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One Killed as Bomb Blast Rocks Ahmadi Mosque in Bangladesh
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Afghanistan
Bowe Bergdahl Reveals in New Podcast That Taliban Wanted to Know if Obama Is 'Gay'
[THEBLAZE] In the latest episode of the popular podcast "Serial," Bowe Bergdahl revealed the quirky details of his captivity with the Taliban, including two attempted escapes.

While imprisoned, Bergdahl said it was a "high honor" among the guards to watch over him. To pass the time, Bergdahl said the guards would make videos of him, staging fake interrogations consisting of ridiculous questions, while shaving his beard into amusing shapes.

One time, Bergdahl said the guards even asked him if President Barack Obama
We're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us...
is "gay."

"They ask you, 'Is Obama gay and sleeps with men?'" he recalled.

Other questions Bergdahl received from his young guards included inquiries about how U.S. military members got their hookers, alcohol and drugs. He said they were also obsessed with American soft drinks -- especially Mountain Dew.

"They love Mountain Dew," he said. "If you want to piss people off in that country, all you do is cut off their sugar supply."

Bergdahl said his first opportunity to escape came shortly after his capture. While his captors were distracted by a water delivery, Bergdahl said he was able to release himself from his restraints. He ran barefoot on rocks before climbing onto a roof and covering himself with mud in an attempt to hide himself. He said he was only free for 15 minutes before the guards caught up with him and beat him with a rubber hose.

The second attempt was more thought out, practiced and successful.

After collecting a few items -- an 8-inch piece of PVC pipe, a key, an empty soda bottle, a nail and a wooden slat -- Bergdahl climbed from his second-story cell using a makeshift rope from his bedding and restraints. But just a few hours into his escape, he fell from a cliff, badly injuring himself. Unable to walk, he said he crawled out of the mountains and made a makeshift shelter out of sticks. He stayed at the shelter for more than a week, eating grass and drinking unclean water to survive.

He was captured eight days later.

"That escape was the last time I saw stars since until the night Special Forces picked me up," Bergdahl concluded.
Posted by: Fred || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  "Captured" by SPECFORS, as opposed to being "found", "discovered", or even "liberated".
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/26/2015 0:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Never repents for all of those Souls lost to find his stupid ass.

I know I do.
Posted by: newc || 12/26/2015 2:18 Comments || Top||

#3  Afghans?!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/26/2015 3:05 Comments || Top||

#4  There have been rumors.
Posted by: JohnQC || 12/26/2015 9:55 Comments || Top||

#5  So he actively participated in the productions of fake interrogation videos.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 12/26/2015 10:18 Comments || Top||

#6  I look forward to him being examined at his court martial.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/26/2015 11:40 Comments || Top||

#7  Oddly, the article doesn't say how Bergdahl answered the question.
Posted by: Matt || 12/26/2015 11:49 Comments || Top||

#8  Whatever you think of Bergdahl you must admit it's a fair question, especially after you've seen pictures of him riding a bicycle or playing golf.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/26/2015 14:02 Comments || Top||

#9  or here
Posted by: Frank G || 12/26/2015 14:06 Comments || Top||

#10  I imagine Chicago is now glad they didn't get to host the Olympics this round. The security needs alone...
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/26/2015 14:21 Comments || Top||

#11 
Posted by: KBK || 12/26/2015 18:36 Comments || Top||

#12  Oooh, poo litl birddog is juz a loly skigazer.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 12/26/2015 19:16 Comments || Top||


Africa North
The battle over Sinai: ISIS's next strong force
[Ynet] As the world's eyes are focused on the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
in Syria and its activity in Europe, the organization's branch in Sinai - Ansar Bait al-Maqdis - is gaining strength, and the Russian plane bombing may be just the beginning of its integration into ISIS's international war. Ronen Bergman outlines the profile of one of the most threatening and intriguing challenges faced by the Israeli and international security community, only a few kilometers south of Eilat.
Long piece lays out what has been discovered about Ansar Bayt al Maqdis going back to the early days in Gaza at the beginning of the millenium.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)

#1  "...intelligence information that Sinai Province managed to recruit a local worker at the Sharm al-Sheikh Airport, likely a Bedouin from one of the peninsula's large tribes, who helped get the bomb on the plane." The beduin tribes are not large, and the Egyptian military has made important recent efforts to enlist them as allies. In fact, the major problems exist in the towns along the Med coast where gangsters and Islamists intermingle.
Posted by: Spomong Bourbon8696 || 12/26/2015 5:24 Comments || Top||

#2  They may not be large, but there are many. And as history shows, there are also many Bedouins quite willing to do that sort of thing for pay.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/26/2015 11:43 Comments || Top||


Tripoli militias neutral in political conflict, but will support unity government
[Libya Herald] The 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...
Revolutionaries' Brigade (TRB), representing Tripoli's militias have announced that they will not support either of the conflicting political Libyan parties but will support one government of national unity.

The TRB have had to in practice live and co-exist in a Tripoli ruled since July 2014 by the National Salvation government representing the General National Congress (GNC) and its allied militias.

The TRB had called for a meeting yesterday evening at their Ostrich farm headquarters on the outskirts of Tripoli and released their statement just before the United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
Security Council passed resolution 2259 supporting the Government of National Accord (GNA) brokered by the UN and signed on 17 December in the Moroccan city of Skhirat.

''We are not for personalities or political parties or groupings. Our work is confined to the safety and security of citizens and the protection of the country from all who threaten its security and expose its safety to danger'', the TRB statement opened.

''We announce to all political parties and streams, east and west, internally and externally, that we are not standing with any of the divided politicians conflicting over the seat of power and who are clinging on to sovereign positions''.

''We will not help to victory one party over the other'', they declared clearly sending a message to both minority and majority parties in the House of Representatives (HoR) and the General National Congress (GNC).

''We are with consensus and comprehensive peace-making that spreads peace and stability for our country and our people who have suffered wars and divisions internally and externally''.
Posted by: Fred || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Derna Mujahidine Shura Council will support 'any' Islamic Sharia government
[Libya Herald] The Derna Mujahidine Shura Council (DMSC) has announced that it will support "any" government that supports Islamic Sharia as the basis of law.

''We are not part of any political conflict taking place now in the country'', they said in a statement released yesterday.

''Our position in any dialogue or any government is full support as long as (Islamic) Sharia law is the only source of any legislation, and anything in the form of legislation, laws or rules that contravenes sharia is rejected'', the statement said.

It will be recalled that the DMSC had succeeded in ejecting the more turban IS forces out of the city in June this year and into the city's outskirts.

The statement of conditional support from the DMSC to the Government of National Unity (GNA) agreed on 17 December in Morocco's Skhirat and supported by yesterday's UN Security Council resolution 2259, comes on the same day that the militias of the 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 Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigades also gave their support to a government of national unity.

It will be recalled that the DMSC had on 14th December invited foreign contractors to re-enter their city and resume stalled projects, promising them security.
Posted by: Fred || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Africa Subsaharan
Nigeria says it ‘technically’ won against Boko Haram
[IsraelTimes] Ahead of self-imposed deadline to defeat jihadists, President Buhari says holy warrior group can no longer carry out attacks

In remarks issued days before his self-imposed deadline to defeat the jihadist group expires, President Muhammadu Buhari said Nigeria has "technically" won the war against Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
though jacket wallahs remain a threat.

In the remarks, the leader of Africa's most populous country worked to reassure Nigerians that the jihadists now were unable to mount effective "conventional attacks" in the country's volatile north.

"Boko Haram has reverted to using improvised bombs (IEDs)," he said in an interview posted by the BBC on Thursday.

"But articulated conventional attacks on centres of communication and populations... they are no longer capable of doing that effectively," said Buhari. "So I think technically we have won the war because people are going back into their neighborhoods."

Buhari was voted into power earlier this year on a platform that included a promise to stamp out the Boko Haram insurgency.

The former military ruler set a self-imposed deadline of the end of December to defeat the turbans, vowing to invest in education to deter dissatisfied youth from becoming radical.

In contrast with his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan
... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau.Other than that he's pretty useless as the Boko Haram debacle shows..
, Buhari has been able to win back territory from Boko Haram and the country has seen a decrease in the number of deadly raids that decimated towns and villages.

But the jihadists in response have increasingly resorted to suicide bombers -- many of them young children -- to wage war for an independent Islamic state in the country.

Boko Haram recently has staged suicide kabooms in neighboring countries Cameroon
...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there...
, Chad and Niger, prompting fears that the radical group is gaining traction outside Nigeria.

Since taking up arms against the Nigerian government in 2009, the faceless myrmidons have razed towns and killed over 17,000 people.

According to the Global Terrorism Index, a report released by the New York-based Institute for Economics and Peace, it "has become the most deadly terrorist group in the world."

Boko Haram has destroyed swathes of what little infrastructure existed in the country's impoverished north at a time when Nigeria's coffers are empty as a result of the plunging price in oil.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/26/2015 06:01 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram

#1  I guess future massacre victims will be "technically" still alive?
Posted by: Frank G || 12/26/2015 8:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Same technical parameters Obean used to declare victory and pull out of Iraq.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/26/2015 9:23 Comments || Top||

#3  I wonder if Book Haram got the memo.
Posted by: gorb || 12/26/2015 15:57 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
China's controversial new anti-terror law to pass on Sunday
[SWISSINFO.CH] China is set to pass its controversial new anti-terrorism law on Sunday, the largely rubber-stamp parliament said on Friday, despite U.S. criticism about its cyber provisions and concerns over human rights
When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
The draft law, which could require technology firms to install "back doors" in products or hand over sensitive information such as encryption keys to the government, has also been criticised by some Western business groups.

U.S. President Barack Obama
I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money...
has said that he had raised concern about the law directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In a brief statement, China's National People's Congress said it would hold a news briefing on Sunday to talk about the law, following the end of parliament's latest law-making session.

Parliament does not challenge or block legislation proposed by the ruling Communist Party, meaning it is certain to pass.

This week, the U.S. State Department said it had expressed "serious concerns" about the law which it said would do more harm than good against the threat of terrorism.

China's Foreign Ministry hit back, saying technology companies had nothing to fear and the U.S. had no right to intervene.

Posted by: Fred || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Norks can produce nuke with less than 6kg of plutonium
SEOUL -- South Korea's intelligence sources said Friday that North Korea is capable of producing a nuclear weapon with less than 6 kilograms of plutonium, revising down its earlier estimate.

Multiple government sources said while it usually takes 6 kilograms of plutonium to produce a nuclear weapon, the amount could be lower considering the development of technology in North Korea, implying that Pyongyang is capable of producing such a weapon with 5 kilograms.

South Korea estimates the North currently holds around 40 kilograms of plutonium, which can produce around eight nuclear weapons. Other sources added North Korea may have increased its holding of plutonium over the past months.

The sources added that North Korea is struggling to produce highly enriched uranium (HEU), although the details were not disclosed.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Again, NOKOR desires formal reunification wid SOKOR, which Beijing won't allow until Mainland China first gets back + reunifies wid Taiwan.

NOKOR = Pudgy is fighting the clock agz NOKOR-specifc collapse, protecting Kim Family-Regime ruling power intact or potent, espec in any Post-reunification Korea, + China takeover most likely via annexation.

AT LEAST RUSSIA + IRAN BFF BABY ASSAD IN SYRIA CAN CLAIM HIS REGIME IS MILITARILY FIGHTING MAJOR HARD BOYZ E.G. AL-QAEDA/NUSRA + ISIS + ALIGNED - WHATS PUDGY'S EXCUSE FOR NOKOR'S LACK OF SERIOUS DOMESTIC REFORMS, AS THE UIGHURS + ISIS , ETC. ARE STILL TOO FAR AWAY FROM DE FACTO MILITARILY THREATENING BEIJING IN THE NT???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/26/2015 0:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Iff NOKOR can't beat the clock, + it appears the Kims will lose power, don't underestimate Pudgy's penchant to find a way to unilaterally or "asymmetrically" start a MAJOR US-CHINA WAR.

Just because he can.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/26/2015 0:34 Comments || Top||


Pudgy inspects joint training by military units
SEOUL -- North Korean leader Fat Bastard Kim Jong-un inspected joint drills conducted by the military's two units, ordering the Korean People's Army to intensify combat drills, Pyongyang's state media said Thursday.

Pudgy Kim observed "actual maneuvers" between the KPA's large combined units 526 and 671, expressing satisfaction over their flawlessness in defensive and offensive capacities, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It did not specify the date of His Enormity's Kim's visit.

"Practical drills should be conducted so often to cope with the hardest and severest war," Kim was quoted by the KCNA as saying.

The North's leader called for the military to beef up their combat readiness in a bid to greet the upcoming congress of the Workers' Party of Korea with achievements, it said.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Commies


The Grand Turk
Turkey to Israel: No renewal of ties without unlimited access to Gaza
Turkey is demanding that Israel permit unfettered access to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as one of the conditions before a formal renewal of diplomatic ties between Jerusalem and Ankara, according to a report in Saturday editions of the Hurriyet Daily News.
Ok. No Renewal. We like Kurds better anyway.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/26/2015 03:07 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "well, that's it, then"
Posted by: Frank G || 12/26/2015 8:26 Comments || Top||

#2  Give ISIS unfettered access to Gaza? Not likely.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 12/26/2015 8:56 Comments || Top||

#3  Oh well, nice while it lasted. No hard feeling. Oh, the gas, umm a Greek terminal is making more sense, althobthey hater us to of course.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/26/2015 11:22 Comments || Top||

#4  No gas forrrr yuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Large Snore6936 || 12/26/2015 12:51 Comments || Top||

#5  Large Snore was I.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/26/2015 12:53 Comments || Top||


Turkish gov’t takes pains not to lose public support during military operations
[Hurriyet] The Turkish government believes it must complete ongoing military operations in the southeastern Anatolia region against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) by spring at the latest if it does not want to lose support for its actions.

The issue was discussed at a meeting of the highest decision-making body of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK), on Dec. 20 and in a cabinet meeting on Dec. 21.

The top item on both of the meetings was ongoing curfews declared in the southeast during operations and the results of these curfews. The siege tactics that have been employed in strongholds of the PKK's youth wing are purportedly designed to avoid harming civilians, meaning the operations have so far been conducted slowly and carefully, sources said.

However,
a hangover is the wrath of grapes...
officials also said disturbing images of human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
abuses by police during the operations should be prevented and that the regional people's support for the struggle against the PKK should be put to good use.

Accordingly, government officials have maintained that the operations should be completed within a few months and that by the spring of 2016, a new page should be opened with reforms appealing to the region's people and compensation for damages incurred by civilians. Such action is likely to also form part of a resumption of the long-stalled resolution process that could including nabbed
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.

Government sources believe that they have support against the PKK because of the progress attained during the resolution process and a cease-fire between the government and the turban group.

However,
a hangover is the wrath of grapes...
concerns were also raised during the MKYK and cabinet meetings, with officials and party executives saying that in the event of a prolongation of the operations, the current support from the people could be jeopardized.

The stance of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) was also put under the microscope during the meetings. At the moment, the government has not been involved in dialogue with the HDP other than some unofficial contacts.

Officials drew attention to the fact that the HDP was under pressure by the PKK, which called on the party to abandon parliament where it has a presence as a political party group after passing the 10 percent threshold in the Nov. 1 elections.

The government's eyes will be on messages to be delivered at a convention of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) scheduled to be held on Dec. 26-27 in order to make a projection on the future of relations with the HDP, as well as the messages to be delivered by the HDP at the convention, during which a series of decisions are expected to be made. The DTK is a multi-party based group that brings together a number of Kurdish groups and democratic organizations.

Meanwhile,
...back at the abandoned silver mine, the water was up to Jack's neck and still rising. And then he smelled the smoke...
officials also highlighted the need to urgently cover the damages of victimized civilians to prevent the PKK from exploiting the situation. Accordingly, aid will be provided to families who have been dislocated during curfews with ongoing efforts already being ostensibly coordinated by governors and district governors.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/26/2015 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Hackers step up cyberattacks in Turkey, hit banks
Turkish banks reported sporadic disruption to credit card transactions on Friday as hackers stepped up a two-week barrage of cyberattacks, believed to be the worst the country has seen.

Local media have suggested that the bombardment of public and financial websites could be coming from Russia, after a sharp worsening of tensions between Moscow and Ankara, or staged by hacking group Anonymous. But no clear evidence has emerged, and authorities have avoided pointing the finger.

Officials at several Turkish banks including Isbank, Garanti and state lender Ziraat Bank confirmed the attacks, saying they had caused intermittent disruption. Bank shares were unmoved by the news.

“The attacks are serious,” said Onur Oz, a spokesman for Internet provider Turk Telekom. “But the target is not Turk Telekom. Instead, banks and public institutions are under heavy attack,” he said.

“A majority of Turkish institutions use Turk Telekom as the service provider, therefore we are the ones doing the defence against these attacks.”

A government cyber security unit was taking precautions and the incident was under control, Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said earlier this week. He did not comment specifically on the targeting of banks, and his ministry was not available for comment on Friday.

“These attacks began two weeks ago but have intensified over the past two days,” said Burak Atakani, a network specialist from Istanbul Technical University.

He said that the service provider used by some universities, police academies and the research department of the military had also come under attack.

Nic.tr, a non-government body that administers addresses for websites using Turkey’s “.tr” domain, including ministries, the military, banks and many commercial sites, said earlier this week that the attacks originated from “organized sources” outside Turkey.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  anonymous claimed responsibility

Anonymous attacked Turkey because Turkey has been supporting the Caliphate under Islamic State

Anonymous declared war on Islamic State and is thus attacking Turkey

http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/264214-anonymous-takes-credit-for-massive-cyberattack-on-turkey
Posted by: anon1 || 12/26/2015 8:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Looking for oil money and family connections?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/26/2015 14:55 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
al-Qaeda suspect did not visit Odisha secretariat : Police
[BUSINESS-STANDARD] Following a state-wide hue and cry over the reported visit to Odisha secretariat by tossed in the calaboose
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
al-Qaeda suspect Abdur Rahman, the state police today made it clear that he did not do so.

"The person who visited the state secretariat was A Rahman, a peon in the office of the chief district medical officer (CDMO), Cuttack and not the suspected al-Quaeda terrorist Abdur Rahman as alleged," Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissioner of Police R P Sharma said.

Opposition Congress and BJP had demanded a high level investigation into the incident in which the terror suspect allegedly visited the secretariat on October 7.

"We have verified and found that one A Rahman, a peon in the office of the CDMO, Cuttack was given pass to enter the state secretariat on October 7 at 11.15 am. The person who actually visited the secretariat was a peon and not a suspected terrorist," Sharma told news hounds here.

The Odisha Police team which is camping in Delhi has also verified the matter with Abdur Rahman, who was arrested from Cuttack on December 16 and is presently lodged in a special cell in the national capital, he said.

"Rahman informed us that he has never visited Odisha secretariat in his life," the CP said.

Sources said the police are also verifying the CCTV footage of the secretariat to ascertain whether the Cuttack CDMO's office peon actually entered it on October 7 or not. "We are also checking whether the same person (A Rahman) visited the secretariat or some one else entered it in his name," an officer said.

Odisha School and Mass Education Minister Debi Prasad Mishra had yesterday ordered a probe into the allegation made by the opposition.

Opposition Congress and BJP leaders had accused the state government of allowing terror elements to freely roam in the high security secretariat area.
Posted by: Fred || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


Indian leader makes surprise visit to Pakistan
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Pakistan's Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif and attended his granddaughter’s wedding in a surprise visit to Pakistan on Friday, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman said, Sputnik reported.

The last time an Indian leader visited neighboring Pakistan was in 2004. Modi and Sharif met informally on the sidelines of the UN climate talks in Paris this month and at a regional economic summit in central Russia in July.

"Infusing a positive spirit in the neighborhood. [Modi] departs from Pakistan after a few hours in Lahore," official spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted.

A series of accompanying photographs depicted Modi walking on the tarmac alongside Sharif.

Earlier, Swarup said the Indian leader discussed bilateral relations with his Pakistani counterpart 25 miles to the south of Lahore in Raiwind, where he also visited the wedding ceremony of Sharif’s granddaughter.

Ties between the neighboring countries have been strained for decades and exacerbated further over the summer amid renewed violence in the disputed border region of Kashmir and Jammu administered by India. The exchange of fire postponed national security level talks into early December.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


International-UN-NGOs
Anglican leader warns of Christian ‘elimination’ in Middle East
Anglican leader Justin Welby on Friday said Christians faced “elimination” in the Middle East by ISIS, labelling the group a modern-day version of the tyrannical biblical king Herod.

ISIS has attacked Christians, Yazidis, Shiites and other minorities across the region, killing thousands and uprooting ancient communities from ancestral lands.

“They hate difference, whether it is Muslims who think differently, Yazidis or Christians, and because of them the Christians face elimination in the very region in which Christian faith began,” the archbishop of Canterbury said in his Christmas Day sermon.

“This apocalypse is defined by themselves and heralded only by the angel of death.”
Great. Thanks for the insight. Now then, what you will do about this?
He likened ISIS to Herod, who according to historical accounts killed several members of his own family and in the Bible massacred Bethlehem’s male infants to prevent the prophesied rise of Jesus.

“To all who have been or are being dehumanized by the tyranny and cruelty of a Herod or an ISIS, a Herod of today, God’s judgement... promises justice,” Welby said, using another acronym for ISIS.

The Middle East is home to ancient Christian and other minority communities, but their numbers have diminished rapidly in recent years amid war and mounting religious intolerance.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I thought that Anglicans were neutral when it came to Christians...unless they were gay.
Posted by: AlanC || 12/26/2015 7:54 Comments || Top||

#2  They are. It's just an opportunity to be relevant.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/26/2015 11:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Middle East Christianity is toast.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/26/2015 23:25 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Evidence Proves Turkey Supporting Takfiri Militants: Iraq's Badr Organization
[ALMANAR.LB] Spokesman of Iraqi organization taking part in fighting Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed...
gunnies said Terrorists are freely crossing the Turkish border back and forth with Ankara providing gunnies with logistical support.

Karim al-Nouri, front man for the Popular Front's Badr Organization, cited crystal clear" evidence gathered from prisoners and on the battlefield.

He said Bard forces were able to secure enough data from the dead ISIL (so-called Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
in Iraq and Levant) terrorists' bodies to directly implicate The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
in involvement with affairs of the Takfiri Lion of Islams, RT reported on Friday.

"Recently we found a few of their phones which have messages of their orders, coordinates and data on movement of their people," Nouri told RT.

"The problem of ISIL did not just appear out of the blue, somebody is allowing them to freely cross borders... I want the audience to know the extent to which Turkey openly supports ISIL."

Among the evidence which Nouri says is now in possession of Iraqi intelligence are photos showing Turkish President Erdogan's son doing business with ISIL representatives.

"We have photo material and comments on Erdogan's son, material where he meets with ISIL heads," Nouri said. "There is nothing fabricated in this case, there is no photoshop. These shots are real. They were made public by ISIL commanders themselves."

Nouri hopes that Iraqi special forces will eventually come across audio recordings directly implicating the Turkish leadership in shady ISIL deals. The data collected is also being analyzed by Iraq's intelligence to the "degree of participation of the Turkish secret services and their involvement in ISIL affairs."

Turkey, Nouri is certain, is responsible for treating ISIL gunnies on their territory and offering them safe havens and transit points for jihadists to move freely and even go back to their home countries.

"From the contents of these conversations it becomes clear that, for example, a specific field commander says that such and such [militant] should be sent to Turkey for treatment," he explained to RT.
Posted by: Fred || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  If NSA were worth a dam (and have they ever once proved that they are worth the billions we have poured into the organization since its founding?) they would be monitoring this traffic. If it were worth the money we pay for it, they would release information to inform the public of the true state of affairs along the frontier between Iraq and Turkey. Of course this would depend on a US government whose president would have the best interests of the USA at heart and who would reject the existing White House-Ankara (Obama-Erdogan) alliance.
Posted by: Spomong Bourbon8696 || 12/26/2015 5:38 Comments || Top||


Iraq to retake Mosul from ISIL after Ramadi, PM says
[TODAYSZAMAN] Iraq's armed forces will move to retake the major northern city of djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
from the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) once they capture the western city of Ramadi, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Friday.

Capturing Mosul would deprive the Death Eater group of its biggest population center in both Iraq and Syria, effectively abolishing the state structure of ISIL in Iraq, depriving it of a major source of funding and dealing a blow to its influence.

The capture of Ramadi would give the army a major psychological boost in its move toward Mosul.

The cities are about 420 kilometers (260 miles) apart by road.

Iraqi forces started an attack on Tuesday to dislodge ISIL holy warriors from the center of Ramadi, the last district under their control in the city they had captured in May.

ISIL seized Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, in 2014, in an offensive that forced government forces to abandon a third of Iraqi territory.

The group declared a caliphate over the Iraqi and adjacent Syrian Sunni populated territory it controls.

"The liberation of dear Mosul will be achieved with the cooperation and unity of all Iraqis after the victory in Ramadi," Abadi said in a statement on the state media website on Friday.

Army commanders said on Wednesday that the battle for Ramadi would take several days.
Posted by: Fred || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Somber Christmas for Iraq’s Christians under threat from ISIS
With Christmas falling this year a day after Prophet Mohammad’s birthday, the city of Baghdad is holding Christmas celebrations in a sign of brotherhood with Iraq’s hard-pressed Christian community.

Fireworks will illuminate the Tigris river every night of the week and a 25-metre (82 feet) Christmas tree has been set up in Zawraa public park. In Zayuna camp, in the east of the city, children listened to Christmas carols on Wednesday and danced with Santa Claus to Iraqi songs.

But, though grateful, many Christians say the gesture comes too late to improve their lot in Iraq, their homeland for nearly 2,000 years, but where ISIS is making their future increasingly bleak.

“I saw some nice gestures from many people on Facebook and this made me happy, to be honest, that people are celebrating Christmas together with us in defiance of Daesh,” said Mariam, a 29-year-old school teacher in Baghdad, referring to ISIS.

“But is it real? I don’t think so,” she said.

“Christians who left Iraq don’t wish to return and some of them are even nagging us to leave, saying that even if we make it through this ordeal, the next one will be the end of it,” she added, asking to be identified only by her first name.

ISIS, which swept through a third of Iraq in 2014 in its drive to build a caliphate, has displaced more than 200,000 Christians from the northern region of Nineveh, the cradle of the eastern Assyrian church, according to Iraqi Christian MP Imad Yohana.
So uncertain has become the fate of Iraq’s Christians that some reminisce about days of Saddam Hussein, the dictator whose rule of a quarter century ended in 2003, when a U.S.-led coalition invaded the country.

“There wasn’t any discrimination back in the previous regime, things changed afterwards,” said Abu Fadi, a 51-year- old father of three who works in Zayuna camp set up especially for Christian refugees fleeing ISIS.

A key figure of Saddam’s regime, Tariq Aziz, who was his foreign minister, was a Christian. He died in prison in June. Saddam was hanged at the end of 2006.

“The toppling of the regime allowed the previously suppressed extremists to surface, from both sects,” added Abu Fadi, referring to Shiite Muslims who rose to prominence after Saddam’s removal, and Sunni Muslims to whom the dictator belonged and who now feel marginalized.
That didn't make removing Saddam and his wood chippers wrong. It does mean we could have been smarter about how we managed Iraq afterwards...
While the persecution by ISIS is the worst since the modern Iraqi state was created in the last century, scores of Christians have been kidnapped or killed, or had their churches bombed and been forced to leave their homes since 2004. Iraq’s Christian population has dropped from 1.3 million people in the 1997 census to about 650,000 now, said lawmaker Yohana. Their number ought to have been around 2 million by now under normal circumstances, he said.

Western countries make it easier for Christians in the Middle East to obtain visas on human rights grounds, unwittingly contributing to depletion of their numbers, he said.
Except the U.S., which doesn't grant visas to Christians in the Middle East the way we should...
The Women of Baghdad Association, a multi-religious organization focused on fighting abuse against women, on Wednesday organized a gift distribution in Zayuna camp, where the children listened to a Christmas carol service.

“Christmas is in our hearts religiously, but I am depressed because it is not the same socially,” said Said Jalal, 31, a volunteer worker at the camp. “Most of my family and acquaintances are either displaced or have left.”
Posted by: Steve White || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Hamas wary of possible Turkey-Israel rapprochement
[TODAYSZAMAN] Speaking on condition of anonymity to the UK-based Rai el-Youm news portal, a senior Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, official has expressed concern
...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended...
over The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
's possible limitation of Hamas' activities in the country for the sake of improving ties with Israel.

The anonymous Hamas official was also worried about the prospect of Turkey agreeing to only a partial lifting of the blockade on Gazoo. Turkey's preconditions for normalization of ties with Israel had included the complete removal of the Gazoo blockade.

During the meeting between Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him...
last weekend, Mashaal demanded that Turkey not put a limitation on Hamas' presence in Turkey, according to the anonymous Hamas official.

Recent efforts to normalize Turkey's relations with Israel after five years of estrangement face a hard road ahead with a number of issues yet to be solved, with Israel pressing for the expulsion of all elements of Hamas from Turkey and a halt to its activities on Turkish soil as a precondition for rapprochement, according to media outlets.

Observers of the talks between Turkey and Israel say Tel Aviv is now in a stronger position and has put forward a demand for the total expulsion of Hamas from Turkey.

Posted by: Fred || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Israel approves natural gas exports to Egypt
Israel’s government has given the go ahead to begin exporting natural gas to Egypt, signaling a potential improvement in relations between two countries which have been at loggerheads over energy supplies.

Israel will be able to sell 5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to Egypt in the coming seven years from the Tamar site off its Mediterranean coast, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said in a statement on Thursday.

“After years of delay and debate, we are starting to move forward and to position Israel as a regional natural gas power,” he said.

Israel, long an importer of gas, has seen its fortunes transformed by big gas discoveries such as the Tamar field.

Egypt had been selling gas to Israel under a 20-year agreement, but that collapsed in 2012 after months of attacks on the pipeline by militants in Egypt’s remote Sinai Peninsula.

An international arbitrator this month said Egypt should pay nearly $2 billion in compensation from the halt in the gas supply, leading to tensions between the two neighbors. Egypt said it would appeal the decision and freeze talks to import gas from Israel. It was unclear whether the Israeli government’s decision to approve exports meant the two countries have made progress in resolving their differences.

Earlier this year, the Tamar partners signed a seven-year deal for Egypt’s Dolphinus Holdings - a firm that represents non-governmental, industrial and commercial consumers - to buy at least $1.2 billion of natural gas in a deal that calls for a minimum of 5 bcm of gas to be sold in the first three years. The agreement to supply gas to Egypt still hinges on regulatory and other approvals.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And there you have it.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/26/2015 11:23 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
ISIS releases 25 Assyrian Christians in Syria
[Beirut Daily Star] An Assyrian group says ISIS holy warriors have released 25 more Assyrian Christian hostages they had held captive in Syria for 10 months.

The 25 Christians were part of about 230 Assyrian Christians that were captured by the hard boy group after it overran Assyrian communities on the southern bank of the Khabur River in the northeastern Syrian province of Hassakeh.

The Stockholm-based Assyrian Human Rights Network said the 25 arrived in the Christian town of Tal Tamr on Friday. It said the released included 16 children and their mothers.

It says the release brings the number of Assyrian hostages that have so far been released to 148.

Osama Edward, the network's director, said the release was the result of mediators who negotiated between the church and ISIS.
"Woo hoo! Tell the boys the ransoms came through and we're gonna par-tay tonight!"
Posted by: Fred || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Lavrov to hold Syria talks with Qatar minister
Russian Foreign Minister Snidely Whiplash Sergei Lavrov will meet Qatar’s Foreign Minister, Khaled Al Attiyah on December 25, and the conflict in Syria will be high on their agenda, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Separately, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia said his government was striving to maintain Syria as a unified nation inclusive of all sects, according to the Twitter account of the Saudi Shura Council on Wednesday.

The king also blamed the government of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad for the rise of militant groups in the region, saying terrorist organisations would not find fertile ground without the Syrian government’s policies, the council said. Salman officially inaugurated a new session for the consultative body earlier on Wednesday.

In a related development, the UN Security Council renewed a resolution facilitating the cross-border delivery of aid to millions of Syrians, while complaining previous such measures were not seen through on the ground. The text was adopted unanimously by the 15 member-states, which include Syrian ally Russia.

The resolution extends authorisation for UN humanitarian convoys to cross into Syria without the consent of the Damascus regime, in line with a previous text adopted in July 2014 and due to expire in January.

The document said the Security Council was “gravely concerned at the lack of effective implementation of its resolutions” calling for greater facilitation of aid deliveries.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Terror Networks
Russia, U.S. agree on major terrorist groups in Mideast
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Russia and the United States have common understanding on major groups which should be considered terrorist ones in the Middle East, RIA news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov as saying on Friday.
Posted by: Fred || 12/26/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A Reuters snippet with no substantive info on this "common understanding." Although Russia has the Muslim Brotherhood high on its hit parade, Obama seems ill-disposed to defecate on the MB and thus on his half-brother who is a big man in the MB-dominated Islamic Dawaa organization.
Posted by: Spomong Bourbon8696 || 12/26/2015 5:45 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2015-12-26
  One Killed as Bomb Blast Rocks Ahmadi Mosque in Bangladesh
Fri 2015-12-25
  30 ISIS Bad Guys die in Fallujah
Thu 2015-12-24
  ISIS troops forced out of Ramadi
Wed 2015-12-23
  Driver Shouting 'Allahu Akbar!' Runs Down 11 French Pedestrians
Tue 2015-12-22
  Tunisia dismantles cell recruiting women for Islamist militant
Mon 2015-12-21
  Afghanistan: Taliban 'take centre of Helmand district'
Sun 2015-12-20
  Terrorist and Hezbollah commander Samir Kuntar... Tango Uniform
Sat 2015-12-19
  Yemen Government Forces Capture Capital of al-Jawf Province as Peace Talks Go on
Fri 2015-12-18
  Over 800 migrants try to storm Channel Tunnel in France: Official
Thu 2015-12-17
  30 Dead in Boko Haram Attack on Three Nigeria Villages
Wed 2015-12-16
  Top Saudi, UAE Commanders among 150 Forces Killed in Yemen Tochka Attack
Tue 2015-12-15
  Breaking: L.A. School District shut down due to credible terror threat
Mon 2015-12-14
  40 die in Damascus airstrikes
Sun 2015-12-13
  Gambia now an Islamic republic, says President
Sat 2015-12-12
  US sez 3 ISIS Top Dawgs die in airstrikes

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