[Iran Press TV] The Libyan government based in the eastern city of Tobruk has announced that it would deny entry to American citizens in a tit-for-tat move after the administration of 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... put Libya on a new list of countries targeted by Washington's travel ban.
Libya currently has two governments: one based in the capital Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , and the other based in Tobruk.
The Tobruk-based government, headed by Abdullah al-Thinni, is aligned with military commander 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 is opposed to the Tripoli-based, internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA).
The eastern-based government said on Wednesday that the ban was in response to "a dangerous escalation that targets Libyan citizens and puts them in the same basket as the Lions of Islam against whom our... armed forces are fighting."
It was not clear when or how the Libyan ban would be enforced.
Based on the latest proclamation signed by Trump on Sunday, citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... will face new restrictions in traveling to the United States.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2017 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Abu Walaa is accused of radicalizing young men and running a terror network linked to the Berlin Christmas market attack
Notorious hate preacher Abu Walaa, described as 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’s de facto leader in Germany, goes on trial Tuesday accused of radicalizing young men and running a jihadist terror network linked to the Berlin Christmas market attacker.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
Abu Walaa
Posted by: trailing wife ||
09/28/2017 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Ottoman Turkish President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... on Tuesday warned the Iraqi Kurdistan region against pushing for independence after holding a non-binding referendum, saying it risked sparking an "ethnic war" in the region.
In his latest barrage of warnings to Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani, Erdogan even warned that his region risked going short on food and clothing if Ottoman Turkish sanctions were applied.
"If Barzani and the Kurdish Regional Government do not go back on this mistake as soon as possible, they will go down in history with the shame of having dragged the region into an ethnic and sectarian war," Erdogan said in a televised speech.
Iraq’s Kurds on Monday voted in a historic independence referendum despite fierce opposition from Baghdad and neighbours Iran and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... Results were expected within 24 hours, with an overwhelming "yes" vote not in doubt.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
So when will the Kurds start marching on Ankara?
How do the Greeks feel about Kurds?
I just have this picture of so much of the world devolving into tribes and swords and shields becoming high tech again.
#2
Turkey has been at war with the Kurds for some time now. Erdrogan should use this as an opportunity to convince Turkish Kurds to move south before they demographically take over Turkey. Kurdistan might make a nice buffer betweewn the Turks and the nuts to the south.
Jury expected to start considering verdict on Muhanad Mahmoud al Farekh who was born in Texas but is accused of plotting to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan
Alleged al Qaeda mastermind, 31, faces life if found guilty of being part of attempted suicide strike in January 2009 on FOB Chapman near Khost
Letters show how he wrote to ask 'brother' to send him U.S. television shows and a book on origami from his alleged Pakistani Taliban hideout
He also wanted to go to fight in Syria in 2013, when ISIS began its murderous rise, prosecutors say
Farekh, who was also in Minnesota in the past, is pleading not guilty at federal court n Brooklyn, New York
[DAWN] Pakistain refuses to take the blame for the Haqqani Network and other alleged bad boy outfits, reminding the United States that these 'terrorists' were considered the 'darlings' of the White House up until a few decades ago.
A few decades is a lifetime in international relations. Amd they've been ISI 'darlings' ever since.
Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, who is attending the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly, made remarks to this end at the Asia Society forum on Tuesday.
"Don't blame us for the Haqqanis [the Haqqani Network] and don't blame us for the Hafiz Saeed ...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat... s [referring to the head of banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... ]. These were the people who were your darlings just 20 to 30 years back. They were being dined and wined in the White House and now you say 'go to hell Paks because you are nurturing these people'."
That is a full generation ago. Why did Pakistan wine and dine them ever since?
Further clarifying Islamabad's position, Asif said: "It is very easy to say Pakistain is floating the Haqqanis and Hafiz Saeed and Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... . They are liabilities. I accept that they are liabilities, but give us time to get rid of them because we don't have the assets to match these liabilities and you are increasing them [our liabilities] further."
My dear Mr. Asif, you have had a generation to deal with this problem. You have not only not dealt with it, you have deliberately made it considerably worse.
He said that Pakistain is ready to work with the United States for effective management of the Afghan border to stop terrorist infiltration and to facilitate a peace settlement in Afghanistan.
In the past, the US has accused Pakistain of not taking significant action against the Haqqani Network. Washington claims the bad boy outfit has been operating out of "Pakistain-based safe havens" to threaten US and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
As alluded to by Churchill, we have common interests time to time. We were also allied with Soviet Russia, '41-'45.
[IsraelTimes] Human Rights Council asks for response from West Bank settlement-friendly firms as some businesses say they won't renew contracts
The United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... reportedly sent letters to some 150 Israeli and overseas companies, threatening to add them to its blacklist of firms operating in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
Senior anonymous Israeli officials told the Haaretz daily on Wednesday that UN human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein sent the letters two weeks ago. Several of the companies reportedly replied to Hussein that they do not plan to renew existing contracts or to sign new ones.
The officials said that Hussein wrote in the letter ‐ copies of which had been seen by the government ‐ that due to their activities in the "occupied Paleostinian territories" they may be added to the blacklist being compiled by the UN of companies "that operate in opposition to international law and in opposition of UN resolutions."
An unnamed western diplomat told Haaretz that more than half of the companies that received the warning letter were Israeli, about 30 were from the US and the remainder from countries including Germany, Norway and South Korea. The diplomat added that Hussein also sent copies of the letter to foreign ministries of several countries who are home to companies which may be added to the blacklist.
Earlier this month Channel 2 reported that among those on the UN Human Rights Council list are Coca-Cola, TripAdvisor, Airbnb and Caterpillar.
Israeli companies on the list reportedly include pharmaceutical giant Teva, the national phone company Bezeq, bus company Egged, the national water company Mekorot and the country’s two largest banks, Hapoalim and Leumi.
The US has threatened to withdraw from the international forum if the list is published.
Last year, the UN body voted to compile a database of all business enterprises that have enabled or profited from the growth of Israeli settlements in areas Paleostinians see as part of their future state. The resolution passed with 32 nations voting in favor and 15 abstentions.
The proposal, put forward by the Paleostinian Authority and Arab states in 2016, included a condemnation of settlements and called on companies not to do business with Israeli settlements.
In June, the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley ...first woman to serve as Governor of South Carolina, and the second Indian-American governor in the country, after Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. At the age of 39, Haley is the youngest current governor in the U.S., a distinction formerly held by Jindal. She is a Republican, which really grates on the Dems... , condemned the blacklist as "the latest in this long line of shameful actions" taken by the UNHRC. Haley went on to warn that the US could withdraw from the 47-member body unless it reformed, ending its built-in procedural mechanism to condemn Israel, and banning notorious human rights violators from serving on the council.
Since 2007, Israel has been the only country whose alleged human rights abuses are regularly discussed in the framework of a single permanent item on the Human Rights Council’s agenda.
"...A recent example was a bizarre report from the U.N.’s Human Rights Council, which called for a global “agroecology” regime, including a new global treaty to regulate and reduce the use of pesticides and genetic engineering, which it labeled human rights violations. In reality, these products and technologies improve the efficiency of agriculture and enhance food security, especially among subsistence farmers."
[ALMASDARNEWS] President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani hailed the victory for the ’yes’ vote in the Kurdish independence referendum, from Erbil on Tuesday.
"Sisters and brothers, what day is greater and more precious than the day when you see the success of the willing of your nation for deciding its own destiny?" asked the leader.
Barstani dedicated the referendum to "Our great leaders and thousands of brave generations were excited to see this day, but they were martyred just for the sake of it," promising to "send their souls our regards and promise our loyalty to them."
Following the plebiscite, Barstani has called for dialogue with Baghdad to discuss independence, an action these oppose.
The independence referendum took place on 25 September, with initial results indicating an overwhelming "yes" vote for independence; it would draw strong criticism and opposition from Iran and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , as well as Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2017 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] The military brass of Iran and Iraq have met and held talks amid a controversial referendum in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri on Wednesday received his Iraqi counterpart Major General Othman al-Ghanmi, who arrived in Tehran at the head of a military delegation earlier in the day.
The issue of terrorism, the Kurdish independence vote and matters of mutual interest were among the major topics discussed in the meeting between the top military officials.
During the meeting, Baqeri hailed the latest achievements gained by the Iraqi army in the fight against terrorists.
"We are so pleased that the Iraqi nation and army have made great gains in the battle against holy warriors and have crushed the Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed... s," he said.
The Iraq official, for his part, said that Iraq was targeted by Takfiri terrorism, adding, however, that most of the territories held by Takfiri gunnies had been liberated.
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09/28/2017 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] Iraqi Kurds overwhelmingly voted in favour of a split from Iraq, according to regional officials, as tensions soared between Erbil and Baghdad following a contested referendum.
Electoral commission officials on Wednesday told a news conference in Erbil, capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, that 92.73 percent of the 3,305,925 people who cast ballots voted "Yes" in Monday's poll.
Turnout was put at 72.61 percent.
Any idea of secession is bitterly opposed by the central government in Baghdad, as well as neighbouring countries such as The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and Iran. The United States and the United States had also pressed Kurdish leaders to call off the poll.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
A good solution would be that the Kurdish and Sunni regions split off together from the Shiite areas.
Since there are more Shiites than the others together, the Shiites will be able to dominate any election they can unite on. This would be a prescription for disaster.
The Kurds and Sunni's have poor historical relations, but would have more foreign support and be a buffer between Syria and possibly Iran dominated Shiite Iraq.Internally they could both be as autonomous as they want. If Israel and Saudi Arabia can live at peace with one another, the Kurds and Sunni Iraqis can also.
Posted by: Daniel ||
09/28/2017 22:38 Comments ||
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[IsraelTimes] Army sees Gazoo-based terror group changing tack, as Israel steps up work on underground barrier
Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", appears to be changing its tunnel strategy, shifting from a focus on border-crossing attack routes to more internal defense structures, as Israel steps up work on its underground barrier surrounding the Gazoo Strip, according to IDF assessments on Wednesday.
The terrorist organization used its network of cross-border tunnels most extensively during the 2014 Gazoo war, sending fighters through them into Israel to attack nearby soldiers.
In 2006, one such tunnel was used to kidnap IDF soldier Gilad Shalit into Gazoo, where he was held captive for five years, before being released as part of a hotly contested prisoner exchange, in which over 1,000 Paleostinian faceless myrmidons were also set free.
In July 2014, Israel launched Operation Protective Edge in response to rocket fire from Gazoo. During the 50-day campaign, the IDF destroyed some 14 tunnels that entered Israeli territory, along with 18 internal tunnels, and depleted Hamas’s weapons stores.
While there were no attacks on civilians through these tunnels during the 2014 war, the concern in Israel is that one day Hamas will send dozens of fighters through them in order to attack a nearby community and either kill residents or take them hostage.
To counter that threat, earlier this summer Israel started construction on an underground barrier that is designed to destroy any tunnels that are currently in place and prevent the creation of new ones.
According to the military, Hamas has instead shifted its focus to improving and expanding its network of tunnels within Gazoo, which can be used to ferry fighters and weaponry across the Strip, out of sight from Israeli surveillance.
In addition, the terrorist organization, which is already believed to have replenished its arsenal of rockets and mortars, is seen to be increasing its attempts to import additional weaponry into the Strip from Sinai.
Though the humanitarian situation in the Strip has improved to a certain degree, as opposed to earlier this summer when it was on the brink of losing nearly all access to electricity, the military still sees the coastal enclave as volatile.
The work on the 37-mile (60-kilometer) barrier began in earnest earlier this summer, and Head of the Southern Command Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir said it would be completed within two years. It will feature an advanced underground protection system that extends dozens of meters below the ground ‐ the army would not specify the depth ‐ in order to detect and destroy tunnels that attempt to penetrate into Israeli territory, as well as an above-ground metal fence adorned with sensors.
The Defense Ministry will also bulk up the defense along the Gazoo coast, putting up breakwaters and other protective measures in order to prevent infiltration into Israel from the sea, as occurred during the 2014 Gazoo war.
The project is expected to cost approximately NIS 3 billion ($833 million), with each kilometer of the underground portion of the barrier costing approximately NIS 41.5 million ($11.5 million). The above-ground fence is significantly cheaper at just NIS 1.5 million ($416,000) per kilometer.
In order to speed up construction, concrete factories were built next to the Gazoo Strip.
Currently, dozens of construction workers and engineering specialists from around the world are working on the project, at a few different sites, in order to fine-tune their operating methods. They wear flak jackets and are guarded by IDF soldiers.
By the year’s end, over 1,000 people, both Israelis and migrant workers, will be operating on the border barrier in approximately 40 locations.
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.
[Iran Press TV] The Libyan government based in the eastern city of Tobruk has announced that it would deny entry to American citizens in a tit-for-tat move after the administration of US President 
Libya currently has two governments: one based in the capital 
North Korea
[DAWN] 
[IsraelTimes] Human Rights Council asks for response from West Bank settlement-friendly firms as some businesses say they won't renew contracts
