If it annoys the NYCLU then it can't be all bad. [TheAtlantic] In New York City, the police now maintain an unknown number of military-grade vans outfitted with X-ray radiation, enabling cops to look through the walls of buildings or the sides of trucks. The technology was used in Afghanistan before being loosed on U.S. streets. Each X-ray van costs an estimated $729,000 to $825,000.
--The NYPD will not reveal when, where, or how often they are used.
"I will not talk about anything at all about this," New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton told a journalist for the New York Post who pressed for details on the vans. "It falls into the range of security and counter-terrorism activity that we engage in."
He added that "they're not used to scan people for weapons."
Here are some specific questions that New York City refuses to answer:
o How is the NYPD ensuring that innocent New Yorkers are not subject to harmful X-ray radiation?
o How long is the NYPD keeping the images that it takes and who can look at them?
o Is the NYPD obtaining judicial authorization prior to taking images, and if so, what type of authorization?
o Is the technology funded by taxpayer money, and has the use of the vans justified the price tag?
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
10/21/2015 00:42 ||
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#1
Warrants? We don't need no steenking warrants!
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
10/21/2015 8:43 Comments ||
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#2
do they mean these people: O-PEN™ Radar ??
The Tech Stupidity of the writers of articles like this... X-Rays! *Sigh*
#4
"The NYPD Is Using Mobile X-Ray Vans to Spy on Unknown Targets"
The targets may be "unknown" to the public, but you can bet your @ss Bloomie's city is NOT spying on Islamonutcases or certain minorities - wouldn't be PC.
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/21/2015 14:12 Comments ||
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#5
The NYPD has one the best antiterrorism units in the US.
Probably a result of an ancient historical event back in 2001.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The First Vice President Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum on Tuesday returned to north of Afghanistan amid deteriorating security situation.
Gen. Dostum returned to capital Kabul after leading military operations in northern parts of the country but the situation further deteriorated soon after his return which led to fall of the strategic Kunduz city, a month after he concluded operations in Faryab and parts of Sar-e-Pul province.
His visit comes as Ghormach district in northern Faryab province fell to Taliban control.
Gen. Dostum appeared in a press conference shortly after arriving in Shebarghan, the capital city of northern Jawzjan province.
He told reporters that immediate actions would be taken in a bid to eliminate concerns of Ghormach district and Kunduz province.
Sources close to Gen. Dostum said he will initially visit Ghormach district to supervise operations against Taliban militants and will visit Kunduz if it was required.
Gen. Dostum joined the Afghan security forces in the frontline in northern Faryab province earlier in the month of August where he survived at least two assassination plots by the anti-government armed militant groups while he was leading counter-terrorism operations.
Initially his convoy was ambushed by the Taliban in militants in Qaisar district in mid August while another plot to assassinate him was thwarted by the security forces and his special security guards few days later.
At least three suicide bombers were arrested from the vicinity of Gen. Dostum’s residence in Qaisar district in connection to the attack plot.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2015 00:00 ||
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The Commission of the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) today signed an Agreement under which the EU commits to provide financial support amounting 165 million Euros to the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ambassador Smail Chergui, signed on behalf of the AU.
Cheaper than funding benefits for all the Somalis who would otherwise decamp for Slovenia...
This funding is being provided under the Africa Peace Facility (APF) established by the EU at the request of the AU, and covers a period of seven months from 1 June to 31 December 2015.
It will cover AMISOM’s budget for troop and police allowances, death and disability compensation for military and police personnel, international and local civilian staff salaries, operational costs of AMISOM, maintenance, running costs and equipment for the AMISOM Al-Jazeera training camp in Mogadishu and Quick Impact Projects (QIPs).
It is worth recalling that the EU has been one of AMISOM’s main donors since the Mission was deployed in 2007, and that this agreement was the 14th of its kind to be signed between the AU and the EU.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/21/2015 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] The Nour Party's defeat contrasts sharply with its strong performance in 2011's parliamentary elections, where it came second to the Moslem Brüderbund in terms of the number of votes and seats. Gamal Essam El-Din reports
The Nour Party's defeat contrasts sharply with its strong performance in 2011's parliamentary elections, where it came second to the Moslem Brüderbund in terms of the number of votes and seats.
Semi-official results from the first stage of Egypt's parliamentary elections show that the "For the Love of Egypt" electoral coalition has emerged victorious, with the ultraconservative Salafist Nour Party, the only Islamist force contesting in the polls, facing a big defeat.
Not only has the Nour Party failed to win the one party list constituency -- the Nile West Delta -- it chose to run in the first stage, but almost none of its 160 candidates who ran as independents was able to win a seat. Some press reports suggest, however, that as many 30 of its independent candidates have qualified for the first stage's run-off round, scheduled next Tuesday and Wednesday.
Continued on Page 49
The internationally recognized government of Libya has refused to endorse the UN peace deal offering power-sharing with rival Islamists, prompting serious concerns over future of this North African country and risks of escalation of violence.
A spokesperson for the internationally recognized parliament said the Tobruk lawmakers will not sign the agreement to form a unity government because the UN refused to drop amendments added by the Islamist authorities.
The amendments that irked the Tobruk lawmakers would have given the unity government the power to fire all senior Libyan officials not unanimously approved by its members. The Tobruk government saw this as an attempt to remove their fiercely anti-Islamist army chief, General Khalifa Hifter, whose forces have been battling Islamist militias nationwide for over a year.
This new hurdle will undermine months of tough negotiations conducted by the UN envoy for Libya Bernardino Leon with the North African country’s two rival governments.
So Bernie: you didn't know that the Tobruk faction would reject this?
Few days ago, Mr. Leon has announced the UN peace deal and the proposed list of candidates of the national unity government. He even named the prime minister for the new government as Fayez Sarraj, a member of the Tripoli-based parliament, and his three deputies, representing the country’s east, west and south. This announcement raised hopes to end violence and political crisis in the country that fell apart after the ousting of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
In a joint statement released on Monday, the Foreign Ministers of Algeria, France, Germany, Italy, Morocco, Qatar, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs called upon all parties to the Libyan Political Dialogue to immediately approve the political agreement brokered by UN Special Representative Leon following the meetings of the parties in Skhirat and Geneva.
“We urge all participants in the dialogue to seize the opportunity to end this instability by approving, and faithfully implementing, the political agreement without introducing further amendments,” the Foreign Ministers said, pointing out that the parties to the dialogue face a stark choice. “They can delay approval of the text and annexes beyond October 20 or attempt to make further amendments, and put at risk the stability of the country.”
That worked well...
The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon launched a similar call saying that “no agreement is perfect, but this document will help Libya move beyond the chaos and toward the creation of a stable and democratic state with a clear legal framework.”
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/21/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
So Bernie: you didn't know that the Tobruk faction would reject this?
It wasn't buried deep enough in the agreement. Smart negotiators know to place it in the middle of the section that states how much boodle the signers would receive.
Egyptian authorities are negotiating with Russian Company Rosatom for the construction of a nuclear power plant to enable the most populous country in the Arab world meet its growing energy demands. Talks are believed to be at their final stages and a deal is expected to be sealed by the end of 2015, according to press reports.
It's like the Russians have an integrated plan...
The nuclear power plant will be constructed in Egypt’s northern region of Dabaa. The plant will have four reactors when completed by 2022.
Egypt had suspended its nuclear program after the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, but revived it few years later. Plans for a tender were being prepared when President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in the February 2011 popular uprising.
Early this year, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi signed a memorandum of understanding with Russia for the project, stressing the importance of diversifying energy mix.
The deal is very important for Russian state-owned Rosatom firm because Egypt is traditionally an ally of the United States. The Dabaa project will enable Rosatom enhance and expand its presence in the region. The Russian company is already actively cooperating with other countries in the Middle East.
In September 2014, the company signed an agreement with Jordan to build two nuclear power plants in the province of Zarqa, with a total capacity of 2,000 MW.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/21/2015 00:00 ||
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#9
Trailing Wife, That's a good pint but surely they could put shutters/covers over them when a sandstorm is coming. Still my comment was more about the bogus solar industry that has promised the moon but can't produce juice without lots of subsidies.
Every penny the Saudis spend on fancy weapons they can't operate without heavy Western staffing is a penny unavailable for ISIS and Al Qaeda subsidiaries. This is a good thing.
[AnNahar] The U.S. government has approved an $11 billion deal to sell 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... four advanced warships, officials said Tuesday, amid mounting regional tension.
Glad to see someone likes the LCS. Though they could have bought corvettes from Germany or Italy; same job at half the price...
Saudi Arabia is modernizing its eastern fleet, which faces off against Iranian forces across the oil-rich Gulf.
The four ships, based on the U.S. Navy's littoral combat ship, are relatively small but designed to be fast and maneuverable in shallow water and to pack a punch.
The statement from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said it had notified the U.S. Congress of the State Department's decision and was awaiting final approval.
The agency said the sale would "improve the security of a strategic regional partner, which has been and continues to be an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East."
Dubbed a "multi-mission surface combatant ship" in its export version, the ships carry dozens of Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft missiles and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
Its main gun is the 76mm OTO Melara, built in Italia, but the main contract for the vessels will go to US arms giant Lockheed Martin.
The sale, if approved as expected, comes amid a renewed arms race in the Middle East.
Russia has stepped up military support for Syria, a bitter foe of Saudi Arabia, and Saudi ally Egypt has agreed to buy two helicopter carrier vessels from La Belle France.
#4
Maybe the Saudis can hire Palestinians to holy stone and swab the decks.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/21/2015 10:14 Comments ||
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#5
Reminds me of the Ayatollah class frigates that were sold to Iran but were never delivered because of the changes in Iran. I wonder if the folks writing the checks will be around..
#6
Who's going to crew the ships, Arabs are too proud to do manual labor?
Saudi naval ships tended to have crews drawn from the coastal regions (i.e. fishermen, 'maritime trade,' etc.) The practice used to be those from the Gulf side were sent to the Red Sea side and vice versa. My experience was that they were capable, if properly led. Petty officers weren't a problem, but given that the RSN tended to be a make-work program for Saudi princes, command grade quality was lacking.
#7
OTOH ASSOCIATED PRESS > OBAMA TO VETO US$612.0BILYUHN DEFENSE BILL ON SPENDING, CUBA.
To close GITMO, or to NOT close GITMO - clearly the US Govt. needs until Year 2100 or beyond to make a final decision???
As for the LCS, the US is repor planning to seriously upgrade its combat + information capabilities, so the KSA likely wants "in" on the New Super-MilTechs.
[ALMANAR.LB] Chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi rejected the claims that Tehran's former ambassador to Beirut, Ghadanfar Roknabadi, who went missing during the recent crush in 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... is dead, and said there is a growing body of evidence vindicating his abduction in Saudi Arabia.
"Based on documented evidence, eyewitnesses have seen Roknabadi alive and being transferred to a hospital, but after that that has been no reliable news about his situation and whereabouts," Boroujerdi said on Tuesday according to Fars news agency.
Stressing that the Saudi government should account for the fate of all Iranian nationals missing during the Mina incident, he said given the important position of Roknabadi, his fate should be come under light very soon.
Boroujerdi dismissed claims that Roknabadi has died in Mina incident as "unacceptable", and said, "Roknabadi's abduction theory remains a very strong possibility as long as the Saudi government doesn't return his dead body to Iran."
In relevant remarks earlier this month, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular, Parliamentary and Expatriates Affairs Hassan Qashqavi said that he couldn't reject speculations about abduction of Roknabadi in Mina incident, although he declined to confirm Roknabadi's abduction as well.
"The foreign ministry is very seriously pursuing Roknabadi's case in Saudi Arabia since he is a well-known person in the region and the foreign ministry is pursuing his situation like other pilgrims who went missing during the Mina incident," Qashqavi said.
Asked to comment on the speculations that Roknabadi has been kidnapped in Saudi Arabia and then transferred to Israel, he said, "These are just speculations; yet we cannot totally reject or confirm such claims."
Rokabadi, one of Iran's outstanding diplomats, served as the country's ambassador to Leb for several years.
Certain Arab media outlets claimed that Roknabadi had traveled to Saudi Arabia through illegal channels. But Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham strongly rejected the Arab media reports, saying that Roknabadi traveled to the country with his personal passport and on a Hajj visa.
A stampede during one of the last rituals of the Hajj season on September 24 killed at least 7,477 people and left thousands maimed.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
A stampede during one of the last rituals of the Hajj season on September 24 killed at least 7,477 people and left thousands maimed.
pretty soon it will be up to 79,000 killed
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/21/2015 14:35 Comments ||
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#2
"Reports of my death are greatly exageraed,"
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/21/2015 16:05 Comments ||
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[Jpost] The German government said on Wednesday that responsibility for the Holocaust lay with the Germans, after Israel's prime minister sparked controversy before a visit to Berlin by saying a Muslim elder had convinced Adolf Hitler to exterminate Jews. Is it just me, or the world is totally bounkers?
#2
Didn't Hitler believe that Jews were antithetical to the natural order of things long before he was in power and was visited by any Muslim elders? At what point did Hitler decide to try to kill them all? Before or after this visit?
#3
I read Mein Kampf in college -- part of my general studies requirement. Still remember a good chunk of it. Hitler blamed the Jews from early on though (in the book) he portrayed it as a struggle and a late blossoming. That was just rhetoric; he'd always blamed the Jews.
Daniel Goldhagen's Hitler's Willing Executioners makes clear that Hilter wasn't along in blaming the Jews.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/21/2015 13:08 Comments ||
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Hitler didn’t want to exterminate the Jews at the time, he wanted to expel the Jews. And Haj Amin al-Husseini went to Hitler and said, ‘If you expel them, they'll all come here.’ ‘So what should I do with them?’ he asked. He said, ‘Burn them."
If that's all they're in hysterics about, it's true: Hitler's original plan at that time was to send Germany's Jews out into the world, stripped bare of their possessions, and by 1941 perhaps 75% of Germany's Jews had fled. This simultaneously enriched Germany, while in Hitler's view weakening the recipient nations as they struggled to overcome the problems caused by diluting their own Volk with Jewish Untermenschen. That Hitler turned out to be wrong about the weakening effect of admitting Jews only shows that he was no student of history.
However, and this is important, Hitler also planned for the eventual German conquest of the entire world, which meant that at some point the eradication of the remaining Jews would have to occur. And while Hitler would have preferred this to occur in a stepwise manner, he accepted the necessity of diverting manpower and material from the war effort in order to eradicate the Reich's Jews when the nations of the world closed their borders to further Jewish immigration, and there was therefore no other way to achieve the necessary state of Judenrein.
The Jewish Virtual Library has a gloss on the interactions between Hitler and Haj Amin al Husseini, Mufti of Jerusalem and uncle/cousin of Yasser Arafat of unblessed memory (and therefore the direct ancestor of Fatah/the PLO/the Palestinian Authority, by convention accepted to speak on behalf of all Palestinians). Given that Bibi Netanyahu's father was an eminient historian, I am quite certain his understanding of events and personalities of particular interest to Israelis as a result is considerably deeper and more complex than both the currently frothing journalists/pundits and German government types, who like most Germans are likely deeply knowledgeable in areas that they've studied, and parochially ignorant -- without being aware of the possibility -- about so much else. The first, in my experience, is part of their charm and the reason for their successes, the second a normal human condition that is a matter of great frustration for those who've been subjected to ignorant pontification delivered with an air of deep thoughtfulness.
#5
It's not about knowledge TW. It's about Bibi spoiling the program of Merkel & Co to use guilt over Holocaust to make Germans admit millions and millions of Muslims.
#6
The decision to exterminate (and not just expel) the Jews probably dates back to July 1941 ("aspired final solution" in Goering's order to Heydrich), but was probably not finally approved by Hitler before December 1941 (US entry into war, which made it a World War plus Moscow defeat, which led Hitler to burning all bridges). The Wannsee Conference in Jan. 1942 then settled the organizational issues).
I don't think Hitler needed a "Muslim elder" to convince him of the "final solution". Muslim were simply useful idiots to him. It is unlikely that Hitler ever planned to expel the Jews to Palestine since Rommel was actually expected to take Egypt and the Middle East. A German victory at El Alamein would have made this a realistic project.
Posted by: European Conservatives ||
10/21/2015 16:28 Comments ||
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#7
Note that the mufti visited Berlin in November 1941. At this time the preparations for the "final solution" were well underway. But at this time Hitler still wanted to keep the U.S. quiet, so his final push only came after Germany had declared war against the U.S.
The mufti is just a footnote in history.
Posted by: European Conservatives ||
10/21/2015 17:24 Comments ||
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#10
A footnote in German history, yes, but central to Israeli-Arab history, European Conservatives. And your timeline does not contradict what Prime Minister Netanyahu is quoted as actually having said. So why is "the German government", whatever that means in this context (not to mention journalists and pundits the world over), reacting as if stung on the nose by a very large wasp at this matter of historical record?
In a January 2013 ceremony, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hailed Husseini as a martyr:
On the anniversary of the [Fatah] Launch, we renew the promise to our blessed Martyrs, that we will follow the path of the Martyr Brother Yasser Arafat and his comrades among the leaders of all the fighting forces, all the Martyrs. … Now let us recall the pioneers: The Grand Mufti of Palestine, Haj Muhammad Amin Al-Husseini.
#12
Actually the reaction of a speaker of the Merkel government has been quite moderate. When asked about Netanyahu's remark he simply reiterated the fact that the responsibility for the Holocaust lay with the Germans and that this remark did not change anything about that historical fact.
The mufti certainly didn't "convince" Hitler to exterminate the Jews instead of deporting them. This is a historical distortion. (There is no doubt that the mufti was in favor of a holocaust.) In 1939 Hitler spoke at the Reichstag and warned of a Final Solution for the Jews, should they "plunge the world into a World War once again". In Mein Kampf Hitler even mentioned gas as one method to do it. There is no doubt in my mind that Hitler always wanted extermination, but before the U.S. joined the war he withheld execution of his plan.
Posted by: European Conservatives ||
10/21/2015 20:39 Comments ||
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#13
The best book to read on this matter:
Halbmond und Hakenkreuz. Das "Dritte Reich", die Araber und Palästina
The authors quote numerous German sources, including from the meeting between Hitler and the mufti, which make it clear that Hitler merely announced his plans for a final solution to the mufti. There definitely was no convincing. Extermination (in rather crude methods) was already under way in Poland by summer 1941.
There is no doubt that the mufti loved the idea.
Posted by: European Conservatives ||
10/21/2015 20:54 Comments ||
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#14
It's late today but if you carry the topic on to the next day I will further elaborate
Posted by: European Conservatives ||
10/21/2015 21:38 Comments ||
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#15
As per 31, the Bammer is a dedicated Anti-US US OWG Globalist raised or groomed to be such since Childhood by his Elders, etal. - HE'S MAKING THE WORLD BONKERS INTENTIONALLY.
JUST AS HE IS ALSO A SSSHHH ... CCCCCCCC
INTENTIONAL OR DELIBERATE "WEAK-N-INCOMPETENT" LEADER.
* FYI DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > "TRUTH ABOUT 9-11 WOULD TAKE DOWN THE US AS A GLOBAL EMPIRE": AMERICAN SCHOLAR [Kevin Barrett].
And the U8 as OTHER THINGYS.
I can relate.
TRUTH BE TOLD, NOT JUST THE US.
PAY ANY PRICE TO MAKE SURE THAT SECRETS-N-SKELETONS, ETC. STAY HIDDEN OR BURIED.
* WORLD NEWS > [Stars-n-Stripes] WIDOUT LEADERSHIP, US STRENGTHS WITHER [while Weaknesses expound].
* NATIONAL INTEREST > AMERICA MUST PREPARE FOR "LIMITED WAR". MERE PRIMACY IS [presently] STILL ENOUGH FOR SECURITY, BUT WASHINGTON WILL NEED TO RE-LEARN THE ART OF FIGHTING UNDER RESTRAINT.
D *** NG IT, I'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE, BUT FROM WHERE? WHOM? OH yeah, now I remember, its Me as I've been saying or inferring this for many Years + Decades now.
"Weak/Declining" US versus Rising China + Rising Russia + Rising Iran, Other? OWG Co-Superpower Siblings.
PARITY WID THE SOON-TO-BE-EX-SOLE-SUPEPOWER-TO-ONE-OF-MANY-OWG-CO-SUPERPOWERS US, NOT INFERIORITY AGZ THE US.
* US-LED ANTI-US OWH-NWO + GLOBALISM = US IS THE TIP-OF-THE-SPEAR IN MAKING ITS ENEMIES, PROTAGONISTS, + WANNABES MILPOL OR GEOPOL STRONGER RELATIVE OR COMPARATIVE TO ITSELF.
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG, besides the US-N-Only-The-US putting itself at dangerous existential risk from same???
versus
* LUCIANNE > [Heritage Foundation] THE CHALLENGE FOR NEXT US PRESIDENT: REVERSING THE DECLINE IN US POWER.
Yuuup - WHETHER GUAM'S CAMEL ROCK, ETAL. PACIFIC ISLANDS = USN PEARL HARBOR BB USS "OKLAHOMA"
SINKS AND "CAPSIZES" AS THE US [Self-]RETREATS/PULLS BACK ACROSS THE PACIFIC + WORLD DEPENDS ON IT.
[DAWN] Marine Le Pen, the leader of La Belle France's far-right National Front, went on trial on Tuesday on charges of inciting hatred after comparing Muslim street prayers to the Nazi occupation.
The 47-year-old, who has won a string of election successes after working to soften the image of her party, appeared in a court in the central city of Lyon over the comments she made while campaigning to take over the leadership of the party from her father five years ago.
"I have committed no crime," said a smiling Le Pen as she entered the court. If convicted, she faces up to a year in prison or a fine of up to 45,000 euros ($51,000).
While on the campaign trail in December 2010, Le Pen complained about places in La Belle France where Muslims worshipped in the streets outside mosques when they were full.
"I'm sorry, but for those who like talking a lot about World War II, if it comes to talking about the occupation, we can talk about it, because that (Muslims praying on the street) is the occupation of territory," she told a crowd in Lyon.
"It is an occupation of part of the territory, suburbs where religious law is applied. Sure, there are no armoured vehicles, no soldiers, but it is an occupation nonetheless and it weighs on residents."
After the comments, which provoked outrage in La Belle France, Le Pen was investigated but the probe was later closed without further action.
However, a hangover is the wrath of grapes... a complaint by an association led to the launch of a judicial inquiry in January 2012.
Le Pen was charged in July 2014 after her immunity as a member of the European Parliament was lifted following a vote requested by French authorities.
She is accused of "inciting discrimination, violence or hatred towards a group of people based on their religious beliefs".
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
IMO, hatred against Muslims is like sanity test---if you don't hate them, you're not playing with a whole desk.
#5
This is what the progs/Dems/Muzzies want to bring to the US. Say the wrong thing (like AGW skepticism) and it's off to the re-education camp with you.
When do the tumbrils start rolling through gay Paree again?
[AnNahar] Finland has tightened its criteria for granting asylum to Iraqi migrants, the country's immigration authority said Tuesday, after deeming Iraq safer than before.
"The security situation in many areas in Iraq has eased, which influences the decision-making in asylum matters at the Finnish Immigration Service," the agency wrote in a statement.
In recent months the Nordic country has seen a dramatic rise in the number asylum seekers, nearly 70 percent of whom came from Iraq.
Up until recently Finland granted Iraqi applicants asylum on the basis of their area of origin, considering the central areas such as the country's capital Baghdad unsafe.
"The security situation has eased especially in the Babylon Province and the City of Kirkuk. The security situation in Baghdad is still problematic, but all people who come from Baghdad cannot be considered to run a personal risk of falling victim to violence," it said.
From now on the main criterion will be the individual situation. "A person cannot be granted asylum only because he or she comes from a particular area," the agency underlined.
The decision is a blow to the hopes of a group of Iraqi migrants in Finland who appealed a week ago to the Finnish government. "Iraq is not safe ... The Iraqi government does not represent us nor protect us," they wrote in a statement.
The interior ministry estimates Finland will receive between 30,000 and 35,000 asylum applications this year, nearly 10 times the figure in previous years.
As a part of the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... 's refugee distribution plan, Finland is to receive its first 50 migrants of Eritrea ...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age... n origin, who are expected to be flown into the country from Italia on Wednesday.
[AnNahar] Slovenia on Tuesday called in the army to help manage a surge of asylum seekers desperately trying to reach northern Europe ahead of winter, as the tiny EU state became the latest hotspot on the migrant trail.
"The inflow of migrants over the last three days has exceeded all manageable possibilities," a government statement said, adding that parliament would be asked to approve legislation allowing soldiers to help border police in the crisis "under very specific circumstances".
Everybody warned them, but they didn't listen. And now all the warnings are coming true.
[AnNahar] As the thermometer dips towards zero in Germany, thousands of asylum seekers spending their nights in tents are pleading for authorities to find them alternative housing.
"They say they are going to do something, but they are not telling us what. Maybe we are all going to turn to ice," said a 25-year-old Afghan who went by the name Hussein, and who has been living in one of several tent cities set up by authorities in the northern city of Hamburg.
"We cannot be under the tent for more than an hour at night," he said.
At the major northern port, as in other parts of the country, sleeping without heating is quickly becoming a nightmare as the temperatures tumble close to freezing.
And the German winter, infamously harsh and biting, has not even begun.
In Hamburg alone, 4,000 asylum seekers are sleeping in unheated tents, and some migrants, fed up with the cold and damp, have taken to the streets to complain about their lodgings.
"We are freezing," they wrote on a cardboard sign.
But the problem is not unique to the city. With between 800,000 and one million asylum seekers expected this year, Germany is facing an unprecedented refugee relief crisis.
Some 42,000 asylum seekers were sleeping in tents across the country at the beginning of October, according to newspaper Die Welt.
And the situation has become critical, warned Ulrika Kostka, director of aid group Caritas.
"We can no longer rule out the risk that people could die" from the cold, she was quoted as saying by newspaper Tagesspiegel.
In the eastern Saxony region, the Red Thingy also sounded a similar warning about tent cities.
"It has become a health problem. People are falling ill because of the cold," said front man Kai Kranich.
"We have distributed all the sleeping bags and blankets that we have but they are not enough."
Mobile heaters have been placed in tents to provide some warmth for now, said Kranich, but he warned that it was only a temporary solution.
German authorities have been scrambling to find lodgings for the record number of new arrivals.
In Berlin, a special hall that is used every January for an annual agriculture exhibition, has been transformed into an emergency shelter with bunk beds for 1,000 refugees.
Sports gyms have also been requisitioned, sparking complaints from some parents whose children have been unable to go to basketball or volleyball training as both rain and temperatures fall outside.
Wooden shelters are also being built to protect migrants from the cold.
Winfried Kretschmann, the Greens party leader of Baden-Wuertemberg state, has warned: "We don't have a magic wand to create lodgings."
"At the moment we are managing, but it's going to become more difficult," he said during a meeting of state premiers.
And the emergency is not limited to cold nights.
In the days, too, hundreds of migrants queue outside Berlin's main refugee registration centre for hours every day, shivering and drenched under the cold rain.
A new registration center has now been opened to bring some welcome relief.
But as Mario Czaja, the social affairs manager for the city, said: "Berlin used to receive between 1,500 and 2,000 asylum seekers a year.
"But at the moment, that's the number of refugees arriving every single day."
#3
As the thermometer dips towards zero in Germany, thousands of asylum seekers spending their nights in tents are pleading for authorities to find them alternative housing.
I'm sure our fathers and grandfathers who wintered over in '44 in tents fell your pain. Not to mention the guys in the fields without tents around Bastogne and the Belgium civilian huddled in ruins.
#12
#10 EC is right. I grew up in the Virginia mountains, and also spent 3 years living in Frankfurt am Main.
I'll admit I didn't like the weather in Germany - too many cloudy days - and I don't like cold weather anyway, but Germany wasn't any worse than those Virginia mountains (though the winter was certainly longer - or maybe it just seemed longer).
And I don't want to hear one word about how most of the migrantsinvaders are from warmer places - nobody forced them to go thousands of miles to invade cold foreign countries.
You don't like the European winters? Go to Libya; it's warm there and y'all will fit right in the rest of the jihadis there.
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/21/2015 21:59 Comments ||
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#13
Actually winter nights in the Syrian deserts are not exactly pleasant.
Alternative housing? WTF do you expect? That half a million people can be accomodated within days in comfortable brick houses with central heating?
You can't sleep in unheated tents in October? Thousands of German hikers in the Alps manage to do that. No problem with clothes and blankets or a sleeping bag. I've managed minus 20 degrees in a tent.
Posted by: European Conservatives ||
10/21/2015 22:38 Comments ||
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DRESDEN, Germany [Rooters] - The German anti-Islam movement PEGIDA staged its biggest rally in months on Monday, sparked into fresh life on its first anniversary by anger at the government's decision to take in hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East.
PEGIDA, or Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, almost fizzled out earlier this year when its leader resigned after a photo was published of him posing as Hitler.
But it has swelled again as Germany implements Chancellor Angela Merkel ...current chancellor of Germany. She was educated in East Germany when is was still run by commies, but in 1989 got involved with the growing democracy movement when the Berlin Wall fell. Merkel is sometimes referred to by Germans as Mom... 's decision to accept a tide of refugees that could exceed a million this year, as she argues that Germany can not only cope but, with its aging population, will benefit in the long term.
Police declined to estimate the number of protesters but media put it at 15-20,000, somewhat below a peak of around 25,000 in January. Around 14,000 counter-demonstrators urged people to welcome refugees rather than whip up opposition.
PEGIDA supporters waved the national flag and carried posters bearing slogans such as "Hell comes with fake refugees" and "Every people should have its country, not every people a piece of Germany".
Gathering outside Dresden's historic opera house, the Semperoper, PEGIDA supporters chanted "Deport! Deport!" and "Merkel must go!".
"We're just normal people who are scared of what's coming," said 37-year-old Patrick, a car mechanic. "As a German citizen who pays taxes, you feel like you're being taken for a ride."
Lutz Bachmann, the leader who resigned, told the rally: "Politicians attack and defame us and the lowest tricks are used to keep our mouths shut. We are threatened with death, there are attacks on our vehicles and houses and we are dragged through the mud, but we are still here ... And we will triumph!"
COUNTER-DEMONSTRATION
The counter-demonstrators marched through the town chanting: "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here!"
As many German municipalities struggle to house and support the wave of migrants, criticism of Merkel's policy has grown, her ratings have slipped, and there have been arson attacks on refugee centers.
Simone Peter, leader of the Greens party and one of the counter-demonstrators, told Rooters: "We're for diversity and an open, colorful society, not hatred and violence ... the people who incite with right-wing slogans add fuel to the fire of the arsonists."
PEGIDA has more than 172,000 'Likes' on its Facebook page and wants Germany to stop taking asylum seekers immediately.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Sunday that PEGIDA's organizers were "hard right-wing Death Eaters" and everyone who attended their demonstrations "should know that they are running after rat catchers".
Thomas Jaeger, political scientist at Cologne University, said PEGIDA and the right-wing Alternative for Germany party were being allowed by the government to define how the refugee crisis was perceived by many people.
#2
I don't support Merkel any longer. I would never support PEGIDA (some hardcore Nazis running it), but as a member of the Bavarian CSU I support Bavarian prime minister Seehofer, who may very well lead a movement to topple Merkel, if she doesn't come around.
If the EU does not control its outer borders Germany will need to control its own borders. A state without border control is not a sovereign state.
Posted by: European Conservatives ||
10/21/2015 16:33 Comments ||
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[DAWN] KARACHI: The Sindh government on Tuesday imposed a ban on pillion-riding 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... and six other cities of the province from Muharram 7 to 10 in line with security arrangements for the first month of the Islamic calendar, said an official.
He said the provincial home department on the advice of the police authorities banned pillion-riding, which would be effective from 12 midnight on Wednesday for four days ---- Oct 21 to 24. Apart from Karachi, the ban would be in place in Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Sanghar, Khairpur, Sukkur and Shikarpur, he added.
"The home department has under Section 144 CrPC imposed a complete ban on pillion-riding of cycle of violences from Oct 21 to 24 in seven cities of the province," he said while citing the home department notification. "The ban shall not be applicable to women, children below the age of 12 years, senior citizens, journalists, personnel of law enforcing agencies and security agencies in uniform and employees of the essential services."
Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the entire 614th quadrant searched. The Green Lensman must be found!... the Sindh government announced holidays on Oct 23 and Oct 24. An official said a notification in this regard had been issued which called for closure on Friday and Saturday of all public and private institutions except those related to essential services.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif ..Pak chief of army staff, meaning he pulls the strings on the Nawaz Sharif puppet to make it dance and sing and not do much at all.... on Tuesday said the people of Pakistain have "unshakable trust in their armed forces" and acknowledge the sacrifices rendered by the army in the ongoing anti-terror operation.
The army chief during a visit to Frontier Corps ...a provincial paramilitary force. Total manpower is about 80,000. They are tasked to help local law enforcement in the maintenance of law and order, and to carry out border patrol and anti-smuggling operations.... Headquarters in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. paid rich tributes to the sacrifices rendered by the force fighting 'hand in glove' with the army in anti-terror operation, according to a series of tweets issued by Director General of Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Asim Bajwa.
"Indomitable courage of army and FC personnel has been the bedrock of Operation Zarb-e-Azb ..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)... ," said the COAS.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Does the nation know they are funding the Taliban?
Posted by: paul ||
10/21/2015 6:56 Comments ||
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[DAWN] More than 40 religious leaders belonging to different schools of thought have been detained in different cities of Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... over the past few days for indulging in activities deemed harmful for peace during Muharram, a police officer told Dawn.
He said that more than 1,160 Learned Elders of Islam -- 378 of them belonging to Shia sect, 527 to Deobandi, 156 to Ahl-e-Hadith and 97 to Barelvi sect -- had been ordered by law-enforcement agencies not to enter certain cities in the province.
He said that over 640 firebrand ...firebrands are noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments... speakers and Learned Elders of Islam of different schools of thought had been barred from speaking at any mourning procession, Majlis or gathering.
According to the official, the tossed in the calaboose Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! Learned Elders of Islam violated laws and directives pertaining to routes and timing of processions and Majalis, ban on entry in certain cities for delivering speeches there, misuse of loudspeaker, distribution of hate material, wall chalking, gun sex, waving guns and taking out processions and holding Majalis during loadshedding and committed other violations of section 144 of the Pakistain Penal Code.
Punjab police have registered 89 cases against Learned Elders of Islam of four major sects for violations of different laws and directives.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2015 00:00 ||
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The cabinet's Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved on Monday a bill that would deny entry to the country to anyone urging a boycott of Israel.
The initiative by MK Yinon Magal of Bayit Yehudi would bar any non-citizens or residents encouraging steps to embargo Israel from obtaining a visa or residency permit. They're comming here to boycott us?
The United States and Russia have signed a memorandum of understanding that establishes air safety measures so pilots from the two countries steer clear of each other as they conduct separate bombing campaigns, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
"With today's signatures, the memorandum of understanding is now in effect," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook told reporters. "That was signed a short time ago, earlier today."
I could have run the white flag pic on this occasion...
Separately, Russian media reported that the memorandum had been signed by officials in Moscow and the United States.
"The memorandum contains a number of rules and restrictions aimed at preventing incidents between American and Russian plans," Deputy Defense Minister, Anatoly Antonov said, according to Ria-Novosti.
Russia demanded asked for "deconfliction" talks with the United States after Moscow began bombing Syria on September 30.
The United States is leading a 60-plus member coalition targeting Daesh in Iraq and Syria and has been carrying out frequent raids for more than a year.
Define 'frequent'...
Russia also claims to be targeting Daesh and other "terrorists" but the Pentagon says it is hitting non-Daesh rebels fighting government forces loyal to President Bashar Al Assad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/21/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
The United States is leading a 60-plus member coalition targeting Daesh in Iraq and Syria and has been carrying out frequent raids for more than a year.
Why can't we just add one more to the 60+ member structure and be done with it? Or are the Russians actually trying to accomplish something?
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.
[TheAtlantic] In New York City, the police now maintain an unknown number of military-grade vans outfitted with X-ray radiation, enabling cops to look through the walls of buildings or the sides of trucks. The technology was used in Afghanistan before being loosed on U.S. streets. Each X-ray van costs an estimated $729,000 to $825,000.
The internationally recognized government of Libya has refused to endorse the UN peace deal offering power-sharing with rival Islamists, prompting serious concerns over future of this North African country and risks of escalation of violence.
Egyptian authorities are negotiating with Russian Company Rosatom for the construction of a nuclear power plant to enable the most populous country in the Arab world meet its growing energy demands. Talks are believed to be at their final stages and a deal is expected to be sealed by the end of 2015, according to press reports.
[ALMANAR.LB] Chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi rejected the claims that Tehran's former ambassador to Beirut, Ghadanfar Roknabadi, who went missing during the recent crush in 
[DAWN] KARACHI: The Sindh government on Tuesday imposed a ban on pillion-riding in 
[DAWN] More than 40 religious leaders belonging to different schools of thought have been detained in different cities of
The United States and Russia have signed a memorandum of understanding that establishes air safety measures so pilots from the two countries steer clear of each other as they conduct separate bombing campaigns, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
