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December 2019

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Cuba Imprisons a Humanitarian José Daniel Ferrer threatens the regime because his group serves Cuban needs. By Mary Anastasia O’Grady

By on December 2nd, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cuba-imprisons-a-humanitarian-11575229476?mod=opinion_major_pos7

When Nelva Ortega Tamayo visited her husband José Daniel Ferrer in a Cuban prison in early November, she found him emaciated, hunched over and covered with bruises. He had a laceration on his face.

The Cuban dissident had been in custody for five weeks; the dictatorship had yet to announce charges against him. But his wife, who is a medical doctor, came away convinced that her husband was in grave danger of losing his life. Her concern is justified.

This isn’t Mr. Ferrer’s first time behind bars. He was named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International during a 2003-11 incarceration. Now he is again jailed, and again drawing global attention.

Last week the European Parliament approved a joint resolution condemning the 49-year-old’s “arbitrary detention” and calling for his “immediate release.” The European body further denounced the dictatorship’s use of torture and expressed concern over continuous “attacks against peaceful dissidents, independent journalists, human rights defenders and political opposition.”

The resolution noted that there are an estimated 120 Cuban political prisoners. Three fellow members of the Patriotic Union, which was founded by Mr. Ferrer in 2011, were arrested with him. The whereabouts of two of them—José Pupo and Fernando González—remain unknown.

Dr. Ortega Tamayo had only five minutes with her husband at the Aguadores prison near Santiago de Cuba. But it was long enough to assess his condition.

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EDUCATION Comments turned off

How Universities Enable the Hijacking of Free Speech When Jews are Involved A totalitarianism and hate that should frighten us all. Richard L. Cravatts

By on December 2nd, 2019

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/12/how-universities-enable-hijacking-campus-free-richard-l-cravatts/

In a country where multiculturalism has a reverent following and criticism of protected minorities has essentially been criminalized as “hate speech,” it is more than ironic that on some Canadian campuses radical students have taken it upon themselves to target one group, Jewish students, with a hatred that is nominally forbidden for any others. And with a recent incident that took place on November 20th, York University, in particular, has now revealed a troubling pattern of tolerating physical and emotional assaults by pro-Palestinian radicals against Jewish students and others who dare to demonstrate any support for Israel or question the tactics of Islamists in their efforts to destroy the Jewish state.

Herut Canada, “a Zionist movement dedicated to social justice, the unity of the Jewish people, and the territorial integrity of the Land of Israel,” was sponsoring an on-campus event featuring Reservists on Duty, former IDF soldiers who would be discussing BDS and the particular challenges facing the IDF in its interaction with terrorism. But York’s perennially-radical group, Students Against Israeli Apartheid at York University (SAIA York), was having no part of the visit and, joined by off-campus members of the equally radical Antifa organization, disrupted the event with some 600 activists heckling, chanting through bull horns, and even physical assaulting other students—all aimed at shutting down the event and preventing attendees from hearing what the guests from the IDF had to say about negotiating for peace.

What was particularly revealing, and chilling, about the hate-filled protest (or riot, more accurately) was the virulence of the chants and messages on the placards, much of it seeming to suggest that more sinister hatreds and feelings—over and above concern for Israeli military operations—were simmering slightly below the surface. Many of the furious protestors, for instance, shrieked out, “Viva, Viva Intifada” and “Long live the Intifada,” a grotesque and murderous reference to the Second Intifada, during which Arab terrorists murdered some 1000 Israelis and wounded more than 14,000 others.

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HOMELAND SECURITY, IMMIGRATION Comments turned off

Clinton Colluder Protects Cartels Mexican foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard opposes terrorist designation for murderous cartels. Lloyd Billingsley

By on December 2nd, 2019

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/12/clinton-colluder-protects-cartels-lloyd-billingsley/

Last month, a Mexican drug cartel murdered nine U.S. citizens, three mothers and six of their children, including an infant of eight months. President Trump offered help in taking down the murderers but Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, AMLO, turned down the offer.

In short order, President Trump announced plans to designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (FTO), a classification for which they are fully qualified. That got the attention of Mexico’s ruling class.

“Our problems will be solved by Mexicans,” AMLO told reporters. “We don’t want any interference from any foreign country.” That was no surprise from the man who said the murder of nine Americans was “lamentable,” and who announced a strategy of “abrazos, no balazos,” – “hugs not bullets” – to deal with the cartels.

Also worthy of attention was the response of Mexican foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard. As he proclaimed, “Mexico will never admit any action that would be a violation of its national sovereignty.” It was not a new theme for the Mexican foreign minister, a former mayor of Mexico City and a presidential hopeful his own self.

After President Trump cut off aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, and threatened to shut down the border with Mexico, Ebrard proclaimed, “Mexico does not act on the basis of threats. We are a great neighbor.” Americans might wonder about that.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Netanyahu warns Europe over Iran sanctions relief efforts

By on December 2nd, 2019

https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-warns-europe-over-iran-sanctions-relief-efforts/

“History and your own people will judge you harshly” for choosing to appease Tehran, says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned European nations on Sunday that they were making a big mistake by trying to salvage the nuclear deal with Iran through a special mechanism that would bypass U.S. sanctions on the Islamic republic.

In a video message posted on YouTube, Netanyahu implored European nations to abandon their efforts to strengthen economic ties with Iran and instead join the U.S.-led “maximum pressure” effort, launched by the Trump administration a year ago after Washington withdrew from the nuclear deal.

“These European countries should be ashamed of themselves. Have they learned nothing from history? Well, apparently not. They are enabling a fanatic terrorist state to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, thereby bringing disaster to themselves and upon everyone else,” said Netanyahu.

“Now is the time to change course. Now is the time to ratchet up the pressures on Iran, not to lessen them. Now is the time to join the United States and increase sanctions against Iran. To those who favor appeasement of Iran, I say this: History and your own people will judge you harshly. Change course.”

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

James O’Keefe at the Freedom Center’s Restoration Weekend ABC’s cover-up of the Epstein story unveiled.

By on December 2nd, 2019

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/12/james-okeefe-freedom-centers-restoration-weekend-frontpagemagcom-0/

Project Veritas founder, James O’Keefe, delivered a powerful exposé at the Freedom Center’s Restoration Weekend in Palm Beach, FL (November 14-17, 2019) about how ABC covered up the Jeffrey Epstein story for three years to protect the Clintons. Don’t miss it!

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POLITICS Comments turned off

Obama: ‘I Don’t Care’ Whether You’ll Like the Nominee, Just Vote Democrat By Michael van der Galien

By on December 2nd, 2019

https://pjmedia.com/election/obama-i-dont-care-whether-youll-like-the-nominee-just-vote-democrat/

On Thursday, former President Barack Obama was the main guest at a fundraiser in Silicon Valley. When asked a question about the many candidates running, he told those present that he couldn’t care less whether they’d like the eventual nominee. They just have to vote for him/her/it.

“Everybody needs to chill out about the candidates, but gin up about the prospect of rallying behind whoever emerges from this process,” Obama told the millionaire techies, according to far-left news channel CNN. “There will be differences” between them, he added, “but I want us to make sure that we keep in mind that, relative to the ultimate goal, which is to defeat a president and a party that has … taken a sharp turn away from a lot of the core traditions and values and institutional commitments that built this country,” those differences are “relatively minor.”

“The field will narrow and there’s going to be one person, and if that is not your perfect candidate and there are certain aspects of what they say that you don’t agree with and you don’t find them completely inspiring the way you’d like, I don’t care,” he went on to say. “Because the choice is so stark and the stakes are so high that you cannot afford to be ambivalent in this race.”

In other words, shut the heck up and vote for whomever the Democratic Party nominates. You don’t have to like him or her, you just have to vote for him/her.

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ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

The left’s climate change hypocrisy By Gregory Wrightstone

By on December 2nd, 2019

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/12/the_lefts_climate_change_hypocrisy.html

The United Nations is at it again — trafficking in climate change alarmism to promote their globalist political agendas. On November 26, 2019, the U.N. released another doom-and-gloom report, claiming that “drastic action” is the only way to avoid the catastrophic consequences that will result from climate change. Translation: bow down to our collectivist, progressive political demands, or else. But here’s the problem — even progressives themselves can’t keep up with their own inane demands. And now, more than ever, they’re revealing the full extent of their climate-change hypocrisy.

It’s a tale we’ve heard time and time again, and this latest report is just more of the same. Coral reefs will collapse, coastal cities will flood, and temperatures will become unbearable. Unless, of course, your nation adopts our ever-increasingly radical policy proposals. Only this time around, the proposal has descended from blatant radicalism to complete insanity.

According to the United Nations, countries will have to quintuple their commitments made under the Paris Climate Agreement. Yes, you heard that right. Under the new compact, each nation would have to reconfigure its already unattainable climate-change goals by multiplying them fivefold. Then and only then will the world finally be safe from the unseen calamity of climate change!

Aren’t we tired of this foolishness yet? Keep in mind, this report is coming from the U.N., the same people who, just a few years ago, proclaimed the Paris Climate Accords to be the gold standard for action against global warming. These are the same collectivists that had the gall to criticize President Trump for his decision to withdrawal from the accords — for putting American interests ahead of the United Nations’ progressive agenda. “Abandoning the Paris agreement is cruel to future generations, leaving the world less safe and productive,” decried Andrew Steer, the president of World Resources Institute.

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ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

No Climate Emergency By Viv Forbes

By on December 2nd, 2019

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/12/no_climate_emergency.html

Leaders of the Clintel Group of world scientists and professionals will attend the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) which starts in Madrid today (2 December) and runs for twelve long days. (The Climate Summit was shifted suddenly to Spain after Chile cancelled because of violent riots in Santiago.)

Clintel will present their “No Climate Emergency” petition at the Climate Reality Forum. This petition has already been presented to the UN Secretary General, the European Commission, and the European Parliament.

Voting on a motion promoting a climate emergency declaration (in opposition to the Clintel statement), over one third of the members of the EU Parliament voted for “No Climate Emergency.” This shows there is a significant opposition to alarmism, even in the EU.

The Climate Summit is expected to attract up to 25,000 high-flying delegates and hangers-on from 197 member countries. Most will not arrive using bicycles, sailing boats, or gliders — they will burn hydrocarbons. Desperate to spread their “Climate Emergency” alarmism, delegates will try to force high energy costs and rationing on us while they waste it conspicuously themselves.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

YORK UNIVERSITY IN TORONTO

By on December 2nd, 2019

http://thejewishvoice.com/2019/11/27/intifada-intifada-go-back-to-the-ovens/

The Toronto Sun newspaper reported in its Nov. 22 issue that anti-Israel extremists on the York University campus shouted “Intifada, Intifada, go back to the ovens!” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced the violence stating: “What happened that night was shocking and absolutely unacceptable. Anti-Semitism has no place in Canada. We will always denounce it.” Trudeau clearly saw that there is no difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. He is correct.

These sickening calls to kill Jews happened while Herut Canada was sponsoring a Nov. 20 evening program with “Reservists On Duty” which describes itself as “a non-profit organization established in 2015 by IDF veterans who felt a duty to expose and counter the BDS movement and new forms of anti-Semitism erupting on US college campuses.”

Herut Canada’s student leader, Lauren Isaacs has stated: “These were, in fact, riots. Not peaceful protests.” She goes further and says “the explosiveness of the event at York University is very telling about the culture of Antisemitism and intolerance towards Israel that exists on most university campuses nowadays.”

Lauren Isaacs is right and the U.S. Jewish establishment and its leaders must be forced to stop responding to this challenge in the same business-as-usual way that they have been for the last 10 years. The hatred of Israel on campus is growing unabated and pro-Israel students need better support.

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