Reader’s links on February 15, 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

116 Replies to “Reader’s links on February 15, 2021”

  1. Hong Kong Wants a Rehearing Under Biden
    Doug Bandow
    13-17 minutes

    Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, tasked with carrying out Xi Jinping’s will in the once autonomous territory, must be desperate to get her bank account back. Sanctioned by Washington for her role in destroying her people’s liberties, she can’t find a bank willing to deal with her.

    She recently whined that she had “no banking services made available to her. I’m using cash for all the things.” Added Lam, “I have piles of cash at home, the government is paying me cash for my salary because I don’t have a bank account.”

    The mind boggles at the tragedy of her situation. Never mind Hong Kongers are being rounded up by Beijing agents and sent to the mainland for trial! Mean old Uncle Sam took away the bank account of this devoted servant of the people. Where is the United Nations Human Rights Council when we need it!?

    https://spectator.org/hong-kong-china-biden/

  2. Eating Biden’s Lunch
    Jed Babbin
    6-8 minutes

    Chinese President Xi Jinping greatly impressed President Joe Biden in their two-hour telephone conversation this week. That’s not entirely a good thing.

    Biden, briefing reporters on the Wednesday call, said, “Last night, I was on the phone for two straight hours with Xi Jinping. They’re investing billions of dollars in dealing with a whole range of issues that deal with transportation, the environment, and a whole range of other things. So, we just have to step up.” He added, “We don’t get moving, they’re going to eat our lunch.”

    But for the fact that he’s president — given his track record of having been wrong on every defense and foreign policy issue for almost five decades — it would be easy to ignore his assessment of China. This is a man who said in 2019, “China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man.” He added, “I mean, you know, they’re not bad folks, folks. But guess what? They’re not competition for us.” Despite the difficulty of being wrong on both occasions Biden managed it.

    https://spectator.org/hong-kong-china-biden/

  3. Dem Senator Urges Biden to Reverse Keystone XL Decision – Trump Train News
    TTN Staff
    2-3 minutes

    Senate Democrats, CC BY 2.0
    , via Wikimedia Commons

    Democrat Senator Joe Manchin is urging President Biden to reverse his rushed decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline permit. In a letter to the President, Sen. Manchin writes that pipelines are the safest method to transport oil in addition to providing thousands of good jobs for hard-working Americans.

    Machin’s letter to Biden reads, “Pipelines continue to be the safest mode to transport our oil and natural gas resources and they support thousands of high-paying, American union jobs. To that end, I encourage you to reconsider your decision to revoke the cross-border permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and take into account the potential impacts of any further action to safety, jobs, and energy security.”

    In his letter, Sen Manchin also notes that without pipelines oil will still continue to find alternative methods of transport that actually have a more devastating impact on climate change.

    https://trumptrainnews.com/2021/02/09/dem-senator-urges-biden-to-reverse-keystone-xl-decision/

  4. MOROCCO – Muslim Teenagers Welcome New Casablanca Buses With Acts of Vandalism

    Two teenagers have vandalized two buses in Casablanca only a few hours after the city’s new bus fleet went operational.

    In two separate incidents, the buses were damaged after being hit by stones. Photos on social networks show the brand new buses with broken windows.

    On Sunday evening, February 14, Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) announced it had arrested two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, for vandalizing public property.

    A large number of Casablanca residents expressed their anger at the behavior of the suspects and condemned their acts. They also shared their worries that such acts would once again deteriorate the quality of buses in the city.

    Some citizens have suggested equipping all the roads that buses go through with cameras to curb vandalism — an issue that Casablanca residents have extensively suffered for over a decade.

    New buses, old behaviors

    The vandalization of the new buses came only a few hours after they became operational.

    Alsa, the company managing bus transportation in Casablanca, initially announced its new bus fleet would begin operating on Monday. However, it decided to launch the new bus network two days earlier, after it received all the necessary authorizations.

    Casablanca residents hope the upgraded fleet, which includes 700 buses, will finally solve their decades-long public transportation issues. The city’s inhabitants have long expressed their dissatisfaction with the services provided by M’dina Bus, the company that managed buses in the metropolis between 2004 and 2019.

    In October 2019, Spanish company Alsa signed a 10-year contract with local authorities, pledging to upgrade bus transportation services in Casablanca.

    With an investment of MAD 1.4 billion ($156.8 million), the new bus fleet represents Alsa’s commitment to improving the quality of public transportation in the city.

    However, it seems that unless vandals are deterred, the quality of the brand new buses can quickly worsen.

    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2021/02/334973/teenagers-welcome-new-casablanca-buses-with-acts-of-vandalism/

  5. Parler CEO Says Social Media App Is Back Online, Gets New Servers
    By Jack Phillips
    February 15, 2021 Updated: February 15, 2021
    biggersmaller Print

    An executive with Parler, a social media platform favored by conservatives, said Monday that it will resume service with new management—coming about a month after Amazon Web Services removed its service from its servers.

    Interim CEO Mark Meckler said in a news release that the company moved to a new server farm, saying that users should expect to be able to use the website on Monday.

    As of 10 a.m. ET on Monday, the Parler website appeared to be accessible via desktop. Epoch Times staff members reported they could not access the desktop version of the site. Users posted on Twitter that they were able to use the mobile Parler app.

    Meckler said that new users should be able to sign up for the service within a week or so.

    “We are off of the big tech platform, so that we can consider ourselves safe and secure for the future,” Meckler said in the release. He did not disclose what company is hosting Parler.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/parler-ceo-says-social-media-app-is-back-online-gets-new-computer-servers_3697078.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-02-15-1

  6. Sen. Pat Toomey Censured by York County GOP for Voting to Convict Trump During Impeachment
    By Jack Phillips
    February 15, 2021 Updated: February 15, 2021
    biggersmaller Print

    The York County Republican Party in Pennsylvania voted to censure Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) for his vote Saturday to convict former President Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial.

    “For the past four years Senator Toomey sat silently as a hyper-partisan Democrat Congress relentlessly attacked President Trump, impeaching him twice on fabricated charges,” said Republican state Rep. Dawn Keefer, who drew up a resolution to censure—or condemn in an official capacity—the senator.

    “Given his recent support of the second unconstitutional impeachment effort against a president who is no longer in office the York County Republican Committee has reached the limits of its frustration,” Keefer wrote.

    Toomey announced he would retire at the end of his current term, which expires in 2022.

    The committee passed the resolution during a meeting on Saturday. The Epoch Times reached out to Toomey’s office for comment.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/sen-pat-toomey-censured-by-york-county-gop-for-voting-to-convict-trump-during-impeachment_3697054.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-02-15-1

  7. Victor Davis Hanson on Impeachment and the ‘Cancer’ of Woke Ideology | American Thought Leaders

  8. Boy, 12, shoots and kills a home intruder who shot his grandmother
    Frances Mulraney
    4 minutes

    Copy link to paste in your message

    Linda Ellis, 73, was shot in the leg by home intruders in North Carolina on Saturday before her 12-year-old grandson rushed to her defense at shot at the men

    A North Carolina man died on Saturday after he broke into the home of a 73-year-old woman and was fatally shot by her 12-year-old grandson who was trying to defend her.

    Two masked robbers entered the home of Linda Ellis in Goldsboro at around 1am on Saturday, where they demanded money and shot the grandmother in the leg.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9259369/North-Carolina-boy-12-shoots-kills-home-intruder-19-shot-73-year-old-grandmother.html

    • As vaccinations lag, Israel combats online misinformation
      […]
      The vaccination rates are among the highest in the world, and many countries are looking at the Israeli experience to understand what may lie ahead in the future.

      But in a cause for concern, Israel has seen a drop in immunization rates since making the vaccine available to everyone over the age of 16 this month.…

      The reluctance of some groups in the population to get vaccinated is a key reason why infection rates remain high.…

      The task has been complicated because different segments of society have resisted vaccination calls for different reasons.

      In the case of the ultra-Orthodox, some influential religious leaders have called on their followers not to be immunized. Meanwhile, Israel’s Arab minority tends to suffer from a lack of trust in the Jewish leadership. And younger Israelis often think they can’t get seriously ill.…

      In the ultra-Orthodox community, where internet use is low, the response is often more low tech. Anti-vaccination rabbis have posted false claims on posters – known as pashkevils – commonly used to spread messages among the faithful. The ministry is countering with pashkevils of its own.

      Rabbi Yuval Hacohen Asherov, a popular Jewish preacher with an online following who has stated that germs do not cause diseases, has posted numerous anti-vaccine videos with hundreds of thousands of views. A recent video falsely claimed the COVID-19 vaccine caused death.

      “Why run? Why vaccinate now? Let’s do it in half a year – maybe. Let’s see what happens,” Ashrov said. “Why should the Swiss and Chinese use us as guinea pigs to see what happens?”

      [And Arab Israelis simply don’t trust the govt.]

      https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Bkm18cD11d

      • Israel’s leaders have a responsibility to the vaccinated

        Opinion: Elected officials must put vaccine refusers in their place, despite the possible legal objections; those who refuse to aid the battle against the pandemic should not have the right to sit at a restaurant, go to school or visit a shopping mall

        Kiryat Shmona residents now want to keep their town clear of any coronavirus infections.

        It is extremely hard to reach their amazing achievement of 100% inoculations among all eligible people, but it is an accomplishment that is not too farfetched for the rest of the country too.

        And yet this success remains very fragile; just one virus carrier is all that is needed to make it all collapse.

        At some point, we as a society have to take a hard stance on the issue of vaccination and ensure that everyone who can has had the jab.

        It is at this stage, the nation’s judicial experts – those self-proclaimed guardians of personal rights – enter the picture. They say that we cannot force someone who had their intelligence degenerated by fake news to get the vaccine; they are still human beings with basic civil rights….

        Sometimes – but not always – the rights of the many outweigh the rights of the few.

        Legal experts might try to stop this and they may also need to be put in their place.

        And yet their well-meaning intervention is nothing compared to the real problem of decision-makers who are unwilling to to make critical decisions.

        At this crucial hour, when we are finally on the cusp of controlling the pandemic, we need leaders who can make decisions – even the hard ones.
        https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ByUBpD8Zu

        (+lively comments +)

  9. Tucker On Biden Immigration Agenda, Axing Operation Targeting Sex Offenders: ‘Point Is To Punish You’
    Daily Wire News
    5-7 minutes

    Fox News host Tucker Carlson slammed President Joe Biden during his monologue on Monday night over his immigration policies, which include his enforcement and removal policies inside America’s borders.

    Carlson began the segment by noting the measures that U.S. officials have taken during the pandemic to curtail the spread of the coronavirus and how some Democratic officials have flaunted their own rules. Carlson then reported that his show has learned that the Biden administration is allegedly releasing illegal aliens into the U.S. without being tested for the coronavirus.

    “Tonight, we’ve learned the Joe Biden administration is releasing 1000s of foreign nationals living here illegally into American neighborhoods without bothering to test them for the Coronavirus,” Carlson said. “People from countries with high infection rates living in crowded conditions sent forth into the American population, like COVID isn’t real. That’s happening. It is the official policy of the U.S. government.”

    https://www.dailywire.com/news/tucker-on-biden-immigration-agenda-axing-operation-targeting-sex-offenders

  10. Closer Defense Ties – US Military Forces Arrive in India for Joint Indo-US Exercises – But Indian Mistrust Remains – American Action News
    Paul Crespo
    5-6 minutes

    By Ajai Shukla – Image, taken from Ajai Shukla’s blog at ajaishukla.blogspot.com, CC BY 2.5 in, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3950546

    As part of deepening U.S.-Indian defense ties, 270 American soldiers will be training with their Indian Army counterparts for the next two weeks in India. Soldiers from the US Army’s 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment of 1-2 Striker Brigade Combat Team landed in Suratgarh, India on February 7th via a special aircraft.

    U.S. troops then left for Mahajan Field Firing Range where the joint two-week training exercise will run from February 8-21. The training will take part in Rajasthan in the west along the Pakistani border.

    This is the 16th edition of the ‘Yudh Abhyas’ (Hindi for ‘War Practice’) exercises, but the training is gaining heightened

    https://americanactionnews.com/military/2021/02/11/closer-defense-ties-us-military-forces-arrive-in-india-for-joint-indo-us-exercises-but-indian-mistrust-remains-rs-pc/

  11. Germany: Antifa and COVID-19 sceptics rally in Hanover amid COVID restrictions

    Hundreds of COVID-19 sceptics were seen rallying against lockdown with rival Antifa demonstration held nearby, Hanover, Sunday.

    Police were seen separating the groups, and detaining those refusing to wear masks and keep the distance required under the restrictions aimed at curbing the number of COVID-19 cases.

    On Wednesday, the Federal and State governments extended the lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic to March 7,

  12. Fauci Awarded $1 Million Israeli Prize For ‘Speaking Truth To Power’ Amid Pandemic

    America’s top infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci received a prestigious $1 million Israeli prize Monday, along with six other researchers who shared two additional $1 million prizes for their contributions to health and medicine.

    The Dan David Prize, affiliated with Tel Aviv University, said it honored Fauci for his career in public health and “speaking truth to power” during the politicized COVID-19 crisis.

    Fauci “is the consummate model of leadership and impact in public health,” the awards committee said in a statement.

    The award sets aside 10% of the prize money for academic scholarships in each winner’s field. Fauci gets to determine the nature of the scholarships.

    Fauci has been director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the U.S. National Institutes of Health since 1984, advising seven presidents on domestic and global health issues.

    His research into HIV helped develop treatments to enable carriers of the virus to live long lives. In 2003, he helped launch the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief under the George W. Bush administration, which the NIH credits with saving millions of lives in the developing world.

    Fauci became a household name in the U.S. after appearing in televised presidential briefings on the coronavirus. He was a trusted authority for the public on preventive measures against COVID-19, even as former President Donald Trump downplayed the virus and blocked Fauci from appearing on several television programs. Trump called Fauci part of a group of “idiots” and suggested he might fire him after the presidential election, which Trump lost.

    “As the COVID-19 pandemic unraveled, (Fauci) leveraged his considerable communication skills to address people gripped by fear and anxiety and worked relentlessly to inform individuals in the United States and elsewhere about the public health measures essential for containing the pandemic’s spread,” the awards committee said. “In addition, he has been widely praised for his courage in speaking truth to power in a highly charged political environment.”

    The Dan David Prize, established by the late Italian Israeli philanthropist Dan David, annually awards three prizes of $1 million honoring contributions to knowledge of the past, contributions to society in the present and advances for the future.

    This year the three awards focused on health and medicine.

    Historians Alison Bashford of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Katharine Park of Harvard University and Keith Wailoo of Princeton University are sharing a $1 million prize for studying the history of health and medicine. Zelig Eshhar of Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, Carl June of the University of Pennsylvania and Steven Rosenberg of the NIH National Cancer Institute are sharing a $1 million prize for pioneering anti-cancer immunotherapy.

    Previous laureates include filmmakers Ethan and Joel Cohen, novelist Margaret Atwood, former Vice President Al Gore and cellist Yo Yo Ma.

    https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/02/15/968059128/fauci-awarded-1-million-israeli-prize-for-speaking-truth-to-power-amid-pandemic

    bloomberg – Anthony Fauci Wins $1 Million Israeli Prize for ‘Courageously Defending Science’

    Dr. Anthony Fauci has won the $1 million Dan David Prize for “defending science” and advocating for vaccines now being administered worldwide to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

    The Israel-based Dan David Foundation on Monday named President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser as the winner of one of three prizes. It said he had earned the recognition over a lifetime of leadership on HIV research and AIDS relief, as well as his advocacy for the vaccines against COVID-19.

    In its statement, the private foundation did not mention former President Donald Trump, who undermined Fauci’s follow-the-science approachto the pandemic. But it credited Fauci with “courageously defending science in the face of uninformed opposition during the challenging COVID crisis.”

    Fauci, 80, has served seven presidents and has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984.

    In recent interviews, Fauci has acknowledged that it was difficult at times to work for Trump, who repeatedly played down the severity of the pandemic, dismissed the need for mask-wearing and often touted unproven scientific remedies, including injecting disinfectant.

    Trump resented Fauci’s flattering press coverage and reveled in calls to “Fire Fauci!” at some of his rallies. But Fauci outlasted Trump, who lost the November election.

  13. WTO Formally Appoints Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Its First Female Leader

    … bringing a fresh approach

  14. 718 PKK terror suspects detained across Turkey
    https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/718-pkk-terror-suspects-detained-across-turkey-162440

    “Turkish security forces detained a total of 718 suspects over alleged links to the terrorist group PKK, the Interior Ministry announced on Feb. 15.

    According to a ministry statement, counter-terrorism units of the Security Directorate and Gendarmerie Command carried out operations across 40 of Turkey’s 81 provinces to expose the activities of the terrorist PKK.

    In the operations, a total of 718 suspects, including provincial and district heads of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), were arrested.

    The party is accused by the government of having links with the terrorist PKK.

    A large number of digital materials were seized in the operations, which took place after 13 Turkish citizens were killed by PKK terrorists over the weekend.

    In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people including women, children, and infants.”

  15. Islamic finance assets in Turkey to double in 5 years: Moody’s
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/islamic-finance-assets-in-turkey-to-double-in-5-years-moodys/2145629

    “Islamic banking assets in Turkey will double over the next five years from around 7.2% of total banking assets as of December 2020, according to a forecast by global rating agency Moody’s.

    In a report released Monday, Moody’s said Turkish participation banks’ total assets increased by 54% last year, outpacing total banking sector asset growth of around 36%.

    The report noted that, despite the likelihood that the Turkish participation banking sector will grow rapidly, it is still far smaller than in members of the Gulf Co-operation Council, where Islamic banking assets average around 40% of total banking system assets.

    According to the credit rating agency, Turkey’s evolving regulatory and supervisory environment is the reason behind Islamic finance in the country.

    “The government’s increased emphasis on Islamic finance is credit positive for the country’s Islamic finance sector, and in particular its participation banks,” it noted.

    On Feb. 8, Turkey declared the establishment of a new department within the President’s Finance Office.

    The department within the Presidential Finance Office is to focus on raising awareness on participation finance and developing strategies in the field, said a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette.

    It also aims to boost cooperation among public institutions, the private sector, universities, and non-governmental organizations so Islamic finance can be improved.

    Introducing new financial instruments in the field of participation finance and developing financial products, Turkey is eager to strengthen its position in international financial markets.

    Last year, Turkey completed a legal infrastructure on participation banks to help them provide services for their customers in line with interest-free finance principles.

    Turkey has positioned itself as a hub for participation banking and Islamic finance.”

  16. CANADA – Racialized adults on revised federal COVID-19 vaccination priority list

    OTTAWA — Adults from racialized communities disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic should be prioritized for shots in the second stage of the vaccination campaign, says new guidance from Canada’s national advisory committee on immunization.

    The advice also would see all essential workers who can’t do their jobs from home moved into the second stage, instead of focusing on health workers with lower-risk jobs.

    The second stage is expected to start this spring after provinces get COVID-19 vaccines into the arms of all the staff and residents of long-term care homes, adults aged 70 or older, front-line health workers and adults in Indigenous communities.

    The list of groups that should receive COVID-19 vaccines in the second stage includes people between 60 and 69 years old, racialized adults from groups disproportionately affected by COVID-19, essential workers, first responders, caregivers and residents and staff of congregate living sittings including homeless shelters, prisons and migrant workers’ quarters.

    The committee added a third stage to its immunization recommendations that includes people between 16 and 59 years old with underlying conditions, those who are between 50 and 59 years old with no underlying conditions, and health workers and essential workers who are didn’t got shots in previous rounds.

    The new recommendations prioritize racialized adults from groups disproportionately affected by the pandemic ahead of some older non-racialized people.

    “Key populations are sequenced in three stages corresponding to increasing vaccine availability in each quarter of 2021,” the committee said Monday.

    “By the end of the third quarter of 2021, it is anticipated that sufficient vaccine supply will be available to offer vaccines to the general Canadian population.”

    Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Friday the new recommendations take into consideration objectives to reduce serious outcomes of COVID-19 throughout society, and to reduce the burden of illness.

    Health authorities in the provinces and the territories make the actual decisions on who gets vaccinated first.

    “Provinces have different demographics but they use the evidence, I think, to inform their vaccinations,” Tam said.

    “For example, if you were in Toronto, if you’re in Ontario, they’ve already got data in relationship to where those higher risk populations are and that they be considered as part of the rollout for the prioritization of vaccines.”

    The new federal vaccination guidance comes as COVID-19 vaccination efforts are expected to get a big boost this week.

    The Public Health Agency of Canada says it expects Pfizer and BioNTech to deliver more than 400,000 doses of their COVID-19 vaccine this week and about 450,000 doses each week until April.

    https://sasknow.com/2021/02/15/racialized-adults-on-revised-federal-covid-19-vaccination-priority-list-2/

    ====================================================
    twitter Breaking 911

    JUST IN: The Canadian National Advisory Committee for Immunization has recommended prioritizing race over age for COVID-19 vaccinations

    Adults in “radicalized and marginalized communities” are in line to receive the vaccine before adults with underlying medical conditions at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19

    https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1361474296086990849

    =====================================
    CBC – Ontario aims to start vaccinating adults aged 80 and older in March

    The head of Ontario’s vaccine distribution task force, retired general Rick Hillier, says he hopes to start vaccinating people over the age of 80 at the beginning of March.

  17. Tucker: Elites pushing ‘green energy’ are out of touch with America

    Tucker Carlson slams the Green New Deal after a winter storm freezes Texas wind turbines.