Reader’s Links for February 2, 2022

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

51 Replies to “Reader’s Links for February 2, 2022”

  1. What I didn’t know they marked a remembrance day

    https://www.straight.com/news/taleeb-noormohamed-islamophobia-is-on-rise-but-we-can-defeat-it-together

    Last November, Taleeb Noormohamed was sworn in as the first Muslim MP in B.C. history after being elected to represent the Liberals in Vancouver Granville.
    TALEEB NOORMOHAMED
    On January 29, Canadians mark the National Day for Remembrance and Action Against Islamophobia.

    …..
    In the last five years, there have been more mass killings motivated by Islamophobia in Canada than in any other G7 nation.

    Sadly, for each tragic story that captures the attention of the nation, there are many more that do not. Imagine the daily fear women feel of being assaulted because they’re wearing their headscarves on the street—or a young person logging online and experiencing widespread hate that portrays Muslims as violent and un-Canadian. This is a daily reality for many Muslims across this country

    ….

    They instilled in me—as many immigrant parents do—a fierce belief in a pluralistic Canada that seeks to embrace diversity as a strength, not as a weakness.

    So even as I reflect on this solemn day, I am filled with hope. I am proud to be the first ever Muslim member of Parliament from B.C. I represent Vancouver Granville, home to Vancouver’s first mosque and the heart of Vancouver’s Jewish community. Our community reflects a powerful diversity of Asian, francophone, anglophone, South Asian, and Indigenous cultures, each connected to the other…

    And our government has committed to doing its part—to appointing a Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, committing to a systemic review of the concerns of the Muslim community regarding the targeting of Muslim charities, and working alongside Muslim organizations to tackle Islamophobia head on….

    • “In the last five years, there have been more mass killings motivated by Islamophobia in Canada than in any other G7 nation.”

      Wow! Mass killings of muslims, Tama. Why didn’t we know about this? You have statistics?

      muslims peacefully defending their honor…
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Islamist_terrorist_attacks

      Propagainment, that calls itself Straight (no civilized person would ever take this name from the intimidator)

      Who owns it?

      “Media for the Free Generation
      We are built to influence, absorb and exploit momentum from emerging trends by targeting the tastemakers who are responsible for sculpting culture, disrupting traditional lifestyles and influencing policies on a global scale.”
      https://www.mediacentralcorp.com/

      ‘Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah’

    • From zerohedge:

      “On Today’s show, I said the Holocaust ‘is not about race, but about man’s inhumanity to man.’ I should have said it is about both.”

      “As Jonathan Greenblatt from the Anti-Defamation League shared, ‘The Holocaust was about the Nazi’s systematic annihilation of the Jewish people—who they deemed to be an inferior race.’ I stand corrected.”

      Her first opinion of, ‘I don’t care if white people are killing each other’ corrected by a technicality.

      Gad Saad comments:
      https://youtu.be/PzsikJ_6aaA

      Because Jews have been maligned for thousands of years, should Trudeau create laws that have Jewish History Month, Affirmative Action, reduce costs when entering social establishments, Jewish Lives Matter, Jewish Diversity quotas in all places of work, reparations, and cancelling Jew-Face movies?

      This framing will help Whoppie identify those who wears their identity on their sleeves, and the racists who don’t.

      • I might add, if one wished to use the racial metric, Black people have an entire continent with a lot of great stuff on it and decent weather. Maybe when Jews have a whole continent, they can ask for that degree of victim status.

        I just watched most of the 1960s original version of Little Shop of Horrors. One of the main characters is a stereotypical Jewish guy. If it was an equivalent character of a black guy it would be illegal.

        But one would have to take offence at it since none was actually offered.

        In my world, when you take something that isn’t given or at least sold, its theft. This goes for offence perhaps more than most.

      • Former Sen. Al Franken says Whoopi is not anti-Semitic because she chose Goldberg for her last name

        • Just as an Al Frankenstein would shorted his. Stage Names are used to sell themselves.

          And we’re back to The Left convincing themselves they didn’t see what they just did see.

          Because there’s no cultural sensitivity classes written by them for this.

    • city news – Calls for Holocaust education amid hate symbols at vaccine mandate protest

      The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver says more Holocaust education is critical, as certain symbols were misused at vaccine mandate protests in Ottawa.

      + comments on the YT page

  2. Victor Orban does one of history’s great high wire acts. Among the calculations made must be from whom do we get the most benefit? Energy is not a bad start in answer. But I believe energy is a smoke screen of sort. More important issues are clearly in play:

    https://www.rt.com/russia/547980-putin-orban-partnership-talks-moscow/

    https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hungarys-orban-answers-biden-troop-hosting-request-flies-moscow-marathon-meeting-putin

    • We asked my Russki’s son about that today.
      Long story.

      “Ukraine” ~ the “Borderlands” – in its current configuration is made up of regions with historic roots in previous empires.

      They're all just white folks, but they "identify" differently. Sorry, Whoopi.

      Lotsa Russian speakers. Fewer, but fierce Magyar-types. Since the Maidan coup the official policy has been to enforce universal Ukrainian. Hungarians, (Moldovans, etc.) have been marginalized, abused.

      Centralization uber alles is what critics mean when they say “nazi”. It’s like calling enemies in Canada racist-misogenist-antisemitic-homophobes.

      Hungarian communities appealed to Mr. Orban. He tried to mediate with the central govt but was brushed off.

      After all, he’s nothing but a far right-wing authoritarian populist! Eurotrash elite hate him, and the “American” foreign policy desk for Ukraine is enemy territory. (Think Nuland, Col. Vindman and ex-Amb. Yoyobitch, the PTrump Impeachment Junta.)

      So Mr. Orban’s been asking Uncle Vlad to intervene. All very low-key so as not to make life worse for the Magyar. Now he’s taking great pleasure in throwing in with Russia. Bigly.

      Russian-language TV was shut down within a week of *Brandan’s* installation. The second largest political party – the opposition to Zelensky’s govt – has been purged, Soviet-style.

      “Deoligarchization” is HIGHLY selective: no due process, arrests, assets frozen, total media censorship. (Because disinformation, ya know.)

      Leave this hot mess to Soros and the rest of our Deep State – together with MI6 (who brought us the Russian Collusion Hoax).

  3. Hershey fires unvaxxed employees:

    https://m.theepochtimes.com/hershey-fires-unvaccinated-employees_4240297.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=ZeroHedge

    This issue is proving to be the most divisive in the history of western civ. No postmodernist deconstructionism can compare to this medical warfare tactic. And when truckers deploy Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals by comforting the underdog while discomforting the comfortable, it suddenly becomes unfair. By whose rules? Communist rules. Time to play Saul Alinsky against Saul Alinsky.

  4. Enough is Enough | Dr. Julie Ponesse Speaks to Ottawa Trucker Convoy

    She made her speech on Monday, January 31, 2022– just a few days after the truckers arrived in Ottawa to protest Covid-19 vaccine mandates.

  5. DAILY MAIL – Pope Francis is interrupted by man shouting ‘God rejects you, Father. You’re not a king’ in English and waving his face mask around

    The man interrupted Pope Francis’ general audience at the Vatican earlier today
    He was sitting alone at back of the Paul VI hall when he began shouting at pope
    Man escorted out of the audience hall by the Vatican police and Swiss Guard

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10468567/Pope-Francis-interrupted-man-shouting.html

  6. CNN – Jeff Zucker resigns from CNN

    … abruptly announced Wednesday morning that he has resigned from his position effective immediately.

    “As part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo’s tenure at CNN, I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years,” Zucker told employees in a memo. “I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn’t. I was wrong. As a result, I am resigning today.”

    Zucker did not name his colleague in the memo, but the relationship is with Allison Gollust, the chief marketing officer for CNN. Gollust is remaining at CNN.

    […]News of Zucker’s resignation left staffers inside the network in shock. Employees at the company learned of his sudden departure in the memo Zucker sent to staff shortly after 11 a.m. ET.

    https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/02/media/jeff-zucker-cnn/index.html
    ============================================
    DAILY MAIL – BREAKING NEWS: Jeff Zucker, 56, quits CNN over secret relationship with colleague of 20 years Allison Gollust, 49, after failing to disclose it until being asked during probe into ex-host Chris Cuomo

    CNN president Jeff Zucker, 56, abruptly announced his resignation from the network Wednesday

    He revealed he was in a ‘consensual relationship with my closest colleague’ and that he was required to disclose it, but did not

    CNN Worldwide executive vice president Allison Gollust, 49, revealed herself as his partner, saying their relationship changed after the pandemic began

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10468905/CNN-president-Jeff-Zucker-quits-amid-Chris-Cuomo-fallout-admits-having-affair-with.html

  7. “LIVE FROM OTTAWA – Freedom Convoy 2022 Viva on the Street – Viva Frei Vlawg” Viva Frei – Live

  8. global news – Erin O’Toole ousted as Conservative leader after caucus revolt

    Erin O’Toole is no longer the leader of the Conservative party.

    In a secret-ballot vote Wednesday morning, Conservative MPs chose to oust their leader after just 17 months and one failed election at the helm.

    After a marathon caucus meeting, where O’Toole made an eleventh-hour pitch to keep his job, 73 MPs voted to launch a leadership race with 45 voting to keep O’Toole on.

    The definitive vote was forced by 35 MPs unhappy with O’Toole’s leadership after last year’s disappointing election results.

    But the root of the anger goes back much further. O’Toole won the leadership claiming to be a “True Blue” conservative — a contrast with Peter MacKay, who despite holding senior cabinet roles in Stephen Harper’s government, was labelled by the O’Toole campaign as a red Tory.

    Yet once the leadership was secured, O’Toole took the party in a much different direction. After pledging to scrap the Liberals’ carbon levy, O’Toole promised a version of his own — which he steadfastly denied was a “tax,” despite it applying a surcharge on purchases like gas.

    O’Toole’s election platform promised roughly $100 billion in new spending over 10 years — equivalent to what the Liberal government was pledging, which rankled fiscal hawks within the movement.

    Conservative MPs who went along with O’Toole’s perceived pivot to the political centre became even more frustrated after the approach failed.

    O’Toole made few changes to his close-knit group of advisors after the election, and caucus meetings grew more fractious — including a difficult meeting in late December.

    An election post-mortem, conducted by former MP James Cumming, did little to quell the caucus discontent.

    https://globalnews.ca/news/8588503/erin-otoole-ousted-in-caucus-revolt/
    =====================

    twitter @disclosetv

    JUST IN – Erin O’Toole has been ousted as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. 73 of 119 MPs voted to remove him.

    https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1488935824997629954

  9. Kim Jong-un Gallops on His White Stallion in New North Korean Doc

    The latest film released by the North Korean state media claims that their leader, Kim Jong-un, has been so greatly weakened by hard work that he can no longer walk down stairs.

    The documentary – ‘2021, A Great Victorious Year’ – appears to link the dramatic weight loss of the North Korean leader with his concern and hard work for the citizens of his beleaguered nation.

  10. the gateway pundit – Archbishop Vigano: “Time Will… Make the Masks Fall from Those Who… Disguised Themselves as Saviors of Humanity (While… They Sought to Subjugate… and Exterminate Citizens or Make Them Chronically Ill).

    Archbishop Carlos Maria Vigano from Italy shared with us his letter to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF). He also shared a letter from Dr. Massimo Citro, M.D. to Dr. Gwyneth Spaeder.

    He also shared his message that was published at the Church Militant. Here are some of the thoughts that he shared:

    The multiple Vatican endorsements of the criminal mass-vaccine campaign confirm the full adherence of the hierarchy to the globalist vulgate, without taking even the slightest account of the serious critiques of the so-called vaccines…

    The Pontifical Academy for Life is no exception. It has become an organ of neo-Malthusianism, even to the point of declaring that subjecting oneself to inoculation with the experimental drug is an act of love and a moral duty, incontrovertibly denying not only the evidence of the facts but also the existence of a global plan that has deliberately caused this psycho-pandemic in order to bring about a ruthless reduction of the world population (especially the elderly) and impose forms of control and restriction of the natural rights of citizens.

    If it is surprising neither that the deep Church is totally subservient to the deep state, nor that Bergoglio wants to put himself forward as a candidate for the presidency of the “religion of humanity” that the New World Order intends to establish, on the other hand we see that the pandemic represents only one aspect of the complex network of complicity between the globalist oligarchy, the financial power of the pharmaceutical companies, international institutions and national governments all over the world.

    Looking at the gene serum as if it were a real vaccine that prevents a serious illness is useless because its effectiveness in preventing contagion is zero, and COVID is not a fatal disease if treated promptly.

    But, in order for the truth to triumph and the guilty to be condemned, it is necessary to open our eyes, recognizing the crisis of authority both at the political and religious levels.
    ———————————————
    Here is Archbishop Vigano’s letter to the US Catholic Bishops.

    https://www.scribd.com/document/556451843/Letter-from-Archbishop-Vigano-to-Church-Bishops#from_embed

    ——————————————–
    Below is the letter from Dr. Massimo Citro, M.D. to Dr. Gwyneth Spaeder.

    https://www.scribd.com/document/556454294/Second-Response-Dr-Citro-to-SPAEDER-English-23-Jan-2022#from_embed

    ——————————————

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/archbishop-vigano-time-will-make-masks-fall-disguised-saviors-humanity-sought-subjugate-exterminate-citizens-make-chronica/

  11. Questions Remain After Highway Crash Involving Monkeys

    In the 11 days since a truck hauling 100 monkeys from Mauritius crashed in Pennsylvania, one woman who got close to the scattered crates of monkeys on the highway has been treated for possible symptoms of illness.

    And Kenya Airways, which is believed to have transported the monkeys to the United States, has decided not to renew its expiring contract to ship research primates here.

    No other reports of possible illness related to the crash have emerged, according to state and federal health officials, who said it was not known whether the Pennsylvania woman’s symptoms were related to the cynomolgus macaques, which were being quarantined and monitored for diseases.

    Experts said that direct exposure to monkey saliva or feces could be dangerous, but that the risk of a broader outbreak was low.

    The woman, Michele Fallon, 45, of Danville, Pa., said on Tuesday that she had been given two doses of the rabies vaccine, antiviral medication and antibiotic eye drops after she had a runny nose, a cough and filmy buildup and crust in her eye. She also vomited over the weekend, she said, possibly because of the antiviral medication.

    She said her eye was much improved and that she was “feeling better,” though she still felt “queasy.”

    She said she was awaiting the results of a blood test for monkey-borne diseases and was grateful for advice she had been receiving from Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel, a primate scientist who works with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which has long opposed primate research and has asked two federal agencies to investigate the crash.

    Ms. Fallon said she was driving home on Jan. 21 in Montour County, about 150 miles northwest of Philadelphia, when she saw the crash, in which a dump truck hit a pickup truck that was hauling a trailer with the macaques. The monkeys had arrived at Kennedy International Airport in New York and were on their way to a quarantine facility.

    Ms. Fallon stopped to see if anyone was hurt and found crates strewn across the roadway.

    Told by a bystander that cats might be inside, she stuck her finger in one and saw brown fur. When the animal made a “weird noise,” she put her face closer to get a better look. That’s when, she said, she noticed that it wasn’t a cat but a monkey, which “hissed” at her. She said she felt a mist.

    She also stepped in monkey feces, she said.

    That night, she went to a party with people who later tested positive for the coronavirus, she said. Ms. Fallon said that while she herself had tested negative, the series of events added up to “the worst day of my life.”

    Three of the monkeys escaped after the crash, but were quickly found and “humanely euthanized,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, without offering further details.

    The C.D.C. referred questions about Ms. Fallon’s condition to the Pennsylvania Department of Health and her doctor, saying it does “not provide clinical care for individuals.”

    Barry Ciccocioppo, a spokesman for the Department of Health, said in an email: “It is not known if that individual’s medical condition is related.”

    “We take any report of exposure to these nonhuman primates very seriously,” Mr. Ciccocioppo said. “The Department of Health recommends that anyone who thinks they may have been exposed to a nonhuman primate to contact their health care provider.” The doctor can then consult with the department about the risks and best course of treatment, he said.

    Ms. Fallon’s doctor’s office referred questions to the Geisinger health system, which did not immediately respond to an email and phone call.

    In a letter issued to the authorities after the crash, the C.D.C. said that anyone who was within five feet of the monkeys’ crates without respiratory and eye protection should monitor themselves for signs of illness such as fever, fatigue, cough, diarrhea and vomiting.

    The letter noted that monkeys and humans are naturally susceptible to many of the same diseases. It said the surviving monkeys would be quarantined and monitored for infectious diseases for at least 31 days.

    Mr. Ciccocioppo described the letter as “precautionary and a form letter used in such incidents.”

    Michael L. Kull, the chief of the Valley Township Fire Department, said that he and other emergency personnel who responded to the crash did not get close enough to the monkeys to risk any kind of infection.

    “Out of an abundance of caution, we will be careful,” he said, but added that he was unconcerned. “I have lost no sleep.”

    Dr. Christine Petersen, director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the University of Iowa, said serious diseases like monkey pox and Ebola are rare in cynomolgus macaques, but that “precaution should be taken” by anyone who may have come into contact with one.

    “A cornered monkey is not the kindest of creatures,” she said. “If they did get bitten or spit on, that’s worrisome.”

    “But what are the odds that any three random monkeys could somehow spread something dastardly to a first responder?” Dr. Petersen added. “It’s not high.”

    Dr. Suresh V. Kuchipudi, a clinical professor in the department of veterinary and biomedical sciences at Pennsylvania State University, said that so long as someone who has been too close to a wild animal like a macaque is receiving treatment for any infection, the risk of it spreading to other people is low.

    Public health concerns were not the only fallout from the crash.

    After PETA contacted Kenya Airways, the company said last week that it would not renew its contract for the transportation of macaques when it expires this month. In doing so, it joined several airlines, including major American carriers, that have refused to transport animals used in medical research.

    PETA claimed victory in a news release. It has also asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Transportation to investigate the crash, warning of a dangerous lack of oversight for the transportation of primates.

    “U.S. laboratories haven’t been able to prevent tuberculosis, cholera, campylobacteriosis, Chagas’ disease or other deadly pathogens from infecting the monkeys they cage and experiment on,” Dr. Jones-Engel said in a statement, “and they still put these monkeys on trucks that travel our highways nationwide.”

    https://dnyuz.com/2022/02/01/questions-remain-after-highway-crash-involving-monkeys/

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

    VICE NEWS – Inside the Monkey Lab

  12. Did lockdown work? | John Hopkins University academic talks to Nigel Farage

    Jonas Herby from John Hopkins University tells Nigel Farage about his research into the effectiveness of lockdown.

  13. CBC – Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 5 could get approval in February: reports

    • sky news australia- ‘Sitting ducks’: Almost 100,000 aged care residents not boosted

      Less than two-thirds of aged-care residents nationwide have received their boosters.

      Experts warn the 80,000 residents yet to get a third jab are like “sitting ducks” and exposed to serious illness or deaths as Omicron sweeps through the sector.

      The vaccination rates for aged care residents are currently at 91 per cent for first dose and 89 per cent for second dose.

      Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck, however, says some aged care residents have refused a third.

      The aged care booster program began in November before Omicron took hold.

      A second round of booster clinics is being rolled out to inoculate residents who didn’t get a booster jab at the first visit.

    • city news – Quebec researcher finds similarity in COVID-19 and AIDS

      “This may have an impact on an individual’s immunity,” says Jérôme Estaquier, a researcher at the Université of Laval.

      He and a team discovered similarities in COVID-19 and AIDS, which may help with the death rate of COVID-19.

    • CBC – VIDO virologist wants Sask premier to reconsider before removing COVID-19 restrictions

      Premier Scott Moe said he doesn’t think vaccines reduce the transmission of Omicron.

      Angela Rasmussen explains why this is wrong.

  14. global news – Cats and dogs rescued from Afghanistan arrive in Canada after 5-month operation

    Cats and dogs whose owners were forced to leave them behind when fleeing Afghanistan, as well as others who were living on the streets, arrived in Canada on Tuesday after a 5-month rescue operation.

    SPCA International says it has been working non-stop to rescue the 154 dogs and 131 cats since last summer when the U.S. military withdrew from the country and the Taliban took over.

    “The fact is that if they stayed behind in Afghanistan, they wouldn’t live,” Lori Kalef, director of programs for SPCA International told Global News. “They were going through a famine, they’re going through a famine in Afghanistan, the staff want to vacate from Kabul Small animal rescue as well.”

    About 35 per cent of the animals arriving in Vancouver will be reunited with their Afghan owners, while others will be held for their owners who haven’t yet arrived and the rest will be put up for adoption across North America.

  15. Feb 1, 2022 In the Netherlands, it’s ‘Civilized’ to Empower Terrorists
    How a jihadist entered the inner ranks of the Dutch ruling party.
    https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2022/02/netherlands-its-civilized-empower-terrorists-bruce-bawer/#commento-login-box-container
    Her name is Soumaya Sahla. Born in The Hague in 1983 to Moroccan immigrants (her father was the founder of a mosque in that city), she joined a jihadist terror organization, the Hofstad group, at a young age, and along with another member of the group, Noureddine el Fahtni, to whom she’d been married in an Islamic ceremony, acquired an Agram 2000 submachine gun, which they were reportedly planning to use, at the direction of the leaders of the Hofstad group, to kill various politicians. Among their intended victims were Geert Wilders, then a relatively new member of the Dutch lower house, the Tweede Kamer, who’d made a name for himself as a critic of the Islamization of the Netherlands, and the Somali-born Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who’d rejected her Muslim faith after 9/11 and been elected to the Tweede Kamer in 2002.
    [..]
    In the summer of 2004, Sahla’s husband, Fahtni, had been arrested in Portugal on suspicion of planning to kill that country’s then prime minister, José Manuel Durão Barroso, but there had not been sufficient evidence to hold him. A few months later, on the morning of November 2, 2004, a fellow member of the Hofstad group, Mohammed Bouyeri, had slaughtered the celebrated writer and filmmaker Theo van Gogh – perhaps the Netherlands’ most prominent critic of Islam – on a busy street in Amsterdam.
    Sahla and Fahtni’s plans, however, did not prove as successful as Bouyeri’s. On June 22, 2005, they were both arrested by Amsterdam police.
    Fahtni ended up serving six months. Sahla spent nine years in and out of court.
    [..]
    During that long trial period, Sahla had studied political science, African Studies, and Islamic theology. She’d also, curiously enough, become the protegée of Frits Bolkestein, a legendary figure in the center-right VVD (People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy). As the newspaper Het Parool put it the other day, Bolkestein “led her into the party” in 2011 – that is, while her case was still under adjudication – “unseen and without causing a fuss.”
    [..]
    Sahla began her career in the VVD as head of its deradicalization and terror group; as of the beginning of this year, she’d risen in the party ranks to become – simultaneously – head of the VVD’s security and justice division, chair of a party advisory committee on deradicalization and terror, and “right-hand” woman to Bolkestein.
    [..]
    Not until January 18 of this year did Sahla’s past become a problem. On that day, during a discussion in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, Wilders, who since 2006 has been head of the PVV (Freedom Party) and who since 2004 has had to live with round-the-clock security owing to jihadist death threats, raised the subject of Sahla [..]
    Wilders also mentioned Sahla’s sister Fonda, who, as it happens, is a politician for the centrist D66 and a colleague of Wilders’s in the Tweede Kamer, where she routinely wears a hijab.
    Did representatives from other parties join Wilders in expressing outrage over the VVD’s employment of a woman who’d actively sought his death? No. They protested his bad manners. Rutte, obviously a man of exquisite sensitivity, said Wilders’s behavior had been uncivilized.
    [..]
    Part of the problem for the VVD was that Sahla had never really disavowed her terrorist history. On the contrary, in a 2019 interview with the newsmagazine Elsevier she’d called the long years of legal actions against her a “show trial.” It’s also relevant to note that in the last few years, when not seeing to her VVD duties, Sahla has been engaged in Ph.D. research, her objective being to determine whether “liberal Western thinking” is preferable to the “orthodox world view” of Islam. In other words, Sahla still doesn’t seem to have figured out whether she’s put the ideology of jihad behind her.
    [..]
    In an op-ed for NRC Handelsblad, Gerard Spong, a lawyer in Amsterdam, lamented her resignation, saying that Wilders had “overdramatized” the situation and criticizing both Wilders and VVD leaders for failing to recognize that “in a constitutional state, a convict who has served his/her sentence and who has been rehabilitated cannot be punished twice for a wrong step in the past.” Spong compared Sahla to Nelson Mandela: “He was also convicted of participating in a terrorist organization (the ANC). After 27 years in prison, he was released and for many years held South Africa’s highest office.”
    [..]
    In an angry op-ed, Andreas Kinneging, a professor of legal philosophy and Sahla’s Ph.D. supervisor, described her as the victim of “a witch hunt” of a kind that is unworthy of “a civilized country.” The editors of the daily newspaper Trouw stood up for her, too, insisting that in a country like the Netherlands people like Sahla deserved to get “a second chance.”