[FoxNews] Patriotic patrol-car lettering sparks backlash in California city: Laguna Beach debates whether American flags on police vehicles are too aggressive.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
04/14/2019
06:03 ||
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#1
Oikophobia should be as unacceptable as racism.
#8
Laguna Beach is in Orange County, traditionally a bastion of the Republican Party. Orange County has changed a lot since Bill Clinton left the border open but I think Laguna Beach is still pretty conservative as a whole. What we have here is one loud-mouth who managed to get her opinion printed by the LA Times. I do not believe she speaks for the community.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/14/2019 14:07
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#9
^
This
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/14/2019 15:13
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#10
Whatever the local politics may be there, I don't buy from california companies if I can help it and I sure don't fly there and spend my dollars.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/14/2019 16:41
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#11
"..Laguna Beach is still pretty conservative as a whole..."
Not so much. It has always been a bit wacky/lefty - hence the term Lagunatics. Big artsy community along with the Boys Town bars.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
04/14/2019 17:42
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#12
It's funny driving north from San Diego. Orange county has very nice highway without graffiti or billboards. Then you hit the LA border and it's barbered wire to protect the signs and graffiti everywhere anyway. Pot holes and cracks in the road are more common than smooth sections of highway. It's really night and day, they don't really even need a welcome to ... sign.
[Babylon Bee] WASHINGTON, D.C.‐After Attorney General Barr suggested that the FBI and other agencies spied on Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, former FBI director James Comey fired back.
"We did not spy," he told reporters as he stretched for his morning yoga class. "We just observed and reported secretly without the subject's knowledge or consent."
"See, I've never considered that spying," he added as he formed the "downward dog" pose. "That's just kind of secret watching. It's definitely not the same thing. When you spy, you watch someone without their knowledge. When you secret-watch, you just kind of secretly watch them."
"If we redefined spying to include all secret watching, we would have to include all the watching of American citizens on a daily basis as spying, and that probably wouldn't be good for our public image."
He then asked reporters if they would take a picture of him looking p ensively up at the trees.
#3
It's not spying, because spying is something you do to foreign powers and they're too much gutless cowards to do that. That's how Russia has been able to do donuts in our back yard in Venezuela for the last twenty years. (Figuratively speaking).
[Free Beacon] Rep. Rashida "Rancida"
Tlaib (D., Mich.) accused Democratic leadership Saturday of having "silenced" Muslim lawmakers and only using them for "photos" on Saturday.
In a tweet Saturday morning, Tlaib, who is Muslim, went on the offensive against her party's congressional leadership. She claimed they had failed to properly defend Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), another Muslim, from "attacks."
"They put us in photos when they want to show our party is diverse," she said. "However, when we ask to be at the table, or speak up about issues that impact who we are, what we fight for & why we ran in the first place, we are ignored."
Tlaib made her remarks in a retweet about Omar, which condemned "[t]he attacks on [Omar]" by Republicans and the "subsequent lack of support from Democratic leadership.
Omar came under fire for calling the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001 as "something" done by "some people" in a speech to the Council on American Islamic Relations.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R., Tex.) called Omar's comments "unbelievable."
After some back and forth between the two, the issue drew comments from President Donald Trump and others. Initially, however, no Democrats offered comment on the remarks.
[Red State] On Tuesday, Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) released the second part of the June 2018 closed-door testimony of Bill Priestap, the Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.
Real Clear Investigations’ Eric Felten wrote an excellent piece on Friday in which he covers Priestap’s entire testimony which can be read here and provides some interesting analysis. I will be focusing on Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) questioning of Priestap’s trips to London and what role British intelligence may have played in the conspiracy. Felten believes Priestap’s testimony "paints a portrait of the Obama-era bureau as one that was unconcerned with political interference in investigations and was willing to enlist the help of close foreign allies to bring down its target."
Last fall, ahead of the midterms, President Trump announced his plan to declassify the FISA Court applications for the Carter Page surveillance warrant and related documents so the American people would know how everything went down. Nothing ever came of it. There were rumors that MI6, as well as the Australian intelligence service, had objected strenuously to the release of those records because it would, naturally, expose sources and methods.
It was said at the time that the Brits were "desperate" for the information to remain classified. The reason for their desperation? Although there is insufficient evidence to prove it, it sure looks like British intelligence agents were involved in the FBI’s operation to destroy Trump’s candidacy.
Priestap was questioned by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) about his overseas travel in 2016. Felten said the redactions in the transcript make it obvious that the FBI and DOJ "really, really didn’t want anyone to know where Bill Priestap was a week into May 2016."
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/14/2019 10:42
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#6
We had known this for the last two years, thankfully its starting to get out.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/14/2019 10:50
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#7
Ref #3: An anti-BREXIT Trump doubter. No surprises here. Wonder where he might be found today.
Yes, nice memory jogger BP.
Wiki: In February 2017, Hannigan was appointed to the UK Government's new Defence Innovation Advisory Panel, along with McLaren Chairman Ron Dennis and astronaut Tim Peake.[61] He has written about the shift in technological innovation from government to private sector and West to East, expressing some concern about the tone of the Brexit debate and its impact on the UK academic tech sector.
#8
It will be interesting to watch the confluence of events with Brexit as this comes out. It will be clear that the British establishment has contempt not only for its own voters but America's as well. And it may not end there.
The Real Clear site is neutral ground — Democrats read it as well as Republicans. So what we have known for two years, as 49 Pan points out, they can no longer ignore.
#12
If the Brits were involved they should be embarrassed.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/14/2019 13:41
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#13
The UK is at the tipping point.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/14/2019 14:15
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#14
The threat of the dissolution of the way the five friends can effectively spy on each others citizens has stayed Trumps hand. But this is going to get out, and the Brits and GCHQ in specific, were a party to the Obama spygate unwittingly I suspect. The perfidious actions of the FBI/CIA/NSC leaders entrapped the Brits in this, and history will find that the cancer at the center was at 1600 Penn Ave in 2016.
#15
Last fall, ahead of the midterms, President Trump announced his plan to declassify the FISA Court applications for the Carter Page surveillance warrant and related documents so the American people would know how everything went down.Nothing ever came of it.
#17
I think if Steele were snatched up and black sited (maybe by Russian contractors) lots of IC people would rush to be on record as not being part of the conspiracy.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/14/2019 16:43
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#18
Did they have liberals in charge of Australia in 2016? What's with the disgusting cooperation between our allies and Obama to subvert US election laws?
#19
I waded through most of Priestap’s depo. He might not be telling the truth about not knowing certain things but more likely, he really doesn't know about certain things and was put in his position because he was new to the job and didn't know very much--kind of a speed bump to slow investigators down should Trump become POTUS. He replaced Randall Coleman who left the Agency.
[The Federalist] Advanced technology isn’t just getting out of control, it’s being used as a means of control‐big time. That’s the key message of Shoshana Zuboff’s new book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight For A Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, where the Harvard professor emerita and business analyst argues that Big Tech is determined to fully commodify, control, and co-opt human experiences to provide raw behavioral data that sustains its massive profits and power.
Put simply, Zuboff contends that surveillance capitalism is the constant tracking, analysis, and attempted modification of human behavior for the profit of tech giants who trade in what she terms "behavioral futures markets," places where knowing what people are very likely to do tomorrow or next year is of enormous value to those trying to sell a product or service.
Surveillance capitalism renders human behavior by tracking, measuring, and analyzing from your smartphone to your smart home‐from browsing the internet to private messages or emails with a colleague. This relatively new, dominant force intrudes through cookies and privacy permissions that in most cases must be accepted for a service to work properly or at all, including, for example, many smart home security systems.
Zuboff distinguishes surveillance capitalism at the outset from information capitalism. Whereas information capitalism makes money from information you provide, surveillance capitalism disguises itself in intimidating terms of service agreements and actually nudges your behavior so that you do what it wants in various ways, perpetuating a feedback loop of predatory control and emotional espionage enabled through advanced machine learning and algorithmic programming.
#1
I'll go a step further: it's a misnomer to call this capitalism per se. The companies aren't in this for the money anymore. They _get_ money from the Central Banks for providing Social Control Services.
#2
Thing, one of my thoughts as well. "Surveillance capitalism" is more of a thing of the Deep State or Statism and an obsession for complete control. I think of this obsession as a leftist thing along the lines of the old USSR or Stasi-controlled East Germny. Maybe fascism better describes this form of government and economy.
#4
Orwell described televisions in 1984 that were cameras as well as televisions so Big Brother could watch you in your home. How do we know that isn't being done today? I mean, just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not doing it.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/14/2019 14:21
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#5
Software can be written to make hardware do anything. Anything. A couple of years ago a school loaned school owned laptops to students. What the students didn't realize was the laptops were recording video and audio of the students in their homes and sending that media back to a school server.
Posted by: Neville Dark Lord of the Wee Folk7365 ||
04/14/2019 20:39
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[DW] More than 60 migrants colonists stranded off the coast of Malta on the Sea-Eye charity vessel disembarked in the capital Valetta. Almost half of them are expected to arrive in Germany.
"Through the coordination of the European Commission, with the cooperation of Malta, the migrants colonists on board the NGO vessel Alan Kurdi will be redistributed among four EU states: Germany, La Belle France, Portugal and Luxembourg," a statement from Malta's government read.
The German Interior Ministry confirmed that 26 of the migrants colonists would be taken to Germany. The ministry said in a post on Twitter that Germany had "raised its acceptance level" in agreeing to take the migrants colonists.
Malta has refused to allow migrant rescue ships into its ports, arguing that their operations off Libya served to encourage human traffickers.
ALACHUA, Fla. (AP) ‐ A large, flightless bird native to Australia and New Guinea attacked and killed its owner when the man fell on his property in Florida, authorities said Saturday.
The Alachua County Fire Rescue Department told the Gainesville Sun that a cassowary killed the man Friday on the property near Gainesville, likely using its long claws. The victim, whose name was not released, was apparently breeding the birds, state wildlife officials said.
"It looks like it was accidental. My understanding is that the gentleman was in the vicinity of the bird and at some point fell. When he fell, he was attacked," Deputy Chief Jeff Taylor told the newspaper.
Cassowaries are similar to emus and stand up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall and weigh up to 130 pounds (60 kilograms), with black body feathers and bright blue heads and necks.
The San Diego Zoo’s website calls cassowaries the world’s most dangerous bird with a four-inch (10-centimeter), dagger-like claw on each foot.
"The cassowary can slice open any predator or potential threat with a single swift kick. Powerful legs help the cassowary run up to 31 miles per hour (50 kph) through the dense forest underbrush," the website says.
#1
Color me relieved. Headline per DM: "Florida man is killed by his large, flightless bird deemed 'world's most dangerous' after he fell and it attacked him with its long..."
#2
Our downsized Ratites (non-flyers) probably evolved from prehistoric cousins 25-30 million years ago. I doubt they would have survived as limp-wristed metrosexuals.
Domestication and confinement may yet be something of a challenge.
#5
My older sister once called the 911 dispatcher to report an Emu that had escaped a local commercial farm... She was on an early commute and for some reason it decided to chase her car down the highway. She told me the dispatcher's reactions were priceless...
Another sister had been a zookeeper, Baltimore Zoo, and shared that you needed to carry a straw broom in an Emu pen. They *will* kick the zookeepers, but if you hold the broom overhead and slam any aggressive bird then it thinks you are the Big Bird™ in the pecking order and will stop attacking.
[FOX] A man has been charged with attempted homicide in Friday’s unprovoked attack at the Mall of America in Minneapolis that left a 5-year-old boy with life-threatening injuries.
Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, 24, has a history of mental health problems and had twice been banned from the mall, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Saturday.
The boy fell three floors after being pushed or thrown over a railing, according to Bloomington cops. The child and Aranda were strangers, they said.
Brian Johnson told a local news outlet he heard the boy’s mother scream, "Everybody pray, everybody pray. Oh my God, my baby, someone threw him over the edge."
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/14/2019 6:34
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#4
Is someone's dog did as much violence to a child, it would be put down. However, we still believe in human sacrifice, just usually on the part of the victims not the perps.
#5
White boy, black Perp. If it was the other way around, there'd be marches, protests, leading news, Al Sharpton, Jessuh Jackson....
*crickets*
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/14/2019 10:39
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#6
the lead was that he was mental and had previously had a habit of throwing things from the 3rd floor, hence making the white child merely a convenient object, not a hate crime. Any digging will find how the editors have avoided the obvious hate crime here, it is inconveniently counter-narrative.
#7
The underlying crime is that someone with known mental problems leading to dangerous behaviour was left free to roam because nowadays the only long term residential care for such people is in the prison psych ward. And to be sent there they have to cause serious physical harm or death to another person. But since as a society we are not willing to spend the money for mental hospitals, nor to curtail the civil rights of those who are not sane, the harm to this boy and other innocents is the price that we choose to pay.
The race of the parties involved has nothing to do with it, except that the crime is noticed. Had it been black on black, no one beyond the family of the boy would have cared, while yes, white on black would have resulted in marches and demands that President Trump step down for instigating such behaviour.
#Libya Unconfirmed: French army advisors have left Gharyan town 80km south by #LNA-helicopter Other report: Convoy of 2 dozen #LNA technicals have left town too ->southwards#GNA forces advanced to mountains below Gharyan
[DAWN] A Senate panel on Friday sought a report from the interior ministry on the action taken so far against Death Eaters and banned outfits involved in Hazara ...a grouping of Dari-speaking people of Sino-Tibetan descent inhabiting Afghanistan and Pakistain. They are predominantly Shia Moslems and not particularly warlike, which makes them favored targets... killings.
The Senate Standing Committee on Interior met with Senator Rehman Malik Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship. in the chair, where members voiced serious concern over the Quetta blast and continued killings of members of the Hazara community.
It was decided that the next meeting would be held in Quetta, specifically on the agenda of the Hazara killings.
The interior ministry was directed to submit a comprehensive report on the Quetta blast and also apprise the committee of the action so far taken against the Death Eaters and banned outfits involved in Hazara killings. The panel also sought a report about the release of activists of banned outfits in the near past in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... Senator Malik said the involvement of the hostile neighbour and other external forces in terrorist activities in Balochistan could not be ruled out as such blasts appeared to be a conspiracy to incite sectarian festivities and destabilise Pakistain.
He said that the Shia Hazara community of Balochistan had been targeted for a long time and it was time to bring an end to their killings by taking fierce action against Death Eaters and banned outfits. He said that he had already called a special meeting for briefing on implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). However, nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits... at the request of the interior ministry, some more time was given to them for the briefing.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2019
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Make that USB or WiFi or BlueTooth connection in your brain or spinal cord? Link is the PDF of the research paper.
[Twitter U of California SanFran, Berkeley, BioHub]
Abstract
We present a system for scalable and customizable recording and stimulation of neural activity. In large animals and humans, the current benchmark for high spatial and temporal resolution neural interfaces are fixed arrays of wire or silicon electrodes inserted into the parenchyma of the brain. However, probes that are large and stiff enough to penetrate the brain have been shown to cause acute and chronic damage and inflammation, which limits their longevity, stability, and yield. One approach to this problem is to separate the requirements of the insertion device, which should to be as stiff as possible, with the implanted device, which should be as small and flexible as possible. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility and scalability of this approach with a system incorporating fine and flexible thin-film polymer probes, a fine and stiff insertion needle, and a robotic insertion machine. Together the system permits rapid and precise implantation of probes, each individually targeted to avoid observable vasculature and to attain diverse anatomical targets. As an initial demonstration of this system, we implanted arrays of electrodes in rat somatosensory cortex, recorded extracellular action potentials from them, and obtained histological images of the tissue response. This approach points the way toward a new generation of scaleable, stable, and safe neural interfaces, both for the basic scientific study of brain function and for clinical applications.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Libya's Aguila Saleh, speaker of the Tobruk-based House of Representatives, said on Saturday that the Libyan people will head to the polls after the capital Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... is liberated.
He called on Libyans to stand by the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... Saleh’s statement came during a parliamentary session held in Benghazi in eastern Libya, which is under the control of Haftar’s forces.
Saleh said: "We will be going to the polls after liberating Tripoli," calling on the international community to protect Libya’s money and to lift the weapons embargo on the National Army.
He also pointed out Libya’s keenness to cooperate with the international community to combat terrorism.
"We need to get rid of militias and terrorist groups," Saleh who is allied to Haftar, said using a reference eastern officials often make to describe forces allied to the Tripoli government, which relies on support from several gangs.
"We assure the residents of Tripoli that the campaign to liberate Tripoli will be limited and not violate any freedoms but restore security and fight terrorism," Saleh told politicians in a session in Benghazi.
Haftar, 75, a former general in Qadaffy’s army who later joined the revolt against him, moved his troops out of their eastern stronghold to take the oil-rich desert south earlier this year before sweeping up to Tripoli at the start of April.
But Serraj’s national accord government has managed to halt the advance for now, aided by forces with machine-guns on pickups and steel containers across the road into Tripoli.
The Tripoli government says it has taken nearly 200 prisoners from Haftar’s forces, according to Rooters.
The United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... , which had hoped to organize a national conference this month bringing the rival eastern and western administrations together to organize an election, has called for a ceasefire.
The United States, G7 bloc of wealthy nations and European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... have also urged the LNA to halt its offensive.
Tripoli-based Foreign Minister Mohammed Siyala urged the UN Security Council to call on Haftar to halt the advance.
The UN health agency said it fears outbreaks of tuberculosis, measles and diarrhoea due to poor sanitation, especially among those displaced.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2019
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Anbar (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi troops killed on Saturday two Islamic State suicide bombers following fierce clashes in the western province of Anbar.
“Backed by Iraqi warplanes, troops of the Anbar Operations Command stormed 18 hotbeds of the Islamic State terrorist group along the international highway in Anbar province,” Almaalomah news website quoted the Security Media Cell as saying in a press release.
“The troops arrested two IS suicide bombers following fierce clashes,” the statement read, adding that six armored vehicles and two explosive charges were found inside the hotbeds.
In addition, two more IS suicide bombers were arrested, the statement added.
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi security forces killed on Saturday three Islamic State militants during a security operation in the western province of Anbar, a security source was quoted as saying.
“Security forces, backed by Tribal Mobilization Forces, stormed a hotbed of the Islamic State militant group in al-Husainiat district in western Anbar, leaving three terrorists dead,” the source told Almaalomah news website.
“The troops found explosive belts, as well as a large cache of ammunition and bombs inside the hotbed,” the source said, adding that all the bombs were dismantled by the explosives experts at the scene.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/14/2019
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Sudanese army has tossed in the slammer Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! a number of unknown button men in the vicinity of Khartoum University, according to sources.
Sources said earlier on Saturday that the army surrounded the university, which lies in close proximity to the Defense Ministry headquarters in Khartoum, after hearing several gunshots.
Witnesses who spoke to Rooters said that the gunfire heard outside the ministry turned out to be celebratory. They said that members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were firing guns to celebrate the promotion of the head of the RSF, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, known by his nickname Hemeti, who was appointed deputy head of Sudan's transitional military council.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2019
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[BenarNews] At least 12 Abu Sayyaf militants were killed in a series of clashes with Philippine security forces on the southern island of Jolo.
The violence comes after a Malaysian hostage died from his injuries Tuesday, days after being rescued. An Indonesian perished during the rescue attempt and another Indonesian man was successfully freed. Among those slain was Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Julie Ikit, the cousin and top lieutenant of Abu Sayyaf senior leader Radullan Sahiron, officials said.
Acting on intelligence provided by local residents, soldiers engaged in a series of clashes near the town of Patikul on Jolo Thursday with an enemy force numbering over a hundred fighters. The running gun battle lasted for about an hour, and reports from ground troops indicated that the enemy factions were led by Sahiron and Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, the overall leader of the Abu Sayyaf faction in Jolo who is believed to have taken over as the new head of the Islamic State in the Philippines.
The battle forced the enemy to withdraw “leaving behind one dead terrorist, later identified as Abu Sayyaf sub leader Julie Ikit,” military spokesman Gerald Monfort said.
Also recovered from the site were a pair of night-vision goggles, some 40 makeshift tents and food and watersupplies – signs that the militants were highly mobile.
“After the first encounter, the 1st Scout Ranger Battalion was deployed to block the terrorists’ withdrawal,” Monfort said, adding that the soldiers cut off the escaping enemy at a remote area, forcing the gunmen to split into smaller groups going into different directions. “The body of another unidentified Abu Sayyaf member was discovered during a quick search of the area.”
The troops then chased one group of the gunmen while the blocking force encountered another splinter group that was escaping.
Intelligence reports from the ground based on radio intercepts said that seven other enemy fighters were killed and up to 19 injured in the initial battles. Three more were added to the enemy death toll by Friday evening.
Posted by: ryuge ||
04/14/2019
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Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf (ISIS)
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Incoming Paleostinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced his new cabinet on Saturday alongside president the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... , leaving out the Islamist movement Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,.
Several key positions were unchanged from the previous administration of Rami Hamdallah.
Analysts say the change of government was made to further isolate Hamas, which has been at odds with the Fatah party of Abbas and Shtayyeh for more than a decade.
They say 84-year-old Abbas, in power since 2005, retains the real decision-making authority.
In a statement on Saturday night, Abbas confirmed the new government and welcomed the cabinet.
It includes many of his long-time allies and members of Fatah, though several smaller factions are also represented.
Other parties, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Paleostine, refused to take part, calling for a unity government of all factions including Hamas.
Hamas controls the Gazoo Strip, while the Paleostinian Authority headed by Abbas is based in the West Bank, where Israel also maintains a military occupation.
Shtayyeh’s government replaces a technocratic administration which had the nominal backing of Hamas and all other Paleostinian factions.
Both Foreign Minister Riyadh Malki and Finance Minister Shukri Bishara remain in their posts.
Atef Abu Seif, a Paleostinian from Gazoo who was badly beaten by a group of men in the Hamas-run enclave, will become culture minister.
Abbas charged Shtayyeh with forming a new government on March 10.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2019
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Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... said on Saturday it backed steps announced by Sudan's transitional military council and announced an aid package to Sudan that includes wheat, petroleum products, and medicine.
"The Kingdom expresses its support for the steps announced by the Transitional Military Council in preserving the lives and property. It stands by the Sudanese people and hopes that such steps will achieve security and stability for Sudan," the statement read.
Saudi Arabia also called on the Sudanese people "of all categories prioritize national interest in order to achieve their aspirations and hopes for prosperity and development."
The statement added that Saudi King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Lord of Most of the Arabians.... had issued directives to concerned authorities in the Kingdom to provide a package of humanitarian aid.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2019
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[DAWN] The aerospace company behind Israel's failed first moonshot said on Saturday it would pursue a second mission with funds raised from private donors and the public.
The robot craft Beresheet, built by non-profit SpaceIL and state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), crashed on its final descent on Thursday, dashing Israel's hope of becoming the fourth country to manage a controlled lunar landing.
"I have had time to think, over the weekend, about what happened, and given all of the encouragement I got, and the support from people all over the world I have come tonight to announce a new project ‐ Beresheet 2," SpaceIL president and high-tech billionaire Morris Kahn told Israel's Channel 12 TV.
The maiden mission cost about $100 million, most of it raised from private donors like Kahn. He said in the interview that Israeli government participation amounted to about $3 million.
Private donors were already pledging funds for the new project, Kahn said, but he added that money should come from the public for "a project of the people of Israel".
Following Kahn’s announcement, Israel Aerospace Industries, which partnered on Beresheet, said it would gladly take part in future SpaceIL ventures.
Kahn provided a large chunk of the $100 million (NIS 370 million) required to build and launch the spacecraft ‐ a novel approach that came at a fraction of the cost of previous, state-funded efforts to land on the moon.
The project was a joint venture between the Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries, funded almost entirely by private donations from well-known Jewish philanthropists, including Kahn, Miriam and Sheldon Adelson, Lynn Schusterman, and others.
SpaceIL co-founder Yariv Bash said it would take about two or three years to get another prototype ready for a moon landing.
Opher Doron, the general manager of the Israel Aerospace Industries’ space division, which collaborated on building the spacecraft, said engineers were still studying the problem that led to the crash. Currently, they believe there had been a failure with one of the telemetry (altitude) measurement units, which caused a chain of events that ended up cutting the main engine about 10 kilometers (6 miles) above the moon’s surface. Without the main engine, the spacecraft could not properly brake in time to make a gentle landing, instead crashing into the moon Thursday.
SpaceIL co-founder Yonatan Winetraub said in a presser after the crash: "We didn’t reach the moon in one piece. That sucks. However, if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well... engineering and science are hard. Sometimes it doesn’t work the first time, sometimes it doesn’t work the second or third time. But it will work."
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#1
Of it is a maiden should it not be a different kind of shot for procreation?
#3
Failed? They went to the freakin' Moon, fer cripes sake. And they took the long way 'round which involves a bit of that arithmetic stuff. Yeah, the landing was a bit hard, but as they say, just showing up is 80%.
[DAWN] The holy warriorIslamic 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 grabbed credit for the terrorist attack in Quetta which killed 20 people and left 48 more injured, the group's Amaq news agency said on Saturday.
The group released a photograph of the bomber along with his name on Saturday and said the attack targeted the Shia community. It has claimed a number of attacks in the past.
On Friday, however, a little known faction of the Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... had grabbed credit for the blast, saying it collaborated with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ... (LeJ), which has been behind numerous bloody attacks on the Shia community in Pakistain.
HAZARA COMMUNITY STAGES SIT-IN ON SECOND CONSECUTIVE DAY, DEMANDS JUSTICE
The Hazara community, including women and kiddies, continued their sit-in in Quetta's Western Bypass area for the second straight day.
They demanded that the provincial government provide security to the Hazara community and for the perpetrators to be brought to book. "The government has failed to provide us security despite our repeated protests and requests," Kazim Raza Hazara, one of the protesters, told DawnNewsTV.
Traffic remained suspended on the main Western Bypass due to the sit-in.
"We want justice for our community," Muhammad Juma Hazara said, while Kashif Hussain questioned: "When will this bloodshed stop?"
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[VoiceOfEurope] Mona Walter is a Somali woman who came to Sweden in the 90’s. In Somalia, she had never been religious, but in Sweden she was more or less forced to go to the mosque and wear a hijab.
After a couple of years she rebelled, left Islam and became an atheist. Eventually she came to believe in Jesus and converted to Christianity.
"For many years I have tried to get the Swedes to understand what the Moslem goal is ‐ to take over your country. The first thing they will do is demand sharia courts, just like in the UK", she says.
But the mainstream media does not want to listen to Mona Walter. They call her controversial and most Swedes turn away from her message, which they perceive as too frightening, according to the news blog Ingrid and Maria.
"Swedes are so convinced that Swedish laws will always apply in their country. But ask any Englishman if he 30 years ago would have believed that Britannia would have legal sharia courts in 2019. No one would have thought it possible."
"If Sweden recognises Sharia courts the Moslems will have new demands, like permission to rule their own enclaves without interference from the Swedish society. The end goal is for Sharia to rule all of Sweden."
"If there, perchance, are any blond and blue-eyed Swedes left at that point it doesn’t matter ‐ they will all be behind niqabs and burkas by that time", Mona states.
"What Moslem politicians want is to change the laws so that Moslems in Sweden get permission to live under Sharia law. They want to rule their own areas without having to obey the secular laws of Sweden."
"That is the long-term goal and Islam has lots of patience. As they say: "You have the watches, but we have the time"", she continues.
Before the election on September 9 last year most Swedish journalists were hysterical about the Nazi party Nordic Resistance Movement. They got 2 106 votes, clearly showing that Swedes are not interested in National socialism.
But no one seems scared by the fact that Sweden now have approximately one million Moslems in the country, of which many have infiltrated the political parties to promote their own interests. The question is when Moslems will form their own party in Sweden.
In Belgium the Islam Party has been very successful over the last few years, with political goals like making the country a "100 percent Islamic state" and introducing Sharia law. They say Belgium will have a Moslem majority in only 12 years.
"The only solution for Sweden is to start a mass repatriation of people who think everything here is "haram", that don’t want to become a part of society and refuse to assimilate."
"If we don’t do that, Islam will take over in 50 years. The demography is very clear ‐ in 100 years it’s game over", Mona concludes.
[DAWN] Indian police on Saturday said one man was killed and three injured in an attack by a mob while they were skinning a dead ox, in the latest case of so-called cow lynching.
The animal is revered by Hindus and according to Human Rights Watch, 44 people died in cow-related violence between May 2015 and December last year by Hindu vigilantes.
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#1
Eat Mor Chikin!
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[KhaamaPress] The Afghan cops repulsed an attack by Talibs in northern Faryab province leaving at least 11 bandidosDeath Eaters dead.
The 209th Shaheen Corps of the Afghan Military in the North said the Talibs launched a coordinated attack on security outposts in Khwaja Namosi village of Pashtun Kot district.
According a statement released by 209th Shaheen Corps, the attack was launched at around 10:30pm local time which was repulsed by the armed forces.
The statement further added that 11 bandidosDeath Eaters were killed and 23 others were maimed during the festivities with the security forces.
The bandidosDeath Eaters who were killed or maimed during the festivities belonged to Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... ’s military commission chief for Pashtun Kot and Mullah Makhdom and deputy shadow governor of Taliban Mullah Abdul Samad, the 209th Shaheen Corps added.
The statement also added that the security forces and local residents did not suffer casualties during the festivities.
The anti-government armed bandidosDeath Eaters including Taliban have not commented in this regard so far.
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) – Two Iraqi policemen, including an officer, were wounded on Saturday in a bomb blast in Diyala province, a security source was quoted as saying.
“A bomb attack targeted a security patrol in al-Makhisa village, 25 km northeast of Baqubah, leaving two policemen wounded,” the source told Baghdad Today news website.
“An officer was among those wounded in the bomb attack,” said the source, adding that the pair were moved to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) A security source informed that four members of Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi were injured on Saturday. The fighters were injured while thwarting an attack by the Islamic State group in Khanaqin District, Alsumaria News reported.
The source said in a statement that the Islamic State militants carried out an attack, today, on a checkpoint belonging to Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi (Paramilitary fighters) in Gulay area in Khanaqin District. The attack resulted in the injury of fighters; however, that attack was thwarted.
Security forces cordoned off the area of the incident, and transferred the injured fighters to a nearby hospital to receive the needed treatment, the source added.
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[Rudaw] Protesters erupted into the streets of Iraq’s southern city of Basra on Friday to demand greater regional autonomy from Iraq’s central government.
"Today, the people of Basra are sending a positive message to the federal government and the world, that the will and future of the people of Basra is to inhale the air of freedom and redemption from the dictatorial factions that the federal government is to establish," said Hussein al-Karim, a protester.
"We want to rebuild Basra, and we are not going to take over the oil, it’s the wealth of all Iraqis. We assure you that we are not having that ugly segregated behaviour, don’t try us because we are going through the process of setting up a provincial government despite the consequences," he added.
Amid mass protests against federal government policies and neglect, Basra’s Provincial Council recently voted to hold a referendum on making Basra an autonomous region, much like the Kurdistan Region.
"I have a message for the people of Basra. I want them to be confident and solid. I want them to be self-reliant and to have confidence in your protest leaders," Ali Bahar, a Basra resident, said.
"They have to be from Basra. We have good technocrats as engineers and doctors who are ready to rebuild Basra over a two-year period. And they are ready to take an oath in front of the highest courts and in front of the three branches of government and religious references to rebuild Basra in two years and to curb unemployment within a year," he added.
Although Basra hosts Iraq’s main port and produces the biggest share of its oil, the province has no control over its revenues.
All decisions are made in the federal capital Baghdad.
"We demand that Basra becomes a province, not a segregated province. It’s a federal province and it contains an all-Iraqi governorate, if it is possible that Iraq becomes a federal country," Mustafa Fares, an activist from Basra, said.
Last summer, protests over water quality, power blackouts and unemployment turned violent, killing 14 protesters.
[KhaamaPress] The Ministry of Interior officials have confirmed that two kabooms have been heard in the vicinity of 9th police district of Kabul city.
Nasrat Rahimi, a front man for the Ministry of Interior confirmed that unidentified button men hurled hand grenades close to 9th police district cop shoppe at around 7pm local time.
Rahimi did not provide information in this regard and there are no words regarding the possible casualties.
In the meantime, officials in the Ministry of Public Health confirmed that one person was killed and six others were maimed in the kabooms.
Eyewitnesses in the area had earlier said that two improvised bombs were detonated in 9th police district of Kabul city which left at least four security personnel maimed.
No individual or group has so far grabbed credit for the incident.
[KhaamaPress] The Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... shadow governor for southern Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province Sharafuddin Taqi has succumbed to injuries which he had sustained in an Arclight airstrike conducted in Musqa Qala district few days back. So he lingered with painful sepsis? One can only hope
The provincial government media office in a statement said credible intelligence information confirm that Sharafuddin Taqi has departed this vale of tears.
The statement further added Taqi was maimed in an airstrike which was conducted on 1st of April close to Musa Qala market.
At least five murderous Moslems including the media in charge of the group Hafiz Rashid were killed during the same airstrike, the statement said, adding that Taliban’s shadow governor for Kandahar Mohammadzai is currently leading the activities of the group as shadow governor for Helmand.
The anti-government armed murderous Moslems including Taliban have not commented regarding the death of the group’s shadow governor for Helmand so far.
[DW] Despite losing its caliphate in the Middle East, IS has put down roots in Mindanao in the south of the Philippines. The government has promised Mindanao's Moslems more autonomy in return for combatting Islamist terror.
The Bato Ali Mosque was once a beautiful edifice with a distinct green dome. Now, only an ugly, bombed-out skeleton topped by a perforated minaret remains. The ravaged mosque stands out as a reminder of what happened here in the southern Philippines almost two years ago.
In the beginning everyone "thought it's a joke," recalls Norodin Lucman. He comes from one of the most influential Moslem families in the city of Marawi, where the black flag of the self-proclaimed "Islamic State
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Sometimes Debka restricts itself to absolute facts. Other times it is messaging or shaping perceptions for the Israeli government. But how to know which this is?
[Debka] President Donald trump issued a statement on Friday, warning the International Criminal Court ICC at The Hague: "Any attempt to target American, Israeli, or allied personnel for prosecution will be met with a swift and vigorous response."
The statement went on to say: "The ICC announced its unanimous rejection of a request to investigate American military and intelligence professionals who served in Afghanistan. This is a major international victory, not only for these patriots, but for the rule of law. We welcome this decision and reiterate our position that the United States holds American citizens to the highest legal and ethical standards. Since the creation of the ICC, the United States has consistently declined to join the court because of its broad, unaccountable prosecutorial powers; the threat it poses to American national illusory sovereignty; and other deficiencies that render it illegitimate."
[Breitbart] Elaine Parker of Job Creators Network writes in The Hill that the American economy ‐ as measured by job creation, unemployment, and wage growth ‐ is one of the strongest in decades:
Last Friday marked the monthly ritual of Jobs Day ‐ or the release of new economic data that is gathered and packaged by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unsurprisingly, the figures provide yet further proof the economy remains on solid footing.
More specifically, the Labor Department numbers reveal that job creation continues to be robust ‐ reporting that 196,000 jobs were added in March ‐ unemployment remains near rock bottom levels at 3.8 percent and wage growth expanded millions of American wallets yet again.
These developments only add to the symphony of other positive economic indicators. In fact, it’s evident Americans are objectively experiencing one of the strongest economies in decades.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Somali security forces rubbed out a rickshaw driver and his passenger in the capital on Saturday and killed another four people who were protesting against the shootings, witnesses and politicians said.
The protesters threw stones at police and burned tires filling the streets with black smoke.
"They (security forces) killed two people and after the demonstration, we understand police potted three more people," politician Mahad Salad told Rooters.
Rickshaw driver Aden Mohammed said the demonstration started after the shooting of his friend.
"Police deliberately killed my friend and his uncle as they drove in the rickshaw," Mohammed said. He said the protesters wanted to enter the presidential palace in the center of the city, but the police opened fire on them.
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[NYPost] The Trump administration can keep sending asylum seekers back to Mexico after an appeals court temporarily reversed a ruling that halted the policy.
The decision from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals came Friday as the asylum policy was set to end on Monday night. The government told the court that the U.S. is facing "a humanitarian and security crisis" at the southern border and needs the policy to deal with surging number of refugees, Rooters reported.
Friday’s two-paragraph decision marked a rare ruling from the 9th Circuit in favor of Trump, who has criticized the court for blocking his immigration policy in previous cases.
Since January, the administration has sent more than 1,000 asylum seekers, mostly from Central America, back to Mexico to wait the months or years it can take to process claims through an overloaded immigration system.
Civil rights groups now have until Tuesday to submit arguments for why the policy should be halted, Fox News reported. The government has until Wednesday to argue its case.
#3
9th Circus is being changed with every Trump appointment
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/14/2019 15:14
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#4
The way I understand it, legally if a central American person seeks asylum they must do it in the first available country which is Mexico so this is in keeping with International law as well as US law. Good on the Appeals court.
[DAWN] A suspected bully boy linked with banned Jundullah claimed that he had joined the bully boy outfit because of the workers of an "ethnic" party, who collected protection money from area shopkeepers and had beaten him up several times, it emerged on Friday.
The suspect, Mohammad Ishaq alias Gul, was jugged Book 'im, Mahmoud! at the Cantonment Railway Station a day before by the Counter-Terrorism Department.
Continued on Page 49
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[DW] The rumors that Libyan General Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... has Kremlin support are as consistent as his advance on the country's capital. In Syria, Russia has flexed its military muscles ‐ but it isn't showing its cards on Libya yet.
Russia seems to be trying to avoid taking a clear side in the escalating conflict.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] "Yellow vest" demonstrators clashed with riot police in the French city of 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... on Saturday as President Emmanuel Macron prepares a series of policy announcements aimed at quelling 22 consecutive weekends of anti-government protests.
Police in the southeastern city fired teargas and locked away Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! several people after several hundred demonstrators started throwing objects, burning rubbish bins and trying to enter areas where protests have been banned.
Altogether about 2,000 protesters had gathered on the Allee Jean Jaures, a wide avenue in the city center and on nearby side streets.
Activist groups had said on social media networks that Toulouse would be the focus for the 22nd round of demonstrations, prompting city mayor Jean-Claude Moudenc to express concern ahead of Saturday’s protests.
Marches in Gay Paree and elsewhere were largely peaceful by early afternoon.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... has expressed its "grave concern" over the detention in Tunisia of a UN expert tasked with investigating violations of a Libya arms embargo.
"The arrest and detention by the Tunisian authorities of Moncef Kartas... while he was performing his official duties is a matter of very grave concern," the front man for the UN Secretary-General said in a statement on Friday.
Tunisian Moncef Kartas was jugged ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... in Tunis on March 26 along with a fellow national on suspicion of "spying for foreign parties," according to Tunisian authorities.
Kartas was on Thursday brought before an investigative judge who "decided to continue" his detention, Stephane Dujarric said.
"The continued detention is in violation of the privileges and immunities that Mr. Kartas enjoys," he added.
The UN has engaged with Tunisia’s government "at the highest levels," according to the front man, making clear its legal position through four separate legal notes.
But the government had "failed to provide an adequate response," he said.
Tunisia’s interior ministry said last month "confidential documents containing sensitive detailed data capable of harming national security" were seized in relation to UN expert’s arrest.
It also alleged technical equipment for jamming and intercepting communications - banned in Tunisia - had been confiscated.
Kartas was appointed to the panel of experts in 2016, tasked with investigating violations of an arms embargo on Libya.
The panel reports to the UN sanctions committee on Libya and details its findings in an annual report. An interim report is due in June.
Previous reports by the panel have found that arms and ammunition have repeatedly been delivered to warring parties in Libya in violation of the UN embargo, with the involvement of member states.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Lebanese ruling establishment’s actions during Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza’s recent trip to Leb have once again proven its disregard for the crumbling economy. President Michel Aoun ...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... ... seems to be on a campaign to invite US sanctions on the country. Over the last few years, he has acquired a knack for stepping in the path of danger while praying for the best.
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[Rudaw] Several times in recent months the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has said it will shift its focus from the fight against 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) to the liberation of Ottoman Turkish-occupied Afrin in Syria’s northwest.
On March 28, SDF commander Ferhat Abdil Sahin, more commonly known by his nom de guerre Mazlum Kobane, announced the group is "preparing and making arrangements in order to liberate Afrin".
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[IsraelTimes] US secretary of state tells CNN ’The vision that we’ll lay out is going to represent a significant change from the model that’s been used’.
Asked during a CNN interview by anchor Jake Tapper whether he thought Netanyahu "vowing to annex the West Bank" could hurt the US proposal, Pompeo answered "I don’t."
"I think that the vision that we’ll lay out is going to represent a significant change from the model that’s been used," he added.
"We’ve had a lot of ideas for 40 years. They did not deliver peace between the Israelis and the Paleostinians," he said. "Our idea is to put forward a vision that has ideas that are new, that are different, that are unique, that tries to reframe and reshape what’s been an intractable problem."
He said the Trump administration wanted "a better life" for both Israelis and Paleostinians.
In interviews days before the elections, Netanyahu said he intended to gradually apply Israeli law to all settlements, and that he hoped he could do so with the agreement of the United States.
Flatly ruling out Paleostinian statehood, which he said would "endanger our existence," Netanyahu promised to permanently maintain overall Israeli security control in the West Bank and to formalize Israeli rule over the 400,000-plus Israeli Jews in the settlements. This would apply not only to major settlement blocs, but also to isolated settlements, he indicated.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Syrian Kurds on Saturday repatriated 25 women and kiddies from Iraq’s Yazidi minority after freeing them during the final push against ISIS Death Eater group, a local official said.
The US-backed fighters say they rescued some 300 Yazidi women and kiddies during the fight to take the Death Eaters’ last scrap of territory in eastern Syria.
"Today, we will hand over 25 people - 10 women and 15 children - to the Yazidi council in Sinjar," said Ziyad Rustam, an official with the Kurdish-run group Yazidi House, which reunites rescued Yazidi children with surviving relatives.
"They will be sent to their families," he told AFP.
At the Yazidi House headquarters, women wearing colourful robes collected children scampering around the compound before boarding busses bound for Sinjar, the Yazidi heartland.
"The fate of my three sisters remains unknown... I don’t know anything about them," said 17-year-old Jamila Haidar. "I hope we will be reunited soon."
Iraq’s Yazidis are a symbol of the suffering caused by ISIS during its rein over vast swathes of Syria and Iraq.
The forces of Evil stormed through Iraq’s northwest in 2014 slaughtering thousands of men and boys and abducting women and girls to be abused as sex slaves.
But they have since lost all of the once-sprawling cross-border "caliphate" to multiple offensive.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces last month announced the defeat of the ISIS proto-state after tens of thousands of people streamed out of the Death Eaters’ last patch of territory, around the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border.
Rustam said SDF had in total liberated 850 Yazidi women and kiddies during its battles against ISIS since 2015.
But 3,040 Yazidis are still missing, he said, adding that the search for them was ongoing.
Rustam said the forces of Evil had "sold many of them to people inside Syria, in places like Idlib," most of which is held by a former al-Qaeda affiliate.
Some of the Yazidis extracted from ISIS’s last sliver of territory are being held at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which also houses Death Eater family members.
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[DAWN] 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... on Saturday backed a possible third summit with North Korea, after Kim Pudge Jong-un ...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished... said he would be willing to meet his American counterpart if Washington comes to the table with the "right attitude". "NO"
Kim said he would wait until the end of the year "for the US to make a courageous decision" to change its approach and smooth the path to another meeting, state media reported, after his most recent summit with Trump in Vietnam broke down without agreement.
Trump welcomed further talks between the pair, pointing to their "excellent relationship".
"I agree with Kim Jong-un of North Korea that our personal relationship remains very good, perhaps the term excellent would be even more accurate, and that a third Summit would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand," he said on Twitter.
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[KhaamaPress] At least fourteen Taliban militants were killed or wounded in airstrikes conducted by the Afghan Air Force and coalition forces in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan.
The 205th Atal Corps of the Afghan military in the South said the airstrikes were carried out in the vicinity of Shahwali Kot district.
According to a statement released by 205th Atal Corps, at least 11 Taliban militants were killed during the airstrikes and 3 others were wounded.
The anti-government armed militants including Taliban have not commented regarding the airstrikes so far.
Kandahar is among the relatively volatile provinces in South of Afghanistan. Taliban militants have active presence in some of its remote districts and often attempt to carry out attacks against the government and security institutions.
[KhaamaPress] A group of 19 Taliban militants including three leaders were arrested in Kandahar province shortly after returning from Pakistan. returning from Pakistain ya say? Obviously that's a lie as we're constantly reassured they don't winter/rest/kit up per the ISI
The Afghan Intelligence, National Directorate of Security (NDS) said Taliban leaders Noorullah alias Abu Zahr, Fateh son of Mohammad Ishaq, and Hamidullah alias Saqib, the commander of the Red Unit of Taliban in Zabul province were arrested in Kandahar soon after they returned from Pakistan.
According to a statement released by NDS, Noorullah and Fateh were each in charge of groups of 40 militants and were involved in destructive and terrorist related activities in Kandahar, Zabul and Logar provinces.
The statement further added that the three Taliban leaders and their men had visited Pakistan during the winter season to participate in training courses and obtain instructions from the group’s leadership (Quetta Council).
The anti-government armed militants including Taliban have not commented regarding the arrest of the 19 members of the group so far.
It’s only some Kurd villagers, so the government of Iraq doesn’t care.
[Rudaw] Many people in villages in the Kurdistan Region near the Iraq-The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund.... border have dealt with the sounds of artillery and planes for three decades, but in the Christian village of Sharanish near Zakho all that can be heard is the birds.
People have closed their houses and abandoned their properties and belongings. The 14 families of Sharanish don’t know when they will return. It was recently bombed twice.
There are at least 25 villages in Darkare subdistrict in Zakho. Some straddle the border.
People remain in the villages of Paraq and Dashtataq.
"These two villages are still inhabited, and nearly 20-30 families remain in the upper Sharanish village. Five to six families are here. People used to move around in the past, but can’t do that this year because of artillery and bombing," one local told Rudaw.
Border patrol guards are seen in Sharanish.
Mayor of Darkare Zirvan Ismael explains that people passing through should mind their safety.
"There is daily shelling, and we have informed international organizations about this, asking them to help us to reach an agreement with the Ottoman Turkish state so this area is not evacuated," he said.
Zeravan is a shepherd in Paraq and Dashtataq.
"Both villages were shelled. I am herding 70 sheep from two villages. Only shepherds remain here. Our families have left for Zakho until the situation calms. If it doesn’t, we have to find a way," he said.
An assessment team from the district of Darkare has recorded the damage of the shelling. Since last year, damage amounting to 2 billion dinars ($1.68 million) has been inflicted on the farms and homes.
Locals claim because of the conflict between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Ottoman Turkish state, there have been more than 300 shellings since last year.
Turkey regularly carries out cross-border air raids, targeting alleged PKK positions. It usually targets sparsely populated areas, though tens of civilians have been killed over the years.
The bombings have also forced villagers out of their homes in some of the mountainous areas, placed pasture lands off-limits, and destroyed forests.
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[PRESSTV] Libyan rebel commander General Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... has been directly supported by 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... in his new campaign to seize control of the capital Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , a new report has shown.
The Wall Street Journal said Haftar, who leads the so-called Libyan National Army, had been ensured of massive funds from Saudi Arabia during a trip to the kingdom before he started his push to seize control of Tripoli on April 4.
The report cited sources close to the Saudi government as saying that bigwigs in Riyadh, including Saudi's intelligence chief and interior minister, had offered tens of millions to Haftar to pay for his bloody operation.
They said Haftar accepted the offer which could guarantee the support of tribal leaders and enable him to recruit and pay fighters.
"We were quite generous," said an advisor to the Saudi government, according to the WSJ.
The newspaper also confirmed that Haftar had met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ...Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as of 2016.... during his visit to the kingdom.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... forces attacked the northern Afghan city of Kunduz on Saturday, a day after the launch of their annual spring offensive, as fighting intensified across the country ahead of the next round of peace talks with US representatives.
Heavy fighting ... as opposed to the more usual name-calling or slapsy... has been going on for weeks but the announcement of the spring offensive while peace talks were due was a blow to any hopes of a quick agreement and was criticized as "reckless" by US special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad.
Taliban front man Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement the movement was committed to the grinding of the peace processor but accused Afghan and international forces of stepping up their own operations.
"We are committed to the ongoing process of negotiation and peaceful resolution, but we cannot be unmoved in the face of military operations and the terrorist wave of occupiers and mercenaries," Khalilzad said.
However, death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate... security officials in Kabul said that apart from the operation in Kunduz, Saturday’s attacks in 15 provinces across the country were limited in scope and had largely been contained.
"They engaged Afghan cops to show their presence with the start of their spring offensive," one bigwig said. "But Afghan forces were on high alert across the country and therefore several attacks were pushed back."
STRATEGIC CITY In Kunduz, the strategic city which briefly fell to the Taliban in 2015, fighters attacked from several directions in the early hours of the morning, causing heavy casualties, the provincial governor’s front man Enhamuddin Rahmani said.
A local health official said more than 70 dead and maimed had been brought into the main city hospital.
There were also attacks in the northern provinces of Baghlan, Takhar, and Badakhshan, as well as Faryab, Sar-e Pul and Balkh, but there were no reports of significant casualties among security forces.
In southern Afghanistan, Taliban forces launched attacks in the opium-rich province of Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... , with operations in Nad Ali, Gereshk and Sangin districts, areas that have been fought over for the past 17 years.
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“All their divisions are busy elsewhere, and America won’t give them more money.”
[Libya Observer] The front man for Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... 's forces Ahmed al-Mismari said the support of the UN for the Presidential Council's government won't hinder their forces' advance on Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... Al-Mismari accused Friday forces loyal to the Presidential Council of targeting civilian houses but then contradicted himself by saying their forces are advancing under an air cover.
He also described the Presidential Council forces, which is internationally recognized, as criminal gangs, adding that funding them will prolong the fighting and cause more casualties.
Haftar's forces have been leading an offensive since April 04 in different southern Tripoli frontlines in an attempt to enter the capital, but they are being thwarted by Libyan Army forces under the command of Presidential Council.
Over 140 people have been killed so far from both sides, while over 6000 others have been displaced from conflict zones, let alone the damage in public and private properties.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Algeria’s magistrates, who play a key role overseeing the country’s elections, said on Saturday they would boycott a July 4 presidential election in support of the protest movement.
Protestors have held vast rallies calling for allies of ousted president Abdelaziz Bouteflika ... 10th president-for-life of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term. Maybe it's the fifth.... to step down after the veteran leader quit earlier this month.
They have rejected the July poll, arguing that elections cannot be free and fair if they are held under the same judicial framework and institutions like those of the Bouteflika regime.
Interim leader Abdelkader Bensalah has pledged a "transparent" vote but protestors have called for him to leave office too.
More than 100 magistrates staged a protest outside the justice ministry on Saturday in response to a call by the Magistrates’ Club ‐ a nascent group set up as an alternative to the regime’s National Magistrates’ Syndicate (SNM).
"The Magistrates’ Club has decided to boycott the task of supervising the presidential election," said Saad Eddine Merzoug, a judge from El Oued in the country’s southeast.
Merzoug said the new club had members at every court in the country, without specifying numbers.
Magistrates play a major role in organizing votes in Algeria. Notably, they oversee the electoral roll, a frequent source of disputes between the regime and the opposition.
A revision of the register is set to take place later this month, ahead of the July election.
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The Hague (AFP) - A Dutch doctor at the centre of an IVF scandal fathered at least 49 children, an organisation representing parents and children born through his now-closed clinic said Friday.
Jan Karbaat, who died in 2017, is the father of 49 children born after women visited his Rotterdam clinic where he used his own sperm instead of sperm from a chosen donor to inseminate them, Defence for Children said.
Results of DNA tests conducted Friday at a hospital in the southeastern city of Nijmegen "showed that 49 children in the case are direct descendants of the late Karbaat," the organisation said in a statement.
"The results confirm serious suspicions that Karbaat used his own sperm at his clinic," Defence for Children added.
The controversial case became public after a Dutch court ruled in February that the results of Karbaat's DNA test should be made available to parents and children to conduct their own comparisons.
Before his death, aged 89, Karbaat reportedly admitted to having fathered about 60 children in his time at the discredited clinic which closed in 2009 amid reports of irregularities.
Karbaat later also admitted to mixing sperm from various donors and issuing fraudulent donor documentation, the Dutch daily newspaper NRC reported.
The group of suspected "Karbaat children" dragged his family to court to force them to release Karbaat's DNA profile, which was kept locked in a safe.
The Karbaat family's lawyers had argued that their clients' right to privacy had to be respected.
"However, with the judges agreeing to the paternity test, the judge placed the children's rights above those of Karbaat and his family," Defence for Children advisor Iara de Witte said.
"Now, after years of uncertainty the plaintiffs can finally close a chapter and start processing the fact that they are one of Karbaat's many descendants," De Witte said.
One of the children, Eric Lever, recently told the NRC newspaper he was "not angry with Karbaat."
"I don't get the feeling that he cheated my mother," he told the NRC paper.
"She really wanted a child and could not have one with my parental father," he said.
The Defence for Children added it was likely that Karbaat sired even more donor children than the 49 revealed on Friday.
"Sperm belonging to the late doctor was also distributed to other clinics," Dutch news agency ANP quoted the organisation as saying.
The organisation has appealed to anybody who may suspect that Karbaat was their donor father to apply to a Dutch database for DNA matching.
Applicants can apply in writing to an official body called the FIOM, which maintains a DNA database to match children conceived via anonymous donors.
[IsraelTimes] Watchdogs say Israelis entered Urif, hurled stones and damaged property, claim Israeli troops then arrived and fired at residents; settlers say Paleostinians instigated the clash.
The Palestinians should have signed a peace plan back when Labour was still running things, or abided by the Oslo Ageement. But Yasser Arafat needed his second Intifada, and now ever fewer blame the Jews living in the West Bank for doing as they’ve been done by.
Dozens of Israelis stormed a Paleostinian village in the northern West Bank on Saturday, vandalizing property and throwing stones at residents in an attack partially caught on video, according to rights groups.
Brief video can be seen at the link.
Citing one its field researchers, the Yesh Din group said over 50 Israelis entered the village of Urif from the direction of the Yitzhar settlement, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, smashing car windows and throwing rocks at homes.
In security camera footage released by the group, a large number of masked men can be seen hurling stones at a car and a home while a Paleostinian family is outside, including what Yesh Din said was a mother with her young daughter. and puppies ...and a duck
Residents of Urif later clashed with the Israelis, and Yesh Din said Israeli troops who arrived on the scene fired tear gas and live bullets at the villagers. It said the soldiers did not detain any of the Jewish attackers.
B’Tselem, another rights group that documents alleged Israeli human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. violations in the West Bank, released an image of an injured Paleostinian man being taken away in an ambulance. A front man for B’Tselem was not aware how the Paleostinian was hurt, but said several locals were treated for tear gas inhalation. Yesh Din said no Paleostinians were maimed by the settlers.
A front man for Yitzhar said the incident began after a number of Paleostinians approached an almond orchard near the settlement, threw rocks and lightly injured a settler.
The front man said Israeli troops and the settlement security coordinator pushed the Paleostinians back towards Urif. He said a group of settlers then followed to the village where a clash developed, before Border Police arrived at the scene.
An army front man told The Times of Israel that soldiers and Border Police used riot dispersal means to break up a clash between Israelis and Paleostinians near Urif, without giving further details.
Yitzhar and its surrounding outposts are seen as an epicenter of settler violence and have often been linked to attacks on Paleostinians and their property.
Far-right Israelis justify targeting Paleostinians and sometimes IDF soldiers in so-called "price tag" attacks, ostensibly in retaliation for terror attacks and Israeli government actions deemed hostile to the settler movement.
In December, the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released a report that showed a 69 percent increase in settler attacks on Paleostinians in 2018 compared to 2017.
[ToloNews] At least 27 Taliban ...Arabic for students... fighters were killed after they attempted an attack on Shirzad district in the 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 on Friday evening, the provincial governor's office said in a statement on Saturday.
The holy warriors had launched the attack near the district governor's office but were "pushed back and defeated," the statement clarified.
The attack started with two boom-mobilekabooms and was followed by shootout, the statement added.
The statement said that 32 other holy warriors were maimed in the attack.
Two security forces bit the dust and eight others were maimed in the attack, the statement said.
Nangarhar Governor Shah Mahmood Miakhel praised security forces "bravery and high morale" in foiling the Taliban attack.
Miakhel said that in order to prevent civilian casualties they did not conduct Arclight airstrike and missile attack, but reinforcements were sent to the area when the attack started.
Taliban grabbed credit for the attack.
This comes after the Taliban announced their spring offensive on Friday morning which is entitled Operation al-Fatha - which means "victory" in Arabic. The group said in a statement that the offensive will be conducted across Afghanistan with the aim of "eradicating occupation" and "cleansing our Moslem homeland from invasion and corruption".
The announcement was widely condemned by the Afghan government, the United States and Afghan politicians.
[DAWN] Eight individuals ‐ including six women and two children ‐ were killed in a flash flood in the Toi Khullah tehsil of South Wazoo on Saturday.
According to district administration officials, a vehicle heading to a wedding party was travelling from Wana to Zarmilan. It drowned, taking its occupants with it, when it was caught in the flash flood.
As per the officials, six children remain missing and a search operation is underway to find them.
The bodies of the dear departed have been recovered from the flood water. Pakistain Army and district administration officials are continuing a search for the missing individuals.
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[Libya Observer] The Libyan House of Representatives (HoR) held its first session in Benghazi headquarters chaired by Speaker Aqilah Saleh and attended by only 32 members out of 196.
The HoR session endorsed the current war on Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... led by Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... 's forces as Saleh urged the international community to support those forces in their war on "terrorism."
"The Libyan army has a mission in Tripoli and it will protect people's lives and properties. The army is the only guarantee for a civilian state and democratic transition in Libya." Saleh added.
"The HoR is the only legitimate body in Libya. Neither the Presidential Council nor the High Council of State are legitimate and the former continues to hinder the constitution referendum."
About 100 HoR members who reject the war on Tripoli by Khalifa Haftar said they were preparing for a session to be held in Tripoli, saying Speaker Saleh is illegitimate because he endorsed Haftar's war.
Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Bugs Moroni was holding Slats from behind while his brother Greasy Thumb was pounding his face into paste ... HoR member Ali Abu Zariba said the session in Benghazi is not legal and that a hundred members will be holding a session in Tripoli to elect a new Speaker in a week to come, saying the session will be chaired by the oldest member.
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#2
Apologies if above, as abandoned this morning, seems racist. Had intended to add a couple more representative Caucasians but dozed off. Seriously, the Abkhazian dude's my new hero. Totally t-shirt material, wot?
#3
Some of us are familiar with the unintended nap problem, Rupert the Fragrant6790. Since the costume matched, I assumed you’d got hold of some interesting historical photos. So no complaints from me.
[Libya Observer] The Interior Minister of the Presidential Council's government Fathi Bashagha has accused the UAE of sending Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... military support for his war on Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... in a clear violation of the international law.
Bashagha told Alhurra TV Channel on Friday that they received information about an aircraft that came from UAE and landed in Benghazi's Benina Airport with military equipment for Haftar's forces in violation of the UN arms embargo.
He called on Egypt and Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... to support Libyans not the individual named Haftar as betting on a person rather than the entire people is a losing bet.
"Our forces in Tripoli will turn from defense to offense to foil the advance of the attacking forces and push them to their previous positions." Bashagha remarked.
He said his government regards Haftar as an illegitimate party and his forces as militias, and those who think he has built an army are delusional as the only Libyan army can be formed just when the constitution is approved.
"How can a national army attack a city of it's own country." He asked, denying any talks with Haftar saying "we don't negotiate with a warlord."
"A ceasefire can take place only if Haftar's forces withdrew to their previous positions. Then we can have a dialogue with eastern elders and tribes; those who care for the wellbeing of the country as a whole." Bashagha explained.
He also said that the captured fighters from Haftar's forces are being treated well and they will be set free to return home soon.
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[Rudaw] Mass graves discovered in Iraq’s southern Muthanna Governorate contain the remains of Kurds killed during Saddam Hussein’s Anfal campaign, Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani confirmed Saturday.
Muthanna Provincial Council told Rudaw there are four mass graves at the site, estimated to contain up to 200 bodies.
Farqan Sahib, a volunteer working at the site of the discovery, told Rudaw he had seen the remains of a mother with "a baby in her arms and another next to her".
In a Facebook post on Saturday night, Talabani said "initial indications have shown that it contains the honorable Anfal [victims] of Kurdistan."
Thanking the governor of Muthanna, Ahmed Manfi Jawda, who announced the discovery on Friday, Talabani said a delegation from the Kurdistan Region’s Martyrs and Anfal Affairs Ministry will soon visit Baghdad to investigate.
"Expert teams will soon start working to reveal the identity [of the victims] and later return the bodies to the sacred land of Kurdistan," Talabani added.
At least 182,000 Kurds were systematically executed by Saddam Hussein’s Baath regime in the late 1980s. Many thousands were taken to Iraq’s southern desert provinces where they were killed and buried en masse. The Anfal campaign took place over eight phases ‐ beginning in 1986, reaching its peak in 1988, and culminating in the closing weeks of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88). Anfal, the eighth sura in the Koran, was the codename used by the Baathist regime for the slaughter.
The Muthanna governor visited the Kurdistan Region last month and met with Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), to discuss efforts to find other Anfal-era mass graves.
Baravan Hamdi, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)’s deputy minister of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs, told Rudaw the KRG is working in coordination with the Iraqi health ministry, Iraq’s deaders ministry, Baghdad mortuary, and the defense ministry to uncover further sites.
Hamdi said it is not clear where the Muthanna bodies are from, but said he is sending a KRG team to "take legal and medical measures and follow international standards to unearth them, identify them and repatriate them and lastly rebury them."
The discovery came just days ahead of Anfal Memorial Day, marked annually on April 14.
After the collapse of the Baathist regime in 2003, the KRG coordinated with post-Saddam governments to uncover the graves with the help of local witnesses.
A US team uncovered the first mass grave shortly after the liberation. It was found to contain 114 bodies. A second mass grave was found on Iraq-Saudi border in 2005, where the bodies of 93 Barzanis were uncovered.
From 2003 to 2018, more than 2,500 bodies have been discovered and repatriated to the Kurdistan Region, Rebwar Ramazan, head of the Barzanis
...one of the Kurdish tribes. It’s not clear why they are separated out here...
deaders and Anfal affairs, told Rudaw.
Ramazan says 150 people from his village and extended family were killed during the Anfal.
In addition to the 182,000 declared missing, an estimated 8,000 Barzanis were kidnapped in 1983 never to be seen again, he said. Of this 8,000, just 596 have been found and returned.
This would explain why the S-300s did not respond to the latest Israeli strikes. Does anyone here know if this is true, or if is it just Debka trying to shape perceptions?
[Debka] Tehran had no reason to expect Russian Pantsir, S-300 or S-400 air defense missiles to begin knocking out the Israeli aircraft targeting Iranian military sites in Syria. Some analysts reported that Iran was disappointed by the silence of the Russian systems when, according to Syrian sources, Israeli aircraft from Lebanese air space struck locations, in the Hama region early Saturday, April 13.
DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources reveal that the Russians were quietly strengthened in their three-year policy of non-interference by a message from 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... to President Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... through back-channels. Putin was warned to continue to turn a blind eye to Israeli raids on Iranian targets in Syria. The message implied that the Israeli Air Force was for the first time operating under an American aerial umbrella.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu knew about the Trump message before he sat down with Putin in the Kremlin on April 4. He was there to adapt the military coordination arrangements between Israel and Russia to the relocation of Iranian command enters and stores from Damascus to Aleppo. The Israeli Air Force targeted the new locations for the first time on Feb. 27.
[ToloNews] The Kunduz city, in the north of Afghanistan, came under Taliban ...Arabic for students... attack hours after the group announced its so-called spring offensive, local officials said.
The attack was launched on the outskirts of Kunduz city at 2am on Saturday, said Enamuddin Rahmani, a front man for Kunduz police.
"Taliban started the attack on Kunduz city from different directions last night at around 2pm, but they faced with a strong response by security forces and their attack was foiled," Rahmani said. "Sporadic festivities are ongoing in some parts of the outskirts of Kunduz city."
Some families were displaced after the conflicts started, residents said.
"I am living in Chele Mazar area (on the outskirts) of Kunduz city. We have been displaced and festivities are ongoing," said Sher Khan, a Kunduz resident.
[UNIONLEADER] The principal of Epping High School has apologized after a freshman was told to cover up her “Make America Great Again” Trump T-shirt earlier this week during the school’s America Day.
In a letter addressed to the school community on Friday, Brian Ernest admitted his mistake when Ciretta MacKenzie was told to cover her shirt.
Ernest said he met with Ciretta’s family and offered his apologies. But NOT his resignation
“We have begun to draft a plan to move forward to promote civil discourse and diversity in our schools. In retrospect, I want to fully acknowledge my error in judgement (sic) and sincerely apologize if my actions were misinterpreted and offended anyone. That was never my intention,” he wrote.
“We have begun to draft a plan to move forward to promote civil discourse and diversity in our schools. In retrospect, I want to fully acknowledge my error in judgement (sic) and sincerely apologize if my actions were misinterpreted and offended anyone. That was never my intention,” he wrote.
The thing is, the actions were correctly interpreted — that’s why your student, her parents, and vocal others made their displeasure widely known, Principal Earnest.
The apology followed sharp criticism over the decision to prohibit the shirt on Monday, which was a day when students were encouraged to wear red, white and blue to show off their patriotism.
Ciretta, who will turn 15 next week, said she wore the Trump shirt to school, but was called to Ernest’s office where she was told she would have to cover it up. She said Ernest told her that Trump was a controversial President and that he didn’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable if she wore it.
Barack H. Obama was a controversial president as well. Did you make students wearing his t-shirts cover them up at the time?
In an email sent to Ciretta’s mother, Rose MacKenzie, after she expressed concern about his decision, Ernest wrote, “I explained that we need to separate political views from patriotism. In today’s climate it is important to not mix church or state.”
Unless all political views are banned, none can be.
Ernest has come under attack by many who felt the incident wasn’t properly handled, that it suggested intolerance for opposing political views, and that it violated Ciretta’s First Amendment rights.
The controversy over the shirt grabbed national headlines after it was first reported in Thursday’s New Hampshire Union Leader.
In his letter Friday, Ernest defended his work at the school.
“I have worked in the Epping School District for the past five years. During this time, I have always promoted tolerance, acceptance, diversity and civility. Since the event of April 8th there has been a multitude of responses, some of which have fact-based information and other responses less factual. I have always been respectful and sincere in my approach to promote civil discourse and free speech/expression. I want our students to be free thinkers and be able to express their opinions in a respectful manner,” Ernest wrote.
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#1
"Oops! I am deeply sorry I got caught"
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/14/2019 7:35
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#2
SCOTUS has already ruled on the issue. We don't need 'plans' or other smokes screen to hide behind when you are caught red handed.
But NOT his resignation
Well, the school year is about over. The contract is up. It's the school board that heat needs to be brought upon. Simply point out cost avoidance in not renewing against a known losing hand in any court action predicated upon established law.
#4
To be perfectly honest, a principal would have to have been in far bigger trouble to offer resignation. This man has offered a simpering, false apology, and expects the rest of us to buy it, or pretend to, while he moves on to his next victim in the culture wars. His superiors and underlings will accept his apology with a wink and and a nod and nothing will change except for this individual school for the remainder of this individual year. Schools are run by scumbags. Especially but not exclusively public schools. Even this much was more than I expected, but far less than needed to happen.
#5
Ban the guy from voting or contributing to any political campaign for 10 years (guess you'd have to impound his union dues) because his "political statements" might offend sombody. See how he likes it...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/14/2019 11:54
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The new head of Sudan’s transitional military council said on Saturday that a civilian government would be established after consultations with opposition forces and promised that the transitional period would last for a maximum of two years.
In his first televised address, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdelrahman said he was cancelling a night curfew ordered by his predecessor and ordered the release of all prisoners incarcerated Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! under emergency laws ordered by ousted President Omar al-Bashir Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it. Earlier on Saturday, Sudan’s security and intelligence chief, Salah Gosh resigned on Saturday, the country’s new military rulers said on Saturday.
On Friday, Sudan’s Defense Minister Awad Ibn Auf said that he is stepping down as head of the Country’s transitional military council, a day after former president Omar al-Bashir was tossed in a coup.
Bashir was tossed on Thursday after weeks of mass protests brought on by rising food costs, high unemployment and increasing repression during his three decades in power.
Protest organizers had earlier on Saturday urged people to keep marching to demand a civilian government after the defense minister and the intelligence chief stepped down.
Thousands of people gathered in front of the Defense Ministry in central Khartoum, a Rooters witness said.
Celebrations erupted on the streets of Khartoum overnight after Ibn Auf’s resignation.
Thousands of protesters waved flags and illuminated mobile phones in the darkness and drivers hooted car horns. People chanted: "The second has fallen!" a reference to Ibn Auf and Bashir, witnesses said.
"Islamists have now lost control and they are in shock. Their ability to project influence in an organized way inside the state appears weak," said Sudanese analyst Khalid al-Tijani.
He added: "The reason for the changes in Sudan is the pressure from protesters and pressures within the army, and the fear among military commanders of a split in the armed forces."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2019
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Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
[Bernama] A homemade bomb triggered by a walkie-talkie blew up near a police station in Pattani province on Friday, injuring four policemen and a female bystander.
Police spokesman Sompop Boonjan said the 10-kg bomb attached to a motorcycle about 400 meters from the police station was triggered at 11:30am as a police pickup truck passed by on its way to Napradu. The blast caused the truck to crash into a ditch and four of the six policemen in it were injured.
A 65-year-old woman who was passing by was also wounded, he added.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Yemen’s House of Representatives convened on Saturday morning for the first time since the war started, and elected Sultan al-Burkani, the head of Yemen’s General People's Congress (GPC), as its speaker.
The process of electing parliamentary positions began with the participation of 141 deputies.
Held in the city of Sayoun, the parliament session was attended by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and several Yemeni government officials. Hadi had arrived to Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... on Friday.
In a speech during the session, Hadi said that this parliament session "proves clearly that this destructive Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... project is deteriorating day by day."
In a message directed to the Houthi militias, Hadi said: "Do not wager the past and future of Yemen with the country’s enemies."
Hadi added that their top priority now is to defeat the Houthi coup and build government institutions.
"I appeal to the Yemenis to hold on to hope despite the threats and violations of the Houthis," he said.
"We did not want a war and did everything in our power to avoid it," Hadi said, adding that the government is fulfilling its duty in defending the country.
He added that any government official who is not carrying out his or her duties "has committed treason toward this country and its people."
Newly elected speaker al-Burkani also said that the government is determined to defeat the Houthi coup so that the Yemeni people can regain their country.
"Through its Houthi project, Iran seeks to establish its influence from Yemen to Leb," al-Burkani said.
Al-Burkani called on the Houthis to support peace and halt the violence in accordance with international resolutions. He also called on the heads of government apparatuses to move to Aden to carry out their duties.
The session of the House of Representatives comes based on a decision issued by Hadi, under a law that allows him as president of Yemen to hold parliamentary sessions anywhere in the country if security conditions do not allow for them to be held in the capital.
Intensive security measures were taken to secure the city with the start of the first parliamentary session.
The 301-member parliament was last elected in 2009. It's six-year term has already expired.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2019
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Top|| File under: Houthis
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.
[NY Post] 
[Babylon Bee] WASHINGTON, D.C.‐After Attorney General Barr suggested that the FBI and other agencies spied on Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, former FBI director James Comey fired back.
[Free Beacon] Rep. Rashida 
[Red State] On Tuesday, Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) released the second part of the June 2018 closed-door testimony of Bill Priestap, the Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.
[The Federalist] Advanced technology isn’t just getting out of control, it’s being used as a means of control‐big time. That’s the key message of Shoshana Zuboff’s new book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight For A Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, where the Harvard professor emerita and business analyst argues that Big Tech is determined to fully commodify, control, and co-opt human experiences to provide raw behavioral data that sustains its massive profits and power.
[FOX] A man has been charged with attempted homicide in Friday’s unprovoked attack at the Mall of America in Minneapolis that left a 5-year-old boy with life-threatening injuries.
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
[BenarNews] At least 12 Abu Sayyaf militants were killed in a series of clashes with Philippine security forces on the southern island of Jolo.
...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Lord of Most of the Arabians....
... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ...
[DAWN] Indian police on Saturday said one man was killed and three injured in an attack by a mob while they were skinning a dead ox, in the latest case of so-called cow lynching.
[Debka] President Donald trump issued a statement on Friday, warning the International Criminal Court ICC at The Hague: "Any attempt to target American, Israeli, or allied personnel for prosecution will be met with a swift and vigorous response." 
[NYPost] The Trump administration can keep sending asylum seekers back to Mexico after an appeals court temporarily reversed a ruling that halted the policy.
Michel Aoun
North Korea
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as of 2016....
Bouteflika
Wazoo
...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
