[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan National Police (ANP) forces thwarted at least 8 kaboom plots in the city in past two weeks besides arresting around 597 people on various criminal charges.
Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... Police Chief General Abdul Rahman Rahimi told news hounds that the suspects were tossed in the clink Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! in connection to organized crimes, including murder, robbery, smuggling of drugs, morale crimes, possession of illegal weapons, and attempts to disrupt the order of the city.
Gen. Rahimi further added that the snuffies had planted at least 8 Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in various parts of the city which were discovered and defused by the security forces.
In regards to the growing issue of drug addicts in the city, Gen. Rahimi said the government lacks capacity to provide care and treatment to the addicts.
He said Kabul police is able to gather and clean the city from the presence of drug addicts if facilities are available to provide them care and treatment.
Gen. Rahimi also urged the city residents to assist the police forces in maintaining the stability and order of the city as he insisted on the urgent need of coordination and cooperation with the police forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2016 00:00 ||
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[GEO.TV] Russia, China and Pakistain have agreed on efforts to remove Afghan individuals from the UN sanctions lists as part of efforts to foster peaceful dialogue between Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... and the Taliban movement in Afghanistan.
Representatives from the three countries, meeting in Moscow on Tuesday, also warned of the growing influence of the ISIS myrmidon group in Afghanistan and agreed to invite the Afghan government to such talks in the future, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The three countries agreed a "flexible approach to remove certain figures from UN sanctions lists as part of efforts to foster a peaceful dialogue between Kabul and the Taliban movement," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told news hounds after the meeting.
"(The three countries) expressed particular concern about the rising activity in the country of holy warrior groups including the Afghan branch of ISIS," she said.
Zakharova said Russia, China and Pakistain had "noted the deterioration of the security situation (in Afghanistan)".
"The parties agreed to proceed with consultations in an expanded format and would welcome the participation of Afghanistan," she added.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2016 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] Misrata airport is to start operating again as of Thursday. It follows a partial deal between the Libyan Ground Services Company and the union representing striking employees.
Misrata closed for the second time this year, along with all other airports in the country except 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... ’s Mitiga, a week and a half ago when the Libyan Ground Services Company failed to resolve the issue of a year’s unpaid salaries to baggage handers. Labraq and Tobruk reopened three days later after the interim government in Beida found the money to pay them.
The reopening announcement follows a separate one two days ago by private Libyan carrier Libyan Wings that it would be launching a twice-weekly service flights from Misrata to Tunis, on Mondays and Thursdays, as of 5 January.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Hubba Hubba Club, Big Shirley was still trying to snatch Nunzio bald-headed. She was already halfway there... the first cargo plane in three years landed at Ghadames airport today. The C-130 military aircraft was carrying cash for local banks in both Ghadames and nearby Darj as well as medical supplies for Ghadames hospital as well as bank staff and some patients returning from hospital treatment in the capital.
Reports that Benghazi’s Benina airport today started partial services with a flight to Tunis have been denied by senior airport staff.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2016 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] More than 3,000 people in northeast Nigeria ... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border... who were forced to flee the seven-year insurgency waged by Islamist forces of Evil have returned to their hometown following the reopening of major roads in the area, the army said on Tuesday.
Damasak - in the northwest of Borno, the state worst hit by the forces of Evil - was taken over by 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... in late 2014, when it controlled an area the size of Belgium in northeast Nigeria. The bandidos bully boys were pushed out of the town by the army in July.
President Muhammadu Buhari said on Saturday that the army had taken back Boko Haram's main camp in the Sambisa forest.
On Sunday, the government said it was reopening two roads between Borno's capital, Maiduguri, and the northern towns of Damasak and Baga.
Army front man Sani Usman said more than 3,000 people used one of the roads to return to Damasak on Monday.
Rooters was unable to independently verify his statement.
"They were residents of Damasak displaced by the insurgency staying as refugees in the neighbouring Niger Republic and internally displaced people in Maiduguri," he said.
Usman said the returnees went through military security checks when they arrived and were met by local government officials and community leaders.
After the announcement that the Sambisa camp had been taken, the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, said the former game reserve would be used as a military training base to prevent the bandidos bully boys returning.
Security analysts say Boko Haram split this year with one faction led by Abubakar Shekau ... the lunatic leader of Boko Haram who has been reported dead at least eleven times, pledged his body and soul to ISIS, told his fighters to hang it up once or twice, and been fire by the Caliph and refused to step down ... operating from the Sambisa forest and the other, allied to 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) Death Eater group and led by Abu Musab al-Barnawi, based in the Lake Chad region.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/28/2016 00:00 ||
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[BREITBART] Two and half thousand Europeans plan to march into Aleppo waving white flags in a three month long, 2,000 mile demonstration against the civil war taking place in Syria. White flags to ISIS being just a convenient way to grid their rocket artillery
This year, like last, has been characterised by the massive flow of people northwards through Europe, many of them Syrians fleeing the bombs of Assad and the opposition factions. But a group of Europeans has decided to make the trek in the other direction in order to bring an end to the war, now in its fifth year.
"We’re carrying these white flags to let the whole world know our message: Enough is enough. This war has to stop!" the group say in their manifesto. ISIS are like every other artillery gunner on the planet. They like target rich environments. Saves ammunition and make for an awesome display.
The march, which departs Berlin on Boxing Day, 26 December, was organised by journalist Anna Alboth. Checks from the EU, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Soros' Open Society musta cleared.
"I was having dinner with Syrian women I know in a refugee centre and they were showing me photos of a lot of people who had died," she told the BBC. Who picked up the check, Anna? I s'pect it wasn't you.
"People like me in safe countries can’t take it any more, and we see this as a chance to transform things. She's right, you know. 2.5K Euros to be transformed into hamburger meat.
"Refugees who hear about it say that if we are willing to give up our comfortable lives to do this, then it is a real demonstration." Yew betcha!
The precise route the march will take is yet to be finalised, but the group will leave Germany via the Czech Republic, then head through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Greece, and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... before finally entering Syria.
Lawyers in each of the countries en route are preparing paperwork to ease the crossing of borders along the way. "If no-one will stop us, we will go all the way," Alboth said.
About 400 peace activists were marching Tuesday from the outskirts of Berlin towards the devastated Syrian city of Aleppo, heading down the refugee trail in reverse.
Carrying white flags and hiking backpacks and wearing outdoor gear against the cold and wet December weather, the marchers had on Monday left from the center of the German capital.
Alboth told Germany's left-leaning Tageszeitung daily that only a core group of 30 activists planned to walk all the way,
Thirty? Golly.
adding that she expected they may be blocked at the Turkish border.
So much for the grand gesture of 2,500 marching into the devastated city of Aleppo, waving their white flags in triumph...
The marchers plan to cover around 20 kilometers (12 miles) a day
... in literature this is described as "going by easy stages." No doubt the rest of the day will be spent cooking delectable dinners and breakfasts (the supplies having been brought by van), pitching and packing up tents, and singing together round the campfire, if any of the group were once Boy or Girl Scouts and there's any wood to be found...
Twelve miles a day? I cover that on a bicycle in an hour, and I'm an old man...
and walk through the Czech Republic, Austria and several western Balkan countries to Turkey -- and then on to Syria.
It is the route into Europe that was taken last year by more than a million people, many fleeing battlefields in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East, with the majority ending up in the top EU economy Germany.
Several thousand people have pledged on Facebook
Golly.
they would join at least a section of the about 3,000-kilometer (1,900-mile) trek
...drive up to the meeting point in time for breakfast, hop out of the car, and be picked up at the next meeting point by the car at breakfast the next day, proud of having made a statement of conscience among kindred spirits...
Reminds me of the "hunger strike" led by Cindy Sheehan once upon a time, where they sustained the hunger strike by drinking smoothies, which didn't count...
bound for Syria's second city, which is now squarely under the control of President Bashar Assad's regime.
Germany has pledged 15 million euros ($15.6 million) in aid to pay for medical staff and trauma counselors for Aleppo, Development Minister Gerd Mueller said.
So effective that they met the goal before starting out.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2016 00:00 ||
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#3
Refugees who hear about it say that if we are willing to give up our comfortable lives to do this, then it is a real demonstration."....and opens up a lot of prime housing in Europe for invaders.
[DCclothesline] Multiple media outlets are reporting that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is finalizing a document that the Obama administration hopes will form the basis for a UN Security Council resolution that officially recognizes a Palestinian state before the end of Barack Obama’s term on January 20th. This comes on the heels of the UN Security Council’s adoption of resolution 2334 on December 23rd. That resolution declared that all Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal, it stated that the Security Council recognizes the 1967 ceasefire lines as the border between Israel and "Palestine", and it officially gave East Jerusalem to the Palestinians. But it stopped short of formally recognizing a Palestinian state. Resolution 2334 speaks of a Palestinian state in the future tense, but this new resolution that John Kerry is reportedly working on would give immediate and permanent UN Security Council recognition to a Palestinian state. Giving validity to a criminal gang every sane Arab "country" has thrown the hell out. Nice.
#6
....Which means a Peas Prize for Jawn and Obama. Book it.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/28/2016 10:08 Comments ||
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#7
From the speech "This administration has done more for Israel than any other". "Two state solution only way to insure peace".
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/28/2016 13:39 Comments ||
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#8
As I thought this speech was basically a vision with some small number of rational statement, numerous contradictory ideas, equivocation and outright nonsense.
I liked the idea that a future Palestinian state should be non militarized but of course the only way to enforce that would be if Israel kept troops in the Palestinian State. Uh, isn't that what we have now.
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/28/2016 14:49 Comments ||
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#9
No worries. Picture this. Obama is on the 18th hole, swinging wildley into another double bogie.
#10
Video of soon to be former Secretary of State John Kerry giving the speech today, all almost 75 minutes of it here.
For those interested but with less time, The Times of Israel liveblogged the thing along with other events of the day, starting at their time 18:24 here.
[GEO.TV] Pakistain People’s Party leader and slain Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... ’s close aide Naheed Khan in a no holds barred talk said that Bilawal Baby Bhutto Zardari ...Pak dynastic politician, son of Benazir Bhutto and grandon of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. As far as is known, Bilawal has no particular talents other than being pretty and being able to memorize political slogans, but he had the good luck to be born into the right family and he hasn't been assassinated yet... should question his father about his mother’s murderers.
"Zardari ruled for five years, why did he not arrest her murderers," she said speaking at morning show Geo Pakistain.
The United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... was contacted for help in investigating the murder after 13 months, and when the report came out it was initially praised but later rejected, she said.
Naheed Khan alleged that Zardari does not let Bilawal take bold stances, and when he saw Bilawal’s politics had matured during his recent visit to Punjab, he returned to Pakistain.
She said that Zardari was the worst thing that happened to the party, and the workers consider themselves orphans now. "They visit Benazir’s grave with heavy hearts," she said.
Naheed Khan added that many die-hard workers of the PPP distanced themselves from the party after Zardari took over.
When Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007 she fell into Naheed Khan’s lap who was riding the car with her. Journalists who covered her rallies recall how she would act as a human shield for Benazir.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2016 00:00 ||
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[RUDAW.NET] There is no agreement between Erbil and Baghdad regarding Peshmerga withdrawal from areas the Kurdish forces liberated after the launch of the djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... operation on October 17, a senior Kurdish commander said in response to remarks made by the spokesperson for the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi force.
"Where should Peshmerga go?" Kamal Kirkuki told Rudaw on Tuesday. "Peshmerga are in their homeland. We are going nowhere."
Ahmad al-Asadi from the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi who are fighting ISIS west of Mosul as part of the military operation, told Irani Mehr News agency on Sunday that Baghdad and Erbil had agreed to the withdrawal of Peshmerga forces from liberated areas after the defeat of ISIS.
"There is an agreement signed between the central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, between brother Masoud Barzani and Dr. Haider al-Abadi which stipulates the withdrawal of the Kurdish forces after the liberation of Mosul to the areas where they were before the launch of the operation."
Kirkuki said the Peshmerga would not withdraw and they have an obligation to save Kurdish areas from terrorists, now and in the future.
"We will not hand over the liberated areas to a defeated army," he said in reference to the Iraqi army that retreated when ISIS snuffies swept through Mosul and northern Iraq in the summer of 2014.
In mid-November, Kurdish President Masoud Barzani said that an agreement was in place between his government, and the governments of Iraq and the United States that the Kurdish forces would not withdraw from lands they reclaimed from ISIS before the start of the Mosul operation.
"We have a deal with America, between the Pentagon and the Peshmerga ministry ‐ and with the Iraqi government ‐ that the defense lines before the Mosul operation are non-negotiable," Barzani said in a speech in Bashiqa shortly after it was liberated by the Peshmerga.
"There will be no negotiations about territories liberated by Peshmerga before the Mosul offensive," he stressed.
Regarding land that has come under Peshmerga control since October 17, these territories "will be left to locals to defend," Barzani said. "Peshmerga will help where possible. We will not abandon you."
"Our only goal is to protect the security of people in these areas and for the Peshmerga to back it. We will never ever again let you be displaced and you can count on us for that," he said.
Kurdish authorities have said they have extended their territories by as much as 40 percent since 2014.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2016 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has claimed that his country will be eradicated of ISIS elements in as soon as only three months.
"Conditions indicate that Iraq needs three months to eliminate ISIS (ISIS)," Abadi told state TV on Tuesday.
This contradicts US Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend claim made on Monday that it will take at least two years.
Asked about the assertion, the Iraqi premier said, "The Americans were very pessimistic. They used to talk about a really long period, but the remarkable successes achieved by our brave and heroic fighters reduced that. I foresee that in Iraq it will take three months."
That would be great, it really would, and it would validate the effectiveness of the Iraqi Army v3.0 v4.0. But as they say, first you have to do it...
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
I figure closer to three years, with a substitution of home grown fanaticism for ISIS.
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, unsuccessful presidential candidate, and utterly failed Secretary of State... will make remarks regarding Middle East peace on Wednesday and discuss next steps needed to resolve the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict, State Department front man Mark Toner said on Tuesday.
Toner rejected claims that the B.O. regime had pushed for a United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... Security Council resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building. The United States abstained in the Security Council decision, which passed with 14 votes in favor.
"There was nothing pre-cooked, this was not some move orchestrated by the United States," Toner said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Is he going to talk about Syria, or Iraq, or Libya, or what?
#4
Rumors of he and O going for Palestinian state.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/28/2016 8:48 Comments ||
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#5
Of this you may be certain - our "leaders" are, as planned, throwing gasoline on fires they have already started. Acting provocatively as they depart the stage, giving DJT, "bonus" alligators - with lasers on their heads.
It would be reassuring to know that DJT and company have a political version of the neutron bomb to set off above DC.
I hope the world recognizes the difference between patriotic USA citizens and their mutually exclusive short-timer USA politicians.
#7
A full court press on damaging any hope of the new administration having any success in the ME
This complete and utter BULL SHIT about abstaining instead of vetoing is just a complete crock. I hope all of those Orthodox Jews in New York that voted for this crap ass POTUS and for the Hildabeast are happy. Boy talk about self loathing.
#11
Evidently we have no ability to stop the UN from doing more incredibly stupid things until January 20, 2017, given O&Co's determination to stick it to Israel.
Non binding resolutions by the Congress don't mean sh*t. And O&Co don't care anyway. So use the time to start a defunding bill for the UN now as soon as Congress gets in session. At least lay the groundwork. Then when the new Congress and the new President take office, run this bill through and cut off funding to the UN by the US. It will send a message. Then tell the UN to move and get the hell out of the US. They can take their dictator members, corruption, and unpaid parking tickets elsewhere.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/28/2016 14:00 Comments ||
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#13
Better yet setup some snipers outside the U.N, building to take blind potshots into the windows - kind of like the Palieo's launch rockets into Israel. When they complain wring your hands and say so sorry - nothing can be done... The snipers beling to a sepearate organization. Do that for a few weeks or months. Then declare a two-occupancy for the U.N. building. The upper floors are the U.N. and the lower floors are John and Jake's Pig Farm and rendering plant.
#14
It just boggles the mind to see how O&Co carry through their chickensh*t and underhanded actions against Israel. It disgusts but does not surprise me how the other nations like the UK, France, and NZ go along with this behavior. If the Security Council wants to behave that way toward a sovereign nation, they can do it on their own nickel and a venue outside the US.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/28/2016 16:14 Comments ||
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#15
That building needs to be abated for hazardous materials and the steel needs to be melted for scrap. It's the only way.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/28/2016 16:15 Comments ||
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The NYT frames it as Israel "Defying UN", but I think it's expressed a little differently in Jerusalem...
Undeterred by a resounding defeat at the United Nations, Israel’s government said Monday that it would move ahead with thousands of new homes in East Jerusalem and warned nations against further action, declaring that Israel does not “turn the other cheek.”
Just a few days after the United Nations Security Council voted to condemn Israeli settlements,
...and let's all remember how it happened that the UN now believes it is illegal for a Jew to live in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem...
Jerusalem’s municipal government signaled that it would not back down: The city intends to approve 600 housing units in the predominantly Palestinian eastern section of town on Wednesday in what a top official called a first installment on 5,600 new homes.
The 'predominantly Palestinian' section used to be the Jewish quarter -- back before 1948 when Jews lived there...
The defiant posture reflected a bristling anger among Israel’s pro-settlement political leaders, who not only correctly blamed Barack Obama the United States for failing to block the Council resolution, but also claimed to have secret intelligence showing that President Obama’s team had orchestrated it. American officials strongly denied the claim, but the sides seem poised for four more weeks of conflict until Mr. Obama hands over the presidency to Donald J. Trump.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lashed out at Security Council countries by curbing diplomatic contacts, recalling envoys, cutting off aid and summoning the American ambassador for a scolding. He canceled a planned visit this week by Ukraine’s prime minister even as he expressed concern on Monday that Mr. Obama was planning more action at the United Nations before his term ends next month.
The prime minister defended his retaliation. “Israel is a country with national pride, and we do not turn the other cheek,” he said.
Certainly not in that part of the world; it's an open invitation to having your eye gouged out...
“This is a responsible, measured and vigorous response, the natural response of a healthy people that is making it clear to the nations of the world that what was done at the U.N. is unacceptable to us.”
The Security Council resolution that passed Friday condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as a “flagrant violation under international law” and an obstacle to peace. The Council approved it 14 to 0, with the United States abstaining instead of using its unilateral veto, as it has in the past.
Let's remember the other 14, including France and Britain...
Mr. Trump publicly pressed for a veto of the resolution and has chosen a settlement advocate as his administration’s ambassador to Israel. He turned to Twitter on Monday night to air complaints that the United Nations “is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time.”
Palestinian leaders made clear that they would use the resolution in international bodies to press their case against Israel. With the imprimatur of a United Nations finding of illegality, they said, they will campaign to require that other countries not just label products made in the settlements, but ban them.
“Now we can talk about the boycott of all settlements, the companies that work with them, et cetera, and actually take legal action against them if they continue to work with them,” Riad Malki, the Palestinian foreign minister, was quoted as saying by the Palestinian news media.
Which is what Barack has wanted -- he doesn't have to lift a finger, he lets everyone else stir the pot and create problems.
He outlined other steps the Palestinians could now take, using the resolution to press the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israeli leaders, file lawsuits on behalf of specific Palestinians displaced by settlements and urge the international authorities to determine whether Israel is violating the Geneva Conventions.
“We are looking to devise a comprehensive vision, and hopefully 2017 will be the year when the Israeli occupation ends,” Mr. Malki said.
Israeli officials said such pronouncements showed that the resolution actually undermined chances for a negotiated settlement because the Palestinians now have less incentive to come to the table. By declaring Israeli settlements illegal, they said, the United Nations essentially took away the one chip that Israel had to trade, meaning land.
I seem to recall another tenet of international law: when you kick the other's ass seven times (four wars and three intifadas) you're pretty much allowed to take all the other guy's shit away from him.
“The Palestinians are waging a diplomatic and legal war against Israel. That’s the strategy,” Ron Dermer, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, said in a phone interview. “Their strategy is not to negotiate an agreement with Israel because a deal is give and take. They want take and take.”
The Palestinians want a one-state solution from the Jordan to the Sea. They want the Jews dead, converted or expelled, preferably dead. There is no give on any of that, and so there is no give on anything.
Israel’s settlement project, once a scattering of houses across the so-called Green Line marking the borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, has grown substantially over the years. In 2009, the year Mr. Obama took office, 297,000 people lived in West Bank settlements and 193,737 in East Jerusalem. That increased to 386,000 in the West Bank by the end of last year and 208,000 in East Jerusalem by the end of 2014, according to Peace Now, a group that opposes settlements.
The Israelis should go for broke now: make it a million.
Israeli officials note that when Mr. Netanyahu acquiesced to a 10-month settlement freeze sought by Mr. Obama in 2009, the Palestinians still did not agree to negotiate until just before time ran out. But the addition of more than 100,000 settlers during Mr. Obama’s tenure convinced him that it was time to change his approach at the United Nations, aides said.
By being a weasel...
The 618 housing units to be granted building permits in East Jerusalem on Wednesday have been in the works for a while, and the planning committee meeting agenda was set before the United Nations acted. But the committee chairman said he was determined to go forward with units totaling 5,600.
“I won’t get worked up over the U.N. or any other organization that might try to dictate to us what to do in Jerusalem,” Deputy Mayor Meir Turgeman, the planning committee chairman, told the newspaper Israel Hayom. “I hope that the government and the new administration in the United States will give us momentum to continue.”
Although he did not specify which projects he had in mind, Ir Amim, a private group tracking settlements in East Jerusalem, said he was probably referring to projects in Gilo and Givat Hamatos. Betty Herschman, the group’s director of international relations and advocacy, said it was “defiance demonstrated after Trump’s election, now reinforced by the U.N. resolution.”
Anat Ben Nun, the director of development and external relations for Peace Now, said such construction was problematic. “Netanyahu’s attempt to avenge the U.N.S.C. resolution through approval of plans beyond the Green Line will only harm Israelis and Palestinians by making it more difficult to arrive at a two-state solution,” she said.
Israeli leaders said they had no reason to stop building. The Security Council resolution “was absurd and totally removed from reality,” said Oded Revivi, chief foreign envoy for the Yesha Council, which represents West Bank settlers. “Israeli building policies are set in Jerusalem, not New York.”
For the fourth day, Israeli officials accused Mr. Obama’s team of ambushing them at the United Nations. While the White House denied it, Israeli officials pointed to a meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and his New Zealand counterpart a month before the Council vote discussing a resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. New Zealand was a sponsor of Friday’s measure.
Mr. Dermer, the ambassador, said Israel had other, nonpublic information proving the Obama administration’s involvement but provided no evidence and would not elaborate beyond saying it would be provided to Mr. Trump’s team when he takes office.
“They not only did not get up and stop it, they were behind it from the beginning,” Mr. Dermer said. “This is why the prime minister is so angry. We’re going to stand up against it.”
The fury of Mr. Netanyahu’s response has generated debate at home. Mitchell Barak, a political consultant, said the political left considered the resolution “an epic foreign policy and diplomatic debacle” by Mr. Netanyahu.
But to his base, the Security Council action confirmed what they believed all along, that Mr. Obama is inherently anti-Israel, and so the prime minister comes across as a champion beset by enemies. “For them,” Mr. Barak said, “Netanyahu emerges from this unscathed, as the lone wolf in a lion’s den of hatred.”
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/28/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Trump will take Office in about another three weeks and some.
The weasel will be gone.
Israel can hold out until them and for the Palestinians....the goat and a small closet.
Settlements WORK. Keep them up, and keep it coming. The Palestinians know they work and that is why they are squealing. Roll on....
The UN? Screw the UN. Move to Brussels. Or Jimbobway.Whichever.
Worked across North and South America. Worked in Europe too for the Romans, till outsiders decided to play the same game on Rome (now being repeated by Muslims).
#4
BHO has (had?) 50% of the US Population in his corner
That's certainly how he polled. But when you know that saying anything against him will be greeted with cries of "Racist!", that result is to be expected. On the other hand, his signature programs are strongly disliked -- it seems likely those who loathe his programs do not love the man.
PHILADELPHIA – Dec. 27, 2016 – Islamists in the United States increasingly rely on prominent non-Muslims to spread their message and impose their views.
In response, the Middle East Forum's Islamist Watch presents A Journalist's Manual: Field Guide to Useful Infidels, a 20-page report available gratis online or as a PDF download. It identifies 15 prominent non-Muslims who facilitate or directly aid Islamists, thereby helping the media and public understand the tactics used to empower Islamists within American culture, and confronts them with their own words.
The enablers inhabit the fields of entertainment, journalism, government, and academia. Then the article gives 15 examples of "Useful Infidels." Read the whole thing and download the PDF.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/28/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
for those in a hurry, here is the list
Ben Affleck
Christiane Amanpour
Karen Armstrong
Max Blumenthal
John Brennan
Chris Christie
Morris Dees
Matt Duss
John Esposito
Glenn Greenwald
Martin Indyk
John Kerry
Grover Norquist
Leslie Wong
James Zogby
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/28/2016 11:33 Comments ||
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I misread at first, I thought it read "useless idiots"
[ALMASDARNEWS] Moscow considers the permission to supply MANPADS to Syria in the new law on US defense spending to be a hostile move, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on Tuesday.
She noted that the transferred weapons would quickly end up in the hands of jihadists, and Washington must realize this. "Perhaps, they even expect this to happen, since they actually sponsor the Jabhat al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... [terrorist group, outlawed in Russia - TASS], which is a unit of al Qaeda. This can hardly be called otherwise than aiding and abetting terrorists," the diplomat went on to say.
"The relevant decision also poses a direct threat to aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces, other Russian military personnel and our Embassy in Syria that has been shelled repeatedly," she said. "That is why we consider this to be a hostile move."
"Instead of pooling efforts to counter rampaging bandidosLions of Islam of every stripe and color, as we have suggested for a long time, Washington is staking on the provision of military aid to anti-government units, which differ little from bloody thugs," the diplomat stated.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Well, I don't think ISIL is flying attack aircraft.
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] President-elect Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... appointed an experienced hand from the George W. Bush era to his national security circle Tuesday and a figure from the Trump Organization to make international deals.
Thomas Bossert will become as assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism. A statement from Trump's transition team said Bossert will advise the president on issues related to homeland security, counterterrorism, and cybersecurity, and coordinate the Cabinet's process for making and executing policy in those areas.
The position notably "is being elevated and restored to its independent status alongside the national security adviser," the statement said. Policymakers have long debated whether such national security jobs should operate independently from the White House.
Bossert will work closely with Trump's pick for national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. Bossert is currently president of the risk management consulting firm CDS Consulting. He previously served as deputy assistant to the president for homeland security under Bush.
The president-elect also appointed one of his main advisers on U.S.-Israel relations as special representative for international negotiations. Jason Greenblatt has worked for the Trump Organization for over two decades and currently serves as its executive vice president and chief legal officer.
In the statement, Trump said Greenblatt "has a history of negotiating substantial, complex transactions on my behalf," and has the expertise to "bring parties together and build consensus on difficult and sensitive topics."
Trump's West Wing is shaping up to have multiple power centers. Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and senior adviser Steve Bannon will work as "equal partners," according to Trump, and counselor Kellyanne Conway is also expected to have autonomy. Trump's influential son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will also have a direct line to the president.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2016 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Libya Herald] Misrata airport is to start operating again as of Thursday. It follows a partial deal between the Libyan Ground Services Company and the union representing striking employees.
[DCclothesline] Multiple media outlets are reporting that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is finalizing a document that the Obama administration hopes will form the basis for a UN Security Council resolution that officially recognizes a Palestinian state before the end of Barack Obama’s term on January 20th. This comes on the heels of the UN Security Council’s adoption of resolution 2334 on December 23rd. That resolution declared that all Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal, it stated that the Security Council recognizes the 1967 ceasefire lines as the border between Israel and "Palestine", and it officially gave East Jerusalem to the Palestinians. But it stopped short of formally recognizing a Palestinian state. Resolution 2334 speaks of a Palestinian state in the future tense, but this new resolution that John Kerry is reportedly working on would give immediate and permanent UN Security Council recognition to a Palestinian state.
