[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The leader of Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil... confirmed contacts with the Taliban ...Arabic for students... group in a bid to encourage the group to participate in peace talks.
Hekmatyar informed regarding his party’s contact with the Taliban as he was speaking during a presser in Kabl today.
He said the Hezb-e-Islami strongly supports grinding of the peace processor and will stand with those who are willing to join grinding of the peace processor.
However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... he did not say if any developments have been made in his efforts to encourage the group to participate in peace talks.
In other parts of his speech, Hekmatyar urged the political figures and parties to participate in talks in a bid to find a solution for the ongoing violence and crisis.
The Hezb-e-Islami leader further added that the political parties should adopt the strategy of political rivalry rather encouraging armed rivlaries.
According to Hekmatyar, his party is not supporting the repeat of the bitter past experiences and the political figures must refrain from provocative remarks.
He also added that certain individuals and circles are attempting to spark religious discrimination and chaos among the people.
Hekmataryar also added that he will prevent the collapse of the current regime and any attempts to bring changes in it, insisting that any changes should be brought through legal ways and with the consent of all parties involved.
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01/05/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
So Hekmatyar is now talking to himself? I suppose that saves a lot of time, since each party knows what the other is about to say before he says it.
[Libya Observer] The Chairman of the Presidential Council, Fayez Sarraj, has denounced the exhumation of the tomb of the leader of the Senussi movement, Mahdi bin Mohammed Senussi in Kufra town, and called on the Attorney-General and relevant security authorities to initiate criminal proceedings to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In a statement to Anadolu Agency, Sarraj described the attack as a crime that violates the sanctity of the grave and one that creates discord in the nation.
He explained that silence on this crime would result in the encouragement for those who carried out to continue similar crimes and create sedition, by provoking fellow Moslems to retaliate, which affects all Libyans.
Sarraj called on all religious scholars, forces and political and social trends to denounce and condemn such criminal acts which drive citizens away from the spirit of Islam.
An gang believed to be Sobol al-Salam Brigade of Dignity Operation attacked on Friday the shrine of Mahdi Senussi, the father of Libya’s former king Idris Senussi, and took his remains to unknown location.
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01/05/2018 00:00 ||
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[Libya Observer] Madkhalists and turbans have been condemned by the Libyan Fatwa House for their act of exhuming the shrine of Mohammed al-Mahdi al-Sonoussi - the father of the Libyan King Idris al-Sonoussi - in al-Kufra.
"Those acts done by myrmidon groups who are loyal to Rabee al-Madkhali in Saudia Arabia are aimed to abort the Libyan revolution and destabilize the country." The Fatwa House said in a statement on Tuesday.
It added that Saudi authorities unleashed those groups and made them mingle among Libyans so that they turn people against the February revolution in different ways, such as fatwas to kill scholars and holy mans "like they did to sheikh Nadir al-Omrani and tens others in Benghazi."
"Those Saudi-linked groups have killed many of imams in the Benghazi prison of Gernada and in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... 's jail of Mitiga under torture and without trial." The Fatwa House explained.
"We are stunned to see no action and no statement by the official authorities in Libya regarding the armed attack of the Madkhalist groups on the al-Sonoussi Mosque in al-Kufra. This is against religion and Sharia." It further explained.
It also condemned a similar attack on Abdullah Ben Omar Mosque in Siyaheya area in Tripoli, where the "Madkhalist attackers" changed the locks of the doors of the mosques and hindered the Fajr prayer for the first time in decades.
"We denounce the Madkhalists' behavior towards imams in the mosques, where they dismiss those who disagree with their ideologies and appoint their loyalists instead." The Fatwa House indicated.
An gang believed to be Sobul al-Salam Brigade that is loyal to Dignity Operation led by Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... attacked on Friday the shrine of al-Mahdi al-Sonoussi and took his remains to an unknown location.
Meanwhile, ...back at the the conspirators' cleverly concealed hideout Montefiore's foot was still stuck and the hound had completely soaked his uniform with slobber... former member of the General National Congress for al-Kufra city, al-Tawati al-Ayda said on TV that Salafist Madkhalists were behind the horrendous inhumane act and they were pushed for it by one of their sheikhs - Majdi Hafala - who is in al-Kufra nowadays, coming from Tripoli, to lecture his loyalists.
Al-Ayda blamed Haftar for the incident, saying the cars that attacked the mosque bore his forces' logo and were part of the Sobul al-Salam Brigade that operates under Haftar's command in east Libya.
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01/05/2018 00:00 ||
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[Libya Observer] Amazigh human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... activist, Rabea Jayash, was kidnapped on December 27 in Benghazi by an gang affiliated with Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... ’s self-styled army.
Jayash, from the western town of Yefren, was invited by a friend to visit Benghazi to attend a celebration of the Independence Day at the Kids’ Theatre.
Local sources from Yefren said Jayash was kidnapped by button men outside the theatre after speaking over the telephone using his Amazigh language.
"The button menjugged Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! him immediately, searched his bag and found a book written in Tamazight language. They accused him of espionage." The sources added.
Jayash was kidnapped together with his Benghazi host, Jamal Fellah, who was later released after interrogation over his links to Jayash.
Jayash’s fate is still unknown.
The National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) has strongly condemned what it called the arbitrary detention of cultural and human rights activist Rabea Jayash.
The NCHRL disclosed that Jayash was kidnapped by an gang led by Ali al-Amrouni called "The Districts Operations Room of Libyan Army in Benghazi."
The human rights group demanded bigwigs of so-called "Libyan Army" to intervene and secure Jayash’s release.
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01/05/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
Stuff like this happens in a failed state. Thanks Obama! Thanks Hillary!
[AA.TR] Nigeria will begin on Friday evacuation of its 5,037 citizens, who are believed to be stranded in Libya.
"A total of 5,037 stranded citizens have been identified for the evacuation," Sani Datti, front man of the National Emergency Management Agency, said in a statement on Thursday.
The move came after claims that hundreds of African migrants colonists are being held as slaves in the North African state.
Datti said the "massive evacuation" exercise will begin on Friday morning, two days after a Nigerian delegation led by Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyema visited the Libyan capital Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... "The Nigerian mission in Libya is coordinating with the International Organization for Migration to identify the Nigerian migrants colonists," Datti revealed.
He said a reception center has been established in the southern city of Port Harcourt in Nigeria. The returnees will be received and profiled at the center before being transported to their various regions.
A video detailing many Nigerian youths either kept in detention camps or under forced labor in Libya went viral on the social media in Nigeria.
The video drew outrage, forcing the nation's Senate to pass a resolution for evacuation of Nigerian citizens stranded in the North African country.
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[Dhaka Tribune] A counsel for BNP Chairperson the loathesome Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... has handed over the copy of a letter to a Dhaka court that he had received from Kuwaiti foreign ministry in 2016 regarding the donation made to Zia Orphanage Trust.
Advocate AJ Mohammad Ali delivered the document on Thursday while placing his closing argument in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case at Dhaka Special Judge’s Court 5 in the capital’s Bakshibazar area.
As Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of the makeshift court asked him whether the fund was deposited to the trust, to which Ali responded he had written to the Kuwaiti foreign ministry asking it to give him details about the grants provided and information related to it.
The ministry, in its reply, informed him that the then Kuwaiti Emir made a donation for the trust, and also to help preserve the memories of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, the lawyer said.
In the letter, the ministry wrote that the trust was a private one and that the fund was sent to the trust through a 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... n bank, he further said, adding, the copy of the letter was notarised in Dhaka.
Ali, the third defence lawyer to place closing argument, alleged that the case docket was prepared on fabricated and false information.
He also said the prosecution failed to produce any document related to the fund carrying Khaleda’s signature, before the court.
After the seventh day of closing argument by the defence, the court adjourned the hearing in the case till January 10 after Ali presented his argument between 11:55am and 3:10pm.
Earlier in the day, Khaleda appeared before the court around 11:50am, amid tight security.
The Anti-Corruption Commission had filed the case on July 3, 2008, accusing Khaleda, her son Tarique Rahman ...the elder son of former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam, and Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. He is the Senior Vice Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). His nickname is Pino. There are allegations that Pino took a rakeoff from every foreign investment into the country while Mom was in office... , and four others of embezzling more than Tk 2.1 crore through forming the trust.
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01/05/2018 00:00 ||
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[Breitbart] The migrant who went on a deadly knife and iron bar rampage in Ireland Thursday was an Egyptian asylum seeker who called himself Mohammed.
Police have said that terrorism is one line of inquiry in their investigation into the attack, which targeted three and left one man dead.
Other facts emerging Thursday morning, reported by the Irish Mirror, include that the man had filed his asylum claim just three days ago, after arriving in Ireland via Northern Ireland and Scotland, and that he had already been refused asylum in the UK.
Chief Superintendent Christy Mangan told the Irish Times,"There will be an international dimension obviously. We will be speaking to the Egyptian authorities."
According to the paper, Sherlocks believe the man was stopped on New Year’s Day by police, who asked for his papers before instructing him to apply for asylum.
The Egyptian national was just 18 years old and the man he killed has been named as Japanese factory worker Yosuke Sasaki, who was knifed as he walked home with headphones in, unaware of the danger.
The attacker went on to target two Irish men at separate locations before being apprehended by police. As Breitbart London reported, the incident began in Dundalk, Co. Louth, around 9 am on Wednesday morning.
The killer was said to be not cooperating with Irish police Wednesday night, who are considering both a terrorism motive as well as assessing the man’s mental health.
[AA.TR] Greece may try eight dismissed Ottoman Turkish soldiers who had fled to the country after the July 2016 defeated coup attempt, a minister said Thursday.
Speaking at a news conference, Greek Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis said the government will consider holding a trial for them if Ankara files an official request.
He also quoted Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras who had said the former soldiers should have a fair trial.
The Greek Penal Code permits foreign nationals to be tried in Greece for offenses they have allegedly committed in another country.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Senate, the partisans of Honorius went for their knives and the partisans of Stilicho went for the doors... a trial in absentia is being held for the ex-soldiers in an Istanbul court.
Regarding their extradition to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , Kontonis said: "The issue of the extradition is definitively closed. The Supreme Court's decision is absolutely respected by us. I cannot understand why some legal circles keep bringing it up. Too much fuss for nothing."
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01/05/2018 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] A Ottoman Turkish court on Thursday sentenced a politician of the main pro-Kurdish opposition party to 16 years and 8 months in prison, courthouse sources said, nearly a year after his arrest on terrorism-related charges.
Idris Baluken, of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), was first tossed in the slammer Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! pending trial in a terrorism-related investigation in November 2016. He was later released in January 2017 and locked away Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! again one month later.
Baluken and other detained HDP members, including the party's co-leaders, are mostly accused of links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) krazed killer group, which has conducted a decades-old insurgency against the Ottoman Turkish state. All of the accused have denied the charges.
"This sentence reflects anger against democracy and the fight for freedom. Justice is being used as a baton," said HDP co-leader Serpil Kemalbay following the court ruling.
The arrests in the HDP drew international condemnation and former co-leader Figen Yuksekdag has since been stripped of her parliamentary status and replaced as co-chairwoman.
"Devastating sentence and continuation of crackdown on opposition voices," the European Parliament's rapporteur on The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund.... , Kati Piri, wrote on Twitter.
The third-largest party in the Ottoman Turkish parliament, the HDP has been hammered by a crackdown that followed the July 2016 coup attempt, as several of its members have either been detained, tossed in the slammer Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! or stripped of their parliamentary status.
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[AA.TR] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's presidential front man on Thursday described the U.S. verdict on Ottoman Turkish banker Hakan Atilla as a "scandalous decision of a scandalous case".
Speaking at a news conference at the presidential complex, Ibrahim Kalin said the U.S. court aimed to intervene in Turkey’s internal affairs through the case.
"This [verdict] is a scandalous decision of a scandalous case. Moreover, it is loud and clear that this case is a conspiracy aimed at complicating Turkey’s internal politics and intervening in Turkey’s internal affairs," he said.
On Wednesday, a jury in New York found Atilla guilty on five counts related to conspiracy and bank fraud but acquitted him of a money laundering charge.
The verdict by a panel of six men and six women against Atilla, the 47-year-old former deputy chief executive officer of Turkey’s Halkbank, came after more than three weeks of testimonies and four days of deliberation.
The counts on which Atilla was declared guilty included violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran, crimes to deceive the U.S. and defrauding U.S. banks.
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01/05/2018 00:00 ||
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[AA.TR] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund.... has issued an extradition request to the U.S. for an alleged FETO-linked runaway Huseyin Korkmaz,
...who fears he would be tortured if he were returned to Turkey, where he led an investigation involving Turkish officials...
a judicial source said on Thursday.
Istanbul’s Prosecutor Office issued an arrest warrant for Korkmaz, demanding his extradition from the U.S., said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The extradition request has been submitted to the Justice Ministry, which will send it to the U.S. judicial authorities, it added.
Korkmaz is a central figure of an investigation into Dec. 17-25, 2013 cases pertaining to the "FETO judicial coup attempt of Dec. 17-25." The attempt led to the detention of prominent figures.
The extradition request came after Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul called for bringing back Korkmaz, a former Ottoman Turkish police supervisor who fled to the U.S. after being released in February 2016 to testify before the U.S. court in a case involving former Ottoman Turkish banker Mehmet Hakan Atilla. That high-pitched whine you hear in the background is just the corpse of Kemal Ataturk spinning in his grave.
Korkmaz faces several charges including "being member of an armed terror group" and "attempting to overthrow the government of the Republic of Turkey."
On Wednesday, a jury in New York found Atilla guilty on five counts related to conspiracy and bank fraud but acquitted him of a money laundering charge.
The verdict by a panel of six men and six women against Atilla, the 47-year-old former deputy chief executive officer of Turkey’s Halkbank, came after more than three weeks of testimonies and four days of deliberation.
The counts on which the banker was declared guilty included violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran, crimes to deceive the U.S. and defrauding U.S. banks.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/05/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
"Let's feast, for the time is auspicious!
Those kafir kebabs look delicious."
Was Erdogan's dinner,
Though ghoulish, a winner?
"Like Turkish delight, but nutritious!"
[GEO.TV] The US State Department has placed Pakistain on a Special Watch List for what it claims are "severe violations of religious freedom".
In a press statement on Thursday, the State Department said it has also re-designated 10 countries as "countries of particular concern" under the country's International Religious Freedom Act for having engaged in or tolerated egregious violations of religious freedom.
"Today, the Department of State announces that the Secretary of State re-designated Burma, China, 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... , Iran, North Korea, Sudan, 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... , Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan as Countries of Particular Concern on December 22, 2017," said the State Department.
"The Secretary also placed Pakistain on a Special Watch List for severe violations of religious freedom," it added.
The move against Pakistain comes amid a period of heightened tensions between the two nations, after US president Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... said that Washington had foolishly given Pakistain more than $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years.
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01/05/2018 00:00 ||
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[AA.TR] Pakistain on Thursday said it would duly respond to any U.S dronezap on its soil.
"Pakistain army has made it clear that any [U.S] dronezap will be responded accordingly," Foreign Ministry front man, Dr Muhammad Faisal said during a weekly press briefing in capital Islamabad while responding to a question.
The rare reaction follows recent statements from top U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... , accusing Islamabad of "playing a double-game" and providing safe havens to murderous Moslems fighting in war-torn Afghanistan.
Drone strikes have been a frequent tactic by the U.S forces since 2004 to target suspected Taliban ...Arabic for students... and al-Qaeda murderous Moslems in Pakistain’s northwestern tribal region, mainly North and South Wazoo, which border Afghanistan.
There has been a significant decrease in dronezaps on Pak soil in recent years after the Pakistain army launched a full-scale onslaught on North Waziristan --a former stronghold of Pak Taliban-- forcing murderous Moslems to flee toward Afghanistan in June 2104.
According to local media, more than 3,450 people have been killed in 417 dronezaps in Pakistain since 2004. According to international think tanks and human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... groups, including Amnesty international and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 70 percent of drone victims were unarmed civilians.
Despite Pakistain's public objections to the U.S. dronezaps, it is rumored to have given tacit approval to the ongoing controversial operations. Pakistain has also developed its own drone to use in the Death Eater-hit northwestern tribal belt.
Already frosty relations between the U.S. and Pakistain --the two allies in the so-called war against terrorism-- have further nosedived since President Trump assumed office in January last year, mainly due to a clash of interests in Afghanistan.
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01/05/2018 00:00 ||
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[Iraq News] Thousands of victims’ bodies are still under the rubble in djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , an MP of Nineveh said on Thursday, urging the government to help the refugees return back to their homes.
In televised remarks, MP Farah al-Siraj said, "4,000 bodies are still under the debris in the Old City of Mosul."
"So far, the government did not remove the debris from the city, which was highly destroyed," Siraj added.
"The city is in disastrous situation, especially the Old City, whose population reaches around 700,000," she said.
According to the MP, "only 20 percent of the displaced returned back homes." She attributed the delay in the return on the shortage of capabilities for them to return.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/05/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
Chalk up another consequence to the Obama doctrine. Before zero, Mosul had 4K+ still breathing.
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[Ynet] A military court of appeals rejected the military prosecutor's appeal and has released Nur Tamimi, cousin of Ahed Tamimi who was filmed hitting and provoking soldiers in Nebi Saleh.
Nur was charged with attacking soldiers and the prosecutor requested that she be remanded for the remainder of the judicial process.
[IsraelTimes] With tens of thousands either out of work, not receiving salaries or getting paid less, economic conditions in the Strip are deteriorating fast
Thousands of Paleostinians protested Thursday evening against the deteriorating humanitarian and economic conditions in the Gazoo Strip, local media reported, demanding that the Paleostinian leadership provide them with solutions.
Al Ahram claims it was only hundreds, but they are farther away from the situation.
The demonstrators rallying in the Jabaliya refugee camp vented their anger against both the Paleostinian Authority of President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... and the Islamist Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, terror group, which runs Gazoo.
Video from the protest by the Quds New Network showed protesters shouting "We want unity," in reference to the reconciliation process, which both Hamas and Fatah have said recently is in danger of failing.
"Where is the future," "We want electricity," proclaimed two signs held by two of the protesters, according to pictures of the event posted on social media.
"Our requests are justice, living freely and social justice," read another sign held by protesters.
Others held banners with the slogan "open the crossings." The Rafah Border Crossing out of the Strip and into Egypt has rarely been opened in recent years, and exiting through Israel for cases other than medical are complex, leaving many Gazooks unable to leave the enclave.
The demands mirror those echoed in recent protests against economic conditions that have swept Iran in recent days. They also come at a time when the US has threatened to cut its aid to the Paleostinians and the UN agency that deals with Paleostinian refugees, many of them in Gazoo
Gazoo residents have experienced harsher economic and living conditions in recent months due to a series of sanctions placed on the enclave by Abbas. The sanctions, which were aimed at forcing the Hamas terror group to cede control of the territory, included cutting electricity to anywhere between two to six hours daily, the slashing of tens of thousands of government worker salaries and thousands more workers being forced into early retirement.
The electricity cuts are a result of a dispute between the Paleostinian Authority and Hamas. The PA announced on Wednesday that it had agreed to restore payments for electricity in Gazoo, six months after halting them. The electricity payments have been a key issue in ongoing efforts at reconciliation between Hamas and Abbas’s Fatah, but they have yet to take effect.
Additionally, two months have passed since 45,000 Hamas employees received their last salaries, as Hamas hands control of the Strip to the Paleostinian Authority amid the reconciliation.
An Egyptian-brokered agreement in early October originally set a December 1 deadline for the terror group to fully transfer power in the Gazoo Strip back to the PA, though that was later pushed back to December 10.
In Gazoo, the situation has remained essentially unchanged despite the deadline, with Hamas police still patrolling the streets, while crippling electricity shortages endure.
On Wednesday the PA announced it was ready resume paying Israel to provide Gazoo with the same electricity supply it did before Abbas began the sanctions, but the measure has yet to take place.
Hamas claimed earlier in December that it had handed over control of all government ministries, but Fatah’s top negotiator later said "obstacles" remained. One sticking point is the terror group’s insistence that it hold on to its weapons and military hardware.
Since the start of the reconciliation process between rival Paleostinian factions ‐ several others have failed in the past ‐ the question over the fate of Hamas’s 25,000-strong military wing has been a thorny issue between the sides.
Abbas wants the PA to be in full control of all weapons and security in the Gazoo Strip, but Hamas is refusing to give up its arsenal. Hamas, which seeks the destruction of Israel, has fought three rounds of fighting with Israel since seizing power from Fatah in the enclave in 2007.
That’s nice. Don’t you have an invasion back home to attend to?
[AA.TR] The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... 's position on death penalty is universal and the bloc works actively to suppress it everywhere in all circumstances, EU front man said Thursday.
Carlos Martin Ruiz de Gordejuela's remarks came in response to a question posed by Anadolu Agency's Brussels correspondent at a press briefing in the Belgian capital.
"European Union is opposed to death penalty under all circumstances and cases with no exception," Gordejuela said.
The Knesset (Israel's parliament) on Wednesday approved a preliminary reading of a controversial bill that would allow the Israeli authorities to impose the death penalty against Paleostinians involved in "operations against Israeli targets".
Proposed by the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party, the bill's first reading was approved by a vote of 52 to 49. A second and third reading, however, must be approved before it becomes law.
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#1
"European Union is opposed to death penalty under all circumstances and cases with no exception," Gordejuela said.
#2
Given the level of 'executions' in the streets, stores, the tubes, and neighborhoods from Paris to London, its not like they have willies about the killing of people since they keep importing the executioners. Who has more power? It appears given all the ever increasing 'security' precautions and no-go places for the former native residents, that someone's behavior is being altered by a death penalty.
[AsiaTimes] Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ended 2017 on a self-satisfied note, openly contemplating and promoting his successor after his six-year term ends in 2022.
In the country's tempestuous and often volatile politics, where leaders have historically been overthrown in angry street protests, only a confident and powerful president would talk about succession so early in his tenure.
In less than two years, Duterte has chipped away at the country’s democratic institutions with temerity and contempt. He has not only exposed the hollow nature of Philippine democracy, but also placed the country on what seems to be an ineluctable path towards full-blown authoritarian rule.
Continued on Page 49
#1
You expect democracy to survive a sea of corruption? Just look south. They keep it going by dumping millions upon their northern neighbor to avoid reform or revolution at home.
#2
I think it's within the realm of possibility that the PI become a Chinese province, sometime in the 21st century. The country has no shortage of natural resources, but a profound shortage of good leaders. Duterte appears to be shepherding the process along, with his repeated territorial concessions to the Chinese. The strange thing is that Chinese rule might improve the lives of the hoi polloi in the Philippines. Of course, American rule would provide an even bigger boost. But that bridge was crossed over 70 years ago.
#3
What's the opinion of the Hoi Polloi about the Chinese in their other colonies, like Laos, Cambodia and the borderline cases like Nepal, Myanmar and Mongolia?
#4
What's the opinion of the Hoi Polloi about the Chinese in their other colonies, like Laos, Cambodia and the borderline cases like Nepal, Myanmar and Mongolia?
I get the impression there's a lot of envy, but no real pogroms, thanks to growing fear of China's economic (given that China is, for the most part, the biggest market for their natural resources and agricultural output) and military power.
Frankly, Indonesia, the Philippines and Burma would all benefit economically from Chinese rule. Not because the CPC is any great shakes, governance-wise, but because the Chinese market would immediately be wide open to them without any tariffs and other trade barriers, and Chinese administration, while imperfect, is far less corrupt than local management. Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad is reputed to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars (and some say billions). That's roughly the net worth of Xi Jinping's extended family, despite the fact that graft-wise, Xi has a much bigger country's economy to draw upon.
The entrenched local elites would suffer from unfettered competition with Chinese interlopers. However, the people below them would benefit greatly from the massive Chinese government infrastructure projects. And these projects have always been a part of expanding the empire's economy for thousands of years, going back to the days of the 1,100 mile long Grand Canal 1400 years ago. What prevents those countries from catching China is a combination of inferior human resources at the managerial (and above) level, and poor infrastructure. Both are fixed with the infusion of Chinese managers and Chinese infrastructure. It would work as well with Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean or white rule. But the West has cast off the white man's burden and those other Far Eastern countries simply aren't in the business of empire-building, with the massive military expenditures and the mass killings of local elites tied to the ancien regime that empire-building entails.
Having said that, Chinese expansion would be terrible for American interests. We'd lose some access to the economies of these countries. Then there's the strategic implications of having all of the Far East under China's thumb. We went to war with Japan to prevent it from adding all of China to its holdings. Why would we stand by as the Chinese empire became even bigger?
#6
Nope. Waterway control. Access to natural resources. The danger to the down under members (i.e. Australia and New Zealand) of ABCA Armies, which might also be thought of as the empire upon which the sun never set (given that it includes Diego Garcia and Hawaii).
[AnNahar] Female French jihadists locked away Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! in Kurdish-held parts of Syria should face justice there so long as they can be guaranteed a fair trial, the French government said on Thursday.
Debate has been swirling in La Belle France over the fate of women who went to Syria to marry Islamist fighters and now find themselves in jug, not least following heavy defeats for 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.
This week Emilie Konig, a 33-year-old Moslem convert from Brittany who became a notorious jihadist recruiter, became the latest of a string of European women to plead publicly for repatriation.
But French government front man Benjamin Griveaux indicated there are no plans to bring her home.
If "there are legal institutions capable of guaranteeing a fair trial assuring their right to a defence", women arrested in Kurdish-held Syria should be "judged there", Griveaux told RMC radio.
"Whatever crime may have been committed -- even the most despicable -- French citizens abroad must have a guaranteed right to a defense," he added. "We must have confirmation of that."
Konig, who features on U.N. and U.S. blacklists of dangerous holy warriors, was arrested last month and is being held in a Kurdish camp with her three young children along with several other French women.
"They have been arrested, and as far as we know they did not surrender of their own accord," Griveaux said. "They were arrested in combat."
Konig's lawyer Bruno Vinay argued Wednesday that La Belle France must repatriate her under its "international commitments."
A policeman's daughter who converted after meeting her first husband, Konig set off for Syria in 2012, leaving her first two children in La Belle France to join her new partner, who was later killed.
She frequently appeared in propaganda videos and French intelligence intercepted messages to her contacts at home urging them to attack French institutions or the wives of soldiers.
Some 30 French jihadists, both men and women, are currently in the custody of Kurdish and Iraqi forces, according to a source close to the investigation.
- 'Must face justice for crimes' -
Of some 5,000 EU Islamists believed to have gone to fight, around a third have returned home, according to the Soufan Center, a U.S.-based NGO that conducts research on global security.
So far, La Belle France, Germany and Britannia have tackled returnees on a case-by-case basis.
The Syrian Kurds' representative in La Belle France told AFP that authorities in their territory, covering swathes of north and northeast Syria, were ready to either take the women to court or send them home with their children.
"With La Belle France, an allied country, we can come to an agreement that works out well, bearing in mind that the priority is that these hard boyz are held accountable for their crimes," Issa said.
No foreign national has yet appeared in court in Kurdish-held areas, Issa added, adding that their forces on the ground have some 1,300 "terrorists" in jug including foreigners.
Kurds currently hold just under a third of Syrian territory -- including the Raqa region, IS' former "capital" -- while the regime holds around a half, following the multi-sided civil war which has raged since 2011.
La Belle France is part of the U.S.-led international military coalition that has been carrying out air strikes against IS.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/05/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
#1
This is a tough one - if you're a young woman whose development has been somewhat free of accountability for your decisions, I'd go hard up front - prison to discourage others, but freedom after 4-5 years, and by no way let them return to France.
#2
to use an old phrase - they made their bed now lie in it
Suffer the consequences of one's actions. For example, It's unfortunate that it turned out badly, but Sara made her bed and now she must lie in it . The earliest English citation for this oft-repeated proverb is in Gabriel Harvey's Marginalia (c. 1590): "Let them . . . go to their bed, as themselves shall make it."
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.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
[Ynet] A 
[AA.TR] 
[GEO.TV] The US State Department has placed Pakistain on a Special Watch List for what it claims are "severe violations of religious freedom".
Wazoo
