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Weekend 9th March 2024
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- G.W.F. Nov 22, 15:41
Midweek 20th November 2024
Gatwick Airport says terminal reopening after security alert And that is all they are telling us. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c9dlvpjdjznt - MarkyMark Nov 22, 15:17
Midweek 20th November 2024
China’s cheap Iranian oil supply at risk from tighter Trump sanctions https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chinas-cheap-iranian-oil-supply-risk-tighter-trump-sanctions-2024-11-06/ - MarkyMark Nov 22, 15:16
Midweek 20th November 2024
“Did India buy Russian oil to Europe? India’s export of fuels like diesel to the European Union jumped 58% in… - non-licence payer Nov 22, 15:16
Midweek 20th November 2024
The farce is that the Iranians are forced to sell their oil cheaply. The Chinese are only too willing to… - friend of yogi bear Nov 22, 15:11
Midweek 20th November 2024
BIG NEWS….HOLD THE FRONT PAGE….. BBC headline, something , or other about Russian oil going to North Korea ( one… - Fedup2 Nov 22, 15:01
Midweek 20th November 2024
Being mindful that the TTK state is manipulating us regarding the Ukraine / Russia war – I wonder what’s really… - non-licence payer Nov 22, 14:36
Midweek 20th November 2024
It was dull years ago. There would be a press release and then the wheels of government would start to… - MarkyMark Nov 22, 14:27
Midweek 20th November 2024
“Not so long ago, Sweden was in crisis after taking on far more refugees than it was able to handle.… - vlad Nov 22, 14:14
Midweek 20th November 2024
Enrichment exploding all over the place. Send the bill to the Muslim Council and the PLO. - MarkyMark Nov 22, 14:11
Midweek 20th November 2024
“Forcing British citizens to carry compulsory ID papers – they’ll say I’m introducing a police state” Why the UK is…
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Now, remember everyone, the Clinton thing and Biden say Trump is an attack on democracy, remember that:
“Biden Administration consulted Israel expert on how to ‘force the Netanyahu coalition to collapse’ as president accuses the prime minster of ‘hurting Israel more than helping’ and insists Rafah invasion is ‘red line’ that must not be crossed”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13178913/Joe-Biden-remove-Benjamin-Netanyahu-Israel-Gaza-ceasefire-Rafah.html
Any other country that conducts a war after being invaded and not a word said, but…Israel …
From the Telegraph – a tale of just another foreign paedo rapist celebrated by the BBC
STARTS A Syrian refugee who was the subject of “fawning” coverage on the BBC’s Newsnight has been convicted of the rape of a 13-year-old girl.
Omar Badreddin and his brother Mohamed, along with two others, were handed a combined 38.5-year sentence for the rape of a 13-year-old girl abused between August 2018 and April 2019.
The victim said that her attackers “tortured” her and made her life a “living nightmare”. Omar Badreddin raped her on at least seven occasions, and threatened to kill her or take her to another country if she failed to comply.
The Badreddin family were the subject of 2016 documentary “To hell and back: the story of a Syrian family given refuge in the UK”. The show documented the family’s 11-month journey from Syria to Newcastle as part of the Syrian refugee resettlement program.
During the production, the BBC became aware of criminal proceedings against Omar, then aged 18, who was accused of the sexual assault of a 14-year-old-girl.
The trial lasted two weeks, before the request of the defence barristers to throw out the case was accepted. The defence argued that significant translation errors made during police interrogation invalidated the evidence. Omar and the other accused were unable to speak English.
Former Newsnight journalist Katie Razall subsequently interviewed the Badreddin family in the aftermath of the trial.
Badreddin said: “I felt she [the accuser] didn’t want foreigners in this country and that is why she made up the whole story.” Razall did not appear to challenge this, and added: “That, believes Omar Badreddin, was at the heart of the case against them.”
During a voiceover segment, Razall claimed: “The Syrian men in many ways appeared less sexually experienced than the girls they were supposed to have attacked.”
In a follow-up BBC article, Razall said: “The family told me ever since their son’s arrest, they have felt humiliated and dishonoured, even though they were certain their son was innocent. In Syrian culture, this type of accusation is so damaging to their reputation, that even though Omar Badreddin has been cleared, they fear the stigma of it will stick.”
Neil O’Brien MP, a Conservative former minister, said: “The BBC showed remarkably poor editorial judgment in commissioning this fawning documentary, more interested in airing an unchallenged accusation that a 14-year-old girl was a racist who had made up a rape accusation.
“Given that they smeared a young girl as sexually experienced and failed to challenge the racism accusations made by someone who turns out to be a dangerous sexual predator, you would hope there would be a bit more contrition, but I don’t see any signs so far that any lessons are being learned from this shocking, appalling case”.
A BBC spokesman said: “In 2015 and 2016, Newsnight followed the story of the Badreddin family, who were Syrian refugees who had settled in the UK. During 2016, their son Omar was tried for sexual assault and found not guilty. Two years afterwards, in 2018 and 2019, Omar Badreddin and his brother Mohamed committed multiple counts of rape. They were found guilty and were jailed on 1 March 2024.
“The BBC reported this. In any situation, the BBC can only report on the facts as they stand at the time, which is what we did in 2016. The Badreddins’ subsequent crimes are appalling, and we express our sincere sympathies to their victim.”ENDS
I’m sure the BBC up there on the moral high ground will just say ‘it’s a one off ‘…
I can’t think of any other organisation that would be able to brush aside the part they played in it in this. Effectively if considered decisions on these despicable specimens without the media support given had been made at the time, the second emboldened sex attacks would possibly never have happened.
The BBC needs to have a hard think and review the seemingly free license given to its reporters when deciding the tone and actions they are going to take in potentially criminal cases, especially when it could sway the way investigations are subsequently carried out and the attitude of police, jurors and courts etc.
I recall the mirror image of this when they became entangled in the Cliff Richard pile-on.
Katie porn mag will probably get an award from her mates for it
https://x.com/leng_cath/status/1766736591744024675?s=61
The Irish votes that were such a victory against female erasure have been removed from @skynews @itvnews and @BBCNews front pages.
Older and less recently updated stories are there. A different result would have seen ‘Celebrations after..’ headlines and pics.
Room for this tho
There’s what’s newsworthy, and not msm ‘newsworthy’
https://x.com/bbcworld/status/1766749285725401133?s=61
Donatella Versace gets stuck in an elevator in LA
Astoundingly, they followed this up later with breaking news that she is no longer stuck, in said elevator.
More as BBC N. America gets it.
Apparently the outgoing blue labour government is to announce a new cleaner better definition of ‘extremism ‘ to help the Islamic plod to target Right wing people whose existence is not longer acceptable ….
Extremism can never apply to Islam can it ?
By the way – maybe someone at the BBC can define what ‘far right ‘ means ? Because they are more than eager to use the term but not so much of explaining what it means …
Do you feel that our ability to comment freely is disappearing more and more quickly ?
@F2 there is plenty of evidence of this:
“Evidence Is Growing That Free Speech Is Declining
There’s a clear trend against freedom of expression in the world’s democracies.
The global landscape for freedom of expression has faced severe challenges in 2023. Even open democracies have imposed restrictive measures to combat a range of threats including hate speech, disinformation, extremism, and public disturbances.
The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) exemplifies this trend. Following Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the European Commission’s cyber sheriff Thierry Breton sent a flurry of not-so-subtle letters to tech companies such as Meta, Google, TikTok, and X (formerly known as Twitter), inquiring about responses to unspecified hate speech, “terrorist content,” and “disinformation,” threatening significant fines for noncompliance. Breton’s aggressive policing has sparked accusations of overreach and violation of international human rights standards. Despite these developments, many democracies see the DSA as a global blueprint for online regulation and Chile, Costa Rica, and Taiwan are on course to adopt bills inspired by the European prototype.
Meanwhile, the right to protest has been severely curtailed in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. France and Germany have imposed broad bans on pro-Palestinian demonstrations, citing hate speech and public order concerns. Laws against hatred, offense, and insults have also been significantly expanded in many democracies. In England, a woman was pursued and interviewed by police for holding a placard satirically depicting the British prime minister and home secretary as coconuts—a Black, liberal city councilor was previously convicted of racial harassment for using the term. In Ireland, a new hate speech bill is set to criminalize the “material that is likely to incite violence or hatred against a person or a group of persons on account of their protected characteristics… with a view to the material being communicated to the public or a section of the public, whether by himself or herself or another person”. This broad definition and application could criminalize memes or gifs downloaded on mobile phones or laptops”. And the Danish government is reintroducing the crime of blasphemy, virtually unenforced since 1946, outlawing the “improper treatment” of religious texts. Artistic freedom is not immune either, as seen in South Korea, where the National Assembly’s secretariat canceled an exhibition in the parliament building lobby due to its unflattering portrayal of the country’s president.
As documented in a new report by the Future of Free Speech Project, these dramatic erosions of freedom of expression in democracies are not novel or isolated events. They are part of a broader and global free-speech recession that has afflicted open democracies.
The report analyzes free speech trends in 22 open democracies across the globe from 2015 to 2022, a period with pivotal global events including devastating terrorist attacks, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and disinformation campaigns by authoritarian states such as Russia and China.”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/12/04/evidence-is-growing-that-free-speech-is-declining/
Zephir – I think once terms like ‘hate ‘ or ‘cause offence ‘ get woven into the criminal law it allows the State to be very selective about what sort of person gets targeted – I suppose mr Yaxley – Lennon is the best example of this ….
I suppose it won’t be long before IA computers automatically ‘vet’ and delete and words or phrases on the internet which are not ‘acceptable ‘… we might be living in the dying of the light .
Yes, see my comment below
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13178913/Joe-Biden-remove-Benjamin-Netanyahu-Israel-Gaza-ceasefire-Rafah.html
Much as hate appearing to share the same views as the Biden administration, it would appear that they have reached the same conclusion as I did weeks ago and are now seeking to oust Netanyahu from power saying he has done more harm to Israel than good.
To put into context the slaughter in Gaza, more civilians have been killed there in a few short months that have been killed in over two years of Russias “special operation” in Ukraine, and there is a massively higher civilian population in Ukraine.
The reality is that all Biden needs do to topple Netanyahu who has a very very low approval rating, is to withold all financial and miltary support until he resigns.
Personally though I think Netanyahu is such an egomaniac he would rather see Israel overun by its enemies than resign.
And yet aid to Pakistan continues…
“We are concerned about the breakdown of law and order and the significant rise in human rights violations in Pakistan since the fall of the elected government led by former Prime Minister, Imran Khan.
We will hold the establishment and government of Pakistan accountable for violations of Pakistani and international law at the United Nations and other legal and political institutions.
We will provide legal support to individuals including journalists, lawyers and politicians who are subject to rights violations, persecution and intimidation by the current Pakistani government and the establishment.
WE NEED your support for this essential legal work.
About the case
Pakistan has descended into chaos where its citizens have faced arbitrary detention and torture whilst in prison. Allegations have been made that women supportive of Imran Khan will be raped and news agencies have provided credible reports that journalists, protesters and staff of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) are being illegally detained, tortured and killed.
The very many cases of human rights violation include the cases of Pakistani journalists Arshad Sharif and Imran Riaz Khan. Arshad, who fled from Pakistan following threats to his life, was tragically killed in Kenya in strange circumstances according to international media reports. Many suspect that the threats to kill him were actually carried out. Imran Riaz Khan was abducted and incarcerated in May 2023 for reporting on and being critical of the atrocities being committed by Pakistan’s government. He remains in detention.
Reports indicate that the Pakistani government has extended its threats to dual citizens that live abroad and speak out against the atrocities being committed by issuing statements that they will also be targeted.
Pakistan is losing any semblance of being a democracy and rapidly declining into an autocratic state, where the rule of law is repeatedly being abused by the Pakistani authorities. Freedom of expression, assembly and protest have all been dangerously curtailed and restrictions have been placed on the media and access to the internet restricted.
The Constitution of Pakistan has for all purposes been suspended under the current regime.”
https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/human-rights-violations/
Lord Alton of Liverpool Crossbench
To ask His Majesty’s Government what is the current annual level of overseas aid to Pakistan; what is the projected amount allocated for 2025; and how much of this aid is tied to promoting democracy; human rights, the rule of law, the protection of minorities, and development of civil society in Pakistan.
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Hansard source
(Citation: HL Deb, 14 February 2024, cW)
The FCDO’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocation for Pakistan for FY 2023-24 is £41.5 million and for 2024-25 the tentative allocation is £133 million – as shared in the FCDO’s 2022-23 Annual Accounts. We prioritise our aid to achieve maximum impact for the people of Pakistan in-line with our strategic priorities, including promoting the rights of religious minorities, the rule of law and development of civil society. Exact spend for specific sectors is not yet available for 2023-24.
Experts say attacks on free speech are rising across the U.S.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — In Idaho, an art exhibit was censored and teens were told they couldn’t testify in some legislative hearings. In Washington state, a lawmaker proposed a hotline so the government could track offensively biased statements, as well as hate crimes. In Florida, bloggers are fighting a bill that would force them to register with the state if they write posts criticizing public officials.
Meanwhile, bans on books and drag performances are growing increasingly common nationwide.
“We are seeing tremendous attacks on First Amendment freedoms across the country right now, at all levels of government. Censorship is proliferating, and it’s deeply troubling,” said Joe Cohn, legislative and policy director with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
“This year, we’re seeing a wave of bills targeting drag performances, where simply being gender nonconforming is enough to trigger the penalty. We’re also seeing a wave of bills regulating what can be in public or K-12 school libraries,” Cohn said. “On college campuses, we have been tracking data about attempts to get faculty members punished or even fired for speech or expression and the numbers are startling — it’s the highest rate that we’ve seen in our 20 years of existence.”
First Amendment rights had been stable in America for decades, said Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University, but in recent years many states have reverted to the anti-speech tactics employed by people like Sen. Joe McCarthy during the “Red Scare” of the early 1950s.
McCarthy and others tried to silence political opponents by accusing them of being communists or socialists, using fear and public accusations to suppress basic free speech rights. The term “McCarthyism” became synonymous with baseless attacks on free expression, and the U.S. Supreme Court has referred to the phenomena in several First Amendment-related rulings.
“We are seeing a concerted wave that we have not seen in decades,” said Paulson, highlighting states like Florida where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has pushed for legislation that would criminalize drag shows, limit what pronouns teachers can use for students, allow parents to determine what books can be in libraries and block some history classes entirely.
“It’s pretty mind-boggling that so many politicians are waving the flag of freedom while doing anything they possibly can to infringe on the free speech rights of Americans,” Paulson said.”
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/experts-say-attacks-on-free-speech-are-rising-across-the-us
Interesting that the above use the banning in some countries of anti jewish, racist and violent palestinian protests and sexually charged drag shows for kids as examples of suppression of free speech though…
go figure…
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace –
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
[A.A. Milne]
Our ruling Uniparty regime gets ready for a planned smooth transition – scheduled for later this year: Labour party steps up its preparations to govern… All members of Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet are to meet top civil servants (Observer)
Presumably Sue Gray will handle the introductions: How Labour fell in love with Partygate investigator Sue Gray. Keir Starmer’s team is smitten with the career civil servant brought in to professionalize his operation. (Politico)
Sue Gray ‘made Labour staff cry’ in £28bn green pledge U-turn inquiry… following a story that emerged in The Guardian which correctly predicted Labour’s about-turn on its flagship pledge. (Telegraph)
Both wings of the Uniparty decide now’s the time to publicly tack right this weekend: Sunak: I’ll squeeze benefits to cut tax (Sunday Times)
Reeves reveals big business squad… Labour has appointed some of Britain’s most powerful business leaders to drum up billions of pounds in private investment to support the economy and resue the party’s green energy plans (Sunday Times)
Labour government would aim to cut taxes, Rachel Reeves says, after Conservatives slash National Insurance (LBC)
Of course, it’s all bluff
Here’s one for the teenagers…
Call My Bluff was a British panel game show based on the short-lived US version of the same name. It was originally hosted by Robin Ray and later, most notably, by Robert Robinson… The game comprised two teams… who would compete to earn points… The teams took turns to give three definitions, one true and two bluffs (Thank you Wiki)
It is naive to think Labour wouldn’t raise taxes… Starmer has been coy, but the Left’s think tanks betray the party’s thinking (Telegraph)
Kudos where kudos is due… For once, our BBC gets this headline just about right: Labour and Tories accused of silence over cuts… Conservatives and Labour have been accused of a “conspiracy of silence” over the scale of spending cuts or tax rises by an influential think tank… households would be worse off at the election than they were at the start of this parliament…debt as a proportion of the size of the economy was at its highest level in 70 years and “is showing no signs of falling”… “eye-wateringly tough choices” on public service spending to stabilise debt as a fraction of national income. (BBC)
‘Crisis in masculinity’ prompts Labour strategy for men’s health… NHS checks in “men-friendly spaces” such as sports grounds, pubs and workplaces (Telegraph)
Even LibDem peers of colour are apparently tacking right: Baroness Falkner Integration in Britain has failed (Telegraph)
Perhaps our political class have noticed their populations (when asked) would prefer to ‘put the woke away’ : Irish referendums: Voters reject changes to family and care definition… Proposals to alter wording in the constitution to include families which are not based on marriage were defeated with 67.7% voting ‘no… A second proposed change on the wording around the role of women in the home was defeated by a higher margin with 73.9% of voters rejecting it. It was the highest ever no vote percentage in an Irish referendum. (BBC)
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace –
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
Alice is marrying one of the guard.
“A soldier’s life is terrible hard”
US military ship heading to Gaza to build port (BBC)
Ukraine war: Eastern residents brace for Russian advance (BBC)
When the widow of the Russian dissident Alexei Navalny addressed the European Parliament recently, she said something striking. “If you really want to defeat Putin, you have to become an innovator,” Yulia Navalnaya told MEPs. “And you have to stop being boring.” (BBC)
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace –
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
We saw a guard in a sentry-box.
“One of the sergeants looks after their socks”
And finally: The socky horror show… 2m sickos admit not changing socks for a YEAR… Just one in three Brits puts on fresh socks daily. And a staggering number waer the same pair for an entire year. Something has gone horribly pong! (Daily Star)
Time to bring back National Service?
@AsI
I am reminded of another Christopher Robin quote:
““What should happen if you forget about me?” asked Pooh. “Silly old bear, I won’t ever forget about you,” said Christopher Robin.”
“Tory MPs in new plot to oust Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister – and they want Boris to save the Conservatives from a catastrophic defeat”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13177863/Tory-MPs-new-plot-oust-Rishi-Sunak-Prime-Minister-want-Boris-save-Conservatives-catastrophic-defeat.html
“Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And then he feels that perhaps there isn’t. Anyhow here he is at the bottom, and ready to be introduced to you. Winnie-the-Pooh.”
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey won half of the award categories at the Razzies… The slasher film took advantage of the copyright for AA Milne’s classic tale expiring, and reimagined the characters of the Hundred Acre Wood as vicious serial killers (BBC)
If I remember rightly, it was Eeyore who remarked, sadly: “Well, isn’t that just typical of people?”
Yes and for all those horrified by real serial killers, a glance in any bookshop or film catalogue, there ain’t half a lot of them about in fiction…many with wimmin authors…
Asiseeit
The thing about socks reminded me of a BBC documentary about the para training . There was a shower scene ( not that one ) where an NCO was explaining to the camera that a lot of new recruits ( around 17 years ) didnt know how to shower / wash properly and they trained them in the ‘para way ‘
That was probably mid 1980s so i dread to think – as parental existance has diminished- what their state is now …. And im glad i dont commute on the tube any more …
Afghanistan’s singing sisters defying the Taliban from under a burka
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68500111
They’re still at it and the BBC panties are still wet. Though I think they should have got someone who went to school to write them their lyrics:
‘We’ll tear covers, show true colours
break swords and arrows
break chains and jails
we’ll tear that humans mask off the devils face
we’ll break the devil’
No you won’t. That ‘devil’ is the purest form of Islam and it’s treating you how Islam dictates.
And those lyrics sounds a bit violent to me : like swapping one form of extremism with another. Because I’m coming to the conclusion , Islam answers every problem with violence.
But the real reason I feel compelled to comment on this again are these two points:
‘One of the sisters’ latest songs is about female activists who were imprisoned by the Taliban and kept in what Human Rights Watch described as “abusive conditions”.’
The reason these activists are sticking their necks out is because of the BBC are encouraging them with articles like this. Then they get arrested and abused but the BBC don’t care. It’s about feminism. It’s neither here nor there to the BBC that while the Taliban are in power, the only possible result for these ‘singers’ is arrest and a beating.
And then we get:
“The situation is very disappointing in Afghanistan right now because we have lost decades of progress,” Sonita says. “But in this darkness there’s a light still burning. We see individuals fighting with their own talent.”
Now would be the time for the BBC to recap how this happened. Something along the lines of:
‘The Taliban quickly retook control of the country along with a large amount of military equipment after President Joe Biden ignored military advice and accelerated the withdrawal of American forces for political point scoring at home.’
Like they do for everything else. I wonder why they don’t for this one ….
“This is Yezidi region which was destroyed by lSlS terrorists after committing Genocide by killing 10,000 men for refusing to convert to lsIam and kidnapping 7000 women.
No one talks about Yezidi Genocide!”
Someone is taking good care the road.
Over a period of three years, Islamic State militants trafficked thousands of Yazidi women and girls and killed thousands of Yazidi men; the United Nations reported that the Islamic State killed about 5,000 Yazidis and trafficked about 10,800 Yazidi women and girls in a “forced conversion campaign” throughout Iraq.
I’m betting they don’t have a local council in charge of it. At least, not a British one.
159 bloody mile range ?
And not even considering what happens when you conk out on a “smart” motorway with no hard shoulder and the cameras not even monitored, with a drunk polish lorry driver behind you watching a dvd on his dashboard
….whilst drunk and frying sausages.
Lying is fine in todays liberal society as long as it’s in favour of the leftist agenda. They don’t care one bit how it affects the public : they are just scum who need to be taught to vote for the right (or should I say Left) person.
As I keep saying : it’s only wrong when the people they don’t agree with do it.
Maybe it could be called Libyya?
The utter fantasy promulgated by know-nothing fan boys about electric school buses in the US North East is epic…
The mindbogglingly dumb-ass claims are coming from virtue signalling fractional wits who seem to think you don’t have to charge (and cosset) batteries, they don’t wear out and they work flawlessly in all climate conditions.
Actual experience (AKA reality) suggests otherwise.
In case there was any doubt about EV batteries. The have limited life, toxic and cannot be easily recycled and are not cost effective, (nor will ever be). I wrote a paper on it with the arguments put by the green lobby are damaging the planet… and will be a future pollutant.
https://problems-with-ev-batteries.tiiny.site/
Yes and the lib dems and labour mob wanted lockdowns and unlimited furlough payments to continue far beyond
Where are you London muzzies, with your placards and screaming and shouting ?
“Germany/Iraq: World’s first judgment on crime of genocide against the Yazidis
In the world’s first criminal trial addressing genocide against the Yazidis, today the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt, Germany, convicted Taha Al J. for genocide and crimes against humanity. This is the first time a former member of the armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS) has been convicted of genocide.
On August 3, 2014, the IS launched an offensive against the Sinjar region of northern Iraq and carried out large-scale massacres against the civilian population. This involved mass killings, sexual violence, torture and enslavement. Over 5,000 people were killed and over 400,000 people were displaced from their homes. To date, more than 2,800 Yazidi women and children are still held captive by the IS or remain missing.
The defendant Taha Al J. was convicted of genocide for purchasing a Yazidi woman and her five-year-old daughter as slaves in 2015. The Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt held that Taha Al J. – as a member of IS – intended to eliminate the religious minority of the Yazidis by purchasing the two Yazidi women and enslaving them. The defendant punished the Yazidi girl by cuffing her to a window in the scorching heat, unprotected from the sun and letting her die in front of her mother. Taha Al J. was therefore found guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
“Today’s historic verdict confirms for the first time in a courtroom that the acts of the Islamic State against the Yazidi religious community in northern Iraq amount to the crime of genocide. Survivors who participated in the case underlined in harrowing detail the systematic nature of the targeted extermination of Yazidis in Iraq,” Meike Olszak, Expert in International Criminal law at Amnesty International in Germany.
“Seven years after the genocide, it was time to move forward in the fight against impunity for crimes against Yazidis and bring justice to the victims!” said Pari Ibrahim, a Yazidi activist, “But the verdict can only be a beginning, further proceedings must follow in order to bring to light the truth about the serious crimes against my religious community”.”
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/11/germany-iraq-worlds-first-judgment-on-crime-of-genocide-against-the-yazidis/
The trial was remarkable in several respects. It is also the first trial based on the principle of universal jurisdiction addressing crimes under international law that were committed abroad, by a perpetrator who is not a German citizen and who was only extradited to Germany on the basis of an international arrest warrant.
“The process in Frankfurt is an important step. But further trials are needed, particularly into gender-based violence such as mass rapes, forced marriages and other forms of sexualized violence”, said Alexander Schwarz, Amnesty International Germany, International Law Expert.
The trial of Taha Al J. in Frankfurt began in April 2020. The German International Criminal Law coordination group was monitoring the proceedings before the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt from the very beginning.
ISIS genocide of Yezidis and Christians
Overview
In the summer months of 2014, the Yezidi and Christian communities of Nineveh and Shingal (Sinjar) – as well as a host of other civilians belonging to diverse religious and ethnic components of Iraq – came under siege when the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sh’am (ISIS) advanced into the province. Under threat of death, enslavement, and forced conversion, hundreds of thousands abandoned their homes. It is thought that in a matter of a few days, nearly 10,000 Yezidis were killed. Thousands of women and girls were abducted and enslaved. Violence consumed the area, from the large city of Mosul to the small Yezidi villages surrounding Shingal, where ISIS made clear its genocidal intentions.
A report conducted in September 2015 by the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, details the systematic murder and abduction perpetrated by ISIS against the Yezidi people of Shingal, and concluding that committed genocide. The report also asserts that Islamic State’s persecution of Assyrian Christians, Sabaean-Mandaeans, Shabak Muslims, Turkmen and Kaka’i amounts to religious and ethnic cleansing. The United States, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and other governments and international bodies have found ISIS crimes to fit the legal definitions of genocide.
These events and the resulting refugee crisis have had a staggering effect on the Kurdistan Region. By the end of the 2014, the UN reported that Kurdistan was harboring more than one million refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Today, this number is nearly two million. As more territory is liberated from ISIS, the KRG is committed to working with survivors, documenting IS’s atrocities, and aiding the thousands still held captive.
Yezidi Genocide
Mount Shingal Siege
After capturing Mosul in June 2014, ISIS next unleashed its violence against the Yezidi communities surrounding Mount Shingal in the first days of August 2014. To ISIS, the Yezidi are considered apostates for their religious traditions; as such, ISIS fighters were enjoined to capture or massacre them. According to the Simon-Skjodt Center report, more than 200,000 Yezidis fled their towns as ISIS descended onto their communities. Some were able to flee into the Kurdistan Region, Syria and Turkey, but as many as 50,000 fleeing Yezidis were trapped on Mount Shingal, under pursuit by ISIS.
On August 7, 2014, US President Barack Obama authorized airstrikes against ISIS in Shingal to avert an all-out massacre. Shortly afterward, US planes dropped food and water to the tens of thousands trapped on the mountain. With the help of US airstrikes, Kurdish forces were able to clear an escape route. Nonetheless, accounts suggest that hundreds of Yezidis died of hunger, thirst, and exhaustion during the siege. Kurdish forces later liberated Shingal in November 2015.
Massacres in Kocho, Qiniyeh, and elsewhere in Shingal
While many Yezidis had been able to flee IS’s advance to the relative safety of Mount Shingal, others were trapped in their villages when the group attacked. Both an Amnesty International report released in late 2014 and the Simon-Skjodt Center report detail the systematic murder and abduction of Yezidis in the the towns of Kocho, Qiniyeh, and throughout the Shingal district.
In Kocho, more than a thousand Yezidis were gathered and stripped of valuables. They were at first divided into two groups: men, and women and children. Survivors describe how the men were taken to mass grave sites, where ISIS filmed them before opening fire. Meanwhile, young women and mothers with children were separated from elderly women, and were then abducted. Approximately 400 men were killed; hundreds of women were abducted and enslaved.
Survivors of the massacre in Qiniyeh recount the same process. According to the Amnesty report, men and boys over 12 were separated from women, before ISIS took them to ditches on the outskirts of town. When the shooting began, a few young men survived by pretending that they had been killed, and later escaped. Women were abducted as sex slaves for ISIS fighters, and were forced to convert to Islam.
Though the massacres in Kocho and Qiniyeh are the largest known, the genocidal methods of Islamic State were by no means limited to these villages. 35 mass graves have reportedly been identified as of February 2016. Seven have been identified by the KRG, which has begun new efforts to document crimes of genocide. The Simon-Skjodt Center reports that 1,562 Yezidis were killed in this period either by ISIS directly, or as a result of the conditions on Mount Shingal.
Yezidi women and girls enslaved
A central tactic in ISIS’s devastation has been its abduction and enslavement of Yezidi women. Women were often separated from men during ISIS mass killings, and were taken to unknown locations. As more of the captured women and girls have escaped or been rescued, ISIS’s horrific program of sexual violence and slavery has come to light. Those that have been rescued are severely traumatized.
A UN investigation into ISIS’s crimes covering June 2014 to February 2015 includes multiple firsthand accounts from Yezidi women and girls describing slavery, abuse, and rape by ISIS fighters. Survivors describe elaborate and systematic slave exchanges, through which enslaved Yezidi women were sold, often several times, and repeatedly raped, beaten, threatened and violently coerced. The UN has suggested that ISIS intended and intends to use this sexual violence as a means of genocide. Today nearly 4,000 Yezidis are still unaccounted for, around 3,000 of them women. In a November 2015 statement after the liberation of Shingal, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani emphasized that the KRG “will not rest … until we rescue all Yezidi women and girls from ISIS.”
Religious and Ethnic Cleansing
While the Yezidis were most imperiled by ISIS, the jihadists also targeted Assyrian Christians, Sabaean-Mandaeans, Shabak Muslims, Turkmen and Kaka’i. Ancient religious sites belonging to these groups were also targeted.
Persecution of Christians
IS has imposed forced displacement, property theft and destruction of holy sites on Iraq’s ancient Christian community. The UN estimates that around 200,000 Christians fled their towns in Nineveh when ISIS attacked in June 2014, knowing that they would be forced to pay a tax to ISIS, convert to Islam, or flee. Nearly 50,000 of these Christians were reportedly refugees from Mosul, where ISIS seized their homes. Many others were from Qaraqosh, which before the ISIS attacked harbored a fourth of Iraq’s Christian community. Today, the KRG reports that nearly all of Iraq’s Christians have taken refuge in the Kurdistan Region.
Persecution of Shia, Turkmen, Shabak, and other minorities
After capturing Mosul in June 2014, ISIS immediately began targeting Shia Muslims, massacring 600 Shia prisoners in Mosul’s Badush prison. A few family members report that a number of their Shia relatives were taken by ISIS who were unable to flee the onslaught; IS fighters at checkpoints and roadblocks are known to ask whether the travelers are Sunni or Shia. Several sources indicate that ISIS has also targeted not just Turkmen and Shabak individuals, but has focused on persecuting and occasionally executing leaders of these communities throughout Nineveh. The elderly, children, and women in these communities have also been targeted and killed, such as in Bashir, near Kirkuk, in mid-June 2014.
In June 2014, ISIS laid siege to Amerli, a majority Shia Turkmen village. When shelling was unsuccessful, the UN reports that ISIS cut off basic services to the city such as electricity, clean water, food, and medicine. 15,000 people are estimated to have suffered as a result of the contaminated water and medicine shortages.
https://us.gov.krd/en/issues/isis-genocide-of-yezidis-and-christians/
The true face of Islam.
The good news is she will ultimately be defeated.
I read this on the BBC and the ‘summary’ seemed very hard to fathom. It was like they didn’t want me to know what it meant.
I eventually concluded it was a big smack in the face for the ‘progressive’ Leftist agenda.
The overall calibre of Irish politicians is simply pitifully low and headed south…
– that coincides with an increase in their arrogance and presumption.
It’s not going to end well at all, atall
Dat’s der truth an’ fair play to ya
Hundreds of women and children kidnapped by Islamists in Nigeria, who will no doubt do unspeakable things to the girls.
A few things worth noting:
1) The racist BBC doesn’t care, and shoves the story way down in their ‘Africa’ section. Hey, it’s only black on black violence, what do you expect and who cares?
2) The victims are Christian and the Marxists at the BBC hate Christianity – opium of the people and all that.
3) Absolutely no mention of the words Islam/ Islamic/ Islamist in their report. Doesn’t fit the narrative.
4) Maybe I missed it, but I don’t see worldwide demonstrations, nor marches in Westminster, nor debates in Parliament, nor denunciations by the muslim community. Too busy terrorising Jews, I guess.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68521015
Yes and if I hear one more time , the Spring thing whining about online hate and hurtey comments after she and her ilk do their level best to hide these muslim nazi style genocides supported by her muzzie colleagues…
Presenters read stuff that was in the Guardian.
Labout PR folk provide articles for the Guardian
#PRasNews
“Angela ‘two homes’ Rayner is branded a ‘f***ing liar’ by ex-neighbour for insisting she lived apart from her husband for the first five years of her marriage – enabling her to avoid paying capital gains tax
Ms Rayner denies any wrongdoing as Vicarage Road was ‘the only home I owned’
Neighbour said the Labour MP lived in Lowndes Lane for ‘six or seven years'”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13179235/Angela-Rayner-branded-liar-ex-neighbour.html
Can’t really see HMRC going after the soon to be deputy PM … although if starmer wants to get rid of the liability this might be the chance – otherwise she is gonna be the equivalent to the US VP carmela …
Can’t see Gestapo Manchester Police going after her either with Burnham in charge of them.
One comment:
“If this was Boris, the hunt would be on led by some witchfinder general like the bbc. But it’s a leftie this time, so it’s all quiet on the Eastern front.”
I wonder whatever happened to plod ?
It is probably the case that this comedy sketch was filmed for April 1st but has been released early in error.
If this is not the case, the two ‘officers’ should be sacked immediately for bringing the force into disrepute and their pensions cancelled.
Boss: How can an idiot be a policeman, answer me that?
Clouseau: Simple all he has to do is enlist.
@tomo – It does sound like Andrew Lawrence’s Sergeant Cuntstable Peter Pisspot, doesn’t it?
It’s getting increasingly difficult to tell satire from reality.
Here’s a recent offering by the inimitable Sergeant Cuntstable of Twat Valley Police.
It’s no longer ‘Ello, ‘ello, ‘ello. Now it’s Salam alaykum.
Imagine a hybrid with Not The Nine O’Clock News’ Constable Savage?
‘Oh Peter Tatchell asked us to apologise for past discrimination to gays, so we are’
Nice to know where Scottish AND English tax money is going when there is a muslim in charge:
“Humza Yousaf sparks ‘conflict of interest’ row after SNP leader makes £250k Gaza donation
The SNP leader is facing criticism after the Scottish government donated £250,000 to Gaza, while his in-laws were trapped there in the aftermath of Hamas terrorists’ October 7 attack.”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1875514/humza-yousaf-snp-gaza-unrwa-donation
Officials recommended a £100,000 to £200,000 donation to UNICEF, the United Nations agency providing humanitarian care to children in Gaza. But the First Minister overruled them, instead giving £250,000 to UNRWA, the biggest international aid agency operating in Gaza.
Yousaf told officials that since he was about to meet with UNRWA: “We should just announce an extra £250k to them”.
According to Israel, between 4 and 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the attacks, and are accused of participating in various capacities, ranging from roles in logistics and weapons procurement to hostage taking and direct participation in the attacks.[2][3][4] Israel alleges that around ten percent of the UNRWA’s 13,000 employees in the Gaza Strip have connections to Islamist militant groups, primarily Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and that 190 UNRWA employees were militants.[5] In March 2024, Israel alleged that four additional UNRWA officials were involved in the attacks, alongside 400 personnel.[6]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNRWA_October_7_controversy
Hate speech again, but like battery acid Brand, will go unpunished:
“Michael Portillo delivered a simple slap down of Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary after the Brexit-hating multi-millionaire voiced delight in Brexiteers “dying out”.
In an offensive interview with the Sunday Times, the Irish CEO said he is hopeful about the future as the over-70s who voted for Brexit will “die out in the next 10 or 15 years”, describing the heartless claim as a “good thing”.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1875775/Michael-Portillo-Ryanair-Brexit
The scum know no limit….
“Fury as pro-Palestine mob stages huge protest outside Amsterdam’s National Holocaust Museum to remember ‘humanity’s darkest hour’ the same day it is opened”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13179471/Pro-Palestine-activists-stage-huge-protest-outside-Amsterdams-National-Holocaust-Museum.html
Once again, the police arrest the wrong man…
As I told you yesterday though, don’t trust this guy, asylum seekers are always trying to get themselves in trouble with the Police in order to strengthen an asylum case.
Look at what I did how can I go back to (Iran in this case) after I opposed Hamas, but it’s all a part of the taqqieh, the lie for a purpose. So on Sunday he’s at church pretending to be a Christian and on Friday he’s back at the Mosque and he will probably be there much more often in Ramadan too.
Noting your never ceasing ability to find yourself vindicated, the facts of the matter remain pretty clear. Which is more than the purpose of your post.
ouch!
Compo!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68529159
surprise !!!
cause or cure I wonder?
I wonder if the traitors in UK Home Office are bold enough to do a “reverse Rwanda” flight scheme like Biden-Obama crew are so obviously doing stateside – Ireland is doing it too ….