We've been talking about it for years, and now it's finally being dug!
[AlAhram] The Egyptian army is digging a trench in northern Sinai along the border with Gazoo in an effort to prevent smuggling, security sources said on Monday, as the government steps up activities to prevent myrmidon attacks that often target security forces.
Egypt had already doubled to one kilometre (0.62 mile) the depth of a security buffer zone on its border with the Gazoo Strip after some of the worst anti-state violence since President Mohammed Morsi was ousted following mass protests against his rule in 2013.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi has described Islamist myrmidon groups as an existential threat to Egypt, the most populous Arab country.
The trench would help detect more tunnels used in the smuggling trade, which Egyptian authorities see as a threat. Once the trench is dug, no vehicle or person will be able to pass except through the trench.
Security sources said passages had been made for vehicles and for pedestrians. They said the U-shaped trench is two kilometres away from the border and will have a depth of 20 metres and a width of 10 metres.
Egypt has kept its Rafah closing with Gazoo largely shut since 2013 but has recently opened it for a few days. The Sinai Peninsula is a strategic region that borders Israel, Gazoo and the Suez Canal.
Cairo has accused Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, of helping Death Eaters in Egypt's Sinai desert, which borders Gazoo, to attack its security forces. Hamas denies this.
But an Egyptian court earlier this month canceled a previous ruling labelling Hamas a terrorist group, a decision that was praised by Paleostinian Islamists.
Some residents criticised the trench, saying it had choked traffic and had caused the destruction of vegetation, which many farmers in the area depend on.
[AnNahar] Egypt has taken delivery of two more U.S. fast missile boats to boost its ability in ensuring "regional security and countering terrorism," the American embassy in Cairo said on Monday.
Ties with the United States plummeted after Egypt's army ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July 2013, with Washington freezing its annual $1.3 billion in military aid.
At the end of March Washington unfroze its military assistance but continued to denounce rights violations in Egypt and the repression of Islamists.
The two Fast Missile Craft reached the Mediterranean city of Alexandria on June 17, doubling Egypt's fleet of such vessels to four, a U.S. embassy statement said.
The four ships, worth $1.1 billion, will contribute significantly towards "ensuring regional security, countering terrorism, and protecting global commerce," the statement added.
"The Fast Missile Craft directly supports maritime and regional security, which includes protecting vital waterways such as the Suez Canal and the Red Sea," said Major General Charles Hooper, a senior defense official at the American embassy. "This delivery is a sign of America's ongoing commitment to Egypt and to our shared security interests in Egypt and the region."
[AnNahar] European police agency Europol said Monday it was launching a continent-wide cybercrime unit to combat social media accounts promoting jihadist propaganda, particularly those of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (IS) group.
The unit, set to start operating from Europol's Hague-based headquarters next month, will comb tens of thousands of social media accounts connected with IS and report them to the companies behind the websites, Europol chief Rob Wainwright said.
He declined to name Facebook and Twitter "for privacy reasons," but said: "These are the leading social media companies. There's only three or four, so that's who we are talking about."
The team "will focus on publicly-available material and combine what we see on social media with more traditional intelligence sources," Wainwright told AFP in a telephone interview.
Initially consisting of some 15 to 20 members, the cyber squad will focus on key figures who put out thousands of tweets and run accounts used to lure would-be jihadists to Iraq and Syria, as well as to recruit jihadists' brides.
A recent U.S. study identified at least 46,000 Twitter accounts linked to supporters of the IS group, three-quarters of them tweeting in Arabic.
Since the IS group called on Moslems to come to the caliphate it declared a year ago, foreign fighter numbers have jumped, with the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... reporting a 71 percent spike in the nine months to April.
The International Center for the Study of Radicalization in London said the number of foreigners fighting in Syria and Iraq topped 20,000 by January -- with nearly a fifth of them from western Europe.
"The IS is the most well-connected terrorist organization that we've seen online," Wainwright pointed out.
"They are manipulating the Internet and social media, which has become a cornerstone in the lives of many young people," he said.
Europol will draw on a decade of experience in monitoring turban websites and well as "deep knowledge of turban content and good linguistic capabilities including our knowledge of Arabic," to combat the problem.
Wainwright said once an turban account had been detected, the companies would be informed and it would be taken down in "a matter of a few hours."
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#1
Data mining social media?
I thought every graduate student was already doing that?
[AnNahar] The financial assets of one of Syria's wealthiest men -- a cousin of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... -- will remain frozen in Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... , the Swiss Federal Administrative Court said in a statement.
The court rejected an appeal by billionaire Rami Makhlouf to reverse a federal decision blocking an undisclosed amount of money in his Swiss accounts -- which the government says helps "finance" and "support" Assad's violent regime.
Makhlouf owns 40 percent of Syria's largest mobile provider, Syriatel, and his assets in the Swiss affiliate of the British HSBC bank are estimated at around $30 million.
In an effort to clean up his image after he was vilified by opponents of Assad's rule, Makhlouf presented himself as the principle donor to a foundation for orphans and widows, and said he wanted to separate from the Syriatel group.
But Swiss authorities say his contribution to this foundation does not prove he has distanced himself from his cousin's reign of terror.
"The defendant has a personal and direct interest in maintaining the current regime if he wants to keep his status and his way of life," the court said.
This is not the first time that Makhlouf and his family have faced problems in Switzerland. In 2013, the court refused an entry visa application from his brother Hafez Makhlouf, head of the Syrian secret service.
[Rudaw] Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... fighters who fled Syria into neighboring The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... after Tal Abyad was recaptured by Kurdish and opposition forces last week, say they are willing to return to their communities if offered amnesty.
A group of former ISIS recruits who now reside in the Turkish border town of Urfa told Rudaw they fled Syria in hope of going back to their families.
"I've no idea where to go," a 24-year-old former recruit from the Kurdistan region said without saying his name.
"They will imprison me if I go back to Kurdistan and if I return to Daesh I could be executed for treason," the young man said, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.
He said when ISIS withdrew from Tal Abyad, he and many of his fellow jihadists took the chance and left the area disguised as refugees with the rest of the inhabitants.
Rudaw met a number of young men, most of them in their early 20s, in a local hotel in Urfa some 30 km from the Syrian border where thousands of refugees have already fled the recent festivities in Tal Abyad.
Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and the opposition Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... recaptured Tal Abyad, known as Gire Sipi to Kurds, last week after a week-long siege of the ethnically mixed town.
"I've come here to find my brother and take him back to Germany," said a German national who had travelled to Turkey only to find out his brother was captured by YPG fighters.
"I saw my brother handcuffed on YouTube in YPG custody," the man said, adding his young brother wanted to leave ISIS long before Tal Abyad offensive.
"I can show them his many e-mails in which he clearly expresses that he wants to come back home to Germany if he's not charged," he said, adding that he is now hoping the YPG would release his brother.
According to a European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... 's estimate, some 10,000 imported muscle have joined ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Most countries have ruled out amnesty for their citizens who seek to quit foreign bad boy groups in return for going home.
"If you go abroad to join a terrorist group and you seek to come back to Australia, you will be tossed in the clink Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! . You will be prosecuted and incarcerated Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! ," Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said last week, denying reports that his government was negotiating with potential defectors.
Kurdish authorities have warned they will prosecute anyone who has joined ISIS regardless of the degree of their complicity with the group.
Rudaw also met young men in Urfa who said they had no regrets for fighting with ISIS. They said they left Syria because of the severe festivities in Tal Abyad, but would return soon.
"They told me to fight in Tal Abyad. But the fight was too heavy, so I came here as a refugee and will be back again soon," a young man from djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... said.
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[Rudaw] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... has reacted angrily at Kurdish forces evicting the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS/ISIL) group from the ethnically Kurdish Syrian town of Gire Sipi (Tal Abyad), saying Ankara will not tolerate demographic changes in the war-torn country.
The Hurriyet Daily reported Monday that Ankara had warned "it will not allow the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which has links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and which captured the border town Tal Abyad from ISIL last week, to cross Turkey's red lines in Syria."
Are these Obama-style red lines or real red lines?
"The PYD has been informed at the highest level about Turkey's conditions," the newspaper quoted a foreign ministry document as saying. "It has been told not to collaborate with the Bashir al-Assad regime and not violate Syria's territorial integrity," said the document, which Hurriyet reported had been approved by the Turkish president, prime minister and armed forces.
"The demographic structure of the region cannot be changed through a fait accompli," Ankara warned, referring to the liberation of Tal Abyad and the autonomy declared by the PYD over Syria's Kurdish regions.
It accused the PYD of forcing out Turkmens and Arabs in the region and replacing them with Kurds, and warned that Ankara had conveyed its objections to the United States, the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... and the UN Security Council.
One week ago, the PYD's armed wing, together with Arab allies, took full control of Gire Sipi, which lies on the Turkish border. The victory cut off a vital supply line to ISIS' self-proclaimed capital, Raqqa.
Since then, Turkey's pro-government media have upped a media campaign that accuses PYD of being "more dangerous" than ISIS.
Meanwhile, ...back at the desert island, Bert was realizing to his horror that he'd had only one bottle for one message, and he'd forgotten to include a return address... in an interview with CNN Turk aired on Sunday, PYD leader Salih Moslemstrongly denied No, no! Certainly not! accusations of "ethnic cleansing" against Turkmens and Arabs or capturing Gire Sipi with the intention of opening a "Kurdish corridor" in Syria.
[NATION.PK] Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday cited instability among neighbouring states to urge political parties to form a coalition government quickly, or face the prospect of holding another election.
"Surrounded by a veritable ring of fire, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... must be strong to avoid harm and help its brothers, so we must quickly complete the post-election period," he said.
Turkey hosts nearly 2 million refugees who have fled the war in neighbouring Syria.
Erdogan has been an outspoken critic of his Syria's Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Horror of Homs... and is also worried about recent gains by Syrian Kurds along the Turkish border.
The AK Party (AKP) that Erdogan founded and led until he became president last year lost its parliamentary majority in a June 7 election, ending more than a decade of single-party rule and curbing his ambitions to create a more powerful presidency.
AKP officials have privately said Erdogan may view a snap election as the best hope for the AKP to win back a majority and help him realise his vision for the presidency.
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[THEGUARDIAN] The Washington correspondent of a major Turkish newspaper has said he is under investigation for libel and allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... in what may be The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's latest crackdown on media coverage critical of the authorities.
Tolga Tanis, a Washington-based news hound with the Hurriyet newspaper, said on Sunday he faced an investigation by the Istanbul chief prosecutor's office after Erdogan's lawyer filed a petition accusing him of libel and attempting to undermine the president's reputation in his book Potus and the Gentleman.
Published in March, the book examines relations between Washington and Ankara with a focus on President Barack Obama They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them... -- "Potus" is an acronym for "president of the United States" -- and Erdogan, sometimes called "the Gentleman" by supporters.
"I am critical of both Erdogan and Obama on several issues," Tanis said. "Though I don't think that Obama is considering suing me for this book."
Rooters was unable to reach the prosecutor's office or Erdogan's lawyer for comment.
In what opponents see as part of a campaign to muzzle dissent, Erdogan has repeatedly berated news outlets including the New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... and Hurriyet, while a prosecutor last month sought to shut two television stations seen as opposed to the government on terrorism-related charges.
Erdogan rejects the notion that Turkey, which languishes near the bottom of international press freedom tables, has anything but a free media, declaring in January that Turkish journalists were freer than any in Europe.
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#1
"Though I don't think that Obama is considering suing me for this book."
Don't bet on it, Tolga. Also, keep an eye on the IRS and the DoJ....oh and the EPA too.
[DAWN] Though authorities have identified over 40 seminaries in Sindh with alleged links to terror groups, no legal action has yet been initiated against them, it emerged on Sunday.
Informed sources told Dawn that at a recent meeting on the law and order situation, which was chaired by Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, it was revealed that there were at least 46 madrassahs (seminaries) in Sindh with reported 'leanings towards terrorism'.
This claim was based on reports submitted to the provincial government by a military-led intelligence agency and civilian federal agency.
Of the 46 seminaries, 24 were located in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , 12 in Hyderabad, four in Larkana and six in Sukkur, according to official documents reviewed by Dawn.
However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... the official papers contained the names of only two seminaries in Karachi that have links with the banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all...
organizations Jundullah and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain, and were located in the areas of Sohrab Goth and Manghopir. Officials claimed that they had "tangible evidence" about those seminaries having links with terror organizations.
Sindh home secretary Mukhtar Hussain Soomro, in his briefing at the meeting revealed that there were a total of 9,590 seminaries in Sindh with 517,695 students, including foreigners.
Of them only 6,503 were registered and 3,087 were unregistered.
Inspector General (IG) of Sindh police Ghulam Hyder Jamali in his briefing stated that a total of 167 unregistered seminaries had been sealed off in Sindh so far.
Out of them, 139 were located in Hyderabad division while 28 in Shaheed Benazirabad.
The IG also pointed out that the police were trying to implement other components of the National Action Plan (NAP). He revealed that so far, over 260 people had been tossed in the clink ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... on charges of violation of the law regarding loudspeakers and 601 cases had been registered against them. Similarly, the provincial police chief stated that over 28 persons had been arrested on charges of spreading hate material and 22 cases had been registered.
The home secretary stated that under NAP and subsequent decisions taken at apex committee meetings, the provinces were supposed to strengthen legislation on hate speech, murderous Moslem materials and use of loudspeakers.
It was stated that hate speech and murderous Moslem material consisting of videos, audios and printed material shall be checked and confiscated at every level. For this purpose, regularisation and monitoring of printers and publishers should also be done besides monitoring the use of SMS, e-mails, websites and social media.
As for activities of banned outfits, the meeting was informed that the Sindh government had written to the federal ministry of interior, asking it for a list of banned religious outfits re-emerging under changed nomenclature so that such organizations should not be allowed to hold public gatherings.
About the decision of discouraging media interviews of members or leaders of such proscribed organizations, the meeting was informed that the executive committee concerned had directed the secretary for information to convene a meeting with the owners of electronic and print media 'to curb hate speeches and materials.'
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[DAWN] PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari said here on Sunday that 'all killers' of Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... , except retired Gen Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... , had died.
Addressing a ceremony held in Naudero to mark the 62nd birth anniversary of Benazir Bhutto, the former president said the slain PPP chairperson had herself lodged an FIR against the former military ruler.
Mr Zardari said emphatically that the PPP would never yield to any pressure to withdraw the FIR. This was the key issue, he said, adding that a UN commission had been formed to investigate the liquidation of Benazir Bhutto.
He said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto ...9th PM of Pakistain from 1973 to 1977, and 4th President of Pakistain from 1971 to 1973. He was the founder of the Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP). His eldest daughter, Benazir Bhutto, would also serve as hereditary PM. In a coup led by General Zia-ul-Haq, Bhutto was removed from office and was executed in 1979 for authorizing the murder of a political opponent... had given nuclear technology and Benazir Bhutto missile technology to the country. When the PPP came to power, $500 million was spent for development of Gwadar port and construction of a road.
"Don't worry I will be here with you under all circumstances. We and the party will be here with the support of my children and strength of people and workers. Wherever we go, we are recognised as people from Bhutto's Larkana and it's our identity," he said.
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[DAWN] The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly on Monday expressed serious reservations over the increasing number of executions of Paks in foreign countries.
During a meeting at the Parliament House, the committee recommended the Foreign Office (FO) to ensure the right to fair trial for all Pak citizens facing legal proceedings in overseas courts of law.
The committee asked the foreign ministry to provide assistance to under-trial Paks in finding lawyers, translators (if required) and guidance on foreign legal systems. The due course of law must be followed before any Pak citizen is convicted anywhere in the world, the committee noted.
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[NATION.PK] Lawyers observed a 'black day' today against the Daska tragedy on the appeal of the Pakistain Bar Council. The lawyers hoisted black flags on the building of the bar room and wore black arm-bands to observe the black day. The lawyers said that they will continue to observe black day every Monday till justice is served.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the space pirate fleet to attack Zemblonia... the lawyers announced withdrawing their call for boycott of court proceedings.
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[NATION.PK] After playing "neutral" for some time, Pakistain is once again under pressure to decide whether it can "afford" to remain impartial in the Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... -Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... conflict, diplomatic sources said.
"The Saudis have been asking Islamabad to consider if Pakistain can afford to be neutral.
With the fresh wave of Saudi strikes on Yemen, the message from Riyadh is - are you coming or not?" a senior diplomat, associated with the two countries' communication, told The Nation.
"With the failure of peace talks (with the Houthis), Saudi Arabia is strongly seeking practical participation by Pakistain in the war," he said.
On Thursday, President Mamnoon Hussain met King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Cutodian of the Two Holy Mosquesand Lord of Most of the Arabians.... Bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud in Jeddah and discussed "bilateral relations, regional situation and matters of mutual interest".
An official statement said, Mamnoon, a rather feeble man on a ceremonial post, told the King that the people and the government of Pakistain have "warm feelings for the brotherly people of Saudi Arabia and hold the Custodian of two Holy Mosques in high esteem".
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... , who along with country's army top brass practically holds the real power, too has been repeating such statements and has also vowed to stand with Saudi Arabia in the time of need.
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[Rudaw] Eighty female volunteers have signed up to join Peshmerga forces to fight the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, according to Peshmerga Regiment commander Colonel Nahida Ahmed, but budget shortfalls have prevented them from finishing the enlistment process.
"Due to a hiring budget shortage in the government sector, the military has been halted and this hampers the female volunteers attempting join the female Peshmerga special regiment," she told Rudaw.
"Female fighter applications are left in officials' drawers," she lamented.
The Female Peshmerga Regiment is tied to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party. It was established in 1996 and now has 500 female fighters that have undergone special military training. Since 2003, they have been assigned to missions like maintaining border security and the supervision of women's shelters across the region.
"Since ISIS has initiated its military campaign in Iraq and attacked Kurdistan, women fighters from the female Peshmerga forces deployed in the frontlines have been fighting against the Islamic murderous Moslems," Ahmed said. "My deputy was killed in a battle with ISIS."
According to official figures, 110,000 male Peshmerga are serving in both 70 and 80 units of the Peshmerga Ministry and 5,000 new volunteers have recently signed up to join.
"The number of female Peshmerga is underrepresented in the military forces, there should be as many female Peshmerga as there are males," Ahmed added.
Bahar Abdulrahman, the director for women's affairs in the Kurdistan Parliament, said the causes of female underrepresentation in the military are interwoven with social and cultural factors. "Women are not assigned to challenging tasks that require physical stamina," she said.
"I don't want to get married, that's why I decided to join Peshmerga forces," said 32-year-old Shima Mahiadin. She has been serving in the female Peshmerga Regiment since 2009.
[Rudaw] German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has reportedly decided to train Yezidi Kurds for the fight against ISIS, according to a report in the German Bild newspaper released Monday.
"The German army is ready to set up a regiment to train Yezidis who want to liberate their occupied territories from the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... in northern Iraq," Bild said quoting Leyen.
"The Peshmerga will undertake the preparations of the regiment," she said. "To do that, the Peshmerga will prove to the world that everyone aims to combat extremism and terrorism."
In a visit to the Kurdistan region in the beginning of 2015, Leyen said German military advisers and Peshmerga soldiers working together would enable them to assess the Peshmerga's needs in their fight against ISIS.
Following Leyen's visit on January 12, a new batch of arms and ammunition was delivered to the Peshmerga by Germany.
#1
And whatzabout per the defense of the Fatherland, Europe, + BFF/BFRNF = Strategic Partner Russia???
* BIGNEWSNETWORK > [Moscow Times] SHADOW OF ISLAMIC STATE HANGS OVER RUSSIA.
* TOPIX, [Daily Mail Online] ISIS OPENS UP A NEW FRONT ON EUROPE'S DOORSTEP: CHECHEN JIHADIST GROUP WID "UP TO 15,000" FIGHTERS PLEDGES ALLEGIANCE TO TERROR HORDE.
"Caucasus Emirate" Jihadi Group.
---------------
Lest we fergit, AYMAN "Z-MAN" ZAWAHIRI = argued that Radical Islamist Groups should work to destabilize and even takeover all of Asia = Russia, China, + India, etal. including NUKES-WMDS in order to acquire nearly unlimited new Manpower Resources for Jihad + ensure Islam's final victory agz the US-West = Non-Muslim World no matter the latter's level of Geopol or MilTech Superiority.
ISLAM WILL WIN OR EMERGE VICTORIOUS NO MATTER HOW MANY MEN = WARRIORS IT LOSES, NOR HOW MANY NUCLEAR BOMBS, ETC. ARE DROPPED OR DETONATED AGZ IT BY ITS ENEMIES.
ALSO, OWG GLOBALISM = IN ORDER FOR ITS CO-SUPERPOWER SIBLINGS TO RISE TO MILPOL OR GEOPOL PARITY AGZ ITSELF, THE USoAMERIKA + ANTI-US US GLOBIES ARE DIRECTLY OR INDSIRECTLY HELPING US ENEMIES = POTENTIAL RIVALS GET STRONGER AMAP ASAP ALAP.
The foci of our UNITARIAN GOP-Dem Establishment in Washington is NATIONAL, GLOBAL SOCIALIST-GOTIST ORDER, NOT US NATIONAL, GEOPOL SECURITY.
THE MORE GLOBAL JIHAD = ANARCHY-N-CHAOS = THE BETTER FOR SETTING UP THE "BIG[GEST] GOVT" + SOCIALIST ORDER IN AMERIKA.
Aren't Americans = Amerikans glad they voted for it - OOOOOOOOOOPPPPPSSSS, YOUSE DIDN'T, YOUR BAD!
[Rudaw] In its latest harassment of local citizens, the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group has been calling on djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... residents who own more than one house to hand over their additional homes to imported muscle who are arriving to join the bad boys' army, a Kurdish official told Rudaw on Monday.
"If anyone has more than one house, he will be forced to give the second one or the rest to the foreign leaders and fighters," Ismat Rajab, an official to the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Mosul told Rudaw on Monday.
The radical group has tightened its grip on the stronghold city of Mosul in recent months, reportedly forcing civilians to follow strict rules and regulations and also share their wealth with the jihadists.
"They [ISIS] have told people to share their money, houses, their wealth and everything, claiming that the imported muscle are protecting the 'Caliphate'," Rajab said.
He said ISIS leaders told residents it is their "religious duty" to give up their extra homes to the imported muscle.
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#1
Because it worked so well for the British pre-1776.
#2
"If anyone has more than one house, he will be forced to give the second one or the rest to the foreign leaders and fighters," Ismat Rajab, an official to the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Mosul told Rudaw on Monday.
An ISIS 'needs based' program. The Kurdistani Dems will understand.
"If you have more than one home you must give one up for the undocumented democr-- -er- workers. After all they are here to do the work Americans won't do!"
[IsraelTimes] Deputy FM accuses Basel Ghattas of abusing position; Zionist Union says bid legitimizes Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,; Liberman slams Arab party as 'terror flotilla'
Politicians from both the left and right of the political spectrum Sunday condemned an Israeli-Arab Knesset politician after he announced he would sail in a Gazoo-bound flotilla that will challenge Israel's naval blockade and seek to deliver cargoes of humanitarian supplies to the Hamas-run Strip.
MK Basel Ghattas of the Joint (Arab) List earlier Sunday sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon telling them of his plan to be on one of the vessels. He urged them to let the boats reach the Paleostinian coastal enclave -- or face international backlash.
Continued on Page 49
[Foz] ISIS has already committed countless unspeakable acts on Yazidi and Christian girls and women in Iraq, but the terrorist army may have reached a new low with a twisted new contest in which female slaves captured in war are given away as "prizes" to fighters who show the have mastered the Koran.
Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the United States of seeking to apprehend the Hidden Imam, who according to Shi'ite belief vanished in the 10th century and will reappear in the end of days as the ultimate savior of humankind.
Speaking on Sunday to clerics at a speech marking the beginning of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, Ahmadinejad claimed that members of US academic institutions were engaged in tedious studies aimed at locating the Imam, Radio Free Europe reported.
"They've done so much research about the Hidden Imam in the human science universities of the United States that I am not exaggerating by saying that it is a thousand times more than all the work done in the seminaries of Qom, Najaf, and Mashhad," he said, referring to three Shiite holy cities, according to a transcript posted on the website Dolatebahar.com and translated by Radio Free Europe.
"To quote a friend, they've completed a case against the Hidden Imam, and closed it also for his arrest... the only [evidence] they lack is his picture," he added.
Ahmadinejad went on to assert that the US was concerned the Hidden Imam would pose a threat to its "empire" as well as to its "evil" plans.
"It is really a government established by Satan to prevent reaching God and the Hidden Imam," Ahmadinejad said. "This evil government knows that its end will come if the Hidden Imam reappears."
The former president conceded that "some in Iran laugh about these comments," and indeed, following the speech, the country's leading reformist daily newspaper, Shargh, described his musings as "strange."
#2
If the Shi'ites' Hidden Imam, their Magic Mullah, is all he's cracked up to be, I doubt he has anything to fear from America under Obumble's leadership.
As for Ahmadinejad, why in the world we didn't pop that evil, grinning little Death Dwarf years ago is beyond me. Crazy little fucker...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
06/23/2015 9:53 Comments ||
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#10
"To quote a friend, they've completed a case against the Hidden Imam, and closed it also for his arrest... the only [evidence] they lack is his picture"
With this administration, it'd be more likely them offering him a SES position or a slot on the NSC.
#14
"To quote a friend, they've completed a case against the Hidden Imam, and closed it also for his arrest... the only [evidence] they lack is his picture"
With this administration, it'd be more likely them offering him a SES position or a slot on the NSC.
#15
Hell, Muhammad ibn Hasan al-Mahdī already lives behind us with a buddy of his. Keeps his lawn mowed and trash picked up. Does some gardening and reads a lot.
His fiend 'Elvis' makes good fried chicken and a mean peanut butter with banana sandwich. al-Mahdi mostly just roasts a goat or two. Pretty much they just keep to themselves.
The late-night ululating rockabilly music does get on our nerves sometimes, though.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
06/23/2015 16:58 Comments ||
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#16
Bugger off! Find the Hidden Imam on your own. We'll all be dead soon, it really doesn't matter.
#18
Every Lib-supported Alternatist or Sub-Cultural agenda that becomes law is a point in favor of future LEGAL SHARIA + OTHER in Amerika.
HOW CAN LEGAL SHARIA + OTHER BE DENIED WHEN SECULARIST MARXIST-SOCIALISTS + ETAL. ALIGNED WILL LIKELY ALL BUT OFFICIALLY MAKE IT LAW IN THE US???
* E.G. FYI RUSSIA TODAY [old = repost] > CHURCH OF ENGLAND IN CRISIS AS UK SEES MORE ATHEISTS, MUSLIMS, STUDY SAYS.
The Church of England comprises roughly only 17% of the UK's tote Population, wid over 1/2 of the UK Population ascribing themselves as either Atheist, or Uncaring about any particular Religion or Belief.
VERSUS
* TOPIX, BIGNEWSNETWORK > "LACK OF BELONGING" DRAWS MUSLIM YOUTH TO ISIS.
* WORLD NEWS > EXTREMIST/AAUSTERE ISLAM ON THE RISE IN THE UK, STIRRING CONCERN.
Human beings are highly "spiritual" - as Western or World Christianity commits self-suicide in the name of pervasive or "Universal" Secularism, where God is second-fiddle or tertiary to Atheism + Intellectual Scientifism, THE SAME MAY FIND ITSELF MOSTLY OR WHOLLY SUPPLANTED BY ISLAM OR RADICAL ISLAM AS A MEANS OF FINDING ONE'S INNER SPIRITUALITY + FAITH = ONE'S PATH TO GOD.
Iff it isn't Islam, it will likely be variant of BUDDHISM.
Lest we fergit, NET = THE RISE OF THE FIRST ISLAMO-BUDDHIST CHURCH [+ Movement] IN THE US.
THE HIDDEN IMAM/ISLAMIC MESSIAH WILL RISE BECAUSE US-WORLD JUDEOCHRISTIANITY COMMITTED SELF- SUICIDE OR SELF-RETREATED LIKE ANTI-US US GLOBALIST POTUS OBAMA + EX-SOLE-SUPERPOWER-SOON-TO-BE-CO-SUPERPOWER AMERIKA.
TRADITIONAL ISLAM IS THE "FIRE", INCREASINGLY SECULAR-ATHEIST-SCIENTIFIST JUDEOCHRISTIANITY IS THE DYING "SIMMER".
Put another way, STAR TREK:TNG > LT. WORF = "THE WARRIORS OF THE KLINGON EMPIRE ARE HUNGRY FOR SPIRITUAL RENEWAL", BUT THE FEDERATION ISN'T IT.
[Ynet] Kurdish forces have discovered a 400-meter (440-yard) long tunnel dug by Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group holy warriors near the Turkish border with Syria, a front man for the militia said Monday.
Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, discovered the half-completed tunnel after they captured the border town of Tal Abyad last week, front man Redur Khalil said. He said it wasn't clear whether it was eventually meant to lead into The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... as the tunnel splits into two different directions at one point.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/23/2015 00:00:00 ||
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[8 views]
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[AnNahar] Britannia and La Belle France insisted Monday that any deal on Iran's contested nuclear program must include a comprehensive verification regime to ensure Tehran sticks to its commitments, as the clock ticks down to an end-of-month deadline.
But if President Obama is determined to have his treaty, do their objections matter?
After years of tortuous negotiations, both sides are racing to agree a deal by June 30 that would see Iran open up its nuclear program to allay concerns it is seeking atomic weapons, in return for the West lifting punishing economic sanctions.
But suspicions run deep and both British foreign secretary Philip Hammond and his French counterpart Laurent Fabius were adamant that Iran, which says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, should have no wriggle room.
"Britannia wants a robust and verifiable deal with Iran that ensures that its nuclear program in the future is exclusively civil," Hammond said after talks in Luxembourg with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, Fabius, Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier and EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini.
"We cannot compromise on the absolute red lines we have. If we do a deal, it has to be verifiable," Hammond said. "There is a lack of trust on both sides and only full verification... to confirm that both sides are in compliance with their agreements is going to regenerate that trust in the future."
Fabius had already warned Sunday that any deal with Iran had to be verifiable and on Monday spelled out La Belle France's demands again.
"A robust agreement is one which includes an extensive verification element, including if necessary visits to military sites and automatic re-introduction of sanctions if Iran violates the accord," Fabius told news hounds.
Just before the talks, Zarif had said that "all sides should avoid excessive demands ... so as to allow us to reach an accord" and afterwards he appeared confident of progress.
"There is a political commitment on the part of everybody to move forward," Zarif said on the sidelines of an EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg. "There is the possibility that we can finish this by the deadline or a few days after the deadline."
Mogherini, who as European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... foreign affairs head has been brokering the negotiations, said she had "a useful meeting with Zarif."
Whatever that means.
Iran and the P5+1 powers -- Britannia, China, La Belle France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- agreed in April on the main outlines of what would be a historic deal scaling down Tehran's nuclear program. In return, they agreed that punishing western sanctions against Iran would be progressively lifted if regular inspections confirm that Tehran is sticking to the accord.
The two sides, having missed a March 31 deadline, agreed in early April a new date of June 30 to finalize the accord and negotiators have been meeting regularly in Vienna and elsewhere since then to hammer out a deal.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/23/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
ValJar has Oblahblah and Jahn Fn Karry enthralled with Legacy™. Actual terms and risks don't matter, we NEED a deal!
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/23/2015 10:28 Comments ||
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#2
IRAN'S El Supremo the Supreme Ayatollah is repor sezzing "NO" to this, + is accusing the US-WEst of trying to destroy Iran's budding Nuclear industry.
[Rudaw] Iran, Iraq and Syria have agreed on a security forum in Baghdad where they hope to close ranks in the fight against terrorism, extremism and Israel, Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazeli announced Monday.
"I hope this forum becomes a beginning for the unity and cooperation of Islamic countries in the region who have the same belief and that we continue with more meetings," Fazeli was quoted as saying by the Iranian media.
The minister, who did not specify a date for the expected meeting, said that Iran, Iraq and Syria stand in the face of Israel, terrorism and violent extremism.
These countries, he said, "Would expand their cooperation and find ways to work together."
Iran is currently helping Iraq's Shiite militia with arms and direct military support against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS), while hundreds of Iranian special forces are believed to be fighting alongside Syrian troops against rebel groups.
Fazeli said that Syria's visiting State Minister Muhammad al-Shaar would attend the forum. He said the Syrian minister, who is in Tehran, had signed "further security and military agreements" with Iran.
Iran's ISNA news agency quoted Fazeli as saying that security officials from Tehran and Damascus will be setting their newly-signed agreements into motion.
In its annual terrorism report this month Washington accused Iran of prolonging the civil war in Syria and of supporting militia groups in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.
Iran blames the 2003 US invasion of Iraq for the bloodshed and mess in the region. It points to recent victories by ISIS, despite nearly a year of US-led bombing of the myrmidons, as proof that Washington's policy in Iraq is a failure.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/23/2015 00:00 ||
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[AA.TR] The U.S. will pay stipends to Syrian moderates fighting the Daesh terror group, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Monday.
"We can confirm that Syrian train and equip members will receive stipends while members of the program," said Elissa Smith. "The trainees are currently receiving a stipend of between $250 and $400 per month, per soldier, depending on skill set, performance and leadership position."
The move comes after top defense officials acknowledged that the program is very slow and experiencing difficulties in finding and vetting fighters.
The stipend is in line with wages in pre-war Syria.
In the first few months of the conflict, the median wage in Syria was about 12,000 Syrian pounds ($255). The minimum wage was 9,975 pounds ($212), according to the Central Administration of Statistics of Syrian government.
The training of the first group of about 90 fighters began last month, Smith said, and while the U.S. has declined to name the countries currently hosting the program, Jordan announced last month that it started training Syrian opposition groups.
The U.S. signed an agreement with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... in February regarding the program, and Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... and Jordan have long said they would contribute.
The Pentagon expects to have 3,000 fighters trained by year's end, Smith added, and the goal is to have 5,400 fighters trained in 12 months.
"For operational security, we will not announce when coalition-trained Syrian opposition forces enter into Syria," she noted.
About 6,000 Syrians have so far volunteered for the training program, but more than 4,000 are still waiting to be vetted, according to Pentagon front man Col. Steve Warren
In excess of 1,500 have passed the preliminary screening process, and of the remaining 500, between 100 and 200 have been accepted for training while the rest are no longer a part of the program for various reasons.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Hmm, in a year, we get 5,000 recruits with a year's basic training. Do they have the NCOs and such to run them?
Let's not even try to figure out what "Syrian moderates' means and who all they are fighting.
#3
Meanwhile, not to be outdone by the Great Satan US + Obama, IRAN IS REPOR AFGHANS + OTHER WEST ASIAN MUSLIMS A SIMILAR SUM TO FIGHT FOR ASSAD IN SYRIA.
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] A key rebel alliance in Syrian south said in statement issued Saturday the newly-formed Fatah Army in the South is not a national rebel group because it seeks to implement a suspicious agenda on Syrian people which wants to eliminate their free will.
The moderate rebel group in Daraa province, Southern Front, has assured it will firmly stand against Fatah Army if the latter conducts acts against Syrian people's ambitions and their national values.
The statement also said that the Southern Front is the only legitimate representative of Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) in the southern region.
On Saturday, eight rebel groups, including al-Qaeda Syria wing, operating in the southern region have formed their own version of Fatah Army, according to video statement.
The alliance includes Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham ...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014... movement, Fatah al-Sham, al-Furqan Brigades and other small factions.
Army of Fatah, a reference to the conquests that spread Islam across the Middle East from the seventh century, the powerful Islamist group north Syria that took full control of Idlib province since late of March this year.
The "Southern Front", an alliance of rebel groups, has been coordinating operations against Assad from a joint command center in Jordan. It includes groups that have received some support from foreign states that want to see Assad gone, including Gulf Arab governments.
The southern region near the border with Jordan and Israel is one of the areas where holy warriors have inflicted significant defeats on Assad in the last three months, notably by capturing the Nasib border crossing with Jordan on April 1.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2015 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Pervez 
[NATION.PK] Lawyers observed a 'black day' today against the Daska tragedy on the appeal of the Pakistain Bar Council. The lawyers hoisted black flags on the building of the bar room and wore black arm-bands to observe the black day. The lawyers said that they will continue to observe black day every Monday till justice is served. 
