GAROWE, Somalia --- Puntland government in northern Somalia has responded threatening statements made by the Interior Minister of Somalia's separatist administration of Somaliland on Tuesday, Garowe Online reports.
Just when you think there's one small part of Somalia that has the slightest bit of sanity...
Speaking on BBC Somali Service, Puntland Member of Parliament and member of a delegation led by Puntland Vice President Gen. Abdisamad Ali Shire who is on second day visit to Sool regional district of Taleh, Sadik Abshir Garad condemned Somaliland for stirring insecurity in peaceful areas in Sool and Sanaag regions.
"It is strange that Ali Mohamed Waran Ade [Somaliland's Interior Minister] whose clan's constituency is known to claim the ownership of Taleh, it is unfortunate, clear and provocative violation," said MP Garad.
Continuing, MP Garad said: "We came here [Taleh] to learn the needs of our people and to reconcile the local communities of Sool region; these people showed us their support and Puntland Defence Forces are tasked with protecting Puntland citizens in every constituency".
He noted that the border of Somaliland is demarcated on the outskirts of Buroa and that Sool and Sanaag regions are home to Harti communities who share kinship with Puntland clans.
Puntland Government's response comes after Somaliland Minister of Interior Ali Mohamed Waran Ade threatened attack on Puntland as welcoming rallies held for Puntland Vice President Gen. Abdisamad Ali Shire in Taleh district of Sool region last Tuesday.
Threats of Instability have lingered over the region since Somaliland forces militarily seized control of Lasanod in October 2007 and Puntland previously declared that it would firmly deal with any provocative measures by Somaliland.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/28/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Threats of Instability have lingered
What a piquant phrase for such a g*dforsaken place.
[Libya Herald] Prime Minister Ali Zeidan denied that there were foreign troops crossing Libya's borders and within its territory.
Speaking at Sunday's presser, Zeidan said that there was "no truth" in this allegation. He added that he was in contact with Niger and that he was recently in Algeria where he discussed these issues. "There is no threat to the illusory sovereignty of Libya", stressed the Prime Minister.
Zeidan said that on Saturday a rumour surfaced that there were 1,500 vehicles heading to Brega and the south and that the air force were scrambled to sweep all the area and there was no truth in the reports.
Posted by: fred ||
08/28/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Arab Spring
Bandar told Putin, There are many common values and goals that bring us together, most notably the fight against terrorism and extremism all over the world. Russia, the US, the EU and the Saudis agree on promoting and consolidating international peace and security. The terrorist threat is growing in light of the phenomena spawned by the Arab Spring. We have lost some regimes. And what we got in return were terrorist experiences, as evidenced by the experience of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the extremist groups in Libya. ... As an example, I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics in the city of Sochi on the Black Sea next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us, and they will not move in the Syrian territorys direction without coordinating with us. These groups do not scare us. We use them in the face of the Syrian regime but they will have no role or influence in Syrias political future.
Then Bandar discussed the potential cooperation between the two countries if an understanding could be reached on a number of issues, especially Syria. He discussed at length the matter of oil and investment cooperation, saying, Let us examine how to put together a unified Russian-Saudi strategy on the subject of oil. The aim is to agree on the price of oil and production quantities that keep the price stable in global oil markets.
Bandar discussed the Syrian issue at length. So you have to stop giving [the Syrian regime] political support, especially at the UN Security Council, as well as military and economic support. And we guarantee you that Russias interests in Syria and on the Mediterranean coast will not be affected one bit. In the future, Syria will be ruled by a moderate and democratic regime that will be directly sponsored by us and that will have an interest in understanding Russia's interests and role in the region.
Regarding the Syrian issue, the Russian president responded to Bandar, saying, Our stance on Assad will never change. We believe that the Syrian regime is the best speaker on behalf of the Syrian people, and not those liver eaters.
#1
I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics in the city of Sochi on the Black Sea next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us,
Bandar's a lot of things, but "stupid" for sure ain't one of them. Threatening a Russian strongman who's ex-KGB would be right up there with...oh, I don't know, electing a communist rabble-rouser with a dubious background, a quarter-page resume and a horde of shady associates as President of the United States?
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
08/28/2013 10:33 Comments ||
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#8
also: did Bandar just admit the Chechen terrorist were tools of the Saudis?
Wouldn't that also imply admitting guilt for Beslan and other Chechen atrocities?
I would say Putin has a Casus belli to take out Saudi based on that.
#9
Even if the Chechens were getting support from the Saudis (hardly an impossible concept), Bandar realizes that using it as a negotiating point with Putin = really good chance that various members of the Saudi royal family will suddenly start experiencing unfortunate interactions with windows, balconies and elevator shafts.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
08/28/2013 11:00 Comments ||
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#10
...as opposed to the usual car accident in the desert.
#12
#9 Yes, you don't mess with the Russians. You will pay. Pappy you are correct he is a clever fellow. With him I would side with you but others not so much.
#13
1. As Safir is a Lebanese daily, affiliated with the Left. Hardly a friend of the Saudis.
2. I'd say, judging by the article, it appears to be a transcript of the meeting. I'd also hazard that the transcript is a Russian one. The Russians are quite thorough when it comes to things like recording meetings.
3. Bandar is currently in charge of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's support for the Syrian rebels.
4. The Russians are supporting the Syrian government.
5. Badar has long had social and political ties with various figures, agencies, and departments within the US government (USG).
6. The USG and the Russians are currently at odds over Syria.
7. There is currently a situation where the USG is considering intervention of some sort in the Syrian theater, something the Russians oppose.
It would not be a stretch to say that this was 'leaked' by an area of the Russian government close to Mr. Putin, to a sympathetic source in the Arab media, in particular a media outlet close to the Syrian theater, to influence events within the Syrian theater.
I'll leave it to the reader to further deduce motives and implications.
#15
In English - the Russians are now playing hardball. This is the diplomatic equivalent to an 'open' (i.e., not "total-black")assassination-by-polonium.
WASHINGTON -- A ranking U.S. government official will visit North Korea later this week in an effort to secure the release of a Korean-American man held there, the State Department announced Tuesday.
Amb. Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, will travel to Pyongyang on Friday at the invitation of the North Korean government, it said in a press release.
Can't be for a hostage release -- we usually send Jimmuah for that...
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/28/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Ambassador Rodman isn't available?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/28/2013 9:36 Comments ||
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#2
There's a UFO convention in Las Vegas this week.
[OMANOBSERVER] A UN inquiry gathering harrowing testimony of human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... abuses in North Korea appealed yesterday for access to the country, even as Pyongyang condemned its work as slanderous and provocative. The three-member Commission of Inquiry chaired by retired Australian judge Michael Kirby has just wrapped up five days of disturbing hearings in the South Korean capital Seoul -- mostly testimony from North Korean defectors. As Kirby prepared to give a final presser yesterday, the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) launched a bitter attack on the UN panel, calling its witnesses "human scum" manipulated by the South Korean authorities. The commentary said the commission's work would only set back recent progress towards engagement between North and South Korea after months of heightened military tensions.
The North, which strongly denies allegations of rights abuses, has refused to recognise the commission and barred it visiting the country.
Despite the KCNA attack Kirby issued another in a long series of formal and informal appeals to North Korea to grant his three-member panel of experts access. "We will act with respect, we seek to find facts, we will provide due process, we will have no preconceptions," he told news hounds.
"We are not a prosecutor. We are not a judge. An ounce of evidence is worth many, many pounds of insult or attack. "The best way for North Korea to respond is with evidence... and by letting us inspect sites where abuses are alleged to have taken place." The commission's repeated requests for access included a formal written letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, but it has had no direct response.
The Commission of Inquiry is the first United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... expert panel to officially examine North Korea's human rights record, and plans to collect witness testimony in Japan, Thailand, Britannia and the United States. The final report is due to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in March next year, and Kirby said he expected the UN to act on any recommendations it might make. "It's difficult to accept that the international community established this commission without the intention that it would lead somewhere," he said. Much of the testimony gathered from the dozens of witnesses who participated in the public hearings in Seoul has been documented before, by rights groups, NGOs and in books written by the individuals themselves. Kirby said he had been "greatly affected" by the testimony, but stressed that it did not always amount to evidence of alleged wrongdoing.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/28/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Pyonyang says, is a tune out, IMMEDIATELY.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/28/2013 7:03 Comments ||
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[MotherJones] Nearly a year before the massacre, the bureau intercepted emails between Nidal Hasan and radical holy manAnwar al-Awlaki ... Born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, zapped in Yemen, al-Awlaki was a dual citizen of the U.S. and Yemen. He was an Islamic holy man who was a trainer for al-Qaeda and its franchises. His sermons were attended by three of the 9/11 hijackers, by Fort Hood murderer Nidal Malik Hussein, and Undieboomer Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He was the first U.S. citizen ever placed on a CIA target list... that officials called "fairly benign." They are anything but.
As it turns out, the FBI quietly released the emails in an unclassified report on the shooting, which was produced by an investigative commission headed by former FBI director William H. Webster last year. And, far from being "benign," they offer a chilling glimpse into the psyche of an Islamic radical. The report also shows how badly the FBI bungled its Hasan investigation and suggests that the Army psychiatrist's deadly rampage could have been prevented.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/28/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
No, we simply couldn't connect the dots with this here American jihadist al-Awalki, hard to find good Special Agents and intel people these days.... you know the deal. We didn't think it meant anything.....but figured it could eventually become ....."politcally sensitive"....especially with other gov't agencies involved.... so we kept each and every Hasan to al-Awlaki communiques over here in this Secure Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) in a nice file all it's own. That way if something came up, we wouldn't look quite as stupid. But then al-Awlaki got himself coincidentally drone zapped, and we thought watzit matter..... but we kept it all anyways, just in case.
No need to bring any of this stuff up at trial is there COL Osborne? Your decision COL, nasty old islamafobe Judge Gross is gone.....'you the man' er huh, so to speak. We're here for you on this one. All very "politically sensitive".... you know the deal.
By the way, good luck with your upcoming promotion board.
#2
I want to hear from the reviewers and raters.
This guy shouldn't have been boarded before he made O3 on performance alone. Probably would have been had not his demonstrated Islamic nutcasery made him invulnerable because his superiors didn't want to be accused of Islamophobia.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
08/28/2013 8:01 Comments ||
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#3
Hopefully 'raters and reviewers' are contemplating pistol eating, and have a difficult time with sleep and mirrors.
#4
Another case of Affirmative Action vs competency. However, his chain would be composed of medical personnel. So, you understand - IAW Army regs (at least of the time when I left), doctors, nurse, lawyers and chaplains hold rank because of their skill and do not have inherit 'command authority'. They may have positional authority based upon the specific TO&E/TDA organization assignment. If you find yourself in the fantasy world of a POW camp (who takes Americans prisoners?), even though you'd have majors and colonels of those branches among you, the lieutenant or captain from other combat, combat support and even some other combat service support units would be senior in legal command authority.
#5
July marked the 40th anniversary of the end of the Draft. During the Draft years medical personnel came and went, fulfilling their service obligations. As I recall, they were a pretty good lot. We've not been able to recruit enough medical professional since. As a result, we get 'contract people' civilians who attended medical school in some island nation. Of course this strengthens diversity and the integration of misfits like Nidal Hasan. The Draft had some downsides, but the commissioning of newly graduated medical professionals wasn't one of them.
#6
Wouldn't make any difference today. There are already in place programs for subsidized medical education programs in return for government service obligations. Given Obamacare, the return on investment is going to drop for incentive to follow the medial path who don't want to take that path. As long as the AMA maintains the certification authority on medical schools, you can count on the guild (unlike businesses) in making sure the market is not flooded with cheap labor. So, a doctor shortage is going to become very acute among the civilian population, let alone among the uniform services.
#9
you've got places like chicago for medics to learn about dealing with bullet wounds
That actually is the the case, though usually it's places with Military Treatment Facilities nearby.
For a long time it was George Washington University; the Royal Navy would send its docs there.
#10
The report also shows how badly the FBI bungled its Hasan investigation and suggests that the Army psychiatrist's deadly rampage could have been prevented
Yes, an investigation. We were picking at threads; sorry for the whole garment falling apart...
#11
as I recall, over the years the good psychiatrist's colleagues and supervisors did complain -- verbally. They were either told to shut up or that it would be taken care of... and then it wasn't. Possibly because the FBI/CIA wanted to continue gathering information?
#12
It was not bungled. It was deliberate. ROP was the meme to be maintained. At all costs. From the top down. Good people got killed. No responsibility at the top. Congress critters and the exec are easy to buy.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/28/2013 13:16 Comments ||
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#13
Al-AwLaki is only a recent or near-term part of the story.
As usual the FBI-CIA = FED Agencies is at least 10 years [more?] behind the truth.
[Dawn] Pakistan government is set to bring Dr Aafia Siddiqui back home from a US prison as the interior ministry Tuesday dispatched a summary to the cabinet division seeking approval of the federal cabinet scheduled to meet on Wednesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/28/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Sniff, sniff, how cute, Penn State + Carlyle Army miss their little Aafia.
[Dawn] After much deliberation, Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal has decided to take oath as member of the provincial assembly on Wednesday.
Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Mir Hamal Kalmati are likely to take oath as members of Balochistan Assembly during the current session on Wednesday.
"Yes i have decided to take oath as member of Balochistan Assembly," Sadar Mengal told Dawn.com on Tuesday. He said the central committee of BNP-M had decided to raise voice for Baloch rights and protection of resources within the parliament as well.
"That is why, we are taking oath as members of assembly," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/28/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[Dawn] Another Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) politician may face disqualification as an election tribunal on Monday fixed August 28 for the 'framing of issues' against its MPA Raja Rashid Hafeez from Rawalpindi for defaulting on Rs4.8 million of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL).
It may be noted that on July 18, the Supreme Court suspended the membership of MNA Ghulam Sarwar Khan of the PTI for having a bogus educational certificate. On July 29, the Lahore High Court (LHC)'s Rawalpindi bench disqualified Ayla Malik from contesting by-elections from NA-71 Mianwali, the home seat of PTI chief Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... , for having a fake degree.
On May 11, Mr Hafeez won the PP-11 Rawalpindi seat bagging 44,430 votes against 43,267 of Ziaullah Shah, a candidate of the PML-N.
Mr Shah has sought disqualification of his rival, alleging that in addition to the Rs4.8 million default, Mr Hafeez had also concealed foreign currency bank accounts of his own and his spouse in his nomination papers.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/28/2013 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] Army to recruit limited number of reservists (1,000 to start) ahead of possible American strike against Assad regime. Ya'alon: Syrian attack on Israel unlikely
The Cabinet on Wednesday authorized the IDF to call up a limited number of reserve soldiers ahead of a possible US-led attack on Syria, which may be launched as early as Thursday.
"We've been given a mandate to recruit thousands of reservists, but we will recruit only up to 1,000 to vital arrays in the Air Force, Home Front Command and IDF Intelligence," a senior IDF official said. "We've instructed the relevant units not to allow soldiers to go on leave tomorrow morning."
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... will most likely not order his forces to attack Israel in response to any military operation against his regime. "Our borders are stable despite momentary anomalies. Our responses clarify our red lines and are based on deterrence. This is why our borders are quiet and the situation in the territories and Sinai is claim," Yaa'lon told an economic conference in Tel Aviv Wednesday.
In preparation for a possible American attack in Syria, the IDF has decided to deploy another Iron Dome missile defense battery in northern Israel within the next 24 hours in addition to the one already deployed in the Haifa area.
In preparation for a possible American attack in Syria, the IDF has decided to deploy another Iron Dome missile defense battery in northern Israel within the next 24 hours in addition to the one already deployed in the Haifa area. The army may place another battery in central Israel. the Israeli Air Force may also deploy Patriot batteries in the Galilee region.
Senior American officials told NBC News the US could hit Syria with three days of missile strikes, perhaps beginning Thursday, in an attack meant more to send a message to Syrian President Assad than to topple him or cripple his military.
Defense Minister Ya'alon, "In Syria a process is taking place that is part of a historic event which occurs once a century -- the dissolution of a nation state. The situation in Syria is the result of Western mistakes. There were people in the West who thought they knew what was best for the Arabs and created a nation state. What we saw in Tunis, Egypt, Libya and Iraq is a situation of the dissolution of the nation state and future wars."
Ya'alon warned that in the near future the Middle East will be characterized by "chronic instability. During this period tensions will surface, among other things due to global jihad forces. This situation creates tensions that may be turned against us.
"The Syrians crossed a red line set by the Americans -- the use of chemical weapons. These are horrific scenes, but the matter is being dealt with by the West and the US, not us," he said. "We are prepared, but there is no panic or escalation. Our (finger) is not light on the trigger, but anyone who assumes he can threaten us will be met by our force."
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/28/2013 15:46 Comments ||
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#2
Iff-n-when SHTF proverbially, IMO the IDF's real focii for its Ground Forces will be agz Hezbollah in Lebanon, while the IDAF's will be CAS, AL-Qaeda in Syria + anything coming in from Iran ways.
There is little logic in the Netanyahu government's public assurances that the Syrian ruler Bashar Assad would not risk a major showdown with Israel for fear of an IDF response powerful enough to overthrow his regime. This argument fails to take into account the calculus in Washington: President Barack Obama would not countenance, at least in the initial stage, an Israeli military strike on a scale greater than the limited operation he is contemplating for his own armed forces in the wake of the Syrian government's chemical weapons attack on Damascus last Wednesday, Aug. 21. Israel would therefore not be allowed to endanger Assad's rule.
Israel doesn't want to endanger Assad's rule, fully realizing as they do what would replace him.
Assad's Russian advisers are no doubt briefing him on this Israel-Syrian equation.
According to military sources, Israeli strategists prefer to believe that Syria will choose Jordan for a conventional missile strike in reprisal for a US attack - rather than go for Israel.
This assumption was refuted by the words of Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem Tuesday, Aug. 27, at a press conference he held in response to US allegations of his government's responsibility for using chemical weapons in East Damascus.
Accusing the US Secretary of State John Kerry of telling lies and fabricating evidence against his government, Moallem insisted it had not used chemical weapons or delayed permission for the UN team to launch its investigation under guaranteed security in government-controlled sites. That team only arrived Saturday, Aug. 23, and was not ready for its mission before Monday, Moallem insisted.
Possibly all true. It could have been Al Qaeda creating an incident, whether deliberately or accidentally -- there have been rumblings that they made off with contents of captured warehouses for quite some time.
He went on to question US objectives in seeking to attack Syria, and answered his own question by saying: "Anything that happens in this area is in Israel's interest. Such aggression will first of all benefit Israel, secondly, the military efforts of Al Nusra, al Qaeda's armed group in Syria. "So the Americans would be serving Israel first and Al Qaeda second."
Yeah, yeah. It's always those damned juices.
As for Jordan, Moallem stressed Syria's friendly and neighborly ties with the Hashemite kingdom. "We have no thought of acting against Jordan," he said, and advised Amman not to let itself be persuaded to give up its friendship with Damascus.
When Moallem said Tuesday that Syria would defend itself in the case of a US strike "using all available means," he felt safe in including Syrian allies in this category.
Those allies are evidently resolved not to stand by idly if Syria is attacked.
Much more likely that Hizb'allah will attack Americans or Israelis out in the great big world than that Assad will trigger open war with Israel -- they're already out there and ready to rock.
The nature of their promised assistance to Bashar Assad was no doubt conveyed to Barack Obama's intermediaries, UN Deputy Secretary Jeffrey Feltman and Oman's Sultan Qaboos, Monday, when they met Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani Monday, to promote the US president's bid for an understanding on Syria --
Cargo Cult diplomacy.
So the US president must by now know how many players will jump in and where, in consequence of an American attack on Syria. This means that Washington may find it impossible to keep the operation within the predetermined confines desired by the US president.
Jerusalem as well as Washington realizes how widely the fallout may spread, but Israeli leaders are keeping this prospect under their hats to avoid public panic.
Most everyone in Israel has figured it out, which is why there's a run on gas masks over there, and construction on the various security fences continues apace.
#3
So why are Israeli officials so pro-rebel? My guess is that Israeli officials are afraid of Syria playing the Cuban role in a new missile crisis, once Iran gets its nukes up and going. That would reduce Israel's reaction time significantly in the event of a Syrian launch. If online commentary from English language Israeli news sites is any indication, popular opinion in Israel does not favor the Syrian rebels. However, the Israeli leadership is trying to get Assad toppled by hook or by crook before the Iranians get their nukes on line, on the assumption that the Iranians wouldn't place them in a Syria dominated by Sunni Islamists who view exterminating Shiites as the first order of business before embarking on a world tour with Allah's personal assistance (i.e. Koranic catastrophes like plagues, floods, et al, inflicted on the non-Muslim heathens).
Ultimately, the way to deal with Iranian nukes is to bomb the Iranian nuclear program, not create an al Qaeda government in Syria. Obama doesnt want to bomb Iran, so this is the alternative were left with.
#4
ZF, I'd agree with that, because otherwise its in Israel's interest for the war to drag on for years with Assad eventually winning, but the country wrecked for a generation.
#5
I can't imagine Assad or anyone else on the international scene trusting Obama. And I'm pretty sure the Israelis would not bet their survival on him either at this point.
The U.S. government will fund $313 million in home mortgages for Palestinians living on the West Bank, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Monday. The U.S. will also guarantee $110 million in loans to small- and medium-sized businesses located on the West Bank.
Don't we have people in the U.S. who could use a little help?
The mortgage and business-loan activities will be conducted by the federal Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). OPIC is the U.S. Governments development finance institution, says OPICs website. OPIC provides financial products, such as loans and guaranties; political risk insurance; and support for investment funds, all of which help American businesses expand into emerging markets.
Because you all know the West Bank is going to be a booming market...
The GAO report released Tuesday described some of the actions OPIC is taking in the emerging market of the Palestinian territories.
U.S. agencies and implementing partners participate in various programs with the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF) or PIF-owned entities that include home mortgage financing, loan guarantees, and educational initiatives, says the report. First, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) along with PIF and other entities have committed to lend $485 million to the Affordable Mortgage and Loan Company (AMAL) to support mortgages for low- and medium-income borrowers in the West Bank.
OPIC has committed to lend about $313 million; PIF has committed about $72 million, and two banks account for the balance of the committed lending, says the GAO. However, as of April 2013, OPIC and PIF had not yet disbursed any funds. Second, OPIC and PIF are co-guarantors in a Loan Guarantee Facility (LGF) program in the West Bank, guaranteeing up to $110 million and $50 million in loans, respectively, to nine regional banks to support lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises.
The PIF is an entity that was created by the Palestinian Authority president.
So the money goes straight to his account in the Caymans. It's much cleaner that way...
PIF is governed by a board of directors and a general assembly appointed by the Palestinian Authority President, and manages investments throughout a number of sectors, including real estate and hospitality, infrastructure, finance, capital markets, small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and manufacturing, says the GAO.
And each gets to wet his beak...
The GAO reported that OPIC says it has checked the foreign bankers and executives it is dealing with in its West Bank loan program for terrorists connections. OPIC says it has also checked borrowers.
No terrorists, thank goodness, just grifters and crooks...
OPIC officials stated that OPIC has vetted PIFs board of directors and senior executives, the non-U.S. board members and shareholders of AMAL, and key officials of the banks against information sources such as the FBI Terrorist Screening Center database, OFAC list, and OPICs Information Center databases, says the GAO report. For the LGF program, OPIC said that, based on OPICs procedures and the LGF agreements, it has vetted all the participating banks and has vetted key officials of each borrower and guarantor before loans are approved using information sources such as Treasurys Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes and FBIs Terrorist Screening Center databases.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/28/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Almost exactly equals the amount of money taken away from commercial manned space.
#2
Probably little more than an amazing coincidence.
The delegation accompanying the president on the trip reflects this mentality. Along with Froman, it will include American CEOs and business leaders; Valerie Jarrett, a close personal friend and advisor to President Obama who serves as the White Housesliaison to corporate America; and the heads of the U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank), U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).
#3
313 Millions for fat people while in worls there is people far more friendlier to America who are starving.
65 years and they are still being provided by the Western tax payer instead of by thir own work. Whjy should they avccept a peace settlment when they can makez war for free and be fed by us?
#11
let's see if we are aggressively giving mortgages to Paleos in Jerusalem to try and firm up their claim to Jerusalem as their capital. I could see that from this group of asshats
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/28/2013 10:39 Comments ||
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#12
No matter how much money we give they will still hate us and still want us dead.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/28/2013 11:05 Comments ||
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#13
will the homes come with 'rock and stone' driveways?
h/t Donald Sensing
Testimony from victims strongly suggests it was the rebels, not the Syrian government, that used Sarin nerve gas during a recent incident in the revolution-wracked nation, a senior U.N. diplomat said Monday.
Carla del Ponte, a member of the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told Swiss TV there were strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof, that rebels seeking to oust Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad had used the nerve agent. So now the light worker is going to ignore UN?
#3
General "Buck" Turgidson: Ahem... The Duty Officer asked General Ripper to confirm the fact that he *had* issued the go code, and he said, uh, "Yes gentlemen, they are on their way in, and no one can bring them back. For the sake of our country, and our way of life, I suggest you get the rest of SAC in after them...
#8
But, but. The rebels are Hussein's friends. And Linsey Grahmnasty's and John McShame's. They'd (the rebels) never let their American supporters down...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/28/2013 16:24 Comments ||
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#9
Just a friendly reminder Iraqi army, security, and intelligence services captured an al-Qaeda cell this July that specialized in manufacturing chemical weapons.
Two plants were shut down, one in Baghdad and the other in an area near the capital. Chemicals weapons, their precursors, and the equipment used to manufacture them, were confiscated.
The cell had reached an advanced stage in the manufacture of extremely dangerous chemical weapons sarin, mustard and VX nerve gases -- as well as a highly toxic, incendiary chemical liquid.
The plants had been set up to produce chemical weapons and the five men had conducted experiments there on how to use the weapons, he said.
During the investigation, the men revealed plans to use the chemical weapons they manufactured in terrorist strikes in Iraq and neighboring countries, as well as in Europe and North America, he said.
#12
The Aum Shinrikyo cult in Japan killed about a dozen people with sarin in the Tokyo subway back in 1995. No artillery or nation-state support involved.
[Ynet] US intelligence has intercepted an urgent phone call placed by a senior Syrian defense ministry official with a commander in a chemical weapons unit, Foreign Policy has reported.
According to the report, the official contacted the commander to demand answers for the alleged chemical attack that killed more than 1,000 people in a Damascus suburb. The call is the US' main proof that Assad's regime is responsible for the attack.
#4
See also ABC NEWS > OBAMA: US HAS CONCLUDED THAT THAT SYRIAN GOVT [read, ASSAD per se] CARRIED OUT CHEMICAL WEAPONS ATTACK.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS. FREEREPUBLIC > OBAMA SET FOR HOLY TOMAHAWK [SLCM, ALCM] WAR.
And ONLY a LR Tomahawk war???
------------
OTOH YAHOO NEWS, AFP > US: ASSAD RESPONSIBLE EVEN IFF DIDN'T ORDER GAS ATTACK.
En "Ultimates".
Bashir is the Head of State + Commander-in-Chief, hence is directly or indirectly responsible for any + all actions State Employees, Military, + Agencies + Orgs under his wing.
VERSUS
* BIG NEWS NETWORK > SECURITY COUNCIL FAILS TO AGREE TO AUTHORIZE MILITARY STRIKE AGZ SYRIA.
* SAME > ISRAEL SEES LOW PROBABILITY OF SYRIA ATTACK [counter-attack/response] AS US PREPARES STRIKE.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > RUSSIA SENDS AT LEAST TWELVE WARSHIPS TO SYRIA, ostensib to patrol in waters near its Tartarus Base.
[Ynet] A senior Jordanian official told Sky News in Arabic that special forces are positioned along the border with Syria ahead of an operation to seize chemical weapons sites. The source said the military operation will not be launched from Jordanian territory.
Whose special forces? Jordanian or... someone else?
#2
With bad guys all rounded up and accounted for. Klingons leave Afghanistan and pull out of Benghazi just a few weeks ago, awaiting further assignment NFI.
UN Chem/Bio weapons inspectors and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) arrive Damascus and link-up just prior to alleged chemical release.
Congress goes on recess, less McShame who ramps up attack narrative. Encourages Assad to declare 'snow day'.
Ralph Peters claims no threat to US national security, sez nothing in US Constitution which precludes us from permitting our enemies to destroy our enemies. [unless of course they really are not our enemies]
[Al Ahram] Israel will strike back "fiercely" if Syria attacks the Jewish state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday, as the US mulled military action against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's Light of the Alawites... regime.
"The State of Israel is prepared for every scenario," he said following consultations on the crisis in Syria. "We are not part of the civil war in Syria, but if we detect any attempt to hurt us, we will react, and react fiercely."
Netanyahu's remarks came as Syria vowed to defend itself if the United States and its allies attacked the Assad regime, which allegedly used chemical weapons against its own citizens last week.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said their capabilities would "surprise" the world, and warned that any military action against it would serve the interests of Israel and Al-Qaeda.
Washington has accused Assad's regime of a cover-up, and has said it will provide more evidence of who was behind the attacks. US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the military was prepared to act if Obama called for it.
Meanwhile, ...back at the secret hideout, Scarface Al sneeringly put his proposition to little Nell... Israelis were rushing to replace old gas masks. A spokeswoman for the Israel Postal Service, which distributes the masks, said there has been a 300 percent increase in delivery orders in recent days.
Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz on Monday called the notion of Assad attacking Israel "insane".
Posted by: Fred ||
08/28/2013 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Don't fergit LEBANON, Benji!
To wit,
* DAILY STAR LEBANON > HEZBOLLAH WILL ATTACK ISRAEL IFF [US-led] SYRIA STRIKE AIMS TO TOPPLE ASSAD.
and
* MIAMI HERALD > ONE STEP CLOSER TO WAR: US WINS FULL ARAB LEAGUE BACKING AS PLAN EMERGES FOR STRIKE ON SYRIA.
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.
GAROWE, Somalia --- Puntland government in northern Somalia has responded threatening statements made by the Interior Minister of Somalia's separatist administration of Somaliland on Tuesday, Garowe Online reports.
North Korea
[Dawn] Another Pakistain 
[Ynet] Army to recruit limited number of reservists (1,000 to start) ahead of possible American strike against Assad regime. Ya'alon: Syrian attack on Israel unlikely
The U.S. government will fund $313 million in home mortgages for Palestinians living on the West Bank, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Monday. The U.S. will also guarantee $110 million in loans to small- and medium-sized businesses located on the West Bank.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[TheGuardian] Signs of advanced readiness at likely hub of air campaign as UN inspection team comes under fire near site of alleged chemical attack
