Oil prices sink 4 percent to a five-week low along with a drop in #WallStreet stocks on worries about a US bond default, weak economic data from #China and expectations the #US and Europe will raise interest rates again this week.https://t.co/ChfvWDOJNd
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The main challenger trying to unseat Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... in this month’s presidential election cuts a starkly different figure than the incumbent who has ruled the country for two decades.
Where Erdogan is a mesmerizing orator, the unassuming Kemal Kilicdaroglu is soft spoken. Erdogan is also a master campaigner who uses state resources and events to reach supporters while Kilicdaroglu talks to voters in videos recorded in his kitchen. As the polarizing Erdogan has grown increasingly authoritarian, Kilicdaroglu has built a reputation as a bridge builder and vows to restore democracy.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
05/03/2023 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] He won every election in his political career, dominated Ottoman Turkish politics for two decades, and currently enjoys more power than any leader before him in the country’s modern history.The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... ’s President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... faces his most difficult election yet; one that could kill his dream of a third term and end his impressive national political career spanning more than two decades.
If he had his way, he would be a sultan presiding over his very own modern-day Ottoman Empire, shaped in his image, until his last dying breath.
Although the sultan comparison may appear like a simple cliché, analysts and politicians worldwide have repeatedly used it to illustrate Erdogan's authoritarianism and how he eroded the independence of state institutions.
German politician Cem Özdemir once said: "Erdogan wants to be a modern sultan. He wants to rule Turkey for life, and he wants to do it with an iron fist."
American political analyst focusing on Turkey and the Kurdish regions, Max Hoffman, said: "Erdogan's slide into authoritarianism has led many to call him a ’sultan’, a moniker that speaks to his increasing control over Turkey's politics, society, and economy."
Erdogan’s actions since the failed coup in 2016 are viewed by many analysts and Western governments as a consolidation of significant power and a behavior more closely resembling a traditional authoritarian ruler than a democratically elected president. Analysts and politicians use the term "sultan" to imply a concentration of power and a disregard for democratic norms and institutions.
Despite the amount of power he has consolidated over the years, Erdogan faces an uphill battle in the upcoming presidential election. The conditions leading up to this election are unlikely to play in favor of another presidential term for him.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/03/2023 00:00 ||
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#7
The 1000 room winter palace in Ankara and the 50 room summer palace on the Aegean Coast have ticked off a lot of people who are struggling to get by. During the past 10 years the Turkish Lira has crumbled in value losing some 95% vs dollar or Euro.
And then there is the earthquake.
Posted by: lord garth ||
05/03/2023 16:00 Comments ||
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Inspired by Grereter Flomoque6369’s post yesterday of Fox News’s live Pentagon briefing about this deployment. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell the link was only useful during the window when the briefing took place. I wish I had seen it in the hopper in time, but I spent the day with my mother instead.
[ABCnews] The Biden administration will send 1,500 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border amid an expected migrant surge following the end of coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... pandemic-era restrictions
The Biden administration will send 1,500 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border starting next week, ahead of an expected migrant surge following the end of coronavirus pandemic-era restrictions.
Continued on Page 49
#2
Make no mistake. The task of Federal troops will not be to contain or control the migrants. The task of Federal troops will be to contain or control Texas authorities and local residents.
#5
This is a facilitation deployment. They are not there to help secure the border but to help continue the current policy, which may unfortunately require some tamping down of local CnC.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
05/03/2023 9:54 Comments ||
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#6
Malicious compliance in a rules-based organization like the military may lead to some amusing results.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/03/2023 10:15 Comments ||
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#7
If they're not bringing Ma Deuce they might as well stay home.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/03/2023 13:04 Comments ||
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#8
Extra troops will free up Border Control and Homeland Security so they can redeploy to help process Asylum Claims.
[OneIndia] The Kerala Story, a movie slated for release on May 5 has already created a controversy with many leaders demanding a ban on the same.
The movie says that nearly 32,000 girls were converted to Islam and sold off as sex slaves. While there is no official count on the numbers, there are documented cases of several women joining the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... in Afghanistan after being converted.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing a case which relates to 24 from Kerala joining the Islamic State in Afghanistan, which is also known as the Islamic State Afghanistan Khorsan Province.
In recent years, radicalisation has been an often debated matter, especially in Kerala. The probe that was conducted into the now banned Popular Front of India and also the activities of radical Islamic preacher, Zakir Naik Indian Islamic preacher, founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation, which doesn't rely very heavily on the scientific method. He is also the founder of the oxymoronic Peace TV channel through which he reaches 200 million viewers. He has been called an authority on comparative religion and the most influential Salafi ideologue in India, though usually by himself. Before becoming a public speaker, he trained as a physician. His preaching is currently banned in India, Bangladesh, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Antarctica. He is currently holed up in Malaysia, where he's not banned... by the central agencies showed the extent of radicalisation that had crept into the society.
The problem of radicalisation began when the Gulf-funded Wahhabi preachers began visiting Kerala. With them came a change in the mindset of many in the state. It would be completely wrong to say that the problem of radicalisation is spread across Kerala, but yes there are pockets where it is immense, a counter-terror and counter-radicalisation expert explains to OneIndia.
To understand how old the problem is, one has to visit the Lal Singh vs State of Gujarat ...where rioting seems to be a traditional passtime... case of 1991.
The case relates to one Basheer a resident of Kerala, who was part of the bad boy faction of the Students Islamic Movement of India. He had organised a convention in Mumbai and later on it was found that the same was done to create a liaison between the Khalistan forces and SIMI.
V Balachandran, former officer with the Research and Analysis Wing explains that Lal Singh was brought in by Pakistain, who was part of the Khalistan movement. Pakistain had wanted the SIMI to grow with a particular target on South India. Basheer had even surveyed several targets in South India, including the Madras Stock Exchange with the intention of bombing it. That however did not work out.
Balachandran said that when it comes to Kerala, the two main concerns that the agencies had found was the issue of radicalisation.
Going by the Lal Singh case, it appears as though the phenomenon is not new and the seeds of radicalisation had been sown over 30 years back.
The National Investigation Agency is probing the Kerala Islamic State case. The agency noted that all those who had left for Afghanistan are educated. During the probe the agency learnt that the brainwashing was so strong that many who did not subscribe to the view of the Islamic State finally were convinced.
Amid the raging controversy over the upcoming film 'The Kerala Story', the producers of the film on Tuesday changed the text of the introduction to the film in its latest teasers on YouTube.
Earlier, the text mentioned that around 32,000 women have gone missing from Kerala. Now the changed version says that three women, who after getting brainwashed, converted and were sent on terror missions in India and abroad.
The film starring Adah Sharma, slated to release on May 5 created a major controversy when it claimed that 32,000 women have left the state.
As soon as the teaser of the film was released, the ruling CPI(M)-led Left and the UDF demanded that the film should not be screened.
Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said their stand has been clear and in the name of expression of freedom, they will not allow anyone to spread canards and it will be appropriately dealt with and they have already asked for a ban of the film.
A petition was filed before the Kerala High Court on Tuesday seeking a ban on the screening of the film.
Certain outfits announced cash prizes to prove the claim. The Kerala State Committee of Moslem Youth League announced a reward of Rs 1 crore for the individual who proves the "allegations" levelled in the movie. A right-wing activist and founder of the Hindu Seva Kendra Pratheesh Viswanath also offered Rs 10 crore to prove the opposite -- that no one from Kerala has gone to Syria to join IS.
The film is directed by Sudipto Sen. It traces the journey of four female college students in Kerala who become part of Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... The film also stars Yogita Bihani, Siddhi Idnani, and Sonia Balani. It is produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah.
[IsraelTimes] Opposition group provides UK’s The Times with memos showing how powerful unit is involved in key aspects of country’s finances; analyst talks of IRGC plan to target global Jewry
Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has a firm grip on the country’s economy through companies it operates, making the powerful military outfit a key decision-maker on foreign policy, according to secret documents obtained by Britannia’s The Times newspaper.
Memos obtained by the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/03/2023 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Wary of re-igniting Iran’s worst political turmoil in years, the country’s rulers are resorting to new, less obtrusive tactics to punish women who refuse to wear the obligatory Islamic hijab.
The methods, introduced following nationwide anti-government protests last year, combine use of security cameras with denial of state services to violators, replacing the morality police whose actions were the flashpoint for the months of unrest.
The measures have yet to make much headway against opposition to the hijab, and could worsen economic pressures if they result in the closure of businesses, Iranian activists say.
"Walking unveiled in the streets is now my way of keeping our revolution alive," said Roya, 31, a private tutor in the northern city of Rasht, who was arrested during protests in November and detained for three months.
"We are not scared of the regime’s threats. We want freedom ... This path will continue until we regain our country from the holy mans," Maryam, a high school girl in Iran’s western Kermanshah city, told Rooters.
"What is the worst case scenario if I walk in the street without hijab? Arrest? I don’t care."
For decades women who refused to wear the hijab were accosted by morality police operating from vans that patrolled busy public spaces. The vehicles’ mixed male and female crew would watch for "unIslamic dress and behavior."
But those vans have mostly vanished from streets of cities they used to patrol, residents told Rooters, after the protests confronted Iran’s holy manal rulers with their worst legitimacy crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Iranian officials have also said morality police patrols would no longer spearhead the campaign against those flouting the dress codes.
NOVEL TACTICS
In place of the vans, authorities are installing cameras on streets to identify unveiled women, providing a more discreet method of detecting breaches of Iran’s conservative dress code.
Another novel tactic is a government order to both private and public sectors not to provide services to "violators." Warnings of heavy fines and even imprisonment have been issued.
Yet growing numbers of women have defied authorities by discarding their veils in the wake of the protests, which erupted after the death of a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who was arrested for allegedly violating hijab rules.
Security forces violent mostly peacefully put down the revolt, and the street demonstrations largely fizzled in February.
Her death in September in the custody of morality police unleashed years of pent up anger in society over issues from economic misery to tightening political controls.
Now women show up frequently unveiled in malls, airports, restaurants and streets in a display of civil disobedience.
Several politicians and politicians have warned that the protests could resume if authorities continue to focus on penalizing women who discard the hijab. Parliament speaker Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf drew criticism from economists and politicians when he said on April 14 that pursuing the issue of the hijab did not conflict with developing the economy.
Saeid Golkar, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said enforcing the hijab law was aimed at satisfying "the authoritarian regime’s small social base of conservative and religious people."
Since being freed on bail, Roya has been banned from leaving the country and called in several times for questioning.
"I might be tossed in the slammer Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! again, but it is worth it. I want my country to be free and I am ready to pay the price," Roya said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/03/2023 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.
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Wary of re-igniting Iran’s worst political turmoil in years, the country’s rulers are resorting to new, less obtrusive tactics to punish women who refuse to wear the obligatory Islamic hijab.
