In rare admission, Yemen’s Houthis confirm they released Al-Qaeda terrorists

AL-MUKALLA: The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have admitted trading Al-Qaeda prisoners for their own captured fighters. It was a rare admission by the group, which has long denied freeing militants.

It came a day after Rashad Al-Alimi, the chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, accused the Houthis of releasing Al-Qaeda militants, arming them and sending them to attack Yemeni government troops.

Abdulkader Al-Murtada, head of the Houthis’ prisoner exchange committee, said on Sunday that they traded two Al-Qaeda terrorists, purportedly captured on the battlefields of Al-Bayda province, for three of the militia’s fighters.

The previous day, Al-Qaeda said it had exchanged two Houthis for two of its militants, identified by their jihadist names Al-Qaqa Al-Bayhani and Muwahid Al-Baydani, according to SITE Intelligence Group, an American organization that monitors Al-Qaeda statements.

Observers of the conflict in Yemen believe that the Houthis, who usually keep their prisoner exchanges with Al-Qaeda secret, were compelled to acknowledge this one after a third party revealed the details.

Ali Al-Fakih, the editor of Al-Masdar Online, told Arab News that the Houthis attempted to legitimize the exchange by claiming that Al-Qaeda is a belligerent party supporting the Yemeni government.

“This is one of the most secret Houthi files,” said Al-Fakih.

Similar deals have happened previously, he added, but it seems a middleman disclosed information about this latest one. The Houthis therefore reluctantly confirmed the prisoner swap but attempted to make it seem like it was with with a recognized entity that supports “aggression,” he said.

President Al-Alimi, speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, said the Houthis have not only released Al-Qaeda and Daesh prisoners held by Yemeni security agencies on terrorism charges but have armed them and sent them to attack military and security targets in government-controlled areas. He added that the Yemeni government has informed security forces in neighboring countries, and the wider international community, about the Houthi collusion with Al-Qaeda.

“There is known collaboration between Houthi terrorists, Al-Qaeda and Daesh,” Al-Alimi said. “They freed all Daesh and Al-Qaeda inmates and convicts, provided them with weapons and equipment, and sent them to regions controlled by the legitimate government to carry out terrorist operations.”

The Houthi acknowledgment of the prisoner exchange came days after Al-Qaeda in Yemen confirmed the deaths of Hussein Hadboul, also known as Hassan Al-Hadrami, and his brother Muhed in a US drone attack in Yemen’s central Marib province.

The group seemed to be referring to a US drone attack on a vehicle on Jan. 30 that killed three Al-Qaeda terrorists.

Yemeni security officials and terrorist experts identified Hadboul as an Al-Qaeda bomb-maker, responsible for the manufacture of improvised explosive devices that had killed a number of Yemeni security and military personnel.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2254936/middle-east

Food researcher calls for 'queer pedagogy' as part of sustainable development education

“Queer pedagogy, as a form of critical pedagogy, rejects the influence of heteronormative and patriarchal systems and consequently also rejects anthropocentrism,” says Higgins.

In order to effectively educate for sustainable development, it is important to educate in a “queer-informed” way, according to one queer pedagogue who believes that unsustainable development i.e., development that is economically, socially, and environmentally damaging, can be said to be “heteronormative and patriarchal.”

Sustainable development is economic development that focuses on not depleting natural resources. In energy, things like wind and solar power are considered sustainable in outcome, though they are substantially less sustainable in the production of the tools needed to generate, store and transmit that energy.

In a 2021 paper titled "Queer pedagogy for, with and within education for sustainable development," Dr. Keiran Higgins of the School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast, states that “Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a growing movement that seeks to empower learners to face the existential threats of the Anthropocene.”

The anthropocene is defined as being the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment.

“Queer pedagogy, as a form of critical pedagogy, rejects the influence of heteronormative and patriarchal systems and consequently also rejects anthropocentrism,” says Higgins.

Heteronormative is defined as “the positioning of cisgender heterosexuality as the societal default or even ideal.”

Higgins explains that the United Nations adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, designed to guide humanity towards a more measured and equitable environment, society, and economy. The role of education in meeting these goals was recognized by the creation of Education for Sustainable Development, which Higgins argues must be “queered.”

This is because education is apparently “not neutral,” but instead can “ignore, or even detract from sustainable development.” Higgins says his paper “is focused on higher education but many of the contributions can be adapted for use in primary, secondary and further education.”

“It is important to foster queer desires in the classroom,” advises Higgins. “While queer pedagogy does have an element of the (homo)erotic to it, this is not specifically about students’ choice of romantic or sexual partner. Instead, it is about celebrating the diversity of wants and needs among students, particularly when it comes to how they might use the education that pedagogues imbue them with.”

Educators are also told that self-disclosure is an “important tool for fostering queer desires,” and Higgins rejects the traditional teacher training that told teachers to leave their private lives out of the classroom.

A “queer pedagogue rejects this notion, speaking openly about who they are, experiences that they have had and the reasons why they do what they do,” says Higgins. “They use their stories to build rapport with students, inform students about the range of options open to them and follow this up with a referral pathway of opportunities to engage in events, training programmes, clubs, societies and more taking place both inside and outside institutions.”

“If our students are ever to fathom creative and innovative solutions to the existential crisis facing humanity, it is therefore important that they not feel ashamed of the parts of themselves that could bring forth these solutions,” Higgins explains.

“Once students have awareness of their desires, they can begin to think about how to turn these into actions that advance sustainable development,” the advice continues, before going on to explain that testing, grading, and assessment is “straight, literally and figuratively.” Here, the “philosophy of upgrading” is offered as insightful.

“When examining queer pedagogy or indeed, any subject, through a queer lens, one is often left with more questions than answers,” says Higgins in the conclusion, a statement surely no reader would argue with.

https://thepostmillennial.com/food-researcher-calls-for-the-queer-pedagogy-as-part-of-sustainable-development-education

Israel Ministry of Health released its agreement with Pfizer, following a court order. The below two pages contain the “Liability & Indemnity” section.

Essentially it says if you suffer side effects you can g⬛️ f⬛️⬛️⬛️ y⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️ .

https://twitter.com/DrEliDavid/status/1628089996144934923

Nearly 350 arrests made during human trafficking, sex crimes operation in Phoenix area

https://news.yahoo.com/nearly-350-arrests-made-during-190513423.html

48 arrested, 8 minors rescued in San Diego human trafficking bust

https://www.klfy.com/national/48-arrested-8-minors-rescued-in-san-diego-human-trafficking-bust/

28 Children Rescued, 59 Adults Arrested in Massive DFW Child Porn Investigation: Police

Local police and the FBI worked together to rescue 28 children investigators say were sexually abused, exploited online

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/two-dozen-children-rescued-59-arrested-in-massive-child-porn-investigation-police/3197749/

>>18391551

More than 200 arrested in Polk County human trafficking bust

https://www.fox13news.com/news/more-than-200-arrested-in-polk-county-human-trafficking-bust

Chinese Communist Party-linked group called out for 'systemic' failure to comply with foreign influence regulations

A Chinese Communist Party-linked group has become the first body to be forcibly listed under the federal government's Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme, five years after it was introduced.

Key points:

The Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China was issued with a final transparency notice after failing to comply with the requirements of the FITS register

Malcolm Turnbull accused the Attorney-General's Department of lacking enthusiasm to list Chinese-government-connected entities

The Attorney-General's Department said the scheme was achieving its purpose of providing transparency

The Attorney-General's Department revealed the Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China's (ACPPRC) listing as a foreign-government-related entity during a committee hearing as part of a review of the scheme on Tuesday.

The ACPPRC was issued with a final transparency notice on February 6 after failing to comply with the requirements of the scheme's transparency register, known as FITS.

Appearing before the federal parliament's Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS), Simon Newnham, a senior official with the Attorney-General's Department, defended the length of time it took to register the group.

"The notice provides literal transparency that that body is related to a foreign principal. It also provides clarification for persons who may be undertaking activities on behalf of the ACPPRC that those activities may be registrable under the scheme," deputy secretary Newnham said.

"We are working as fast as we can, prioritising the situations where there is a concern about lack of transparency coupled with the highest risk activities.

"Here I would particularly point to where that activity is geared to or focused on a particular decision or a political process or goes to systemic and sustained failure to comply with obligations."

Shadow Minister for Countering Foreign Interference Senator James Paterson has called for a radical shift in the scheme's enforcement, labelling the listing as a case of "closing the gate behind the horse".

"The ACPPRC is a notorious United Front Work Department body of the Chinese Communist Party and has been since before the foreign influence transparency scheme was introduced," Senator Paterson said.

"After almost five years of operation, the fact that the Attorney-General's Department has only this year exercised its powers against them is frankly remarkable," he said.

"Because of its notoriety, the group has since reduced its overt activities and has been supplanted by other UFWD bodies.

"Hopefully, it doesn't take another five years before they are pursued by the department.

"Clearly, there are changes necessary to improve the operation of the law — but the approach the attorney-general takes to enforcement also needs a radical shift."

Scheme's architect questions enforcement

The FITS regime was introduced by then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in December 2017.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-22/china-affiliated-group-called-out-by-aus-for-foreign-influence/102005630