[AnNahar] Talibs meeting Afghan officials in Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... reiterated their hardline stance on peace talks Monday, ruling out negotiations until U.S. forces leave the country and the snuffies are allowed to open a political office.
A 20-member Afghan delegation over the weekend launched two days of "open discussion" with Taliban representatives in the Gulf emirate in their latest attempt to end Afghanistan's long war.
The gunnies emphasized their preconditions for negotiations in a statement read out by their representatives at the meeting and posted on the Taliban's official website.
"One of the main external obstacle (to talks) is the occupation of our country by Americans... continuing the occupation will mean continuing the war," the statement said.
"The mother of all these miseries is their invasion, which should end as a first step toward a peace dialogue between Afghans."
The statement came as a Taliban jacket wallah struck a government bus in Kabul on Monday, killing one civilian and wounding 15 others in the latest attack in the annual "spring offensive".
The snuffies also said they needed to set up a political office for any peace negotiations and demanded that their leaders be removed from a U.S. "blacklist".
"For talks, an office and an address is needed. The Islamic Emirate does not have an address for peace talks," the Taliban said, using their official name.
"We need an office to issue statements on peace and answer questions. If there is an office... baseless and biased accusations will be prevented."
So that if you see the term, you'll know what it means, dear Reader.
[AnNahar] Somalia's government has ordered journalists to call Islamist Shabaab Lions of Islam "the Group that Massacres the Somali People," or "Ugus", the acronym of the phrase in Somali.
"The meaning of al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... is 'The Youth', and that is a good name," Somalia's intelligence chief Abdirahman Mohamud Turyare told news hounds.
"We cannot allow that good name to be blemished, so the enemy we are fighting is called Ugus, an acronym of 'The Group that Massacres the Somali People'," he said.
The al-Qaeda-aligned group emerged in 2006 to lead a bitter insurgency against Æthiopia, whose troops entered Somalia in a U.S.-backed invasion to topple the Islamic Courts Union that controlled the capital Mogadishu at the time.
"It represents what they do, they massacre people," Turyare said of the new name. "I hope all the media join in taking this name as their official title."
The term Ugus is already in use by government-run radio and television stations, after its introduction several weeks ago.
Shabaab rebels stage frequent attacks in their fight to overthrow Somalia's internationally-backed government, and to counter claims that they are close to defeat due to the loss of territory, regular U.S. drone strikes against their leaders and defections.
They have also carried out Dire Revenge attacks across the wider region targeting countries which contribute troops to the 22,000-strong African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... force.
Nairobi -- US Secretary of State John Kerry has a full in-tray of issues to tackle during his two-day visit in Kenya.
They're doomed...
Many are hoping that his high-profile visit will signal a thawing of relations between Washington and Nairobi, damaged by the Hague trial of President Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto.
Mr Kerry arrived in Nairobi from Sri Lanka Sunday, with the US State Department saying his visit was meant to “reinforce the importance of the strong US-Kenyan bilateral relationship.”
He couldn't have stayed in Sri Lanka a few more days? Take the waters? Go sailboarding?
He is expected to meet President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House at 10am today and with Opposition politicians, including Cord leader Raila Odinga at 1pm at the Serena Hotel.
“We are seeking stronger security relations with the United States. We are also going to be taking stock of where our relations are,” said Foreign Affairs Secretary Amina Mohammed, who received Mr Kerry at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Given that the usual human rights crowd is all pissy at your country, you can expect very little from Jahwn and Champ. Pray they don't decide to come after you.
“We will be discussing what kind of programmes we can take advantage of going forward. We will be looking at 13 or so programmes that the US has on anti-terrorism and we will be discussing the efforts that we have made (in counter-terrorism).”
Besides security, Mr Kerry’s visit will also focus on economic cooperation between Kenya and the US. Mr Kerry’s visit is a precursor to the scheduled July visit to Kenya of US President Barack Obama, who had promised to visit the land of his father before the end of his second term in office.
An analyst, Prof David Kikaya, said Mr Kerry’s visit was a sign of improving relations between Kenya and the US.
“The visit is a recognition that the cold war between Kenya and the US over ICC has thawed to a point where both parties see relations in a different way,” said the scholar who teaches international relations at USIU-Africa. “In fact Kenya remains a fairly trusted friend of the West in this very turbulent Great Lakes region.”
Kenya will be looking for support in the face of terrorist attacks.
Good luck. Oh and remember, you're doomed...
“He (Mr Kerry) will discuss a range of issues including security cooperation — particularly in light of the recent tragic attack at Garissa University College — refugee assistance, human rights, trade and biodiversity,” a statement from the US State Department said on Thursday. “Secretary Kerry’s visit will focus on our common goals, including accelerating economic growth, strengthening democratic institutions, and improving regional security.”
The fight against Al-Shabaab will feature high on the agenda since Mr Kerry is today scheduled to meet Defence CS Raychelle Omamo, her Interior counterpart, Mr Joseph ole Nkaissery and Ms Amina after his talks with President Kenyatta.
A US State Department official said: “We think the Kenyans are doing their best. Fighting terrorism is tough, and particularly fighting it in this region is very tough.”
Human rights activists are also likely to put pressure on Mr Kerry “to address both new and longstanding problems in Kenya’s human rights record”.
Because killing terrorists is ucky...
In a letter addressed to him and which was made public on Thursday, 10 human rights groups and individuals who also include a former US ambassador to Nairobi, said Mr Kerry should speak on police impunity, extrajudicial killings of suspected radical clerics, proposed legislation that is seen as targeting activists and journalists, as well as corruption.
Corruption in Africa? Whoever heard of such a thing? Besides Besoeker, I mean...
“We are concerned that President Kenyatta and his administration are chipping away at these gains under the guise of promoting national security and combating terrorism, including by imposing unjustified curbs on civil society and independent media,” said the letter. “This is a critical time for Kenya’s bilateral partners to unequivocally call for a fundamental change in how Kenya manages the ongoing threat of attacks.”
The letter was co-authored by groups such as Haki Africa — whose accounts were recently frozen over suspected support to terror merchants — Article 19, former US Envoy William Bellamy, Human Rights Watch and Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri).
All the usual suspects. How does one expect Haki Africa to continue its activities to aid the Widows Ammunition Fund when its accounts are frozen?
The US official said: “We will be meeting with civil society organisations. We will be encouraging the Kenyans to look at their civil society laws and to ensure that their laws are not putting undue pressure on civil society… We will be encouraging the government to respect civil society, to also respect the rights of the Press.”
After his two-day tour of duty in Kenya, Mr Kerry will depart for Djibouti where he is expected to take the anti-radicalisation message when he meets with youth and religious leaders from Wednesday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/05/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
They want US aid to violate these people's human rights?!
HARGEISA, Somalia(land) -- Despite election days, Somaliland's House of Elders is exploring all avenues to extend President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud (Siilaanyo)’s term by unspecified duration, Garowe Online reports.
Don't tell Champ. This is right out of the Thug's Playbook...
The Chairman of House of Elders Saleban Mohamud Adan told a news conference in Somaliland capital of Hargeisa on Sunday that 28-member committee drawn from the chamber will discuss term extension for the current leadership with opposition and ruling Kulmiye Party.
Wadani and UCID heavyweights who previously contested the theme of election delay are likely to agree to term extension, insiders predict.
Electoral commission postponed general elections due to lack of timely voters registration.
Although the separatist administration was mired into deadlock over the date on which elections will be held, Adan mediated between Wadani leader and Parliament Speaker Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro and President Siilaanyo in late 2014.
Somaliland, located in northwestern Somalia declared its independence from the rest of the country as de facto sovereign state but it has not been recognized internationally yet.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/05/2015 00:00 ||
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Cairo -- Five members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt were on Monday sentenced to death for killing 13 people, including 11 policemen, in 2013 after a retrial.
The defendants were accused of attacking the Kerdasa police station on August 14, 2013, the same day when Egyptian security forces dispersed two Brotherhood protest sit-in camps in Cairo and Giza, killing hundreds of people. They were also accused of being on the grassy knollkidnapping the Lindbergh baby possessing unlicensed weapons among other charges.
In February, the court sentenced 183 defendants to death in the same case. Thirty-five of them were sentenced in absentia. Five defendants, from those sent in absentia have asked for a retrial. The Egyptian criminal court have confirmed their death sentences.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/05/2015 00:00 ||
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DAKAR—Senegal will send 2,100 troops to Saudi Arabia to take part in an international coalition combating Houthi fighters in neighboring Yemen, the West African nation's foreign minister said on Monday.
Mankeur Ndiaye added that the coalition was seeking to defend Muslim holy sites at Medina and Mecca.
[Ynet] US Navy warships have begun accompanying British-flagged commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz as a result of Iran's detention of a Marshall Islands-flagged ship last week, the Pentagon said on Monday.
Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon front man, said the US Navy had accompanied one British ship through the strait following talks between Washington and London and others would follow. The Navy has been accompanying US-flagged ships for several days in response to last week's detention of the MV Maersk Tigris.
A jazz lyricist suffering a drouth
Smelt a funky-butt breeze from the south
And the muse in his rear
Put his pencil in gear
So the scat flowed onec more from his mouth.
Also,
Edmund Clerihew Bentley
Was probably treated too gently.
If parents and dons would've flogged him,
His doggerel mightn't have dogged him.
#7
* ION TOPIX > [Trend] IRAN DESTROYER "ALBORZ" WARNS US DESTROYER [+ USN Patrol Aircraft].
Claims US DDG-81 tried to enter the five-mile security zone of the Iranian 34th Fleet.
AND
* SAME, BIGNEWSNETWORK > SAUDI KING SALMAN WARNS OF IRAN THREAT TO GULF.
* Also from BIGNEWSNETWORK > ...
> IRAN SAYS WON'T ALLOW SAUDI SIEGE OF YEMEN.
> [AlterNet] THE GROWING CHINA-IRAN-IRAN STRATEGIC ALLIANCE HAS GOT THE US PENTAGON TREMBLING.
* FYI CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > CHINA'S YJ-18 [ASCMS] A "MAJOR THREAT" TO US NAVY. CHINA IS OUTFITTING NEW NAVAL DSTROYERS [+ Attack Subs] WID THEIR POTENT ANTI-SHIP MISSLES, WHICH POSES A SDERIOUS CHALLENGE TO US NAVAL DEFENSES.
* FYI TOPIX > [Daily Times.PK] PAKISTAN: TIME TO GO NUCLEAR!?
That's Sunni KSA BFF, + Shia Iran BFF = or Best Frenemy Forevar?, We-Should-Be-the-World's-First-Muslim/Islamic-Nuclear-Superpower-NOT-Iran Pakistan.
[AlAhram] Senegal ... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... will send 2,100 troops to 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... as part of an international coalition combating Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... rebels in neighbouring Yemen, the West African nation's foreign minister said on Monday.
Senegalese President Macky Sall said, after returning from a visit to Saudi Arabia last month, he was considering a request to deploy troops in the Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthi, a Shi'ite Moslem group allied to Iran.
Senegal deployed troops to Saudi Arabia as part of the US-led alliance during the Gulf War against Iraq, when 92 of its soldiers were killed in the crash of a Saudi transport plane in 1991.
[ArabNews] The Interior Ministry has said it has the right to revoke the visa of any expatriate and deport him without giving a reason.
The ministry made it clear that it intends to cancel the visas of expatriates seen affiliated with the Hezbollah terror group.
In March 2014, the ministry published a list of organizations classified as terrorists. Hezbollah, however, was not on the list.
Gulf states agreed on penalizing Hezbollah because of its support to Syrian tyrant Bashir al-Assad and its campaigns against Bahrain. The penalties included deporting sympathizers and imposing restrictions on money transfers.
A ministry source said if an expatriate endangers the Kingdom's security, he will be referred to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution. If proven guilty, he will be banned from re-entering 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... after the completion of his jail term.
According to Article 2 of the Residency Law, an expatriate's entry into the Kingdom or exit will not be considered legal unless he has a valid passport of his country or a document that proves his nationality.
Aden -- Hundreds of residents have seethed protested against Al Qaeda controlling Mukalla, the capital of southeast Yemen’s Hadramawt province, a month after militants overran the city, witnesses said on Monday.
“Batarfi out out, Hadramawt wants freedom,” they chanted late on Sunday, referring to Khalid Batarfi, a senior Al Qaeda figure who has reportedly been named the “leader of Mukalla”.
They then made faces, rolled their eyes and cursed mustaches...
Batarfi was among more than 300 prisoners who escaped from a Mukalla jail stormed by militants as Al Qaeda overran the city last month.
Sunday’s protest erupted after militants stormed a mosque following evening prayers and one pointed a gun at the imam and threatened to kill him for criticising Al Qaeda, a local official told.
“Southerners wake up. Say ‘no’ to Al Qaeda and ‘no’ to Houthis,” protesters chanted, also declaring their rejection of the Shia rebels who have seized the capital and are fighting to expand their territory in the south.
One demonstrator, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the residents of Mukalla were complaining about Al Qaeda “interference in every aspect of our lives”.
The extremist militants have set up checkpoints across the city residents also accuse the group of trying to force their own strict imams into mosques across the city.
Mukalla has been largely spared fuel and food shortages that have hit other Yemeni cities affected by fighting between rebels and supporters of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Hadramawt province is the ancestral homeland of slain Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/05/2015 00:00 ||
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Rome -- Nearly 5,800 migrants were plucked from boats off the coast of Libya and 10 bodies were recovered in less than 48 hours, Italy’s coast guard said, in one of the biggest rescue operations this year.
Two weeks after nearly 900 boat people drowned in the worst Mediterranean shipwreck in living memory, the flow of people desperate to reach a better life in Europe has accelerated as people smugglers take advantage of calmer seas.
Seven bodies were found on two large rubber boats packed with migrants and rescuers plucked from the sea the corpses of three others who had jumped into the water when they saw a merchant ship approaching, the coast guard said.
Italy’s coast guard has coordinated the rescues by its own navy and coast guard, a French ship acting on behalf of the European border control agency, merchant ships, and one vessel run by the privately funded Migrant Offshore Aid Station. Those rescued in the Italian operation were being brought to Italian shores, some already arriving at Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost island, and others at Trapani, Sicily. More were to be brought ashore overnight and on Monday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/05/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Remember the Clinton Doctrine - invade an oust the ruling caste(s) when they dump their population on you.
[Ynet] Hillary Rodham Clinton ... sometimes described as For a good time at 3 a.m. call Hillary and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Jeremiah S. Black ... has agreed to testify on Capitol Hill later this month about the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, and about her email practices.
Her lawyer David Kendall wrote to politicians Monday telling them she would agree to the request from a special panel investigating the September 2012 attacks that killed four Americans.
But Kendall said Clinton would testify only for one session. The committee chairman, Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, had requested that she appear twice, for a hearing on Clinton's use of private emails and for a separate session on Benghazi.
Kendall said Clinton would answer all politicians' questions during one session and it would not be necessary for her to appear twice.
#4
I don't expect much from this effort. The Clintons are better at erasing paper and computer trails than the mafia. The days of Sandy Berger shoving classified documents down his pants and removing them from the National Archives has evolved somewhat since the Clinton administration.
#7
She has condescended to appear ONCE. And only to talk about Benghazi. She won't appear the second time, to answer questions about her private email server.
One issue at a time, peasants!
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
05/05/2015 11:45 Comments ||
Top||
#8
She said she would appear once "if she had time". The second time,"you can go whistle".
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
05/05/2015 12:04 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Why should she - it isn't as if Congress is going to do anything if she refuses.
#11
The entire scheme is, as designed by the Clinton team, 'too big to fail.' Uranium, steel and steel pipe, GE, Boeing, Canadian money, Russian money. You've got to hand it to them, they've not sat idly by for 25 years. The planning and the scope of their criminal connections is quite impressive.
I hope I live long enough to see it all documented properly and published as a best seller.
#2
They do get their knickers in a knot over the most minor of things. Not good for their health.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/05/2015 0:26 Comments ||
Top||
#3
It's called faith.
Where were christians when Christmas became a bad word? When a cross in a glass of urine was called art? When abortion became the law of the land? When the institution of marriage was destroyed?
#10
Honorable Mention for the chalk sketches in the street
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
05/05/2015 11:35 Comments ||
Top||
#11
I do not justify the killing. I simply point out the absence of high profile activity in protest of "anti-Christian" agendas. In a majority Christian nation you'd think someone might get off the couch besides Westborough. It seems to be in the club, you gotta adhere to the beliefs and the community otherwise your a faithless poser just trying to avoid damnation with your own squishy rendering of Christianity. In a pluralistic society you'd think your see a little more expression of disagreement en masse.
#13
...especially in Texas. Next time you might try a soft target like San Francisco. But they're so busy hallucinating they don't have time to offend you.
#14
Jefe, Westboro is no Christian organization but a bunch of lawyers who use their "church" as a vehicle to sue people. The Piss Christ was so childish an "artwork" that it was not worth responding too.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
05/05/2015 14:35 Comments ||
Top||
#15
Here's a quote from Christopher Hitchens re morality, offending religious sensitivities and faith:
#16
Westboro BC uses Christianity as a vessel to incite crowds where they sue anyone does something like touch or violently threaten them.
Phelps, who had been disbarred, ran for governor 4 times, and US Senate once, as a Democrat - odd party to choose if he really believed his crap. Also friends with Al Gore.
Ran across them back when mobile phones had more in common with cinder blocks. First thing they did was set up a video camera. Then they would play the boogyman and get people so upset they would walk around for weeks cursing Christians.
#17
I used poor wording. My point was not to endorse Westborough or violent suppression of free speech. Rather the dilution of Christianity and lack of "activism".
My apologies.
#18
I think Christians take a somewhat different view of activism than you. They do silly things like putting on rummage sales to raise money for poor people. They run food banks, homeless shelters and whatnot. They teach Sunday school. They contribute money for disaster relief whenever there is a typhoon in the Philippines or an earthquake in Nepal. Silly, silly people. They take a somewhat different approach to activism...helping people and showing them God's love instead of pissing them off or killing them and they do it every day instead of waiting for someone to put a cross in a jar of urine.
#21
I also had the unpleasant experience of watching Westborough in action. Had to be seperated from the guy by a peace officer. Never touched him but our heated conversation over his flag decorum caught the cops attention. They are good at verbal baiting.
I agree Christianity is under attack. I find it so offensive they have pushed me into Christianity's camp were I am eagerly awaiting the next available high horse.
I also agree that there is no real organized counter to the anti-Christians.
#23
Christians join the military, silently sneak up on bad guys and eliminate them. They really don't say much while doing it. I prefer they quote scripture like the sniper in Saving Private Ryan. Never underestimate the power of the phrase "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition".
#24
The Christian faith, based on 66 books written over 1500 years by 60 different prophets is a deep and complex subject if applied to every situation and circumstance in life.
The founders of this nation were well versed in the subject and could hold their own regarding Christian virtues in public debate, the major colleges were originally founded by pastors who believed in higher learning of the creation.
But over the centuries, those institutions have been taken over by the liberal, and understanding the books by the general public is non-existent. All of which was foretold in the book of Revelations.
The most devout ministers tell their congregations to state scripture relaxant to a topic rather than get caught up in debate. They say no one has an effective response to an accurate reference to verse if one has that knowledge.
"He was such a good, sweet boy. But then... something happened."
[AnNahar] Convicted Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for the first time showed some emotion in court on Monday, wiping his eyes as a distraught aunt was removed from the courtroom, too overcome to testify.
A jury is mulling whether Tsarnaev -- found guilty last month of all counts related to the April 15, 2013 attack on the Boston Marathon that killed three people and maimed 264 more -- should be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.
His defense team last week began presenting evidence in a bid to save his life, and had brought his aunt, 64-year-old Patimat Suleimanova, from Russia to testify.
But the woman, her voice choked with sobs, was only able to tell the court her name, age and where she was from before she had to step down and was escorted from the courtroom.
Tsarnaev, a 21-year-old U.S. citizen of Chechen descent, briefly rubbed his eyes, appearing to wipe away tears.
Two of his cousins from Dagestan ...a formerly inoffensive Caucasus republic currently bedevilled by low-level Islamic insurgency, occasional outbreaks of separatism, ethnic tensions and terrorism, primarily due to its proximity to Chechnya. There are several dozen ethnic groups, most of which speak either Caucasian, Turkic, or Iranian languages. Largest among these ethnic groups are the Avar, Dargin, Kumyk, Lezgin, and Laks. While Russers form less than five percent of the population, Russian remains the primary official language and the lingua franca... in southern Russia had earlier taken the stand, describing Tsarnaev as a kind-hearted young boy who cried while watching the Disney animated classic "The Lion King."
"He was very kind, very warm... his kindness made everybody kind," said Raisat Suleimanova, a 35-year-old nurse who now lives near Moscow. Her testimony was translated from Russian into English by an interpreter for the court.
She described Tsarnaev's somewhat nomadic childhood, as his parents moved often -- from Kyrgyzstan to Chechnya to Dagestan.
Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan -- who was killed in the days after the marathon bombings as the pair attempted to evade police -- virtually lived out of their suitcases, changing schools and friends often.
She offered a glimpse into the life of their mother, Zubeidat, who loved fashion and jewelry before she moved to the United States. But in 2010, when she saw her again, Zubeidat was wearing the hijab.
"It was a shock, knowing the kind of person she used to be," Raisat Suleimanova testified, noting that the family had been "kind of removed" from religion.
Tsarnaev's lawyers were expected to present witnesses testifying on their client's behalf for about two weeks.
Actually, yes. A person must be kind to help a complete stranger whose leg had just been severed, when your only plan after waking up was taking a long run.
Guess what family. If you honestly believe what you said, he kind of lied to you.
#8
An unspeakable student of Latin
Possessed manners and hands, soft as satin!
All caressed were impressed with his kindness
(and their own inexplicable blindness).
[AnNahar] Far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who addressed participants at a Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest in Texas before a shooting erupted outside the event, believes he is on a mission to stop the "Islamization" of the West.
Reviled and supported in equal measure for his anti-Islamic rhetoric, the 51-year-old firebrand ...firebrands are noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments... has become a divisive ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled... figure in the Netherlands, which prides itself on its long but fading tradition of consensus politics and multi-cultural tolerance.
Wilders, the creator of the anti-Islam film "Fitna" ("Discord" in Arabic) has previously said his popularity in the Netherlands is due to the fact that "we dare to talk about sensitive subjects like Islamization and we use plain and simple words that the (Dutch) voter can understand."
The 17-minute film, featuring shocking images of attacks in New York in 2001 and Madrid in 2004 combined with quotes from the Koran, Islam's holy book, drew outrage in several Moslem countries when it was screened in 2008.
In Texas on Sunday, he told the meeting organized by the right-wing American Freedom Defense Initiative that "we are here in defiance of Islam."
"Today, too many of our Western leaders want us to shut up," he told the gathering.
Shortly after he left, two gunnies drove up to the conference center and began shooting at a security guard. The two attackers were subsequently rubbed out by police.
- 'Say what millions think' -
Sometimes nicknamed "Mozart" for his platinum-dyed mop of hair, Wilders describes his far-right label as "nonsense", but has no hesitation branding the Koran a "fascist" book.
He wants to ban the Koran, halt Moslem immigration, and tax headscarves.
"My supporters say: 'at last there is someone who dares to say what millions of people think'," Wilders has told AFP.
But the carefully-coiffed politician is facing prosecution in the Netherlands after a controversial statement last year during local government elections vowing "fewer Moroccans" in the Netherlands.
Public prosecutors received more than 6,000 complaints of discrimination after television footage in March last year showed Wilders asking party faithful in The Hague whether they wanted "fewer or more Moroccans in your city and in the Netherlands?"
"Fewer, fewer!" the crowd shouted with a smiling Wilders saying: "We're going to organize that."
Wilders created Party for Freedom (PVV) for parliamentary elections in 2006, when he won nine out of 150 seats on a ticket to "limit the growth of Moslem numbers."
His party is currently fourth in the most recent polls and only won 15 seats in parliament's Lower House in the last elections in 2012.
Last year, the PVV aligned itself to Marine Le Pen's National Front in European elections.
Wilders' outspoken views has seen him being protected around the clock and he is often described as the "best guarded man in the Netherlands."
The constant protection came after the murder of outspoken Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who was slain by a radical Islamist in 2004.
Wilders does not talk about his private life -- his second wife is Hungarian -- and has remained mum on speculation that his bloodline is part Indonesian and that he dyes his hair to hide his roots.
He has also worked hard to build his profile abroad and often travels to the United States to speak to conservative audiences.
In April he addressed a PEGIDA meeting in Germany telling some 10,000 supporters of the anti-Islam movement "we have had enough of the Islamization of society."
In 2013 scuffles broke out in Australia where he was a guest speaker at an event in Melbourne.
"I want to defend freedom, which I think will disappear into thin air the moment the Islamic ideology gains a stronger foothold in (the Netherlands)," Wilders has told AFP.
His home address is a closely guarded secret. He rarely ventures out in public, and never without a large security detail.
The attorney who once defended one of two men who opened fire at a “Draw Muhammad” event in Texas on Sunday says she was “shocked” to learn that he was involved in the attack. She says she has represented a number of people charged with terrorism-related crimes. Some of them are the “worst of the worst,” but Elton Simpson was “one of the good ones,” she said.
“He was always respectful to me and my staff—did everything he was supposed to do,” attorney Kristina Sitton told Vocativ.
He didn't threaten to behead you when you defended him, for example...
According to Sitton, Simpson didn’t come from a Muslim family and didn’t convert to Islam until he was in high school. “He said he was running with a bad crowd in high school—smoking, drinking and stuff,” she said. “He said Islam got him away from that stuff.”
From smoking to terrorism. Yes, it did work, didn't it...
Sitton defended Simpson against charges that he made false statements to an FBI agent in 2010 about a trip he was planning to take to Somalia to study Islam. He was facing up to eight years in prison if federal prosecutors had been able to convince Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Mary Murguia that the trip was related to international or domestic terrorism. Ultimately, Murguia in 2011 sentenced him to three years probation for the false statement.
Ah yes, the Ninth Circus. Judge Murgula no doubt is 'shocked' as well. They're all so easily shocked...
Under the circumstances, I think we may consider that probation revoked.
According to federal court records obtained by Vocativ, the judge determined that the feds didn’t make their case—despite audio recordings of Simpson talking about “jihad” with an FBI informant.
The FBI began investigating Simpson in 2006 after he was found to be in contact with a man who authorities believe was attempting to set up a terror cell in Phoenix, Arizona. Investigators began recording conversations between Simpson and the informant, Dabla Deng. The federal government paid Deng $132,000 to befriend Simpson under the guise of being new to Islam and needing guidance.
Between March 2007 and November 2009, Deng recorded more than 1,500 hours of conversations he had with Simpson, during which the two discussed fighting non-Muslims and how getting killed while waging jihad made it possible to get to heaven “straight away.”
“[Heaven] that’s what we (sic) here for, so why not take [the jihad] route,” Simpson said during a conversation with Deng on July 31, 2007.
In another recording, from May 29, 2009, Simpson tells Deng: “It’s time to go to Somalia, brother,” before explaining, “we gonna make it to the battlefield…it’s time to roll.” On January 7, 2010, FBI agents contacted Simpson and specifically asked whether he “discussed traveling to, or are you planning to, travel to Somalia?”
Simpson said “no.”
“I thought [the case] was completely ridiculous, to tell you the truth,” said Sitton, who told Vocativ that she’s “not a bleeding heart — I’m a Republican.”
“They show up at his house and ask him about something that happened two years ago, and he says ‘no’ and then faces federal charges?” Sitton said that in the 1,500 hours of recordings with Deng, Simpson only mentioned Al-Shabaab, a Somali terrorist organization, twice.
Yes, seemed silly at the time. Does it seem silly now?
Federal prosecutors wanted Simpson to receive the beefed-up sentence of eight years because, they argued, his crime of lying to federal authorities involved terrorism. But Judge Murguia—an Obama appointee
...oh that doesn't surprise us one little bit, does it...
President Obama appointed a Republican? Is he aware of that?
on what is often considered to be the most left-leaning appeals court in the country—found that there was insufficient evidence that Simpson’s false statement to authorities involved international terrorism.
How about now?
On Sunday, Simpson posted on Twitter: “May Allah accept us as mujahideen,” with the hashtag “#texasattack,” before he and another man drove to the “Draw Muhammad” event at a conference center in a Dallas suburb and opened fire. Both men were fatally shot by security.
Judge Murgula doesn't accept the tweet as sufficient evidence of terrorism, either...
Sitton says the narrative of the shooting is not representative of the client she describes as a kind, respectful young man who frequently tried to convert her and others to Islam. “He was always kind about it,” she said. “He would say, ‘the Koran says this and the Koran says that,’ but it was always respectful.”
Because you had power over him. He needed you to get him off the hook. Ask him last week how he would have treated you...
She questioned the motivation of the organizers of the “Draw Muhammad” event, as images of the prophet are highly offensive to many Muslims. “I kind of wonder what this event was about,” she says. “It just seems like they want to provoke people.”
Did you question the fellow who put a crucifix into a jug of urine and called it 'art'?
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/05/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Elton Simpson was “one of the good ones”
Another black male shoot down in cold blood by white cops?
#3
Strange statement on her part about not being a bleeding heart--she's a Republican. She is an African-American and a defense attorney. If a Republican, she goes against the numbers.
#4
As per CNN AM, iff this is the same Femme Attorney interviewed she also felt that Simpson was subtledly trying or attempting to convert Her + Staff to Islam.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > ONE TEXAS SHOOTER [Sooti] BELONGED TO PAKISTAN: NYT.
Sooti claimed to had graduated from the International School of Islamabad in 1998, althoughhis US-based friends + family believe he was US-born + attended both US High School + one year at the University of Utah.
(IraqiNews.com) On Monday, Hungary announced it would send a military force of 150 elements to Iraq to partake in the war against ISIS, and stated that it had already sent more than 200 tons of ammunition to Kurdistan, while confirmed its readiness to the re-reconstruction of the liberated areas.
Hungarian FM Péter Szijjártó said in a press conference with Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, attended by IraqiNews.com, “Iraq is facing a big challenge, and we must stand together to face this challenge and fight this terrorist organization,” adding that, “Hungary has decided to send a military force of more than 150 elements. It will be sent in August to participate in the war against ISIS.”
Szijjártó continued, “I held a meeting with Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi this morning, and he informed us of the needs of Iraq,” pointing out that, “Hungary has sent 220 tons of ammunition to Kurdistan, and secured the humanitarian needs of the displaced.”
(IraqiNews.com) The New York Times revealed on Sunday that 200 “extremist fighters” from Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon are ready to join ISIS.
“At least 200 of the extremists in Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and other countries have pledged allegiance to the terrorist organization ISIS,” indicating that “it is necessary to discuss any expansion in the campaign against ISIS or other terrorist groups accurately and publicly by Washington and its coalition partners.”
The newspaper added that, “with the expansion of ISIS outside Syria and Iraq, many of the 60 countries, which are members of the international coalition against the terrorist organization, putting pressure on the US administration to take the fight to target the terrorist groups that have sworn allegiance to ISIS.”
Posted by: badanov ||
05/05/2015 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Nairobi -- US Secretary of State John Kerry has a full in-tray of issues to tackle during his two-day visit in Kenya.
Cairo -- Five members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt were on Monday sentenced to death for killing 13 people, including 11 policemen, in 2013 after a retrial.
[ArabNews] The Interior Ministry has said it has the right to revoke the visa of any expatriate and deport him without giving a reason. 
Aden -- Hundreds of residents have 
Rome -- Nearly 5,800 migrants were plucked from boats off the coast of Libya and 10 bodies were recovered in less than 48 hours, Italy’s coast guard said, in one of the biggest rescue operations this year.
Hillary Rodham Clinton
The attorney who once defended one of two men who opened fire at a “Draw Muhammad” event in Texas on Sunday says she was “shocked” to learn that he was involved in the attack. She says she has represented a number of people charged with terrorism-related crimes. Some of them are the “worst of the worst,” but Elton Simpson was “one of the good ones,” she said.
