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Today: 62 articles and 191 comments as of 8:14.
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Police names AFG 'Naturalized Citizen' Ahmad Khan Rahami as NY bomb suspect, UPDATE: Arrested!
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
Baghlan Residents Urge Govt To Clear Dahana-e-Ghori Of Taliban
A number of Dahana-e-Ghori district residents gathered in front of the Baghlan governor's office on Sunday and called on government to step up efforts to retake the district from the Taliban.

Dahana-e-Ghori residents said that they are tired of the ongoing war and urged government to clear the region of Taliban.

"Dahana-e-Ghori district is under Taliban control. Around 5,000 families who used to live in the district, are going through very difficult times in (provincial capital) Pul-e-Khumri city," said Mohammad Hashim Karam Ali, a resident of Dahana-e-Ghori district.

"People have gathered here to see how long government will deceive us. People are gathered to urge government to decide on when it will retake the district from the Taliban," said Ali Madad, another resident.

Meanwhile, Baghlan provincial council has blasted government for being "negligent" and not launching an operation to retake the district from insurgents.

Bismillah Atash, a member of the provincial council said: "We want the police chief and the national security head to come and respond to our questions. They should respond to people's questions. People are going through difficult times under Taliban rule, what does government have to say to them?"

Meanwhile, Abdul Satar Barez, the governor of Baghlan, said that security forces will launch an operation in the near future to retake the district from the Taliban.

"People are right. Local and central government have got a plan regarding Dahana-e-Ghori which will start soon," said Barez.

Based on claims made by Dahana-e-Ghori residents, the district and dozens of villages in Baghlan-e-Markazi and Pul-e-Khumri are under Taliban control, but still there is no sign of military operations being launched.
Posted by: badanov || 09/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Horn
Eritrea is a prison state – no wonder so many are desperate to escape
Exactly 15 years ago, Eritrea’s hard-won independence was hijacked by a paranoid political elite who have clung to power ever since.

It was on this day in 2001 that President Isaias Afwerki jailed 11 top government officials and banned seven independent newspapers. So started the insidious takeover that has seen the country become a military state, prompting the exodus of Eritreans to Europe we are witnessing today.

State security agents then rounded up and jailed 12 journalists. To this day, none of the detainees have been tried in a court of law, and they remain incommunicado in secret prisons. Their families don’t know if they are alive.

Many civilian posts were taken over by military commanders. The army was stationed in all major towns and cities, and anyone working in the public sector was instructed to report to them.

As army rule crept in, the rule of law deteriorated. Institutionalised corruption and nepotism became the new normal. Arbitrary arrests and forced disappearances turned the country into a penitentiary state with countless underground prisons.

Recent research by Eritrean human rights groups suggests more than 360 facilities are still holding more than 10,000 prisoners of conscience.

After the ban on the private newspapers, information became centralised. State journalists continue to work under intense fear, and foreign correspondents and NGOs have in effect been banned from entering. The few who do gain access are provided with government minders – not unlike in North Korea.

Even a state-sanctioned radio station, Radio Bana, sponsored by the education ministry, was banned. The station was raided in February 2009 and the security services arrested the entire staff, many of whom were only released after four to six years in jail without charge.

In 2012, the country introduced compulsory military service for all young men and women, including former freedom fighters. In the years since then, the UN has found the government has “committed crimes against humanity in a widespread and systematic manner”, and has called for perpetrators to be tried by the international criminal court.

It is combination of all these factors that is causing an estimated 5,000 Eritreans to leave the country each month. It’s not surprising: when a generation of young people have had all hope and freedom taken away from them, the gamble of the journey across the Mediterranean offers an attractive alternative – no matter the risk.

I am one of those who escaped. I now work with a group of Eritrean journalists in exile to report on our inaccessible homeland and campaign on behalf of our peers stuck in prison. If we don’t speak for them, nobody will.
Posted by: Steve White || 09/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If we don’t speak for them, nobody will.

It sure as hell won't be American journalists.
Posted by: Raj || 09/19/2016 11:47 Comments || Top||

#2  So wasn't it better off under the Peoples Republic of Ethiopia - before the west supported it against the then communist Ethiopia?
Posted by: 3dc || 09/19/2016 12:52 Comments || Top||

#3  What is Eritrea?
Posted by: Gary Johnson, Presidential Candidate || 09/19/2016 20:05 Comments || Top||

#4  I think the name of one of those blue things in Avatar.
Posted by: Jill Stein, Presidential Candidate || 09/19/2016 20:32 Comments || Top||

#5  :-D
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/19/2016 20:43 Comments || Top||


Europe
Poll: Just under 30 percent of French Muslims reject secular laws
[Ynet] A poll conducted by telephone between April and May revealed that 29 percent of respondents considered the Islamic legal and moral code of sharia to be more important than the French Republic's laws.

Just under 30 percent of La Belle France's 3 to 4 million Moslems reject the country's secular laws, according to an Ifop poll published by the French weekly Journal du Dimanche.

When asked if they considered the Islamic legal and moral code of sharia to be more important than the French Republic's laws, 29 percent of respondents answered "yes."

The poll found that 20 percent of male Moslem respondents and 28 percent of female Moslem respondents were in favour of the face veil, the niqab, and of the burqa which covers both face and body.

Another 60 percent said they were in favour of letting girls and women wear a head scarf at schools and universities which is forbidden at La Belle France's secular public institutions.

Deadly attacks by Islamist hard boys, including bombings and shootings in Gay Paree which killed 130 people last November and a truck attack in Nice killing more than 80 people in July, have raised tensions between communities in La Belle France.

French Moslem leaders said last month that decisions taken by some municipal authorities to ban the body-covering swimwear the burkini could lead to further stigmatisation of Moslems.

The Ifop poll contradicted previous estimates which said Moslems constituted up to 10 percent of La Belle France's population of some 65 million. It said Moslems represented 5.6 percent of the country's citizens aged 15 and over and 10 percent of under 25s. It also said 84 percent of La Belle France's Moslems were under 50.

It can be difficult to establish the religious background of French citizens because the country's secular laws forbid the collection of data on religion and ethnicity.

There are also many people who may be of Moslem descent, but do not necessarily consider themselves Moslems.

The poll, commissioned by the think tank Institut Montaigne, was conducted by phone between April 13 and May 23 among 1,029 people aged 15 and older who were of Moslem faith or culture, extracted from a sample of 15,459 people.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  70% taquia?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/19/2016 2:54 Comments || Top||

#2  ...If we are forgiving and take the lower 3 million figure for the French muslim population, that means roughly 900,000 people decline to follow the laws of La Belle France.

Putting that in perspective:

Current total strength of the US Army: 1,301,300
Current total strength of the USMC: 182,000

Current total strength of the French Army (incl. FFL): 119,328

And it appears to worry them not.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 09/19/2016 6:05 Comments || Top||

#3  The devil is in the details, and I'd like to see those questions. (It might not be enlightening: I know just enough French to get myself in trouble.) If you ask, yes or no, are the 10 Commandments more important than the US constitution, I'd guess you'd get similar numbers here.

The interesting question is how far along the spectrum the sharia-forever folks want to go.
Posted by: james || 09/19/2016 21:48 Comments || Top||

#4  When asked if they considered the Islamic legal and moral code of sharia to be more important than the French Republic's laws, 29 percent of respondents answered "yes."

The results would be similar here. And the current administration would sluff it off as "cultural differences", while the (alleged) opposition party would *pretend* to be concerned for all of 5 minutes before returning to campaigning for re-election.

Are we even trying anymore?
Posted by: Crusader || 09/19/2016 23:54 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Saudi royal involved in aiding terrorists, says Guantanamo detainee
[Jerusalem Post] Allegations of Saudi involvement in the September 11, 2001 attacks still persists in the US despite denials by the FBI and White House.

A suspected al Qaida operative detained at the US base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, claims that a member of the Saudi royal family helped recruit terror operatives before the September 11, 2001 attacks, according to a recently released transcript by the Pentagon.

Ghassan Abdallah al-Sharbi recalled that a unnamed figure referred to as "your highness" by a religious figure in the organization was consulted by telephone before he was sent to the US to carry out an unfulfilled operation involving the use of an airplane.

Al-Sharbi, who studied as a college student in Arizona, made the comments to the Periodic Review Board at Guantanamo Bay in June, 2016. The Periodic Review Board makes recommendations concerning the release or continued detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

The Pentagon released a transcript of al-Sharbi's comments on Thursday.

"I remember, 'yes, your highness, yes your highness,' and he was talking to him about me," the transcript quotes al-Sharbi as saying.

"'This guy graduated from an aviation school. Yeah, he wants'... then he turns off his phone," al-Sharbi added.

The statements have been scrutinized as lacking important details, including if "the religious figure" in the al-Qaida organization had connections to any officials in the Saudi government. Furthermore, the Saudi royal family consists of thousands of members, none of whom are directly identified by al-Sharbi.

But the transcript adds to growing suspicion among politicians in the United States that figures in the Saudi Arabian government may have had a hand in assisting the 19 terrorists who successfully carried out the worst terror attack in US history.
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/19/2016 02:07 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Little wonder the Champ wants the facility closed. We're learning far too much from these people.
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/19/2016 3:04 Comments || Top||

#2  In other news bears still shit in the woods. Ive always believed that there are individuals in the House of Saud involved along with others from the Gulf Oil States. Find out who and send in the drones
Posted by: Cheaderhead || 09/19/2016 5:56 Comments || Top||

#3  "Prince Bandar - can you hear me now?" "Your wife needs to make the check payable to..."

Find out who and send in the drones
Posted by: Cheaderhead
Its sad, we know who and don't do anything about it.
Posted by: Tennessee || 09/19/2016 10:25 Comments || Top||

#4  But the transcript adds to growing suspicion among politicians in the United States that figures in the Saudi Arabian government may have had a hand in assisting the 19 terrorists who successfully carried out the worst terror attack in US history.

FIFTEEN FUCKING YEARS LATER our politicians have a "growing suspicion"? And we're all ok with these clueless fucks continuing to hold office?

When does accountability involve consequences? Both for the House of Saud and "our" (alleged) "representatives" that didn't do a damn thing other than put our people in harms way while doing nothing other than blowing up largely empty buildings?
Posted by: Crusader || 09/19/2016 22:47 Comments || Top||


Manhattan bombers could have used construction work to hide from CCTV cameras
The suspects who blew up a bomb and planted another device in New York could have used construction work to hide from CCTV cameras, DailMail.com can reveal.

An analysis of the locations of both devices reveals that both were covered overhead by scaffolding and a temporary cover above the sidewalk. The cover would have made it extremely hard for a camera to see what is going on underneath, especially at night when incident took place.

The cover on West 23rd St, where the bomb went off, runs for much of the block. The cover on West 27th St, where the second device was found, runs for a shorter distance but still conceals the sidewalk where the device was left.

Avoiding being caught on CCTV could have been a deliberate tactic of the attackers; in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 police released images of suspects they were seeking to the public. The photos went viral and, in part thanks to an army of online sleuths, they played a major role in apprehending the culprits, brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

CNN reported that at this stage the NYPD does not have any ‘good’ footage of the bombing in Manhattan and does not have any footage of any suspects.

Police have said that the explosion happened outside the Associated Blind Housing building at 135 West 23rd St. The large building is currently undergoing renovations and images from Google Streetview from June this year show the covered pedestrian walkway that had replaced the sidewalk. Pedestrians would have to walk under a covered section for around 300ft and would not emerge until a long way up the block.

A picture of 27th St posted on Twitter shows that the device was left under some scaffolding there too.

The NYPD has increasingly relied on its network of more than 3,000 CCTV cameras which is known the ‘Ring of Steel’ similar to that used in London. The system is considered one of the most advanced in the world and is mainly focused on the area beneath Canal Street, although Midtown and Chelsea are well covered.

The NYPD does rely on camera footage from individual shops but given there is construction along much of the north side of 23rd St, there are not likely to be cameras there.
Posted by: Steve White || 09/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


‘There will be more’: Chilling 911 call after Chelsea explosion
A 911 caller warned of further explosions right after the blast that rocked Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood and injured 29 people, The Post has learned.

“I’m looking at the explosion down the block. There will be more,” the unidentified male said, claiming to be standing at 23rd Street and Seventh Avenue in the aftermath of the terrifying incident, according to law-enforcement sources Sunday.

Investigators believe the blast was the result of a home-made, pressure-cooker bomb similar to an unexploded device found later on 27th Street, sources said.

In another new wrinkle, a hand-written letter, a portion of which is in Arabic, was found inside a plastic bag that held the second device, sources said.

Cops were interviewing two men who claim to have spotted a potential person of interest in the case, sources said. The witnesses were dining at the Krush bar and grill on 32nd Street about a half-hour before the 8:30 p.m. Saturday explosion when they saw an Arab-looking man who was carrying a suitcase and appeared out of place, sources said.

The men called 911 around 11 a.m. Sunday to report what they had seen and were brought to Manhattan for questioning, sources said.

Investigators have obtained surveillance video of a person placing the unexploded device, sources said. It was found by an older woman who was phoned by a friend checking on her in the wake of the explosion, sources said. The woman went outside her home and noticed the bomb, then called 911.

State police secured the device, and it was taken to the NYPD firing range at Rodman’s Neck for investigation, sources said.

Initial analysis of the garbage Dumpster that was ripped apart in the blast suggests whatever blew up was placed outside the bin, sources said. The blast pattern shows the metal is bent inward, and an explosion inside the Dumpster would have bent the metal outward, sources said.

Meanwhile, sources said investigators were “vetting” an online Tumblr page on which someone claiming to be “the NY Bomber” took responsibility for the blast and said the motive was a response to anti-gay “violence and oppression.”

“I did it because I cannot stand society. I cannot live in a world where homosexuals like myself as well as the rest of the LGBTQ+ community are looked down upon by society,” one post says.

The Tumblr page was taken down early Sunday afternoon.
I bet that's either a false flag or a LGBTQXYZ weirdo looking to be an attention whore...
You are right, O salmon one -- see below.
The Times of Israel adds:
The bomb that rocked a New York City neighborhood known for its vibrant arts scene and large gay community contained residue of an explosive often used for target practice that can be picked up in many sporting goods stores, a federal law enforcement official said Sunday, as authorities tried to unravel who planted the device and why.

The discovery of Tannerite in materials recovered from the Saturday night explosion that injured 29 people may be important as authorities probe whether the blast was connected to an unexploded pressure-cooker device found by state troopers just blocks away, as well as a pipe bomb blast in a New Jersey shore town earlier in the day.

Cell phones were discovered at the site of both bombings, but no Tannerite residue was identified in the New Jersey bomb remnants, in which a black powder was detected, said the official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to comment on an ongoing investigation.

Tannerite, which is often used in target practice to mark a shot with a cloud of smoke and small explosion, is legal to purchase and can be found in many sporting goods stores. Experts said a large amount would be required to create a blast like the one Saturday night, as well as an accelerant or other ignitor.

Meanwhile, a law enforcement official said federal investigators had discounted a claim of responsibility on the social blogging service Tumblr. Investigators looked into it and didn’t consider it relevant to the case, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Posted by: Steve White || 09/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
India calls Pakistan a 'terrorist state' after Kashmir attack
India has directly accused Pakistan of involvement in a deadly raid on a Kashmir army base that killed 17 soldiers, labelling its neighbour “a terrorist state”.
That's going to elevate concerns...
Sunday morning’s attack on the army camp near the disputed border with Pakistan was among the deadliest against security forces in Kashmir history, and sparked grief and anger across India. The death toll could yet grow, with about 35 soldiers injured, some critically.

Four fedayeen – highly trained militants on what are essentially suicide missions – died in the three-hour assault on the base at Uri, near the militarised “line of control” that divides Indian Kashmir from the Pakistan-controlled side.

The Indian army’s director of general military operations (DGMO) said none of the four men was from the Indian side and that some of their equipment had Pakistani markings. It claimed they were members of Jaish-e-Mohammed, a terrorist militant group alleged to have links to elements within the Pakistani government.

About 13 or 14 of the soldiers died in fires started by the militants’ incendiary ammunition, which consumed the temporary shelters and tents in which they had been sleeping. A rotation of units was under way, meaning more soldiers had been stationed on the base than usual, the DGMO said.

Rajnath Singh, the Indian home minister, cancelled an overseas trip and held an emergency meeting on Sunday afternoon with top security officials. In a series of tweets, he accused Pakistan of responsibility for the attack.

“I am deeply disappointed with Pakistan’s continued and direct support to terrorism and terrorist groups,” he said. “There are definitive and conclusive indictions that the perpetrators of [the] Uri attack were highly trained, heavily armed and specially equipped. Pakistan is a terrorist state and it should be identified and isolate as such.”

Former army officials and members of Modi’s own party called for a more bellicose response than the largely diplomatic routes pursued after the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai or a January attack on a Punjab army base that killed seven.

“For one tooth, the complete jaw,” said Ram Madhav, the general secretary of the ruling Bharatiya Janata party. “Days of so-called strategic restraint are over. If terrorism is instrument of the weak and coward, restraint in the face of repeated terror attacks betrays inefficiency and incompetence. India should prove otherwise,” he said.
Now there's a stance that, if real, could change things...
No group has claimed responsibility for the assault and Pakistan has denied any involvement.
"Wudn't us."
Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman, Nafees Zakaria, told Reuters: “India immediately puts blame on Pakistan without doing any investigation. We reject this.”
How much investigation do you need?
Hostility between the nuclear neighbours was already high after a summer of violent clashes in Kashmir between security forces, protesters seeking greater autonomy or independence, and militants India accuses of being sponsored by Pakistan.

More than 80 civilians have died in the ongoing protests and human rights groups have accused Indian police of using excessive and arbitrary force. Before Sunday, separatist attacks in Indian-controlled Kashmir had left 102 people dead so far this year, including 30 security personnel, 71 militants and one civilian, according to the South Asia Terrorism portal.

Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir as their own and have fought three wars over the former princedom since partition in 1947.

Sunday attack’s came during a week of diplomatic wrangling between the pair. Pakistan’s prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, has promised he will use a speech to the UN general assembly on Wednesday to “emphatically highlight” alleged human rights abuses against protesters by Indian authorities.

Last week, Indian diplomats at the UN human rights council raised for the first time Pakistan’s alleged mistreatment of its own separatists in Balochistan, a restive province in the country’s south-west.

Sunday’s attack is likely to prove a decisive blow to the latest tentative peace process between Islamabad and Delhi, which has been frozen since an attack in January by Pakistan-based militants against an air force base in Pathankot, Punjab. It appeared progress was being made when Modi flew to Lahore in December for a surprise meeting with Sharif, but disputes over the investigation of the Pathankot attack had chilled relations again.
Posted by: Steve White || 09/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistain Proxies


Iraq
Iraqi attack on Sharqat to commence next week
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – Commander of the 2nd Special Forces Division, Maj. Gen. Maan al-Saadi, announced about launching military operations for liberating Sharqat district, north of Salahuddin province. The operation will be launched this week itself, Saadi informed.

Al-Saadi, in a statement to the media, said, “The security forces are ready to launch a wide military operation for liberating Sharqat from ISIS control. The Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU) will not be involved in the operation as the operation will be assigned to the army and the tribal fighters”.

“The district of Sharqat is encircled from all sides and the ISIS is suffering in a significant way,” Al-Saadi added.
Posted by: badanov || 09/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Saddam's daughter to stand for Iraqi Parliament
Remember Raghead? We haven't talked about her in a while. She has the same dead eyes as her daddy. Better for her to stay in Amman and just count her krugerrands...
Her last entry in the Rantburg archives was in 2007. Before that she was busily funding terrorists from her safe haven with her sister and their various offspring in Jordan, which is why she was #16 on Iraq's Most Wanted list..
The eldest daughter of late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein intends to launch a new tribal coalition to run in the country's 2018 national elections, media outlets reported on Friday. Raghad Saddam Hussein, 48, currently lives in Jordan but could return to Iraq under a controversial amnesty passed by Parliament last month.

The Jordanian royal family rejected a request from Iraq's Foreign Ministry in May to extradite Raghad and other figures from Saddam's regime who are wanted by the country's judiciary.

In April 2010, the international police organisation Interpol issued an arrest warrant for Raghad primarily at Baghdad's request. She is sought by the Iraqi government on suspicion of terrorism and has openly pledged her support for the Islamic State jihadist group.

Raghad is said to live a lavish lifestyle in Jordan, where she fled with her two younger sisters and mother after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 as guests of King Abdullah II.
The over-under on her life if she does return to Baghdad is about a month...
She was charged in November 2006 with supporting the insurgency. Iraq's Central Criminal Court of Iraq later issued a revised arrest warrant allegedly based on evidence that directly linked Raghad to terrorist bombings aimed at disrupting Iraq's 2010 national elections.
Posted by: Steve White || 09/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This isn't surprising. We did next to nothing in comparison to what we could have IF we had bothered to believe in what we were doing there, and were fighting to actually *win*.
Posted by: Crusader || 09/19/2016 22:53 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Arab-Israeli party suspected of multimillion-shekel fraud
Politics: sometimes war by other means. Did President Obama's democracy advisors teach them this?
[IsraelTimes] More than 20 suspects tossed in the calaboose
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
in massive sweep; Balad calls allegations ’baseless,’ part of ’persecution campaign


Israeli police on Sunday arrested more than 20 activists and members of the Arab Israeli party Balad, saying an investigation revealed that the party had concealed the origin of millions of shekels in donations.

Balad, which holds three Knesset seats and is one of the four parties comprising the Joint (Arab) List faction, said the arrests were part of a systematic campaign of political persecution.

Those arrested in the sweep of Balad’s offices included senior members and activist, among them lawyers and accountants, a police statement said.

Police said they opened their investigation into Balad with the approval of the attorney general after a state comptroller report raised the suspicion that senior members and activists had created a mechanism to "systematically misrepresent" the origins of millions of shekels donated to the party to finance its operations in recent years.

The party allegedly reported large donations from "various sources in Israel and abroad" as if they were hundreds of smaller contributions made within Israel.

Police said the suspicions included "falsifying corporate documents, forgery, use of forged documents, money laundering, and violating the party financing law."

In a statement to the press, Balad denied the charges, calling them "fabricated" and "baseless."

"The latest arrests are a brazen and dangerous escalation, but will not deter us from continuing our work," the statement said.

Balad called the arrests an "authoritarian" attempt to undermine the party’s "national and democratic role."

A statement in Hebrew added that the arrests were part of a "campaign of persecution against the Arab minority in general and against the political movement [Balad] specifically."

The Joint List said in a brief statement that it would not comment on the arrests.

Balad, which advocates for a binational state for Paleostinians and Israelis, has been dogged by controversy.

Its founder, Azmi Bishara, fled Israel in 2007 amid accusations that he had provided the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah with information during the Second Leb War in 2006. He has since been living in Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates...
Earlier this year, the party’s three Knesset members were widely condemned after they visited the families of Paleostinians killed while carrying out attacks on Israelis. They were suspended on February 8 by the Knesset Ethics Committee: Hanin Zoabi and Basel Ghattas for four months and Jamal Zahalka for two.

More recently, Ghattas made headlines for calling former president Shimon Peres a "blood-covered war criminal," after the Nobel Peace Prize-winner was hospitalized due to a stroke.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How much from our State Department or OneVoice?
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 09/19/2016 8:59 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Aussie warbirds were part of errant Syrian air attack
Australia has said its warplanes took part in US-led airstrikes in eastern Syria that mistakenly killed Syrian army troops in an incident threatening to wreck an already tenuous ceasefire before it is a week old.
"Our bad, mate."
Russia’s military said it was told by the Syrian army that at least 62 soldiers were killed in the attack on a government position near Deir ez-Zour, with more than 100 wounded. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 90 soldiers were killed.

The first airstrikes on Aleppo since the ceasefire began on Monday evening were reported on Sunday.

An Australian defence department statement said its jets had targeted what had been thought to be Islamic State (Isis) fighters. “Overnight, coalition aircraft were conducting airstrikes in eastern Syria against what was believed to be a Daesh [Isis] fighting position that the coalition had been tracking for some time,” the statement said.

“However, shortly after the bombing commenced, Russian officials advised the Combined Air Operations Centre that the targets may have been Syrian military personnel.”

“While Syria remains a dynamic and complex operating environment, Australia would never intentionally target a known Syrian military unit or actively support Daesh,” the statement said, offering condolences to the families of the dead and pledging to cooperate with a US inquiry.
Someone must answer for this! Send for Lieutenants Morant and Handcock immediately.
Posted by: Steve White || 09/19/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:


Government
800 Immigrants With Deportation Orders Granted US Citizenship
The U.S. government has mistakenly granted citizenship to at least 858 immigrants who had pending deportation orders from countries of concern to national security or with high rates of immigration fraud, according to an internal Homeland Security audit released Monday.
Roth's report said federal prosecutors have accepted two criminal cases that led to the immigrants being stripped of their citizenship. But prosecutors declined another 26 cases.
Posted by: Glish Creretch4732 || 09/19/2016 10:26 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Mistakenly". Government bureaucracy and incompetence at it's finest. By all means, let's have more!
Posted by: Raj || 09/19/2016 11:43 Comments || Top||

#2  858 instances of.... "mistakenly?"

Posted by: Besoeker || 09/19/2016 12:01 Comments || Top||

#3  So, are they on welfare yet?
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 09/19/2016 14:57 Comments || Top||

#4  if you like your natualization, you can keep...
Posted by: Beldar Hatrack9738 || 09/19/2016 16:10 Comments || Top||

#5  How many of those who made the mistake are looking for a new job outside the extortion funded sector?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 09/19/2016 17:42 Comments || Top||

#6  Kinda like the same mistake Hitler made when "Polish" troops attacked German troops, thus giving him casus belli to invade?
Posted by: DarthVader || 09/19/2016 19:26 Comments || Top||

#7  The report does not identify any of the immigrants by name, but Inspector General John Roth's auditors said they were all from "special interest countries" — those that present a national security concern for the United States — or neighboring countries with high rates of immigration fraud. The report did not identify those countries.

And no one will get fired, of course.
Posted by: Pappy || 09/19/2016 20:07 Comments || Top||

#8  And no one will get fired, of course.

Of course. It wasn't an accident, not in the big scheme of things. If one takes risk-heavy chances, and risk arises, its part of the design, even if it wasn't specifically targeted.

They'd give those involved a medal if they weren't (slightly) worried that somebody might make a stink of it.

Have a look at the continuing VA scandals if you have any doubt. Or how anything even remotely related to Islam is treated by this administration.
Posted by: Crusader || 09/19/2016 22:33 Comments || Top||



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