Reader’s Links for January 27, 2021

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

85 Replies to “Reader’s Links for January 27, 2021”

  1. DHS Issues ‘Heightened Threat’ Alert After Transition, Warns of Potential Violence
    By Zachary Stieber
    January 27, 2021 Updated: January 27, 2021
    biggersmaller Print

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday said the United States is seeing “a heightened threat environment” following the presidential inauguration as it warned of potential violence in the coming weeks.

    Acting DHS Secretary Pete Gaynor said in a terrorism advisory bulletin that information suggests “some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence.”

    Throughout the last year, domestic violent extremists targeted people engaging in non-violent protests, according to the bulletin. The extremists were motivated by issues such as anger over police use of force, COVID-19 restrictions, and the 2020 election results.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/dhs-issues-heightened-threat-alert-after-transition-warns-of-potential-violence_3674162.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-01-27-3

    (Richard: Note how they are willing to talk about Antifa but say that the “White Supremacists” are the biggest danger.

    • What about the Islamic State? They have a new recruitment video. And SenileJoe has lifted the ban and appointed a Muslim Palestinian as Director of National Intelligence. What a mess.

    • Communist Villages
      Islamic Mosque
      Barracks and industries
      Trojan Horse loss

      “Do I have to point out how many terrorists have been spawned in the ideology of jihad at prominent mosques here in America? No, I don’t; you’ve already(or should have) read about the long list of terrorists which the Tsarnaev brothers’ Boston mosque cranked out, as well as the countless terror plotters and attackers – including some of the 9/11 hijackers and the Ft. Hood shooter – who received their indoctrination and training at key mosques in the Washington, D.C. suburbs of Northern Virginia where I sit typing this.”
      https://clashdaily.com/2013/06/every-mosque-in-america-too-is-a-military-base/

  2. TAIWAN ORDER TO SHOOT THEM DOWN. Taiwan deploys war planes after 20 Chinese bombers invade territory

  3. 16-year-old Singaporean detained under ISA for planning terrorist attacks on two mosques
    https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/16-year-old-detained-under-isa-for-planning-terrorist-attacks-at-two-mosques-in-singapore

    “A 16-year-old Singaporean student has been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for planning to attack two mosques and kill worshippers in Singapore on March 15 this year – the second anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks.

    A Protestant Christian of Indian ethnicity, he is the first detainee to be influenced by far-right extremist ideology and the youngest person detained under the ISA for terrorism-related activities to date, said the Internal Security Department (ISD) on Wednesday (Jan 27).

    The secondary school student was found to have made detailed plans and preparations to conduct terrorist attacks using a machete against Muslims at two mosques here, the ISD said.

    He had chosen Assyafaah Mosque in Sembawang and Yusof Ishak Mosque in Woodlands as his targets because they were near his home, it added.

    Influenced by the Christchurch attacker Brenton Tarrant, the youth had mapped out his route and bought a flak jacket. He intended to buy a machete on online marketplace Carousell and wanted to live-stream his planned massacre.

    “He was self-radicalised, motivated by a strong antipathy towards Islam and a fascination with violence. He watched the live-streamed video of the terrorist attack on the two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand and read the manifesto of the attacker, Brenton Tarrant,” said the ISD.

    He had also watched Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) propaganda videos, and came to the erroneous conclusion that ISIS represented Islam, and that Islam called on its followers to kill non-believers, said the ISD.

    The ISD said it was clear from his attack plans and preparations that this youth was influenced by Tarrant’s actions and manifesto.

    First, he planned to carry out his attacks on the anniversary of the Christchurch attacks. He had conducted online reconnaissance and research on both mosques to prepare for the attack.

    He also planned to drive between the two attack sites like Tarrant, and therefore devised a plan to procure a vehicle to use during the attack, said the ISD.

    Third, he bought a tactical vest from an online platform, and intended to adorn the vest with right-wing extremist symbols and modify it so that he could strap on his mobile device to live-stream the attack, just like Tarrant did.

    Detailed planning, preparation
    The youth had explored various other options before deciding on the machete as his attack weapon, said the ISD.

    His original plan was to use a rifle similar to that used by Tarrant. He managed to find a prospective seller via a private chat platform, but did not follow through with the purchase when he suspected it was a scam.

    He nevertheless persisted in his search for firearms online, and gave up the idea only when he realised that it would be difficult to get his hands on one, given Singapore’s strict gun-control laws, the ISD said.

    He also explored making a triacetone triperoxide bomb and mimicking Tarrant’s plan of setting fire to the mosques with gasoline.

    He eventually dropped both ideas due to logistical and personal safety concerns.

    To prepare himself for the knifing attack, the youth had watched YouTube videos, and was confident that he would be able to hit the arteries of his targets by randomly slashing at the neck and chest areas.

    At the point of his arrest by the ISD, the youth had found his choice machete on Carousell which was listed for $190 but had not purchased it yet.

    In further imitation of Tarrant, he had prepared two documents which he intended to disseminate prior to his attacks – one as a message to the people of France to stand against Muslims, and the second as a manifesto detailing his hatred for Islam.

    The manifesto, which was unfinished when the youth was arrested, said that “violence should never be solved with peace”, because peace, while “moral”, is “nowhere near effective” as violence.

    It borrowed heavily from Tarrant’s manifesto and referred to him as a “saint” and to the Christchurch attacks as a “justifiable killing of Muslims”.

    “The detailed planning and preparation attests to the youth’s determination to follow through with his attack plan,” said the ISD.

    The 16-year-old admitted during the investigation that he could foresee only two outcomes to his plan – that he is arrested before he is able to carry out the attacks, or he executes the plan and is thereafter killed by the police.

    The ISD said its investigation to date indicated that the youth had acted alone.

    There was also no indication that he had tried to influence anyone with his extreme outlook or involve others in his attack plans.

    His immediate family and others in his social circles were not aware of his attack plans and the depth of his hatred for Islam, said the ISD.

    “This case demonstrates yet again that extreme ideas can find resonance among and radicalise Singaporeans, regardless of race or religion. It is a threat to all of us and our way of life.”

    The ISD urged the public to stay alert to suspicious items and individuals, and to inform the authorities by calling 999, sending an SMS to 71999, or by using the SGSecure app.”

  4. Democrats’ plan to stop Trump in 2024 is going to fail as Republicans rally behind Trump

    • An awful lot of companies are boycotting Donald J. Trump.

      The most important, in my opinion, is Mastercard because it has links to all other corporations part of the boycott.

      As a suggestion, we all have more than one credit card. Use Mastercard at a minimum, keep it alive but barely, and not more than that.

      RICHARD: I opened a Gmail account this morning. What a mistake! It’s You-T, FB, and Tw all wrapped up in one. I would say Malware for your computer.

  5. Iraq Sees Sharp Decline in Power Supply Due to Terrorism, Cut in Iranian Gas
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2768361/iraq-sees-sharp-decline-power-supply-due-terrorism-cut-iranian-gas

    “Electricity supply has declined in all Iraqi provinces, sometimes reaching only two hours for every six hours of power cut. As people’s anger mounted against government authorities and the Ministry of Electricity in particular, the latter presented excuses and explained the obstacles hindering production.

    A decision by Tehran at the end of 2020 to stop gas supplies for some Iraqi production plants has caused the loss of more than a third of energy production. Moreover, the recent escalation of terrorist attacks on power transmission lines further exacerbated the problem in the country.

    Spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity, Ahmed Musa Al-Abadi, said that seven high-voltage transmission lines in Diyala, Nineveh, Salah al-Din and Anbar governorates were targeted with explosive devices over the last week, which caused a great loss in energy production.

    In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said: “The recent attacks on the electricity towers isolated the northern region from the central region, causing severe damage to the processing hours for the governorates of Nineveh, Salaheddine, Kirkuk and Diyala and the decline of power system capacity by 500 to 600 megawatts.”

    Despite the ministry’s continuous efforts to erect an emergency tower and restore the transmission lines between Diyala and Kirkuk, the persistent attacks cause chaos in the operation of the electrical system and negatively affect the processing hours, according to the spokesman…”

  6. Iran Says Israel Waging ‘Psychological War’
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2768681/iran-says-israel-waging-psychological-war

    “A top Iranian official Wednesday said arch-foe Israel was waging a “psychological war” after the Jewish state’s army said new “offensive options” were being drawn up in case they were needed against Iran.

    Mahmoud Vaezi, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s chief of staff, also vowed that his country was ready and willing to defend itself.

    “We have no intention of going to war, but we are serious about defending the country,” he said, AFP reported.

    Israel, a close US ally, accuses Iran of seeking to build a nuclear bomb, a charge Tehran denies. The Jewish state also frequently targets Iran-backed militant groups in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.

    Israel’s military chief General Aviv Kochavi said Tuesday he had ordered new plans be drawn up this year to counter Iran’s nuclear capabilities, in case political leaders decided to target the country.

    “The power to initiate them lies with the political echelon,” Kochavi stressed. “However, the offensive options need to be prepared, ready and on the table.”

    Iran’s Vaezi shot back on Wednesday that “they are conducting a psychological war.”

    Responding to a question on the sidelines of a council of ministers meeting, he charged that Israel has “practically no plans, no capacity”.

    Iran’s recent military manoeuvres, testing missiles and drones, Vaezi added, showed that “our armed forces are trained” to defend Iran.

    Kochavi’s remarks came nearly a week after the inauguration of US President Joe Biden, who has signaled he wants to return to dialogue with Iran.

    His predecessor Donald Trump had unilaterally withdrawn Washington in 2018 from a nuclear deal Tehran had struck with major world powers.

    Biden’s team has argued Iran must first return to strict compliance with its nuclear commitments under the deal with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

    Tehran has demanded an “unconditional” lifting of punishing sanctions first, and called on Washington to stop seeking to “extract concessions”.

    Israel rejects the original nuclear deal, and Kochavi reiterated its view that “any agreement that resembles the 2015 agreement is a bad thing, both strategically and operationally”.

    “Pressure on Iran must continue — Iran must not have the capacity to develop a nuclear bomb.””

  7. Turkish Authorities Detain 126 ISIS Suspects
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2769156/turkish-authorities-detain-126-isis-suspects

    “Turkish authorities detained 126 people suspected of ties to the ISIS terrorist group in nationwide operations, state broadcaster TRT Haber said on Wednesday.

    Operations were carried out across 58 provinces to capture the suspects, whom TRT said were believed to be linked to ISIS and financing the group. Authorities were still seeking 22 more suspects, it said.

    Several weapons, documents, agendas with money transactions, as well as large amounts of money, were found during home raids, TRT said.

    ISIS has conducted numerous attacks across Turkey, including on a nightclub in Istanbul on Jan. 1, 2017 in which 39 people were killed, and a bombing in the city’s historic heart that killed 12 in 2016.”

  8. American Authoritarianism
    R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.
    6-7 minutes

    Washington

    If there was one dominant theme to President Joe Biden’s inaugural address, it was “unity.” All Americans, left, right, and middle-of-the-road, are to come together in unity, Joe said. On his theme of unity Joe was emphatic, and the media cheered him on. Yet shortly thereafter, his perfumed rhetoric evaporated in the wintry air, and reality intruded. It began with Joe’s executive orders.

    One of them rescinded President Trump’s August ban on mandatory anti-bias training throughout the federal government. Now we are going back to the Obama era period of racial indoctrination according to the diktats of Critical Race Theory, one of which is that all white people are racists by virtue of their birth. Blacks are apparently immune to being born racists — and probably Chinese Americans too — but white people are born with racism in their DNA. It is for them a second original sin. But now they can be liberated from the sin of being born white thanks to Critical Race Theory. If you think this contradicts Joe’s belief in unity I think you have a point, but be careful how you make that point because there are people out there who will call you a racist, and they are experts on the subject.

    https://spectator.org/biden-unity-critical-race-theory/

  9. Corruption case worth more than SR11.5 billion unearthed
    https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/602980/SAUDI-ARABIA/Corruption-case-worth-more-than-SR115-billion-unearthed

    “The anti-graft authorities in Saudi Arabia have unearthed a corruption case worth SR11.5 billion, involving bank officials among others.

    In a statement, an official source at the Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) said on Wednesday that the authority in cooperation with the Saudi Central Bank began its operation following a tip-off about some bank employees receiving bribes from an organized gang consisting of a group of residents and businessmen for depositing cash sums of unknown sources then transferring them outside the Kingdom.

    According to the source, after conducting field investigations and analyzing bank accounts of commercial entities involved in the transactions, the authority found out of a total of over SR11.59 billion was transferred outside the Kingdom.

    Subsequently, five residents were arrested while heading to a bank to deposit over SR9.78 million in cash.

    The authority’s officials also apprehended seven businessmen, 12 bank employees, a non-commissioned officer in one of the region’s police departments. It also nabbed five citizens, and two residents were arrested for their involvement in bribery, forgery, and exploiting their positions for illicit financial gain, commercial concealment, and money laundering.

    The source presented the details of the case as follows:

    1. A businessman established a number of fake commercial entities under his name and the name of his wife and son.

    He later opened bank accounts, enabling residents to use those accounts in exchange for a monthly payment.

    The accounts were used by residents to deposit cash sums of unknown source and transfer them abroad with the collusion of bank employees in exchange for receiving money and gifts.

    The businessman paid an amount of SR300,000 to a non-commissioned officer in a police department in exchange for stalling his case that involved suspicious financial dealings and paid SR4 million to citizens (mediators) for their efforts to stall the same case with the Public Prosecution.

    2. Five businessmen established a number of fake commercial entities, opened bank accounts, and enabled residents to use those accounts in exchange for a monthly payment that they obtain.

    The accounts were used by residents to deposit cash sums of unknown source and transfer them abroad with the collusion of bank employees in exchange for receiving money and gifts.

    3. The “manager of a bank branch” established a number of fake commercial entities, opened bank accounts, and enabled residents to use those accounts in exchange for a monthly payment that he gets. The accounts were used by residents to deposit cash sums of unknown source and transfer them abroad with the collusion of bank employees in exchange for receiving money and gifts.

    4. A businessman brought in an expatriate and enabled him to work in business inside the Kingdom in exchange for a monthly payment.”

  10. ‘Prying eyes’: Fears over opening of Google Cloud region in Saudi Arabia
    https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-google-cloud-region-opening-fear

    “Media monitoring groups have requested the immediate halting of Google’s plan to establish a new Google Cloud region in Saudi Arabia, voicing concern over data protection and privacy.

    The US technology giant has already announced it will be storing Snapchat data on the servers based in Saudi Arabia, placing millions of users’ personal information under the jurisdiction of a government with a longstanding record of surveillance.

    “Saudi Arabia and human rights safeguards, historically, do not mix,” said Marwa Fatafta, MENA policy manager at Access Now, a group that defends the digital rights of users.

    “A new Google Cloud region in the kingdom is dangerous, and it is imperative that Google outlines, in no uncertain terms, how they plan to protect data and people’s rights from the prying eyes of the Saudi regime.”

    “The government of Saudi Arabia’s dismal human rights record includes silencing activists, human and women’s rights defenders, and journalists, and violating the basic rights of its citizens through extrajudicial killings, detention and torture, and the use of spyware to track and censor,” Access Now said in a statement.

    “This troubling history raises serious concerns about the possibility of facilitating and whitewashing future human rights abuses.”…”

  11. (Richard: People have learned to fight back.)

    Biden Administration Sued for Halting Oil, Gas Leasing on Federal Lands
    By Jack Phillips
    January 27, 2021 Updated: January 27, 2021
    biggersmaller Print

    The Biden administration was sued on Jan. 27 over its executive order to halt oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters.

    The lawsuit (pdf) was filed in the U.S. District Court in Wyoming by the Western Energy Alliance, a group representing fossil fuel producers on federal lands. They say President Joe Biden exceeded his authority with the recent order.

    “The law is clear. Presidents don’t have authority to ban leasing on public lands. All Americans own the oil and natural gas beneath public lands, and Congress has directed them to be responsibly developed on their behalf,” said Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma in a statement, according to The Washington Times. “Drying up new leasing puts future development as well as existing projects at risk. President Biden cannot simply ignore laws in effect for over half a century.”

    The executive order, Sgamma said, violates the Mineral Leasing Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/biden-administration-sued-for-halting-oil-and-gas-leasing-on-federal-lands_3674512.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-01-27-4

  12. Egypt’s Al-Azhar prohibits excavating and displaying mummies
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210127-egypts-al-azhar-prohibits-excavating-and-displaying-mummies/

    “A scholar at Egypt’s leading religious establishment, the Al-Azhar University has caused outcry by prohibiting the excavation of ancient Egyptian tombs and putting mummies on display.

    Sheikh Ahmed Karima, a professor of comparative jurisprudence at the Al-Azhar, said in a televised statement earlier this month that exhuming graves was against Islamic teachings and that “extracting the bodies of the ancient Pharaohs and putting them on display in return for dollars from visitors is forbidden.”

    According to Karima, the digging up the graves violates the dignity of the dead and that Islamic law forbids their desecration. “Bodies of the dead cannot be exhumed unless for the purpose of scientific search,” the scholar said.

    “The grave is a blessing from God to house the human being after his demise,” he added.

    “Museums can exhibit the treasures of the Pharaohs, talk about [their civilization] and about the mummification, but without displaying their dead bodies.”…”

  13. U.S. charges UK national with bribery scheme to obtain Iraq contracts
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iraq-corruption-charges/u-s-charges-uk-national-with-bribery-scheme-to-obtain-iraq-contracts-idUSKBN29W2YY

    “An Iraqi-born British national has been criminally charged in New Jersey with involvement in a bribery scheme to obtain millions of dollars of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reconstruction contracts in Iraq, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday.

    The defendant, Shwan Al-Mulla, and his co-conspirators allegedly received confidential information to get an edge in the bidding process for the contracts, in exchange for more than $1 million in bribes paid from 2007 to 2009 to a USACE employee deployed in Tikrit, Iraq.

    Al-Mulla, 60, the former owner of Baghdad-based Iraqi Consultants & Construction Bureau (ICCB), was charged with seven counts of honest services wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.

    Each fraud count carries a maximum 20-year prison term.

    The charges were announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig in New Jersey. Her office said Al-Mulla is at large.

    A lawyer for Al-Mulla could not immediately be located.

    The USACE employee, John Salama Markus of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to fraud, money laundering and tax offenses in 2012 and is serving a 13-year prison term.

    Another co-conspirator, Ahmed Nouri, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in 2018 and has yet to be sentenced, Honig’s office said.

    ICCB paid $2.7 million in 2013 to resolve Justice Department allegations it violated the federal False Claims Act by paying bribes to Salama Markus.”

  14. Halting Keystone Pipeline Is Good for Russia: Nikki Haley
    By Tom Ozimek
    January 27, 2021 Updated: January 27, 2021
    biggersmaller Print

    Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said Wednesday that the Biden administration’s axing of the Keystone XL oil pipeline project and what she said were moves to “ban fracking” both play into Russia’s hands.

    “[Russian President Vladimir] Putin has to be pretty ecstatic right now,” Haley told Fox News on Wednesday. “One of the things that bothered him the most was how energy independent we had become.”

    The United States under the Trump administration became the world’s top producer of oil and maintained its position as the top global producer of natural gas. The country in 2019 became a net exporter of petroleum (crude oil and refined) products for the first time since 1949, and is now in its fifth consecutive year as a net exporter of natural gas.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/halting-keystone-pipeline-is-good-for-russia-nikki-haley_3674064.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-01-27-4

  15. Biden’s UN Ambassador Nominee Defends Past Praise of China
    By Zachary Stieber
    January 27, 2021 Updated: January 27, 2021
    biggersmaller Print

    President Joe Biden’s nominee to become ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday faced questioning over her past praise of China’s communist regime.

    Linda Thomas-Greenfield, speaking at an event in 2019 put on by the communist-supported Confucius Institute network, spoke positively about China, telling the audience that the country has invested in Africa in a number of ways, including railway projects and other infrastructure development.

    Africa would not benefit from competition between the United States and China, she added, saying the United States could “learn from China and its recent success on the continent.”

    “Ultimately, the future is about Africa and its people. The U.S. should be focused on building a strong partnership with Africa which is based on shared values of peace, prosperity, sustained economic growth and development, and a firm commitment to good governance, gender equity, and the rule of law. I see no reason why China cannot share in those values. In fact, China is in a unique position to spread these ideals given its strong footprint on the continent,” she said.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/bidens-un-ambassador-nominee-defends-past-praise-of-china_3674344.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-01-27-4

  16. Trump’s Envoy Claims Biden Has A ‘Shadow President’ – Grenell Thinks The Show Is Being Run By Obama Adviser Susan Rice

    Trump’s Envoy Claims Biden Has A ‘Shadow President’ – Grenell Thinks The Show Is Being Run By Obama Adviser Susan Rice
    By Adam Casalino|January 26, 2021
    Trump’s Envoy Claims Biden Has A ‘Shadow President’ – Grenell Thinks The Show Is Being Run By Obama Adviser Susan Rice
    Share
    What’s Happening:

    Despite being known as “Sleepy Joe,” Biden has been getting plenty done in just a few days.

    He signed 33 executive orders to undo as much of the Trump administration’s work as he could.

    n doing so, he canceled 11,000 jobs—just as we tried to recover from the pandemic.

    Is old Biden really able to do all this himself? Would he really want to shut down major projects that affect thousands?

    Trump’s former envoy Richard Grenell doesn’t think so. From Biz Pac Review:

    https://thepatriotjournal.com/envoy-biden-shadow-grenell-rice/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=pjnewsletter

  17. Somalia: 16 dead, several injured in 3 bomb blasts
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/somalia-16-dead-several-injured-in-3-bomb-blasts/2125055

    “At least 16 people were killed and several wounded in three separate bomb blasts Wednesday in Somalia, police and military officials confirmed.

    Twelve soldiers and two civilians were killed and several others injured when a bomb targeted a vehicle carrying military personnel near Bal’ad, Middle Shabelle.

    Ibrahim Ali, a military official in the region told Anadolu Agency that after the bomb, heavy fighting erupted between government soldiers backed by Burundian forces serving under African Union peacekeeping mission forces (AMISOM ) and al-Shabaab fighters.

    He said reinforcements from Jowhar, the capital of Middle Shabelle, were also ambushed by al-Shabaab.

    “The death toll has risen to 14, including 12 soldiers and two civilians, and wounded were transported to Jowhar hospital for treatment,” said Ali.

    An AMISOM official near Bal’ad told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity that one AMISOM soldier was wounded in the attack.

    Bal’ad is an agricultural town 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Mogadishu. The Al-Shabaab militant group, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack. The armed group has been fighting the state to impose Islamic law for more than a decade.

    Earlier Wednesday, a civilian was killed and two others were wounded when a roadside bomb targeted a vehicle carrying construction workers in the capital.

    And one soldier was killed and at least five people were wounded in an explosion in a restaurant in Diinsoor, in southwestern Bay region.

    Col. Ahmed Abdullahi Sheikh, a former special forces commander, said the government has put in efforts to asserting greater central control but failed in combating domestic insurgency.

    “Election season always follows increased insecurity … the relaxed security posture and al-Shabaab willingness to make headlines further contributes to the situation,” he told Anadolu Agency.

    The government’s mandate ends Feb. 8, but there are disagreements regarding when to conduct parliamentary and presidential elections.”

  18. Italy failed to rescue migrants in 2013, UN Committee says
    http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2021/01/27/italy-failed-to-rescue-migrants-in-2013-un-committee-says_220466eb-99d6-43fd-a56c-4b1956f643f3.html

    “Italy failed to protect the right to life of more than 200 migrant victims, including 60 children, who were on board a vessel that set off from Libya and sank in the Mediterranean Sea in 2013, the UN Human Rights Committee said on Wednesday. The Committee’s decision responded to a complaint on the deadly shipwreck off Lampedusa over seven years ago.

    According to the decision published on Wednesday, the Committee believes that Italy “failed to respond promptly to various distress calls from the sinking boat” that departed in the night between October 10 and 11 from the Libyan port of Zuwarah with over 400 adults and children on board. In particular – the statement stressed – Italy failed to explain the delay in dispatching its Navy vessel ITS Libra, which was only about an hour from the scene.

    Committee member Hélène Tigroudja was quoted by the statement as saying: “It is a complex case. The accident happened in the international waters within Maltese search and rescue zone but the location was indeed closest to Italy and to one of its naval ships. Had the Italian authorities immediately directed its naval ship and coast guards after the distress calls, the rescue would have reached the vessel at the latest two hours before it sank”.

    Tigroudja said that, under the international law of the sea, State parties are required to take steps to protect the lives of all individuals who find themselves in a situation of distress at sea, according to the statement. “Even though the sinking vessel was not located in Italy’s search and rescue zone, the Italian authority had a duty to support the search and rescue mission to save the lives of the migrants. Italy’s delayed action had a direct impact on the loss of hundreds of lives”.

    The Committee’s decision responded to a joint complaint lodged by four survivors – three Syrians and a Palestinian national – who lost their families in the accident. Many of those on board were fleeing Syria. The fishing vessel started taking in water just a few hours after departure and was shot by a Berber-flagged ship in international waters, 113 km south of the Italian island of Lampedusa and 218 km south of Malta, the statement said. One of those on board called the Italian number for emergencies at sea, saying they were sinking and forwarding the boat’s coordinates but no rescue operation followed. The migrants then made several calls to the rescue coordination center of Malta. When a Maltese patrol boat arrived at the scene at 5:50 pm, the boat had already capsized. After Malta’s urgent request, Italy finally instructed its navy ship ITS Libra, which was in the boat’s vicinity, to come to the rescue.

    “As a result of the delayed action” over 200 people drowned.

    Some surviving migrants took the Italian authorities to various courts and to the Committee as Italy failed to take appropriate measures to save their relatives, thus violating their right to life, the statement said.

    A parallel claim brought against Malta was rejected by the Committee as the plaintiffs did not bring legal proceedings before courts in Malta, which is one of the requirements, prior to filing their case to the committee, the statement concluded.”

  19. Test : 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.

  20. https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/tyler-o-neil/2021/01/27/biden-dhs-issues-domestic-terror-alert-warning-of-objections-to-governmental-authority-n1413425

    “Objections to Governmental Authority”

    I don’t quite know what to say about this other than I have now progressed from terribly concerned to abjectly frightened.

    Biden DHS Issues Domestic Terror Alert Warning of ‘Objections’ to ‘Governmental Authority’
    BY TYLER O’NEIL JAN 27, 2021 5:08 PM ET

    As President Joe Biden set a new record for executive orders in his first few days in office, and as former CIA Director John Brennan compared libertarians to ISIS-style “insurgencies,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a domestic terrorism bulletin warning about “ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority.”

    It stands to reason that federal law-enforcement agencies may be on edge after the breach of the Capitol on January 6, but Biden’s inauguration went off without a hitch. Threats may indeed exist, but the DHS domestic terrorism bulletin is chilling, considering recent moves that suggest Democrats are planning a new domestic “War on Terror” targeting conservatives.

    “The Acting Secretary of Homeland Security has issued a National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin due to a heightened threat environment across the United States, which DHS believes will persist in the weeks following the successful Presidential Inauguration,” reads the bulletin, issued at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday. “Information suggests that some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence.”

    Americans of all stripes should condemn political violence. Republicans joined Democrats in loudly condemning the Capitol riot and in calling for the rioters who attacked the Capitol to face prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. Yet this bulletin suggests that the forces behind the Capitol riot are just as dangerous as they were on January 6.

    Before January 6, President Donald Trump had decided to contest the 2020 election, even going so far as encouraging Vice President Mike Pence to unilaterally reject Electoral College votes from contested states. Most of the Americans who supported this movement did not attack the Capitol, but this movement gave the rioters their opportunity to attack. Since Trump conceded and left the White House, this movement has ended.

    Not only has this movement ended, but the domestic terrorism bulletin comes in the wake of Biden’s extremely divisive executive orders. In his first week in office, Biden has signed dozens of executive orders on divisive issues like abortion, transgender activism, shutting down construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, and more. Millions of Americans have “objections” to this “exercise of governmental authority.” Does that make them domestic terror threats?

    The terrorism bulletin also mentioned “perceived grievances fueled by false narratives.” Given Joe Biden’s refusal to consider arguments against climate alarmism, transgender activism, and abortion, it seems fair to say Biden would consider the job losses from shutting down the Keystone XL pipeline, fears that transgender orders will destroy women’s sports, and concerns that his abortion policy will enable the deaths of millions of unborn babies “perceived grievances fueled by false narratives.”

    This terrorism bulletin will only exacerbate fears that Democrats intend to use efforts against domestic terror to target conservative dissent from the Left’s orthodoxy.