Reader’s Links for February 21, 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

89 Replies to “Reader’s Links for February 21, 2021”

  1. Armed Good Samaritans Stop Shooting Spree That Left 3 Dead
    By Allen Zhong
    February 20, 2021 Updated: February 20, 2021
    biggersmaller Print

    Several armed bystanders successfully stopped a shooting spree that left three dead, including the suspect, in a New Orleans suburb.

    The shooting happened at the Jefferson Gun Outlet in the suburb of Metairie, Louisiana, around 2:50 p.m., according to a release from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

    Sheriff Joseph Lopinto told reporters that a person went into the gun store and shooting range and fatally shot two people on Saturday. Several individuals engaged with the shooter inside the gun shop and in a parking lot outside.

    Three persons died on the scene, including the shooter. Two others were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

    The authorities said the two hospitalized are in stable condition

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/sheriff-3-dead-in-gun-store-shooting-in-new-orleans-suburb_3704665.html?utm_source=newsnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking-2021-02-20-4

  2. UK Should Send Vaccines to Third World Now, Says WTO Head Okonjo-Iweala (breitbart, Feb 21, 2021)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/02/21/uk-should-send-vaccines-to-poorer-countries-now-says-wto-head-okonjo-iweala/

    “The recently installed head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said that it will be “in the interest” of the United Kingdom and other wealthy nations to donate vaccines to developing countries now rather than inoculating their own people.

    Ms Okonjo-Iweala said that while the British government’s stated intention to donate surplus vaccines to poorer countries was “welcome”, she said that the government should start donating vaccines now, despite many Britons remaining unvaccinated.

    “I don’t think we should wait to get surplus when other people have been served,” the WTO chief told the BBC, adding: “I think that any donations that are coming must come now.”

    “The reason is very simple. It’s in the interest of rich countries as well as poor countries to have equitable access,” she claimed.

    Okonjo-Iweala, who received the backing of the Biden administration as well as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), pointed to a study from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) which suggested that the world would see economic damage if it fails to vaccinate poorer nations.

    The study claimed that the world could lose as much as $9tn (£6.4tn) in terms of GDP by the middle of next year if only richer countries have vaccinated significant portions of their populations.

    “Half of that cost will be borne by rich countries,” Okonjo-Iweala declared, going on to insist: “So we need to understand that it’s in the self-interest of both rich and poor to have equitable access to vaccines otherwise all counties lose; all people lose.”

    She did not address the impact on British and other Western businesses and workers in industries such as hospitality of remaining locked down while vaccines are sent overseas, however.

    On Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson committed to donating most of the United Kingdom’s surplus coronavirus vaccine supplies to third world nations at a virtual summit of G7 leaders.

    The leaders of the world’s biggest economies, excluding China and Russia, said that they will aim to make some 1.3 billion doses of the vaccine available to poorer countries through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) scheme while committing to increase funding to the programme to $7.5bn (£5.3bn).

    However, should the British government follow the urgings of Okonjo-Iweala and begin shipping out vaccines before inoculating native Britons, the country could risk losing the advantage of its successful vaccine rollout, particularly in comparison to the European Union…”

  3. Berlin Police Called Out to Antifa Stronghold over 700 Times in 2020 (breitbart, Feb 21, 2021)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/02/21/berlin-police-called-out-to-antifa-stronghold-over-700-times-in-2020/

    “Police in the German capital of Berlin were called out to the area around the Antifa stronghold of Rigaer 94 a total of 717 times in 2020 to deal with incidents ranging from violence to threats and property damage.

    Police were called out to the building, which has been partially illegally occupied for years by far-left Antifa militants, to deal with hundreds of different offences, according to a Berlin senate response to a question posed by libertarian Free Democrat MP Paul Fresdforf.

    A total of 157 investigations by police revolved around reports of assaults, threats and insults against police officers, while another 90 investigations involved assaults on other people, German newspaper Die Welt reports.

    Social Democrat politician Torsten Akmann, whos serves as Berlin Interior Secretary, noted that the area around the squat on Rigastrasse, located in Berlin’s Friedrichshain district, had become “characterized by crimes and administrative offences of the left-extremist scene.”

    Die Welt also stated that many local residents were affected by the criminal behaviour and noted attacks on locals and property damage by far-left militants in the area.

    There have been many attempts to evict the Antifa squatters from the building, including an illegal pub named “Kadterschmiede” which had an eviction order dismissed previously by a German court in 2019.

    A recent court ruling granted police protection to a fire safety expert and a representative of the owner of the Rigaer 94 building in order to enter the building and examine it, but Antifa militants have vowed to fight any attempts at eviction.

    “Any advance in Rigaer 94 must be a risk; our announcement that there may not be any winners means nothing more than that we want to throw Berlin into chaos if the aggression is not stopped immediately,” far leftists wrote on the noted extremist web platform Indymedia earlier this week.

    Last year in July, one incident of far-left violence saw militants in the Rigaer Strasse area tear out the cables to street lights in the area before setting fires and vandalising local property.

    A report from the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution leaked last year by German media also revealed that the country’s security services were concerned about the growing levels of violence within far-left circles.

    According to the agencies, Antifa militants may be plotting targetted attacks on police on political opponents that could include assassination attempts.”

  4. Reports: Israel buys vaccines for Syria in prisoner deal (abcnews, Feb 21, 2021)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/reports-israel-buys-vaccines-syria-prisoner-deal-76027838

    “Israel paid Russia $1.2 million to provide the Syrian government with coronavirus vaccines as part of a deal that secured the release of an Israeli woman held captive in Damascus, according to Israeli media reports on Sunday.

    The terms of the clandestine trade-off orchestrated by Moscow between the two nations remained murky. But the fact Israel is providing vaccines to Syria — an enemy country hosting hostile Iranian forces — drew criticism at home, and stands in contrast to Israel’s refusal to provide significant quantities of vaccines to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday “not one Israeli vaccine” was involved in the deal. He didn’t address whether Israel paid for Russian vaccines, and said Russia insisted details of the swap remain secret.

    Netanyahu’s office declined comment, and many details of the agreement remained censored.

    Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli called on the Knesset’s foreign affairs and defense committee to discuss the deal and Netanyahu’s “political, inappropriate use of censorship.”

    “Why do Israeli citizens consistently need to learn about things from foreign media that their prime minister is hiding from them?” she said on Israel’s Kan radio Sunday.

    Israel announced Friday it had reached a Russian-mediated deal to bring home a young woman who had crossed into neighboring Syria earlier this month. In exchange, Israel said it released two Syrian shepherds who had entered Israeli territory…”

  5. Yemen: Tribal leaders say Houthis kill 5 from allied tribe (abcnews, Feb 21, 2021)
    https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemen-tribal-leaders-houthis-kill-allied-tribe-76019907

    “Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed a tribal leader and four of his immediate family in the rebel-held capital, tribal leaders said on Saturday.

    Armed rebels, led by Houthi leader Abu Khalid al-Raei, gunned down Sheikh Ali Abu Nashtan on Friday along with three of his sons and a sister outside their house in the Arhab district in northern Sanaa, they said.

    The cause of killings wasn’t immediately clear, and the rebels declined to comment.

    The Houthis have cordoned the area as tribesmen pledged revenge for the killing of Abu Nashtan family, said the tribal leaders who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

    The tribe of Arhab is a Houthi allay that helped the rebels’ takeover of Sanaa, triggering the Yemen civil war more than six years ago.

    The tribe has fighters battling alongside the rebels in the war that pits the Iranian-backed Houthis against the internationally recognized government which is aided by a Saudi-led coalition.

    Yemen plunged into chaos and civil war when the Houthi rebels took over Sanaa in 2014 from the internationally recognized government. A Saudi-led coalition allied with the government has been fighting the Houthis since March 2015.

    The war in Yemen has spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical shortages. It has killed some 130,000 people, including fighters and civilians, according to a database project that tracks violence.”

  6. Coca-Cola reportedly told its staff to ‘be less white’ — the company could be facing lawsuits – Liberty Unyielding
    Hans Bader
    5-6 minutes

    Coca-Cola reportedly told its staff to ‘be less white’ — the company could be facing lawsuits

    Image: Coca-Cola

    Coca-Cola allegedly asked its staff to “be less white.” A whistleblower’s leaked photos show Coca-Cola’s online training modules instructing their employees to do that, in “diversity training” sessions. One slide in the leaked photos says “Confronting Racism: Understanding what it means to be white, challenging what it means to be racist.” Another slide simply says, “Try to be less white.”

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2021/02/20/coca-cola-reportedly-told-its-staff-to-be-less-white-the-company-could-be-facing-lawsuits/

  7. CHINA IS PREPARING TO INVADE TAIWAN! Bombers carry out drills amid fears of ‘full-blown military

  8. TAIWAN WILL SHOT DOWN CHINA’S JETS! Taiwan deploys missiles after Chinese jets ‘enter its air zone’.

  9. United flight suffers engine failure, drops debris but safely returns to Denver airport | World News

    • Welcome to humanity! : )
      According to “family, “My personal motto is: “post me cladis”.

    • DAILY MAIL – The British schools selling out to Beijing: Not only are private institutions being bought by Chinese firms but some are giving communist-approved lessons that are a threat to free speech

      Experts anticipate a ‘feeding frenzy’ as firms seek to expand their influence
      Seventeen schools are already owned by Chinese companies in Britain
      Many independent schools are facing a funding crisis because of the pandemic
      Chinese firms bought schools, including Abbots Bromley School near Lichfield

      Hundreds of independent schools left in dire financial straits by the coronavirus pandemic are being targeted by Chinese investors, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

      Nine of the 17 schools under Chinese control are owned by firms whose founders or bosses are among China’s most senior Communist Party members;
      Princess Diana’s preparatory school is owned by a Chinese group that openly trades on her name;
      Schools are using educational tools for teaching children a ‘whitewashed’ view of China;
      One firm admitted its acquisition of British schools is aimed supporting China’s controversial Belt And Road strategy, which aims to expand Beijing’s global influence.

      more:

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9282617/British-private-institutions-bought-Chinese-firms.html

      • Now that was exceptionally convenient wasn’t it?
        IMO this is indirect evidence that the whole CV19 thing was a pre-planned political act of war on the whole west by the CPC/globalist union

  10. Ten of thousands of Myanmar protesters gather again, after authorities opened fire in Mandalay

    • Whoever’s printing up signs in English loves Aung San Suu Kyi.

      She hates the bogus term “Rohingya” as much as I do.

      “I think that instead of using emotive terms, this term has become emotive, and highly charged. It’s better to call them as Muslims, which is a description that nobody can deny. We are talking about the Muslim community in the Rakhine state and other terms may be applied to that community but I do not see any point in using terms that simply inflame passions further.”

      https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/daw-aung-san-suu-kyi-politics-crises-quotes.html

  11. Cancel Culture is a Dress Rehearsal for Mass Murder | Stefan Molyneux
    21 Studios – February 4, 2021

  12. https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2021/02/19/Snap-Out-Pandemic-Passivity-Canada/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_content=021921-2&utm_campaign=editorial

    Snap Out of Your Pandemic Passivity, Canada
    The rise of variants demands action. Here’s why we should join the ‘get-to-zero’ movement.

    It means changing our testing programs from passive systems that wait for symptomatic citizens to show up, to an active approach that brings tests to the most at-risk communities and workplaces.

    It means more testing and contract tracing.

    It means quarantine hotels.

    It means designating small areas that have achieved virus-free status “green zones” — and enacting travel restrictions to keep the virus out of green zones.

    It means, as critical care physician Brooks Fallis recently wrote in the Globe and Mail, “being decisive in tackling the virus from all angles.”

    A failure to commit

    Summoning the public to understand and accept such measures requires a grown-up discussion among our politicians and citizenry.

    ……

    Any reappearance of the virus is subject to hard and fast containment. (New Zealand and Australia can now stamp out any viral outbreak in five days because they understand the meaning of freedom.)

    Is becoming a green zone worth the effort, asks the European manifesto?

    “Yes. Economically and socially, almost any short-term cost is outweighed by the benefits of exiting from the paralysis of the pandemic. Public health and economic prosperity are not competing but complementary objectives. In addition, the perspective of a secure return to normal will counter growing fatigue in the population, and provide motivation and empowerment in local communities.”

    Put out the fire

    A pandemic (and COVID is mild one) is viral fire that burns down households, and communities.

    In a real fire, citizens expect firefighters to do their job. While battling a blaze, they don’t suddenly roll up the hoses and tell homeowners they’d better learn how to live with this fire for now. Nor do they sit down and have a Monty Python-like debate about the role of government in fighting fires or how fire trucks curtail the freedom of citizens to park on any street they like.

    Operating on the reality principle, firefighters get the job done and save what they can. They stamp out every smoldering ember so there is no more exponential growth. They end the threat.

    And that’s what we must do with COVID. The example of Australia and New Zealand says we can do that in five to seven weeks.

    The choice should belong to Canadians, and not their politicians. Their passivity has failed us.

  13. China releases footage of last year’s deadly border clash with India

    Chinese media released unique footage of the deadly border clash between Chinese and Indian troops in the disputed Western Himalayas region last June.
    The incident left four Chinese and 20 Indian soldiers dead.

    The video shows a massive force of Indian troops advancing on a significantly less sizeable Chinese unit while crossing a mountain river.

    The release of the previously unseen footage comes after the Chinese military broke its eight-month silence on the event.

    The two nations have recently reached a disengagement agreement and are currently pulling their troops from the disputed border.

  14. xYQxpZo6Tt4I8Kq2

    Germany: We might need third vaccination – Health Minister Spahn

    German health minister Jens Spahn on Saturday stated that getting a third dose of the COVID-19 is entirely possible at a virtual discussion held with members of the public in Berlin.

    Spahn stated, “we don’t know if we will need a third one after 12 or 24 months.” It is still unknown whether a booster dose after the first two doses will be necessary. Current research points to two doses being sufficient.

    He stressed that the first two doses must still be taken at the correct intervals, the second coming nine to twelve weeks after the first “to be fully protected.”

    The possibility of a third vaccine comes as the AstraZeneca has been shown to have reduced efficacy against mutations of the COVID-19 virus and has a generally lower efficacy in comparison to the BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

    *SOUNDBITE*

    SOT, Jens Spahn, German Health Minister (German): “What we are doing now and what your family is an example of is so that we can vaccinate the old and those in care and those most at risk who are 18-46.

    We are doing it by vaccinating the older population with the BioNTech and Moderna vaccine, and the 18-46 years olds with the AstraZeneca one to do it generally more quickly.

    Can you be vaccinated later? Yes. If the professors agree that it doesn’t affect the immune system to be vaccinated half a year or a year later with another vaccine.

    The important thing is to get the first two doses from AstraZeneca to be fully protected, have the first and second doses at the recommended intervals, so the second is nine to 12 weeks after the first and it makes a real difference in terms of immunity, and maybe we will all need a third vaccine, we don’t know if we will need a third one after 12 or 24 months.

    But if you say for yourself, possibly at the end of the year when we have vaccinated everyone and there are still doses left, that you still want to be vaccinated again, that is possible, no problem.”

    • CNN – Bill Gates asked about his pandemic prediction 1 year from now

      As more and more Americans receive the Covid-19 vaccine, CNN’s Anderson Cooper asks Bill Gates if, one year from now, he would be willing to sit inside at a restaurant or resume shaking hands with people.

    • CBC – What it’s like at a COVID-19 vaccine clinic as inoculations ramp up

      Emily Musing from the University Health Network says the level of excitement and delight is palpable

    • CHINA DONATES COVID VACCINES TO UGANDA, MUSEVENI PRAISES RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PEOPLE’S REP OF CHINA

    • This mix and match of vaccines within a given population sounds like a plan to create super-bugs. Plausible deniability for WMD.

      !! Yay, Eurocrats !!

    • Germany: Counter-protesters wave Antifa banners, whistle as COVID sceptics march in Berlin

      Hundreds of COVID sceptics, who marched through Berlin’s district of Schoneberg to decry the extension of pandemic-related restrictions, were booed at by counter-protesters on Saturday.

      Counter-protesters, some with Antifa banners, gathered along the itinerary of the protest with various placards and flags.

      Loud whistles and boos could be heard as the COVID deniers marched past.
      Several activists banged kitchen pots in a sign of discontent.

      Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that most of the current restrictions in Germany would remain in place until at least March 7 to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Hairdressers will be permitted to reopen from March 1, under strict rules, while the federal states will also be able to decide when to reopen their schools, with several announcing plans to do so before the end of February.

  15. Mega-thread breaks down where all of the Covid-19 relief money in the House bill is going (HINT: NOT TO YOU)

    =======================================

    $300,000,000 for the WHO? Sure, why not:

    =======================================
    Debt relief for “socially disadvantaged” farmer and ranchers:

    “socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher” are : “farmers and ranchers who have experienced barriers to service due to racial or ethnic prejudice”

    And a billion dollars to reach out to them

    =========================================

    Another $128.5 BILLION for the teachers unions to play with while they refuse to reopen schools.

    =======================================

    Almost $40 BILLION more for the universities. Some of you remember when I dove into the CARES Act Relief for them, I can’t wait to see how preposterous the payouts to these billion dollar endowment adult day care centers are lol

    =======================================

    $200,000,000 for the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

    $10,000,000 for the Preservation of Native American languages.

    =========================================
    $1,000,000,000 to tell people that the vaccine isn’t going to turn them into a lizard person.

    Simply incredible. A straight up slush fund for PR firms

    ===========================================

    More taxpayer money headed abroad. $750,000,000 to be exact.

    Very cool to see while receiving $0 in relief while unemployed.

    Also another $500,000,000 for upgrading the CDC’s public health surveillance capabilities. Creepy.
    ============================================

    $50,000,000 for “environmental justice” and “tackling the climate crisis”

    $50,000,000 for the clean air act.

    ============================================
    MORE :

    https://twitchy.com/gregp-3534/2021/02/20/mega-thread-breaks-down-where-all-of-the-covid-19-relief-money-in-the-house-bill-is-going-hint-not-to-you/

  16. Farage: China Launching ‘Communist Takeover’ as CCP-Linked Firms Buy UK Schools (breitbart, Feb 21, 2021)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/02/21/farage-chinese-attempting-a-communist-takeover-as-billionaires-buy-up-british-schools/

    “Brexit leader Nigel Farage has warned that there is a “communist takeover” of large swaths of Britain’s private education sector, as an investigation has revealed that schools throughout the country have been bought out by firms connected to the Chinese government.

    There are currently 17 private schools in the United Kingdom owned by Chinese firms, nine of which are owned by senior members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

    The schools are reportedly presenting a “whitewashed” view of China to their students, and one school has admitted that the goal of infiltrating the education system is to propagate China’s One Belt, One Road global initiative, an investigation from the Mail on Sunday revealed.

    Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage said that the British government “must wake up to the dangers and act quickly” warning that “the world is being taken over by stealth by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Under a neo-colonial project, President Xi Jinping hopes to achieve global economic domination via massive international investments.”

    “For example, three schools and a network of colleges are now owned by the Bright Scholar Group, run by Yang Huiyan, whose billionaire father is a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party. In essence, this is nothing less than a Communist takeover of part of Britain’s private education sector,” Farage said.

    “Meanwhile, there’s the role of the Confucius Institutes. Under the control of the Chinese government, its students are taught a grossly sanitised version of Chinese history and politics,” he added.

    The investigation found that since 2014, Chinese companies have taken advantage of financial difficulties facing boarding schools in order to scoop them up. Last year alone, three schools were bought out by Chinese firms.

    In 2017, the Wanda group, founded by Chinese prominent Chinese Communist Party member and billionaire Wang Jianlin, bought two private schools Bedstone College in Shropshire and Ipswich High School.

    Mr Farage noted that as a result of inflation, private schools in the United Kingdom have become only accessible to the rich, saying: “As a result, such schools – especially those with boarders – are reliant on Chinese students to help balance the books.”

    The communist infiltration extends beyond buying up schools, with 29 Confucius Institutes on British university campuses, and 148 Confucius classrooms present in schools.

    Both operations claim to offer education on the Chinese language and culture, yet are in fact branches of the Chinese Ministry of Education which reports directly to the Communist Party’s central propaganda department.

    In Confucius classrooms, students are shown propaganda articles, including those showing tourists enjoying holidays in Xinjiang, the region home to the concentration camps in which Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities are interned in the millions. Another programme within the classrooms also displays a dancing virtual Xi Jinping which gives students a “sanitised view” of the history of the Chinese state.

    “These people are being taught that China is the future, they are literally being indoctrinated by the Chinese Communist Party,” Nigel Farage said, adding that they are not taught about the genocide in Xinjiang or the destruction of democracy in Hong Kong.

    Beyond silencing debate on sensitive issues for the Chinese government, such as the so-called “Three T’s” — Taiwan, Tibet, and Tiananmen Square — Confucious Institutes have been accused of monitoring the activities of Chinese students studying abroad.

    One Chinese student reported: “The Confucius Institute, to me, functions like the closed circulation television and has the potential to scare away my critical thinking by constantly reminding me: we are watching you and behave yourself.”

    Last month, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced a review of Confucius Institutes in British schools.

    Commenting on the “ccommunist takeover” of British schools, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tory MP Tom Tugendhat said: “China’s strategic understanding and reach means that they have an advantage in seeking to influence others and using established brands, including some of our own, to achieve that position.

    “We need to decide what it is we are prepared to defend, but before that we would need to understand what it is we want.”

    A Department for Education spokesman said: “Owners of independent schools have a requirement to promote fundamental British values. Schools cannot promote partisan political views.””

  17. Hungary Forced to Drop Law Making NGOs Disclose Foreign Funding by EU (breitbart, Feb 21, 2021)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/02/21/hungary-forced-to-drop-law-making-ngos-disclose-foreign-funding-by-eu/

    “Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga said the Hungarian government was willing to get rid of a law making foreign-funding of NGOs transparent after the European Commission began an infringement procedure earlier this week.

    The European Commission launched the infringement procedure after citing a Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruling from June of last year that called on Hungary to get rid of the law that regulated NGOs receiving foreign cash.

    The ruling itself came after the Commission had referred the case to the court in 2017. Hungary was making NGOs receiving over 7.2 million Hungarian forints ($26,000/£20,000) disclose their funding more openly and register as a “foreign-supported organisation”.

    On Friday, Minister Varga said that despite considering the Commission’s move a “politically motivated procedure” Hungary would look to scrap the law in the spring of this year as requested, Hungary Today reports.

    “While some opposition politicians are rejoicing for the initiative of an unfair infringement proceeding against their country in Brussels, the Hungarian government is doing its job,” Varga stated.

    In 2017, the law was seen as a counter to the influence of billionaire plutocrat George Soros and his large network of NGOs. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban has frequently criticised Soros and his NGOs for their attempts to influence Hungarian politics in the past.

    “George Soros and his NGOs want to transport one million migrants to the EU per year. He has personally, publicly announced this programme and provides a financial loan for it. You could read this yourselves,” Orban said in April of 2017.

    The dismantling of the NGO law is just the latest blow for Hungary in the European Union courts and comes after the European Court of Justice ruled that the Orban government had engaged in pushbacks of migrants at the Serbian border and violated EU rules.

    In January, the European Union border agency Frontex announced it would be halting operations in Hungary over the issue.

    Hungary’s Secretary of State for International Communication and Relations, Zoltán Kovács, reacted to the Frontex announcement saying: “Not as if we got a lot of help from Frontex, but it seems Brussels wants to take away even the little bit we did get.””

  18. Illegal Alien Stabs Immigration Official to Death After Asylum Claim Rejected (breitbart, Feb 21, 2021)
    https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2021/02/21/illegal-alien-stabs-immigration-official-to-death-after-asylum-claim-rejected/

    “A 46-year-old official at a French asylum seeker reception facility has died after being stabbed several times, allegedly by a Sudanese migrant who had his asylum claim rejected.

    The stabbing took place on Friday in the city of Pau at around 11 a.m. local time and reportedly saw the 38-year-old Sudanese migrant stab the 46-year-old official at least three times, with one of the stab wounds in the victim’s throat.

    The death of the official was announced on social media by French Interior Minister Gerald Darmamin, who wrote: “I will go to Pau at the end of the afternoon to meet the staff of the association as well as the elected officials following the dramatic assault this morning. I extend my sincere condolences to the victim’s family and loved ones.”

    The Sudanese migrant was arrested shortly after the attack by the Pau Anti-Crime Squad (BAC) near the crime scene. The man is believed to have just learned that his asylum claim had been rejected prior to the stabbing, but is allegedly well-known to local judicial officials for prior acts of violence, France Bleu reports.

    Pau’s mayor, François Bayrou, also commented on the incident, saying: “This is a terrible tragedy, all the more appalling because the victim has committed himself all his professional life to the defence of migrants and those who apply for asylum; all the more appalling also because the assailant, the murderer, went to prison for assault, apparently with a knife.”

    “Quite rightly his application for asylum or the pursuit of asylum had been refused, he turned against the head of the department, it is of violence, of extreme absurdity… There are so many questions about this man’s journey,” he added.

    The incident comes less than a year after a 20-year-old Afghan migrant was arrested for beating the president of a French pro-migration group to death with an iron rod

    Jean Dussine, 63, the president of Itinérance Cherbourg, was killed after that suspect broke into his home and attacked him as he lay sleeping.”

  19. RT – Biden: Blacks and Hispanics too stupid to use internet

    Banned from twitter, we’ll talk with the founder and editor of the Gateway Pundit about what happened to his account, and we’ll show you some rarely seen video of the squad that you will find most interesting.

  20. (Richard: If Turkey does push Russia into a war that causes Turkey to disappear there are two reasons to be worried, 1) There will be a lot of refugees streaming into Europe. 2) it will make Putin stronger. These are the only reason to worry about that war, the Turks were stupid enough to elect Erdogan and not get rid of him so I don’t feel sorry for anything that happens.)

    Turkey Ravages Cyprus
    Uzay Bulut
    15-18 minutes

    On November 15, 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited a part of Famagusta, Cyprus, after joining the ceremony celebrating the 37th anniversary of the unilateral declaration of the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”, the illegally-occupied northern part of Cyprus that is not recognized under international law. Since 1974, it has been under Turkish occupation, which has looted and ethnically cleansed its indigenous population. Pictured: Erdogan (second from right) in Varosha, Famagusta on November 15, 2020. (Photo by Alexis Mitas/Getty Images)

    The international community may be unaware of it, but Europe includes a ghost town located in the Republic of Cyprus. Since 1974, it has been under Turkish occupation, which has looted and ethnically cleansed its indigenous population.

    Designated a military zone by the Turkish army 46 years ago, when Greek Cypriots were forced to flee invading Turkish forces, a part of the Cypriot district of Famagusta has remained deserted.

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17088/iran-mediation

    • They do this dance every once in a while.
      Remember 2015, when the filthy Turk shot down a Russian plane?

      Russia seeks economic revenge against Turkey over jet

      https://ca.news.yahoo.com/turkeys-erdogan-says-russian-response-downed-jet-emotional-130009265–business.html

      Russia seeks economic revenge against Turkey over jet
      ………
      THE TURKEY SHOOTDOWN
      An Unnecessary Crisis

      Some guesses as to what exactly transpired in this week’s high-stakes standoff between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin.

      https://www.the-american-interest.com/2015/11/28/an-unnecessary-crisis/

    • That said, the Twisted-Ragheads are in cahoots with the filthy Turk and China. Putin is supposedly a member of that noxious entente cordial, fighting NATO aggression on the Russian near-abroad.

      But Macron is saying NATO’s mission is over:

      Nobody can tell me that today’s Nato is a structure that, in its foundations, is still pertinent. It was founded to face down the Warsaw Pact. There is no more a Warsaw Pact.

      So Merkel can get her Nordstream-2 and France can partner with Hezbollah to rebuild Lebanon.

      Now that China’s in the Oval Office, Iran will soon be rolling in billions of USD. China’s getting a big bite of that. EVERYBODY is salivating to service the genocidal regimes. Weapons, tech, no holds barred.

      They’re even going so far as to send TROOPS to protect the interests of IRGC-controlled Iraq! So Twisted-Ragheads get their Land Bridge to the Med, under the auspices of Our Allies.

      How nice.

      Except that relegates Putin to the shadows. He’s not quite so important anymore. If NATO’s no big deal, then wooing the filthy Turk loses appeal.

      The sultan-wannabe lusts for the good old days, like the Wolf-Warrior in Beijing. Both boast claims on territory that is RUSSIA!

      Putin is sneaky, impossible to read.
      We shall see.

      • I am sure Putin isn’t going to give up any territory to either Erdogan of Xi, and if Putin decides to take Turkey out of the game the only thing about that I will regret is the massive numbers of refugees that will send into Europe.

        Yes all of our European Allies are going to help Iran, they want their share of the cash Biden is going to give to Iran. Yes this is going to help Iran build up their military so they can attack all of our allies in the Mideast. I wish I could see some way to stop that but I can’t. What I do see is a war starting in the Far East and in the Mideast, wars that will grow during the next 4 years. Then with luck we will get someone in the Oval Office who will turn the military loose on our enemies in both locations. I even see a possibility that Putin will follow Stalin’s lead and ally with the US to fight China and the Middle East enemies. I also see him fingering a knife and looking at our back a lot. Putin dislikes the US because we destroyed the Soviet Union and very few people in the States are fond of him. Peal Politic says that both the US and Russia will have a better chance of surviving the coming war if they ally with each other once a US Patriot is in the Oval Office. This may not happen but as I said both nations chances of survival will be better if we ally.

        • Remember I said a long time ago that our relationship with Europe was undergoing a paradigm shift? That a tardish, commie Europe was a whole different animal from the “over there” of WW1+2?

          Now some significant fraction of North America is looking like a mate for that ugly animal. I see allies in disaggregated clumps around the world. Non-Islamic, non-CCP, non-NWO. Defined by what they are NOT.

          Maybe the Westphalian system is crumbling. Nations reconfigured, national identities that no longer correspond to geographical designations.

          It’s all totally unstable.

  21. DOJ Alleges Stanford Researcher Destroyed Evidence of Links to Chinese Military
    By Cathy He
    February 20, 2021 Updated: February 20, 2021
    biggersmaller Print

    A researcher at Stanford University has been indicted on charges of lying and destroying evidence of her status as a member of the Chinese military.

    Song Chen, a 39-year-old visiting medical researcher at the university, was charged last July over allegedly lying on a visa application about her membership in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). On Feb. 18, a federal grand jury issued an expanded indictment charging Song with visa fraud, obstruction of justice, destruction of documents, and lying to federal investigators.

    Song’s 2018 visa application said that she was a neurologist who was coming to Stanford to conduct research related to brain disease. She disclosed that she served in the Chinese military from September 2000 to June 2011, and that her current employer was a Beijing hospital named “Xi Diaoyutai.” Prosecutors said that this actually a cover for Song’s real employer, the PLA Air Force General Hospital in Beijing.

    “We allege that while Chen Song worked as a researcher at Stanford University, she was secretly a member of China’s military,” U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson for the Northern District of California said in a statement.

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/doj-alleges-stanford-researcher-destroyed-evidence-of-links-to-chinese-military_3704288.html?utm_source=morningbriefnoe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mb-2021-02-21

  22. Biden: Veterans are helping to fuel the growth of white supremacy – Liberty Unyielding
    Rusty Weiss
    6-8 minutes

    Biden: Veterans are helping to fuel the growth of white supremacy

    Joe Biden has suggested that former military veterans along with former police officers are helping to fuel the growth of white supremacy and white supremacist groups in America.

    Biden made the remarks in discussing the rise of so-called domestic terrorism in the United States during a town hall hosted by CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

    “I got involved in politics to begin with because of civil rights and opposition to white supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan,” he told the audience. “The most dangerous people in America continue to exist. That is the greatest threat to terror in America: domestic terror.”

    He got involved in politics because of civil rights and opposition to white supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan? Really? Has he forgotten that earlier in his career he was friends with “some of the Senate’s most fervent segregationists” and gave the eulogy at the funeral of Sen. and KKK member Robert C. Byrd, whose own claims to fame included having filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for more than 14 hours in the Senate. But that wasn’t Byrd’s most notable “accomplishment.”

    Trending: How long will the Left put up with Biden’s ‘candid observations’ (aka bigoted comments)?

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2021/02/21/biden-veterans-are-helping-to-fuel-the-growth-of-white-supremacy/

  23. Biden Administration to ‘Definitely’ Relieve Iran Sanctions, Report Says (sputniknews, Feb 21, 2021)
    https://sputniknews.com/world/202102211082145114-biden-administration-to-definitely-relieve-iran-sanctions-report-says/

    “While the United States has recently indicated the chances are that it will return to the JCPOA, Tehran believes a revival of the accord will be meaningless unless Washington lifts all its economic restrictions.

    The new US administration is weighing offering Iran sanctions relief, as the US seeks to revitalise the landmark 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), yet it appears negotiations are expected to come first, The Sunday Times reported.

    President Joe Biden declared on Thursday that America is willing to sit down for “informal” talks with the Iranians, which would be hosted by the EU and also attended by the UK, Russia, and China, as Tehran has demanded relief from the harsh Trump-imposed sanctions, which would come as a price for the resumption of negotiations.

    The United States’ possible return to the Iran deal would be meaningless if Washington does not lift all the sanctions it has imposed against Tehran first, Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi said in a recent interview with Khamenei.ir, according to Press TV. Takht Ravanchi asserted that the promises should not just be voiced, but backed with guarantees:

    “We cannot simply settle for the signature of a letter. If the signature is not coupled with a process for verifying the actions, it would be pointless”, the diplomat said.

    According to a national security source cited by The Sunday Times, there are signs that sanctions will be backtracked on, although the administration insists that talks should be held first.

    “Sanctions relief is definitely coming”, said one well-placed national security source. “Not today or tomorrow. But it is coming”.

    On Friday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki didn’t rule out the possibility either, emphasising though that “there is no plan to take additional steps” before a “diplomatic conversation” with Iran.

    Donald Trump pulled the US out of the JCPOA in May 2018, introducing harsh sanctions against Tehran under his so-called “maximum pressure” policy. In response, Tehran started to slow down the fulfilment of its commitments under the deal, in which Biden’s secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and special envoy for Iran, Rob Malley, were key figures back in 2015.

    Some advocates of the JCPOA argue that it is up to Biden to demonstrate goodwill in US-Iran relations.

    “As the party who reneged on its obligations and brought the agreement to its sorry state, the onus is on the US to take steps that would demonstrate to Iran that it is a reliable negotiating partner”, said Ali Vaez, director of the Iran project at the International Crisis Group, which was led by Rob Malley until he was tapped to be special envoy.

    “It is hard to imagine that anything short of a meaningful economic reprieve would get Iran’s attention”, he went on.

    European states – the “E3” of Britain, Germany, and France – have remained in the nuclear deal, with Iranian officials repeatedly accusing them of failing to fulfill their own commitments in this regard.

    “Instead of sophistry & putting [the] onus on Iran, E3/EU must abide by [their] own commitments & demand an end to Trump’s legacy of #EconomicTerrorism against Iran Our remedial measures are a response to US/E3 violations. Remove the cause if you fear the effect”, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted earlier this month.”

  24. Biden’s Arms Freeze on Saudi Arabia Rings Hollow as Lockheed Signs Deal With Kingdom (sputniknews, Feb 21, 2021)
    https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202102211082145376-bidens-arms-freeze-on-saudi-arabia-rings-hollow-as-lockheed-signs-deal-with-kingdom/

    “US President Joe Biden announced a halt to arms sales and operational support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen — which began when he was vice-president to Barack Obama in 2015 — earlier this month, followed by the removal of Yemen’s Ansarallah movement from the US list of terrorist organisations.

    US President Joe Biden’s vaunted freeze on arms sales to Gulf Arab kingdoms has been belied by a deal between Lockheed Martin and Saudi Arabia.

    Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) announced a joint venture with the US aerospace and defence firm on Sunday to develop Riyadh’s “domestic defence and security capabilities”.

    The new company will help build up the Saudi arms industry through “transfer of technology (ToT) and knowledge (ToK) and training of Saudi nationals to manufacture products and provide services to the Kingdom’s armed forces,” a Sami statement read.

    The agreement was signed by SAMI CEO Walid Abukhaled and Lockheed Martin International Senior Vice-President Timothy Cahill at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

    “SAMI has been exploring avenues to help build a sustainable, self-sufficient military industries sector in the Kingdom,” said Abukhaled, “and our strong and enduring partnership with Lockheed Martin underpins our commitment.”

    Cahill called the deal a “major milestone in our strategic relationship with SAMI” in line with its strategy of “providing reliable defence and security solutions that will support security and prosperity for decades to come.”

    SAMI, a subsidiary of the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), will have a 51 per cent stake in the venture while Lockheed Martin will control the remainder.

    Early this month Biden said his was ending US operational support and arms supplies to Saudi Arabia for its six-year war on Yemen that has left at least 100,000 people dead and 80 per cent of the population in need of aid. That support began in 2015 when Biden was serving as vice-president to Barack Obama.

    The White House later removed Yemen’s Ansarallah movement — dominated by the Houthi clan — from its list of designated terrorist organisations and urged the force to call a ceasefire and enter talks with their Saudi opponents.

    In late January his administration announced a temporary freeze on arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, pending a review. But that was viewed in the context of moves to pull out of the deal Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump struck with the UAE to sell 50 Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth attack jets — seen as a quid pro quo for Emirati recognition of the state of Israel last year.

    Only on Saturday US Congressman Ro Khanna, a member of Biden’s Democratic Party and a long-time critic of the Yemen war, hailed the president’s pronouncements on Yemen as a “profound and historic shift”.

    “We’re being explicit and bold and open to the Saudis saying, ‘no, this is not a war we support’,” Khanna said. “Now I think that President Biden has made a clear statement that relationship is no longer what it once was.””

    • The Biden Administration is already attempting Middle East regime change

      You may not have noticed, but the White House is already attempting to fan the flames of regime change in the Middle East, targeting a longtime U.S. ally – and a crucial force for regional stability – for the first destabilization campaign of the Biden presidency.

      Less than one month into the Biden presidency, the White House has taken to attempting to forcibly restructure the power center of the Saudi monarchy. This week, the administration has been raising the volume on an interference campaign into Riyadh’s internal affairs, waging a purposeful ploy to move power away from the de facto leader of the country, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).…

      There are four important dynamics that you need to know about Saudi Arabia’s internal and external state of affairs, and the Biden Administration role in promoting hostility:

      First and foremost, MBS is the unquestioned leader of the country, and by all objective measures, he is wildly popular among Saudis for his efforts to modernize the country, increase nationalist and patriotic sentiment, bolster quality of life, and institute economic, societal, and human rights reforms.

      Second, the Saudi Crown Prince has been staunchly pro-American in both his policy actions and his worldview. MBS moved mountains to allow for the success of the US-Israel-UAE-Bahrain Abraham Accords, which brought unprecedented peace agreements to the region.

      Without MBS, there are no peace deals between Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain. MBS also provided the glue to build a Middle East coalition against both insurgent jihadist groups like ISIS, and jihadist nation states like Iran.

      Third, MBS and the Trump Administration remained on solid terms, but that wasn’t the case for the Obama Administration, which preferred to entangle itself with Islamist forces as opposed to more stable nationalist forces. The Biden Administration’s foreign policy team is almost a carbon copy of the Obama Administration’s foreign policy team.…

      Fourth, MBS’s father, King Salman, has already delegated most of his authority. This is not unusual in a monarchy, which allows for the process of gradually granting power over to a designated successor. King Salman is, by all reported indications, very comfortable with his decision. The line of succession will not be redrawn.…

      https://dossier.substack.com/p/the-biden-administration-is-already?r=6a3x3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=twitter

      • Biden pledges to ‘recalibrate’ relations with Saudi Arabia in apparent snub to Mohammed bin Salman

        Joe Biden’s administration has expressed its hope of “recalibrating” US relations with Saudi Arabia while suggesting it considers King Salman to be the US president’s equal and not his son, Crown Prince [MBS], who is widely considered to be the kingdom’s de facto ruler.…

        Avril Haines, Mr Biden’s new US director of national intelligence, pledged during her Senate confirmation hearing last month that she would “absolutely” provide Congress with an an unclassified report on Khashoggi’s assassination.

        “This is a slapdown of MBS, who the administration views as reckless and ruthless,” Aaron David Miller…

        https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/biden-saudi-arabia-mbs-psaki-b1803398.html
        …….
        The Kommie-Hoe fills in for Dementia Joe, but press-spokesholes get crafty with counterpart-to-counterpart niceties?

        King Salman is severely impaired since his last major stroke. Everyone knows; making it an issue is a deliberate insult. Such disrespect incurs an honor debt.
        ugh
        MbS is awful. They all are.
        So what?

  25. Rights Report Documents Houthi Violations against Women in Yemen
    https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2818971/rights-report-documents-houthi-violations-against-women-yemen

    “A human rights report shed light on the Houthi militias’ violations against women in Yemen in the past three years.

    It accused the group of the arrest and enforced disappearance of 1,181 women during the mentioned period and their exposure to killing, torture and rape.

    The report was released on Friday during a seminar organized by the Women for Peace in Yemen Coalition, the March 8 Bloc for Yemeni Women and the Yemeni Organization for Combating Human Trafficking.

    It documented 274 cases of enforced disappearance, and 292 arrests of human rights activists from the education sector.

    It also documented 246 arrests of relief and humanitarian workers, 71 cases of rape and four suicides, in addition to dozens of detention cases of male and female children with their mothers.

    According to the report, 321 female detainees have been released while 293 female minors are still in Houthi prisons.

    The violations included killing, disfigurement, detention, arrest, kidnap, torture and sexual violence, the report noted, adding that female detainees were raped by supervisors in the militias’ prisons.

    It recorded several suicide attempts by the detained girls in the central prison in Sanaa, stressing that Houthis did not allow medical examinations and the launch of probes into causes of deaths inside the detention centers.

    “The detained women were subjected to all kinds of physical torture, including beatings with sticks and electric wires, slapping, suffocating and waterboarding, in addition to verbal insults and demeaning and psychological torture to confess to things they did not do, as well as fabricating malicious and immoral accusations (concerning prostitution networks).”

    During these three years, hundreds of cases of arrests and detentions against Yemeni women and even foreign women working in the humanitarian, media, and human rights fields and political activists were recorded, especially in the capital, Sanaa, and the Houthi-run governorates.

    The human rights report reviewed the testimonies and stories of a number of cases, calling on the militias to release all the women detained in official and secret prisons and those held in police, criminal investigation and political security departments in Sanaa and Dhamar, and to stop arresting more women.

    It also urged the militias to disclose the whereabouts of detained and forcibly disappeared women and release them immediately, allow human rights organizations, feminists and human rights activists to visit detainees and provide them with legal aid and to halt all practices of gender-based violence against women.”

  26. Saudis’ trading in US stocks soars 606% to SR323 billion in 2020
    https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/603725/SAUDI-ARABIA/Saudis-trading-in-US-stocks-soars-606-to-SR323-billion-in-2020

    “RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) revealed in a recent report, seen by Okaz/Saudi Gazette, that the total trading by Saudis in the US stocks during the year 2020 amounted to SR323.37 billion, an increase of 606.04 percent compared to the year 2019 when it stood at SR45.8 billion.

    The coronavirus pandemic has been instrumental in the huge rise in the trading by Saudis in the US market, as the jump in trading witnessed mainly from the second quarter until the end of the year.

    The value of Saudis’ transactions in the US market during 2020 accounted for 98.34 percent of the total trading in foreign markets, which amounted to SR328.8 billion during the last year.

    The US market is the most popular foreign market for the Saudis while the value of trades for all other foreign markets including the Gulf, Arab, Asian and other markets accounted for only a smaller amount of SR5.47 billion.

    The American stocks had recorded a remarkable rise in 2020, as the Dow Jones index rose 6.9 percent, the S&P 500 indices rose 16 percent, and the NASDAQ index rose by 42.9 percent, as the best annual performance in 11 years.

    The number of public funds invested in the US stocks reached three funds by the end of 2020, according to the Capital Market Authority (CMA), while the number of funds reached 72 funds in local stocks, 24 funds in Gulf stocks, 4 for Arab stocks, 7 for Asian stocks, 4 for European stocks, and 14 funds in the rest of the markets.

    It is noteworthy that the CMA report on the trading value of authorized persons or local brokers in the global markets does not include either details of the number of Saudi portfolios abroad or the number of investors trading directly through the foreign brokers.”

  27. Somali accuses UAE of encouraging unrest
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210221-somali-accuses-uae-of-encouraging-unrest/

    “Somalia on Sunday accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of violating international law by belittling Somalia’s government as “interim” and seeking to sow violence, Anadolu Agency reports.

    A Saturday UAE statement on recent clashes in the country also violates bilateral fellowship, Osman Dubbe, Somalia’s information minister, told a press conference in the capital Mogadishu.

    “The UAE statement is inconsistent with international diplomacy, brotherly relations between the two countries, and Arab culture,” said Dubbe.

    “The United Arab Emirates wants Somalia to be like Yemen and Libya and wants to create in Somalia displacement, violence, and backwardness, and that is something the Somali people are wary of,” he added.

    Commenting on recent clashes between Somali government forces and opposition groups, the UAE statement accused Somalia of using excessive force against civilians and called its government an “interim government.”

    Separately, Somalia accused opposition presidential candidates led by former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed of pursuing “illegality” in the guise of peaceful protest.

    “Presidential candidates chose to circumnavigate the process in order to pursue a path of illegality and armed insurrection disguised as a peaceful demonstration guaranteed under our constitution,” said a Somali Foreign Ministry statement, also warning unnamed foreign actors against making “misleading” statements that at times “appear to be supporting insurrection.””

  28. Somali military kills over 50 Al-Shabaab members
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210221-somali-military-kills-over-50-al-shabaab-members/

    “The Somali National Army (SNA) claimed that it killed more than 50 Al-Shabaab members, including two senior commanders, in an operation in the lower Shabelle region, Anadolu Agency reports.

    The military operation against the Somali-based al-Qaeda affiliated terror group took place in Mushaani, Daniga, and Majabta, according to Somali military radio.

    Military officials in the region who spoke to Anadolu Agency confirmed the operation.

    Army Chief of Staff Odawa Yusuf Rageh told military radio Friday that the terrorist killed included Moalim Bukhari, the group’s intelligence chief in lower Shabelle and Sheikh Hasan Ganeey, the commander in the region.

    He said Al-Shabaab training camps in villages were also destroyed.

    At least 20 Al-Shabaab terrorists were killed Thursday in a military operation in the region.”

  29. Pakistan dubs France’s anti-Muslim bill discriminatory
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210221-pakistan-dubs-frances-anti-muslim-bill-discriminatory/

    “Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi urged France on Saturday to desist from entrenching “discriminatory attitudes” against Muslims into laws aimed at fighting so-called extremism, Anadolu Agency reports.

    Paris needs to bring people together instead of stamping Islam in a certain manner to create “disharmony and bias,” said Alvi, according to state-run Radio Pakistan.

    Alvi was referring to a controversial bill introduced by French President Emmanuel Macron last year to fight so-called “Islamist separatism.”

    Addressing a seminar on religious freedom and minorities’ rights in Islamabad, he said Pakistan communicated to the West that blasphemy of Prophet Muhammad in the name of so-called freedom of expression is considered an insult to the entire Muslim community.

    The bill is being criticized because it targets the Muslim community and imposes restrictions on almost every aspect of their lives.

    It provides for intervening in mosques and associations responsible for the administration of mosques, as well as controlling the finances of associations and non-governmental organizations belonging to Muslims.

    It restricts the education choices of the Muslim community by preventing families from giving children home education.

    The bill also prohibits patients from choosing doctors based on gender for religious or other reasons and makes compulsory “secularism education” for all public officials.”

  30. Libyan interior minister’s convoy in shootout he calls assassination attempt
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-security/libyan-interior-ministers-convoy-in-shootout-he-calls-assassination-attempt-idUSKBN2AL0ES

    “Libyan Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha said he escaped a “well-planned” assassination attempt on Sunday in which gunmen fired on his motorcade in the capital Tripoli, though an armed force that said its members were involved disputed his account…”

  31. Man, wife gunned down over domestic dispute
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/2285347/man-wife-gunned-down-over-domestic-dispute

    “A man and his second wife were gunned down here by the brothers of his first wife in Guli Bagh area of Mardan district in K-P.

    Police told The Express Tribune that a local Malik Abdul Sattar had two wives and fighting between the two women was almost a daily routine.

    “A week ago money and jewelry was stolen from the house of the deceased and he suspected that his first wife Tuhida Bibi was involved in it,” said police.

    “On Friday the first wife of Malik Abdul Sattar called her brothers who came and opened fire killing Malik Sattar outside the house. They then entered the house and killed his second wife too,” said police, adding that the accused made good their escape after committing the crime.”

  32. Nuclear program: Iran cuts UN watchdog’s access
    https://www.dw.com/en/nuclear-program-iran-cuts-un-watchdogs-access/a-56645358

    “But the International Atomic Energy Agency will still be able to carry out inspections in Iran, at least for the next three months.

    United Nations inspectors will continue to monitor Iran’s nuclear program, but with “less access,” the UN atomic watchdog’s chief said Sunday.

    Tehran in December 2020 passed a law that would curb access for IAEA inspectors, if European signatories “do not fulfill their obligations” to a 2015 Iran nuclear deal by February 21. The law is due to go into effect on Tuesday.

    Tehran also hoped to pressure the US to lift sanctions and re-commit to the 2015 multinational nuclear deal — formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

    What did the UN watchdog and Iran agree on?
    The IAEA and Iran reached a “technical solution,” said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi on return from emergency talks in Tehran.

    As part of the deal, the IAEA will “retain the necessary degree of monitoring and verification” in Iran, Grossi added.

    The number of inspectors on the ground would remain the same but the types of activities they can carry out will change, said Grossi. He did not give further details.

    He stressed monitoring would continue “in a satisfactory manner.”

    The solution will remain in place for up to three months.

    Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Iranian state television on Sunday ahead of his meeting with Grossi that the IAEA would be prevented from accessing footage from their cameras at nuclear sites.

    Is the solution a success?
    “The hope of the IAEA has been to stabilize a situation which was very unstable,” Grossi said at the airport after his arrival back in Vienna, where the agency is based.

    “It salvages this situation now, but, of course, for a stable, sustainable situation there will have to be a political negotiation and that is not up to me,” Grossi explained.

    But the reduced monitoring helped “avoid a situation in which we would have been, in practical terms, flying blind,” Grossi added.

    Why did Iran want to stop UN watchdog visits?
    The US in 2018, under the Trump administration, took a hard line against Iran. It pulled out of the 2015 nuclear pact and reinstated sanctions. These have badly hurt Iran’s economy.

    In response, Iran has been breaking key limits on uranium enrichment and uranium metal laid out in the 2015 deal. It wants sanctions lifted and a return to the terms of the pact.

    Newly-elected US President Joe Biden recently called for European powers to come together and curb Iran’s “destabilizing” activities. Biden made a commitment to rejoin talks on Iran’s nuclear program.”