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Today: 57 articles and 131 comments as of 13:28.
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Senior Qaeda-linked figure captured in Lebanon
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
US Delivers 4 Super Tucano Attack Aircrafts to Afghan Forces
[Tolo News] U.S officials formally delivered four Brazil-made Super Tucano attack aircraft to the Afghan defense ministry on Friday in an effort to help embattled Afghan cops carry out their counter-insurgency missions in the volatile country in days to come.

After receiving the first batch of Super Tucano combat aircrafts, acting minister of defense Masoom Stanekzai said that the planes will be used in battles against the Lions of Islam in Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
and Helmand
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  The U.S. government spent $486 million to buy and refurbish 20 older C-27A airplanes from Alenia, a unit of Italia's Finmeccanica SpA, but later canceled the program because a lack of spare parts was severely limiting their availability for military use.

C27 supply depot

Another L-3 scam..."By 2013, newly built C-27Js were being sent directly to the Davis–Monthan Air Force Base boneyard."
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/16/2016 7:05 Comments || Top||

#2  ...Between defecting pilots and inshallah maintenance, I give 'em an effective service life of six months.

Mike

Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 01/16/2016 12:12 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Egyptian troop deployment abroad extended for one year
We never hear about them, but they must be doing more than blockading Yemen's ports against Iranian resupply.
[AlAhram] Egypt's National Defence Council extended the deployment of troops fighting Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Gulf area, the Red Sea and the Bab Al-Mandab strait

Egypt's National Defence Council agreed in a meeting on Monday to extend the deployment of Egyptian Armed Forces units in the Gulf area, the Red Sea and the Bab Al-Mandab strait for an additional year, or until the end of their mission.

Egyptian naval and air force troops have been participating in the Saudi-led military operation in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
against Iranian-backed Houthi fights since March 2015.

The council meeting in Cairo was headed by President El-Sisi and was attended by the ministers of defence, finance and interior, as well as the parliament speaker, the prime minister, and the Armed Forces chief of staff and branch commanders.

The meeting, which was also attended by the heads of the General Intelligence Service and military intelligence, involved discussions on the latest national and regional security developments as well as the fight against terrorism in North Sinai.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Better living deployed than being at home?
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/16/2016 5:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Good training
Posted by: Frank G || 01/16/2016 10:25 Comments || Top||

#3  Saudis been paying Egypt's grocery bill since El Sisi came to power.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/16/2016 10:58 Comments || Top||

#4  Apparently al Sisi hasn't forgotten it.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/16/2016 14:10 Comments || Top||

#5  Neither has he forgotten the next months grocery bill.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/16/2016 14:19 Comments || Top||

#6  The mark of an intelligent Third World leader.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/16/2016 21:19 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Boko Haram attacks killed nearly 1,200 people since 2013: Cameroon
[AlAhram] Nigeria's 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...
Islamists have killed nearly 1,200 people in neighbouring 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...
's far north since 2013, the communications minister in Yaounde said Friday.

Issa Tchiroma Bakary told news hounds that the group had staged 315 raids in the border region during this period and carried out 32 suicide kabooms.

"In total, 1,098 civilians, 67 of our soldiers and three police officials have been killed in these barbaric attacks by the Boko Haram terrorist group," Bakary said.

Since July last year, Cameroon's far north has been hit by a series of attacks blamed on Boko Haram, which has pledged allegiance to ISIS group.

This year, the number of attacks in the region has increased to a near daily basis with simultaneous incursions in some areas.

"In the face of such unjustified and gratuitous harrassment our defence and security forces have inflicted heavy losses on the enemy," he said, adding that the group had been so weakened that it was now taking recourse to kabooms, often staged by women or girls.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


Economy
Oil Prices Tumble Below $30, New 12-Year Lows
[ALMANAR.LB] Oil prices slumped to fresh 12-year low points Friday, as dealers prepared for increased Iranian exports to the market against a backdrop of a global supply glut.

New York prices hit $29.39 a barrel, a level last seen in November 2003. Brent meanwhile dropped to $29.45 -- the lowest level since February 2004.

Crude prices have shed three-quarters of the value in 18 months and dropped under $30 this week for the first time for 12 years.

But Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, said prices may have hit or are nearing the end of their downward spiral.

"If we're not at the lows, we're very close to the lows for oil," he told AFP. "I do expect to see a turn very soon."
How many times has he been wrong in the last year?
Oil prices have shed more than 15 percent already this year as investors worry about the prolonged oversupply crisis and weak global economic outlook, particularly in chief energy user China.

However,
some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves...
with major producer Iran poised to hike output after the lifting of Western-backed nuclear sanctions, some analysts have warned of further losses for crude.

The implementation of a deal between the two sides, allowing the removal of sanctions, is expected by Sunday.

At about 1230 GMT, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March retreated $1.06, or 3.4 percent, to stand at $29.82 a barrel. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for February delivery plunged $1.46, or 4.7 percent, to $29.74 compared with Thursday's close.
Posted by: Fred || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ....Admittedly, my 401k has taken a beating the last few days, but I'm perfectly happy to see these prices for a while yet. Let the Arabs and Persians get a good idea as to what that stuff tastes like - because they know good and well they may end up eating it.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 01/16/2016 16:58 Comments || Top||

#2  I imagine nations get pretty nervous when this happens to the value of their only product.

Oil
Posted by: Mike N. || 01/16/2016 18:14 Comments || Top||

#3  I seem to have broken the comments somewhat. Sorry, mods.
Posted by: Mike N. || 01/16/2016 18:14 Comments || Top||

#4  These prices are costing me my job. Not a big deal as I was about to retire anyway. But also costing the jobs of 40% of my co-workers, including a large number with only a few years of experience and still paying on student loans.
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/16/2016 19:35 Comments || Top||

#5  Backing out inflation and these prices are more like 1995 prices.
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/16/2016 19:37 Comments || Top||

#6  My company has cut our pay 30% and we've had almost 50% of our fellows laid off. They're still cutting despite the fact we can barely crew the rigs we have left.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 01/16/2016 19:47 Comments || Top||


Europe
Germany Wants Algeria, Morocco to Implement Expulsion Deal
[AnNahar] Berlin wants Algeria and Morocco to take back their nationals with no residence permits in Germany after a sharp rise in asylum seekers from the two North African countries, officials said Friday.

Alarmed by the spike in North African arrivals, German authorities want their countries of origin to help in their swift repatriations, in order to free up resources to deal with asylum seekers fleeing war and violence.

But the German authorities have in recent weeks flagged problems in expelling Algerians and Moroccans, saying their countries of origin were often unwilling to take them back because of missing identity documents.

"We have a repatriation agreement. That means, everything is regulated on paper. But in practice, we know that it remains problematic in some cases," said government front man Steffen Seibert.

"That must be dealt with so that the agreement can be put into action."

All foreigners who did not have residency rights in Germany are required to leave, including citizens of North Africa, he said. "And there we have to talk about how the repatriations can be carried out."

Chancellor Angela Merkel
...current chancellor of Germany. She was educated in East Germany when is was still run by commies, but in 1989 got involved with the growing democracy movement when the Berlin Wall fell. Merkel is sometimes referred to by Germans as Mom...
raised the issue this week when Algeria's Abdelmalik Sellal visited, although the Algerian premier had sounded a note of caution, saying it was essential to first "ensure that they really are Algerians".

Under pressure over the same issue, Tunisia has also raised concerns about the true identity of potential deportees.

"There are asylum seekers in Europe who destroy their identity documents and once they are incarcerated
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
by police, they pretend to be Tunisians even though they are not," an official from the Tunisian foreign ministry said.

"The state has to ensure that the migrants are really Tunisians. Sometimes these checks take time," he added.

The numbers of Algerian asylum seekers arriving in Germany rose from 847 in June to 2,296 in December, while those from Morocco jumped from 368 to 2,896, the interior ministry said.

The issue has taken on a new urgency following a shocking spate of sexual assaults against women on New Year's Eve, which has been blamed on North African and other Arab migrants.

Cologne police said 652 complaints have been filed over the violence, including 331 relating to sexual violence.

Of 19 suspects identified by Cologne police so far, 14 are from Morocco or Algeria.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "ensure that they really are Algerians".

And how do you propose to do that? You going to bring in those great "vetters" from Oblama?
Posted by: AlanC || 01/16/2016 8:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Herein lies the problem of letting these people into the country in the first place.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 01/16/2016 12:46 Comments || Top||


Why rejected asylum seekers are seldom deported
[dw.com] In no other industrialized nation have so many people applied for asylum in the past year than in Germany. Around half of the applications are rejected, but that seldom has consequences for the applicant.

In this digital age, it's not just millions of banal emails that are sent around the world, but also important messages. Information that can spark a massive reaction. Like the fact that, in Germany, the risk of being deported, despite a rejected asylum application, is pretty small. Refugees know this, and it's one of the reasons why Germany remains their preferred destination.

Wilfred Burghardt, the former leader of a committee on repatriation, known as AG Ruck, says the flaws in Germany's deportation system are a significant "pull factor." Clearly, the Achilles heel of Germany's generous asylum law is the lack of consequences that follow rejection. The biggest obstacles to deportation are:

Unknown identity
Around 80 percent of asylum seekers arrive in Germany with fake papers, or no papers at all. That's especially true for migrants from countries where there is no war or persecution. Aid organizations say that many people opt for fake papers because there are no legal means to enter Germany. But it's not possible to deport a person without any papers once their application for asylum has been rejected. Even once the country of origin has been established, many states refuse to take their citizens back.

Until recently, it was the case that, once an applicant had exhausted all legal means to be granted asylum, the authorities would assign a date for deportation. But in many cases, the person could no longer be found on that day. Now, the system has changed so that asylum seekers are no longer told on which day they are to be deported. In some cases, families hide one of their children with friends or relatives in order to delay deportation. Following verdicts from the European Court for Human Rights, taking people into custody prior to deportation is no longer allowed.

Legal hurdles
Rejected asylum seekers do have some legal recourse. Refugee organizations will often help them file an appeal, so that the decision is reviewed. Certain illnesses or courses of therapy can help delay deportation or at least allow the applicant to remain in the country as an illegal foreigner. Once that status has been exhausted, there is still the hardship application, and as a last option, church asylum.

Overtaxed bureaucracy
The massive increase in the number of refugees and, correspondingly, asylum applications, almost brought German bureaucracy to its knees. At times, there were more than 600,000 unprocessed applications on hold. In the meantime, the immigration authorities and the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees in Nuremberg have hired additional staff. Applications are now supposed to be processed in three months, and not the six months or longer that was the case previously.

Psychological inhibitions
Nobody likes to deport people. That seems to explain the psychological resistance that can be observed at the German state level, given that the states are responsible for more than 90 percent of deportations. Local politicians seldom go on the offensive when it comes to repatriation decisions; they fear the negative headlines that would follow, for example, when a family of six is driven to the airport and forced to board a plane.
But such inhibitions are weakening in the face of the uninterrupted influx of refugees. In addition, more countries, such as Kosovo, Albania, and Montenegro, have been declared safe countries of origin, so that applicants from these countries can be sent back. There is also an ongoing discussion about whether or not extend safe country status to Morocco and Algeria.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Cuban boat people all over again.
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/16/2016 5:14 Comments || Top||


More than 400 on German Islamist watchlist
[dw.com] The leader of Germany's federal police has said that the number of militants returning to the country from the Middle East is on the rise. The police stressed, however, that no attack in Germany is imminent.
As far as they know. But with that many potential jihadis to watch, compounded by trying to vet 1.1 million known migrants who arrived in 2015, there's no way they are catching even most of what is going on.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Salafists


German town bans refugees from swimming pool
[dw.com] A town near the German cities of Cologne and Bonn has banned male refugees from the municipal pool after sexual harassment complaints. Tension is high in Germany over immigration and women's rights.

A suburb of the German city of Bonn has forbidden adult male refugees from visiting the town's public pool, a city front man announced on Friday. After women at the municipal pool in Bornheim had begun complaining of sexual harassment, said the front man, it was clear that immediate action should be taken to protect the rights of the women.

Initially the men, who live in a shelter in Bornheim while they await the results of their asylum applications, were given access to the municipal pool as part of a small package of benefits. Soon, however, women began going to the manager saying the men's behavior was unacceptable.

While none of the incidents amounted to anything illegal, the city said it was important first and foremost to make it clear to the men that in Germany, the rights of women are sacrosanct.

"Once our social workers tell us that they have got the message, we'll terminate the measure," said Markus Schnapka, head of Bornheim's social welfare office.

Germany has been on edge about immigrants and sexual violence since a string of sexual assaults were carried out, many by asylum seekers, in the city of Cologne, which is very close to Bonn, on New Year's Eve. The attacks have sent shockwaves through a country that usually has a great deal of faith its public institutions.

The scandal has touched everyone from the Cologne chief of police, who has since stepped down, to the state of North-Rhine Westphalia's regional government, to Chancellor Angela Merkel
...current chancellor of Germany. She was educated in East Germany when is was still run by commies, but in 1989 got involved with the growing democracy movement when the Berlin Wall fell. Merkel is sometimes referred to by Germans as Mom...
herself and her open-door policy for refugees.

Poll: Germans increasingly skeptical of refugees

[dw.com] For the first time, a majority of Germans say the country cannot manage the influx of asylum seekers, compared to 46 in December. Meanwhile,
...back at the Hubba Hubba Club, Big Shirley was still trying to snatch Nunzio bald-headed. She was already halfway there...
only 37 percent find the crisis manageable.
Perhaps that explains this, from an otherwise uninteresting Deutsche Welle article about something else:
The wide attention on the Cologne assaults has obscured the fact that 2015 saw 887 attacks on refugee centers, including 79 cases of arson.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
Posted by: Lampedusa Creretch3679 || 01/16/2016 8:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Will nobody rid us of this Yuletide carol?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/16/2016 9:55 Comments || Top||

#3  Why do I get the feeling that the 'sexual harassment' was much more then leering and making comments?

It wouldn't be the first time they covered up for the rapefugees.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 01/16/2016 10:01 Comments || Top||

#4  Whats wrong with these ppl.
Posted by: chris || 01/16/2016 12:14 Comments || Top||

#5  An overdose of Political Correctness Chris. May be terminal.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 01/16/2016 12:56 Comments || Top||


Fifth Column
Jason Rezaian and 3 Other US Inmates Freed by Iran. US to urge end to Argentina bombing prosecution
We need a source URL...
Farsnews (Iran's official spokesholes). HT to Weasel Zippers. Is there anything else this traitorous trio of ValJar, Obama, and Kerry can do for the Ayatollahs and against Americans and Joooos?
(FNA)- 4 Iranian-American nationals who were held for various charges in Iran have been freed under a prisoners swap deal, Tehran's prosecutor announced Saturday afternoon.

"Based on an approval of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and the general interests of the Islamic Republic, four Iranian prisoners with dual-nationality were freed today within the framework of a prisoner swap deal," the office of Tehran prosecutor said.

The four Iranian-Americans, Jason Rezaian, Amir Hekmat, Saeed Abedini and Nosratollah Khosrawi Roudsari who were jailed in Iran on various charges in recent years, have all been released.

Some English and Persian websites have wrongly named Siamak Namazi as the fourth inmate freed under the deal today. Namazi remains in jail for his charges are financial, and not political.

According to the swap deal, the US has also freed 7 Iranian-Americans who were held for sanctions-related charges and demanded the Interpol to stop prosecution of 14 other Iranian nationals.
these are the conspirators and bombers of the Jewish Center Bombing in Argentina. Christina was covering that up but she's out now
The 7 Iranian inmates freed by the US have been named as Nader Modanlou, Bahram Mechanic, Khosrow Afqahi, Arash Ghahreman, Touraj Faridi, Nima Golestaneh and Ali Sabounchi.

A senior Iranian legislator citing an IRGC report on Rezaian's case said in October that he has been imprisoned for his attempts to help the US Senate to advance its regime change plots in Iran.

In late July 2014, Iran confirmed that four journalists, including Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, had been arrested and were being held for questioning.

Rezaian's wife Yeganeh Salehi, a correspondent for the United Arab Emirates-based newspaper, the National, was also arrested at that time, but she and two others were released later.

According to the Constitution, the Judiciary is independent from the government in Iran.
riiigghht
Some reports earlier this year had spoken of a potential prisoner swap between Iran and US following the Vienna nuclear deal in July.
Posted by: Frank G || 01/16/2016 11:40 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  hmmm. It was there in Preview...I think. Here it is

Thanks.
Posted by: Frank G || 01/16/2016 13:10 Comments || Top||

#2  Or, like Mary Poppins said/sang./sarc
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 01/16/2016 13:16 Comments || Top||

#3  VIENNA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The day before the Obama administration was due to slap new sanctions on Iran late last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif warned U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry the move could derail a prisoner deal the two sides had been negotiating in secret for months.

Kerry and other top aides to President Barack Obama, who was vacationing in Hawaii, convened a series of conference calls and concluded they could not risk losing the chance to free Americans held by Tehran.

At the last minute, the Obama administration officials decided to delay a package of limited and targeted sanctions intended to penalize Iran for recent test-firings of a ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.
Posted by: Mad Eye Spack4105 || 01/16/2016 14:43 Comments || Top||

#4  Where is Danny Ocean when you need him?

That is a lot of money heading Iran's way.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 01/16/2016 14:51 Comments || Top||

#5  I'd bet a portion is coming back as graft shipping and handling.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/16/2016 17:21 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Turkey Detains 12 Academics for Criticizing Military Campaign against Kurds
[ALMANAR.LB] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
has tossed in the calaboose
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
12 academics for signing a declaration denouncing Ankara's military operations against Kurdish holy warriors. The move comes after more than 1,200 scholars were being investigated for criticizing the Turkish State.

The Anadolu Agency, as cited by AP, says the 12 who were detained by police are lecturers at Kocaeli University in the northwest. Police are still processing the paperwork for nine other academics, who will also be arrested.

The 1,200 academics had been accused of allegedly participating in "terrorist propaganda" after they signed a declaration condemning military operations against Kurdish rebels in the southeast.

News of the investigation was reported by Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency.

Around 1,200 academics from 89 universities, including prominent foreign scholars such as Noam Chomsky
...intellectual and political theorist of a socialist persuasion. He is noted for being so far out in left field he can't see the shortstop on every issue he pushes...
, David Harvey and Immanuel Wallerstein, signed the declaration, which was titled: "We won't be a part of this crime."

It called on the authorities in Ankara to end the "massacre and slaughter" in southeast Turkey and lift the siege of Kurdish towns and cities. The declaration also accused Erdogan of waging a war against his own people.

"The responsibility for the present self-inflicted crisis in the country must lie squarely with Erdogan, who perceives the Kurds... as obstacles to his plan to establish supreme rule for the Turkish presidency," the declaration said.
Posted by: Fred || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


US Commander: Turkey Should Inform Us Before Targeting IS
[NRTTV] While praising The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
's massive artillery and tank fire at 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....
(IS) as very effective, US military officials based in Baghdad said Ankara should inform its allies, including the US, before such a large operation.

Operation Inherent Resolve front man Col. Steve Warren said during a State Department briefing via a teleconference from Baghdad, "Well, we've seen the Turkish fire some artillery to very good effect in the Manbij pocket," describing the fight as "a World War I style situation."

However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all...
Warren did state that there should be more intelligence sharing between Turkey and the other coalition member states, including the US.

"We want to ensure that we know exactly where they're [Turks] going to strike before they strike," he said.

He added: "So [what] we've identified is the Turks filling a need, right? There were some weather problems; we were having difficulty providing the type of air power we wanted to provide, and the Turks filled in with artillery fire. So it was perfect. It happened the way it was supposed to happen."

The area known as the Manbij pocket is a 98-kilometer stretch along Turkey's southern border with Syria, which Western powers complain has not been sealed off.

On Thursday (Jan. 14) Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkey killed 200 IS holy warriors in cross-border operations, in an operation where Turkey fired 500 shells which began after an IS jacket wallah killed 10 German tourists in Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet Square on Jan. 12.

Close to 200 holy warriors were "rendered ineffective" -- the government's term for "killed" -- in artillery strikes in the past 48 hours, Davutoglu said.

It was unclear how Turkey verified the number of killed or their membership in the Lion of Islams' group.
Posted by: Fred || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Home Front: WoT
State Department: Arab 'Extremists' Entering U.S. Via Porous Mexican Border
[PJMedia] For more than a decade the U.S. government has known that "Arab extremists" are entering the country through Mexico with the assistance of smuggling network "cells," according to State Department documents obtained by Judicial Watch that reveal among them was a top Al Qaeda operative wanted by the FBI. Some Mexican smuggling networks actually specialize in providing logistical support for Arab individuals attempting to enter the United States, the government documents say. The top Al Qaeda leader in Mexico was identified in the September 2004 cable from the American consulate in Ciudad Juarez as Adnan G. El Shurkrjumah. The cable was released to Judicial Watch under the Freedom of Information Act.

The new intelligence records were released as a result of an ongoing JW investigation into the critical national security threats on the southern border, specifically those created by Islamic terrorists teaming up with Mexican drug cartels to infiltrate and attack the U.S. In response to JW's reporting in the last two years the Obama administration--through various spokespeople, including FBI Director James Comey--has vehemently denied that Islamic terrorists are operating in Mexican towns near American cities or entering the U.S. through the famously porous southern border.

No real surprise here, if you've been paying attention for the past decade or so. Is it entirely coincidental that the ranks of "immigrants" from Latin America have suddenly swelled as the legion of "migrants" from the Islamic ummah have invaded Europe? The drug cartels already have a thriving traffic in cross-border people smuggling, so they're a natural fit with Islamic infiltrators taking advantage of both the Bush and Obama administrations' laxity in enforcing border security.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


India-Pakistan
NA body terms minimum marriage age 'un-Islamic'
[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: The question of minimum marriageable age for girls reverberated in the National Assembly Standing Committee on Religious Affairs, where an amendment proposing that the minimum limit be raised to 18 years was declared 'un-Islamic' by committee members.

PML-N MNA Marvi Memon, who is also the head of the Benazir Income Support Programme, had suggested several changes in the Child Marriage Restraint Bill 2014.

Currently, the minimum legal age of marriage in Pakistain is 16 years, under the Child Marriage Act 1929.

Committee members and officials from the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), however, maintained that introducing an age bracket for girls of marriageable age was a western idea, contrary to the culture, traditions and family values of Muslims.

Conscious of the sensitivity of the subject and obviously wary of offending the sensibilities of religious-minded politicians over the matter, Ms Memon began her presentation very cautiously, repeatedly stressing that she was a practicing Muslim who adhered to the teachings of Islam and held the Holy Koran and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) in the utmost esteem.

Highlighting the proposed amendments, she said that apart from limiting the minimum age of marriage to 18 years, the new bill called for rigorous imprisonment up to two years and a fine of Rs100,000 for violators.

Under the 1929 act, the punishment for a man over the age of 21 or a woman over the age of 18, who marries a minor girl or a boy is simply one month in prison and/or a fine of Rs1,000.

PML-N's Hafiz Abdul Kareem, who is the committee chairman, then invited CII officials for their opinion.

"Girls can be eligible for marriage after the age of nine years, if they attain puberty and the same is usually 12 years for boys," Inamullah, CII's chief research officer, read out the decision of the council.

"Anything contrary to the life of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) is unacceptable. He married Hazrat Ayesha when she was six years old and her 'rukhsati' was held at the age of nine," he added.

JUI-F's Maulvi Agha Muhammad and JI's Sahibzada Yaqub of Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
, also opposed the proposed amendment, stopping short of terming it downright blasphemous.

PTI MNA Ali Mohammad delivered a mini-sermon of his own. After reciting several verses, he announced that all political activities and the seats in parliament could be sacrificed to maintain the honour and dignity of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).

"Marvi [Memon] is not an Islamic scholar, nor am I. But the appropriate body [for such decisions] is the CII and their point of view is correct," he said, adding "There is no point discussing this bill now".

While most committee members agreed with his view point, Ms Memon tried to push her point home.

If this suggestion is so anti-Islam, what will become of the Sindh Assembly, which recently passed a law setting 18 years as the minimum age for marriage, she posited. However,
a lie repeated often enough remains a lie...
even her party colleagues in the committee did not back her and instead, criticised her severely.

Ruling party politician Malik Abdul Ghafoor Dogar insisted that the CII was correct, adding, "As for the Sindh Assembly; they have to enter their graves and we are [each] responsible for our own [grave]."

The only support for Ms Memon came from MQM's Kishwer Zehra, who openly supported her efforts, saying, "I strongly believe that girls below the age of 18 should not be married."
Posted by: Fred || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  "Islam says that wymyns over the age of 12 are wrinkled old crones unsuitable for marriage"
Posted by: Frank G || 01/16/2016 10:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Un islamic to not be a pedophile.
Posted by: chris || 01/16/2016 12:31 Comments || Top||


Obama's statement on Pakistan not ground reality: Aziz%u200F
[DAWN] Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj PrunefaceAziz
...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in good jihadis and bad jihadis as a matter of national policy...
has reacted strongly to a statement made by United States President Barack Obama
Ready to Rule from Day One...
that both Pakistain and Afghanistan were among the countries that would continue to face instability and turmoil for decades.

"Whatever the US president said about instability in Pakistain and Afghanistan are his predictions and have nothing to do with ground realities," Aziz told a breakfast meeting with Chinese scholars, diplomats and media persons organised by a think thank here on Friday.

In his last State of the Union address on Tuesday night, Obama had warned: "Instability will continue for decades in many parts of the world -- in the Middle East, in Afghanistan and Pakistain, in parts of central America, Africa and Asia," he said.

"Some of these places may become safe havens for new terrorist networks; others will fall victim to ethnic conflict, or famine, feeding the next wave of refugees."

Disagreeing with Obama in his address, the adviser said, "Pakistain is taking decisive action against terrorism and militancy and days to come will witness more stability here."

As far as Afghanistan is concerned, Aziz said, "instability exists but Pakistain is making all out efforts for establishing peace and stability there."
Posted by: Fred || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


India arrests Hindu Sena chief for ransacking PIA office in Delhi
[DAWN] Police on Friday enjugged
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta in connection with Thursday's ransacking of a Pakistain International Airlines (PIA) office in New Delhi, Times of India reported.

Gupta, who heads the Hindu Sena -- a group of right-wing Hindu hardliners -- grabbed credit for the vandalism at PIA's office and vented anger at Pakistain, holding it responsible for the siege at the Pathankot air base as well as at the attack on the Indian consulate in the Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif recently.

"Gupta has been arrested under Sections 120B (being party to a criminal conspiracy), 147 (rioting), 149 (being the member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 427 (mischief causing damage to property)and 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) of IPC," the police was quoted as saying.

"The police are still looking for the other Hindu Sena members who were involved in the vandalizm," DCP (New Delhi) Jatin Narwal said.
Posted by: Fred || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Why the West Bank refugee camps refuse to join the Third Intifada
Long. A taste:
[IsraelTimes] After the tough and tumultuous years that the camp endured, today, even as the "intifada of knives" rages elsewhere, local residents are enjoying one of the calmest periods they have experienced over the past decade. And many don't want it to end.

"There have been no Jews here for months, and the Paleostinian Authority has not come in either," says M., a former wanted man who served a four-year sentence in a PA jail and was an inmate in an Israeli prison before that.

"So you see: Everybody here is calmer."

M., a father of three, knows all the Israeli news hounds on Paleostinian affairs by name. During the Second Intifada, he accompanied Zakaria Zubeidi, the commander of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, around the camp. Zubeidi has lived in Beitunia (Ramallah) ever since the PA forced him to move there so that it could keep a close eye on him.

M. and a few of his friends are waiting for passengers in the camp's downtown section, near the Sheikh Khalifa Mosque. The Jenin Refugee Camp Barbershop is near us, and the group of men in their 20s and 30s run a Jenin-style gypsy cab service in which passengers travel from one place to another in the camp -- for money, of course.

"How do you explain the fact that no resident of the camp took part in the 'intifada of knives' over the past three months?" I ask him.

"It's not an intifada. It's a fad," he says. "Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarm, Jericho -- nothing is happening in any one of those places. Things have calmed down even in Hebron. True, people were killed there, but it's a passing phase. The ones that created this intifada were the media and Facebook.

"And let's be honest," he continues. "What did we gain from the Second Intifada? What did we get? Those of us who live here in the camp paid the heaviest price. And what did that do for us? Did we get representation on the Revolutionary Council [one of the leadership groups] or on the Central Committee [Fatah's supreme leadership group]? So why should we take part in this? What will we get out of sending a kid to stab somebody with a knife? Just yesterday [Monday], some teenager tried to stab a person near Hermesh. Did that get anybody upset?
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


‘Hamas rejects Iran offer of funding in return for backing in Saudi row’
[IsraelTimes] Proposal receives splits leadership of Paleostinian terror group, but political chief turns it down for fear of offending Sunni states

Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, has rejected a proposal by Tehran to restore ties in return for its support in Iran's current battle with 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...
, a source in the Paleostinian terror group told pan-Arab paper Asharq al-Awsat on Friday.

According to the report, Khaled Qaddumi, Hamas' representative in Tehran, met two weeks ago with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javed Zarif, who offered to renew Iranian financial support for the group on a regular basis and according to its needs, if Hamas were to officially declare its allegiance to Iran over Saudi Arabia's execution of Shiite holy man Nimr al-Nimr earlier this month.

According to the sources, the proposal triggered a dispute within Hamas. The heads of the organization in the Gazoo Strip supported normalization of ties with Tehran, while 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...
-based politburo chief Khaled Mashaal was reluctant to commit, fearing that Hamas would lose its support among Sunni Arab states. As such, the report says, Mashaal officially rejected the offer from Iran.

"The equation is clear: as a liberation movement, we need the support of everyone," a Hamas official in the West Bank told the newspaper. He stressed the group "will never join an alliance against the Sunni world."

Relations between Iran and Hamas have been shaky since the Paleostinian organization came out against Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
, a key Iranian ally, and left its headquarters in Damascus with the outbreak of the country's civil war in 2011.

Tehran gradually halted its support for the Paleostinian organization; it was also recently reported that Iran has ended its financial backing for the Paleostinian Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
, probably due to its position on the civil war in Yemen.

Flag of the Gazoo-based Paleostinian faction Harakat al-Sabireen right) alongside that of Leb based Shiite terror group Hezbollah (left). Both organizations are backed by Iran.
Flag of the Gazoo-based Paleostinian faction Harakat al-Sabireen right) alongside that of Leb based Shiite terror group Hezbollah (left). Both organizations are backed by Iran.

Hamas could well still be receiving getting money from Iran, albeit on an ad hoc basis. The organization did attempt recently to draw closer to the Islamic Theocratic Republic, even claiming sponsorship of the activities of Shiite group Harakat al-Sabireen, which does enjoy Iranian support.

Harakat al-Sabireen, which translates to "movement of the patient ones," broke away from Islamic Jihad in May 2014, and has symbols almost identical to those of Leb-based Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Founder Hisham Salim this week told the Paleostinian news agency Ma'an that the group, like Hezbollah, is directly funded by the Iranian government, but stressed that his group was non-sectarian, non-religious and certainly not a "Shiite movement."
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Southeast Asia
Aquino sees no ‘credible’ terror threat to the Philippines
[Gulf Today] Philippine president Benigno Aquino on Friday said he hasn't received any "credible" threat from terror groups following an attack in Jakarta, Indonesia, killing at least seven and injuring 24 others that Daesh claimed responsibility for.

Aquino assured the government would not let down its guard as he ordered security agencies to closely monitor the activities of groups that pose a threat. He said, "I have ordered intelligence agencies to do the monitoring specifically in the communities to determine the existence of such threats."

In a related development, the Philippine military and police declared a "heightened alert" nationwide as they asked the public to be vigilant and help the country address such threats.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Mayoralgo dela Cruz reported that soldiers had disrupted training being conducted by the Abu Sayyaf to show support for the Daesh last December on the island province of Basilan. He disclosed the troops killed the fugitive Malaysian bomber Mohammad Najib Hussein, alias Abu Anas. and also captured an Abu Sayyaf camp in Al Barka, Basilan.

According to Mayoralgo, the military offensive disrupted Abu Sayyaf propaganda showing the training of alleged Daesh supporters.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Israel: Hezbollah Obtained Russian anti-Ship Missiles
[ALMANAR.LB] The Zionist Army revealed its fresh estimations about Hezbollah rocketry power, noting that the party obtained sophisticated Russian anti-ship missiles, Yakhont, which can strike all the marine vessels and oil platforms along the Paleostinian coast.

The Zionist sources expressed deep worry about this development, considering that it will tremendous effects on the movement of the Israeli navy.

The sources added that the Zionist army has launched continuous drills to confront Hezbollah threats that include, according to the enemy's analysis, launching anti-ship rockets and abducting Israeli boats.

It is worth to note that Hezbollah managed during 2006 war to strike Zionist Saar 5 warship.
Posted by: Fred || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Mobile Clinic On Way To Madaya Where 32 Have Died From Hunger
[NRTTV] A mobile clinic and medical team is on its way to the besieged Syrian town of Madaya, where the local community has reported that 32 people died of starvation in the last 30 days, United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
(UN) agencies said on Friday (Jan. 15).

The Syrian government has given permission for the mobile clinic of the Syrian Arab Red Islamic Thingy to enter the town and has also agreed for vaccination to be carried out.

"[The World Health Organization] has called for mobile clinics to go in Madaya. So we got an agreement and the first mobile clinic has gone this morning to Madaya. This mobile clinic is operated by Syrian Arab Red Islamic Thingy and is a team, it's a medical team that will do medical examinations inside Madaya", Tarik Jasarevic of the World Health Organization (WHO) told a news briefing in Geneva.

The local community's relief committee told officials of the United Nations' World Food Programme that 32 people had died of hunger in the last 30 days.

The United Nations hopes to send convoys to Madaya and the rebel-besieged towns of Foua and Kefraya in Idlib next week, but no date has been set for Zabadani, OCHA front man Jens Laerke said.

U.N. children's fund UNICEF confirmed cases of severe malnutrition among children in Madaya, where aid was delivered this week to thousands of people affected by the months-long blockade.

"We can confirm that cases of severe malnutrition were found among children in the besieged Syrian town of Madaya. Our UNICEF representative and the team were particularly saddened and shocked to have witnessed the death of a young boy, Ali, a severely malnourished 16-year-old who passed away just in front of them", said UNICEF front man Christophe Boulierac.

Dozens of deaths from starvation have been reported by monitoring groups, local doctors, and local aid agencies from Madaya, which is besieged by Syrian pro-government forces.

UNICEF said that out of 25 children under the age of five screened by its staff and the World Health Organization, 22 showed signs of "moderate to severe" malnutrition.
Posted by: Fred || 01/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria



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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2016-01-16
  Senior Qaeda-linked figure captured in Lebanon
Fri 2016-01-15
  U.S. designates ISIS in Afghanistan as foreign terrorist organization
Thu 2016-01-14
  Terror attacks in Jakarta -- 7 die so far
Wed 2016-01-13
  Suicide bomber kills 10 people, mainly Germans, in Istanbul
Tue 2016-01-12
  Bombings at Iraq cafe kill 20: Officers
Mon 2016-01-11
  It begins: Cologne gangs attack foreigners
Sun 2016-01-10
  US drone strikes kills 25 suspected militants in Pakistan, Afghanistan
Sat 2016-01-09
  Philadelphia police officer ambushed 'in the name of Islam'
Fri 2016-01-08
  ISIS Man Executes His Mom
Thu 2016-01-07
  Iran says Saudi-led airstrike hit Iranian Embassy in Yemen, but no damage seen
Wed 2016-01-06
  1 US soldier killed, 2 wounded in Taliban attack in Helmand
Tue 2016-01-05
  44 ISIS Bad Guys die in battles near Fallujah
Mon 2016-01-04
  38 die in Kurd, ISIS battles in Raqqa
Sun 2016-01-03
  Fierce Fighting Erupts Between Afghan Forces, Taliban In Marjah
Sat 2016-01-02
  Death sentences for nine 'hardcore terrorists' in Pakistan

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