Reader’s Links for May 8, 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

74 Replies to “Reader’s Links for May 8, 2021”

  1. Biden administration joins global campaign against online extremism

    (Reuters) – The United States will join a New Zealand-led global campaign to stamp out violent extremism online, the White House said, making a policy change two years after the administration of former president Donald Trump declined to participate.

    The initiative was started by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron in 2019 after a gunman killed 51 people at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch while live-streaming his rampage on Facebook.

    Biden administration spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United States would join the “Christchurch Call to Action to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online” in a statement late Friday.

    “Countering the use of the internet by terrorists and violent extremists to radicalise and recruit is a significant priority for the United States,” Psaki said in the statement.

    “Joining the coalition of governments and companies that have endorsed the Christchurch Call to Action reinforces the need for collective action.”

    Ardern said on Saturday the U.S. had been a “constructive, engaged partner on many Call-related issues since its launch” and the announcement was a “formalisation of that relationship and a commitment for us to work even more closely”.

    The U.S. cited free speech protections when it declined to join the campaign in 2019, and “will not take steps that would violate the freedoms of speech and association protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, nor violate reasonable expectations of privacy”, Psaki added in the statement.

    Psaki said the U.S. will participate in a virtual summit on May 14.

    https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-newzealand-security/biden-administration-joins-global-campaign-against-online-extremism-idUSL1N2MV00L

    ===============================================
    U.S. Department of State – United States Joins Christchurch Call to Action to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online

    The United States endorses the Christchurch Call to Action to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online, formally joining those working together under the rubric of the Call to prevent terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting the Internet. The terrible terrorist attacks of March 15, 2019 against houses of worship in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the deplorable depiction in real time of those shootings graphically demonstrated the ability of terrorist and violent extremist online content to incite violence. For the United States, countering domestic violent extremism — including racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism — is a compelling priority. We are committed to working closely with international partners who share our values and norms to prevent and counter all forms of terrorism.

    We applaud language in the Christchurch Call emphasizing the importance of respecting human rights and the rule of law, including the protection of freedom of expression. In participating in the Christchurch Call, the United States will not take steps that would violate the freedoms of speech and association protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, nor violate people’s reasonable expectations of privacy. We will continue to collaborate with other governments and online service providers on a voluntary basis to support their efforts to counter terrorist content on the Internet. The position of the United States remains unchanged and consistent with our long-standing ideals: We encourage technology companies to develop and enforce terms of service and community standards that forbid the use of their platforms for terrorist and violent extremist purposes. We continue to believe that promoting credible alternative narratives to expose false terrorist and violent extremist narratives is an important means of countering terrorist and violent extremist content online. Put simply, we remain of the view that the preferred way to defeat terrorist and violent extremist speech is more speech: to counter it with credible, alternative narratives that promote rather than restrict free expression.

    To that end, we highlight the importance of ensuring that governments do not abuse the Call as justification for restrictions on internationally protected human rights, including the freedoms of individuals to seek, receive, and impart information through their media of choice. We note the importance of technology companies developing transparent criteria and robust safeguards to ensure the application of any terms of service is consistent with fundamental freedoms. The urgent need to counter the exploitation of the Internet by terrorists and violent extremists to promote violence should not overshadow the equally compelling need to promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, for people everywhere.

    We welcome the important momentum that the Christchurch Call has generated and look forward to continuing our work with government, technology sector partners, civil society, and other stakeholders to prevent terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting the Internet while protecting its openness, interoperability, reliability, and security.

    https://www.state.gov/united-states-joins-christchurch-call-to-action-to-eliminate-terrorist-and-violent-extremist-content-online/

    • The Christchurch murderer:

      “The final push was witnessing the state of French cities and towns. For many years I had been hearing and reading of the invasion of France by non-whites, many of these rumours and stories I believed to be exaggerations, created to push a political narrative.
      But once I arrived in France, I found the stories to not only be true, but profoundly understated. In every french city, in every french town the invaders were there. No matter where I travelled, no matter how small or rural the community I visited, the invaders were there.
      I had seen enough, and in anger, drove out of the the town, refusing to stay any longer in the cursed place and headed on to the next town. Driving toward the next french town on my itinerary, knowing that inevitably the invaders would also been there, I found my emotions swinging between fuming rage and suffocating despair at the indignity of the invasion of France, the pessimism of the french people, the loss of culture and identity and the farce of the political solutions offered.
      I came upon a cemetery, one of the many mass cemeteries created to bury the French and other European soldiers lost in the Wars that crippled Europe. Why were we allowing these soldiers deaths to be in vain? Why were we allowing the invaders to conquer us? Overcome us? Without a single shot fired in response?
      WHY WON’T SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING?
      In front of those endless crosses, in front of those dead soldiers lost in forgotten wars, my despair turned to shame,my shame to guilt, my guilt to anger and my anger to rage.
      WHY WON’T SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING?
      WHY WON’T SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING?
      WHY DON’T I DO SOMETHING?
      The spell broke, why don’t I do something? Why not me? If not me, then who? Why them when I could do it myself?
      It was there I decided to do something, it was there I decided to take action, to commit to force. To commit to violence. To take the fight to the invaders myself.””.

      “Tarrant was quick to point out that he is an eco-fascist and ethno-nationalist regardless of race. Yet, the stupid dummies of the controlled media will continue to mislabel him as a “white supremacist.”
      https://truedollarjournal.blogspot.com/2019/03/why-did-brenton-tarrant-kill-at.html?m=1

      “The spell broke, why don’t I do something? Why not me? If not me, then who? Why them when I could do it myself?”

      Yes, but not by killing. Just as Hindu Indians submitted to islam through cowardice, they can unsubmit through bravery. Teach them the way, to the truth and the life. Use the internet for what it’s for: education and enlightenment. Communism, islam and Pronouns hate reason. The sword of truth and love. The one time in humanity where the word has never been more powerful.

      • Evil people a n d their un balanced brains. justify murder a n d evil acts by all kinds of logic. God gave us the ability to have a court system to prevent extra-judicial killing. Not using the courts and relying on one’s own frail perceptions is a denial of the Divine. Don’t let his words mis-lead you: they co m e from a path that leads to the Abyss.

    • EU seals deal with BioNTech/Pfizer for up to 1.8 bn extra vaccine doses: von der Leyen

      The EU has concluded a deal with BioNTech/Pfizer for up to 1.8 billion extra doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says at a media conference in Porto, Portugal.

      • Billy Gates will be happy – he has so much money invested in BioNTech/Pfizer.

    • global news – Push grows to prioritize pregnant Canadians for COVID-19 vaccine

      British Columbia has become the latest province to prioritize pregnant people for COVID-19 vaccines, joining Ontario and Quebec.

    • ctv news – Health officials warn it’s too early to ease Ontario’s restrictions

      …they look at whether to extend the stay-at-home order that is set to expire on May 19th.

    • Data shows Arizona first responders are not receiving COVID-19 vaccine

      Law enforcement and other first responders are showing vaccine hesitancy.

    • Validated by WHO, Sinopharm eyes to become largest Covid-19 vaccine supplier

      WHO recognizes Sinopharm’s Covid19? vaccine for its “safety, efficacy and quality”.
      The Chinese company is striving to expand its production to 3 bln doses a year, making it the largest Covid19? vaccine supplier in the world.

    • sky news australia – Experts warn of possible ‘endless loop’ of COVID variants

      Health experts are warning of a possible “endless loop” of deadly COVID variants due to a concentration of vaccines in western countries.

      =============================================
      Fletcher Hamilton - 5 hours ago :

      Translation - ‘We will stay in control over the economy and your lives indefinitely, for your safety’

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

    • sky news australia -‘Don’t underestimate’ the number of people with a ‘vested interest’ in COVID-19’s longevity

      “There are so many entrenched interests now,” she told Sky News host Chris Kenny.

      Ms Foster said there are people, groups, organisations, businesses, and governments who have their “snouts in the trough” of COVID-19.

      […]“But many business leaders, many people who are in particular positions of power where they’ve seen their power and their money just multiply during this period, do they want this rollercoaster ride to end? Of course not.

      “That’s one of our big problems right now.”

    • How to effectively address COVID 19 vaccine hesitancy

      An immunologist at the UA discussesthe need for educating people about the scientific process

    • Tampa tries new ‘boots-on the ground’ strategy to battle COVID vaccine hesitancy

      … to make getting the COVID-19 shot as convenient as possible, going door to door to offer supplies and information that could be a life saver.

    • <bThe View – Dr. Rochelle Walensky Discusses Vaccinating Children and Restoring Trust in the CDC

      The CDC director discusses the possibility of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine becoming available to 12 to 15 year-olds and addresses vaccine hesitancy among Americans.

    • “Once you categorize yourself as perpetual victim, and define an entire class of people – whites, thins, men – as your enemy, morality flies out the window and any sadistic revenge becomes moral. Yes, when I was a fat girl being picked on in high school I had sadistic revenge fantasies. But I’m a grown-up now, and I strive to be a Christian. Such dramas of domination no longer appeal.”

    • FOX news – Zhe ‘Shelly’ Wang: Who is Bill Gates’ interpreter?

      After decades working in tech, philanthropy and more, it stands to reason that Bill and Melinda Gates would make countless connections in the business world.

      Among those that have crossed the duo’s path is Zhe “Shelly” Wang, who works as an interpreter for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

      According to her LinkedIn profile, Wang has worked for the organization since March 2015, while also working as an interpreter for multiple organizations at the same time.

      While it’s currently unclear why, Wang is seeing a surge of public interest in her name, which is closely associated with Bill’s in popular online search engines.

      more :

      https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/zhe-shelly-wang-who-is-bill-gates-interpreter

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

      yahoo -Bill Gates’ Chinese Interpreter Is Being Accused of Breaking Up His Marriage With Melinda Gates

      […]While it’s unclear exactly where the rumors started, at least one popular tweet alleging a romantic relationship between Wang and Bill Gates can be found, and the rumors that Wang was the reason for his split from Melinda grew to the extent that she allegedly issued a public response on Chinese social media platform Weibo, per Page Six.

      According to the outlet, Wang allegedly wrote the following message on Weibo: “I thought that the rumors would go away by themselves, but I did not expect the rumors to become more and more crazily spread. How many books can I read, so why spend time on the unfounded rumors? I would like to thank everyone for their concern and help in dispelling the rumors through private messages in the past 24 hours.”

      https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bill-gates-chinese-interpreter-being-154148994.html

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

      DAILY MAIL – Chinese interpreter, 36, who works for Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation denies vicious rumors that she is the reason for the couple’s $130B split

      Zhe ‘Shelly’ Wang was forced to confront online rumors of an affair with Gates
      Chinese social media ran wild with the rumors on learning she worked with him
      Wang, 36, is a professional interpreter living in Seattle and unmarried
      In a Weibo post on Wednesday, she slammed the ‘unfounded rumors’ as ‘crazy’
      Friends came to her defense, saying they can’t imagine her conducting an affair
      It is unclear what started the rumor, which spread like wildfire on Chinese Weibo

      https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9547471/Chinese-interpreter-36-denies-vicious-rumors-split-Bill-Melinda-Gates.html

  2. “…for people in their 20s, the risk from Covid is similar to the risk from vaccines…”

    Yet, young people are still coerced into the stab.

    If this doesn’t tell you that we are deep into medical hysteria I don’t know what does.

  3. Reports: China seeks forward bases in Pacific and Atlantic Oceans – Liberty Unyielding
    J.E. Dyer
    11-13 minutes

    Reports: China seeks forward bases in Pacific and Atlantic Oceans

    Xi Jinping (Televised address, CGTN video, YouTube)

    On 5 May, Reuters reported that, according to Australian lawmakers, “China has drawn up plans to upgrade an airstrip and bridge on one of Kiribati’s remote islands about 3,000km southwest of Hawaii.”

    Reportedly, some lawmakers in Kiribati (pronounced “Kiribas”) view this with concern. It doesn’t appear that enthusiasm for such a project is universal in the island republic, which is home to about 120,000 people.

    But the prospect is obviously of significant strategic concern to Australia, Japan, and the United States, among others. As the overview map indicates, an improved airfield in Kiribati would give China a forward location for potential military operations, starting at the least with long-range surveillance much further into the Western Pacific than Chinese aircraft can currently contemplate.

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2021/05/08/reports-china-seeks-forward-bases-in-pacific-and-atlantic-oceans/

  4. Biden $2.3 trillion ‘infrastructure’ plan would spend big … on obsolete technologies – Liberty Unyielding
    Hans Bader
    5-6 minutes

    Biden $2.3 trillion ‘infrastructure’ plan would spend big … on obsolete technologies

    Biden on the cutting edge (Image: Wild0ne / Pixabay)

    President Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan would spend lots of money on obsolete technologies. Biden also harbors unrealistic fantasies about what trains can do, and doesn’t seem to understand what is — and isn’t — in his own plan.

    In touting Biden’s infrastructure plan, the administration said it wants to make America the “global leader” in high-speed rail. But that’s a misleading pitch, because “Biden’s infrastructure plan doesn’t even include any money for high??speed trains,” notes transportation analyst Randal O’Toole. It contains billions of dollars to expand Amtrak to reach tiny towns where few people will ever use the train, but “zero” dollars for high-speed rail.

    Even if Biden’s spending on railways did go into high-speed rail, it would still be a waste of money. As O’Toole observes, wanting the U.S. to lead the world in high-speed rail is “like wanting to be the world leader in electric typewriters, rotary telephones, or steam locomotives, all technologies that were once revolutionary but are functionally obsolete today. High-speed trains, in particular, were rendered obsolete in 1958, when Boeing introduced the 707 jetliner, which was twice as fast as the fastest trains today.” Moreover, “aside from speed,” what

    https://libertyunyielding.com/2021/05/08/reports-china-seeks-forward-bases-in-pacific-and-atlantic-oceans/

  5. 9+
    Texas is coming up with a law which will bar Chinese investment in the state

  6. Japan uses its cutting edge technology to beat China in space and cyberspace
    14,002 views
    •May 7, 2021

  7. DAILY MAIL – China was preparing for a Third World War with biological weapons – including coronavirus – SIX years ago, according to dossier produced by the People’s Liberation Army in 2015 and uncovered by the US State Department

    Beijing has considered the military potential of SARS coronaviruses since 2015
    The bombshell document was accessed by US State Department investigators
    Scientists examined manipulation of diseases ‘in a way never seen before’
    Foreign affairs committee’s Tom Tugendhat says evidence is a ‘major concern’

    Chinese scientists have been preparing for a Third World War fought with biological and genetic weapons including coronavirus for the last six years, according to a document obtained by US investigators.

    The bombshell paper, accessed by the US State Department, insists they will be ‘the core weapon for victory’ in such a conflict, even outlining the perfect conditions to release a bioweapon, and documenting the impact it would have on ‘the enemy’s medical system’.

    This latest evidence that Beijing considered the military potential of SARS coronaviruses from as early as 2015 has also raised fresh fears over the cause of Covid-19, with some officials still believing the virus could have escaped from a Chinese lab.

    The dossier by People’s Liberation Army scientists and health officials, details of which were reported in The Australian, examined the manipulation of diseases to make weapons ‘in a way never seen before’.

    Senior government figures say it ‘raises major concerns’ over the intentions of those close to Chinese President Xi Jinping amid growing fears about the country’s lack of regulation over its activity in laboratories.

    The authors of the document insist that a third world war ‘will be biological’, unlike the first two wars which were described as chemical and nuclear respectively.

    Referencing research which suggested the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan forced them to surrender, and bringing about the end of WWII, they claim bioweapons will be ‘the core weapon for victory’ in a third world war.

    The document also outlines the ideal conditions to release a bioweapon and cause maximum damage.

    The scientists say such attacks should not be carried out in the middle of a clear day, as intense sunlight can damage the pathogens, while rain or snow can affect the aerosol particles.

    Instead, it should be released at night, or at dawn, dusk, or under cloudy weather, with ‘a stable wind direction…so that the aerosol can float into the target area’.

    Meanwhile, the research also notes that such an attack would result in a surge of patients requiring hospital treatment, which then ‘could cause the enemy’s medical system to collapse’.

    Other concerns include China’s ‘Gain of Function’ research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology – near where the first Covid outbreak was discovered – at which virologists are creating new viruses said to be more transmissible and more lethal.

    MP Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the foreign affairs committee, said: ‘This document raises major concerns about the ambitions of some of those who advise the top party leadership. Even under the tightest controls these weapons are dangerous.’

    Chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon said: ‘China has thwarted all attempts to regulate and police its laboratories where such experimentation may have taken place.’

    The revelation from the book What Really Happened in Wuhan was reported yesterday.

    The document, New Species of Man-Made Viruses as Genetic Bioweapons, says: ‘Following developments in other scientific fields, there have been major advances in the delivery of biological agents.

    ‘For example, the new-found ability to freeze-dry micro-organisms has made it possible to store biological agents and aerosolise them during attacks.’

    It has 18 authors who were working at ‘high-risk’ labs, analysts say.

    Australian Strategic Policy ­Institute executive director Peter Jennings also raised concerns over China’s biological research into coronaviruses potentially being weaponised in future.

    ‘There is no clear distinction for research capability because whether it’s used offensively or defensively is not a decision these scientists would take,’ he said.

    ‘If you are building skills ostensibly to protect your military from a biological attack, you’re at the same time giving your military a capacity to use these weapons ­offensively. You can’t separate the two.’

    Intelligence agencies suspect Covid-19 may be the result of an inadvertent Wuhan lab leak. But as yet there is no evidence to suggest it was intentionally released.

    Only this week, Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro appeared to strongly criticise China by accusing it of creating Covid to spark a chemical ‘warfare.’

    The comments were made during a press conference on Wednesday as the hardline leader sought to further distance himself from the growing attacks over his domestic handling of a pandemic that has produced the second-highest death toll in the world.

    ‘It’s a new virus. Nobody knows whether it was born in a laboratory or because a human ate some animal they shouldn’t have,’ Bolsonaro said.

    ‘But it is there. The military knows what chemical, bacteriological and radiological warfare. Are we not facing a new war? Which country has grown its GDP the most? I will not tell you.’

    While Bolsonaro did not name China in his speech, data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed that China was the only G20 member whose GDP showed a growth during the pandemic in 2020, expanding by 2.3%.

    And the World Health Organization chief said as recently as March that all theories on the origins of Covid-19 remained open after reading the WHO-China study – despite the claim the report dismissed the notion that the virus escaped from a lab as ‘extremely unlikely’.

    Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said all of the hypotheses are ‘on the table’ and require further investigation after reading the report from the international experts’ mission to Wuhan.

    But his comments came just hours after it emerged the report dismissed the lab leak theory and said the transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario.

    The report’s release was repeatedly delayed, raising questions about whether the Chinese side was trying to skew the conclusions to prevent blame for the pandemic falling on China.

    Critics including ex-President Trump have accused the WHO of parroting Chinese propaganda on the virus since the outbreak was first announced to the world.

    The comments by Dr Tedros came after New York Republican Representative Lee Zeldin slammed China for ‘covering up to the world the pandemic’s origins’, while the WHO ‘has played along time and time again’.

    Meanwhile, Dr Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, revealed he has ‘concerns’ over the WHO’s controversial fact-finding mission.

    Repeated delays in the report’s release raised questions about whether the Chinese side was trying to skew its conclusions.

    ‘We’ve got real concerns about the methodology and the process that went into that report, including the fact that the government in Beijing apparently helped to write it,’ U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a recent CNN interview.

    China rejected that criticism and accused the US of ‘exerting political pressure’ on the fact-finding mission experts.

    ‘The US has been speaking out on the report. By doing this, isn’t the U.S. trying to exert political pressure on the members of the WHO expert group?’ asked Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian.

    more :

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9556415/China-preparing-WW3-biological-weapons-six-years-investigators-say.html

  8. IRAN – Massive fire is raging close to the Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran.

    • RT – Fire breaks out at Iran chemical factory hours after media reports of massive blaze near Bushehr’s nuclear power plant (VIDEOS)

      A large fire has erupted at a chemical plant in the Iranian city of Qazvin, with local media reporting an explosion. The incident follows an overnight blaze in the port city of Bushehr, home to Iran’s only nuclear power plant.

      The fire broke out at the plant on Saturday afternoon following a small explosion at the site. Footage circulating online shows flames emerging from the facility, with a large column of billowing black smoke.

      Footage circulating online shows a wall of fire raging near the port, in the immediate vicinity of a road and buildings. The fire broke out at a swampy area located on the premises of a local naval base, Iranian media reports suggested.

      The Bushehr port fire did not inflict any casualties or damage any property, according to local emergency services.

      https://www.rt.com/news/523259-iran-explosion-fire-bushehr/

  9. ‘History is going backwards’ as violence against European women rises

  10. Outsiders Weather and Ice Age Watch: Tidal marks contradict rising sea level theory

  11. Catastrophic weather events not caused by ‘human influence’: Professor Koonin

  12. reuters – Blasts targeting Afghan school in Kabul kill 40, injures dozens

    Multiple blasts at a school in the Afghan capital Kabul on Saturday killed at least 40 people and wounded dozens more, mostly female students, officials said, in an attack Afghan President Ashraf Ghani blamed on the insurgent Taliban.

    A senior interior ministry official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that most of the casualties were students coming out of the Sayed ul Shuhada school.

    Footage on TV channel ToloNews showed chaotic scenes outside the school, with books and school bags strewn across a bloodstained road, and residents rushing to help victims.

    At a nearby hospital, staff wheeled in injured students while dozens of distressed relatives searched desperately for their sons and daughters, according to a Reuters witness.

    A spokesman for the interior ministry, Tariq Arian, put the death toll at least 30 and injured at 52 but did not specify the cause or the target.

    Kabul is on high alert since Washington announced plans last month to pull out all U.S. troops by Sept. 11, with Afghan officials saying the Taliban have stepped up attacks across the country following the announcement.

    No group has claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied the group was involved and condemned the incident.

    Saturday’s explosions took place in western Kabul, a heavily Shi’ite Muslim neighbourhood that has frequently been attacked by Islamic State militants over the years.

    The school is a joint high school for girls and boys, who study in three shifts, the second of which is for female students, Najiba Arian, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Education, told Reuters.

    The wounded are mostly female students, she said.

    “The horrendous attack in Dasht-i Barchi area in Kabul, is a despicable act of terrorism,” the European Union’s mission in Afghanistan said on Twitter.

    “Targeting primarily students in a girls’ school, makes this an attack on the future of Afghanistan.”

    President Ghani blamed the Taliban.

    “The Taliban, by escalating their illegitimate war and violence, have once again shown that they are not only reluctant to resolve the current crisis peacefully and fundamentally, but by complicating the situation,” Ghani said.

    The Taliban and United States last year signed an agreement to end the 20-year war, which started with U.S. and allied forces invading Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York by al Qaeda, whose leader, Osama bin Laden, was being given shelter by the Taliban government.

    Under the agreement, Washington was to pull out troops in exchange for Taliban security guarantees and for the group to start peace talks with the Afghan government. Talks began last year but have since stalled.

    Taliban attacks on foreign forces have largely ceased, but they continue to target government forces. A number of journalists, activists and academics have also been killed in attacks blamed on the Taliban, who deny involvement.

    Last month, the Washington said it was pushing back the troop pullout deadline from May 1 to Sept. 11, which the Taliban warned could have consequences for the agreement.

    https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/blast-near-afghan-school-kabul-kills-10-injures-dozens-security-official-2021-05-08/

  13. LONDON – UK – Muslim Call to Prayer – from Tower Bridge

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

    twitter @THHOmes

    History in the making. Our interfaith community Iftar saw the Adhan broadcast across London from Tower Bridge. What a moment!

    https://twitter.com/THHomes/status/1390970662886559749

    ===============================================
    Adhan on Tower Bridge (With Drone Footage)

  14. Cyberattack forces closure of largest US refined-fuel pipeline
    The Wall Street Journal
    7-8 minutes

    The main pipeline carrying gasoline and diesel fuel to the U.S. East Coast was shut down by its operator after being hit with a cyberattack.

    Colonial Pipeline Co. operates the 5,500-mile Colonial Pipeline system taking fuel from the refineries of the Gulf Coast to the New York metro area. It said it learned Friday that it was the victim of the attack and “took certain systems offline to contain the threat, which has temporarily halted all pipeline operations.”

    The outage isn’t expected to have a significant impact on fuel markets unless the pipeline remains shut down for several days, analysts said.

    https://www.foxbusiness.com/energy/colonial-pipeline-cyberattack-closure

  15. Biden Torched Over Disastrous Jobs Report: He’s Not The Next FDR, He’s The Next Jimmy Carter
    Ryan Saavedra
    4-5 minutes

    Democrat President Joe Biden was slammed over the disastrous jobs report that was released on Friday morning which showed that the U.S. economy for the month of April missed projections by more than 700,000 jobs.

    Biden struggled to respond to the news, which came as a shock to the White House and to financial analysts, including one CNBC host who thought the numbers were perhaps wrong because they were so low.

    “Today, there’s more evidence our economy is moving in the right direction,” Biden claimed, adding: “This month’s job numbers show we’re on the right track.”

    Perhaps the top response to the jobs report came from Donald Trump Jr., who wrote on Twitter: “Biden isn’t the next FDR, he’s the next Jimmy Carter.”

    Financial analyst Charles Payne tweeted:

    https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-torched-over-disastrous-jobs-report-hes-not-the-next-fdr-hes-the-next-jimmy-carter?itm_source=parsely-api?utm_source=cnemail&utm_medium=email&utm_content=050821-news&utm_campaign=position4

  16. (Richard: If there isn’t any evidence to find why are the Dems working so hard to stop the audit?)

    Biden DOJ Attempts To Stop Arizona Election Audit
    Amanda Prestigiacomo
    4-5 minutes

    The Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) is intervening in the election auditing efforts by Republicans in Maricopa County, Arizona, sending a letter Wednesday to the president of the Arizona state Senate suggesting the recount is illegal.

    The Washington Post reported Thursday that the DOJ letter raises “the possibility of a clash between state and federal authorities over the audit.”

    Penned by Pamela S. Karlan, who heads the DOJ’s civil rights division, the letter suggests “that the recount of nearly 2.1 million ballots in Maricopa County by a private contractor may not comply with federal law, which requires that ballots be securely maintained for 22 months following a federal election,” the Post noted.

    “We have a concern that Maricopa County election records, which are required by federal law to be retained and preserved, are no longer under the ultimate control of elections officials, are not being adequately safeguarded by contractors, and are at risk of damage or loss,” wrote Karlan.

    https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-doj-attempts-to-stop-arizona-election-audit?itm_source=parsely-api?utm_source=cnemail&utm_medium=email&utm_content=050821-news&utm_campaign=position5

  17. VIDEO: Heavily armed leftists surround, threaten lone Portland motorist. But when fed-up driver points his own gun at them, all hell breaks loose.
    Dave Urbanski
    5-6 minutes

    Heavily armed leftists apparently acting as security for a march in Portland earlier this week pointed their guns at a lone motorist and threatened him before the fed-up driver exited his truck and pointed his own gun at them — and then all hell broke loose.
    What are the details?

    Video showed a large group of leftist militants marching down a Portland street Wednesday reportedly to remember Patrick Kimmons, a black man fatally shot by Portland police in 2018.

    But a vehicle apparently leading the group came upon a pickup truck driver who was traveling toward the marchers, and the lead vehicle blocked the driver’s path — and in seconds, numerous militants descended upon the pickup truck driver and began threatening him.

    Thing is, though, the driver had a gun, too — and the heavily armed militants didn’t like that one bit.

  18. US weighing $1b in humanitarian aid for Iran as a show of goodwill – CNN
    By JERUSALEM POST STAFF MAY 7, 2021 09:08
    2-3 minutes
    Iran, on its end, continues to demand sanction relief instead in order to comply with a new agreement, according to the report.

    Police stand outside a hotel where a meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran nuclear deal, is held in Vienna, Austria, April 20, 2021. (photo credit: REUTERS/LEONHARD FOEGER)

    Police stand outside a hotel where a meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran nuclear deal, is held in Vienna, Austria, April 20, 2021.

    (photo credit: REUTERS/LEONHARD FOEGER)

    The United States is considering the option of unfreezing $1 billion in Iranian funds to be used for humanitarian aid purposes as a possible goodwill gesture in the attempt to reach a new nuclear deal, CNN reported on Thursday, citing three sources who had been briefed on the internal deliberations with the Islamic Republic.

    According to the report, the aid will be transferred to a Swiss Channel, called Swiss Humanitarian Trade Arrangement, which is designed to bring humanitarian aid to the citizens of Iran without violating US sanctions.

    “If it demonstrates the kind of good faith that can cause reciprocal good faith from the Iranian side, then it is potentially a good step forward,” Thomas Countryman, who served as US assistant secretary of state for international security and nonproliferation from 2011 to 2017, told CNN.

    Iran, on its end, continues to instead demand sanction relief in order to comply with a new agreement, according to the report.

    A senior US State Department official said on Thursday that there could be an agreement within weeks for both to resume compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal if Iranian authorities decide to do so.

    https://www.jpost.com/international/us-weighing-1b-in-humanitarian-aid-for-iran-as-a-show-of-good-will-cnn-667486

  19. GOP: Big Tech Is Playing a Losing Game of Monopoly
    Tony Perkins
    5-6 minutes

    They may have their own policing, their own spies, currency, and even their own court, but Big Tech isn’t a government. And it’s certainly not our government. After months of watching Silicon Valley decide what is and isn’t speech, what is and isn’t science, and who is and isn’t welcome in the public square, Republicans have had it. The days of Facebook and Twitter operating like the world’s ruling empire are numbered, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) warns. And the latest high jinks over Donald Trump’s account will be one of a million reasons why.

    To most people — including a growing number of liberal news outlets — the question isn’t whether the 45th president should have a social media presence. It’s whether companies like Mark Zuckerberg’s should be calling the shots on who can participate in the public debate. That’s a dangerous proposition, the Washington Post worries, regardless of what you think about Trump. Already, the Atlantic’s Adam Serwer points out, the fact that people are paying this much attention to what Facebook and others are doing is a problem in and of itself. “The fact that verdicts from the Supreme Court of Facebook are national news seem real bad.” It shows just how much unchecked power they wield.

    Power, the real Supreme Court’s Clarence Thomas threatens, that must be reined in. And soon. “One person controls Facebook… and just two control Google,” the justice observed in an April order. In other words, three people have enough authority to pull anyone from the digital square — “even a commander-in-chief.” If a company, even a private one like Zuckerberg’s can shut you down because they disagree with you, we’re in frightening new territory as a nation.

    https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WA21E10&f=WU21E04

  20. Germany: Massive march in Frankfurt marks Antifa’s 100th anniv

    Around 1,500 people marched peacefully in Frankfurt’s Gallus district on Friday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the anti-fascist movement.

    The first anti-fascist group known as ‘Arditi del Popolo’ was founded in June 1921 in Italy by WWI veterans to resist the rise of Benito Mussolini and his blackshirt militia.