[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] 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... is making significant progress in the manufacturing of spare parts and military industries in the Kingdom, which has allowed significant savings through domestically manufactured products against imported ones.
"The savings - expected to be achieved by localizing 50 percent of the military spending amounting to 33 billion riyals ($8.8 bln) - is being re-injected into the Saudi economy," said the director of the local manufacturing support department at the Saudi Defense Ministry, Major General Attiyah al-Maliki.
Al-Maliki said in an interview with Al Arabiya on the sidelines of the Armed Forces Exhibition to Support Local Manufacturing (AFED 2018) that the exhibition witnessed the signing of 33 memorandums of understanding and agreements since its launch among national companies, international companies and research centers, including 15 agreements which were signed recently.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
Great idea, can't go wrong. Start with jet engine parts, they're really expensive.
#4
Why do I get the mental image of one (1) ex-pat technician 'machining', two (2) Filipino sweat laborers working, and 3-to-5 Saudis sitting around drinking coffee and watching?
Brings up memories of .com when he was here...
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/03/2018 9:08 Comments ||
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#7
What Magpie said - I'd believe it if SA had any previous experience in manufacturing, which they don't. They'll be calling in the Germans for help by summertime.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
good
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/03/2018 5:05 Comments ||
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#2
Larry Bond's Cauldron comes to mind, where the Eastern Europeans revolted against their Franco-German masters... An old techno-thriller's premise coming around again.
[DAWN] Breaking silence on his elder brother’s ’ordeal’, newly-elected PML-N interim chief Shahbaz Sharif ...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab... has said that Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf, then by the courts... is being victimised and one day he will get justice.
Since the Supreme Court struck down a controversial amendment to the Elections Act 2017 that allowed Nawaz Sharif to resume party leadership after being disqualified in the Panama Papers case on Feb 22, Shahbaz Sharif had not publicly said a word either against the verdict or expressed solidarity with him (Nawaz).
Although Shahbaz held a maiden presser in Model Town here on Thursday in response to corruption allegations against him by PTI chairman Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who isn't your heaviest-duty thinker, maybe not even among the top five... he empathised with his elder brother in reply to a question. "Nawaz Sharif is being victimised. He will get justice one day," he said and asked as to why the NAB and FIA were not investigating the offshore companies revealed in the Panama Papers as billions of rupees were parked out of the country.
"There should not be politics in the name of accountability," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2018 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The Supreme Court (SC) on Friday issued its detailed judgement in the Election Amendment Act 2017 case, ruling that a person who is disqualified to be king can not be given a free hand to operate as a kingmaker.
The 51-page-long decision was authored by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and signed by two other judges.
The detailed judgement establishes that an individual disqualified under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution cannot serve as the head of a political party.
In the judgement, it is observed with reference to Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf, then by the courts... that "a leader who himself is incompetent to hold any [public] office is pulling the strings of politicians like a puppet master; this is tantamount to mocking the judicial system, the constitution, the government and the values which these institutions uphold."
The judges also take the opportunity to clarify that news regarding the Panama Papers case was covered by international media and information regarding the offshore companies owned by different global personalities was brought to light.
It was only then that the names of Nawaz Sharif and his children came into the limelight, the judges recall.
Sharif was declared unfit to hold the prime minister's office following the Panama Papers' case hearing and subsequently he was "also removed from the party leader position".
Before the approval of the Election Amendment Act 2017, a person declared unfit to hold public office was also incapable of being a member of any political party.
Commenting on the law's passage, Paragraph 53 of the judgement reads: "To hold that a person who is disqualified to be king can nevertheless be given a free hand to operate as a kingmaker, who may despite lacking qualification and without going through the electoral process, act as a puppet master pull the strings and exercise political power vicariously would amount to making a complete mockery of the Constitution, the legislative process, the law, the government and values that we hold so dear and have consciously worked for, defended and incorporated in the Constitution. It is a cardinal principle of law and justice that what cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2018 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Police on Friday claimed to have enjugged Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! a "most wanted" Lion of Islam linked with the banned Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) who at one point remained a close aide to the convicts of the Safoora Goth carnage.
At least 47 members of the Shia Ismaili community, including 18 women, were killed when the bus they were travelling in came under attack near Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... 's Safoora Goth in May 2015.
Speaking at a presser at his office and later talking to Dawn, Karachi-West SSP Omar Shahid Hamid revealed that the detained suspect, identified as Ahsan Mehsud alias Roshan, was involved in major acts of terrorism and had also ordered reconnaissance of MQM-P leader Dr Farooq Sattar in 2013.
Acting on a tip-off, [RING!] Cop shoppe! Sergeant Shafiq speaking! Lissen! Dis is Mahmoud da Weasel! I got a tip for youse... a police party led by Orangi SP Abid Ali Baloch arrested Ahsan from Mominabad area and recovered a large quantity of kaboom from his custody.
SSP Omar said the held suspect is an IT expert who had completed a diploma in computer science from a private IT institute in Gulshan-e-Iqbal and graduated from a private college in DHA.
His brother, Ali Mehsud alias Maaz runs a Lion of Islam network in Wadh, 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... while his uncle, Hasan Mehsud is also an active member of the AQIS, the officer said.
SSP Omar told Dawn that the arrested suspect had remained a close aide of the Safoora bus carnage convicts namely Saad Aziz and the attack's criminal mastermind, Tahir alias Sain.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2018 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent
Sounds like the pilot suffered from a bad case of SAM complacency. Courtesy of Google Translate, from the original Hebrew:
[Walla] A senior Air Force officer told reporters that while carrying out the mission, several planes were defending against launching surface-to-air missiles while attacking Syria, while "the plane that did not address the threat was the one who was hit." "When there is a tangible threat, when a missile is fired at you, you have to leave the mission and address the threat of the surface-to-air missile," he said. He added: "The fighters' decision was correct and saved their lives."
"The planes operated the warning systems and they worked properly," he continued. "The control and control sent warnings to the planes, and the team stuck to the task, and did not deal with the threat that was locked on it, and it was also warned by the envelope.
Posted by: Zhang Fei ||
03/03/2018 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
03/03/2018 4:45 Comments ||
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#3
...I'm thinking that the pilot - frankly - got rattled, got behind the curve, and was too busy trying not to get dead to remember to use the tools the IAF gave him.
There is some footage from Desert Storm (not sure if it's online; I saw it at a 20FW briefing in the late 90s) that shows in grim detail what happens when the SAMs get overwhelming. The pilot is pressing on; that's what they do. His voice is sheer, 100%, triple distilled panic.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/03/2018 7:30 Comments ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Recently, over three thousand Pentagon-backed Syrian fighters of the Self-Defense Forces (HXP) ‐ an extension of the better known Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) ‐ graduated as fully commissioned troops after completing their training.
The sheer number of graduates ‐ some 3,500 in total (the equivalent of an infantry brigade) ‐ meant that several separate ceremonies had to be held.
The graduating fighters represent a mix of Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians and various other ethnicities from the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli and its countryside.
Being part of the HXP (a local defense force militia), the Pentagon-backed fighters are to be tasked with the protection of Qamishli and its surrounding area.
The sudden swelling of US-backed forces ranks in northeast Syria comes at a time when Ankara is threatening major military operations against Pentagon-led proxy militias across Syrian territories opposite The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s southern border, including in the province of Hasakah where Qamishli is located.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2018 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The US is going to take advantage of the tensions over Eastern Ghouta to twist the hand of Moscow and Damascus, Syrian Brigadier General Hetham Hassun told Sputnik. He noted that while raising the alarm over the situation in the region, Western mainstream media remain mute about people suffering under the rebel siege in al-Fuah and Kafriya.
"This is not the first time that the US and Western countries have signaled their support to armed terrorist groups," Brig. Gen. Hetham Hassun, a Syrian military analyst, told Sputnik Arabic. "We witnessed similar information and diplomatic campaigns to support jihadists before the liberation of Aleppo and Homs. Now exactly the same is taking place in Ghouta. Western countries train and provide holy warriors with weapons and essential goods; they also provide information support [to jihadists]."
According to the Syrian general, the Americans are planning to turn Ghouta into a "terrorist stronghold." To accomplish this objective, they will send reinforcements from the US-held Syrian border area of At-Tanf, he noted.
Previously, the Ottoman Turkish newspaper Yeni Akit reported that the Pentagon had deployed 600 troops in the international coalition’s base in At-Tanf in Syria.
"In case it works, it will become an effective instrument to influence [Damascus], since the entire government is located in the Syrian capital," Brig. Gen. Hassun highlighted.
Still, the US will not be able to interfere in the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) Ghouta operation directly, because the region’s airspace is effectively protected by Russian defense systems, he opined.
That is why it is likely that the SAA will continue its advance and will finally expel holy warriors from the area, the general emphasized.
He noted that while Western mainstream media are circulating photographs from Ghouta, they remain silent about the situation in the towns of al-Fuah and Kafriya in the Idlib governorate, where people are suffering and dying under the rebel siege.
"It is not only they who are suffering from the siege," the Syrian military analyst pointed out. "As Russian Foreign Minister S. Lavrov said, the United States facilitated the siege of the Rukban refugee camp, At-Tanf, and the city of Raqqa. Humanitarian organizations are not allowed to access these areas. Dead bodies still remain buried under the rubble in Raqqa."
Brig. Gen. Hassun opined that Washington wants to take advantage of the situation in Ghouta to blackmail Syria and Russia to achieve their political and military goals.
On the other hand, the Americans cannot benefit from the controversy over al-Fuah and Kafriya, as they would have to accuse countries backing holy warriors who imposed the blockades on the towns.
"How can the US condemn The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , European countries, the Persian Gulf states and themselves [for the siege]?" the general asked rhetorically.
Meanwhile, ...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?
Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features.
If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!... the fourth five-hour "humanitarian pause" took place in Eastern Ghouta on Friday.
The Russian Center for Syrian reconciliation reported that Syrian civilians complain about the lack of medical care, water, food and electricity, which are being blocked by krazed killers.
"People do not have an opportunity to eat properly, and many are ready to resort to eating stray animals," the center’s interpreters’ department head Aleksandr Maslennikov told news hounds.
On February 24, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2401, which envisages a 30-day ceasefire across Syria. For its part, Russia has introduced five-hour humanitarian pauses in Eastern Ghouta and opened corridors to evacuate civilians. However, a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... holy warriors are not allowing local residents to flee the area.
Being occupied by holy warriors and opposition forces since 2012, Eastern Ghouta occupies an area of about a hundred square kilometers with the pre-war population reaching 400,000 people.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2018 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] "What we are seeing in eastern Ghouta and elsewhere in Syria are likely war crimes and potentially crimes against humanity," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Jordanian Prince Zeid Raad Zeid al-Hussein said during the Human Rights Council’s thirty-seventh regular session in Geneva on Friday.
Speaking of raging war between the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and bully boys, the High commissioner raised serious concerns over how, "Civilians are being pounded into submission or death."
According to Prince Zeid, the perpetrators would be held accountable for their crimes and that "Syria must be referred to the International Criminal Court."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2018 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Jordanian Prince Zeid Raad Zeid al-Hussein
#4
IIRC, when Iraq invaded Iran in the 1980's there was a small border clash between Jordan and Syria. Syria had started moving troops to their border with Iraq, preparing to invade in support of Iran when Jordan mobilized on their border with Syria. TL/DR: Jordan has a history of being anti-Syria and anti-Iran. The UN is just a screwed up mess.
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.
...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab...
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf, then by the courts...
