Sen. Tom Cotton accepted the challenge, but President Obama's speechwriter and high-ranking foreign policy adviser Ben Rhodes ducked out of a hearing Tuesday where he was to explain whether he misled the country in pushing the Iran nuclear deal.
Members of Congress had been eager to prod Mr. Rhodes over misrepresentations, but the White House had seemed skeptical, saying lawmakers should poke one of their own, Mr. Cotton, an Arkansas Republican that Mr. Obama's aides say has been misleading.
Mr. Cotton jumped at the chance -- and then the White House backed out, refusing to let Mr. Rhodes testify, citing magic executive privilege.
"Specifically, the appearance of a senior presidential adviser before Congress threatens the independence and autonomy of the president, as well as his ability to receive candid advice and counsel in the discharge of his constitutional duties," W. Neil Eggleston, the White House's chief lawyer, wrote to the House Oversight Committee on Monday. I call bull$hit. Rhodes didn't seem to think it mattered in this case or he'd have kept his mouth shut. If he thinks it matters in the next case, he can keep his mouth shut there instead.
Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz was nonplussed.
"What is mystifying to me is how readily available he made himself to the media," the Utah Republican said Tuesday morning as he kicked off the hearing, which went ahead without Mr. Rhodes or Mr. Cotton, who Mr. Chaffetz said wasn't needed anymore after Mr. Rhodes refused.
Mr. Chaffetz then went on to play a clip of Mr. Rhodes from early 2015 saying the negotiations produced access to Iran's nuclear facilities anytime and anywhere -- then played a clip of Secretary of State John Kerry later that summer saying that was never a goal, and wasn't part of the agreement.
It's not unusual for the administration to refuse to let top White House advisers testify. After the fact? He already said it. Congress should immediately and progressively start pulling on the purse strings until someone caves. People should grab their pitchforks and torches. Why should he have to say it twice?
Cabinet officials and others confirmed by the Senate have a duty to Congress, but the president's own staffers, who do not face confirmation, answer only to him, and administrations of both parties regularly decline to let them appear before Congress.
The theory is that if they are required to answer questions publicly, under oath, about their actions in the White House, they will be less forthcoming. Oh, he must have been lying then?
But initially, when first asked last week about the possibility of Mr. Rhodes testifying, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said it "has nothing to do with executive privilege."
On Monday, Mr. Eggleston reversed that decision and did assert privilege.
After Mr. Rhodes' refusal to testify, Democrats on the committee complained that the witness list was stacked with Iran deal opponents.
"These experts here are all repeating the same talking points," Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the committee's ranking Democrat, said.
h/t Instapundit
...Steyn wondered: How well do you have to treat women when you're running against the Clintons?
Trump's relationships with his lady friends seems an odd line of attack for the Times, given that Mrs Clinton's husband has been credibly accused of rape by Juanita Broaddrick, groped Kathleen Willey's breasts on the day she learned of her husband's death, dropped his pants to Paula Jones and told her to "kiss it" - and was recently revealed to have made, according to flight logs, at least 26 trips on the Lolita Express, the private plane of convicted pedophile and alleged sex-slave trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Mark then moved on to what to him is the broader issue - the corruption of the republic:
I was talking about corruption in this country, which gets in my nostrils, the stink of corruption, the stench of corruption, the sense that laws apply to some people and not to others.
Who is the embodiment of the descent into banana republic status? Hillary Rodham Clinton.
...He bashed conservatives like Max Boot and P.J. O'Rourke who say they would likely vote for Clinton because of concerns over Trump's foreign policy. "Hillary is the embodiment of corruption and therefore the death of the republic," he argued...
"Someone on the take from Saudi princes, someone who's managed to deliver 20% of U.S. uranium into control of the Russians, someone whose husband has been credibly accused of rape and flies around with a known pedophile... and yet Hillary to these guys is who they're going to be supporting in November."
[Ynet] Hezbollah has reportedly appointed Mustafa Mughniyeh, the son of terrorist Imad Mughniyeh, to command its military wing instead of Mustafa Badreddine, who was assassinated last week, the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Mustafa Mughniyeh is the son of Badreddine's sister who was married to Imad Mughniyeh. Mughniyeh senior was assassinated in 2008. Any bets on how long Mughniyeh Jr will last?
[BBC] Editor's Note (24 March 2016): With the French government debating longer allowable work hours, BBC Capital brings back this piece that largely debunks the myth that most French work just 35 hours each week.
This will eventually lead to conflict and possibly shootings. Perhaps this is the intended gov't outcome. Either way, I can envision additional hiring within the legal team of 'Morgan & Morgan'.
#2
Her story sounds... weird. That and she claimed a man also followed her into a bathroom and tried to rape her, but it was never reported and there were not witnesses....
My first reaction is to call "Bullshit"
The left has far too many (over 100 in the past 3-4 years) of fake hate crime reports. Until I see proof of her story otherwise I will file this under that same category of fake and stupid.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/17/2016 13:02
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#4
I say false report. the lady might look a bit boyish but not enough anyone would report her. I could be wrong, there are morons everywhere but this just seems like a bullshit story.
The funny thing is a false report in this manner, made to look anti-trans in the bathroom look like bigots goes a long way towards proving the anti-trans in the bathroom point.
#5
"Toms said she didn’t report the incident, and Walmart did not respond to messages from the Daily News."
So its her word without proof. The fact that it happened in a Walmart is too good to be true for lefties to question. They learned their lesson with the fake hate cake at a Whole Foods.
#6
Don't know about you guys, but restrooms in my upscale shopping experience are generally co-located in customer service areas that also include banking facilities. There will be video of the restroom traffic.
[Free Beacon] A senior Iranian military commander claimed that U.S. officials are quietly encouraging the Islamic Republic to keep its illicit ballistic missile tests a secret so as not to raise concerns in the region, according to Persian language comments.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps; Aerospace and Missile Force, said in recent remarks that the Obama administration does not want Iran to publicize its ongoing missile tests, which have raised questions about the Islamic Republic's commitment to last summer's comprehensive nuclear agreement.
Scrolling to the bottom line:
A State Department official declined to comment on the remarks, telling the Washington Free Beacon that it is U.S. policy to avoid responding publicly to Iran.
“We generally don’t comment on public remarks by Iranian officials, and especially IRGC officials,” the official told the Free Beacon. “We’re not going to start now.”
BLUF: [American Thinker] Hillary Rodham Clinton is unworthy of the presidency and was up to her eyeballs in the Benghazi disaster, the failure to mount a rescue, and the cover-up of the incompetence that resulted in the deaths of four Americans – Ambassador Chris Stevens, Ty Woods, Glen Doherty and Sean Smith. Criminal negligence is not a qualification for higher office.
#2
Let me see. The successful raid on bin Laden's compound was May 2, 2011. The attack on Benghazi was September 11, 2012, just 12 months later. Coming hot of the heals of the succesful UBL takedown, one might assume the concept of a similar operation was at least discussed in executive channels. One might also assume Clinton participated, or was at least 'info-copied.' Or have I gone too far again.
#3
There is still one major piece of the puzzle missing and that would explain what Hillary Clinton fears most about the Benghazi episode. I am of the belief that with regard to the Clintons you must always 'follow the money.' The Clintons stood to benefit financially in some way from Qadafi's demise. I believe they also stood to benefit in some way from the shipment of arms from Benghazi to Turkish ports. Now, who more than an American ambassador would know where those bodies are buried? Who more than an American ambassador who got religion could be a threat to the Clinton machine?
Posted by: Jack Huputer7145 ||
05/17/2016 12:18
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#4
Consider that the CIA compound defense contractor force HAD a laser designator along with assorted small arms. Its not something a private contractor keeps in his rucksack as a rule, so odds are it was an issue piece of gear by the company or the agency. Be definition does that not speak of QRF contingency planning, and if Sigonella is a 45 min C-130 Spectre flight time away, and when the alert went up someone had the forethought to warm up the alert bird, who would have had reason to stop it? Unless you didn't want the entire reason for the Agency presence in Libya buying up weapons for something to remain unseen.......Remind me again whose idea the Libya fiasco was? QED
#7
I was thinking this gives more dimension to what Mike K shared with US last week. If this account is so, It changes only QRF structure yet, not it's effectiveness.
[Daily Caller] The internal watchdog of the Central Intelligence Agency has acknowledged it "mistakenly" destroyed its only copy of a mammoth Senate torture report at the same time lawyers for the Justice Department were assuring a federal judge that copies of the document were being preserved, as initially reported by Yahoo News.
According to multiple intelligence community sources familiar with the incident, although copies of the report exist, the erasure of the controversial document by the watchdog has alarmed Senator Dianne Feinstein, who oversaw the torture investigation two years ago, and reignited a debate over whether the entire report should ever be released.
The 6,700-page report contains meticulous details, including original CIA cables and memos, on the agency's use of waterboarding, sleep deprivation and other aggressive interrogation methods at "black site" prisons overseas. A 500-page executive summary was released in December 2014.
#6
The whole CIA EIT program was an utter failure then...and still haunts us today. Because of the CIA's amateurish, incompetent, and short-sighted behavior we lost our capability for long term detention/interrogation of High Value Detainees (now they are droned and we lose the intel they would have given us). I am OK with droning them, but would rather have the intel they potentially would have provided in order to lead to additional targets.
#8
I'm not so sure I'd like the media drones to have access to all 6,000 pages from which they would cherry-pick sensational bits. That's why we have Wikileaks.
That's not sarcasm, is it? Cynicism, perhaps? Disgust! That's it!
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/17/2016 13:00
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#1
Affordable to the sort of people who can donate the max amount to his campaign, or affordable to the sort of people who get a pack of cigarettes or bottle of muscatel to go vote. There is a difference, ya know...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/17/2016 6:03
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#3
Here in southern California they've been crying about the need for more "affordable housing" for as long as I can remember and that's a long, long time. So they've been building as fast as they can for the last six decades until it's sticks and stucco as far as the eye can see. But you can't buy one of these "affordable houses" for any less than half a million dollars. In my neighborhood it's more like a million for a modest 2,000 to 2,300 square foot home.
I remember in 2008 after the mortgage meltdown when housing prices started falling to where some lucky people might think it really is affordable, the same crooked politicians and developers who had always called for more affordable housing suddenly wanted the prices to be stabilized and then get "back up to where they should be".
#4
The Housing Secretary is in the midst of increasing Section 8 affordable housing vouchers for poor urban residents in areas like New York City to move to places like Westchester County via “mobility counselors,” the New York Post reported.
How about moving them to agricultural regions in the South so they can get jobs picking cotton?
#6
Thanks for that link, Skidmark. I think there are a lot of weirdos in the California back country. The can do their thing out there and nobody notices. Dunno if it's an appropriate place for Section 8 housing, though. My thought was to locate the housing where the Section 8 participants could find jobs. Suburbs are not generally where you go to look for work. They are where you go when you're done working and you wanna go home. That's why they're called bedroom communities. You put the Section 8 housing in the suburbs and next thing you know you're gonna be providing those people with Section 8 cars so they can go to the city and work. Government Motors might like that.
#1
The old M-47 dragon could reach out that far, granted it took 17 seconds to get there...
I like the SR version has a "fire from enclosure" feature. Makes these very deadly in cities. I wonder how fast the missile gets to its target and how big the back blast area is. Fast missile with low launch signature would be awesome.
#2
The old M-47 dragon
Not only did it make noise alerting the target, the intermediate rocket bursts could leave a dust trail back to the sender/guidance unit.
#3
I was a Dragon gunner in the Army. The cloud of dust that thing kicked up was like a giant, glowing pointer to your position. Soviet tankers were trained to just fire a machine gun at the dust. Chances are you would make the guy flinch and he would miss.
We were trained not to engage farther than 300-400 meters away as the missile would arrive in 2-3 seconds. Any farther and it slowed down too much and exposed you to return fire. Hit the front tank, hit the back tank (hopefully boxing in the rest) and hit any anti-air track and call in the Apaches and A-10s to do the rest.
Fortunately the Javelin doesn't have such a kick and the dust it does kick up isn't such a huge "HEY!! HERE I AM!!! SHOOT ME!!" cloud. Plus you can fire and forget the sucker and run like hell.
[IsraelTimes] Paleostinian nabbed You have the right to remain silent... by Navy dishes on naval smuggling; Israel says terror group ’taking advantage’ of eased blockade
The Israeli Navy arrested off the coast of Gazoo last month a Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,-affiliated smuggler who is accused of bringing weapons and illegal building materials into the Strip, the Shin Bet revealed Monday.
Salim Jamal Hassan Naman, a resident of the al-Shati refugee camp, admitted to interrogators that he’d been involved in a naval smuggling operation for some time and had helped bring in weaponry and "materials used in the production of rockets, like fiberglass resin," the security service said.
The Shin Bet accused Hamas of "taking advantage" of a recent change in policy concerning the blockade on the coastal Strip.
In April, the Defense Ministry extended the permitted distance from the coast for Gazook boats to nine nautical miles, up from the previous six miles.
Naman, 39, was picked up by IDF sailors in April after his boat "deviated from the approved sailing area," the Shin Bet wrote in a statement.
After his arrest, Naman was handed over to the Shin Bet for further questioning, where he provided his interrogators with information regarding Hamas’s smuggling operations and attack strategies.
Though Naman was most closely affiliated with the Hamas terror organization, he told Sherlocks the smuggling ring brought weapons to a variety of terror groups in the beleaguered Gazoo Strip, the Shin Bet said.
He also gave additional information on the terror group’s methods of using dedicated smugglers as well as Gazoo fishermen to bring contraband to and from Egypt.
Naman also gave his interrogators information regarding Hamas’s operational plans to use Gazook fishermen as a "camouflage" for their military actions, the Shin Bet said.
"The information revealed in this interrogation, along with the interrogations of the other Hamas terror operatives who have been arrested recently, reveal another aspect of the numerous efforts made by Hamas in order to prepare itself for advancing its violent terrorist actions," the Shin Bet said.
"This time, it’s through taking advantage of the relief provided by Israel for the population of Gazook fisherman," it said.
#1
When I think about anything
Its about Nakba I learned in school
It's a wonder
I can think at all
And though my lack of civil behavior
Hasn't hurt me none
I can see the jobs build the wall.
Acetoooone!
They give us those nice instructions
They give us the the wiring diagrams
Makes you think all the world's will explode today.
I got a sink of Satan
I love to live a life of danger
So mama don't take my Acetone away
If you took all the girls I knew
When I was living
And brought them all together just for spite
I know they'd never match
my Imams promise
Everything looks worse in black and black
Acetooooone, etc.
Maurice fetch the Triumph, to Wendy's for a Frost then to Five Guys for fries, a quick spin around brooding Castle Rantburg may well be in order.
Acetone, huh? A powerful solvent. When spilled, capable of washing the ink out of drawing, leaving one unable to tell the red wire from the green. Unfortunate, what with all that TATP laying about.
[Breitbart UK] Midwives in Britain are in revolt after their union backed a radical campaign to abolish all legal limits on abortion without consulting members.
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM), which represents some 30,000 health workers in the UK, is calling for women to be allowed to terminate their pregnancies for any reason and at any stage up to childbirth.
Currently, women in Britain are allowed to seek an abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy on the grounds that continuing the pregnancy would damage their physical or mental health. After 24 weeks, mothers can still have an abortion, but only for "medical" reasons ‐ for example if their life is endangered or the child is severely disabled.
The campaign to remove legal restrictions was launched by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), which is the UK’s largest abortion provider, after a 24-year-old woman was jailed after inducing a miscarriage when she was eight months pregnant. The RCM seals it's own fate. Midwifery becomes yet another victim of the modern culture of death.
"Platoon." "Full Metal Jacket." "Hamburger Hill." The decade featured some of the grittiest look at military service, often featuring U.S. soldiers behaving badly.
Then Tom Cruise declared a need for speed.
Cruise’s "Top Gun" celebrates its 30th anniversary today. The 1986 film did more than cement his superstar status. The film flashed impossibly cocky pilots who made Naval Aviation cool. They got the girls, rocked the Karaoke bar and risked their lives for their country.
Reagan’s America got its movie close-up. And the U.S Military’s image enjoyed an overdue Hollywood spit shine. Real-life veterans couldn’t help but take notice. They still salute the movie all these years later. Note to Hollywood - portraying the United States in a positive light is good box office. Like they give a rat's ass.
#2
I was a wee pup, and the movie rocked. Bought and put together a plastic model F-14 (working wings!) and would fly it around the house, land on my aircraft carrier.
Then I came across the Top Gun board game, and wow. Game was more advanced than what my peers wanted to play, but it had a listing of different US/USSR aircraft and their differing abilities - which allowed me to research those planes.
#4
Oh, we still got plenty of money in them thar printin' presses. $2B for Zika virus that hasn't even happened yet, green energy, coal-killin' expenses... Money for whatever Champ wants!
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/17/2016 13:19
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Donald Trump says so many things that are offensive, incorrect, and dishonest that it is often impossible to keep up. In just the past few days, he’s flip-flopped on his tax position, his support for raising the minimum wage, and his so-called Muslim ban. He even denied he imitated a public relations executive in the 1980s named John Miller or John Barron, even though he’s publicly joked about it for years and there’s an audiotape to prove it.
But in the thickets of Trump’s statements there are the occasional views that should terrify every American -- and which speak openly to the threat that Trump represents to Americans’ political freedoms. He’s basically giving us a preview of how he will abuse his power as president. Partisan hack Columnist Michael A. Cohen did not appear to be interested in this subject until recently. How convenient!
#2
Good point, g(r)om - from one perspective, that's right on. I did audits for the Mass. Department of Revenue years ago, and a local radio talk show host (Howie Carr) claimed that the then governor, Michael Dukakis (ran for President in 1988 - he was the guy in the tank!), had him audited. Eventually I called in to explain that 1) I sat four desks away from the guy who audited him; 2) reading the audit report made it clear it was entirely the auditor's volition, not an order from high up.
#3
The orders didn't need to come from on high, Raj.
Philosophically, the left in government have what are essentially standing order to use the police and taxation power of the state to attack anyone who might threaten the status quo in terms of income stream. My understanding of Howie Carr is that he was and is that, exactly.
This is the same dynamic at work in the case of Lois Lerner. The orders didn't need to come from Obama because everyone at the IRS knows that they are to use the power of their organization to crush anyone who might affect their magic paychecks.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
05/17/2016 8:17
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#4
No Mo Uro... you don't suppose the demise of 'Sprockets' and the emptying of his weapons warehouses represents a similar foreign policy paradox ?
All we need are lickspittle courtiers trying to curry favor to make a tyrant's reign a real tyranny. "Standing Orders" seems, IMO, to give the process more dignity than it deserves.
[IsraelTimes] Amman said to be rejecting growing number of requests for transit, without which Israel will not allow residents of the strip through its own territory.
The siege of Hamas's Gaza is not just Israel, not just Israel and Egypt, but Israel, Egypt, and Jordan.
[Ynet] Israeli Yehoshua Frank, 26, was stabbed by a terrorist on Hanevi'im Street in Jerusalem. The terrorist was arrested; The man was evacuated in light and stable condition.
A stabbing attack occurred on Hanevi'im Street in Jerusalem Monday morning. The terrorist was neutralized. Magen David Adom reported that an Israeli man Yehoshua Frank, 26, was stabbed in his ribs and shoulder. and is in light and stable condition.
A paramedic who was on the scene was quoted as saying "immediately after we arrived on the scene we saw a 26 year old man with stab wounds to his upper body. He was fully conscious, and reported that he was walking with his family when he was suddenly attacked. He was maimed while he was fending off the attacker."
According to the spokesperson for the Jerusalem Police, "Jerusalem Police forces and Israel Border Police heard shouting on HaNevi'im Street close to the Damascus gate of the Old City of Jerusalem. They hurried to the scene of a suspected stabbing attack. The attacker expeditiously departed at a goodly pace towards Ben Shadad street, and while running, was observed tossing a knife to the side."
The spokesperson continued, saying "the police pursued the suspect and tossed in the clink Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! him. The injured man was evacuated to Shaare Zedek Medical Center."
Frank recalled the incident, saying "I was with my wife on Hanevi'im Street with our twins who were in the stroller, and we were waiting for someone who was supposed to show us a new apartment in the area. All of a sudden, a young man stopped by us. He hesitated for a moment, and I saw that he was taking out a knife. I immediately ran up to him, and he yelled and jumped on me, and stabbed me in the shoulder and ribs. I fought him and pushed him away. Then he threw his knife at me and ran."
"It was a miracle that I noticed him," Frank continued. "My first thought was that G-d forbid he would hurt my kids and my wife. When I went up to him, he focused on me. It's a miracle that I looked around and paid attention to who was stopping next to me."
The terrorist is a 20 year old resident of the West Bank, and has been taken in for questioning.
The Kedem-Jerusalem District Police commander said "the quick response of the police resulted in the immediate arrest of the terrorist, put a stop to the event, and prevented further harm to innocent people."
Four people were wounded overnight when a homemade device exploded in Istanbul, Turkey’s state-run news agency said Monday, as targeted attacks against ISIS militants continued.
Citing security sources, Anadolu Agency said the explosion was under an overpass on a highway in the Maltepe district on the Asian side of the city.
The agency said two passengers in a car and two pedestrians waiting for a taxi were wounded by flying pieces of metal and hospitalized. Passing vehicles were also damaged.
Turkey is facing an array of security threats including blowback from the war in neighboring Syria and renewed conflict with Kurdish militants in the southeast.
Kurdish and ISIS militants have been linked to major bombings in Istanbul, Turkey’s capital Ankara and other cities.
Meanwhile, Turkish and U.S.-led coalition forces struck ISIS targets north of the Syrian city of Aleppo, killing 27 militants, broadcaster CNN Turk and other media reported on Monday.
The reports did not say when the military action, which NTV said consisted of air strikes and shelling, occurred.
There have been a series of such strikes after the Turkish border town of Kilis, which lies just across the frontier from ISIS-controlled territory in Syria, was regularly struck by rockets in recent weeks.
International coalition warplanes began hitting ISIS targets inside Syria in September 2014. Turkey allows coalition jets to use its Incirlik air base, but doesn’t regularly participate in coalition air strikes
Posted by: badanov ||
05/17/2016
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The US military doesn’t have a "great picture" of the situation in Libya, but small teams of US special operations forces continue working in the war-torn country to gain intelligence, a front man said Monday.
The Pentagon was forced to acknowledge in December that a team of US commandos had gone to Libya after they were kicked out the country by local forces who posted a photograph of the men on Facebook.
The United States still has a "small presence" in Libya tasked with trying to identify the players and which groups might be able to assist the United States in its mission to combat ISIS, Pentagon front man Peter Cook told news hounds.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
But the Pentagon has not yet been issued "any particular marching orders," Cook said.
We simply respond affirmatively to our Klingon regime change masters.
#2
The Pentagon was forced to acknowledge in December that a team of US commandos had gone to Libya after they were kicked out the country by local forces who posted a photograph of the men on Facebook.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A suicide bomber blew himself up at a security headquarters in the southern Yemeni city of Mukalla on Monday, residents said, killing and wounding several people a day after an ISIS suicide bombing killed 25 police recruits there.
Over a year of devastating civil war in Yemen has given al-Qaeda and ISIS unprecedented freedom to operate, and both groups have carried out a spate of bombing and shooting attacks on Yemeni and Gulf Arab forces in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2016
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iraqi security forces and allied fighters launched an operation on Monday to retake the town of Rutba from ISIS, the military said.
Special Forces, soldiers, police, border guards and pro-government paramilitaries are involved in the operation to retake the Anbar province town, Iraq’s Joint Operations Command said in a statement.
Tanks and artillery are taking part in the operation, which is also backed by air support from Iraqi forces and the US-led coalition against ISIS, it said.
Rutba, located in western Anbar province along the main road to Jordan, has been held by the murderous Moslem group since 2014.
ISIS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in June of that year, and later made further advances in Anbar, seizing its capital Ramadi in 2015.
Iraqi forces have since regained significant ground from the murderous Moslems, securing the Ramadi area earlier this year and retaking the town of Heet last month.
But parts of Anbar - including its second city Fallujah - are still under ISIS control, as is most of Nineveh province, to its north.
And the snuffies are still able to carry out bombings in government-held areas - something they did more frequently prior to the June 2014 offensive.
As ISIS continues to lose ground, it has in recent weeks stepped up its campaign of bombings, including three the same day in Baghdad that killed nearly 100 people.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2016
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least 13 murderous Moslems were killed in an Arclight airstrike in northern Baghlan province of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said.
According to a statement by MoD, the Arclight airstrike was carried out in Surkh Kotal area of Baghlan earlier this afternoon.
The statement further added that a Dshk heavy machine gun of the murderous Moslems was also destroyed in the Arclight airstrike.
The anti-government armed Death Eater groups including the Taliban faceless myrmidons have not commented regarding the report so far.
This comes as heavy festivities erupted among the Talibs and the Afghan cops in the same area on Saturday night.
According to the local officials, at least 28 murderous Moslems were killed or maimed during the shootout which erupted following an attack by the miliants on security posts.
Baghlan is among the relatively volatile provinces in northern Afghanistan where anti-government armed murderous Moslems are actively operating in a number of its districts and often carry out insurgency activities.
The security situation has been sharply deteriorating in parts of Baghlan province during the recent months as the Talibs are attempting to expand foothold in this province.
The Afghan cops launched a major operation to clear the areas in Dand-e-Ghori and Dand-e-Shahabuddin earlier this year amid concerns that the group was preparing to turn the areas a launching pad for its insurency activities.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2016
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[DAWN] LAHORE: Shahbaz Taseer, the son of slain Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... Governor Salmaan Taseer, who was recovered in March after being held captive for over four years, said he was with Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) who tortured him badly during captivity.
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Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
But were you waterboarded? Because that would be a war crime, or something!
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – On Monday, an informed source in Nineveh Province said, that the so-called ISIS had stoned a woman and 20 youths on charges of illegal relations in eastern Mosul (405 km north of Baghdad).
The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “The so-called al-Hisba elements arrested a woman and 20 youths on charges of having illegal relations, and put them on the main road in Tahrir neighborhood in front of al-Zahra mosque in eastern Mosul.”
The source, who asked anonymity, added, “The elements of al-Hisba began stoning the woman and the youths for almost an hour till death,” noting that, “The bodies of the executed were transferred to the forensic medicine department in Mosul.”
[ARA News] MANBIJ – Extremists of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Monday executed a young Syrian man in the city of Manbij in the northern Aleppo province, activists reported.
Faisal Abdulrahim al-Dahir, 23, was shot dead then crucified in a main square in central Manbij.
“Al-Dahir was accused by ISIS of cooperating with hostile parties,” local media activist Nasir Taljbini told ARA News in Manbij.
A member of the ISIS-led Sharia Court in Manbij read a statement to dozens of people who witnessed the execution on Sunday afternoon, accusing the victim of communicating with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)–that are in conflict with ISIS in northern Syria.
“The Sharia official claimed that al-Dahir has leaked security information about ISIS military movements in Manbij city,” an eyewitness told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The dead body of al-Dahir was crucified, and ISIS jihadis warned the civilians not to remove him before Thursday.
“ISIS ordered people to avoid removing the victim’s corpse before three days have passed,” Taljbini reported.
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) launched on Monday arrest campaign against Kurds and Arabs in different regions in Hasaka Province.
Local Coordination Committees said YPG tossed in the clink Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! 20 people in the entrance of Ayn al-Aroos town while they were coming from Raqqa under pretext of being connected to 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.... YPG arrested 18 Kurdish men between the ages of 18 and 30 under pretext of mandatory recruitment.
Kurdish Democratic Party member Ahmad Mahomud was also arrested on his way back from Kurdistan in Iraq on Symalka cross point.
On the other hand, a boom-mobile killed 4 personnel near Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) checkpoint south of Ayn Essa town in Raqqa province.
In Aleppo countryside, YPG mourned 4 fighters in Kobani who were killed in battles with Isis on Sunday near Tishreen Dam.
The Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, that was founded last October, is a coalition of Kurdish, Sunni Arab and Syriac Christian fighters, but is completely dominated by its Kurdish element, which is a powerful and well organized militia known as the People's Protection Units, YPG, with an all-female branch called the Women's Defense Units, or YPJ.
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(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A source in the Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced on Monday, that ten people had been either killed or wounded in a bomb blast northeast of Baghdad.
The source said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “This morning, a bomb exploded near Shalalat market in al-Shaab District northeast of Baghdad, killing two people and wounding eight others.”
The source, who asked anonymity, added, “A security force rushed to the area and transferred the wounded to a nearby hospital for treatment and the dead bodies to the forensic medicine department, while a raid was carried out to search for the perpetrators of the bombing.”
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A source in the Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced on Monday, that 11 people had been either killed or wounded in a bomb blast southeast of Baghdad.
The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “A bomb exploded near a garage in the old Diyala Bridge area southeast of Baghdad, killing two people and wounding nine others.”
The source, who asked anonymity, added, “A security force rushed to the area and transferred the wounded to a nearby hospital for treatment and the dead bodies to the forensic medicine department, while a raid was carried out to search for the perpetrators of the bombing.”
(IraqiNews.com) Salahaddin – On Monday, a security source in Salahuddin Province announced, that a security force was able to drop a drone belonging to the so-called ISIS in eastern Tikrit (170 km north of Baghdad).
The source said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “A security force from oil facilities protection regiment in Ajil oil field (40 km east of Tikrit) dropped a drone while hovering around the field,” pointing out that, “It was found out that the drone is a hostile aircraft used by ISIS for espionage purposes.”
The source, who asked anonymity, added, “The force fired the drone and was able to drop it near Ajil field in eastern Tikrit.”
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[ARA News] QAMISHLO – The Free Syrian Army’s (FSA) group of Jaish al-Shamal claimed responsibility for the killing of alleged Kurdish officials Shirin and her assistant Ziyad Jafar on Monday, which caused a wave of outrage among Syrian Kurds. The two were allegedly part of the negotiations concerning the handing over of 66 rebels that were killed in a failed attack on the Kurdish-held Ayn Daqnaq, in the countryside of Aleppo.
Moreover, Syrian opposition rebels injured 9 Kurdish civilians in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood in Aleppo, and also hit the city of Afrin with Grad rockets.
The FSA group claimed the act was a revenge for the parading of over 60 rebel corpses in Afrin [Efrin] on 28 April. The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said this was an incident that would not be repeated, and promised to punish the perpetrators.
The assassination of Sherin and Jafar will put more fuel on the fire, analysts suggest, amidst attempts between Kurds and rebel groups to reach a ceasefire.
“Escalating YPG-opposition tensions could have huge, long-term consequences,” said Charles Lister, analyst for the Middle East Institute. “ISSG meets tomorrow: Syria’s opposition factions have done themselves no favors by executing YPG members and mistreating al-Zara female corpses,” he said.
In the meantime, Syrian opposition rebels targeted Kurdish areas with rockets. “Yes, today there were shelling on Efrin where at least 5 rockets hit the city, but there were no victims,” said Nidal Hannan, a Kurdish activist from Afrin. However, in the Kurdish neighbourhood of Sheikh Maqsoud there were victims. “9 civilians were injured, including two children,” he said.
Speaking to ARA News, Washington-based Middle East researcher at the Centre for a New American Security Nicholas Heras said: “These assassinations, targeting of civilian areas, and turf battle conflicts based on the politics of identity weaken the anti-ISIS campaign, and are a thorn in the paw of the U.S.-led counter-ISIS effort.”
“There is a real danger that the identity “Kurd,” will become synonymous with the word “traitor” for a large number of predominately ethnic Arab members of the Syrian opposition,” he added, suggesting this will play into the strategy of ideological extremist actors such as the Islamic State (ISIS).
Amnesty International last week said that armed groups attacking the Kurdish neighbourhood of Sheikh Maqsoud in Aleppo since February have killed at least 83 civilians, and called on Turkey, Gulf states and others to stop the transfer of arms to the Aleppo Conquest operations room–an umbrella for Syrian Islamist rebels.
Dozens of Taliban militants have been killed in serious clashes between rival factions after the pro-Mullah Rassoul faction declared Jihad against the pro-Akhter Mansour group on Monday.
Clearing the decks for the heavyweight match: ISIS vs. Al Qaeda in Pakistan
The pro-Mullah Rassoul faction, who declared Jihad (Holy war) against their rivals - the main faction of the Taliban led by Mullah Omar's successor Akhter Mansour - labeled Mansour a puppet of the Pakistani Intelligence Service (ISI).
Reports have emerged of massive fatalities on both sides after they engaged in fighting in Ghor and Badghis provinces.
On Monday, pro-Rassoul fighters announced allegiance to him by hoisting white flags and accused Mullah Mansour of being an ISI tool, vowing to fight his men and the ISI until they are completely defeated.
"We raise this flag on behalf of you and announce our allegiance and full support to Mullah Abdul Rassoul, the leader of the Taliban movement. We cut the hands of ISI in Afghanistan as we did the Russians. We will use all energy to defeat ISI," said pro-Rassoul commander Mullah Ghafar, who also serves as Taliban commander in Badghis.
Also in Badghis, reports have emerged of a major confrontation between the two rival factions in Bala Murghab district of the province.
Infighting between the two factions was also reported in Qadis Jawnd district of Badghis
"We announce our support to Mullah Abdul Rassoul and declare war against the enemies of Afghanistan," pro-Rassoul commander in Ghor, Maulavi Abdul Hamid said.
In yet another development on Monday, fighting was also reported in Qadis and Jaon districts of Badghis between the two groups.
A few months ago, similar encounters between the two rival factions were reported in Herat's Shindand district, which apparently resulted in the deaths of at least 100 fighters on both sides.
Misratan forces say that they have retaken the key Abu Grain position from IS after heavy fighting today.
Misratan militias are now operating as part of the Presidency Council’s new Joint Operations room. Its spokesman, Mohamed Al-Ghasri, said that they had pushed the terrorists back from the important crossroads. This restores the road link to Misratan positions to the south. Abu Grain, less than 100 kilometres from Misrata, was seized by IS last month in a mass attack which caught the defenders by surprise.
At one point in the fighting today IS appear to have tried to drive a truck bomb at Misratan fighters but it was shot at and destroyed before it could reach its target. It is reported that the terrorists set up a series of booby traps before they withdrew which have delayed the advance of the militiamen.
Aircraft from Misrata also bombed positions to the west of Sirte, the IS stronghold. There are no details of casualties.
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Tareq Saiti, Benghazi’s iconic sapper, responsible for defusing hundreds of explosives left by militants, was injured today in the city’s Sidi Faraj district, when called to deal with a mine planted at a houses that had been uses by terrorists.
His vehicle was blown up when it hit a mine. However, he and a colleague survived the blast and were taken to the city’s Jalaa Jospital. His condition is not said to be serious.
With his dreadlocks and looking uncannily like Egyptian wall paintings of Libyans made three thousand year ago, Saiti is seen as a modern-day hero in Benghazi because of bravado and skills in dealing with mines and other explosive ordinance.
[Dhaka Tribune] Two JMB bully boy groups are currently active in the eight districts of Rangpur division, carrying out at least 12 recent operations including the killing of Japanese citizen Kunio Hoshi, the region’s police DIG has said.
Golam Farukh, the deputy inspector general of the Rangpur Range, told the Dhaka Tribune that bully boy outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh was
also behind the recent killing of a Hindu priest in Panchagarh and the attack on Dinajpur’s Kantaji temple.
The two groups ‐ one based in Rangpur and the other in Dinajpur ‐ were working in smaller units of seven to eight members each; but they were also getting support from local sympathisers to carry out their operations.
The information came out during interrogation of jugged Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! JMB bully boys, said DIG Farukh.
So far, 39 JMB Lions of Islam have been arrested in connection with 12 separate attacks in the region including the murders of Hoshi and a Kaunia mazar Khadem named Rahmat Ali and the attempted murder of Baha’i leader Ruhul Islam.
Charge sheets would soon be filed against the arrested men as the investigations were nearing their end, the DIG said, adding that efforts were on to detain some more suspects.
The senior police official also said different units of law enforcement agencies were trying to identify the sympathisers and financiers of the JMB groups.
However, a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... Farukh added that the Rangpur region was currently out of any bully boy threat after JMB activity in the region became limited following the arrest of most of their killers.
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[BBC] Downing Street has said David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... stands by his criticism of Donald Trump but will work with whoever is elected US president.
The UK PM has called the Republican hopeful "stupid, divisive ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled... and wrong" over his call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the US.
Mr Trump replied by warning he may not have a "very good relationship" with Mr Cameron if he enters the White House.
He is also involved in a spat with new London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
The US presidential contender said he would not forgive Mr Khan for calling him "ignorant" - and challenged the Mayor to take part in an IQ test, an offer mocked by Mr Khan's team.
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#1
Nice to see the PM has something in common with Sadiq Khan.
[LI] The Supreme Court unanimously pushed the Little Sisters of the Poor contraception case back to the lower courts, meaning they do not face fines if they do not provide contraception coverage.
Ashley E. McGuire, Senior Fellow at The Catholic Association, released this statement in a press release:
"Today the Supreme Court made it clear that the government still has not done enough to accommodate the conscience rights of the Little Sisters, whose plan they have tried to hijack for things like abortion pills. For now, this is an interim win for the nuns, who just want to get back to their work caring for the poor without interference from government bureaucrats."
[CNN] On a sunburnt stretch of desert near the Jordan River, a weather-beaten Romanian Orthodox church waits for its first visitor in 50 years.
The gated entrance has long since fallen apart, its marble column leaning toward the morning sun. The path to the church -- if it ever was a path -- is a thick quilt of shrubs and thistles.
Despite being long abandoned, the church retains much of its historic beauty. A colorful mural of a scene from the Bible, half-visible above the entrance to the church, has dulled over time, but is still magnificent. The church door stands open as if ready to welcome the faithful.
Israel's religious divisions run deep, survey shows
The land on which the church sits is near one of the holiest Christian sites in the world -- the place where Christians believe Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan River.
There are several other churches at the site, but no one has come near them in decades because they are surrounded by nearly 5,000 landmines.
Barbed-wire fences keep visitors far away, with signs warning "DANGER MINES!" in Arabic, English, and Hebrew. When the Six-Day War ended in an uneasy ceasefire in 1967, the Israeli and Jordanian armies laid mines across the area.
The Jordan River at this point is only a few feet wide -- an easy crossing point for an army. The two countries signed a peace agreement in 1994, but the mines were never removed.
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[Dhaka Tribune] Three people gang-raped Victoria College student and theatre activist Sohagi Jahan Tonu before killing her inside the Mainamati Cantonment on March 20, CID officials said yesterday.
"The evidence of rape has been found on her clothes," Special Superintendent of Police in Comilla Nazmul Karim Khan said. "We have almost solved the case, and hope to identify the killers soon."
Asked whether they had matched the DNA results with the suspects, he evaded a direct answer, and said that they had been analysing every information to identify the killers.
Continued on Page 49
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[Hurriyet Daily News] Turkish police issued a confidential warning to provincial security directorates across the country’s 81 provinces, cautioning against imminent attacks by the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) during Youth and Sports Day celebrations on May 19, security sources have stated.
Police reportedly sent a "confidential" document to provincial security directorates requesting additional security measures against possible ISIS attacks that are said to be planned against security authorities on May 19.
The document underlined that ISIS perceives Turkish soldiers and police as "infidels" and informs its Lions of Islam that it is "permissible" to engage or kill them.
The department said stricter security measures should be adopted, especially to protect strategic public buildings as well as bases and checkpoints of the military or the police.
The report followed a May 16 story in daily Haberturk that Turkish intelligence units revealed the possibility of an ISIS attack on Ankara during celebrations to mark Youth and Sports Day.
Accordingly, the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) warned the authorities that 10 ISISLions of Islam had crossed into the country through the southeastern province of Gaziantep and planned 10 separate attacks in metropolitan areas, especially in the capital Ankara.
It also added that that the jihadist group had planned attacks at the Anitkabir mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, on May 19, in addition to a military compound in the Cebeci neighborhood and the U.S. Embassy in Ankara.
However, it's easy to be generous with someone else's money... the Turkish General Staff has refuted claims circulating on social media that Anitkabir would be closed to public on Youth and Sports Day due to the ISIS threat.
The mausoleum will be open between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., the General Staff said in a note issued on its website, detailing the events scheduled to take place at Anitkabir during the celebrations.
The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was also alleged to be planning an attack on May 19. A total of 722 kilograms of explosives were seized in the southeastern province of Siirt, allegedly planned to be detonated during the May 19 celebrations.
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#1
722 kilograms of explosives
That's a lot of bottle rockets.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The acting provincial governor of northern Balkh province and chief executive of Jamiat-e-Islami party Ata Mohammad Noor has said at least 38 militants were killed during clearance operations in Koshindeh district.
According to a statement by the provincial government media office, the operations were conducted in Tanj village of Koshindeh district under the supervision of Noor.
The statement further added that 24 militants were also arrested during the operations and were handed over the relevant authorities.
Noor quoted in the statement said “As we have repeatedly said in the past, Balkh province will be turned into graveyard of Taliban militants and loyalists of ISIS terrorist group.”
Noor further added that the “militants were supposed to refrain from destabilizing Balkh province but they didn’t and the province has turned into a graveyard for them.”
He said all the militants from Samangan and Sar-e-Pul provinces had launched an offensive in Balkh and they have all been killed or arrested by the security forces.
According to Noor, even one of the militant has not managed to return back and escape the operation of the Afghan forces.
According to the statement, a number of the Afghan security personnel were killed or wounded during the operations but no further details were given regarding the exact number.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Pope Francis criticized Western powers for trying to export their own brand of democracy to countries such as Iraq and Libya without respecting indigenous political cultures, according to an interview published on Monday.
Speaking to La Belle France's Roman Catholic newspaper, La Croix, Francis also said Europe should better integrate migrants colonists and praised the election of the new Muslim mayor of London as an example of where this had been successful.
"Faced with current Islamist terrorism, we should question the way a model of democracy that was too Western was exported to countries where there was a strong power, as in Iraq, or Libya, where there was a tribal structure," he said.
"We cannot advance without taking these cultures into account," the pope said.
"As a Libyan said recently, 'We used to have one Qadaffy, now we have fifty", Francis said in reference to former Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy ...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland and was then murdered by his indignant subjects 42 years later... who was deposed and killed in 2011.
Francis has frequently attacked what he calls "cultural colonialism", in which Western countries seek to impose their values on developing ones in return for financial aid.
The pope said that "ghettoising" migrants colonists was not only wrong but was also misguided in the fight against terrorism.
He cited the krazed killer attacks in Brussels in March when three jacket wallahs killed 32 people, in which "the murderous Moslems were Belgians, children of migrants colonists, but they came from a ghetto".
By contrast, the pope praised this month's election of Sadiq Khan as the first Muslim mayor of London.
"In London, the new mayor was sworn in in a cathedral and will probably be received by the queen. This shows the importance for Europe to regain its ability to integrate," Francis said.
Ten days ago, the pope lambasted Europe over what he sees as its inadequate response to the influx of migrants colonists fleeing war and poverty in the Middle-East and Africa.
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#2
He obviously lacks a basic understanding of the financial aspects of regime change. When one is elected to office for life, it is quite easily overlooked.
Sarc aside, I hate to admit it but he's actually right.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A top commander of the loyalists of Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group in Afghanistan was killed in an Arclight airstrike of the Afghan Air Force.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the Arclight airstrike was carried out in Wata Pur district of eastern Kunar province ... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country..... Meanwhile, ...back at the game, the Babe was wondering why the baseball kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally it hit him... the 201st Silab Corps of the Afghan National Army, said the Arclight airstrike was carried out by the US forces using an unmanned aerial vehicle.
A statement by 201st Silab Corps said Shafiq was a commander of the Taliban group and was involved in major terrorist activities in Wata Pur district.
The loyalists of the terror group have recently started operations in the restive Kunar province which comes as the terror group received major blows in some of their strongholds in eastern Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province.
This comes as the local officials in Nangarhar said Sunday at least 8 ISIS loyalists were killed in an Arclight airstrike in Achin district.
The Afghan forces have stepped up operations to eliminate the loyalists of ISIS in Afghanistan amid concerns the terror is attempting to expand foothold in the country.
The Death Eaters of the terror group were hardly hit by the US Arclight airstrikes as well as the Afghan air and ground operations in parts of Nangarhar province amid concerns that they were establishing a regional operations base and consolidate operations with the terror group based in Syria and Iraq.
Hundreds of Death Eaters loyal to the terror group were killed or maimed as US Air Force increased air raids which followed by more authorities granted by the B.O. regime earlier this year.
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(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – The Ministry of Interior announced on Monday, that four “terrorists” had been killed in an aerial strike by the international coalition south of Mosul.
The ministry said in a brief statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “The international coalition aviation managed to destroy a mortar launcher and kill four terrorists in two air strikes in the village of al-Awsaja in the axis of Makhmour south of Mosul.”
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The African island nation of the Comoros has said it is ready to consider taking thousands of stateless people denied citizenship in the Gulf state of Kuwait, newspapers reported on Monday.
"If the issue is raised officially, we are ready to discuss it," visiting Comorian External Affairs Minister Abdulkarim Mohammed said, when asked if his country was ready to receive Kuwait’s stateless, known as bidoons.
"Yes, it is something we are ready to do if officially requested by the Kuwaiti government," he said, cited by Al-Anbaa newspaper.
Continued on Page 49
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[THEHILL] Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is not reining in his attacks against Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
When New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... columnist Maureen Dowd asked Trump if "he had been chided by any Republicans" for his Twitter war with the Democratic senator, the presumptive nominee said, "You mean Pocahontas?"
Trump earlier this week fired off insults on Twitter, calling the senator "Goofy Elizabeth Warren."
In March, Trump attacked Warren for saying she was part Native American while a professor at Harvard.
"You mean the Indian?" Trump said then when asked about Warren.
Warren said she "laughed out loud" when she saw Trump had called her "goofy."
"Really? That’s the best you could come up with? Come on. I thought Donald Trump said he was a guy that was good with words," she said.
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#1
I can't wait until Trump sinks his teeth into the evolving Clinton Foundation corruption. Yesterday the Beest announced that she would 'assign her husband' the task of essentially rebuilding the economy.
New every morning, the unveiling of additional theater of the absurd material.
#2
The Clinton Foundation should have a retroactive tax exempt revocation slapped on them; their net worth would be cut in half. The resulting lawsuits would take care of what's left of the bank accounts.
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] A new reconciliation deal between rebels and regime is undergoing in besieged town of Moadamiyet al-Sham near Damascus, well-informed sources said.
According to the sources, the deal is being facilitated by prominent figures with the regime. These figures are mediators between regime and leaders of rebel factions in the city. The regime proposed an 11 clause paper about the reconciliation and regime.
The sources added that mediators are putting a lot of efforts to resolve the situation in Moadamiyet in light of the hunger crisis affecting the 30,000 people and their resentment especially Ramadan is very close.
The regime is imposing 'facto policy' on city rebels. The regime told the mediators it is the last chance for you! Threatening of closing al-Moadamiyet off and forgetting it until further notice.
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[BBC] The US and other world powers have said they are ready to arm Libya's UN-backed unity government to help it fight the self-styled 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.... (IS) group.
Speaking in Vienna, US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... said world powers would back Libya in seeking exemption from a UN arms embargo.
He said IS was a "new threat" to Libya and it was "imperative" it was stopped.
Last month, the Libyan government warned that IS could seize most of the country if it was not halted soon.
After holding talks with international partners, Mr Kerry said: "The GNA [Government of National Accord] is the only entity that can unify the country. It is the only way to ensure that vital institutions... fall under representative and acknowledged authority.
"It is the only way to generate the cohesion necessary to defeat ISIS [IS]."
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(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – On Monday, al-Jazeera and al-Badiya Operations Command in Anbar Province announced liberating an area northwest of Baghdadi vicinity west of Ramadi (110 km west of Baghdad), while pointed out to the killing of seven members of the so-called ISIS during the operation.
The commander of al-Jazeera and al-Badiya Operations, Maj. Gen. Ali Ibrahim Dabon, said in a brief statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The joint forces from the army and al-Jzeera Operations 7th brigade backed by tribal fighters managed, before noon today, to liberate Swinakh area northwest of Baghdadi vicinity (70 km west of Ramadi) from the ISIS control,” noting that, “The operation resulted in the killing of seven ISIS members.”
Dabon added, “The security forces shelled ISIS strongholds near Swinakh area in preparation for storming them in the next few hours.”
(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – On Monday, Khalidiya District Council in Anbar Province announced, that 20 people had been either killed or wounded in a rocket attack launched by ISIS in eastern Ramadi (110 km west of Baghdad).
The Head of Khalidiya District Council Ali Dawood said in a press statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “This morning, ISIS fighters attacked areas in Khalidiya District (19 km east of Ramadi) with 24 Katyusha rockets and mortar shells, killing five civilians and wounding 15 others.”
Dawood added, “ISIS launched the rocket attack from Khalidiya Island and Kartan areas in eastern Ramadi,” pointing out that, “The security forces are working to identify the location of the rocket launchers in Khalidiya Island, in order to respond to the attack and destroy ISIS strongholds.”
(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – The leadership of al-Hashed al-Shaabi in Anbar Province announced on Monday the liberation of Euphrates basin areas between Baghdadi vicinity and Haditha District west of Ramadi (110 km west of Baghdad) from the ISIS control, while indicated to the killing of 25 ISIS militants and the destruction of seven underground tunnels.
The intelligence director of Somoud brigade in al-Hashed al-Shaabi, Nazim Aljughaifi, said in a press statement received by IraqiNews.com, “This morning, security forces from the army, police and tribal fighters were able to liberate the areas of Euphrates basin and all the villages and valleys between Baghdadi vicinity and Haditha District west of Ramadi from the ISIS control,” noting that, “The battle resulted in the killing of 25 ISIS militants.”
Aljughaifi added, “The international coalition aviation had a distinguished role in the destruction of seven secret underground tunnels,” indicating that, “The security forces began dismantling IEDs from the liberated areas in the Euphrates basin.”
(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – The commander of al-Jazeerah Operations, Ali Ibrahim Dboun, said on Monday, that the security forces and supporting clans had managed to liberate the village of al-Baraziya, northeast of al-Baghdadi vicinity, from the ISIS control.
Dboun said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “Security forces belonging to the [army’s] Seventh Division as well as the police and clan fighters had managed to liberate the village of al-Baraziya northeast of al-Baghdadi vicinity (90 km west of Ramadi) from the ISIS [control],” pointing out that, “[The forces] raised the Iraqi flag over one of its buildings.”
(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – The commander of al-Jazeerah Operations, Maj. Gen. Ali Ibrahim Dboun, announced on Monday liberating the village of al-Ameriya northeast of Bruwana in western Anbar.
Dboun said in a press statement received by IraqiNews.com, “Security forces belonging to the [army’s] Seventh Division as well as the police and clan fighters had managed, today, to liberate the village of al-Ameriya northeast of Bruwana north of Haditha City (160 km west of Ramadi) from ISIS,” adding that, “The forces raised the Iraqi flag over one of its buildings.”
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[ARA News] RAQQA – Militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) have intensified security measures and deployed hundreds of militants
...all that remain after the recent executions?
in the surroundings of Syria’s northeastern Raqqa city, the de facto capital for the ISIS self-declared Caliphate.
This comes just days after the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced a plan to storm Raqqa in a bid to expel ISIS from its main bastion in Syria.
“ISIS leadership decided to prepare its forces in order to repel a possible attack by the US-backed SDF troops on Raqqa. The group has moved its security headquarters to confidential locations inside Raqqa, beside deploying hundreds of fighters in the city suburbs,” a local media activist told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity for security concerns.
The source quoted an ISIS military commander saying: “We are prepared to protect Raqqa against any offensives by the crusader coalition and their mercenaries [in reference to Kurdish-led SDF troops].”
The radical group has also ordered members of the Sharia courts and Islamic police to join its military forces to protect Raqqa, according to local sources.
SDF officer Hebun Osman told ARA News that the preparations for launching the battle for Raqqa are still ongoing, adding that retaking Raqqa would be the first step to eliminate ISIS in Syria.
Speaking to ARA News in an exclusive interview, official spokesman of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Talal Silo said that the battle for Raqqa “is going to be difficult”, and that they might start it by carrying out an operation to liberate parts of the Raqqa countryside.
“Because it [Raqqa] is a stronghold for the ISIS, whenever we have liberated territories the Arab tribes would join us, and now there is preparation to form a military council for Raqqa, as what we did for Manbij city,” Silo said.
Kurdish officials told ARA News that Raqqa could either join the future federal region for northern Syria and Rojava, or could have an independent local administration, similar to the local canton administrations that are now running the Kurdish areas of Syria.
According to US-led coalition sources, the Islamic State radical group has recently declared a state of emergency in Raqqa.
“[ISIS militants] understand that their days are increasingly numbered. We are going to continue to keep this pressure on them, and we expect to see them collapse eventually,” said Col. Steve Warren, US-led coalition’s spokesman.
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An ’A’ grade and most wanted North Kashmire bad boy was killed and two others were captured alive by Army and police, who intercepted the trio in forward village of Chaprian close to the Line of Control (LoC) in Sabjian sector of Poonch district, this afternoon when they were trying to exfiltrate to Pakistain Indian Kashmiree (PoK) for arms training.
Barring Rs 27,500 cash from the slain bad boys, no significant recoveries were made from their possession. All three forces of Evil hailed from Baramulla and Pulwama districts of the Kashmire valley.
Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone, Danesh Rana told the Excelsior that the bad boy, who was killed while trying to escape, was `A’ category listed bad boy of Hizbul Mujahideen in North Kashmire’s Baramulla district.
Continued on Page 49
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[DAWN] The test of Ashwin missile, part of Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Program, is part of a concentrated effort to develop a two-tiered missile defence system by India to counter the threat emanating from Pakistain's strategic missile force.
India seeks to deploy a functional ’iron dome’ ballistic missile defence (BMD), incorporating both low-altitude and high-altitude interceptor missiles.
Why
India’s decision to develop a BMD in 1999 can be attributed to the Kargil ... three months of unprovoked Pak aggression, over 4000 dead Paks, another victory for India ... War, when tensions between the two nuclear armed neighbours reached an all-time high, and a warning by then Pak Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmad that Pakistain can use "any weapon" in its arsenal if the limited conflict were to escalate.
Development for the anti-ballistic missile system started in 1999, with around 40 public and private companies participating in the development process. As a stop-gap measure, India procured six-batteries of the highly effective Russian S-300 air defence systems to protect major cities, including New Delhi.
What
Two interceptor missiles, the Prithivi air defence missile and the Advanced Air Defence (Ashwin) missile are designed to provide a high-low cover against incoming ballistic missiles. Prithivi is reported to be capable of intercepting missiles at exo-atmospheric altitudes of 50 ‐ 80km, while the AAD is designed to operate at endo-atmospheric altitudes of upto 30kms.
The development makes India the fourth country in the world, after the US, Russia and Israel to have successfully developed a ballistic missile defence system.
Prompted by a growing Pak arsenal, of both delivery systems and nuclear warheads, India has embarked upon and given priority to creating a BMD, which will also augment India’s overall air defence capabilities. Former Indian army chief, V.K Singh, revealed in March 2014 that 97 per cent of air defences are obsolete, further reinforcing earlier reports regarding the state of air defences employed by the Indian armed forces.
When
The test conducted of the interceptor missile on Sunday was a success, and an important technological milestone was achieved. But a single successful test in controlled conditions does not imply that the system would retain the same level of effectiveness in combat conditions.
A BMD, although effective against a small number of incoming missiles, can be overwhelmed by employing saturation fire. If an opposing force were to shoot multiples missiles in an area of operation, a BMD battery can track and shoot down some missiles, but not all.
Capability
It is yet not known what the capability of the tracking systems linked with the Indian BMD are, as the effectiveness of the planned ’iron dome’ will eventually come down to how effective those systems are, and their capability to track multiple incoming missiles.
The development of India’s BMD is a cause of concern for Pakistain, as an effective system would to a certain degree negate Pakistain’s strategic strike capability. It will force the armed forces to counter it, a solution which would prove to be both costly and time consuming. India has thus, once again contributed to an unhealthy arms race between the two countries.
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[WASHINGTONTIMES] Pennsylvania Democrats, no strangers to corruption, are surpassing their own dirty reputations as they prepare to host the Democratic National Convention this summer in Philadelphia.
There’s Rep. Chaka Fattah, an 11-term Democrat from Philadelphia whose trial opens Monday in federal court on charges of bribery, concealment of unlawful campaign contributions and theft of charitable and federal funds. Voters took the rare step in the Democratic primary last month of voting out Mr. Fattah, the longest-serving black congressman in Pennsylvania’s history.
Philadelphia lawyer/lobbyist John Estey, who served as chief of staff in the administration of Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell, pleaded guilty last week to federal wire fraud in an FBI sting involving suspected bribery of state politicians. That probe seems sure to bring even more explosive corruption charges: Estey wore a wire for Sherlocks, perhaps as long as five years.
There is speculation that Estey also helped federal authorities bring down state Treasurer Rob McCord, a Democrat who pleaded guilty last year to trying to extort $125,000 in campaign donations from two businesses during his failed bid for governor. McCord resigned the treasurer’s post. He, too, has secretly recorded conversations for the FBI but has yet to be sentenced.
In the past three years, The Philadelphia Inquirer noted, the list of city Democrats accused or convicted of corruption includes a congressman, a former sheriff, five state representatives, a state senator and eight judges. Other ongoing federal probes are reaching into Democrat-run city administrations in Allentown and Reading, Pennsylvania.
The wave of corruption cases, with more charges expected, comes as Democrats are gearing up in two months to host the giant party that will launch their presidential nominee, presumably Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as For a good time at 3 a.m. call Hillary and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Dean Acheson ... , on to glory. Or something.
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Turkish authorities on Monday detained seven suspected ISIS members, including figures described as a big shot and an "executioner", the state-run Anatolia news agency said.
The seven suspects were detained during raids on addresses in the eastern region of Elazig. Large numbers of documents were also seized, it added.
Anatolia said that the suspected "executioner" -- named only as F.S. -- had carried out several killings in Syria on behalf of the group.
Over the last two years, ISIS has carried out execution-style killings in Syria of locals and foreign hostages as a warning and as part of its aggressive propaganda efforts.
The Dogan news agency said that the suspected snuffies had come from Syria to Elazig with the aim of attracting new recruits for the group.
No further details were given on the suspects.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... was long accused by its Western partners of not doing enough against the threat of ISIS, even as it seized territory in Syria right up to the Turkish border.
Turkey always insisted it was making every effort to ensure security on the border.
But after several deadly attacks on Turkish soil blamed on krazed killers, Ankara has noticeably stepped up a clampdown on snuffies inside the country.
According to figures published by Anatolia earlier this month, Turkey has placed under arrest 454 ISIS suspects, including 190 in the last four months alone.
Turkish armed forces have also launched near daily artillery strikes on ISIS targets inside Syria after the border town of Kilis was repeatedly hit by deadly rocket fire.
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[WashingtonTimes] Al Qaeda’s online magazine tells forces of Evil to target U.S. business leaders in their homes
Al Qaeda’s Inspire online magazine is calling on jihadis to damage the American economy by killing business leaders and entrepreneurs in their homes.
Articles in the May 14 edition, its 15th, also urge radical Islamic forces of Evil to emulate the Paleostinian street-killings of Jews by walking up to Americans and stabbing them to death.
Inspire’s cover carries the headline "Professional Assassinations" and the subhead "Home Assassinations." It depicts the dark profile of a hooded killer stalking a victim who lives in an upscale American home.
A photo montage shows Microsoft founder Bill Gates, a pistol and spattered blood.
The kill list represents a different kind of target compared with the ultraviolent 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.... , which has urged the killings of U.S. military personnel via liquidation. Both Sunni bad boy groups advocate mass killings.
The periodical is published by al Qaeda’s main affiliate, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ...the latest incarnation of various Qaeda and Qaeda-allied groups, including the now-defunct Aden-Abyan Islamic Army that boomed the USS Cole in 2000... (AQAP), whose priority from its base in 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... is to attack the U.S. homeland.
With Inspire, al Qaeda was the first Islamic terrorist group to exploit the Internet’s reach by publishing and distributing a sort of trade publication on the killing business. The Islamic State has taken use of the Internet to new heights with mass distribution of propaganda on social media and with terrorist communication hidden on encrypted apps. The Islamic State also sends out an online publication on savagery, called Dabiq.
The Middle East Media Research Institute quotes Inspire’s editor, Yahya Ibrahim: "The prophet ordered the killing of many criminal leaders using this method ... And here we are, following the footsteps of the prophet on how he dealt with his enemies and friends."
"We will never put down our weapons until we fulfill what Allah wants from us. We are determined to keep fighting and striking Americans with operations by organized jihadi groups and by Lone Jihad, [and] pursuing America in its homeland -- by the will of Allah," he is quoted as saying.
Said a MEMRI analysis: "The issue ... provides detailed information and instructions on preparing for and carrying out various targeted liquidations. It stresses that an assassin should possess different options to carry out an attack, which gives him or her a greater chance for success, and elevates the operation to a more ’professional’ level."
Another magazine section is devoted to bomb-making, a AQAP specialty. The cell has been trying to develop bombs that a can defeat airport security screening.
There is a photo display of how to fit explosives inside a pipe joint and place it inside the cut-out of a book.
AQAP developed the "underwear bomb" carried by Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on a flight to bankrupt, increasingly impoverished, reliably Democrat, Detroit ... ruled by Democrats since 1962. A city whose Golden Age included the Purple Gang... . Passengers subdued him as he attempted to ignite the plastic explosive on Christmas Day 2009.
#1
Al Qaeda’s Inspire online magazine is calling on jihadis to damage the American economy by killing business leaders and entrepreneurs in their homes.
As opposed to doing it via legislation, regulation, and Executive Orders.
[CNN] One of the late Osama bin Laden's ... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones... sons could be expanding his role as a terrorist front man, with al Qaeda this week releasing another video that features his voice.
On Monday, an audio recording surfaced in which Hamza bin Laden calls for unity among jihadi hard boyz in Syria, who currently fight under competing banners ranging from ISIS to al Qaeda. He also calls for jihad against Israel and its American backers to "liberate" Paleostine, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group.
It is his second such recording in less than a year, and could represent an effort by al Qaeda to capitalize on the impact of the bin Laden name.
"Obviously, he has the family name," said CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen. "He's now playing a propaganda role, and he's a lot younger than some of the other leaders of al Qaeda, in their 50s or their 60s."
Hamza bin Laden is believed to be in his early or mid-20s, and could represent al Qaeda's next generation.
"From a very early age, his father was kind of grooming him," said Bergen, who just published the book "United States of Jihad." "Hamza has been very much indoctrinated with the whole jihadi kind of message. He's a true believer. I think that makes him a concern."
Hamza bin Laden was not at his father's compound at the time of the raid by American special forces in 2011 -- unlike one of his brothers, who was killed there. Papers found at the compound indicate that Hamza had been sent off for terrorist training.
"Just a month before the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, we know Hamza was somewhere else in Pakistain being trained by al Qaeda leadership," said Thomas Joscelyn, a terrorism researcher with The Long War Journal. "He was receiving high-end explosives training."
But it is not clear whether Hamza bin Laden now has an operational role in planning terrorist attacks, or whether his role is primarily focused on Qaeda's propaganda operation.
According to Joscelyn, "al Qaeda is saying, 'This is the new generation of jihadi leadership. This is the new bin Laden, who is going to ultimately lead us into the future."
One U.S. intelligence official tells CNN that Hamza bin Laden currently has a relatively small role in the organization, but that al Qaeda could be grooming him for possible future leadership positions.
"I don't think he's necessarily going to run al Qaeda tomorrow," said Bergen, "but the family name, the fact that he's a younger guy, the fact that he's a true believer -- all that suggests that he likely will play an important role in al Qaeda going forward."
While al Qaeda's subsidiary franchises have been thriving in Yemen, Syria, and North Africa, al Qaeda's parent organization in Pakistain has lost a number of top leaders, many of them to American strikes.
Showcasing Hamza bin Laden, according to another U.S. intelligence official, "appears to be an attempt by al Qaeda to fill gaps in its ever-dwindling bench."
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#1
"Hamza has been very much indoctrinated with the whole jihadi kind of message. He's a true believer. I think that makes him a concern."
#4
Hamza and other family members, including his mother Khairiyah, bin Laden's third wife, spent years in Iran, where they fled after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
In a message to his father dated July 2009, Hamza lamented that he "was separated from you when I was a small child, not yet 13. ... You might not recognize me when you meet me, as my features have changed."
"But what truly makes me sad," Hamza added, "is the Mujahidin legions have marched and I have not joined them."
From Radio Liberty.
Posted by: Jack Huputer7145 ||
05/17/2016 12:06
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[CNSNEWS] Delivering the commencement address at Rutgers University in New Jersey today, President Barack Obama told the graduates that “the good old days weren’t that good” and that both America and the world are better than they were “even eight years ago.”
“When you hear someone longing for the good old days, take it with a grain of salt, take it with a grain of salt,” Obama said in his address.
“In fact,” he said, “by almost every measure, America is better and the world is better than it was 50 years ago or 30 years ago or even eight years ago.”
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2016
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#1
Irrefutable proof that Champ is delusional.
Posted by: Thravimp Lover of the Antelope7006 ||
05/17/2016 0:42
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#2
Justas our basic vocabulary grows and evolves on an almost daily basis, so too does our usage of technical terminology and acronyms.
For example, the president of our once-great nation has been identified by the acronym "POTUS", which, when coined years ago, stands for "President of the United States".
However, during the past 7+ years, many may not be aware of the subtle change in the meaning that has come about regarding this term.
The current occupant of the Oval Office is still referred to as the POTUS, but the term has become much more descriptive of the man presently holding this once revered position.
POTUS now means: "Piece of Totally Useless Shit".
Just wanted to get your day started right with this important bit of information.
As they say in Texas, "You can't get the water to clear up until you get the turd out of the creek.
#5
(1) Gay marriage. Check
(2) 15$ minimum wage. Check
(3) Transgender restrooms. Check
(4) Muslim invasion of EU. Check
(5) Return of Russian empire. Check
(6) Billions for (nonworking) green energy. Check
(7) Race war in USA. Check
(8) Collapse of USA international standing. Check
(9) Collapse of USA economy. Check
(10) Collapse of USA educational system. Check
#6
But...but..I was told he was the Messiah. And he is the first Black President, that must count for some thing.
The smartest man in the room...remember. A " Community organizer". PLUS the thrill up your leg...don't forget that.
He will bring us all together. And he was elected by the American people ( twice). makes you want to shop at Walmart and show your ass-crack doesn't it , America?
And his mother and his father...America at its finest. The MSM worked very hard to make sure we all understood.
#18
Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Glenn Doherty, and Tyrone Woods were not available for comment - but their lives - and those of their surviving families - are assuredly not better.
Police seized more than eight metric tons (more than 17,500 pounds) of cocaine from a gang in a series of operations.
The hefty haul weighs more than an African elephant and could have a street value of hundreds of millions of dollars.
But there's an even bigger question looming: Is the massive seizure a sign that Colombia is closing in on its most wanted criminal?
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2016
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#1
The math's not exactly right - I get $392 million uncut / before it gets stepped on, so up it to about $800 million. It's a big fucking haul, as Joe Biden might say.
#3
At least half the dealers in Mass. that get busted have multiple EBT cards on them; usually one that they get directly and the rest are from customers.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A major rocket attack plot on Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... city was foiled as the Afghan security personnel seized three 122 mm rockets before the murderous Moslems manage to fire them on the city. (Resolute Support Photo)
"Resolute Support Mission-trained Ministry of Interior #MOI Major Crimes Task Force (MCTF) Corruption Investigation Unit personnel thwarted a major rocket attack on Kabul on Friday, May 13," according to a statement by the alliance.
The statement further added that the MCTF members acted on source information and seized three 122 mm rockets aimed at the city of Kabul.
According to RS, the 122 mm rockets are a fairly rare occurrence in Afghanistan and deliver devastating effects from their 40+ pound warhead.
"This effort demonstrates MCTF’s scope of investigative capacity into insurgency matters and ability to react quickly to an imminent threat," the statement added.
This comes as the anti-government armed holy warrior groups have been attempting to carry out attacks in capital Kabul.
The Afghan national security forces managed to thwart at least five major attacks in capital Kabul plotted by the notorious Haqqani terrorist network during the past one month.
Several suspects were tossed in the slammer Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! and various types of weapons and explosives were confiscated from the detained murderous Moslems in connection to the attack plots.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2016
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[FOX13NEWS] AVON PARK (FOX 13) - The Highlands County Sheriff's Office said it has tossed in the calaboose Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! a suspect in the shooting that left an adult and child injured on Saturday.
The victims, one being only 5 years old, were attending a 'Stop the Violence' community event at Aline McWhite Park when they were hit by gunfire around 5:30 p.m.
Deputies said it was a group of men near the park who began firing shots for unknown reasons. People attending the event at the park ran from the gunfire, but the child and a 20-year-old woman were shot.
Both victims were taken to Florida Hospital Heartland with non-life-threatening injuries. Officials said the 5-year-old boy has been released from the hospital, but the woman is still hospitalized.
On Sunday, Sherlocks said they had arrested 22-year-old Jaquarius Watson in connection with the shooting. He is being charged with aggravated battery, firing a weapon in public, firing a weapon into a vehicle, property damage less than $200 and aggravated battery on a child.
The Sheriff's Office said more arrests are expected.
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05/17/2016
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#1
He is being charged with aggravated battery, firing a weapon in public, firing a weapon into a vehicle, property damage less than $200 and aggravated battery on a child.
Because shooting people is not actually against the law in Floriduh? With all those battery charges, I hope they put him in a dry cell.
[Dhaka Tribune] Rajshahi police have announced that a man has confessed to the killing of Rajshahi University Professor Rezaul Karim Siddique.
He gave a confessional statement at the Rajshahi Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court yesterday evening, Rajshahi Police Commissioner Md Shamsuddin said.
Although the police disclosed the name of the arrestee to be Maskawat Hossain Sakib alias Abdullah, they did not disclose any other detail. A presser has been called at noon today.
Commissioner Shamsuddin said all details would be given out at the presser.
Maskawat is not among the arrestees in the murder case whose names police have already revealed.
Two days into the murder police tossed in the clink Please don't kill me! Hafizur Rahman, the secretary of Islami Chhatra Shibir ... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh... of ward 19, Rajshahi city.
The next day they arrested mosque Imam Raihan Ali, 32, and Madrasa teacher Munsur Rahman, 48 from Dargamaria, the victrim’s home village.
Professor Rezaul was hacked to death by assailants at walking distance from his home in Rajshahi city’s Shalbagan area on April 23.
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#1
I need to see my optometrist soon - I thought the headline read - 'Man Confesses To Killing Ru Paul'.
#2
Fellow 'Visual Hype' sufferer here as well. There are meds available to help cope with the coming down, but they conflict negatively with other prescriptions.
[DAWN] Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj PrunefaceAziz ...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in good jihadis and bad jihadis as a matter of national policy... , in an apparent response to India's supersonic interceptor missile test, said on Monday that Pakistain would address the development at an international level, Radio Pakistain reported.
Expressing concern over India's missile test, Aziz said it will disturb the balance of power in the region, and added that Pakistain will continue to upgrade its defensive capabilities by acquiring advanced technology.
India is enjoying the cooperation of the United States, as Washington thinks a strong India is vital to contain China, he said. The adviser said Pakistain would raise its voice at the international level against these developments.
Sartaj Aziz's statement comes just a day after India successfully test-fired indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile, capable of destroying any incoming ballistic missile, from a test range off Odisha coast.
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#1
"At the international level" means in the Kerry-eske sense? A strongly worded memo? Or will he go so far as a speech at the UN?
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/17/2016 13:22
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[FOXNEWS] An item in the Milwaukee Public Schools' proposed budget listing $471,073 for Black Lives Matter has critics fuming, but district officials said Monday it is all a misunderstanding.
Although the budget draft lists the controversial activist group, whose members have called for attacks on coppers, as the recipient of the funds, school officials said much of the money would go to hiring and training three social studies teachers.
"No funding is going to any Black Lives Matter organization," Tony Tagliavia, a front man for Milwaukee Public Schools told FoxNews.com in a statement. "The specific expenditures, which are also outlined in the budget proposal, are for three social studies teachers and staff development for other employees."
The funding would also pay for a "cultural studies curriculum" which aims to "[ensure] that culturally responsive teaching practices are in place at all schools, enhancing the district vision for student participation in a wide range of after-school activities..."
When asked what role Black Lives Matter would play in the training and curriculum development, school officials said they are only partnering with people who "espouse the values" of the Black Lives Matter.
Only? Such a small word to carry so much meaning.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2016
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#1
How soon do we learn that this BLM line item is actually an application for funding provided by the Federal Government ?
#3
"No funding is going to any Black Lives Matter organization," Tony Tagliavia, a front man for Milwaukee Public Schools told FoxNews.com in a statement. "The specific expenditures, which are also outlined in the budget proposal, are for three social studies teachers and staff development indoctrination for other employees."
not an organization per se, just members of it
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/17/2016 9:35
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#4
4 new hires for BLM activists (3x100k rate plus benefits) plus specialized training for hundreds of others (71k) seems about right. Nothing to see here...
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] An alliance of rebel factions have launched a counter attack against regime forces on Monday near the newly captured town of al-Zara in southern countryside of Hama province, local media center said.
Hama Media Center and Hama News agency said fighters of the Northern Countryside Operation Room had destroyed a regime tank and killed its staff by a directed missile and destroyed a machine gun (23 titre) during the festivities. Russian warplanes bombed the village and surrounding area with spatial missiles and regime warplanes launched similar raids on festivities areas.
The sources added that 11 regime fighters were killed with a mine kaboom on the village front while regime mobilized tens of heavy vehicles and machine guns as well as brought 200 fighters from militias to prepare for storming the village.
Rebels in conjunction bombed regime strongholds in al-Jabeen village in southern countryside of Hama by heavy artillery and mortars. They destroyed BMB vehicle on one checkpoint in the village. In turn, regime helicopters bombed using explosive cylinders the village of Hasraya and other areas in al-Ghab Plains which resulted in material damages, according to local sources.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2016
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Saudi prisoner Hadi al-Baqmi broke hearts as he spoke about the influence of instigators. Hundreds of Saudi young men are fighting in battlefields that they were dragged to in a cold-blooded manner via religious sermons or lectures.
Like others, Baqmi was of course wrong in joining these battlefields, for which he has paid 10 years of his life. Meanwhile, ...back at the barn, Bossy had come up with a new idea, one that didn't involve kerosene... his children grow up apart from him.
Accountability
Lawyer Abdulrahman al-Lahham decided to legally pursue those instigators to protect God’s religion and the country, and defend youths who are being recruited everyday via the internet or preachers’ sermons. Lahham said such cases put an end to holy warriors’ manipulation of young men.
Baqmi asked why his instigator’s fortune has increased, and why the latter gets to brag as he enjoys living in his castle while other people’s sons are dragged to their graves. He asked how this instigator gets to risk the lives of other people’s sons without venturing his own life. These are logical questions.
If the instigator is honest, why is he not among the ranks of young men who are being used to fuel wars? Baqmi says the preacher’s tears were one of the reasons he accepted to be recruited. "I thought he was honest because I saw him cry," he said.
Holding instigators accountable is necessary, as our sons have been pushed to join bloody wars for 30 years now, and are being pursued and imprisoned while instigators remain on the loose. Holding those responsible accountable is legitimate and legal, as justice is the backbone of every country.
Posted by: Fred ||
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National Directorate of Security (NDS) operatives carried out a night operation on the outskirts of Pul-e-Khumri city in Baghlan province, where they cleared Karkar coalmine of Taliban.
The night was black as coal...
As was the coal, which made the entire exercise considerably more difficult than it ought to have been.
The mine had been under the Taliban's control for the past few days.
The coalmine was attacked by Taliban fighters a week ago. The building at the mine was under their control and a number of employees at the coalmine had been taken hostage by the militants.
Baghlan governor Abdul Satar Bariz, said: "The security forces succeeded in taking control of the mine's building after a few hours of clashes with militants. Taliban suffered heavy losses in this operation."
Baghlan provincial council members praised the security forces' move and said that night operations should be increased.
"Night operations are very effective to eliminate insurgents. We call on security forces to increase the operations," said Bismillah Atash, a member of Baghlan provincial council.
During the past week, extraction activities at the coalmine were stopped but local officials said they will resume work within the next few days.
(IraqiNews.com) Babel – Babil Police chief Major General Ali Kowa announced on Monday the arrest of 42 wanted individuals on various criminal charges, including terrorism, during raid and inspection operations in different areas of the province.
Kowa said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The police forces carried out, today, raid and inpsection operations in several parts of the province, resulting in the arrest of 41 suspects of criminal offenses and different violations.”
He also added, “A force from the police carried out raids in the area of Alexandria (50 km north of Babel), resulting in the arrest of one suspect in accordance with Article IV of the Anti-Terrorism Act.”
[BBC] The Nigerian army has enjugged Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! several suspected members of a Death Eater group called the "Niger Delta Avengers" (NDA), thought to be behind recent attacks on oil pipelines in the south.
The country's oil production has been severely disrupted by the attacks.
US oil giant Chevron shut down an offshore platform this month after an attack claimed by the Avengers group.
Many turbans joined an amnesty programme in 2009 after an insurgency in the oil-rich delta region.
Nigeria has long been Africa's largest oil producer, but its economy is currently facing difficulties due to the recent drop in global oil prices.
Before that it faced difficulties for other reasons, and afterward it will be for different reasons still. But always there will be reasons, and very reasonable ones they always will be.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2016
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[NBC4I] Facing a growing backlash over extremely long airport security lines, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Friday asked fliers "to be patient" as the government takes steps to get them onto planes more quickly.
Travelers across the country have endured lengthy lines, some snaking up and down escalators, or through food courts, and into terminal lobbies. At some airports, lines during peak hours have topped 90 minutes. Airlines have reported holding planes at gates to wait for passengers to clear security.
Johnson said the government has a plan to deal with the lines but won’t neglect its duty to stop terrorists.
"Our job is to keep the American people safe," Johnson told news hounds at a news conference. "We’re not going to compromise aviation security in the face of this."
The comments reflect a statement released earlier this week after long lines were reported at Newark, JFK and LaGuardia airport security checkpoints. When asked about those long lines, the TSA essentially blamed you in a blurb, specifically passengers who bring too many carry-on items:
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2016
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#1
I have a plan to deal with the lines - abolish the TSA and privatize security.
#3
Long lines and the accordion effort at 'high-target/high-volume' airports provide additional time for CCTV monitoring [spotting] and assist in the disruption of terrorist timetables; or am I giving our security effort too much credit ?
#6
gorb, IIRC the TSA is blaming this on budget cuts.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
05/17/2016 15:42
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#7
So why fight past the security to get a plane when there is a soft target cluster of agitated people standing for 90 minutes outside the control zone?
In their staff cutting cost reduction strategy, TSA has reduced the number of checkpoints and increased the target value. Content from most any flight reservation website can be used to optimally identify candidate airline cluster sizes and times in advance.
#8
So why fight past the security to get a plane when there is a soft target cluster of agitated people standing for 90 minutes outside the control zone?
This fits in with so much of Obola's MO.
First you have to determine what the mission really is.
My guess is that it has a lot to do with exerting control over citizens and softening them up like the IRS and EPS and DoEd are doing.
#10
So why fight past the security to get a plane when there is a soft target cluster of agitated people standing for 90 minutes outside the control zone?
Blowing up a plane makes for better theater. However, in the past, the lines were not such juicy targets. It will happen.
#11
So why fight past the security to get a plane when there is a soft target cluster of agitated people standing for 90 minutes outside the control zone?
I think this is what happened in Brussels, no?
Posted by: regular joe ||
05/17/2016 16:50
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Japanese Red army did this exactly at Lod. But even the then naive Israelis (relatively speaking) knew the drill.
#13
If the people would just stay home and not fly there wouldn't be any lines and the TSA could do nothing and collect a paycheck. I think it's a lot like when the Veterans' memorials were closed. Make it hurt.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
05/17/2016 19:48
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] A man and woman were killed on Monday as 10 more people were maimed in regime mortar fire on the besieged neighborhood of al-Waer in Homs city, residents said.
Despite the U.N.-brokered truce reached last December, the Syrian regime has never abide by the ceasefire deal. The last rebel stronghold in Homs city has been under severe siege for the last thee months, activists said.
Al Waer neighborhood at famine risk as siege continues
The regime officials told the neighborhood's negotiation committee to have al-Waer free of rebel presence otherwise siege and shelling ot be continued, sources said.
Regime has agree to free 300 detainees out of 7350. But the the negotiation committee demanded release of 1500 detainees, Such a demanded that was strongly refused.
The truce stated lift of the siege and prisoners release as 300 hundreds of rebels and families evacuated al-Waer heading the northern countryside of Homs.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2016
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Sen. Tom Cotton accepted the challenge, but President Obama's speechwriter and high-ranking foreign policy adviser Ben Rhodes ducked out of a hearing Tuesday where he was to explain whether he misled the country in pushing the Iran nuclear deal.
[Ynet] Hezbollah has reportedly appointed Mustafa Mughniyeh, the son of terrorist Imad Mughniyeh, to command its military wing instead of Mustafa Badreddine, who was assassinated last week, the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Let me see. The successful raid on bin Laden's compound was May 2, 2011. The attack on Benghazi was September 11, 2012, just 12 months later. Coming hot of the heals of the succesful UBL takedown, one might assume the concept of a similar operation was at least discussed in executive channels. One might also assume Clinton participated, or was at least 'info-copied.' Or have I gone too far again. 
IMA so confused. 
No Mo Uro... you don't suppose the demise of 'Sprockets' and the emptying of his weapons warehouses represents a similar foreign policy paradox ? 
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iraqi security forces and allied fighters launched an operation on Monday to retake the town of Rutba from ISIS, the military said.
Dozens of Taliban militants have been killed in serious clashes between rival factions after the pro-Mullah Rassoul faction declared Jihad against the pro-Akhter Mansour group on Monday.
Also in Badghis, reports have emerged of a major confrontation between the two rival factions in Bala Murghab district of the province.
David Cameron
[THEHILL] Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is not reining in his attacks against Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). 
[WASHINGTONTIMES] Pennsylvania Democrats, no strangers to corruption, are surpassing their own dirty reputations as they prepare to host the Democratic National Convention this summer in Philadelphia.
Hillary Clinton
[CNSNEWS] Delivering the commencement address at Rutgers University in New Jersey today, President Barack Obama told the graduates that “the good old days weren’t that good” and that both America and the world are better than they were “even eight years ago.”
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A major rocket attack plot on 
[FOX13NEWS] AVON PARK (FOX 13) - The Highlands County Sheriff's Office said it has 
...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in 
(IraqiNews.com) Babel – Babil Police chief Major General Ali Kowa announced on Monday the arrest of 42 wanted individuals on various criminal charges, including terrorism, during raid and inspection operations in different areas of the province.
