[DAWN] Afghanistan's top envoy to Pakistain Omar Zakhilwal said his government is open to unconditional peace negotiations with the Taliban myrmidons, Chinese media reported Monday.
"We are in contact with the 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... office and also a number of influential individual Taliban leaders and commanders," the Afghan ambassador told Xinhua in Islamabad on Monday, adding no formal negotiations have taken place yet.
These remarks came after reports circulated in foreign and Afghan media that senior Afghan officials had met Taliban members in Qatar.
"Taliban could bring any proposal to the negotiating table but we have ruled out preconditions for talks," Zakhilwal said when asked about the conditions put forth by the Taliban ahead of the talks.
Taliban negotiators have publicly demanded that their political office in Qatar be opened, UN sanctions on their big shots be lifted and their detained members be released.
"We are open to any and all opportunities for peace talks. We can find our way with the Taliban if external support to them stops," the Afghan envoy said.
Regarding the long-standing call of Taliban to have foreign troops withdrawn from the country, Zakhilwal said that the ongoing insurgency in Afghanistan required the foreign troops to stay.
"If there is no war, then there is no reason for their stay in our country. Therefore, if Taliban genuinely want the foreign troops to leave Afghanistan, peace, not war will do that," the Afghan envoy said.
When asked if he thinks violence will rise in the coming spring and summer, Zakhilwal said the security situation will be "challenging", adding that terrorist attacks, especially the ones employing guerrilla tactics, are difficult to prevent in entirety, but the Afghan cops will "endure as they have proven themselves by now."
The Taliban traditionally launch their so-called annual "spring offensive" in April, marking the beginning of the fighting season in the war-torn country.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/31/2017 00:00 ||
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Hundreds of Somali refugees in Kenya who were days from travelling to the US to start new lives under a longstanding resettlement programme have been told they cannot travel,
...for 120 days while new vetting procedurs are worked out. After that they'll have to be revetted, and then will be permitted to move as originally planned -- unless they don't pass the vetting, of course...
after Donald Trump’s executive order banned migrants from seven Muslim-majority countries for three months.
The refugees, who have all been rigorously screened by US and UN officials, have waited for between seven and 10 years for their resettlement to be approved and organised.
Define "rigorously screened"...
Some had already checked in for the flight to their new homes in the US when they were told they would not be allowed to board the plane. Others had travelled to Nairobi with children ready to leave.
“These are people who have packed their bags, emptied their bank accounts, sold all their goods and said their goodbyes. Then they hear they are not going to the US after all,” said one aid worker in Nairobi.
In all, up to 26,000 people who hoped to travel to the US have been hit by the new measure. The total includes those cleared for imminent travel, as well as those whose applications are under review.
The 26,000 should return to Somalia. Move to a protected zone and work to rebuild life there. Europe, the US and the UN can provide some funding. Perhaps we could get the Italians and the British to provide police protection. The best place for Somali refugees is Somalia. It's their homeland and their culture.
Representatives from UN agencies in the Kenyan capital are scheduled to meet local government officials on Tuesday in an attempt to resolve the problem, and aid agencies are organising counselling for distraught families.
Approximately 3,000 refugees are scheduled to be resettled in the US from camps in northern Kenya this year, the majority from Dadaab, a sprawling tent city where an estimated 300,000 Somalis live. Many of those at the camp had arrived on Friday - the day Trump signed his executive order to restrict Somali refugees and immigrants entering the US.
There are now fears that even those cleared for a new life in the US may face a return to Somalia, a war-torn country where Islamist militants have launched attacks on a multinational military force trying to bring stability and international agencies have warned of famine.
Kenyan authorities have pledged to shut the Dadaab camp and send its inhabitants back to Somalia as soon as May, only weeks after the temporary ban imposed by Trump’s executive order expires.
“We are refugees, we cannot return back to our country, this host country of Kenya is pushing us to move out and the US president does not want us in his country. What can we do? Nothing. If he does not want Muslims, then we hope God will help us,” Ganey said.
You can return to your country.
Ganey has lived in Dadaab since civil war broke out in Somalia in 1991, and applied for a place in the US refugee resettlement programme seven years ago. After a process of rigorous screening by UN and US officials, his clearance for immigration came through last October.
Twenty-five years at the camp? He's not a citizen of Somalia, he's a citizen of Dadaab...
As many as 10,000 Somalis residing all over Africa were to be resettled in the US this year, according to the US State Department. The total was a slight increase on the previous year. Almost all are Muslim.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/31/2017 00:00 ||
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Residents in Lower Jubba region of southern Somalia say they have seen unknown fighter jets hovering over Al shabaab-held areas, including Kulbiyow town near Kenyan border.
The warplanes which are thought to belong Kenyan military flew over Kulbiyow, Dhobley and Hosingow towns, and no air strike against Al shabaab camps was reported. Kenyan military said it launched air and ground operations in Southern Somalia, in response to last Friday’s Al shabaab attack on Kulbiyow that left at least 67 KDF soldiers dead.
Al shabaab carried out many deadly attacks on KDF camps in southern since their incursion in Somalia in Oct. 2011, including El Adde and Kulbiyow in Gedo and Lower Jubba regions.
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01/31/2017 00:00 ||
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[Libya Observer] All Misrata brigades operating under Misrata Military Council will join the Central Military Zone of the Libyan Army, the council announced on Sunday, a step that aims to unite the most powerful armed brigades in the country under one command.
The inclusion will be according to the laws in force of the Libyan National Army, the military council said in a statement.
The statement pointed out that Misrata brigades would join as regular or reserve forces in accordance with the legislations of the military institution.
"This action could be described as a reaction and attempt to reinstate an authentic version of a military institution, which is universally known to have loyalty to God and country, not private protection units and militias similar to those employed by rogue General Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... and his predecessor Gadaffi before him." A military source has explained.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/31/2017 00:00 ||
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U.S. President Donald Trump should never settle for a freeze on North Korea's nuclear programs as it amounts to accepting the communist nation as a nuclear power, a senior American expert on Korea said.
David Straub, a former State Department diplomat handling Korean Peninsula issues, also said in an op-ed piece carried by the newspaper The Hill that the Trump administration should ramp up pressure on Pyongyang to force it to genuine denuclearization talks.
A growing number of appeasers experts have called recently for negotiating a freeze on the North's nuclear program as a means to stop the regime from further bolstering its nuclear arsenal, as the regime has significantly accelerated its nuclear development with two nuclear tests last year.
In October, then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper also said that denuclearizing North Korea "is probably a lost cause" and the best possible solution to the North Korean nuclear issue may be "some sort of a cap" on the regime's nuclear capabilities.
The best possible solution is a stern warning that a single use of the weapons will result in the utter annihilation of their mis-begotten state. Tell them that and then start working on regime change...
But Straub argued that a freeze is no different from a cap, which means accepting the North as a nuclear state. That would "destroy U.S. credibility not only with its allies in Seoul and Tokyo but throughout the world," and undermine the global nuclear nonproliferation regime, he said.
"In theory, a freeze now would stop Kim Jong-un short of his goal. Freeze supporters thus argue, as Mr. Clapper suggested, that the United States should give Pyongyang 'significant inducements' for its promise to freeze its facilities and not conduct further tests of nuclear devices and long-range missiles," Straub said.
"In truth, a freeze now would just be a cap in disguise. The entire international community would also regard it as such, unlike in earlier years when the North's nuclear capabilities were not as advanced and their elimination was still considered possible," he said.
The expert also said that even if the North agreed to a freeze of its known nuclear facilities, the regime would still be running its nuclear and missile programs at undeclared facilities. Moreover, Pyongyang would be unwilling to accept full verification by outside experts.
Past nuclear deals with the North were all about freezing the program, but all failed, he said.
"What reason is there to believe that another freeze effort now, with North Korea having in the meantime made clear in the strongest terms that it has no intention of giving up nuclear weapons, would fare any better? And even if North Korea agreed to a freeze, how long would we expect it to maintain it this time around?" Straub said.
"Mr. Trump should not be fooled by this mirage, either. He urgently needs to put in place his North Korea team and proceed to apply far greater pressure on Pyongyang until it is prepared to negotiate genuine denuclearization. Only then might a freeze again be worth considering," he said.
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01/31/2017 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] Mohammed Abrini, the "man in the hat" bombing suspect caught on camera during the Brussels airport attack, has been charged in La Belle France over the November 2015 Islamist bully boy massacres in Gay Paree, his lawyers said Monday.
Belgium handed Abrini over to the French authorities on Monday for a day so that he could face charges related to the deaths of 130 people in the French capital.
Abrini was captured in Brussels in April over his suspected involvement in the March 22 Brussels attacks and the Gay Paree killings, both of which were claimed by the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group.
Belgian Sherlocks have said the Brussels airport and metro bombers who killed a total of 32 people were part of the same Brussels-based cell that orchestrated the Gay Paree attacks.
The main suspect in the Gay Paree attacks is Salah Abdeslam, a Belgian-born French national believed to be the only survivor of the Islamist bully boy team behind the carnage.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/31/2017 00:00 ||
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[Breitbart] Cologne ...a lovely city in Germany. They invented perfume there... ’s regional court sentenced the men to between three years and 6 months, and four years and 10 months in prison for the robberies.
Judges say that there’s sufficient proof the men ‐ aged between 24 and 37 ‐ broke into up to five churches and other buildings between 2013 and 2014.
In Monday’s ruling, judges said it was unclear whether the funds they generated were actually used to support armed jihad and if so, to what extent.
An eighth man was sentenced to two years and 7 months for serious bodily harm.
Five defendants are German citizens, two hold German and Tunisian citizenship, and one holds German and Moroccan citizenship.
[Hurriyet Daily News] Ankara prosecutors on Jan. 29 demanded 54 aggravated life sentences for 11 soldier suspects accused of joining the July 15, 2016 coup attempt by pounding police department buildings in the capital and killing 51 people.
The suspects, including six army pilots and five higher-ranking soldiers, are accused of coordinating the attack on the police special operations branch headquarters and the police department air bureau headquarters.
They face 54 aggravated life sentences on charges of committing crimes against the constitution and deliberate killing of 45 special operations coppers, three civilian public employees, two civilians and a holy man on the night of the coup attempt.
In the case, which has around 100 plaintiffs, the suspects are also charged with "membership of an armed terror organization," "harming public property," "causing deliberate injury," and "qualified robbery."
The suspects each face three aggravated life terms for engaging in the coup attempt, in addition to 51 aggravated life terms for the 51 victims killed in the bombardment.
The demanded sentences are the heaviest sentences sought for suspects in probes related to the network of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen ... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world... , widely believed to have orchestrated the coup attempt.
[AlAhram] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... on Monday opened the biggest trial yet over the failed July coup aimed at ousting President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... , trying 270 suspects including, in absentia, the alleged criminal mastermind Fethullah Gulen. The suspects, 152 of whom are in pre-trial detention, include ex high-ranking military officials like former Aegean Army Command Chief of Staff Major General Memduh Hakbilen, the state news agency Anadolu reported.
Also going on trial was ex-NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... Land Commander Chief of Staff Major General Salih Sevil.
The "number one" suspect is US-based Islamic preacher Gulen who is charged with ordering the failed July 15 coup, an accusation he strongly denies. Ankara also accuses the movement Gulen leads of being a "terror organization" although the group insists it is a peaceful organization promoting moderate Islam.
Those on trial in the western city of Izmir face multiple charges including being a member of the "armed terror group".
Turkey has repeatedly asked the United States to extradite Gulen, who has been living in self-imposed exile there since 1999. The previous administration of Barack Obama If you like your coverage you can keep it... had insisted that a possibly slow legal process should take its course but Ankara is hoping for a more eager response to its extradition request from new President 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... Gulen previously went on trial in absentia in January last year over corruption allegations that hit Erdogan in 2013. The Turkish justice ministry also sent new evidence to Washington for Gulen's return including the indictment for the Izmir case, Anadolu reported on Monday. The indictment includes witness statements alleging that Gulen was to be presented with the plans for the coup by Adil Oksuz for his approval, the agency added.
Turkish officials have said that theology lecturer Oksuz was the so-called "imam" of the plot and in charge of coordinating between Gulen and the army. Oksuz was detained in the aftermath of the coup but then released and is now on the run.
Other charges against the suspects include seeking to prevent parliament performing its duty as well as attempting to remove the constitutional order, the agency said. The suspects face life imprisonment if convicted in a trial expected to take two months, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.
It said Izmir was believed to be one of the main plotting hubs of the coup with the Aegean city used as a "logistical base".
Memduh was apparently to be declared Izmir's "martial law commander" by the putschists, Anadolu reported at the time.
A special courtroom was built to accommodate the size of the trial and security was tight. Intensive security measures included a drone above the courthouse, bomb-sniffing dogs and commando units.
Previous trials have opened in Istanbul and smaller cases in other provinces in what is expected to be the largest legal process in the country's history.
Some 43,000 people are under arrest ahead of trial in a large-scale crackdown within a state of emergency declared after the coup which remains in place.
In December, 29 coppers went on trial in Istanbul accused of failing to defend Erdogan while 62 rebel soldiers are being tried over claims they attempted to take over Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen Airport on the night of July 15.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/31/2017 00:00 ||
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A Canadian trade school reportedly turned down an Israeli student applicant simply for being Israeli.
Israeli civil engineering student and amateur carpenter Stav Doron told Channel 2 reporter Ido Daniel that he applied to study at the Island School of Building Arts, a Canadian trade school specializing in wood construction and design.
He said in the report that he had wanted to study at the ISBA, located on Gabriola Island in the province of British Columbia, due to its expertise and prominence in the wood construction field.
However, the school turned him down in an email, stating that they "are not accepting applications from Israel." The school official named Pat, whose last name was not given, wrote that the reason was "due to the conflict and illegal settlement activity in the region."
Doron reponded to Pat that "It's very sad that an institution which has a community of students from all over the world would act in this way." He added that he was "sorry I bought your book," referring to the Master's Guide to Timber Framing, written by ISBA founder James Mitchell, which he had purchased from the ISBA website for $69.50.
A representative from the student union wrote back to him that "Yes, it is unfortunate but we act according to our moral compass."
#2
Thank you for fixing the ALL CAPS headline, Bright Pebbles. It's too early in the morning to be shouted at, even by the Jerusalem Post about self-righteous Canadian antisemitism.
[Ynet] A 20-year-old Pennsylvania man faces the potential of a lengthy federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to conspiring to help the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group and tweeting out a list that identified and targeted people serving in the US military.
Jalil Ibn Ameer Aziz pleaded guilty Monday in Harrisburg federal court to the conspiracy count and to transmitting a communication containing a threat. Both are felonies.
Aziz is a natural born American who was nabbed You have the right to remain silent... in Harrisburg in December 2015.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/31/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Whatever happened to the "Buy Drugs Finance Terrorism" movement?
[DAWN] Satirical publication Khabaristan Times on Monday announced its website has been blocked in Pakistain.
In a statement posted to its official Facebook page, KT said the website had been blocked since Jan 25.
"There hasn't been any official notification from any regulatory authority regarding the website being banned," KT said, adding that it cannot be accessed anywhere in Pakistain.
The website does, however, appear to be available to users outside Pakistain.
According to sources in the telecommunication regulatory authority, the website had been blocked after receiving complaints about 'objectionable content'.
A renowned satire and parody website, KT has amassed a loyal social media following ─ 12,156 likes on Facebook ─ with its tongue-in-cheek commentary on Pak politics and the military.
The move comes in the backdrop of disappearances of social media activists earlier this month.
Pakistain is routinely ranked among the world's most dangerous countries for journalists, and reporting critical of security policies is considered a major red flag, with news hounds at times detained, beaten and even killed.
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01/31/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
news hounds at times detained, beaten and even killed
Dead men post no satires.
[Ynet] Following the rise in anti-Semitic activity around the world, The Jewish Agency’s Emergency Assistance Fund for Jewish Communities has helped over 200 Jewish communities and organizations protect themselves.
110 synagogues, 80 schools and preschools, and 75 community centers are just a few of the projects taken on by the The Jewish Agency’s Emergency Assistance Fund for Jewish Communities, which is revealed here for the first time, on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
115 communities have secured the entrances to buildings, 90 communities installed closed circuit television systems, fences were built around 50 Jewish community facilities, and 30 institutions installed gates and padlocks for the safety of the community's population thanks to the Fund’s support. In addition, protective equipment was donated to numerous communities.
'Preventing another Toulouse'
The Fund was set up following the Toulouse ...lies on the banks of the River Garonne, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Toulouse metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in La Belle France... terror attack in 2012, which claimed the lives of a teacher and three students at a Jewish school. The terrorist entered the school freely, without any security measures--a gate, a camera, a guard, or a screening booth--to stop him. It was Natan Sharansky, the chairman of The Jewish Agency, who initiated the establishment of the Fund.
"We know that a terrorist looking to harm Jews will look for the easiest target, and any security measure standing in his way will contribute to deterrence," explained Josh Schwarcz, The Jewish Agency's secretary-general, who directs the Emergency Assistance Fund.
The Fund decided not to subsidize guards for Jewish institutions for financial reasons: in La Belle France alone there are 700 Jewish institutions, and the cost of hiring guards for each one would be prohibitive.
The Fund decided to distribute challenge grants to schools to encourage the hiring of guards based on a matching system: for every shekel put in by the Fund, the community matched it, and after three years, the community commits to taking the funding upon itself.
[IsraelTimes] Paleostinian officials are demanding an apology from the new United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... chief after he said it was "completely clear that the Temple that the Romans destroyed in Jerusalem was a Jewish temple."
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also told Israel Radio in an interview Friday with its New York correspondent that "no one can deny the fact that Jerusalem is holy to three religions today," including Judaism.
On Sunday, Adnan al-Husseini, the Paleostinian Authority’s Jerusalem Affairs minister, told the Chinese news service Xinhua that Guterres "ignored UNESCO’s decision that considered the al-Aqsa mosque of pure Islamic heritage." He also said Guterres "violated all legal, diplomatic and humanitarian customs and overstepped his role as secretary general ... and must issue an apology to the Paleostinian people."
Xinhua also spoke with an adviser to PA President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... , Ahmad Majdalani, a member of the executive committee of the Paleostine Liberation Organization, who said that Guterres’s comments "undermine the trustworthiness of the UN as a body that should support occupied peoples" and that Guterres "should clarify his remarks that give Israel a green light for more measures against Jerusalem."
Guterres also told Israel Radio that he would not initiate a new grinding of the peace processor between Israel and the Paleostinians, but that he did believe in a two-state solution and would be willing to assist in a grinding of the peace processor if asked.
Following anger from the PA, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely praised Guterres for his comments.
"I praise the UN secretary general for standing up for the historical truth regarding the Temple Mount and the Jewish people’s historical connection to Jerusalem," Hotovely said in a statement. "You cannot cut off the deep 3,000-year connection between the people of Israel and Jerusalem."
(Rooters) The Pentagon was creating a list of Iraqis who had worked alongside U.S. troops, which will be passed to agencies implementing President 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... ’s executive order restricting entry for people from Iraq and six other Moslem-majority countries, a front man said on Monday.
A Pentagon front man, Navy Captain Jeff Davis, said that over the weekend the White House had "provided the opportunity" to submit names.
"There are a number of people in Iraq who have worked for us in a partnership role, whether fighting alongside us or working as translators, often doing so at great peril to themselves," Davis told news hounds.
"We are ensuring that those who have demonstrated their commitment tangibly to fight alongside us and support us, that those names are known in whatever process there is going forward," he added.
It was unclear when the list would be complete and how many names it would include.
Trump’s order suspending travel, which he signed on Friday, sparked anger in Iraq, where more than 5,000 U.S. troops are deployed to help Iraqi and regional Kurdish forces in the war against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... krazed killer group.
Iraq asked the United States on Monday to reconsider the travel ban on its citizens, taking a more diplomatic line than the Iraqi parliament, which demanded the government retaliate.
The Iraqi parliament called on the government to impose "similar treatment" on U.S. nationals.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/31/2017 07:36 ||
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#1
I hope they can manage to keep THAT list of names from getting hacked or leaked; would be very dangerous to good people and their families.
#2
Guess there's no payroll vouchers or collaborator registry for the construction, cooking and cleaning help. Used to be that money(cash) went to the local job boss who gave work to his family at half wages. Sometimes non-family would 'buy-in', giving direct paid wages back to the job boss.
#4
What is most unclear: why hasn't the list already been made (prior to the last election)? Why haven't most of these Iraqi allies been taken care of, years ago?
[Iran Press TV] Russia has expressed readiness to provide the Iraqi government with assistance in the country’s fight against the ISISTakfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed... terrorist group.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the announcement on Monday, saying that Moscow would help Iraq’s anti-terror fight only "with Baghdad’s consent."
"In broader terms, we should not forget that ISIS (ISIS) is operating not only in Syria, but also in Iraq," Lavrov said in a meeting with his Eritrea ...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age... n counterpart Osman Saleh.
"I do not rule out that, if the Iraqi authorities show interest, we will be able to provide additional support to them, at least in terms of intelligence data, but in other forms as well," he added.
Iraqi army soldiers, supported by fighters from pro-government Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by the Arabic word Hashd al-Sha’abi, and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, are currently engaged in joint operations to purge key areas in the country of the Takfiri terrorist group.
ISIS still maintains firm control over the western quarter of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , the terror group’s last urban stronghold in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/31/2017 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Catalyst behind Muhammad Shinawi’s attacks was girlfriend calling him ’Jew lover,’ Shin Bet says; 2 indicted as accessories.
After his girlfriend called him a "Zionist Jew" and a "Jew lover," an Arab Israeli man allegedly carried out two shooting attacks, which left one man dead and another seriously maimed, in the northern port city of Haifa earlier this month, the Shin Bet security service said.
On Monday, the suspect -- 21-year-old Muhammad Shinawi -- was charged with murder and attempted murder in a Haifa court for the attacks, along with two other men accused of helping him.
Continued on Page 49
[DefeseNews] "Today Jan 18 2017
we're entering a new era; the Arrow-3 era," said Moshe Patel, head of the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO). "We're very proud to deliver to the Israel Air Force the first initial capability of Arrow-3 … [a program] we've worked on for the last ten years, together with MDA and with a lot of help from the US Congress and the US administration."
Designed to fly nearly twice as high up to 60 miles
at half the weight of Arrow-2 ‐ which covers the lower-tier segment of AWS ‐ Arrow-3 is Israel's first line of defense against advanced, maneuvering Iranian Shihab-class ballistic missiles.
Posted by: lord garth ||
01/31/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Designed to fly nearly twice as high
at half the weight of Arrow-2
What mass was sacrificed to get the range?
Did they replace HE with NUC?
#4
Well, one really don't need as much explosion energy as one thought before to destroy an incoming missile. One just need to get somewhat near it and a small high flak explosion is all that's needed to knock the incoming missile out.
Below is a picture of an Arrow2:
So image the Arrow3 at half the weight and much greater range. Keep in mind that "half the weight" is not the dame thing as "half the size". This way the Israels can use the existing Arrow2 infrastructure, saving quit a bit of cash.
More information on the Arrow antimissile system (Including pictures of the complete radar and targeting structure) at: Wikipedia Arrow missile article
[ALMASDARNEWS] A framework draft of Syria’s new constitution Russia offered at the Astana talks envisages the establishment of a democratic state with the republican form of government, a top-ranking Russian military said on Sunday according to TASS.
"The draft constitution says that Syria is a modern democratic state with the republican form of government. This state is to be based on the principles of democracy, the supremacy of law and equality of all," Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov, a deputy chief of the main operation directorate of the Russian General Staff, said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.
"The multi-ethnic and multi-religious Syrian people" must constitute only source of power in that country, Gadzhimagomedov stressed. "It is the Syrian people that determines the country’s future by means of nationwide voting ‐ referendum ‐ and via its elected representatives."
The draft however has a framework character and "is called to outline basic principles of a possible state system in Syria as a sovereign state," he said.
"The draft constitution is a neural and well-balanced document which relies on both the present-day democratic principles and norms of a secular state and centuries-long Syrian traditions and habits," he added.
"It will be up to the Syrian people to decide about granting an autonomy status to any administrative entity, including with mostly Kurdish population," Gadzhimagomedov stressed.
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01/31/2017 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) received a major boost this past weekend when their forces finally took over the Wadi Barada area of rural Damascus after more than a month of fighting.
According to a military source in Damascus, over 5,000 soldiers from the Qalamoun Shield (3rd Division) and Elite Republican Guard have been freed up as a result of this successful military operation in the Wadi Barada area.
The military source added that the Qalamoun Shield will redeploy to the eastern slopes of the Qalamoun Mountains, while the Elite Republican Guard units from the 104th and 105th brigades will be transferred to the East Ghouta.
This news spells trouble for the Syrian opposition forces, as they are already experiencing shortages in manpower and military hardware.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/31/2017 00:00 ||
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Iran will pursue the US President Donald Trump’s executive order to ban entry for nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries in international organizations, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi said.
Qashqavi condemned the measure saying it is against the international laws, Fars news agency reported.
We don't even have diplomatic relations with you: how can it be against international law to ban your citizens from traveling to our country?
To be fair, this should cause problems for all those Iranian-Americans with dual citizenship who want to visit the folks back home. Also their children, who inherited Iranian citizenship from their dual citizen fathers. You know, the naive idiots the Iranian government randomly holds for ransom.
He further said that Tehran will reciprocate the US president’s measure “at any level.”
President Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 27 to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough control on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Iran on Jan. 29 summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents Washington's interests, to protest the measure.
Protest and be damned.
Qashqavi further said Tehran has told its diplomatic representatives across the world to reciprocate the US decision, adding that Iran’s Foreign Ministry will take “strong” decision in this regard without explaining further details.
He added that at least six million Iranians are living abroad,
Ever wonder why that is, exactly?
Some of the 1 million living in the U.S. are spies, but how many?
expressing concern that many of them would face problems due the US administration’s new decision.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/31/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
At last we have a two way travel ban with Iran. They wouldn't do that while Obama was president because they were making $million easy money from ransoming US hostages.
[Wash Times] The Islamic State has planned to infect refugee flows to the West with mass killers, and it has had some violent successes.
The CIA said last year that the terrorist group’s official strategy is to hide its operatives among refugees entering Europe and the United States via human flows out of the Middle East and North Africa.
The Islamic State, also known as ISIL and ISIS, has inspired followers to commit atrocities in San Bernardino, California; Orlando, Florida; and the Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida. Scores of U.S. residents have been charged with or suspected of providing material support to the Islamic State. Some have left the U.S. to commit war crimes in Syria and Iraq.
As President Trump places a 120-day ban on immigration from what he considers high-risk Muslim-majority countries, the history of the mass migration shows that some took part in the Nov. 13, 2015, massacre in Paris -- two posed as refugees from Syria -- and the Christmastime truck carnage in Berlin.
Two of the airport and Metro attacks in Brussels last year had fought in Syria and gained entry back into Belgium.
The German press has reported refugee knife and ax attacks on innocents.
She had one day left in office. It was memorable...
[Iran Press TV] US President 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... fires the acting attorney general after she ordered US Justice Department attorneys not to defend the president’s Moslem ban.
"The acting attorney general, Sally Yates, has betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States," the White House said in a statement on Monday. "President Trump relieved Ms Yates of her duties and subsequently named Dana Boente, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to serve as acting attorney general until Senator Jeff Sessions is finally confirmed by the Senate."
In a letter she wrote to the department earlier in the day, Yates asserted that she is "responsible for ensuring that the positions we take in court remain consistent with this institution’s solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right."
"At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful."
Trump initially responded to the letter by an expected tweet, in which he branded Yates an "Obama AG."
He further complained that "the Democrats are delaying my cabinet picks for purely political reasons... They have nothing going but to obstruct."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/31/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Funny. She didn't seem to have a problem with it when Obama did it.
They say you can do anything you want on your last day.
I just wish people not stranded - the Visa process in the rest of the world can leave people stranded in the wrong places. At least a weeks notice to make travel plans back home or call someone.
#4
Sure, I remember a expired visa.
The Visa guy said, "You no 10 GI. Can't leave."
I said, "Huh? I'm gonna miss my plane!"
Visa guy, "See, visa too old."
Me, "Dude, that's my bag!"
Me, "How do we fix this?"
Visa guy, "You pay 1000 yuan."
Me, "What! That's $100! Each!"
Visa guy, "OK, 500 yuan. Both."
And I was off to the friendly skies for $50.
Now they call it a bag fee.
#5
A "Muslim" ban would actually be unconstitutional, a "dangerous country ban" probably not.
The ban was a a shot from the hip. To send people back who arrive with a valid visa (and who often invested a lot of money to get to the US) isn't very wise. It affects innocent families.
The media will probably inflate the numbers of people affected but still the ban seems botched.
Before issuing such an executive order it wouldn't have hurt to consult with the DOJ. And wait for a few days until Sessions is confirmed.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
01/31/2017 14:17 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Before issuing such an executive order it wouldn't have hurt to consult with the DOJ. And wait for a few days until Sessions is confirmed.
Posted by European Conservative
Whom at DoJ? The traitorous wench he just fired? He employed a small circle of confidants to minimize the leakage. Some were inconvenienced yes. I have attached a graphic of a fellow who was 'inconvenienced' a damned site worse.
You'll have to forgive me. I mean no disrespect but opinions on politics and governance emanating from the human slaughter houses of Europe don't do much for me.
#8
Eight to ten years ago, Germany took visa and work permit 'overstays' and infractions quite seriously. If my memory services me correctly, if your paperwork and dates were not in order, you could be fined, sent packing, and invited NOT to return for 5 years. Obviously things have changed, perhaps not for the better.
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.
Residents in Lower Jubba region of southern Somalia say they have seen unknown fighter jets hovering over Al shabaab-held areas, including Kulbiyow town near Kenyan border.
U.S. President Donald Trump should never settle for a freeze on North Korea's nuclear programs as it amounts to accepting the communist nation as a nuclear power, a senior American expert on Korea said.
[Hurriyet Daily News] Ankara prosecutors on Jan. 29 demanded 54 aggravated life sentences for 11 soldier suspects accused of joining the July 15, 2016 coup attempt by pounding police department buildings in the capital and killing 51 people.
[Wash Times] The Islamic State has planned to infect refugee flows to the West with mass killers, and it has had some violent successes.
Before issuing such an executive order it wouldn't have hurt to consult with the DOJ. And wait for a few days until Sessions is confirmed.
