[Daily Mail, Where America Gets Its News] Shannon Allen took to the stand Monday to discuss her husband's brain trauma
Master Sgt Mark Allen was shot in the head searching for Bowe Bergdahl in 2009
Life-altering injuries left Allen dependent on a wheelchair and unable to speak
After walking off his post in 2009, Bowe Bergdahl was held by the Taliban for five years and eventually released in a 2014 prisoner swap criticized by Republicans
Bergdahl has pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
SO the wife wasn't shot in the head as the title suggests?
#3
Can you imagine how this lady felt when Obama gave his Rose Garden victory celebration with Bergdahls parents....so, happy this hero deserter was traded for the Taliban five?
#4
Hopefully he will be beaten to death in prison.
Posted by: Chris ||
10/31/2017 10:55 Comments ||
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#5
Hopefully he will be beaten to death in prison.
By his bunky Bubba and friends.
Sadly this may very well have been a behavioral crime of his parents, but the life choice was Bergdahl's. Unfortunately, MSG Allen also has a life sentence.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A former member of the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... group who surrendered to the security forces in northeastern Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, has called branded the insurgency led by Taliban as a move against Islam.
The 209th Shaheen Corps of the Afghan National Army in the North said the surrendered Taliban group was actively involved anti-government armed insurgency activities before he decided to refrain from further insurgency activities.
No further details have been given regarding the identity of the surrendered Taliban group, apparently due to the security related issues the Taliban group member could face.
The surrendered bad boy has said the Talibs are serving the foreign interests and all their activities against the principles of Islam and the holy Koran.
He said a Moslem cannot become a stooge to foreingers and for this reason he decided to defect from the Taliban ranks and return to a normal life.
The anti-government armed bad boy groups including the Taliban Death Eaters have not commented regarding the report so far.
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10/31/2017 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Islamabad has expressed concerns and oppositions to the US strategy to kill the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... leaders as part of Washington’s new strategy t root out terrorism from the region.
Pak officials have said the government leaders in Islamabad have conveyed their concerns in this regard to the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during visit to the country, insisting such an option would kill the changes for peace.
"We insisted that it will be unrealistic to crush the Taliban leaders. How is it possible to kill them and expect them to come to the table at the same time," a Pak official said Daily Times.
However, a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package... in contrast to Pak officials opposition, the Afghan defense officials welcomed the decision of Washington to target the Taliban leaders.
A front man for the Ministry of Defense Gen. Dawlat Waziri said Monday that the Afghan cops will also increase operations against the Talibs.
Gen. Waziri further added that the Afghan cops are currently conducting scores of operations, including Arclight airstrikes, special operations and night raids on Lions of Islam hideouts
This comes as reports emerged earlier suggesting that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is sending small teams of highly experienced officers and contractors to hunt and kill Talibs across the country.
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10/31/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Might convince the ones that haven't been killed yet to come to the table.
Who really cares if they do? You can't trust a thing any of you say. Maybe we should hit the real Taliban leaders, like say their ISI handlers.
Posted by: Chris ||
10/31/2017 10:48 Comments ||
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[All Africa] Attackers who stormed a hotel in Mogadishu killing 23 people and wounding more than 30 on Saturday used identity cards from the country's intelligence service to gain access to the building.
The five button men, from the Islamist al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... bully boy group, were dressed in intelligence service uniforms and did not draw suspicion as they entered the hotel in the centre of the Somali capital after a truck bomb demolished a well-defended front entrance.
The button men then held off security forces for more than 12 hours, and went room to room shooting guests. A senior regional minister and a mother with her three young children whom the attackers believed were his family were among the dead.
"They had ID cards which had clear information such as names, ranks and photos so no police officer could stop them," said a senior intelligence officer, Col Ahmed Yare.
Al-Shabaab grabbed credit on one of its websites 55 minutes after the initial bombing of the hotel. Sheikh Ali Mohammed, a religious holy man who survived the attack on the hotel saw the attackers kill the woman and children.
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10/31/2017 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] 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... has agreed to strengthen counter-terrorism cooperation with the United States to crack down on illicit financing of krazed killer groups, a joint Qatari-US statement said on Monday following a visit by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Mnuchin's visit to Doha marked the end of a week-long trip aimed at curbing terrorist financing. There were earlier stops in Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , where the US in May announced the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center, a US-Gulf initiative to stem finance to krazed killer groups.
Following talks with Qatari officials in Doha, Mnuchen said the two countries had agreed to "substantially increasing the sharing of information on terrorist financiers," with "greater emphasis on charitable and money service business sectors in Qatar," according to the statement.
Qatar is keen to show it is cooperating on counter terrorism nearly five months after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt began a diplomatic and trade boycott of the gas-rich state, accusing it of financing Lion of Islam groups and allying with their arch-foe Iran, allegations Doha denies.
Qatar in July signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States to increase cooperation on fighting terrorism finance and was one of six Gulf nations last week to announce sanctions on 13 individuals said to be al Qaeda and 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 killers.
Qatar hosts Udeid Air Base, the largest US military facility in the Middle East, from which US-led coalition aircraft stage sorties against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
held by Australia in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have barricaded themselves inside a detention centre and launched legal action to fight its closure.
Detainees, fearing for their safety after crowds reportedly gathered chanting "don't come out", argue that closure will breach their human rights.
Australia holds asylum seekers arriving by boat in camps on PNG's Manus Island and the small Pacific nation of Nauru.
The Manus Island centre is due to close after it was ruled unconstitutional.
However many of those in the camp argue that its closure, ordered by a PNG court and initially scheduled for Tuesday, will deny them access to water, electricity and security.
The local authorities said these provisions would cease at 17:00 local time (07:00 GMT), and that PNG defence authorities could enter the centre as early as Wednesday.
[IsraelTimes] Amid ongoing crackdown, hearings also set to begin for journalists accused of supporting terror groups.
A mass trial resumed in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... on Monday of more than 220 suspects, including former generals, accused of being among the ringleaders of last year’s coup bid to unseat President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... The suspects face life sentences if convicted of charges ranging from using violence to try to overthrow the government and parliament, to killing nearly 250 people.
Turkey blames the July 2016 coup attempt on Moslemholy manFethullah 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... , a claim he strongly denies. Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States, is among several of the 221 suspects named in the indictment who are on the run.
The rest are due to appear in court in Sincan near the capital Ankara at a facility that was purpose-built to hear coup-related trials.
The attempted coup on July 15, 2016, left 249 people dead, not counting 24 plotters.
Also among the suspects in one of Turkey’s highest-profile prosecutions are several high-ranking military officers including ex-air force commander Akin Ozturk.
Several are accused of leading the so-called "Peace At Home Council," the name the plotters are said to have given themselves the night of the failed overthrow.
The judge told the court nearly 70 terabytes worth of images from security cameras at the military headquarters during the coup bid would be given to lawyers, state-run news agency ...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?... Anadolu said.
Massive crackdown
At the opening of the trial in May, alleged coup plotters were booed by protesters as they entered the courtroom, with some shouting slogans in favor of the death penalty for the suspects.
Fifty-six suspects gave their defense over four weeks after the trial opened, Anadolu said, and the testimonies would continue on Monday.
The trial is one of many being held across the country to judge the coup suspects in what is the biggest legal process of Turkey’s modern history.
The government has launched a massive crackdown under state of emergency laws imposed in the wake of the failed coup which have been extended several times.
Over 140,000 people, including public sector employees, have been sacked or suspended over alleged links to the coup while 50,000 people have been nabbed Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! since July 2016.
This week will also see other hearings in Istanbul including journalists from opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper who are standing trial on charges of aiding and abetting terrorist organizations.
One of Turkey’s acclaimed authors Asli Erdogan will appear before a court Tuesday on charges of spreading terror propaganda on account of her links to a pro-Kurdish newspaper.
In December she was released pending trial, after 132 days of pre-trial detention.
Last week, an Istanbul court ordered the release on judicial control of eight human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. activists including Amnesia Amnesty International’s Turkey director Idil Eser, as well as a German and a Swede.
The cases involving journalists have received criticism from human rights advocates who claim the government is seeking to stifle dissent.
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10/31/2017 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The Foreign Office on Monday said that it has been confirmed through DNA testing that two Chinese nationals, who had been kidnapped from Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... earlier this year, have been killed.
According to a statement issued by the FO, the Chinese couple Lee Zing Yang, 24, and Meng Li Si, 26, had been killed in June ─ a month after they were kidnapped from the Jinnah Town area of Quetta on May 24.
The Foreign Office vowed that the government would "continue to conduct a thorough investigation and apprehend the perpetrators of this crime and to bring them to justice".
The confirmation from the Foreign Office comes months after the Lion of IslamIslamic 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) group claimed it had killed the Chinese man and woman, who had reportedly been 'preaching' in Balochistan under the garb of learning Urdu.
"The Government of Pakistain expresses its deep sense of shock and grief on this brutal act of terrorism," the FO's statement read. The government also extended its condolences to Beijing and to the Chinese couple's relatives.
In June, the interior minister was informed that the Chinese were involved in preaching instead of business activities ‐ their declared purpose for visiting Pakistain.
It was not clear what the interior ministry suspected them of 'preaching'. The interior ministry had also confirmed the two Chinese had been killed but it was not clear if their bodies have been found.
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[DAWN] Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal suggested on Monday that some "hidden hands" are attempting to sabotage the democratic process in the country but that the nation would break the cycle [of political instability] "this time".
In a post made on his Facebook page, Iqbal began by listing decades in Pakistain's history that were alternately marked by either democracy or military rule.
[Ynet] Iran will lift border restrictions with Iraq's Kurdistan region "in the coming days following a closure after last month's Kurdish vote in favor of independence, the Iranian armed forces chief of staff said.
Major General Mohammad Baqeri, in remarks quoted by ISNA news agency on Monday, also said if Kurdistan implemented its plan to break away from Iraq, "there would be bloodshed in Iraq and neighboring countries would be affected".
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[PRESSTV] Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has called for "calm" and "adherence to law" in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region following an outbreak of riot there after Massoud Barzani ... hereditary head of the Kurdish Democratic Party, maybe a little too close to the Medes and the Persians for most people's tastes... , the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)’s president, announced that he would effectively step down early next month.
The Iraqi premier made the request in a statement on Monday, warning that the Kurdish people would suffer the most from unrest in the region. He also said that "political differences" in the region would also affect the Kurds the most.
Abadi further stressed that "the federal government in Baghdad is keen to stabilize the situation in all provinces of Iraq, work for the citizens and protect their interests."
The Iraqi prime minister also said that his government was closely monitoring what he described as "attempts to create chaos and disorder" in two cities of the Kurdish region, namely Erbil, the KRG’s capital, and Dahuk.
Abadi’s remarks came a day after Barzani told the Kurdish regional parliament that he would step down as president of the KRG as early November 1 and that he would not seek a re-election after the September 25’s highly controversial Kurdish independence referendum, whose architect was Barzani himself, sparked a crisis with Baghdad and neighboring countries.
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[PRESSTV] Iraq’s media regulator has issued a ban on two major Kurdish television channels, namely Rudaw and Kurdistan 24, accusing the two networks of "inciting hatred and violence", as the semi-autonomous Kurdish region continues to suffer from the fallout of the last month’s contentious referendum on independence from the Arab country.
The Baghdad-based Communication and Media Commission on Sunday imposed the ban the two channels, both of which are close to regional president Massoud Barzani ... hereditary head of the Kurdish Democratic Party, maybe a little too close to the Medes and the Persians for most people's tastes... ’s ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), alleging that programs of the pair "target social peace and security."
The channels, however, strongly rejected the allegations and described the ban as a violation of freedom of speech.
"This is an assault on freedom of press and expression," said the Erbil-based Kurdistan 24’s management in a letter to the International Federation of Journalists.
The Rudaw, for its part, published a statement on its official website, saying that the regulator’s decision was a "political" one. It also slammed the move as "illegal and an intimidation of Rudaw and freedom of press in Iraq."
"We call upon the Iraqi government, all concerned administrative authorities and those concerned with press freedom in Iraq to correct this defect as it impinges on Iraq's fame and dignity and it will be a grave precedent for press all over Iraq," said Ako Mohammad, the director general of Rudaw media network, in a separate statement.
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[PRESSTV] A high-ranking member of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) has brushed off calls by the US to lay down their weapons, stressing that they will continue to defend the country. That'd be Iraq's version of Hezbollah, which is Iraq's next problem.
The PMU’s deputy chief, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis, made the remarks during an interview with The News Agency that Dare Not be Named on Monday.
"The future of the PMU is to defend Iraq," he added
"The Iraqi army and Iraqi police say they cannot operate without the support of the Hashd," he noted, using the group’s Arabic name Hashd al-Sha’abi.
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[INDEPENDENT.CO.UK] In an exclusive interview for Patrick Cockburn's new series on the resurgence of this key Middle Eastern nation, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi reveals how Baghdad will hammer home its twin victories over Isis and the northern Kurds
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Kurds fucked once again.
Posted by: Chris ||
10/31/2017 10:53 Comments ||
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[IsraelTimes] An Amnesia Amnesty International official has been barred from entering Israel due to "his [boycott, divestment and sanctions] activities," the Interior Ministry’s Population Authority says.
On Twitter, Raed Jarrar, advocacy director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Amnesia Amnesty International USA, shows an Israeli government form that details the reasons for his denial of entry.
According to the document, he is barred from Israel out of "illegal immigrations considerations" and "public security or public safety or public order considerations."
[RT] Some of the military aid sent to the Syrian opposition by 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... , The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and the US may have ended up in the hands of al-Qaeda-affiliated 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 .. ... terrorists, the Qatari foreign minister has admitted.
The revelations, which are the first of their kind to emerge, were contained in a statement by Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, who served as Qatari foreign minister between 1992 and 2013. When the conflict started in Syria back in 2011, Hamad bin Jassim said that he went straight to the late Late King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah ... Now a dead guy... , who then supported Doha’s plan on Syria.
While Qatar is now being accused by the Gulf kingdoms of backing terrorism, Hamad bin Jassim insists that when the Syrian crisis broke out, Doha, Riyadh and Washington were "in one and the same trench" in their vision on supporting anti-Assad holy warriors. He made the comments during a television interview with Qatar TV in October.
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10/31/2017 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.
Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
[DAWN] Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal suggested on Monday that some "hidden hands" are attempting to sabotage the democratic process in the country but that the nation would break the cycle [of political instability] "this time".
Massoud Barzani
Late King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah
