[Mil.com] Erik Prince, lightning-rod founder of the military contracting firm Blackwater, will be the subject of a new movie based on his book "Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror" and a 2009 Vanity Fair article by Adam Ciralsky titled "Tycoon, Contractor, Soldier, Spy."
Imperative Entertainment, which made Clint Eastwood's "superhero movie for old people" "The Mule" and the Getty kidnapping saga "All the Money in the World," have hired "Collateral" screenwriter Stuart Beattie to collaborate with writer/director Michaël R. Roskam ("The Drop") on the movie.
The company says the film will be a "deep dive into the industry of modern warfare [that] reflects on the dark convergence of capitalism and patriotism." They say it's all there: the grand-jury investigations, the manslaughter trial after Blackwater operatives shot civilians in Iraq back in 2007 and his secret assassination missions for the CIA.
No word yet on who's in line to play Erik in the movie. Tom Cruise? James Woods? Tim Allen in a rare dramatic role? Share your best ideas with us, and let us know if you'll plan to see a Blackwater biopic.
I’d like to underline that. Remember that this is not a closed and secure forum, so much as we all would love to hear all the details about everything, please don’t share anything that ought not to become public.
But that looks like some impressive bits of shooting. My gratitude to gentlemen who stepped forward twice to make the world safer — once to put on the uniform, and a second time working for Blackwater. My gratitude also to those Rantburgers who have similarly supported thr effort as contractors after formally doffing your own uniforms. I sleep better at night knowing y’all are out there.
#5
I'd be the last person to argue with previous posts -- no disagreement and no standing -- but in this case it's perhaps worth mentioning that the very next video YT wanted to autoplay for me after Woodrow's, was posted by a certain person with certain initials a certain number of years after a certain event, and consisted of that person's memories and retrospective analysis of the event, with excerpts of a certain other video. ;-)
#6
If it’s there it’s already open source, I guess. I suppose the lesson here is to be thoughtful about it, Zenobia Floger6220. I have to admit I’m not good at knowing where the lines are, so I try to stay far back from the possiblity of causing the good guys problems. Besoeker (and once upon a time Pappy) is the moderator with experience in this area, Badanov, too, I suppose. And a goodly number of Rantburgers, of course, who I hope will weigh in.
#7
Regardless of where else it may be found, it's best to leave 'true names' out of posts and the public forum unless speaking about public figures, Bill and Hillary, DRT, etc. The old 'error on the side of caution' bit.
If I have offended anyone, please forgive my paranoia. Not everyone who follows these sites is your friend.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad with with President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. on Sunday evening and shared the details of U.S. talks with Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... politicians in 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. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... Ambassador Khalilzad rejected the media reports which suggested that the talks also focused on change of political system in the country and said no such discussion has been made, according to a statement by ARG Palace.
He also added that no discussions have been made regarding the formation of a transitional government, emphasizing that he has no authority to discuss such issues but to facilitate intra-Afghan dialogue.
Ambassador Khalilzad said he has only held talks regarding a ceasefire during the meetings with the Taliban leaders but there has been no progress in this regard.
According to Ambassador Khalilzad, the U.S. side emphasized during the meetings that the only way to bring peace is intra-Afghan talks.
The U.S. Special Representative also added that the Taliban leaders demanded the U.S. troops withdrawal but no agreement has been reached in this regard, insisting that if any decision is taken in this regard then a comprehensive discussion would be made in coordination with the Afghan government.
Pointing towards Taliban’s decision to accept or reject intra-Afghan talks, Ambassador Khalilzad he will meet Taliban leaders again to follow up the remaining issues.
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01/29/2019 00:00 ||
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[AA.TR] The U.S. and the Taliban ...Arabic for students... agreed in principle to a draft framework that could pave the way to resolving the country's nearly two-decade long conflict, the U.S. envoy for the Afghan conflict said in remarks published Monday.
The agreement would see the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Central Asian country in exchange for sweeping concessions from the Taliban, including agreeing to a cease-fire and direct talks with the Afghan government, Zalmay Khalilzad told the New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... The bad boy group had staunchly refused to take to the negotiating table with Kabul.
"We have a draft of the framework that has to be fleshed out before it becomes an agreement," Khalilzad, who just returned to Afghanistan following six days of talks with the Taliban, said. "The Taliban have committed, to our satisfaction, to do what is necessary that would prevent Afghanistan from ever becoming a platform for international terrorist groups or individuals."
Washington has been seeking to ensure that whatever happens in Afghanistan the country is never again used as a safe-haven for bully boyz to plot attacks, like the devastating Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy.
Khalilzad said the U.S. has sufficient confidence in the framework to continue working to flesh out its details.
The Times cautioned that the framework is still preliminary, but cited an anonymous senior U.S. official who said Taliban negotiators have gone back to the group's leadership to present the American requirements.
An unnamed Taliban official confirmed the agreement's details to the newspaper, but appeared to distance the agreement's dependence on direct talks with the Afghan government, or a cease-fire.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] President Omar al-Bashir Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it. vowed Monday to bring peace in the state of South Kordofan where Sudanese forces are fighting rebels, as protesters planned to hold anti-government rallies in the country’s conflict zones.
Deadly protests triggered by a government decision to raise the price of bread have rocked the east African country for weeks.
The demonstrations have spiraled into nationwide rallies against the government of Bashir, who swept to power in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989.
Officials say 30 people have died in the violence since the protests first erupted on December 19 in the farming town of Atbara, before spreading to Khartoum and other regions.
Rights groups say more than 40 people have been killed.
On Monday, Bashir vowed to work to bring peace in South Kordofan, a region ravaged by a deadly conflict between government forces and rebels since 2011.
"Our top priority is to bring peace to this area," Bashir, dressed in military uniform, told a crowd of cheering supporters at a televised rally in Kadguli, the capital of South Kordofan.
"We are ready to go to any length to bring peace to this area. We will undertake all efforts that will bring peace to this area."
In 2011, fighting erupted in the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, both bordering South Sudan, eight years after a brutal conflict broke out in the country’s western region of Darfur.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the three conflicts and millions displaced over the years after ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Khartoum, accusing it of economic and political marginalization.
Bashir is wanted by the Hague-based International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide related to the war in Darfur. He denies the charges.
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01/29/2019 00:00 ||
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[BBC] The US Justice Department has filed a host of criminal charges against Chinese telecoms giant Huawei and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou.
Among the charges are accusations of bank and wire fraud, obstruction of justice and theft of technology from US company T Mobile.
Ms Meng was arrested in Canada last month on a US request for allegedly evading sanctions on Iran.
The case has badly strained relations between China, Canada and the US.
Both Ms Meng and Huawei deny the allegations.
The indictment alleges Huawei misled the US and a global bank about its relationship with subsidiaries to conduct business with Iran.
A second case alleges the company stole technology from T Mobile used to test smart phone durability.
US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross stated that the Huawei charges were "wholly separate" from ongoing trade negotiations with China.
Top Chinese officials are due in Washington this week to discuss ending a trade war between the two countries.
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01/29/2019 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The longtime head of the world’s Yazidis, a minority whose Iraqi community was ferociously targeted by ISIS, has died in Germany after a long illness, officials said Monday.
Prince Tahseen Said Ali died in the KRH Siloah hospital in Hanover at the age of 85, according to the head of the Iraqi Kurdish region’s head of Yazidi affairs, Khairi Buzani.
Born in 1933 in Iraq’s northwest Sheikhan district, he was appointed head of the Yazidis at age 11 after the death of his father, who was the previous emir.
He later moved to Germany, home of the biggest expatriate Yazidi community.
"He will be buried in the coming days in Iraqi Kurdistan," said Iraqi Yazidi parliamentarian Vian Dakhil.
Dakhil told AFP that before dying, Prince Tahseen had appointed his son, Hazem, to succeed him.
Iraqi officials, including Finance Minister Fuad Hussein and the Kurdistan region’s Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, sent condolences to the prince’s family on Monday.
The Yazidi faith emerged in Iran more than 4,000 years ago and is rooted in Zoroastrianism, over time integrating elements of Islam and Christianity.
With no holy book and organized into castes, Yazidis pray to God facing the sun and worship his seven angels -- first and foremost Melek Taus, or Peacock Angel.
Of the world’s 1.5 million Yazidis, around 550,000 were living in the remote corners of northern Iraq, where their holiest site Lalish lies and where Prince Tahseen was born.
In 2014, ISIS rampaged across northern Iraq and seized the Yazidi bastion of Sinjar, near the border with Syria.
ISIS snuffies slaughtered thousands of Yazidi men and boys, then kidnapped women and girls to be abused as "sex slaves".
The brutal assault pushed around 360,000 of the Kurdish-speaking Yazidis to flee to other parts of Iraq, including the Kurdish region, in addition to another 100,000 who left the country altogether.
The United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... has said ISIS’s actions could amount to genocide, and is investigating the bad boy group’s atrocities across Iraq.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Trump administration is closely eyeing efforts in Europe ...also known as Moslem Lebensraum... to set up an alternative money payment channel to ease doing business with Iran and avoid running afoul of sanctions the US has levied on the Islamic republic.
The White House is putting the Europeans on notice, saying that if they try to do an end-run around US sanctions on Iran, they will be subject to stiff fines and penalties. Unfazed, the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... is marching forward with the plan, which, if implemented, could further strain trans-Atlantic relations.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Monday that the EU was on the verge of setting up the alternative channel to send money to Iran that would side-step US sanctions on Tehran. He said Germany had been working on it in recent months with Britannia, La Belle France and other EU partners.
"This has always been our goal and we will implement it," Maas said.
The EU has struggled to keep alive the Iran nuclear deal since 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... pulled out of it last year. The bloc has already introduced measures to stop European companies from complying with the US sanctions without authorization from Brussels.
Getting out ahead of a possible announcement, a senior administration official told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named on Friday that the US will fully enforce its sanctions and hold individuals and entities accountable for undermining them. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue.
"The choice is whether to do business with Iran or the United States," Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told the AP. "I hope our European allies choose wisely."
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01/29/2019 00:00 ||
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[WashingtonTimes] The European Union is on the verge of launching an alternative channel to send money to Iran that would sidestep U.S. sanctions against the Islamic republic, Germany’s foreign minister said Monday.
The “special purpose vehicle,” or SPV, is part of EU efforts to keep alive an international agreement aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The future of the U.N. Security Council underwritten pact was thrown into doubt when President Donald Trump pulled out last year slamming it as a “horrible, one-sided deal.”
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told reporters in Brussels that “as far as the special purpose vehicle is concerned: it will be registered, it has not yet been registered, but I would say that the implementation of our plan is imminent.”
Maas said the EU’s aim is to ensure that “business not sanctioned by the U.S. can be upheld, and there is a suitable instrument for international payments.” He said that Germany has been working notably with Britain and France but also other EU partners in recent months to set it up, without providing details.
Senior EU officials have been saying for weeks that the financing mechanism would be up and running soon, but they have hesitated to provide details amid European concern that Trump would target the country where it is based and any others taking part.
The White House has been warning the Europeans that they could face stiff fines and penalties should they try to circumvent the sanctions.
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#1
Well we have confirmed our enemies. Time to pull the plug. If Britain is in on this, it’s time to end the special relationship. Or at least suspend it until and if Britain comes to her senses.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/29/2019 0:30 Comments ||
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#2
Must be one hell of a large amount of graft going on for them to care this much.
#5
The major European corporations have already pulled the Iranian plug. A truism: European businesses fear the U.S. Department of the Treasury more than the CIA. Its investigative powers seem unmatched.
[StarTribune] The man who bought two rifles that forces of Evil used to kill 14 people in a 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino wants to withdraw his guilty plea.
...childhood buddy and jihad plotting pal of Syed Rizwan Farook, and proud sham husband of Farook’s brother’s Russian wife’s sister ...
told a federal judge Friday that he'll withdraw his 2017 plea to providing material support to terrorists. Attorney John Aquilina says he'll file the motion by May 13.
Aquilina won't detail the reason for the decision, which federal prosecutors are expected to challenge.
Marquez was facing a potential 25-year prison sentence.
Marquez bought the semi-automatic rifles used by Syed Rizwan Farook
...he was born in America but his soul remained Pakistani, and the girl of his dreams had pledged herself to ISIS...
and Farook's wife, Tashfeen Malik,
...the bomb-making Pakistani girl of Farook’s dreams...
in the attack on a Christmas party gathering of San Bernardino County employees. The couple later died in a police firefight.
Prosecutors said Marquez knew Farook but wasn't involved in the attack.
...not involved in the sense that he was not literally helping shoot up and bomb Farook’s office Christmas party, true, but they were awfully intertwined.
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[DAWN] As many as 249 parents in the three districts of Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan declined to get their children vaccinated against polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... during the recent five-day-long vaccination campaign by health department teams.
As per the data collected by these teams during the campaign that ended on Friday last, some of parents who refused to have their children vaccinated against the crippling disease in the three districts were well-educated.
The most common reason for refusing the vaccine by the parents was the misconception that it might harm their children.
The campaign data shows that maximum refusals ‐ 172 ‐ were listed in R Y Khan, followed by 44 in Bahawalnagar and 33 in Bahawalpur districts.
The anti-polio campaign coordinator, Dr Muhmamad Zakir, confirming the number of refusals to Dawn, said that on receiving such reports the officials concerned contacted the parents declining the vaccination and persuaded many of them to have their children vaccinated.
Citing an example, Dr Zakir said that out of the 33 parents who refused in Bahawalpur, 30 were later convinced to get their children vaccinated against polio by the officials.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#2
The same cohort not vaccinating their kids in blue states here.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/29/2019 6:31 Comments ||
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#3
If this is not child abuse, I don't know what is.
I had thought and hoped that I was among the last generation to sit in classrooms with other students with withered arms and legs. Why, oh, why, would any sane parent wish this on their children???
Posted by: Tom ||
01/29/2019 10:36 Comments ||
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#4
Child abuse is bad, but more to the point this is a crime against humanity...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/29/2019 12:00 Comments ||
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#5
Not Snohomish, King, and Pierce in Washington State.
[DAWN] The capital administration has made stringent security arrangements, including the deployment of paramilitary troops in Islamabad's sensitive areas, as the Supreme Court is set to hear a petition seeking review of its October 31, 2018 verdict of acquitting Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman who was sentenced to death in a blasphemy case.
In a letter written to the capital chief commissioner's office, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the Islamabad district magistrate sought the deployment of Pakistain Rangers personnel in the city "to avoid any untoward incident" during the hearing of a "sensitive case" on January 29.
The magistrate suggested that the Rangers authorities be approached with the request to deploy quick response forces (QRFs) of the paramilitary force in aid of the civil administration to bolster the capital's security.
The review petition filed by Qari Muhammad Salaam pleads the apex court to maintain the capital punishment awarded by the trial court to Aasia Bibi.
Qari Salaam is a prayer leader of a mosque who lives in a village in Nankana Sahib tehsil and had lodged the FIR about the alleged blasphemy incident.
The bench which will take up the review petition will be headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and also comprise Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel.
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01/29/2019 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Malaysia’s government has remained defiant despite losing the rights to host the World Para Swimming Championships after it banned Israelis from competing in the event. The event is a qualifying competition for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
Malaysian Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman was unapologetic. He said that Malaysia will not compromise on its decision "on the ground of humanity and compassion for the Paleostinian plight."
The ban prompted the International Paralympic Committee on Sunday to withdraw Malaysia’s hosting rights. The event involves some 70 countries and was to be staged July 29-August 4.
"Politics and sport are never a good mix," said IPC President Andrew Parsons in a statement after the body’s governing board made the decision in London. "We are disappointed that Israeli athletes would not have been allowed to compete in Malaysia."
The government earlier this month said no Israeli delegates can enter Malaysia for sporting or other events in solidarity with the Paleostinians.
A mainly Moslem country, Malaysia is a strong supporter of the Paleostinian cause and does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. Its prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, now 93 and in his second stint as prime minister, has attracted criticism for his verbal attacks on Jews over the years, including anti-Semitic comments calling them "hook-nosed" and accusing them of controlling the world.
Earlier this month, Israel’s Foreign Ministry denounced Malaysia for banning the Israelis from the summer’s championships on the island of Borneo, calling the move "shameful" and saying that if the athletes aren’t allowed in, a new host should be found.
And now they will be certain that it is the Jooooooos, rather than common decency, who control all.
Malaysia’s Mohamad said that the Israeli swimmers would not be let into the country, and his foreign minister, Saifuddin Abdullah, said the predominantly Moslem country "will not host any more events involving Israel or its representatives."
The IPC said in its Sunday statement that in 2017, when it signed the contract with Malaysia, the government had provided assurances that all athletes would be able to participate without discrimination. But a regime change that saw Mahathir rise again to power meant those assurances were withdrawn.
Curiously, there is nothing about this in Egypt’s Al Ahram, so we shall have to await events.
[Ynet] Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw, says Egypt will briefly open its border with Gazoo in both directions for first time in three weeks.
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gazoo says the Rafah crossing will operate for three days starting Tuesday.
Egypt has kept the crossing shut for outbound Paleostinians since the Paleostinian Authority withdrew its forces earlier this month in a dispute with Hamas.
[IsraelTimes] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decides not to extend the mandate of the civilian observer mission in the West Bank city of Hebron known as Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH).
"We won’t enable the continued presence of an international force that acts against us," Netanyahu says in a statement.
The decision comes after settlers and police complained that TIPH members were "deliberately creating friction to justify their high salary."
In a report earlier this month, police said members were disrupting IDF soldiers’ work vetting Paleostinians at local checkpoints and regularly confronting troops.
Settlers and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan had urged Netanyahu to end the force’s mission at the end of January and not renew it.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to oust international observers from Hebron on Tuesday, thereby breaking a 22-year agreement that has helped hold in place the 1997 division of the city between Israel and the Paleostinian Authority.
The observer force, known as the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH), operates under a mandate that is renewed twice a year by both sides.
Netanyahu said in November that he would review the situation, and decided on Monday that Israel will no longer support the presence of the 64 international civilian observers from Italia, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...Qatar's colony in Asia Minor.... TIPH observers operated mainly in the section under Israeli military control, where the Jewish community of about a thousand people lives. TIPH produced reports about alleged Israeli abuses against Paleostinians, and patrolled the city to give the Paleostinians a sense of security.
Two highly publicized incidents were caught on video. In the first, TIPH’s legal counsel can be seen slapping a 10-year-old Jewish child in Hebron across the face. The second showed a staff member slashing a tire of a car belonging to a Jewish resident in Hebron.
Fighting a war is expensive, surrendering is even more so.
[IsraelTimes] The Israeli military in 2018 spent NIS 40 million ($10.9 million) in expenses related to the riots and protests along the Gazoo border, the Defense Ministry says.
On March 30, Paleostinians in the Gazoo Strip launched weekly "Great March of Return" protests along the border, which regularly devolved into violent festivities with Israeli troops and the launching of airborne incendiary devices into southern Israel.
Revealing spending figures from last year, the ministry says the NIS 40 million was a special fund separate from the military’s annual budget. It does not include payments to residents of the area around Gazoo whose farmlands were burned in arson attacks by Paleostinians from the enclave.
In addition, the Defense Ministry says it spent NIS 45 billion ($12.23 billion) on Israeli-made weapons and materiel. Of that, NIS 11.6 billion ($3.15 billion) was paid to Israel Aerospace Industries, the ministry says.
[IsraelTimes] None of these tunnels has reached the Israeli border, unlike the six tunnels destroyed by the IDF in recent weeks.
The Israeli government has passed information to the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... detailing the existence of additional "underground infrastructure" belonging to Hezbollah along the Israeli-Lebanese border, The Times of Israel has learned, including tunnels headed toward Israeli territory that were not destroyed in the IDF’s recent Operation Northern Shield.
Hezbollah’s construction work on these additional tunnels ceased last month when the terror organization realized its plans were known by the Israeli side. None of the new tunnels had reached the Israeli border, unlike the six tunnels that have been destroyed by Israel.
The additional tunnels, all of which are in Lebanese territory, are known to Israeli intelligence and are within Israel’s operational reach, an Israeli official said.
The official confirmed a similar claim to this effect made by the Israeli military earlier this month.
"The IDF is monitoring and is in possession of a number of sites where Hezbollah is digging underground infrastructure that has yet to cross into Israeli territory," the army said on January 13.
On Sunday, former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot said Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s assertion in a Saturday night interview that there are things Israel doesn’t know regarding Hezbollah’s tunnel program "is flat wrong."
On December 4, Israel launched Operation Northern Shield to find and destroy Hezbollah cross-border attack tunnels, and on January 13, the military announced it had found all such passages and was working to demolish them.
In a three-hour-long interview with the pro-Hezbollah al-Mayadeen TV on Saturday, Nasrallah said that the tunnels project began before the 2006 Second Leb War, and, indeed, one tunnel destroyed by the IDF in its recent operation was started before 2006. The Shiite organization’s tunnels project was only exposed in 2014.
Nasrallah, in his interview, had claimed: "The uncovering of the tunnels does not affect by 10 percent our plans to take over the Galilee. If we decide to do it ‐ even if they’ve destroyed the tunnels ‐ can’t we rebuild them?" He also suggested there may be attack tunnels on the Israeli-Lebanese border which Israel has not yet discovered.
The Times of Israel has also confirmed that the rocket launched at Israel last week from Syria that was destroyed by the Iron Dome system over Mount Hermon was likely fired by troops belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and not by a Shiite militia, and had been shipped to Syria from Iran. The missile was fired from one of the southern neighborhoods of Damascus, near Sayeda Zeinab, a Shiite holy site.
Israel believes Iran currently has some 2,000 IRGC personnel in Syria, and thousands more members of Shiite militias under their command. The government believes that the number of Iranians on Syrian soil has fallen to one-third of what it was a few years ago; Iran has reduced its presence in Syria, but not removed it. Hezbollah, too, has significantly reduced its forces in Syria.
Iran officially denies having a military presence in Syria; it says it has advisers there.
[DAWN] Paleostinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Monday offered to resign, his front man said, amid efforts by President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... to form a new government.
Such bids are seen as part of attempts by Abbas to further isolate his political rivals Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, amid a deepening of a decade-long split in Paleostinian politics.
Hamdallah has "put his government at the disposal of President Mahmoud Abbas," the prime minister's front man Yussef al-Mahmud said in a statement.
It came after the central committee of Abbas's Fatah movement recommended late on Sunday the formation of a new government that would comprise members of the Paleostine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Hamdallah's West Bank-based government welcomed plans for a new government, his front man said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2019 00:00 ||
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Big talk. How much of your country is literally sinking after years of over-pumping ground water? Did your scientists calculate the extra height needed for missiles aimed at Israel?
[PRESSTV] A senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says the Zionist regime of Israel will be eliminated and the entire occupied Paleostinian territories will be retaken if it embarks on starting a new war.
The IRGC’s second-in-command, Brigadier General Hossein Salami, made the remarks while speaking to news hounds on the sidelines of the first national conference on the "defensive and security architecture of the Islamic Establishment" in Tehran on Monday.
"We announce that if Israel takes any step to start a new war, without a doubt, this war would be the same war, which would end in its elimination and the occupied territories will be retaken," Salami said.
The remarks came after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned last week that Iran would face consequences for any threat against Tel Aviv.
During a public speech on January 21, Netanyahu said that Israel was "acting against Iran and the Syrian forces" that were helping what he called "the Iranian aggression."
"Whoever threatens to destroy us will bear the full responsibility," he said.
After Israel's aerial attacks in Syria’s south in the early hours of last Monday, Damascus once again wrote protest letters to the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... , urging the world body to take a decisive step and put an end to the Tel Aviv regime’s acts of aggression against its territory, saying the regime’s hostile strikes were aimed at "prolonging" the crisis in the Arab country.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2019 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
Yes, ISIS claimed it. But claiming is easy, and there are so many groups claiming allegiance whose alignment may or may not have been accepted by the home office, such as it is.
[IsraelTimes] Investigators probing the Catholic cathedral bombing that killed 21 people in the Philippines’ restive south say a group tied to notorious Islamist Abu Sayyaf ...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... is the prime suspect.
Two kabooms tore through the cathedral on the Moslem-majority island of Jolo yesterday, killing worshipers at Sunday mass and security forces in an attack 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.... terror group.
Authorities say the so-called Ajang-Ajang faction is a small band of several dozen that most likely carried out the bombing, the Philippines’ worst in years, in an act of Dire Revenge.
"Last year their leader was killed. There have been persistent reports that they will retaliate," regional military front man Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Besana tells AFP.
"Yes, we saw them in the CCTV. It was the brother of the leader who was killed," he says referring to footage from outside the cathedral. "He was seen with two other members of Ajang-Ajang."
Security forces say the group is composed of relatives of Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group members who have been killed in festivities with the government.
Experts voiced concern on Monday over the impact the attack would have on a decades-long push for peace that culminated last week in voters approving expanded Moslem self-rule in the south.
The vote was the result of negotiations started in the 1990s with the nation's largest rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and will give it considerable power over the so-called Bangsamoro region.
The IS claim, in a formal communique, said two jacket wallahs had detonated boom belts, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist activities.
But a military report said the second bomb was left in the utility box of a cycle of violence in the parking area outside the church. Police said they believe the explosives were detonated remotely, but did elaborate.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/29/2019 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf (ISIS)
[AnNahar] La Belle France has reportedly "halted" its military support for Leb's army in protest at Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... ’s "military acts," and asked Israel to "refrain from any aggression" against the Mediterranean country before it forms a government, An Nahar daily reported on Monday.
The daily said, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has told Israeli Maarvi newspaper that "he and a number of French officials had asked Israeli President Reuven Rivlin during his visit to La Belle France, that Israel should not take military action against Leb before the latter forms a government."
"La Belle France has halted all military support for the Lebanese army," the daily quoted the French minister as saying, "the French President has canceled a planned visit to Leb next month in rejection at the military action of Iranian-backed Hizbullah," he reportedly added.
"We told the Israeli president that the Lebanese themselves would overcome their political dispute in order to line up a government soon," the daily quoted the Minister as telling Maarvi.
On Sunday, media reports said that La Belle France has warned that President Emmanuel Macron could call off his visit to Leb that is scheduled for the second half of February should the new Lebanese government not be formed within a week.
The sources said Le Drian has given Leb a one-week ultimatum to reach consensus that would allow for the formation of the cabinet.
#3
After serving as protector of the Lebanese Christian community for some eight centuries, France walked away and turned its back on them in the nineteen eighties. The result? A fractured state. A Humpty-Dumpty.
#5
The argument against abortion is that the next Salk or Einstein might be aborted. On the other side, the EU might be funding the birth of the next Hitler or Pol Pot...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/29/2019 12:04 Comments ||
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[PRESSTV] Iran's First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri says the Islamic Theocratic Republic is honored to be spearheading the anti-terror campaign in the region while felicitating the Syrian government and nation for their achievements in the fight against terrorism.
Jahangiri made the remarks in a meeting between high-ranking delegations of Iran and Syria, co-chaired by him and Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis in Damascus on Monday.
Iran's vice president expressed hope that turbans would be completely eliminated in the Middle East and said, "The international community and the Europeans should know that if it were not for the sacrifices of the Syrian government and people as well as the country's allies, ISISturbans ... would establish a government in the region and would turn into a big and insolvable problem for global security."
Back in August 2018, Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami hailed the steadfastness of the Syrian people and government forces in their battle against terrorism, expressing confidence that they will achieve a final victory in this path.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2019 00:00 ||
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[PRESSTV] After meeting with the UN nuclear watchdog’s chief, an Iranian deputy foreign minister reiterates the country’s stance that it will remain committed to its 2015 nuclear agreement with world countries if the deal serves its interests.
"What matters to us is to make sure that staying in the accord is in the interest of our country," Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi said in Vienna on Monday.
"Iran will remain committed to the nuclear deal if the remaining signatories to the JCPOA abide by their commitments," he noted, referring to the accord by the acronym of its official name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Araqchi also said that Tehran is willing to preserve the JCPOA despite the United States withdrawal from the deal and its restrictive measures against the Islamic Theocratic Republic.
The official, who is in Vienna at the invitation of his Austrian counterpart Johannes Peterlik, had earlier met with Yukiya Amano, the director general of the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2019 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
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.
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
...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. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The longtime head of the world’s Yazidis, a minority whose Iraqi community was ferociously targeted by ISIS, has died in Germany after a long illness, officials said Monday.
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
[DAWN] The capital administration has made stringent security arrangements, including the deployment of paramilitary troops in Islamabad's sensitive areas, as the Supreme Court is set to hear a petition seeking review of its October 31, 2018 verdict of acquitting Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman who was sentenced to death in a blasphemy case.
[IsraelTimes] Malaysia’s government has remained defiant despite losing the rights to host the World Para Swimming Championships after it banned Israelis from competing in the event. The event is a qualifying competition for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
[IsraelTimes] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decides not to extend the mandate of the civilian observer mission in the West Bank city of Hebron known as Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH).
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
