Islam - Current Day > Taliban Celebrate Great Victory for Islamic Jihad, But There is No Peace for the Religion of Peace

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The Taliban are celebrating the defeat of the greatest military the world has ever seen. Did the American military consider them to be a rag-tag bunch of midievil warriors? If so, that just added to their shame.

But for the Taliban, it is a sign that Allah was definitely on their side and gave them the victory. This just confirms in their minds that jihad is the way for good Muslims to go. It will strengthen their movement and with all the weapons, the thousands of Humvees, the Blackhawks, the millions of small arms, bombs, bullets, etc., etc., they have a right to celebrate, this will be celebrated as a great historical event for centuries.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, no one is being blamed for this catastrophe. In the eyes of many in the executive branch, the whole thing was a complete success.  20 years of keeping the inventory of death flowing put kazillions of dollars in many pockets. The deaths, the life-long injuries, the homeless veterans are just the price of getting filthy rich. This is Deep State!

Taliban hold mock ‘funeral’ for NATO, take Black Hawk helicopter

for joyrides, and show off loot at Kabul airport after US retreat

31 Aug, 2021 18:28

Crowd carries makeshift coffins draped in NATO, US and UK flags during a pretend funeral on a street in Khost, Afghanistan August 31, 2021. ©  Reuters / ZHMAN TV

After nearly 20 years of fighting against the US in Afghanistan, the victorious Taliban posed with captured American gear at the Kabul airport, held a mock funeral for NATO in Khost, and flew a Black Hawk helicopter over Kandahar.

The last US troops left the Hamid Karzai International Airport on Monday, just before the clock struck midnight local time. On Tuesday morning, Taliban fighters strolled through the airport they now controlled, littered with debris, posing for photos with the captured vehicles, aircraft and equipment.  

Taliban leaders reviewed a “special forces” unit, equipped with weapons and gear captured from the US-trained Afghan army, on the Kabul runway. 

“It is a historical day and a historical moment.... we liberated our country from a great power,” said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, adding that the past two decades should serve as “a big lesson for other invaders, a lesson for the world.” 

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby acknowledged on Tuesday that a lot of US equipment with “a lethality component to it” has fallen into Taliban hands, but said it doesn’t pose a threat to the US or neighboring countries. 

“These are not the kinds of things that the Taliban can make great strategic use out of,” Kirby told reporters.

Right. Well, certainly you didn't!

The Taliban thought otherwise, however, showing off at least one newly acquired Black Hawk helicopter in the skies over Kandahar in a couple of videos. The second clip caused some confusion on social networks, as more than a few American commentators claimed the figure dangling from the helicopter was someone being executed. 

Intersting now... the Flag Pole which held and represented all the  NATO nations at the military side of Kabul Airport. A symbol of utter failure!

The “Talib Times” account that posted the video said no such thing, however. On closer look, the man seemed to be a Taliban fighter joyriding on a rescue harness.

Meanwhile, in the southeastern city of Khost, a crowd of Taliban supporters held a mock “funeral” for the ousted occupiers, carrying coffins draped with US, NATO, British and French flags, as well as some banners of the defeated Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – now replaced by the white flag of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate.

The US withdrawal turned into a mad scramble to evacuate just over 6,000 US citizens – along with tens of thousands of Afghan civilians – on August 14, when the Taliban took over Kabul without a fight and the Washington-backed government collapsed. It also turned tragic last week, when up to 200 Afghans and 13 US troops died at the entrance to the airport, in a suicide bombing claimed by the terrorist group ISIS-K.

The Pentagon has acknowledged that some US citizens could not reach the airport and were left behind. The State Department was tasked with negotiating their safe passage out of Afghanistan.

7 Taliban fighters killed in clashes with Panjshir valley resistance,

as challenges remain for new rulers after US exit

31 Aug, 2021 15:50

Anti-Taliban fighters assemble in Panjshir, Afghanistan (FILE PHOTO) © Aamaj News Agency via REUTERS

The Taliban has lost at least seven fighters as the Islamist group, which now controls most of Afghanistan, clashed with resistance fighters from Panjshir valley amid efforts to consolidate power and form a government.

On Tuesday, representatives from the main anti-Taliban militia, the National Resistance Front (NRF), claimed that Taliban troops had been repelled after trying to enter the Panjshir valley, the only one of the 34 provinces which remains completely outside their control. The province’s most southwestern point sits just 50 miles north of Kabul. 

Fighting took place at the western entrance to the valley after the Taliban attempted to move against NRF positions Monday night, said Fahim Dashti, a spokesman for the militia loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud. He added that eight Taliban fighters were killed, and the same number were injured, according to Reuters. The NRF only sustained two injuries. 

Another member of the resistance movement, Bismillah Mohammadi, who served as a minister under ousted President Ashraf Ghani, put the number of Taliban dead at seven. “Last night, the Taliban attacked Panjshir, but were defeated with 7 dead and several wounded. Our people should not worry… This homeland will be liberated,” he tweeted, adding that the enemy had retreated with heavy casualties.

The Taliban has not commented on the losses as Afghanistan’s new rulers reportedly continue to seek a negotiated settlement while attempting to form a government in Kabul. 

Ali Nazary, head of foreign relations for the NRF, has said the group is not interested in the Taliban’s proposals as it falls far short of their demands. 

“The problem is that they are unwilling to make any concessions. And we’re unwilling to accept any type of political system that isn’t inclusive,” Nazary was quoted as saying by The Wall Street Journal.

Local leader Ahmad Massoud Massoud is the son of famed mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, who held off Soviet advances four decades ago. The NRF claims to have a force of several thousand, with their number swelled by the remnants of the Afghan Army. Politicians in Panjshir claim their forces also have military hardware such as helicopters, the WSJ said.

The group remains committed to protecting the population of over 170,000 people, mostly from the Tajik ethnic group, who inhabit the valley. It is believed that neighboring Tajikistan is supporting Massoud’s forces, after military helicopters from Dushanbe were spotted in the valley.

Last week it was reported that local militias in neighboring Baghlan had evicted Taliban members from three districts, only for one to be recaptured soon after. The Taliban now claim to have recaptured all three. Amid ongoing local resistance, Taliban rulers also reportedly killed popular folk singer Fawad Andarabi in Baghlan province. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the AP that the group would investigate the incident. 

While the Taliban has sent significant forces to the area, it is clear that the Islamist group still faces considerable armed opposition. IS-K (Islamic State Khorasan), the splinter jihadist group which now operates in Afghanistan, claimed nearly 30 Taliban members were killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul last Thursday, an event that also highlights the breadth of opposition the Taliban faces. 

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Taliban celebrated the complete withdrawal of US troops from the country, firing ammunition into the air after the last American plane left Kabul airport.

Speaking later on Tuesday, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told a news conference that the Taliban would form a government in the coming days. The Islamist group have vowed to form an inclusive government, although many are doubtful that the promise will be fulfilled.

The Taliban seem to have a desire to form a legitimate government that can function on the world theatre. Whether that is possible while imposing Sharia Law is difficult to imagine. 

One thing is for sure, the Religion of Peace will not bring peace to Afghanistan any time soon. All three elements in this new war are Muslims, even Tajikistan.

Panjshir Valley, AFG

Big Pharma > Moderna - 2 Batches Contaminated, 2 Dead; Now 7 Prefectures Discover Contaminants - 2.6 Million Doses Pulled

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Moderna vaccinations halted in Japan’s Okinawa after ‘black substances’

found in vial, days after other batch of jab was suspended

29 Aug, 2021 08:33

©  AFP / HAZEM BADER

Okinawa prefecture has halted Moderna vaccinations after unknown materials were found in a vial of the drug. The move comes after Japan pulled 1.6 million Moderna doses from a different batch over contamination concerns.

Black substances were discovered in syringes and a vial, while unidentified pink substances were spotted in a different syringe with a Moderna vaccine dose, according to Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK. 

Okinawa’s government said in a statement on Sunday that it was suspending the use of Moderna vaccines after “foreign substances were spotted in some of them.”

Takeda Pharmaceutical, Japan’s domestic distributor of the Moderna shot, is expected to probe whether the suspected contamination occurred during production and will consult with the health ministry on the matter, NHK reported. 

The discovery comes just three days after Japan suspended the use of more than 1.6 million Moderna doses that had been distributed to 863 vaccination centers around the country. The doses were temporarily pulled from circulation as a precautionary measure after foreign material was discovered in some vials. Some of the doses were reportedly contaminated with metal particles. The newly discovered contaminated doses in Okinawa are from different vaccine lots. 

Two Moderna recipients died

While the issue is still being investigated, Japan’s Health Ministry revealed on Saturday that two people who had received their second Moderna doses from the vaccine lots withdrawn earlier this week had died. The ministry said it was investigating what killed the two victims, both men in their 30s, and that it was currently unknown if the vaccine played a role. 

The vials from the pulled batches, which were manufactured by a Moderna contractor in Europe, are currently undergoing laboratory analysis. The results will be available early next week, Moderna and Takeda said in a joint statement released on Saturday. 

On Friday, Taro Kono, the minister in charge of Japan’s immunization campaign, disclosed that more than 500,000 vaccinations had already been carried out using the doses from the vaccine lots in question. So far, there doesn’t appear to be any “serious safety issues” identified, Kono said. 

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has launched its own probe to determine if the EU’s Moderna supply suffers from similar contamination problems. 

Japan suspends Moderna Covid vaccine after another million doses

found contaminated, bringing total to 2.6 million

30 Aug, 2021 10:41

© Reuters / Dado Ruvic

Japanese officials have suspended the use of millions of doses of the Moderna Covid vaccine after foreign substances were found in a number of batches and two people died after receiving jabs from the affected lots.

The Japanese government discovered the contamination over the weekend in a batch of the Moderna Covid vaccine in Gunma prefecture, close to Tokyo, forcing officials to temporarily suspend use of the vaccines.

The decision to suspend a total of 2.6 million doses of the Moderna vaccines comes after 1.63 million shots were halted last week following the discovery of contaminants in some vials in a batch that was shipped to more than 860 vaccination centers across the country.

While the source of the contamination has not been confirmed, Moderna and pharmaceutical company Rovi, which manufactures the Moderna vaccines, said that it could be due to a manufacturing fault on one of the production lines, rather than anything more concerning.

So much for quality control! Rovi's head office is in Madrid; I don't know where they manufactured the Moderna vaccine.

The country’s health ministry has confirmed that two individuals who were vaccinated using doses from the batch have died. However, the cause of death in both cases is under investigation and officials claim that no safety concerns have been identified yet. In a statement, Moderna and Japanese distributor Takeda stated that “we do not have any evidence that these deaths are caused by the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.”

Gunma is now the seventh Japanese prefecture to discover contaminants in doses of the Moderna vaccine, after similar incidents in Aichi, Gifu, Ibaraki, Okinawa, Saitama and Tokyo. It comes as Japan battles a surge in Covid cases that has pushed nearly half of the country’s prefectures into a state of emergency.

Since the start of the pandemic, Japan has recorded 1.38 million confirmed cases of Covid and 15,797 fatalities from the virus. So far, Japanese officials have administered 118,310,106 doses of a Covid vaccine. 

#Ozzone 5-10 > What God Does, and What We Must Do

 

Canadian Election - Liberal Election Machine Coming Apart in First Two Weeks of Campaign

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Justin Trudeau called a Federal Election within minutes of hearing about the fall of Kabul. It was a stupid and arrogant decision, and it appears to have cost him a great deal. Canada's poor performance in rescuing Canadians and Afghan interpreters has thrown him off-message for the first two weeks and it shows in the numbers. He took a significant lead into the campaign and now is trailing the Conservatives. 

To make matters worse, it appears he is still falling and there is a chance he could end up in 3rd place. That would likely be the end of his political career. We can always hope!

To make matters even worse, the 4th wave of Covid is resulting in lockdowns and issues rising regarding school openings and precautions like vaxports, masks, human rights, etc. Furthermore, just yesterday, angry crowds gathered at a Liberal event featuring Trudeau, that had to be cancelled for fear of violence - a first for Canadian politics. 

Canadian PM Trudeau’s campaign rally axed over ‘safety reasons’

after irate protesters descend on event

28 Aug, 2021 06:06

Protestors react after an event was cancelled during Canada's Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's campaign

in Bolton, Ontario, Canada August 27, 2021. © REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

There is a surprising number of women in this photo

A campaign rally for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was abruptly called off after a rowdy group of demonstrators crashed the event, with the PM’s Liberal Party saying it canceled the appearance for “safety reasons.”

A sizable crowd of protesters attended an outdoor event for the prime minister on Friday, held in a hotel parking lot in Bolton, Ontario, 31 miles (50km) from Toronto. After a two-hour wait, however, Trudeau still hadn’t addressed supporters, and a campaign volunteer informed attendees that the event would no longer take place.

A party spokesperson later said the rally was axed for “safety reasons,” though didn’t elaborate.

Of course, he will not allow cameras to catch him in front of an angry mob.

Footage of the raucous demonstrators has circulated online, with some heard shouting expletives about the PM, while at least one protester was seen hoisting a flag emblazoned with the words “F**k Trudeau.” Many voiced outrage over Canada’s Covid-19 restrictions and potential vaccine requirements. 

According to one journalist present for the rally, some showed up to protest for their “vaping rights,” though she did not elaborate.

Trudeau later relocated the event to nearby Brampton, where he explained that his party “could not guarantee the safety of those in attendance” at the site in Bolton. He called for his detractors to be treated with “compassion,” saying the last year had been difficult for all Canadians, but that a political event is no place for such anger. 

Maybe he should have considered that before calling the election.

“This is not who we are,” he told supporters.  

Friday was not the first time Trudeau has been confronted with protesters, many of them angry at his push for vaccine passports, since he hit the campaign trail. The Canadian PM has fired back at demonstrators, shouting “please get vaccinated” on several occasions, prompting some observers to suggest that he himself was to blame for “inflaming tensions” with those opposing mandatory vaccination.

Trudeau, however, signaled that he did not plan to tone down his rhetoric, doubling down on the need for travelers and federal workers to be vaccinated shortly after he was forced to scrap the rally.

“Vaccines are the best way to finish the fight against COVID-19. That’s why we will make vaccines mandatory for anyone boarding a plane or train, or any federally-regulated worker. This is how we will keep everyone, including our kids, safe and healthy,” he tweeted.

The election is scheduled for Sept 20th, 2021, unless Trudeau goes back to the Governor General and asks for a do-over.

Corruption is Everywhere > USA Wants $169m Back from Ghani; Don't Invest in Ukraine - Estonian Pres; Strache Found Guilty; French Min of Justice is Investigated

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Republicans demand return of $169mn in aid money allegedly

embezzled by ousted Afghan President Ghani

25 Aug, 2021 03:01

FILE PHOTO: Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani speaks during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan

December 7, 2015. © REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have called on the attorney general to investigate reports that Afghanistan’s ousted US-backed President Ashraf Ghani fled his country with a vast sum of stolen US aid dollars.

In letters to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, ranking Republican members of the House Committees on Oversight and Reform and the Subcommittee on National Security urged the Biden administration to do “everything in its power to seize any illicitly gained funds that were corruptly embezzled by President Ghani.”

Representatives James Comer (R-Kentucky) and Glenn Grothman (R-Wisconsin) referred to a report by the BBC, citing the Afghan ambassador to neighboring Tajikistan, that Ghani “escaped [Kabul] with bags full of $169 million” as the city was being overrun by advancing Taliban fighters.

Asking the State and Justice Departments to confirm whether Ghani indeed fled “with duffle bags of cash,” the lawmakers demanded to know what the government would do to seize the ill-gotten gains and bring the exiled politician to justice if the reports prove to hold water.

If true, this was not the dignified exit of a benevolent head of state, but that of a coward and grifter. The United States must do everything in its power to seize any illicitly gained funds that were corruptly embezzled by President Ghani 

The lawmakers noted that solving the mystery was of particular importance since Ghani’s actions “likely” sped up the Taliban’s takeover of the country, resulting in the chaotic effort by the US and allies to evacuate stranded Americans and Afghan collaborators.

Rumors that Ghani departed from Kabul flush with American tax dollars began to swirl immediately after the fall of the city. Mere days after it was captured by the Taliban, a spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Kabul said that the Western-backed Afghan leader was forced to leave some of the money lying on the tarmac because it did not fit in the helicopter. 

And what, do you suppose, happened to that money?

Ghani, who reemerged in the United Arab Emirates, later pushed back against the accusations, calling them “completely baseless.” Ghani insisted that he fled in a rush and was even forced to leave behind some confidential documents, as well as his main assets, in the hope of assuaging the Taliban and preventing a bloodbath.

Don’t invest in Ukraine, says Estonian president, warning corrupt courts

could see those sending money to Kiev lose their cash

25 Aug, 2021 15:47

FILE PHOTO. Avdiivka, Ukraine. © AFP / ANATOLII STEPANOV; (inset) Kersti Kaljulaid. © Reuters / INTS KALNINS

Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid has courted controversy in Ukraine, using an interview marking the anniversary of the country’s independence to slam its institutions and argue Kiev is not yet a dependable place for investment.

Speaking to local news outlet European Truth on Monday, after her attendance at the ‘Crimean Platform’ conference, the leader of the Baltic nation revealed that she “advises Estonians not to invest in Ukraine.” In her view, foreigners should “trade with Ukraine, but do not invest there” because “you may lose your investment” and be unable to recoup losses due to corruption and legal malpractice.

According to Kaljulaid, “we have already had cases when our people lost property here. And even after receiving an arbitration award in their favor, they were unable to regain their property.”

In order to turn around this situation, she said, “you need everyone who works, invests or pays into this country to be able to hope that the court system will deal with their case impartially in the event of a dispute [and] that the justice system is truly blind to the public status of the parties.”

“The economy will not grow until investors feel that they will be treated fairly,” the Estonian leader added, “and your people will not feel protected, small businesses will be limited in development.”

However, in an effort to avoid offending her hosts, Kaljulaid said that she would like “to emphasize that I appreciate what Ukraine has achieved. I understand that it is not easy to carry out economic reforms and wage war at the same time, and I applaud it. But you still have a lot left to do,” she concluded.

In addition, the head of the EU nation said that Brussels was unlikely to welcome Ukraine into the bloc until those changes are implemented. Asked about the prospects for Kiev’s long-standing application, she said that “first you must build your own economy, democracy and free society – only then can you even start asking about it. But until that’s done, you can’t even ask that question.”

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky raged at suggestions from US President Joe Biden that the country would have to “clean up corruption” before it would be accepted into the NATO military bloc.

“It’s very popular to accuse Ukraine of corruption, and it’s not that I hold these views only since I became president, but I’ve always felt offended by this,” Zelensky told reporters. “Because you know what? No country is free of corruption.”

And he is right! However, some countries actually try to remove corruption. Canada, unfortunately, under a Liberal government, doesn't seem to be one of them.

Austria’s former Vice-Chancellor Strache maintains his innocence

after court finds him guilty of corruption over ‘Ibiza affair’

27 Aug, 2021 13:12

Austria's former Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache and Walter Grubmuller, operator of the Wahring private clinic,

wait for the trial session to begin at a court in Vienna, Austria, August 23, 2021.© Reuters / Georges Schneider

Former Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache was convicted of corruption and handed a 15-month suspended sentence on Friday over an illegal €10,000 ($11,760) donation to his party, dubbed the ‘Ibiza affair’.

The conviction marks the end of the first criminal trial against the former senior politician. A number of investigations were launched into Strache after a secretly recorded video appeared to show him offering political favors to a woman who was posing as a wealthy donor.

Strache was on trial alongside private clinic owner Walter Grubmuller, who was accused of making an illegal €10,000 donation to the Freedom Party in what prosecutors claimed was an attempt to secure a change in the law that would benefit his clinic by allowing it to charge medical treatments directly to the country’s public health insurance fund.

The law change occurred in 2018, although Strache stated in court that the legislative action was not influenced by donations but because the clinic was previously treated unfairly by the Austrian government. Grubmuller was also convicted over the donation and handed a year’s suspended sentence.

The ‘Ibiza affair’ relates to the 2017 video sting that captured Strache and another member of his Freedom Party hinting at an illegal system by which political favors were granted in return for donations. Strache has rejected this is what happened, claiming the sting was a “honey trap stage-managed by intelligence agencies” and recorded while he was and possibly drugged.

When the footage was released to the media in 2019, it brought down the coalition government in Austria, forcing snap elections to be held and resulting in a number of corruption enquiries being launched into Strache and the Freedom Party.

French justice minister under formal investigation over

allegations he used his position to settle old scores

16 Jul, 2021 14:29

French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti attends a news conference following the weekly cabinet meeting

discussions over a bill for the prevention of acts of terrorism at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France,

(FILE PHOTO) © REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

France’s justice minister has been formally placed under investigation following claims he abused his position in the government to settle scores with magistrates with whom he had trouble when he was a practicing lawyer.

On Friday, lawyers for Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti told reporters that their client is the subject of a formal investigation. Olivier Cousi, one of his legal team, told BFM TV that Dupond-Moretti saw no reason to resign from his ministerial position despite the official inquiry. 

Dupond-Moretti was present in court and was reportedly questioned for hours by the Cour de Justice de La République – a special court that deals with complaints against serving ministers – on Friday. It is the first time that a so-called ‘Garde des Sceaux’ (Keeper of the Seals) has been questioned by the special court, according to French media. 

In France, being put under formal investigation suggests there is “serious or consistent evidence” involving the suspect, but it is not the same as being charged with particular offenses.

The court launched an investigation in January, following complaints filed by an anti-corruption group and three legal unions against Dupond-Moretti.

The minister has been accused of a conflict of interest and of using his political position to settle old scores with lawyers and judges – claims he disputes. Instead, he says, the complaints are an attempt to foil his efforts to reform the French justice system.

Dupond-Moretti’s lawyers said they intend to challenge the decision to put the minister under investigation.

Is Dupond-Moretti guilty of corruption, or is this an attempt to stop him from cleaning up a corrupt system? Let's hope and pray that the truth is revealed.

European Politics - Stefan Resigns Again; Poland Fencing-Off Belarus; Schengen Not Working

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‘Everything comes to an end’: Sweden’s PM announces

2nd resignation in 2 months

22 Aug, 2021 12:19

Social Democrat leader Stefan Löfven speaks during a media conference after being re-elected as prime minister in

Swedish Parliament in Stockholm, Sweden July 7, 2021. ©  Christine Olsson/TT News Agency/via REUTERS

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven will resign, again, following a tumultuous summer of political infighting in the Scandinavian country that ended in a no-confidence vote in his leadership.

In a speech on Sunday, Löfven announced that he would step down as the head of the Social Democrats, and would also resign as prime minister, in November. 

“The decision has matured over time. I have been party chairman for ten years, prime minister for seven. These years have been amazing. But everything comes to an end. I want to give my successor the best of conditions,” he said, according to local media. 

A new leader of Löfven’s center-left party will take over ahead of the country’s 2022 general election. 

Center-left party? I thought they are a far-left party.

The decision comes less than two months after Löfven quit as prime minister in late June, a week after he lost a vote of no confidence. The political reprimand – marking the first time in Sweden’s history that a sitting prime minister lost a no-confidence vote – was triggered by a heated clash over housing market policy, costing Löfven the support of his long-time coalition partner, the Left Party. 

At the time, Löfven said that his resignation was preferable to holding a drawn-out snap election, but it turned out that his departure was short-lived. 

He was narrowly reelected as prime minister by parliament on July 7 after the leaders of Sweden’s political factions failed to form a new government. 

Löfven has headed the Swedish government since 2014, but his time in office has been marred by years of shaky support. A close election in 2018 meant that it took four months to form a government after his party won 40.6% of the vote, just barely edging out the country’s center-right party, which secured 40.2%. 

Echoes of Hungary as Poland to build giant barbed-wire border fence

on frontier with Belarus to stem flow of illegal migrants

24 Aug, 2021 11:32

Border signs are pictured at the Polish-Belarusian border near the village of Usnarz Gorny, Poland,

August 23, 2021.© Reuters / Kacper Pempel

Poland intends to build a 2.5-meter-high barbed-wire fence and to double the number of troops on its frontier with Belarus, Warsaw’s defense minister revealed on Monday, following a large spike in illegal border-crossing attempts.

Speaking at a briefing, Mariusz Błaszczak revealed that the country’s frontier would be reinforced with a solid fence “two and a half meters high,” and that work on installing it would begin this week.

He also noted that more soldiers would be moved to the area to assist border guards. About 1,000 soldiers are now involved, and this number is planned to be doubled.

The total length of the Polish-Belarusian border is 418 kilometers.  According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Warsaw, around 2,100 attempts to cross it illegally were made since the start of the year. In the whole of 2020, there were just 120.

The migrant crisis comes off the back of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko saying his country would no longer make any effort to stop illegal immigration. Lithuania, which also shares a border with Belarus, claims that the government in Minsk has flown in migrants from the likes of Syria and Iraq, and is shuttling them to the frontier as a form of warfare.

Like Poland, Lithuania has also opted to reinforce its border and has declared a state of emergency.

“We will begin building an additional physical barrier, which divides Lithuania and Belarus, which would be a certain sign and a certain deterrent to organizers of the illegal migration flows,” Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte told a news conference in July.

Another Baltic country, Latvia, has also noted a mass increase in attempts to cross its frontier from Belarus illegally. Earlier his month, Riga also declared a state of emergency.

The EU, of which Poland, Latvia and Lithuania are members, has backed all three governments in the beefing up of their borders. This is a huge u-turn from the European bloc, which had blasted member state Hungary for doing the exact same thing in 2015, during the refugee crisis, when Budapest was branded as inhumane and immoral.

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Czech PM says Schengen not working, urges inclusion of Balkan states to protect Europe from illegal migrants

28 Aug, 2021 14:58

A migrant boat off the European shores. © AFP / Sameer al-Doumy

The Schengen area will only be able to protect Europe from illegal migrants after such countries as Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Croatia are included in the agreement, the Czech Republic’s prime minister, Andrej Babis, has said.

“Unfortunately, Schengen isn’t functional at the moment,” Babis said in an interview with Pravo newspaper on Saturday. With its current set of members, the 1985 agreement is unable to fulfill its task of providing “consistent protection of the external borders and free movement inside” Europe, he added.

And it was no better in 2015 when the European migrant crisis occurred as hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the continent, fleeing conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, the PM pointed out.

“The only one to defend the Schengen borders in 2015 was [Hungarian PM] Viktor Orban, who built a fence against migrants,” said Babis, who is one of the Czech Republic’s richest men and the head of the populist ANO 2011 party.

With most migrants arriving by boat, it was “absurd” that such countries as Bulgaria and Croatia, which control Europe’s Black Sea and Adriatic Sea coastlines, respectively, weren’t part of Schengen, he said. “Let’s accept Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Croatia into the Schengen area; have a clear strategy towards the Western Balkans and defend Europe against illegal migration at its external borders.”

Other steps needed to solve the problem should include “fighting human traffickers and signing agreements with Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya” from where the refugees are setting off for Europe, Babis said.

He justified the need to protect Europe from refugees by claiming that “Denmark, Sweden and Austria, which all welcomed migrants in 2015, now reject them.”

The Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland were the only EU member states to refuse to fulfill the Union’s refugee quotas at the height of migrant influx six years ago. Back then, Prague was told to resettle 2,000 asylum seekers, but took in just 12 people, while Budapest and Warsaw didn’t let any in at all. Despite the countries arguing that the migrants posed a security threat, the European Court of Justice found them guilty of breaching EU laws last year. They may face hefty fines.

Bobby Kennedy's Alleged Assassin Getting Closer to Parole As Evidence of Conspiracy Begins to Leak Out

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Parole board votes to release Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin

 following his 16th parole hearing that went unopposed

28 Aug, 2021 01:28

Sirhan Sirhan, found guilty of fatally shooting U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, arrives for a parole hearing

Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 © AP/California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

A California parole board has voted to release Sirhan Sirhan – who killed US Senator Robert F. Kennedy – from prison after more than 50 years behind bars. The 77-year-old has said he shot the lawmaker over his support for Israel.

The two-person panel voted for Sirhan’s parole on Friday after he was denied during fifteen previous hearings for showing little remorse. The decision will now be subject to a review by the full board that will last 120 days. Sirhan’s ultimate release will hinge on approval by California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Friday’s hearing was the first for Sirhan when the prosecution attorney did not show up to contest his case. The absence of the prosecutors is in line with the Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon’s new policy, arguing that prosecutors should not interfere with the parole process.

Sirhan, who has since long claimed that he does not remember the assasination, reportedly said at the hearing that he was no longer “that young impulsive kid” who was found guilty of the younger Kennedy’s June 5, 1968 murder, vowing to “always look to safety and peace and non-violence.”

Sirhan was initially sentenced to death for the assassination of Kennedy, then a Democratic presidential hopeful, but was removed from death row following a 1972 decision by the California Supreme Court to outlaw capital punishment.

Kennedy was gunned down after midnight on June 5, 1968, shortly after he delivered a speech to his supporters at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, celebrating his victory in key California and South Dakota primaries. The Democratic favorite was reportedly heading to a press room when he decided to take a short-cut through the kitchen where he was shot. Five other people were injured in the incident.

Some US media at the time reported that Sirhan shouted “Let me explain! I did it for my country,” as he was being wrestled down by one of Kennedy’s bodyguards. In a 1980 interview, Sirhan claimed that he was drunk and felt triggered by the senator’s support for Israel during the 1967 Six Day War, the first anniversary of which was celebrated by Jewish Americans days prior to the assassination. In his first television interview in 1989, Sirhan, who was born to an Arab family in Jerusalem, said that he felt “betrayed” by Kennedy after the senator backed a proposal to send US fighter jets to Israel “to obviously do harm to the Palestinians.”

While Sirhan was the sole person found guilty in Kennedy’s murder, the assassination has given rise to conspiracy theories after new evidence in the case emerged in 2004. A rediscovered recording of the shooting was studied by audio engineer Van Praag, who argued that a total of 13 shots may be heard on the tape, while Sirhan’s revolver had fired only 8 bullets. While some other sound experts dismissed the findings, deeming the additional shots a figment of Praag’s imagination, others seized on the report, believing it to be evidence that another gunman was on the scene.

Kennedy’s son Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who spoke in favor of Sirhan’s parole before Friday’s hearing, has emerged as one of the most ardent supporters of the multiple gunmen theory. Paul Schrade, who was injured in the shooting but survived, later came out and claimed that while Sirhan shot him, another gunman shot Kennedy. 

Though Sirhan admitted at his trial in 1969 that he shot Kennedy, he claimed from the start that he had no memory of doing so. And midway through Sirhan’s trial, prosecutors provided his lawyers with an autopsy report that launched five decades of controversy: Kennedy was shot at point-blank range from behind, including a fatal shot behind his ear. But Sirhan, a 24-year-old Palestinian immigrant, was standing in front of him. 

Several other witnesses also said he was not close enough to place the gun against Kennedy’s back, where famed Los Angeles coroner Thomas Noguchi found powder burns on the senator’s jacket and on his hair, indicating shots fired at close contact. These witnesses provided more proof for those who insist a second gunman was involved. 

Why didn’t they go after the second gunman? They knew about him right away. They didn’t want to know who it was. They wanted a quickie.” - Ron Schrade, Washington Post

Sirhan may have been subjected to coercive hypnosis, in a real-life version of “The Manchurian Candidate.” - Washington Post

At the previous parole hearing, Sirhan refused to confess to the murder, saying that “legally speaking I’m not guilty of anything.” A judge who rejected his appeal to set him free in 2015 ruled, however, that even if there was sufficient evidence for the jury to believe that there were more than one gunman at the scene, it would not have changed Sirhan’s sentence. “Even if the second shooter's bullet was the one that killed Senator Kennedy, petitioner would be liable as an aider and abettor.,” the judge said.

War on Christianity > After 8 Years Christian Family Free; Buddhists Bash Bangladeshi Church; Harvard Elects Atheist Head Chaplain

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Pakistani Christian couple released from death row

granted asylum in Europe

By Anugrah Kumar, 

Christian Post Contributor| 

Saturday, August 14, 2021

Shagufta Masih and her husband, Shafqat Emmanuel, with their children | ADF International

Two months after being acquitted by a high court and surviving death threats, a Pakistani Catholic mother and her partially paralyzed husband, who were on death row for seven years on false blasphemy charges, have arrived in Europe.

Shagufta Masih and her husband, Shafqat Emmanuel, faced death threats after reports of their acquittal by the Lahore High Court broke in early June. In 2014, a session court had sentenced the couple to death by hanging.

“We are so relieved to finally be free. The last eight years have been incredibly hard, but we are so happy to be reunited with our children,” said Shafqat Emmanuel on behalf of the family, according to ADF International, a human rights group that supported the Christian couple.

“Although we will miss our country, we are happy to finally be somewhere safe,” added Emmanuel, who was the watchman of a school in the Gojra area of Toba Tek Singh district in Pakistan’s Punjab Province.

The Catholic couple was arrested in July 2013 under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws after a local imam accused them of committing blasphemy by sending him an offensive text message.

Maulvi Mohammed Hussain, a leader at a local mosque, claimed that Emmanuel used his wife's cellphone to send an anti-Islamic text message. He later claimed other messages followed. Hussain said he was praying when he received the offensive text message from an unknown number.

The Muslim cleric reportedly showed the text message to two other imams before approaching his counsel for legal proceedings. He and his lawyer later claimed they both received subsequent blasphemous messages.

Masih’s brother, Joseph, previously told the BBC that his brother-in-law had been tortured and forced to make a false confession.

The text messages were also alleged to have been written in English. Aside from being illiterate, Shafqat and Shagufta are not familiar with the English language — written or spoken.

And yet they were found guilty and originally sentenced to death. Tells you a lot about the justice system in Pakistan.

ADF International’s Director of Advocacy for Asia, Tehmina Arora, said in a statement that their case “is not an isolated incident but testifies to the plight that many Christians and other religious minorities experience in Pakistan today.”

The couple’s lawyer, Saif Ul Malook, said, “These cases are very difficult to litigate, due to the concern for security. There is a very real threat to the life of the clients and the lawyers.” 

Christians are often targeted by both Pakistan’s blasphemy laws meant to protect Islamic sensitivities and by hardliners who carry out violence and have killed scores of believers in the past several years.

The blasphemy law, embedded in Sections 295 and 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code, is frequently misused for personal revenge. It carries no provision to punish a false accuser or a false witness of blasphemy.

Islamist extremists also use the law to target religious minorities — Christians, Shias, Ahmadiyyas and Hindus.

“While the right to religious freedom is protected by the Pakistani constitution, many face severe persecution and denial of their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly,” Arora said. 

“Hopefully, the blasphemy laws in Pakistan will soon be abolished, so others won’t suffer the same fate as Shagufta and I,” Emmanuel said.

The couple's country of asylum has not been disclosed due to security concerns.

Bangladeshi Church Faces Ongoing Oppression From Buddhists

Source(s): AsiaNews, Christian Post

Date: 12 August 2021

Church before and after destruction. - Photo: AsiaNews

For several weeks, a small church in Suandrapara, a village of southeastern Bangladesh, has been facing threats from militant Buddhists who were attempting to coerce the Christians to return to Buddhism, even though many of the churchgoers had converted several years before. As a result of the oppression, most of the 50 members of the Bangladesh Tribal Baptist Church have been forced to stay away from their homes for fear of attack.

Along with the threats, the church building has been physically damaged on two occasions. The Buddhist militants first ordered the church members to demolish their place of worship. When the Christians refused, the assailants destroyed parts of the building, including the front gate and cross, on July 15th. The oppressors demanded that there be no further church activities, giving the believers seven days to return to their former religion. When that deadline passed, the church was again attacked on July 22nd, resulting in additional damages – this time to a wall, door and the tin roof. The Christians were threatened that there would be further consequences if they reported the incident to the police or members of the media.

The pastor, Rev. Tubel Chakma Poran Adetion, states that the members of his church have not gone to the police, since they are considered a minority people group within the village. "We want to live in peace with [the Buddhists] and discuss things with them," he explained. However, if a collaborative discussion cannot bring about a peaceful resolution, the believers are prepared to take the matter to court.

Both Christians and Buddhists are a small minority in Bangladesh, with the vast majority of the population being Muslim. To learn about the challenges facing Christians in Bangladesh, go to our country report.

Pray that God will bestow wisdom upon the members of the Bangladesh Tribal Baptist Church, giving these persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ the right words to say to their neighbours who so strongly oppose the Gospel. May the Holy Spirit provide the inner peace needed so these Christians will remain committed to Jesus, no matter the cost. Pray that God’s Spirit will also touch the hearts of the instigators, bringing about radical transformation in their lives and ultimately harmony to this village community as a whole.

Like all Ivy-League universities, (I think), Harvard was founded as a Christian college.

Harvard University Elects Atheist as New Chief Chaplain

Amanda Casanova |
ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor |
Friday, August 27, 2021

Greg Epstein, 44, was recently unanimously elected to the top spot at the college and is set to begin work this week, Yahoo News reports.

Epstein is the author of the book “Good Without God.”

“There is a rising group of people who no longer identify with any religious tradition but still experience a real need for conversation and support around what it means to be a good human and live an ethical life,” Epstein said.

Epstein was raised Jewish and in 2005 received ordination as a humanist rabbi from the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism.

He then worked as the humanist chaplain for Harvard and later at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In his new role, Epstein will work with students and help coordinate religious events and counsel students.

“Greg was the first choice of a committee that was made up of a Lutheran, a Christian Scientist, an evangelical Christian, and a Bahá’í,” said Lutheran chaplain Rev. Kathleen Reed, chairwoman of the nominating committee. “We’re presenting to the university a vision of how the world could work when diverse traditions focus on how to be good humans and neighbors.”

No Muslims, no Catholics, no Jews (Epstein doesn't count)! But a firm belief that the world would work better without God!

Margit Hammerstrom, the Christian Science chaplain at Harvard, said in an interview that Epstein is respected and popular among the other chaplains at the college.

“Maybe in a more conservative university climate there might be a question like ‘What the heck are they doing at Harvard, having a humanist be the president of the chaplains?’” she said. “But in this environment, it works. Greg is known for wanting to keep lines of communication open between different faiths.”

According to a poll from the Harvard Crimson, Harvard’s student newspaper, more than 40 percent of the students identified as either atheist or agnostic in 2020. In 2017, that number was 32 percent.

With atheistic chaplains, it would be a surprise if the numbers were any different.

Don't You Just Love Irony - German University's ‘DISCRIMINATORY’ Job Ad for ANTI-DISCRIMINATION Counselor

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Whites need not apply? German university in hot water after ‘DISCRIMINATORY’

job ad for ANTI-DISCRIMINATION counselor

27 Aug, 2021 17:25

FILE PHOTO: The building of the Humboldt University of Berlin. ©  Global Look Press / Jens Kalaene

Berlin’s renowned Humboldt University has gotten in hot water after its Students Council published an ad for the position of anti-discrimination counselor. The ad was branded discriminatory as it discouraged whites from applying.

In late July, Humboldt University’s Students Council (AstA) announced it was looking for a person to fill the position of an “anti-discrimination” counselor to help students facing discrimination over “race, ethnicity or migrant background” starting from September 15.

The job ad never hid the fact that the counseling would be held on a “partial” basis that would be focused on the “needs and positions of a person seeking advice.” It also added that the goal was to create an atmosphere “in which those affected by racist discrimination feel comfortable to share their experiences.”

Yet, it apparently went a step too far when it openly said that such a goal would be best achieved only if “the counselor is… black or a person of color.” The Students Council also did not stop at this and openly added that it “asks the white people to refrain from applying for this counselor position.”

The issue was picked up by the German media on Thursday and quickly drew criticism from politicians. Adrian Grasse, a Berlin lawmaker, condemned the ad as a “clear violation” of Germany’s General Equal Treatment Act.

“The advertisement for an anti-discriminatory [counselor] position is itself discriminatory,” Grasse, who is a science policy spokesman for the Berlian parliamentary faction of the Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right CDU party, told the German media.

The politician also demanded that university President Sabine Kunst and Berlin’s Mayor Michael Mueller “immediately ensure” the “scandalous” job ad is “taken down.” “Conditions listed there, according to which people with white skin should not apply, are illegal and blatantly discriminatory,” Mueller told Germany’s Bild newspaper, adding that “racism must not be fought with racism.”

German MP Christoph de Vries, also a CDU member, slammed the controversial ad as well, saying that it violates the nation’s constitution. “In short, the job advertisement is racist and discriminatory,” he told Bild, calling the ad an example of the “excesses of the leftist identity politics” that are increasingly dividing German society.

The gravity of the issue reached such proportions that even Germany’ Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency had to take a stand on it. “In such a case, certain applicants must not be excluded from the onset,” the agency’s head, Bernhard Franke, told Bild.

Following the outcry, the university told the German media it was “expressly not in the interests” of the educational facility to discriminate against any people, regardless of their skin color, origin, gender, ideology or age. The university also said that it sees itself as a “place [of] plurality of opinions, mutual appreciation and respect.”

The university also said that it asked the student council to review the advertisement but denied any legal responsibility for the incident. The student body is technically an independent structure that is not subject to legal supervision by the university administration, a spokesman for the educational facility told Die Welt newspaper.

The Student Council itself did not comment on the scandal. Instead, it changed the ad on Thursday evening and removed the controversial passage discouraging whites from applying for the job. Now, the ad says that the “counseling work has shown” that its goals are “best achieved by people” who experienced racist discrimination themselves. It also says that the council wants to “particularly encourage” victims of racist discrimination to apply for this position.

A similar ad for another “anti-discrimination counselling” job published by the council in May still features a passage that says it is “desirable” that the future counselor have a “relevant background (is black or a person of color).” 

Please don't write me nasty letters. I am not the least concerned about this issue; I just enjoy the irony.