[American Thinker] A new member of Congress and self-proclaimed "activists" could benefit from the perspective of three films about the Middle East, released in 2018 and currently screening on cable television or Amazon Prime. Reviews of "Beirut", "The Insult", and "7 Days in Entebbe" follow - well written reviews. These are on my watchlist now
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2019
12:14 ||
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#1
7 Days in Entebbe was well done, but the interpretive dance kind of gets in the way of the action.
Produced by the guy that made NARCOS. Good quality and historic reading
#2
Movies provide fun visuals and story lines.
Rarely do/can they represent the oppressive heat, blinding glare, air that sucks the moisture out of your lungs, smell of open sewers and rotten garbage, the stink of the merchant's breath and the dirty people.
But they are fun.
#3
Rarely do/can they represent the oppressive heat, blinding glare, air that sucks the moisture out of your lungs, smell of open sewers and rotten garbage, the stink of the merchant's breath and the dirty people.
I see a extravagantly failed business opportunity!
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2019 18:31
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Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2019
10:55 ||
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#1
Probably a lot of stuff that lead to nowhere, but a long list of name of those involved. What they'll really redact is anything linking Hillary and co. with the dirty operation.
#2
Hopefully a detailed accounting of the millions spent on the investigation. So we can send the bill to Rachel Maddow. And an estimate of the carbon released during the investigation.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/31/2019 12:22
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#3
Psst, hey Dems, the only witch in this witch hunt was HildaB. She's the elephant in the room. She shouldn't be hard to find even for a Clouseau.
#6
I think the end game on the Democratic side is to muddy the waters parsing minutiae and debating word choice when the real issue in the Mueller Report is all of the footsteps and dot connecting that leads to youknowwho.
It is odd that a report that they said would be last word on collusion is not acceptable.
Of course, they want to leave it open to argue about access to Grand Jury testimony. It is amazing that after two years of cheering him on, the Dems now want the full report.
The spewing Schiff, Stalwell, Waters, and others about there being conclusive evidence and pointing at meetings that didn't happen and meetings set up by the Dems themselves are their evidence.
It troubles me that their continued ranting in the face of all reason and evidence is more proof of the fanaticism present in the Democratic party, as if AOC wasn't enough. And some of you out there are going to vote Democrat in 2020???
When the NY Times decides to, they can be informative
[NY Times] The target lived on the sixth floor of a cheerless, salmon-colored building on Vidinska Street, across from a thicket of weeping willows. Oleg Smorodinov found him there, rented a small apartment on the ground floor, and waited.
He had gotten the name from his two handlers in Moscow. They met at the Vienna Cafe, a few blocks from the headquarters of Russia's domestic intelligence agency, and handed him a list of six people in Ukraine. Find them, they told Mr. Smorodinov, and he set off. He was already boasting to friends that he was a spy.
Each person on the list was assigned a code name related to flowers. One was ";briar." Another was "buttercup." The target, a man named Ivan Mamchur, was called "rose." To Mr. Smorodinov, he was a nobody, an electrician who worked at the local jail. To the handlers in Moscow, though, he was significant.
"Drenched in blood up to his elbows," they told him.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2019
10:36 ||
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PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) ‐ President Donald Trump said Saturday a Navy SEAL charged with murder in the stabbing of an Iraqi war prisoner will be moved to less restrictive confinement while he awaits trial.
Trump said in a tweet that the move was in honor of Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher’s past service to the country.
The tweet came after 18 Republican members of the U.S. House sent a letter to Navy Secretary Richard Spencer raising concerns about the conditions of Gallagher’s confinement at a Navy brig in California.
Gallagher is accused of killing a teenage Islamic State fighter under his care and then holding his reenlistment ceremony with the corpse. Navy prosecutors also accuse Gallagher of shooting two civilians in Iraq and opening fire on crowds. Gallagher has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
His lawyers have said he did not murder anyone and that disgruntled SEALs made the accusations because they wanted to get rid of a demanding platoon leader.
In their March 18 letter to Spencer, the House members said Gallagher’s family and friends reported that he had not had sufficient access to his defense attorneys. They also said they got reports he was not receiving enough food or adequate medical care.
#3
His lawyers have said he did not murder anyone and that disgruntled SEALs made the accusations because they wanted to get rid of a demanding platoon leader.
...things that make you say hmmmm. We await the day in court.
#4
The death of the Green Beret in Mali was almost certainly a hazing/blank party gone very wrong.
Who knows what really happened in the Iraq case. IIUC, there have been accusations of undue command influence and that a certain Admiral has a stiffy for Chief Gallagher.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2019 8:26
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#5
I think it's not at all unusual for politicians to be beholden to one group of backers or another.
Obama too sounded incoherent when he went off script. I used to look forward to the times when George W. Bush went off script because then he sounded like a human being. But he hardly ever did.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/31/2019 11:05
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#6
AOC’s In Big Trouble, Busted For ‘Illegal Dealings’ & May See Prison Time
MEXICO CITY (AP) ‐ Mexico’s foreign relations secretary said Friday his country won’t react to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to close the U.S.-Mexico border, and its president even held a sort of impromptu poll on whether to respond.
Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard wrote on Twitter: "Mexico doesn’t act based on threats." He also said the Spanish-speaking country is "the best neighbor" the U.S. could have, saying about 1.5 million U.S. citizens live in Mexico.
Trump has implied he might close the border between both nations because Mexico isn’t doing enough to stop an influx of migrants from Central America ‐ prompting some Mexican commentators to demand a stronger U.S. response.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador waved those calls aside on Friday at a public event in Veracruz state, asking his assembled supporters for their views.
"Should we really maintain good relations with the government of President Donald Trump?" he asked the crowd, which responded with shouts of "Yes!"
"Let’s see the hands of those who think that I should respond each time he refers to Mexico," Lopez Obrador added. The response was silence.
"Let’s see the hands of those who think we should act with prudence," he added, and supporters raised their hands.
#4
Give a day's notice every so often and watch cross-border tourism and trade dry up. Mexico will learn not to fuck with us
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2019 8:04
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#5
They will react when Monterrey industrial plants go idle. They will react when the cross border tourist spots go dormant. He needs to threaten remittances and that will stop this all. If he bans the cash transfer home, the country will starve to death.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/31/2019 10:41
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#6
He also said the Spanish-speaking country is "the best neighbor" the U.S. could have,
True. When it comes to failed states, Mexico is better than most. We could have Somalia on our southern border.
#8
I'm afraid a lot of that cartel money corrupts our own politicians just like Mexico's. Close the damn border. Seal it up tight and we'll see how cocky AMLO is then.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/31/2019 14:10
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[BBC] Anti-corruption candidate Zuzana Caputova has won Slovakia's presidential election, making her the country's first female head of state.
Ms Caputova, who has almost no political experience, defeated high-profile diplomat Maros Sefcovic from the governing party in a second round run-off vote.
She framed the election as a struggle between good and evil.
The election follows the murder of an investigative journalist last year.
Jan Kuciak was looking into links between politicians and organised crime when he was shot alongside his fiancée in February 2018.
Ms Caputova cited Mr Kuciak's death as one of the reasons she decided to run for president, which is a largely ceremonial role.
With almost all votes counted, she has won about 58% to Mr Sefcovic's 42%.
She gained prominence as a lawyer, when she led a case against an illegal landfill lasting 14 years.
#2
How come all these other countries that elect a female chief executive (by whatever title is relevant) these women all are somewhat attractive in addition to being smart, or at least politically astute, and then the best the Democrats can offer is Hillary, and Lord only knows what's in the wings; collectively enough to make a maggot puke...…
[Washington Examiner] Top Trump economic adviser Larry Kudlow called on the Federal Reserve Friday to cut interest rates in anticipation of a possible economic slowdown next year.
The National Economic Council director said in an interview on CNBC that recent data on the markets for U.S. debt hint at speed bumps in about a year. "We’re not there yet, we’re not a year ahead, but it’s something you have to watch," he said.
He then called on the Fed to cut its interest rate target by half a percentage point. "All’s I’m saying is, we want to open that throttle," he said. The Fed's target rate is currently 2.25 percent to 2.5 percent.
When asked whether President Trump is unhappy with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, a Trump appointee, Kudlow responded: "He’s our chairman, we’re not going to displace him."
"It is up to the Fed," he continued. "I’m not here to criticize the Fed. I’m just saying this is our point of view."
Trump has criticized the Fed in an unusually public manner, calling on the central bank, which was created to make economic decisions independent of politics, to keep rates low. The Fed has been raising rates in recent years in an effort to restore them closer to historic norms.
#1
The Fed gave Obama 8 years of low low interest rates to banks and institutions. Suddenly, now they need to choke the recovering economy. They certainly don't work for you or me.
#2
Usually like Kudlow, but no. Interest rates are still too low.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
03/31/2019 8:28
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#3
What we think is irrelevant. The banks and money institutions like being at the Fed's tit for cheap money. My gawd, if they had to pay depositors real interest to get their money, the big boys may have to shrink their profit margins. Where are the six figure salaries and generous year end bonuses going to come from? /rhet question
another, I think more important issue is the amount of debt the Fed is holding
As a response to the 2008 meltdown the Fed added a huge amount to its portfolio of bonds. Before 2008 it was holding about $1.5 Trillion, by 2012, this had reached about $4.4 Trillion. In the past year, they have reduced it to about $3.9 Trillion but they have a long way to go to get it where it needs to go.
Corporate debt is also very high (probably at least double the Federal Reserve debt holding) and needs to be reduced although that requires corporate governance.
Raising rates a bit higher would help a bit both of these issues.
As Kudlow would point out a slightly higher rate would inhibit business investment but in a healthy economy, business investment should be funded by profits and selling equity in companies.
was there something in my coffee today to make me verbose like this
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/31/2019 10:20
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#5
How can the government keep borrowing money if the Fed raises rates?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
03/31/2019 10:57
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#6
good point by Abu,
an increase in the yield of all T bills, notes and bonds across the board of 0.5% would increase govt borrowing costs by about $50B per year
however, the yield is determined by many factors, not just the fed fund rate since many, many foreigner buy US debt for the imputed safety, so an increase in the fed fund rate by 0.5% would likely mean a smaller, say 0.2% increase in the treasury instruments
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/31/2019 14:13
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#7
The Fed's charter way back when was to buy CORPORATE debt when times were tough, not US T-bills, notes, bonds, etc.
WASHINGTON (AP) ‐ Border officials are aiming to more than quadruple the number of asylum seekers sent back over the southern border each day, a major expansion of a top government effort to address the swelling number of Central Americans arriving in the country, a Trump administration official said Saturday.
It was the latest attempt to ease a straining immigration system that officials say is at the breaking point. Hundreds of officers who usually screen cargo and vehicles at ports of entry were reassigned to help manage migrants. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen asked for volunteers from non-immigration agencies within her department, sent a letter to Congress late this past week requesting resources and broader authority to deport families faster, and she met with Central American and Mexican officials.
The efforts are being made while President Donald Trump is doubling down on threats to shutter the U.S.-Mexico border entirely, a move that would have serious economic repercussions for both the U.S. and Mexico but wouldn’t stop migrants from crossing between ports. His administration also announced it was cutting aid to the Central American countries home to most of the migrants.
Right now, about 60 asylum seekers a day are returned to Mexico at the San Ysidro, Calexico and El Paso ports to wait out their cases, the official said. They are allowed to return to the U.S. for court dates. The plan was announced Jan. 29, partially to deter false claimants from coming across the border. With a backlog of more than 700,000 immigration cases, asylum seekers can wait years for their cases to progress, and officials say some people game the system in order to live in the U.S.
Officials hope to have as many as 300 people returned per day by the end of the week, focusing particularly on those who come in between ports of entry, said the official, who had knowledge of the plans but was unauthorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
#1
The Stuff Brigades - free stuff, stuff the ballot box. They ain't no asylum seekers. This is all the creation of our aristocracy - aka the judiciary that sits for life and is unaccountable to the people.
[AlAhram] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the most dubious NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... ally.... is holding local elections on Sunday that are seen as a test of President 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... 's popularity amid a sharp economic downturn.
Erdogan, who has not lost a vote since his party came to power in 2002, has cast the elections as a "matter of national survival'' and has been campaigning for a strong mandate that he says would come as slap to Turkey's enemies.
If his party sweeps municipal seats, Erdogan's dominance would be further solidified with his grip on the presidency, parliament and local administration. But a loss in major cities could signal a crack in his party's long hold on power.
Here's a look at the elections:
THE VOTE
More than 57 million people will cast votes at some 200,000 ballot boxes across the country to elect the mayors for 30 large metropolitan cities, 51 scenic provincial capitals and 922 districts. They will also vote to elect local assembly representatives as well as tens of thousands of neighborhood or village administrators, called "muhtar.''
Polls are open between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. (0400 to 1300 GMT) in eastern provinces and between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (0500 to 1400 GMT) in the west.
The last local elections were held in 2014 and since then Turkey has held five other votes.
THE PARTIES
Political parties have continued alliances forged for last year's historic presidential and parliamentary elections, opting to support each other's candidates in metropolitan cities and scenic provincial capitals.
Erdogan's Justice and Development Party is joined by the Nationalist Movement Party in the "People's Alliance'' along with the small, far-right Great Unity Party. Erdogan's party is running for top mayor seats in 27 metropolitan cities and the nationalists in three, while allying in 21 other provinces.
The main opposition is the "Nation Alliance,'' consisting of the secular Republican People's Party and the nationalist Good Party. They are coordinating in 50 provinces.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, or HDP, the second largest opposition group in parliament, is leading a "Kurdish election alliance'' with candidates for municipalities in Turkey's southeast.
It is strategically sitting out critical races in Turkey's major cities, including Istanbul and Ankara, aiming to send HDP votes to the Republican People's Party to help challenge Erdogan.
THE ECONOMY
The elections are being held as Turkey enters a recession, along with rising food prices and high unemployment. Erdogan has been campaigning by stirring nationalist and religious sentiments at multiple rallies every day, in what critics say is an attempt to distract attention away from economic woes.
THE CAPITAL CITY
The biggest race is for the capital, Ankara. Opinion polls suggest the city could be won by Mansur Yavas, the candidate of the People's Alliance, after being held by Erdogan's party and its predecessor Islam-oriented party for a quarter of a century. As the race has heated up, the ruling party has accused the 63-year old lawyer of forgery and tax evasion. Yavas says he is the victim of a smear campaign by the Nation Alliance desperate to hold on to Ankara.
UNFAIR CAMPAIGNING
Like previous elections, the campaign has been unbalanced in favor of Erdogan. Ottoman Turkish broadcasters carry all Erdogan speeches live but leave little to no room to the opposition. In the first two weeks of March, state broadcaster TRT aired the People's Alliance campaign for some 55 hours, the Nation Alliance for some 10 hours and covered the pro-Kurdish party critically for 98 minutes, according to research by an opposition member of Turkey's media watchdog.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/31/2019
00:50 ||
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#1
Erdogan, who has not lost a vote since his party came to power in 2002,...
[AlAhram] French "yellow vests" demonstrators on Saturday staged their 20th week of anti-government protests despite bans in hotspot areas, as banks called for an end to violence against branches, cash machines and personnel.
Police had struggled the previous weekend to contain violence by highly-organised demonstrators who smashed shop windows and set fire to newspaper kiosks and a bank in the capital.
Local authorities on Saturday declared iconic sites such as the Champs Elysees avenue in Gay Paree and the centre of Bordeaux, in southwestern La Belle France, off limits to demonstrations. The presidential Elysee palace and the National Assembly were also cordoned off by police.
President Emmanuel Macron has reacted to the Saturday protests, which began last November, by embarking on a cross-country tour as part of a "Great National Debate" aimed at encouraging disgruntled citizens to express themselves through a structured dialogue.
The protests began in rural La Belle France on November 17 over fuel tax increases and quickly ballooned into a full-scale anti-government rebellion.
In recent weeks, the protesters' numbers have dwindled but those still on the streets appear more determined.
Initial reports at midday Saturday said that around 300 demonstrators had gathered at the Gay Paree Gare de l'Est train station and the Gay Paree prefecture said two demonstrations and four gatherings had been organised, with one march to end near the Eiffel Tower.
"It is still the same goal, social justice and the RIC (citizen initiated referendum), especially when there are economic choices to be made," said a 43-year-old demonstrator who gave his first name as Jean-Edouard.
- 'UNBRIDLED AND UNJUSTIFIED VIOLENCE' -
The French banking federation called for an end to attacks during "yellow vest" protests, saying that more than 760 banks have suffered damage since the movement began last year.
Banks have often been the targets of vandalism and arson during the protests, and last week 11 people were maimed when a Banque Tarneaud branch was set on fire near the Champs Elysees.
"We must quickly put a stop to this unbridled and unjustified violence," the federation said in comments published in the daily Le Monde.
With the Gay Paree authorities clamping down, regional protests came into focus, with protests bans in other city centres, including Avignon, Lille and Toulouse ...lies on the banks of the River Garonne, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Toulouse metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in La Belle France... Lille officials offered demonstrators an alternative path however. People who take part in unauthorised demonstrations risk an increased fine of 135 euros ($150).
In Bordeaux, where violent festivities have broken during previous protests, the Mayor Nicolas Florian shut down the city after authorities warned of the possible arrival of "hundreds of thugs". Residents were urged to stay indoors to avoid unintended festivities with police.
A demonstration was planned in the Mediterranean city of Nice, where a 73-year-old activist was injured last week after she was pushed by police and hit her head while falling. Police had initially insisted that no officer pushed the woman, but rectified that position following an internal investigation.
Last Saturday, 40,500 people demonstrated across La Belle France according to police while "yellow vest" sources put the figure at more than 127,000.
Last week, Macron continued to meet with mayors as part of regional tours linked to the national debate ... an expenditure of personal wind at the national level that leads to face-making and other histrionics but can't be shown to have ever solved an issue ... He is scheduled to end the tour Thursday on the Mediterranean island of Corsica.
#1
If you adjust the numbers to fit the US population (65mm French versus 330mm US, call it 5x) the gummint estimate works out to 200,000 yellow vests and the yellow vest estimate works out to 635,000. Every week for 20 weeks. This is a non-trivial event.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/31/2019 12:12
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#2
I keep in touch with a Frenchman I knew at the UN. He's sympathetic to the "yellow vest" people. Evidently the tax thing in France is just way out of control.
[Free Beacon] President Barack Obama's Department of Homeland Security secretary Jeh Johnson said "we are truly in a crisis" at the border during an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Thursday.
"When I was in office in Kirstjen Nielsen's job, at her desk, I'd get to work around 6:30 in the morning and there'd be my intelligence book sitting on my desk, the PDB, and also the apprehension numbers from the day before," Johnson said. "And I'd look at them every morning, it'd be the first thing I'd look at. And I probably got too close to the problem, and my staff will tell you if it was under 1,000 apprehensions the day before that was a relatively good number, and if it was above 1,000 it was a relatively bad number, and I was gonna be in a bad mood the whole day."
"On Tuesday, there were 4,000 apprehensions. I know that a thousand overwhelms the system. I cannot begin to imagine what 4,000 a day looks like, so we are truly in a crisis," Johnson continued.
A number of prominent Democrats have downplayed border security over the past year.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.), who is running for president, argued DHS should not oversee immigration because it is "not a security issue." Gillibrand and other Democrats have also called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with the New York senator calling it a "deportation force."
Rep. Jim McGovern (D., Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) have echoed Gillibrand's sentiments.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.), who is also running for president, has compared ICE to the Ku Klux Klan.
#5
From the DHS 2014-2018 Strategic Plan (not that I am a DHS cheerleader):
"At the center of any good immigration system must be a structure able to rapidly respond to regulatory changes and the flow of demand around the world while at the same time safeguarding security."
Caitlan Coleman, of Pennsylvania, testified Friday at Joshua Boyle's
...ex-husband of Omar Khadr's Islamist sister*, he went on “pilgrimage” to Taliban country with his pregnant American wife to provide aid to the benighted villagers in the region, then was surprised to be held hostage for years by the Haqqanis...
Ottawa trial
Said she was 'very scared' of her husband who got 'extremely angry' and 'hit her'
Boyle has pleaded not guilty to a number of criminal charges against Coleman
The pair were taken hostage by Taliban fighters
... more specifically, the Haqqani Network...
in 2012 and were freed in 2017
They had three children - two boys and a girl - in captivity
The purported acts allegedly occurred after they returned to Canada What a prince that man is.
A judge granted Caitlan's request for full custody of the kids in July 2018
She had her and Boyle's fourth child in 2018 and now lives back in Pennsylvania
We’d wondered who he was arrested for hurting. Now we know.
* You recall Omar Khadr, dear Reader. He was the precocious Pakistani-Canadian lad who at only 15 killed an American soldier in an Al Qaeda compound in Afghanistan. After the Canadians jailed him for it, pretty Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized and gave him $8 million (presumably Canadian, which means it is either worth more or less than the same number of American dollars). Omar comes from a family so steeped in jihadi evil that in 1995 the Pakistanis arrested his father for terrorism,
[Breitbart] The ongoing border crisis forced Border Patrol officials to implement a massive catch and release program where most migrants illegally crossing the border are released shortly after being processed. The policy comes as Border Patrol officials estimate that more than 100,000 migrants will be apprehended in March.
Border Patrol officials in multiple sectors announced a policy this week to being releasing thousands of migrants on their own recognizance shortly after they are apprehended at the border. The move comes in response to the massive increase of illegal border crossings by migrant families from Central America.
"This demographic is challenging in that they cannot be immediately returned to their country of origin," Del Rio Sector Border Patrol officials stated. "U.S. Border Patrol processing centers are not designed to house the current numbers of families and small children that we are encountering."
During a press conference late this week, Yuma Sector Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Carl Landrum announced a similar policy for his Arizona sector. He blamed the dramatic surge in migrant families and minors that are overwhelming his sector’s agents and resources.
"Due to capacity issues at our stations and the ongoing humanitarian crisis nationwide, Border Patrol has begun identifying detainees for potential release in Yuma with a notice to appear for their immigration hearings," Yuma Sector officials said in a written statement.
#6
During the first two years of the Trump administration, he couldn't count on the Rinos, people like McCain, Flake, Collins, Murkowsi,Corker and others. And now Rommey. In the House, Ryan was an impediment. The Dems, such as Schumer were obstructionist to everything Trump. Trump is trying to get something done on immigration reform. He is pushing hard to fix this. At the same time, Trump has been assaulted from every direction by crooked bastards from the media and the previous adminstration. He needs to clean out this den of vipers permanently.
[KhaamaPress] At least 25 Talibs were killed during the operations of the Afghan Special Forces and Arclight airstrikes which were conducted in Paktika ...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo... , Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... , Uruzgan, and Kandahar provinces.
Informed military sources said Saturday that an airstrike in Bermal district of Paktika province killed 2 Taliban ...Arabic for students... fighters while 8 Taliban fighters were killed in Afghan Special Forces operation in Nahr-e-Saraj district of Helmand in past 24 hours.
The sources further added that an airstrike in Musa Qal’ah district of Helamdn killed 1 Taliban fighter and maimed another.
Afghan cops killed 3 Taliban fighters in Tarin Kot district of Uruzgan during the same period, the sources said, adding that airstrikes were also carried out in Musa Qal’ah district of Helmand which left 8 Taliban fighters dead.
In the meantime, the sources said an airstrike in Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province killed 3 Taliban fighters.
The anti-government armed murderous Moslems including Taliban have not commented regarding the operations and airstrikes so far.
[KhaamaPress] A key member of 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.... of Iraq and Syria Khurasan (ISIS-K) was tossed in the calaboose Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! during an operation of the Afghan cops in Jalalabad city, the picturesque provincial capital of Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province.
Provincial governor’s front man Ataullah Khogyani confirmed that the ISIS-K group member was arrested during the operation of Afghan Intelligence operatives.
Khogyani further added that the detained individual has been identified as Sajid who is originally a resident of Kama district of Nangarhar.
In the meantime, the provincial government media office in a statement said Sajid was a member of the urban network of ISIS-K and was invovled in recruiting murderous Moslems in ISIS ranks and spreading propaganda in favor of the group in Jalalabad city.
Yes, that’s definitely the kind of thing that Number Fours, technical specialists outside the direct line of command, enjoy doing.
The anti-government armed murderous Moslems including ISIS loyalists have not commented regarding the report so far.
[KhaamaPress] A commander of 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.... of Iraq and Syria Khurasan (ISIS-K) Sardar Wali was killed in an Arclight airstrike in eastern Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province of Afghanistan.
According to informed military sources "An ISIS-K commander, Sadar Wali was killed along with three other high-profile hard boyz in an airstrike in Achin district, Nangarhar province March 27, 2019."
The sources further added that another commander, Lal Mohammad was also killed in the same strike.
The anti-government armed hard boyz including ISIS sympathizers have not commented regarding the killing of Sardar Wali and other ISIS hard boyz so far.
Nangarhar is among the relatively calm provinces in East of Afghanistan but the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... and ISIS-K hard boyz are active in some of its remote districts and often attempt to carry out terrorist related activities in this province.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/31/2019
00:03 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] A rebel sleeper cell carried out a new attack against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the Daraa Governorate this week, targeting their positions near the al-Sweida Governorate border.
According to a military report from Daraa, the rebel sleeper cell attacked a Syrian Arab Army checkpoint at the outskirts of the small town of al-Sahoah.
Despite using the element of surprise to attack the checkpoint, the rebel fighters were unable to inflict any casualties within the ranks of the Syrian Arab Army.
These attacks by the Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... ’s (FSA) sleeper cells have become so prevalent in the Daraa and al-Quneitra governorates that the Syrian Arab Army has sent reinforcements to many of the targeted areas.
The reinforcements are from the 104th, 105th, and 106th brigades of the Elite Republican Guard units that were previously deployed in the Damascus countryside.
The Syrian Arab Army has threatened to launch a new operation to clear the towns they have not entered in the Daraa Governorate.
As per the reconciliation agreement that was established by the Russian military last summer, the Syrian Arab Army was not permitted to enter several towns in the Daraa Governorate because the reconciled rebels were tasked with policing these areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2019
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From a comment yesterday by our own Anomalous Sources.
[Lifenews.com] The founder of an organization of community care clinics that cater to women praises the Trump administration for deciding to give her group $5.1 million over three years for use in California, a grant that once might have gone to Planned Parenthood.
"With this grant, the administration has opened up a new avenue of health care choices for low-income and underserved women and their families in California," Kathleen Eaton Bravo, CEO and founder of The Obria Group Inc. and Obria Medical Clinics, said in a prepared statement provided to The Daily Signal.
Obria, which operates 21 health clinics and 11 mobile clinics in five states, does not perform abortions.
"Many women want the opportunity to visit a professional, comprehensive health care facility‐not an abortion clinic‐for their health care needs; today, HHS gave women that choice," Bravo said.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday that Obria Group will receive three years of Title X family planning funding to expand services to low-income individuals and families in four California counties.
Obria Group will oversee the work of seven clinic partners, including three of its own California affiliates, according to a release from CRC Public Relations.
#1
All right, any Christians and pro-lifers out there. Are you supporting Trump? If not, why not? Who would support our pro-life cause better?
Posted by: Tom ||
03/31/2019 15:29
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I believe that evangelical support is there, Christian radio gives Trump their full support from abortion issues to the building the wall along the border.
[DAWN] A man suspected of cutting off his former wife's tongue and grievously assaulting her was tossed in the clink Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! in the Pindi Bhattian tehsil of Hafizabad district on Saturday, a day after he allegedly committed the crime.
On Friday, a first information report (FIR) had been registered at the Saddar cop shoppe against the suspect, a man named Jehangir, on the complaint of the victim's father for allegedly cutting his daughters tongue off and subjecting her to grievous torture in the Mustafabad village of the area.
According to the victim's father, the reason for the incident was that the suspect had verbally divorced her a few days ago. He said that the suspect had now wanted to murder his daughter, which was why he had come to his house and assaulted her.
As per the FIR, the father had gone out to cut grass on the fields while his wife and daughter were at home when the suspect entered the house and took his daughter hostage in a room, which he then locked. He said the suspect had the used sharp scissors to cut off the victim's tongue.
According to the father's account in the FIR, the suspect continued to kick and punch the victim after maiming her. He added that the suspect had also used the scissors to disfigure her hands and face.
He said that when his wife cried out, people from the area arrived at the scene. Along with others from the village and witnesses, he broke the roof of the room and entered it, after which he broke the lock on the door and took his daughter out.
The victim's father added that if people from the area had not reached the site, the suspect and his accomplices ‐ three unknown persons riding a cycle of violence who were waiting outside ‐ would have killed his daughter.
The victim was subsequently shifted to a hospital.
Hafizabad District Police Officer (DPO) Sajid Kiani confirmed to DawnNewsTV that the suspect had been arrested and a pair of scissors was also recovered from his possession.
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[Rudaw] Iraq’s president said Friday he does not see any "serious" opposition to the presence of American forces in Iraq, provided they continue to be there specifically to assist Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group.
Barham Salih said there is "general consensus" that Iraq needs continued collaboration with the forces, which he said can go on "as long as it is necessary." He also warned that the threat from IS murderous Moslems is far from over, despite the announcement of the group’s territorial defeat in Syria last week.
Continued on Page 49
[DAWN] Seven people ‐ of which six were students and one a rickshaw driver ‐ were killed, and a student was critically maimed in Punjab's Bhakkar district on Saturday after the vehicle was hit by a speeding bus.
The driver of the bus ‐ which belongs to a private transport company ‐ managed to flee the scene of the crime as an enraged mob set the bus on fire.
As soon as news of the incident broke, the deputy commissioner, district police officer and Rescue 1122 personnel reached the site. The district administration banned the entry of all buses belonging to the transport company within the limits of District Bhakkar.
The incident occurred when seven students were returning home after appearing in ninth grade examinations at Multan Home of the Multan Sultans... 's Government Girls High School. The rickshaw they had been travelling in was on Jhang road, near Jaise Wala area, when the speeding bus, enroute from Multan to Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... , crashed into it.
The rickshaw was completely swallowed under the bus, and the six students, along with the rickshaw driver, died immediately. The dear departed driver was identified as Mohammad Amjad and among the dear departed girls, the identities of Sawera Shafiq, Iqra Rafiq, Maryam, Sanam Basheer, Sobia, and Sana Parveen were confirmed by their families.
One student, who was recovered by rescue officials after cutting away chunks of the bus, was found critically maimed and rushed to the district headquarters hospital.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] A Russian Tu-154M-ON (NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... reporting name: "Careless") reconnaissance plane has conducted a surveillance flight over US military facilities located on the west coast of the country, The Drive online magazine reported.
The plane reportedly took off from Great Falls and flew over the Edwards Air Force Base, United States Air Force Plant 42, which is used to modernise and assemble various military aircraft, including strategic bombers, Vandenberg Air Force Base, as well as the Nellis Test and Training Range ‐ also known as Area 51.
The reconnaissance flight was carried out according to Treaty on Open Skies provisions that allow for mutual aerial inspections of the signatories for the sake of verifying the fulfillment of disarmament treaties.
The US threatened to suspend its participation in the treaty in 2018, claiming that Russia was not adhering to it, but the State Department later stated that Washington would not follow through on the threats.
The Tu-154M-ON is a modification of the Russian Tu-154M LK-1, which is used in cosmonaut training programmes, is specifically fitted for conducting aerial inspections.
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#2
I'll assume that everything at Groom Lake was inside a hangar at the time. Except for the 'tinkertoys' they like to park in the open to confuse whoever might see them.
Everything at Groom lake is indoors, except for the golf course, and I understand that they're working on that. (It's waay hot outside there in the summer.)
Posted by: ed in texas ||
03/31/2019 10:12
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#3
Some photo ops exist for runway assets which might be hangared when the Wing is away, tows, tankers, POVs, security vehicles, etc.
When pilots and maintenance crews are deployed the barracks cleaning staff is reduced. The mess hall and eClub are also nearly empty and the Redline flight schedule changes.
[TRTWORLD] Flash floods caused by heavy rains have killed at least 35 people in Afghanistan, washing away houses and cutting off access to remote villages across parts of the country, officials said on Saturday.
Heavy flooding that started early on Friday killed at least 12 people in the northern province of Faryab and 10 people in the western province of Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... , said Hashmat Bahaduri, a front man for Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA).
Eight people were killed in Badghis province in the west and five in Balkh province in the north, Bahaduri told AFP, adding that more than 3,000 houses had been destroyed.
In Herat, 10 districts and some parts of Herat city were impacted, said Jailani Farhad, front man for the province’s governor.
"Hundreds of houses have been destroyed and thousands displaced," he said.
Mir Gulabuddin Miri, director of the Afghan Red Islamic Thingy in Herat, said access to some areas had been cut off, preventing teams from reaching affected people.
"The destruction is huge. Over 12 areas in the province have been badly hit, people have lost their houses. We’ve only been able to provide them with some food and blankets so far," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
How does this compare to the historic patterns of rainfall and flooding in that part of the world? Is this like Pakistan, where the poor are flooded out every few years, or is this truly a rare and shocking event?
[Smokeroom] Video: It doesn't get much more blunt than that. Whoever that guy is, he was certainly feeling himself when he hopped out of his BMW.
He thought he was about to put somebody in their place. He was convinced he was about to dunk on somebody and ruin their day.
Clearly, the exact opposite happened. He got a reality check when angrily approaching an SUV. The window was rolled down to reveal several heavily armed Russian soldiers, and one of them had a weapon pointed right at him.
I’m guessing the chances this kid pulls another road rage incident in his life........is f__ing never. 😂 pic.twitter.com/k1GA7a5Ikc
#4
Looks a bit Ukrainian at one point, but when the camera pulls back at 0:18 we see White/Blue/Red which is Russian Federation, which brings up the interesting question: why these guys are driving around all kitted up?
Some people just need killing, as they used to say.
[Rudaw] Members of the Saudi team that killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi
...who was simultaneously a very well paid Washington Post columnist and a long time propagandist for the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda — most recently on Qatar’s payroll, but in the past at the behest of Saudi Arabia’s intel chief, Prince Turki al-Faisal...
received training in the United States, the Washington Post has reported, revealing other new elements in the death of the newspaper's former contributor.
Interesting that the Post continues to fuss about this. What do you suppose they wish to accomplish, dear Reader?
A critic of the Saudi regime, Khashoggi was killed and dismembered October 2 in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by a team of 15 agents sent from Riyadh. His body has never been recovered.
After having denied the murder, 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... said the operation was carried out by agents who were out of control. A trial of 11 suspects opened earlier this year in Saudi Arabia.
But much of the case remains shrouded, beginning with the role of Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman ...Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as of 2016.... The US Senate, after a closed-door briefing by the CIA, adopted a resolution naming the crown prince as "responsible" for the murder, while 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... has refused to publicly take a stand.
According to Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, a Saudi who closely read the transcript of a recording from a bug placed in the consulate by Ottoman Turkish intelligence said it indicates the plan was to kidnap Khashoggi and bring him back to Saudi Arabia for detention and interrogation.
A note in the transcript says an injection was administered to Khashoggi, which the Saudi source said was probably a powerful sedative.
A bag was then placed over his head, and Khashoggi screamed: "I can’t breathe, I have asthma. Don’t do this." According to the Post, he died soon after.
The transcript describes a buzzing noise, perhaps an electric saw used to dismember the journalist. easier to ship that way
According to Ignatius, who said he interviewed more than a dozen American and Saudi sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, some members of the Saudi Rapid Intervention Group received training in the United States.
"The CIA has cautioned other government agencies that some of this special-operations training might have been conducted by Tier 1 Group, an Arkansas-based company, under a State Department license," he said.
"The training occurred before the Khashoggi incident, as part of ongoing liaison with the Saudis, and it hasn't been resumed."
He said several other US-Saudi security exchange programs also have been suspended.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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#1
Training from whom? The Mob?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/31/2019 11:12
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#2
Why would the Arabs, or Spanish or whomever, need CIA help to learn how to torture someone? They have had thousands of years to get very, very inventive in the craft.
#4
Interesting that the Post continues to fuss about this. What do you suppose they wish to accomplish, dear Reader?
...My feeling is that they're trying to keep each other scared. Remember that the Saudis actually did to that nice Mr. Khashoggi fella what the media glitterati insist DJT wants to do, and that's declare journalists Enemies Of The State and execute them. In their little echo chamber, each of them is next. The fact that members of the Saudi hit team got trained at the SOTA in thoroughly irrelevant things is a bonus - as far as they're concerned, it's just more proof that Trump Bad and is out to get them.
My .02; your mileage may vary, of course. ;)
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/31/2019 17:02
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Interesting thoughts, Mike. They really are like the bull, focussed on the waving cape while the blade goes in elsewhere.
But of course they don’t really believe it, any more than children telling ghost stories. Because if they did, they would very quietly not draw his attentiono to themselves for saying that which he did not want said.
#6
#3 Training from whom?
School of the Americas ---Skidmark
Uh-huh. Yeah, Yewbetcha. I remember hearing that song and dance in '93 Democratic House show hearings where they tried to link every Right Wing Death Squad south of the Rio Grande to the CIA and Ronald Reagan's presidency.
[Rudaw] Four hundred US or international coalition troops in Syria will not ensure the lasting defeat of 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.... (ISIS), implored the Syrian Democratic Force's top commander Mazloum Kobane.
"The 400 figure is certainly insufficient for the coalition to fulfill its mission here. We told them so. I believe the Pentagon shares our view on this," Kobane said in an interview with Al Monitor published on Saturday. "They need to increase the numbers..."
US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... announced in December all 2,000 US forces would withdraw from Syria, but he backed away from that last month agreeing to keep 400 troops.
The SDF declared the ’total elimination’ of the ISIS caliphate on March 23 and Trump a few days before, but analysts have predicted the holy warrior group will revert to suicide and hit-and-run attacks.
Trump has encouraged regional and international actors in the coalition to play a larger role in northeast Syria; however, those efforts have so far been in vain.
"That is true," said Kobane.
He reiterated that a US pullout will be premature.
"Yes, sustaining our relationship with the Americans is to our benefit and that of the people [of Syria]," he said.
Kobane acknowledged in the interview that under former US Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk, the SDF was told to deal with Damascus. But following McGurk's resignation in December and being replaced by James Jeffries, they are told not to deal with the regime.
"Indeed, that is their current policy. That’s what American diplomats tell us," he said. "They do not view talks with the regime as a priority and want us to not rush."
Throughout the interview, Kobane reiterated that they do not seek conflict with neighboring The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the most dubious NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure.... ally.... "But we are ultimately part of Syria. We do not wish to separate from Syria. If there is to be a lasting solution for this region it needs to be with Damascus. Negotiations with the regime are inevitable. And these need to happen," he said.
The SDF would ultimately like to retake the Rojava Canton of Afrin in northwest Syria, but that seems increasingly impossible with a US force drawdown to the east.
"Turkey failed to get the green light from anybody to intervene here [in Manbij] so far and will fail to do so in the future. But as I told you earlier, we are not in favor of any war with Turkey," added Kobane.
The SDF say they have lost 11,000 of its units in the conflict in Syria.
"After eight years of war in Syria, we want peace," he said.
[DW] Police are investigating six terror suspects who allegedly were planning an attack. The suspects, who were jugged Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! and later released, are accused of being affiliated with the so-called '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....
So now everyone is on the same page, including the bad guys. But given that the choices are between watching until the terror attack occurs and pre-emptively striking to prevent a terror attack... really there’s no winning until attracting negative police attention for this kind of thing is enough to get someone sent back to wherever they came from
German police conducted a series of raids throughout western Germany on Friday and Saturday as part of an anti-terrorism operation, prosecutors said on Saturday.
A total of 11 male suspects were arrested as part of the operation. All have since been released after no weapons or explosives were found.
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
Raids were carried out on Friday and Saturday in 10 cities across the western German state of North Rhine Westphalia and one in Ulm in Baden-Wurttemberg.
Eleven male suspects between the ages of 22 and 35, most of whom were Tajik nationals, were detained as part of the operation.
At least six of the suspects are being investigated on suspicion of planning a "threatening act of violence against the state." Police suspect the six of being affiliated with the "Islamic State" (IS) murderous Moslem group.
Police were looking for weapons and explosives. When none were found, the 11 suspects were released.
Prosecutors said there is no indication yet of concrete targets or a concrete act of terrorism.
Suspected driving attack: Prosecutors said the raids were conducted after a 19-year-old Tajik man drove a car at excessive speeds through a pedestrian zone in Essen. The man, an Essen resident, was stopped and arrested. Police are investigating the vehicle, which authorities said was an Opel Astra compact car. Prosecutors added they have yet to find a connection between the incident in Essen and the raids.
The dpa news agency reported the suspects were taken into custody on Friday and Saturday in the towns of Essen, Duesseldorf, Wuppertal, Moenchengladbach, Duisburg and Ulm, citing a front man for prosecutors in Duesseldorf.
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[TRTWORLD] Afghanistan’s vice president, Abdul Rashid Dostum ...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier... , escaped unhurt from an attack that killed one of his bodyguards on Saturday, dodging death for the second time since returning from exile last year.
Attackers ambushed Dostum’s convoy on the way from Mazar-e-Sharif, a city in Balkh province, to Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan, said Bashir Ahmad Tayenj, front man for Dostum’s Junbish Party. Two other bodyguards were maimed.
Dostum was aware of a planned attack but decided to travel anyway, the front man added. "Let them try. Prepare the shipping containers"
The Taliban ...Arabic for students... grabbed credit for the liquidation attempt, which comes eight months after Dostum avoided injury in a suicide kaboom at Kabul airport. In a tweet, the hard boy group’s front man, Zabihullah Mujahid, said four guards were killed and six maimed in the attack.
Last summer’s bombing, which was claimed by ISIS, took place as Dostum returned home from more than a year in exile in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...Qatar's colony in Asia Minor.... Less than a year since his return, the general remains a significant, if polarising, political figure. His Junbish Party is supported mainly by his fellow ethnic Uzbeks.
Dostum has joined the election team of Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... , one of several contenders in a presidential election scheduled for Sept. 28.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) foiled an infiltration attempt by the Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) this morning after another night of fierce festivities along the Hama-Idlib axis.
Led by their Jaish al-Izza faction, the Free Syrian Army attempted to infiltrate the Syrian Arab Army’s positions at the Massasneh Checkpoint in the northern countryside of the Hama Governorate this morning.
However, those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... the Syrian Arab Army was able to spot the FSA fighters before they were able to reach their lines at Massasneh.
According to a military report, the Syrian Arab Army troops at the Massasneh Checkpoint foiled the Jaish al-Izza infiltration attempt after a brief exchange with the holy warriors.
The Syrian Arab Army then responded to the infiltration attempt by launching several artillery shells towards Jaish al-Izza’s positions in the towns of Kafr Zita and al-Latamnah.
Since last week, the situation in the Hama Governorate has gotten progressively worse, with both sides carrying out repeated attacks against one another.
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[ToloNews] Reports indicate that some parts of Ghazni province, including the outskirts of Ghazni city and Andar district, have faced heavy festivities between Afghan forces and the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... over the past few days as the new fighting season begins.
Almost 30 security force members have bit the dust in recent festivities in Ghazni and Badakhshan provinces, sources confirmed. This includes the death of nine police force members in a Taliban attack on a police outpost in Police District3 (PD3) of Ghazni city on Thursday night. The head of the PD3 police headquarters, Mujib Mahmoudi, was also among the victims.
"At least 10 security force members were martyred in the PD3 inside the Ghazni city," said Hamidullah Nawrozi, member of Ghazni Provincial Council.
The Ministry of Interior, however, confirmed the death of eight police force members in the hours-long clash.
According to local officials, a rocket landed on a school in Andar district in Ghazni on Friday in which four students and two teachers were killed and 15 others were maimed.
It is not confirmed whether the rocket was fired by the security forces or the Taliban.
"People are living in other provinces but in Ghazni, we are seeking ways to stay alive," said Safiullah Hamidzai, a Ghazni resident.
Parts of Ghazni city, almost 146 kilometers in the southwest of Kabul, were fallen to Taliban last year in August. One month after that, President Ghani in a trip to the city vowed to establish three more police districts and implement a special security plan for the province in six stages.
"During his trip to Ghazni, President Ghani made 12 promises but has implemented none of them," said Khalid Bahar, a Ghazni resident.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wreckage, Captain Poindexter wished he had a cup of coffee. Even instant would do... heavy festivities were reported in Arghanj Khwa district in northeastern Badakhshan province.
The Ministry of Interior’s front man Nusrat Rahimi said the Afghan forces left the area in Arghanj Khwa district in a tactical move to prevent casualties. He said no casualty was inflicted to government forces in the clash.
Arghanj Khwa district connects at least 10 districts of Badakhshan to Faizabad city.
"The district has been evacuated. The forces are fighting on its outskirts. At least 15 people including civilians and military men have been martyred," said Mirza Mohammad Yarmand, a retired military officer.
[Jpost] Hamas, the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®, and Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... officials said on Saturday that the weekly protests near the Gazoo-Israel border will continue despite Egypt’s ongoing efforts to reach ceasefire understandings between the Paleostinian factions and Israel.
Paleostinian sources claimed that the Egyptian intelligence officials who have been mediating between the Paleostinian factions and Israel in the past few days have made progress towards reaching new ceasefire understandings. The Paleostinian factions in the Gazoo Strip are now waiting for Israel’s final response to their demands, the sources added.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
"And a pony!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2019 9:02
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#2
elections 9 April in Israel
lots of MKnesset are trying to get media coverage
given that there are over a dozen parties now in the Knesset, there is a fair amount of noise from the leaders of the smaller parties, e.g., Naftali Bennett whose party now has 3 seats
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/31/2019 12:16
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[TRTWORLD] Venezuelan security forces fired tear gas on Saturday to disperse demonstrators who turned out in Caracas to protest massive power outages that have kept much of the country in darkness since early March.
AFP journalists on the scene said the security forces blocked opposition protesters from concentrating at certain points in the western side of the city.
Venezuela has been hit by three major power outages this month, and opposition leader Juan Guaido had called on supporters to take to the streets to demonstrate.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the most dubious NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... ally.... will ’solve this Syria issue’ as President 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... ’s first order of business after Sunday’s local elections, he said during a rally in Istanbul on Saturday.
"Terror organizations will never show up, neither in the mountains nor in the cities of this country," he said, in front of a crowd of supporters of his AK Party.
"The first thing we will do after the elections will be to solve this Syria issue, not at the table but on the ground. We won’t stop."
So far, Turkey’s military operations in Syria have focused on Kurdish groups in the north of the country.
However, death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate... it appears the Ottoman Turkish President is hoping the elections go in his favor so he can continue with his plan to invade the northern part of Syria, which is currently under the control of the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Erdogan has repeatedly vowed in the past to eliminate the ’terrorists’ from northern Syria in the past; however, due to the presence of the U.S. Armed Forces in the al-Hasakah and al-Raqqa governorates, this has forced Turkey to postpone any military action that may cause friction with their NATO ally.
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[TRTWORLD] Cambodia has returned land taken a decade ago from indigenous communities for a Vietnamese company's rubber plantation, a sign that foreign investors are facing greater scrutiny over rights violations, analysts said on Wednesday.
The governor of the northeastern province of Ratanakari on Tuesday asked the agriculture ministry to take out 64 areas from the land concessions, including forests, wetlands and burial grounds that belonged to a dozen indigenous communities.
The decision "represents an unprecedented recognition of indigenous land rights over business interests in Cambodia," said Dam Chanty, executive director of Highlanders Association, an indigenous rights organization in Ratanakari.
But while the move was "a major victory", the communities still needed compensation and help rehabilitating their land and waterways, she said in a statement.
Since the early 2000s, Cambodia has awarded large swathes of land as concessions to foreign companies for mines, power plants and farms, to spur economic growth and alleviate poverty.
Such deals, which covered more than a tenth of the country's surface area by 2012, have displaced more than 770,000 people, human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... lawyers say.
Following protests and pressure from rights groups, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced a moratorium on new concessions in 2012, and promised to review old ones.
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(Iraqinews.com) Ottoman Turkish Ministry of Defense affirmed, on Saturday, that its warplanes bombarded headquartes belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), north of Iraq, Alsumaria News reported on Saturday.
The Ottoman Turkish Ministry said in a statement that its warplanes carried out, on the early hours of the morning today, several air strikes on the headquarters and hideouts of the PKK in Kandil Mountain, north of Iraq.
The air strikes also targeted a number of terrorists, who were spotted while preparing attacks on Ottoman Turkish troops in the areas of Hakrock and Afasheen, north of Iraq, the statement added.
It is noteworthy that the Ottoman Turkish troops resumed shelling the headquarters of the PKK in July 2015, after the latter announced withdrawing from the Ottoman Turkish territories in 2013.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is a Kurdish far-left Death Eater and political organization based in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...Qatar's colony in Asia Minor.... and Iraq. Since 1984 the PKK has been involved in an armed conflict with the Ottoman Turkish state, with the initial aim of achieving an independent Kurdish state, later changing it to a demand for equal rights and Kurdish autonomy in Turkey.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army sent reinforcements to the eastern countryside of Palmyra (var. Tadmur) after a string of 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.... (ISIS/ISIS/IS/ISIS) attacks threatened the safety of the main highway to Deir Ezzor.
According to a military source currently deployed in the Palmyra countryside, the reinforcements will be tasked with protecting the area around the Palmyra-Deir Ezzor Highway, which has been the scene of several ISIS ambushes over the last two weeks.
The Islamic State has often used the vast desert region between Deir Ezzor and Homs to surprise attack the Syrian Arab Army and its allies along this key highway near the ancient city of Palmyra.
Despite 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... ’s declaration of victory against the Islamic State last week, the terrorist group continues to attack all warring parties in Syria, including the jihadist rebels of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham .
The Islamic State has used these sleeper cells to wreak havoc across Syria and with its recent territorial losses, they will likely stick to carrying out hit-and-run attacks.
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[PJMedia] "The operation to take 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.... ’s last enclave in eastern Syria looked close to an end," Rooters recently reported, "as U.S.-backed fighters said they were combing the area for hidden jihadists... Its enclave at Baghouz was the last part of the massive territory it suddenly seized in 2014, straddling swathes of Iraq and Syria, where its leader His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ...the head of ISIS, or what remains of it, and a veteran of the Abu Graib jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us. So far he has been killed at least four times, though not yet by a stake through the heart... declared a new caliphate."
While this is welcome news, it also prompts one to wonder: what of all those other Islamic enclaves, those unassimilated ticking time bombs that proliferate throughout the West, which are packed with ISIS-sympathizers, not to mention ISIS members, and which the West largely fails to recognize as such? I am referring to those many so-called "no-go" zones: Western cities and regions that have effectively become Islamic ghettoes. There, Sharia is the de facto law; Moslems are openly radicalized to hate infidels; non-Moslems, even police, are afraid to enter lest they get mugged, raped, or killed.
In short, the ISIS worldview dominates‐not in some distant theater of war, but right smack in the West itself (an internet search for terms such as "no-go" zones and "Moslem enclaves" demonstrates how prevalent and problematic this phenomenon is).
Although these Moslem enclaves are recent and unique phenomena, they have precedents in history and even a nomenclature in the Islamic consciousness.
Wherever the jihad was stopped, there, on the border with their infidel neighbors, jihadis formed strongholds, hotbeds of jihadi activities. These became known as the ribāt (رباط), an Arabic word etymologically rooted to the idea of a tight fastening or joining and found in Koran 3:200: "O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed [رابطوا] and fear Allah that you may be successful." In Islamic history, the ribāt referred to the chains of jihadi fortresses erected along and dedicated to raiding the borders of non-Moslems.
[Jpost] The disturbances within the prisons are coordinated with cell phones located within the prisons. These same cell phones are used to carry out terror attacks outside of the prisons.
Security prisoners are rioting inside Israeli prisons and coordinating terrorist attacks happening outside of prison, thanks to cell phone contact with the outside world, according to a Saturday report by Channel 13.
The violent fighting within the prison system began two months ago with riots in the Ofer Prison. Then, two weeks ago, Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, prisoners set fire to a wing of the Rimon Prison. This past week, two prison guards were stabbed during fights between prisoners and the guards at the Ketziot Prison.
The disturbances within the prisons are coordinated through cell phones, which are also used to coordinate terror attacks outside of the prisons. In recent years, Lions of Islam directed fourteen terrorist attacks from within Israeli prisons, the report said.
The Israeli Prison Service to date has apparently not succeeded in blocking communications between prisoners and the outside world.
The prison system keeps close contact with security establishments around the world, according to Adi Karmi, a former Shin Bet official. Still, "we know that terror attacks come from within the prisons," Karmi said.
It seems that an "understanding" has crystallized between the prison service and the prisoners. Some claim that keeping things quiet became the only goal. No jailer wanted a riot during his shift and no one wanted to call for backup to deal with hunger strikes.
The cells and wings of the security prisoners are arranged according to political affiliation, according to Channel 13. Jailers don’t deal directly with the prisoners; instead, they interact through a "spokesperson" who is assigned to each cell and wing. The security prisoners even cook for themselves within their cells and Hamas funds affiliated prisoners who are in Israeli jails.
Occasionally a committee is set up to examine the issue, but Israel only provides the bare minimum necessary for security prisoners. The Paleostinian Authority pays the remaining significant portion of the prisoners’ needs.
"When there are this many prisoners, in order to maintain a reasonable lifestyle, the Prison Authority and these Lions of Islam must coordinate," said Yoram Schweitzer from the Institute for National Security Studies. "This is how a common lifestyle is conducted by the two sides."
"In the beginning, the Shin Bet really wanted the screening of phones that I initiated, which the Lions of Islam are revolting against now," responded the Minister of Public Security, Gilad Erdan, Channel 13 reported. "Recently, the Shin Bet and the IDF have not been enthusiastic about the project, since they are tying it to the tensions in the Gazoo Strip. I think that this is a life-saving project that prevents the directing of terror attacks from within the prison."
The Prison Authority has "stopped visits from families from Gazoo, stopped allowing Arab members of Knesset to visit prisoners, stopped allowing them to watch television, and there are no academic classes," according to Erdan.
Erdan pointed out that "in another week, the Hamas prisoners are supposed to start a hunger strike. This isn’t because they enjoy the conditions, rather the opposite. There have been changes in recent years. All the excess conditions remaining will end. This celebration is about to end."
In 2011, then Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch presented a plan to use electronic devices to detect the use of cellular phones in prisons and to more thoroughly check visitors to prevent smuggling.
Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the UN who was a Likud MK at the time, felt the measures were insufficient, responding that "we must stop the celebrations inside of our jails."
[IsraelTimes] Response appears designed to keep tensions in check amid mediation efforts after day of relatively restrained protests along border
Israeli tanks shelled Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbung millipede, positions in Gazoo early Sunday morning, hours after several rockets were fired at Israel from the enclave.
Hamas’s “confusion units” don’t seem to be bound by the same rules as the daytime crew.
The IDF said its tanks hit "a number of positions belonging to the Hamas terror group," in retaliation for the rocket fire, which capped a day that saw four Paleostinians killed in protests along the border. O for 4
The Shehab news site, affiliated with Hamas, reported that a tank shelled a position east of Deir Balah in the central Strip at around 3 a.m.
There were no reports of injuries or damage.
Israeli officials said earlier that five rockets fired from Gazoo landed in open areas in the Eshkol region before 1 a.m. There were no reports of injuries or damage and no claims of responsibility.
The relatively tame response to the rocket fire appeared designed to keep tensions from snowballing amid intensive efforts to broker a long-term calm between the sides, after relatively restrained border protests on Saturday.
[DAWN] REALISATION is growing in Pakistain that it needs to do more vis-à-vis banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all...
organizations with an alleged presence on its soil. Prime Minister Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who isn't your heaviest-duty thinker, maybe not even among the top five... has chaired two high-level meetings of the civilian and military leaderships within a span of three days to address the shortcomings in the government’s counterterrorism and anti-extremism strategy. The state has of late demonstrated a renewed resolve to dismantle bad boy networks and put a stop to their activities. Earlier this month, it banned the JuD and FIF and launched a countrywide crackdown against their assets. Provincial administrations sealed or took administrative control of hundreds of madressahs, mosques, hospitals and ambulances run by JuD and FIF, as well as the already proscribed JeM. Now comes the truly challenging task ‐ to identify the weaknesses in the state’s strategy that bad boy groups can still exploit in order to survive.
For one, the state could revisit some of its earlier anti-extremism measures and build upon them. More than four years have passed since NAP was announced in the immediate aftermath of the APS attack. However, some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them... what began as a 20-point flagship plan has since become a footnote in this battle. The action taken in the light of NAP has largely been piecemeal; a few preachers of hate placed in durance vile Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! , some jihadi literature seized, and so on. Among the few points followed through on was the controversial step of establishing military courts. Nevertheless, NAP has the potential of forming the bedrock of a properly fleshed-out, integrated plan of action with timelines whereby progress can be realistically assessed. Other existing resources can be harnessed for the purpose, such as Nacta which is as moribund as ever after having fallen prey to politicking. In fact, former prime minister 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... did not call a single meeting of the premier counterterrorism body during his tenure. Instead of reinventing the wheel, such as setting up the National Internal Security Committee, why not strengthen Nacta and make it the robust entity it was meant to be? After all, both bodies have an identical raison d’être ‐ specifically, inter-provincial and inter-agency coordination on security matters.
The state’s next steps are critical. It must ensure for the country’s sake that extremism cannot take succour anywhere. Banning organizations is one thing: their top leaders should be prosecuted for enabling and abetting violence that has claimed tens of thousands of innocent lives. Moreover, the state’s broad-based actions ‐ legislation, regulations, data collection, etc ‐ to tighten money-laundering procedures will not be sufficient unless complemented by activities at the ground level. The involvement of local administrations and law enforcement is important here, for the money trail that sustains holy warrior outfits can take many circuitous routes that sidestep the formal monetary system. There must be no doubt left that Pakistain is anything but fully committed to the global fight against terror financing.
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[Jpost] Thirty men were sentenced to between 10 years to life imprisonment on Saturday for planning a suicide kaboom on a church in the Egyptian city of Alexandria and other charges, court official said.
Authorities said at the time of their arrest that the defendants had embraced the ideas of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group and received training abroad and in Egypt.
Twenty of the defendants who appeared in court, dressed in white prison garb, did not react to the sentences, and there was no immediate comment from lawyers representing them. The other 10 are still on the run and were sentenced in absentia.
The attack on the church did not take place. But minority Christians have faced a series of assaults in Alexandria and other parts of Egypt in recent years.
The defendants were also accused of planning to bomb a liquor store in the Mediterranean city of Damietta, joining an illegal group and possessing weapons and explosives.
Eighteen of them received life terms, which are 25 years long in Egypt, eight got 15 years in prison and four were sentenced to 10 years, the head of the Alexandria Criminal Court, convened in Cairo, said.
Egyptian authorities have cracked down on Islamist groups since President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi led the 2013 military overthrow of Egypt's first freely-elected president, Mohammed Mursi of the Moslem Brüderbund.
The state security criminal court in Cairo heard that some of the defendants had undergone "militant training" in Libya and Syria.
The prosecution in their investigation accused the defendants of planning a "suicide bombing" in July 2017 at a church in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, the source said.
Around 600 suspected militants and 40 soldiers have been killed in an army offensive launched in February 2018, according to official figures.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Clashes broke out between Paleostinian protesters and Israeli soldiers at the northern entrance to the West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday.
Footage shows the Paleostinians burning tires and throwing rocks at the Israeli forces who reacted with bullets and tear gas.
According to the Paleostinian media, three protesters were maimed by rubber bullets, many suffered suffocation.
The confrontations reportedly occurred after a group of Paleostinians gathered near Ramallah to commemorate the 43rd anniversary of Land Day.
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[Jpost] Four Paleostinians were killed and more than 200 were maimed in festivities along Gazoo’s security fence with Israel, as thousands rioted to mark Land Day and the first anniversary of the weekly March of Return protests.
About 41,000 Paleostinians gathered on Saturday in five main points along the border, hurling stones and bombs such as hand grenades at the fence, but Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, had deployed hundreds of operatives wearing orange vests at each of the sites to make sure protesters didn’t approach the fence.
Hamas’s control of the situation had a major impact on the low level of violence, said IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Ronen Manelis, adding that the Land Day protests ended "successfully" and did not turn out as the military expected. The IDF also used crowd dispersal methods, including live fire and tear gas, to keep rioters away from the fence.
Continued on Page 49
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Belgian authorities on Saturday denied claims by the Russian military they were plotting a false-flag operation in Syria to accuse Moscow of using chemical weapons against civilians.
"Belgium respects the convention on chemical weapons and does not engage in this type of warfare," the Belgian Defense Ministry said in a comment cited by the local VRT broadcaster.
A spokesperson for the Belgian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik that allegations of the country’s role in preparations for a staged attack in northwestern Syria were false.
The comment refers to the statement made by Maj. Gen. Viktor Kupchishin, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Center for Syrian Reconciliation, on Friday that Belgian and French intelligence officers had arrived in the Idlib province to take part in a false-flag operation by Syrian Death Eaters. He said Belgians had been filming Russian Arclight airstrikes to use the footage as proof of Russia’s alleged atrocities.
Previously Moscow and Damascus have repeatedly pointed out that the White Helmets, as well as Lions of Islam operating in the area, have staged provocations in Syria involving the use of chemical weapons, aimed to shift the blame on the Syrian government and provide Western countries with justification for intervention in the Arab Republic.
Thus, in April of 2018 unverified reports about the alleged use in Eastern Ghouta shared by the opposition media, citing Death Eaters, have resulted in punitive strikes on a number of targets in Syria, including the facilities in Barzeh and Jamraya by the US-led coalition.
The latter has blamed Damascus for perpetrating a chemical attack in the city Douma, located in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta on the basis of these unconfirmed reports.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] A helicopter pilot training center, created with the help of Russian specialists, was unveiled in Venezuela on Friday, the press service of Rosoboronexport, the arms trader of Russian state corporation Rostec, has said.
"A modern helicopter training center was built under Rosoboronexport’s contract with Venezuelan state-owned defense manufacturer (CAVIM). Its opening ceremony took place on March 29," the organization said in a statement.
The center will give Venezuelan pilots an opportunity to train the use of Mi17V-5, Mi-35M and Mi-26T helicopters.
"At present, Russian helicopters supplied to Venezuela not only take part in operations against smugglers, but also successfully perform aerial survey of wildfires, take part in rescue and evacuation missions in areas hit by natural disasters and deliver humanitarian cargo to remote regions of the country," Rosoboronexport said.
A source in Venezuela’s Army Aviation said the center would simplify the training process and make it more efficient, allowing to train more helicopter crews.
Russian-made Mi-35M helicopters are actively used in operations targeting illicit drug production and trafficking in Venezuela, the source said.
"At present, Mi-35M2 helicopters play an active role in fighting drug trafficking in the states of Barinas, Apure and Amazonas. As a rule, those aircraft are used for detecting and destroying drug-trafficking convoys travelling by land and rivers," he said.
According to the source, Mi-35M are also particularly efficient in operations to destroy drug production facilities located in hard-to-reach areas.
"One Mi-35M2 helicopter is capable of delivering a special group of five or six officers, providing fire support if necessary and evacuating the team after the task is fulfilled," he said.
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#1
but not enough fuel to fly to Columbia
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2019 9:09
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#2
Can't catch the last helicopter out if the rag-tag remaining elements of your military can't fly a helo.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
03/31/2019 13:23
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#5
The Drug Pusher gives free samples to the addict-to-be. The Real Money™ is in the logistics upkeep system.... and if Venezuela can't maintain their infrastructure how can they afford this?
#8
What is here for Russia to steal? Russia actually benefits from Venezuela completely imploding and not producing any oil anymore, because that makes their own oil more valuable. It's not like the natives are awash in hard cash they're eager to use on Russia hardware and assistance anymore. If they were, they would probably keep the power on in their capital city on.
[ABC] In a stunning about-face, State Department officials said that President Donald Trump is cutting off all direct assistance to the so-called Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
"At the Secretary’s instruction, we are carrying out the President’s direction and ending FY [fiscal year] 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle," a State Department spokesperson told ABC News, referring to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. "We will be engaging Congress as part of this process."
These three countries are the primary source of migrants to the U.S., but for years the U.S. has worked with them to stabilize their political environments and economies and end violence and corruption so that migrants wouldn’t leave in the first place.
Trump hinted at the cuts earlier on Friday, telling reporters,"I’ve ended payments to Guatemala, to Honduras, and to El Salvador. No money goes there anymore."
While the president has threatened these cuts before, this time the administration is actually following through.
[DAWN] Nine Afghan coppers were killed when Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... fighters stormed their checkpoints and launched a follow-up ambush in the eastern Afghanistan city of Ghazni, officials said on Saturday.
The assault began early on Friday when the Afghan Taliban attacked two adjacent checkpoints, Ghazni police front man Ahmad Khan Seerat told AFP.
The Afghan Taliban then ambushed a group of police rushing to the scene, killing the head of the local police, Seerat added.
In all, nine officers were killed and six were maimed, he said. The toll was confirmed by Arif Noori, front man for the Ghazni governor.
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[DAWN] Mashal Khan’s father Mohammad Iqbal on Friday filed three appeals with the Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. High Court against the acquittal of two accused in his son’s lynching case by an anti-terrorism court, and sought death sentences for them.
He also challenged the acquittal of Asad Zia alias Asad Katlang and tehsil councillor Arif Khan in some provisions of the Pakistain Penal Code and Anti-Terrorism Act.
The appeals were filed through Barrister Amirullah Khan Chamkani.
On Mar 21, the ATC had convicted Asad, a former employee of the Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, and Arif, and sentenced them on multiple counts to life imprisonment with Rs300,000 fine each.
The court had acquitted two other accused, including Izharullah alias Joni and Sabirullah alias Sabir Mayar, both students, as the judge ruled that the prosecution could not bring any cogent and convincing evidence against them nor were they seen in any of the video clips produced by the prosecution.
The four accused in question had absconded after the lynching incident and therefore, they were not tried initially for the offence. However the police locked away Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! them last year.
Mashal Khan, a 23-year-old student of the Department of Mass Communication at the Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, was lynched by a mob over the allegation of blasphemy on Apr 13, 2017.
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[KhaamaPress] At least 19 Talibs were killed and four Improvised Explosive Device manufacturing facilities were destroyed during the operations in southern Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province.
According to informed military sources "A multi-day operation in Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand killed 19 Taliban ...Arabic for students... fighters and maimed 2 others."
The source further added that the Afghan cops destroyed 4 IED manufacturing facilities and an large IED cache, which included 13 pressure plate IEDs, multiple RPG rockets and an RPG launcher.
"During the operation a precision air strike was used to destroy a vehicle-borne IED," the sources said.
The anti-government armed murderous Moslems including Taliban have not commented regarding the operations so far.
Helmand is among the volatile provinces in South of Afghanistan. Taliban are active in some of its districts and often attempt to carry out attacks against the government and security institutions.
[ALMASDARNEWS] For the first time this year, the Israeli Air Force has bombed the northern region of Syria, but the attack itself remains rather mysterious.
For one, a source from the Syrian military said they had no idea that an Israeli aircraft was anywhere near the Aleppo Governorate, let alone, inside of Syria.
Two, Israel has not officially taken responsibility for the attack on Syria’s Aleppo Governorate, despite some hints by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Iran is constantly trying to place in Syria precision long-range missile [sic] that are very advanced and highly lethal missiles. We are not prepared to accept this. Our activity against Iran’s attempt to establish military bases in Syria and to place advanced weapons there continues all the time", he said, as quoted by the Rooters News Agency.
However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... a few days after the attack, some photos were released showing the aftermath of the Israeli bombing on the Sheikh Najjar District of Aleppo city.
Based on one of the photos released, the Israeli Air Force used a GBU-39 small diameter bomb, which is not necessarily out of the norm for them, but it does provide some insight into what aircraft might have been used during the attack.
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#1
Gotta get those first-team reps in there sooner or later.
[Gateway Pundit] Senator Rand Paul is now demanding that Obama and some of his former officials be investigated over the Russia conspiracy. As you’ll see below, he not playing around here.
The Washington Examiner reports:
Rand Paul: Former Obama CIA chief promoted ’dossier,’ demands investigation of Obama team
Sen. Rand Paul escalated his demand for an investigation into former Obama officials who "concocted" the anti-Trump Russia scandal, revealing that former CIA Director John Brennan was the key figure who legitimized the charges and discredited "dossier" against the president.
In an interview, the Kentucky Republican said the Senate Judiciary Committee should immediately ask Brennan about his involvement in the document that helped to kick off the Russia collusion investigation of President Trump.
"I think we need to find the truth," he told Washington Secrets. He said the goal would be to stop similar faulty investigations into future administrations, "Democratic or Republican."
In a tweet, he said that he heard from a high level source that Brennan helped to validate the "dossier" in intelligence reports.
"A high-level source tells me it was Brennan who insisted that the unverified and fake Steele dossier be included in the Intelligence Report ... Brennan should be asked to testify under oath in Congress ASAP," he tweeted.
#3
When you get to the top of the pile, and it’s America’s first black President and a number of blacks and Muslims and progressive women, what then? Do we have the will to do and endure what will happen then? We used to, but are we what we were?
[REUTERS] U.S. forces 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... accidentally fired a Patriot missile at a farm in the Gulf Arab state but caused no injuries, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
The U.S. military is investigating the missile launch, first reported by Al Jazeera television. The Patriot is an anti-missile system.
"Those things are not supposed to accidentally discharge," said Pentagon front man Bryan Whitman. "It was not supposed to happen."
Whitman said the missile was fired into an unpopulated farm area. The missile was fired during a training exercise, said Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, director of operations for the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Al Jazeera said the missile was fired from the Assayliyah base.
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#1
Was a farm-farm hit accidentally or was someone sending a message by 'accidentally' hitting a non farm-farm?
[KhaamaPress] At least four students were killed and 17 others including two school teachers were maimed after a mortar round hit a school in southeastern Ghazni province.
Provincial governor’s front man Arif Noori confirmed the incident and said at least four students were killed after a mortar round hit a school in Andar district at around 8:30am local time.
Noori further added that a clash was underway between Talibs and security forces when the mortar round hit the school compound. According to Noori, it is yet not clear who had fired the mortar round but a delegation has been sent to investigate the incident.
The anti-government armed snuffies including Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... have not commented regarding the incident so far.
Ghazni is among the relatively volatile provinces in southeastern parts of Afghanistan. Talibs are active in some of the districts of Ghazni and often attempt to carry out attacks against the government and security institutions.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Forty Martyrs Armenian Cathedral in Aleppo was re-consecrated on Saturday, four years after the jihadist rebels ransacked the building.
His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, visited the historic church after its reconstruction meant it could be opened again after Jabhat 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 .. ... razed parts of the compound back in April 2015.
Aram held a service attended by dozens in which he declared the site sacred once again.
The Armenian diaspora in Aleppo can be traced back some 2,000 years and tens of thousands remained in the city up until the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.
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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.
[American Thinker] A new member of Congress and self-proclaimed "activists" could benefit from the perspective of three films about the Middle East, released in 2018 and currently screening on cable television or Amazon Prime.
MEXICO CITY (AP) ‐ Mexico’s foreign relations secretary said Friday his country won’t react to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to close the U.S.-Mexico border, and its president even held a sort of impromptu poll on whether to respond.
[BBC] Anti-corruption candidate Zuzana Caputova has won Slovakia's presidential election, making her the country's first female head of state.
WASHINGTON (AP) ‐ Border officials are aiming to more than quadruple the number of asylum seekers sent back over the southern border each day, a major expansion of a top government effort to address the swelling number of Central Americans arriving in the country, a Trump administration official said Saturday.
... 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...
[AlAhram] French "yellow vests" demonstrators on Saturday staged their 20th week of anti-government protests despite bans in hotspot areas, as banks called for an end to violence against branches, cash machines and personnel.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] 
[Breitbart] The ongoing border crisis forced Border Patrol officials to implement a massive catch and release program where most migrants illegally crossing the border are released shortly after being processed. The policy comes as Border Patrol officials estimate that more than 100,000 migrants will be apprehended in March.
[ALMASDARNEWS] A rebel sleeper cell carried out a new attack against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the Daraa Governorate this week, targeting their positions near the al-Sweida Governorate border.
[DAWN] A man suspected of cutting off his former wife's tongue and grievously assaulting her was 
[TRTWORLD] Flash floods caused by heavy rains have killed at least 35 people in Afghanistan, washing away houses and cutting off access to remote villages across parts of the country, officials said on Saturday. 
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as of 2016....
...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier...
... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun...
[ToloNews] Reports indicate that some parts of Ghazni province, including the outskirts of Ghazni city and Andar district, have faced heavy 
[Jpost] 
(Iraqinews.com) 
...the head of ISIS, or what remains of it, and a veteran of the Abu Graib jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us. So far he has been killed at least four times, though not yet by a stake through the heart...
[Jpost] The disturbances within the prisons are coordinated with cell phones located within the prisons. These same cell phones are used to carry out terror attacks outside of the prisons.
[IsraelTimes] Response appears designed to keep tensions in check amid mediation efforts after day of relatively restrained protests along border
[DAWN] REALISATION is growing in Pakistain that it needs to do more vis-à-vis 
... 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...
[ALMASDARNEWS] Clashes broke out between Paleostinian protesters and Israeli soldiers at the northern entrance to the West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday.
[Jpost] Four Paleostinians were killed and more than 200 were 
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
[KhaamaPress] At least 19 Talibs were killed and four Improvised Explosive Device manufacturing facilities were destroyed during the operations in southern 
[ALMASDARNEWS] For the first time this year, the Israeli Air Force has bombed the northern region of Syria, but the attack itself remains rather mysterious.
...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...
