastguard ships in order to avoid detection. In critical moments, they may have also flooded Coast Guard ship radios with false signals in order to confuse authorities. These messages must have either come from a ship or from the Island of Lesbos. There are also accusations that Greek Coast Guard communications were monitored.

    The arrests have been reported by a small number of lesser-known media outlets but have gone largely undisclosed by the mainstream media. One of those media outlets detailing the arrests was the German independent online publication Tichys Einblick (TE), which has also published a number of other articles in the past detailing ties among radical left-wing NGOs and organized, people-smuggling networks.

    Now, one of the NGOs affected by the arrests has taken legal steps to silence the press reporting about their allegedly illegal activities. The legal team of Mare Liberum, a German-based NGO involved in “sea rescue” is demanding that TE sign a cease-and-desist obligation declaration that would in practice prevent them from reporting about the criminal investigation against the NGO.

    Mare Liberum is the operator of the migrant rescue ship Sea Watch, which has ferried a large number of mainly African migrants to European destinations. Some of the female passengers they have brought ashore have reportedly been identified as kidnap victims from Nigeria who were destined for European brothels, and the kidnapping gangs have reportedly used the NGO ships to get their victims into the European Union where they were met by handlers from human trafficking networks. The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has reported that in 2017, 5,425 Nigerian women have arrived in Italy via sea routes. The International Organization for Migration in Italy estimated that 80 percent of these women were potential victims of human trafficking.

    If Mare Liberum were to win the court case, TE and other German media outlets would effectively be denied the right to report on similar cases. Such a gag order would prevent independent media outlets not only from reporting on the ongoing criminal investigation against NGOs accused of human trafficking, but of NGO activism and illegal migration in general. TE expects the legal costs of the court case to run into five-digit numbers, which would be a crippling sum for a small media outlet supported by subscriptions and small donations, as opposed to a large, well-funded NGO that receives money from tax-contributions, from church organizations, chief among them the German Lutheran Church. Some reports also indicate that the NGOs receive partial financing from the German embassy in Athens.

    TE also alleges that witnesses that they have interviewed regarding the NGO’s activities have reported being pressured and intimidated by lawyers. TE writes that “police officers, farmers and fishermen on Lesbos, who were questioned by TE, were in turn sued by dubious NGOs. Witnesses are silenced in order to cover up the grievances, including arson in “refugee camps” on Lesbos. The fires in the camps were intended to force Germany in particular to take in even more migrants referred to as “refugees”. There is a risk that these witnesses will be silenced and TE will have to cease these reports”.

    TE’s claim that migrants have set fires to their own camps in order to be released onto the European mainland is not a new allegation. In fact, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis indicated that migrants were using such a strategy, labeling it the “Moria tactic”. Migrants burned camps down on several occasions, including the massive Moria camp fire earlier this year that destroyed the entire facility.

    TE is asking for donations to help cover its legal fees, yet it is clear that regardless of who wins the dispute, the proceedings could bankrupt one of the last independent media voices in Germany, while it would have little effect on the finances of one of the best-funded NGOs. Since 2015, over €6.2 million in various grants have been paid out to a number of Mediterranean Sea rescue projects by the EU. And although George Soros’ Open Society Foundation claims on its website that they “do not and have never funded the important direct humanitarian response of NGOs, such as the operation of search and rescue vessels in the Mediterranean”, they finance a number of migrant-related projects on shore, such as SolidarityNow, that are an indispensable link in the migration route from Turkey or Africa.”

  14. France: Migrant sentenced to four years for drugging and raping his young landlady
    https://rmx.news/article/article/migrant-in-france-sentenced-to-four-years-for-drugging-and-raping-his-young-landlady

    “A young migrant was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday for drugging and abusing the young woman hosting him in the village of Douarnenez in the northwestern French region of Brittany, regional news portal Le Télégramme reports.

    The unnamed victim insisted that the hearing take place behind closed doors on Nov. 20 at the Quimper court. The first hearing on Oct. 20 was public because of the defendant’s request for referrals and to carry out expert evaluations, including a psychiatric one.

    For three hours, behind the closed doors of the courtroom, the magistrates of the bench, the prosecution, the lawyers, but also the victim and the defendant, named as Plamedi Odinga Mbala Mungadi, recounted the events of Sept. 12, 2020, in Douarnenez inside the home ofthe young woman.

    That evening, the young man prepared the meal for him and the young woman but added a pellet of cannabis resin. He is accused of having subsequently undressed the young woman and sexually assaulting her.

    “He remembers having put the ball of resin in the dish to have led his landlady on the sofa but, afterwards, it is all a blackout,” explained Me Yann Le Roux, the young man’s lawyer. He pleaded for the alteration of the charges, but eventually prosecutor Béatrice Nectoux requested four years in prison with continued detention and a permanent ban on staying on French territory.

    At 6 p.m., the Quimper court condemned the man to four years in prison and adding a final ban on stay in Finistère and Morbihan in addition to the ban on staying in France. Plamedi Odinga Mbala Mungadi will also have his name entered in the Automated Judicial File of Perpetrators of Sexual and Violent Offenses (Fijais) and will have to pay €4,200 in damages to his victim.”

  15. CBC – Vaccine hesitancy a looming hurdle to ending pandemic

    “We know that without a vaccine we don’t get through this pandemic”

    …” it is the only way out..”

    … we are looking forward to be able to vaccinate the Canadians in the coming months

    Dr Theresa Tam spoke to us from Ottawa