[WND] Officials of the Miss World America pageant removed Miss Michigan’s title because she refused to allow a Muslim woman to "forcibly" put a hijab on her head and then reported the incident on social media.
"I suggest you all fully review what you stand for and what you condemn," wrote Miss Michigan Kathy Zhu to pageant officials after they ordered her title removed.
The IBTimes reported Zhu, a 20-year-old model who supports President Trump, was informed she had been stripped of the Miss Michigan title.
Pageant officials accused her of "offensive, insensitive and inappropriate content" and told her "effectively immediately, MWA does not recognize you as a participant of any sort or in any capacity as it relates to any and all events of MWA."
The condemnation was signed by Laurie DeJack, state director of MWA Michigan.
Media reports cited Zhu’s "controversies" such as her mention of the fact that a majority of violent black deaths are caused by other blacks.
[BBC] A private dive team has found the last American warship sunk off the US east coast in WWII - solving a 75-year-old naval cold case.
The sinking of the USS Eagle PE-56 was first deemed an accident until new evidence established it had been hit by a German submarine.
Its location remained a mystery until June 2018, when the ship was found five miles (8km) off the coast of Maine.
The Eagle lay 300ft (91m) below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean.
"This particular wreck was one of those conversations: 'wouldn't it be great if we could?'" said Ryan King, a member of the eight-person dive team.
But as Mr King began looking into the mystery-shrouded ship, finding the Eagle soon became something he "had" to do.
"It's one of those wrecks that just gets under your skin," said Mr King. "If it's not you, who else is looking?"
He and seven other divers combed the seabed for the ship for four years before it was found - 69 years after it sank to the bottom of the Atlantic, killing 49 of the 62 crew members on board.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/20/2019
09:38 ||
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#2
...The Eagle 56 was one of 60 Eagle boats built by Henry Ford as his contribution to the US effort in WW I - a production line for anti-sub ships that was a great idea in theory, didn't work out quite so well in practice. The boats had problems, and apparently seakeeping was not good. Eight of them held on into WW II, and the 56 boat was the only one ever lost to enemy action.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/20/2019 10:55
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[GatewayPundit] Hodan Nalayeh, a Somali-born Canadian journalist traveled to Somalia last week to prove Somalia is “beautiful” and to challenge ‘stereotypes’ ended up being killed by Islamic terrorists.
On July 12, al-Shabaab terrorists stormed Asasey Hotel in Kismayo. 26 people were killed in the terrorist attack and Hodan Nalayeh, 43, and her husband were among the victims.
So this journalist pretty much proved Trump’s point that Ilhan Omar is ‘lucky to be here’ (even though she defrauded US immigration to get here).
#1
Somalia may have some beautiful places but I'm sure Chicago or Venezuela do too. "Slick Willy" screwed-up Mogadishu, Somali in 1993 which resulted in "Black-Hawk Down." Probably was busy satisfying his urges.
[BBC] The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been accused of widespread abuses in Sudan, including the 3 June massacre in which more than 120 people were reportedly killed, with many of the dead dumped in the River Nile. Sudan expert Alex de Waal charts their rise.
The RSF are now the real ruling power in Sudan. They are a new kind of regime: a hybrid of ethnic militia and business enterprise, a transnational mercenary force that has captured a state.
Their commander is General Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagolo, and he and his fighters have come a long way since their early days as a rag-tag Arab militia widely denigrated as the "Janjaweed".
The RSF was formally established by decree of then-President Omar al-Bashir in 2013. But their core of 5,000 militiamen had been armed and active long before then.
Their story begins in 2003, when Mr Bashir's government mobilised Arab herders to fight against black African insurgents in Darfur.
'MEET THE JANJAWEED'
The core of the Janjaweed were camel-herding nomads from the Mahamid and Mahariya branches of the Rizeigat ethnic group of northern Darfur and adjoining areas of Chad - they ranged across the desert edge long before the border was drawn.
During the 2003-2005 Darfur war and massacres, the most infamous Janjaweed leader was Musa Hilal, chief of the Mahamid.
#4
Seems pretty reasonable here in NE Texas. High in the mid-nineties. I'm good for 1-2 hours of exertion between water/cool off breaks of the same length.
#7
I'm 70 and the short walk from my air conditioned (praise to Milius Carrier) truck to the front door of any air conditioned (praise to Milius Carrier) business is exerting enough.
Play stupid games - Win stupid prizes
[Legal Insurrection] In November of 2016 right after the election, students at UC San Diego tried to take over a freeway at night while protesting Trump. A girl was hit by a car and then tried to sue the school. A judge just told her that’s not going to fly.
The College Fix reports:
Court dismisses lawsuit filed by student hit by vehicle during anti-Trump freeway protest
A judge has tossed out a personal injury lawsuit filed by a young woman who sued UC San Diego and others after she was hit by a vehicle as she protested the election of Donald Trump in the middle of a busy San Diego freeway.
The San Diego Superior Court has issued a notice of dismissal against Maria Ana Carrola Flores’ case, according to court documents obtained by The College Fix.
Flores, reportedly a UCSD student at the time of the November 2016 incident, partly blamed campus officials in her lawsuit, alleging Resident Advisors had effectively organized the protest by encouraging it, therefore campus officials shared responsibility for her injuries.
Her case was officially dismissed without prejudice on May 26, court documents show.
Reached for comment, her attorney Jerold Sullivan told The College Fix that the outcome was "a tragedy" and that the case will not be refiled.
"The person that ran her over did not have insurance and is judgement proof with no assets. Ms. Flores is left with no recourse for catastrophic physical injuries and a lifetime of medical expenses," he said. Prolly an Illegal. The tragedy is Sullivan won't be getting paid. Oh wait. The best part, not tragedy
UCSD declined to comment to The College Fix...
The lawsuit, filed in 2017, named as defendants the UC system Board of Regents, the city and county of San Diego, the driver of the vehicle, and UC San Diego.
But late last year, Sullivan had filed an amended complaint that did not name the city and county of San Diego as defendants after a judge ruled the two entities bore no responsibility in the case, the UCSD Guardian reported.
Sullivan has noted that Flores never saw herself as completely fault-free in the accident, yet others listed in the lawsuit should be required to bear some of the responsibility.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/20/2019
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Flores’ attorney, Jerold “Gene” Sullivan in Manhattan Beach, said by telephone on Tuesday that his client suffered multiple broken bones and has permanent disabilities.
He said Flores accepts some responsibility for her injuries — but not all of it.
“We think it’s a case of shared responsibility of the school, Maria and the driver, and we’re not saying that anybody is without fault or fault-free,” Sullivan said. “We think other people bear some responsibility as well.”
Specifically, the lawsuit alleges UCSD or the UC Board of Regents bear some responsibility for the protest. The lawsuit says the school and other defendants did not contain the protest and allowed it to spill onto the freeway, where security was inadequate to keep protesters safe.
All learning is useful, ‘tis said, but the bit about not running into traffic, — while usually taught when one’s age is in the small single digits — is definitely more useful than most. And it will be nailed home as her income is garnished (or her credit history tarnished by non-payment) to pay off her hospital bills. Unless she is on Medicaid — they seem to just pay without questioning, and it’s harder to get them to pass the charges on when appropriate than to just let the payment stand.
[Telegraph] The Royal Navy has trialled a new missile to target small boats in the wake of tensions with Iran.
HMS Sutherland, a Devonport-based Type 23 Frigate, fired four new Martlet missiles at a fast-moving speedboat off the Welsh coast to see whether the weapon could be launched from a ship as well as a helicopter.
The target boat took a direct hit in the Irish Sea. That's near the stern
Carrying a 3kg warhead, the missiles can accelerate rapidly up to one-and-a-half times the speed of sound and are guided to their target by following a laser beam fired from the ship or other assets nearby.
Designed to be fired by Wildcat helicopters, the Martlet – also known as the Lightweight Multi-role Missile - is undergoing trials prior to coming into service.
#1
They can't be less useless than the 50Cal machine guns I see on you tube firing away in practice using sppedboats for targets.
Posted by: Roger Smith ||
07/20/2019 12:33
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guided to their target by following a laser beam fired from the ship or other assets nearby.
Trying to keep a laser pointer on a little boat moving at high speed, bouncing along on the waves... sounds challenging. I would naively think some sort of electro-optical guidance would be handy for fire-and-forget. Especially against a swarm of boats.
[The Federalist] The special counsel’s investigation was a sham controlled by the intelligence community. Evidence has long suggested as much, but testimony earlier this week from Michael Flynn’s ex-lawyer‐that Flynn’s former legal team had not seen recently revealed information purporting to implicate Flynn in a conspiracy with a Turkish agent‐confirms it. One of many such initiatives by the Deep State.
This testimony came on Tuesday when Flynn’s former Covington and Burling lawyer, Robert Kelner, took the stand at the trial of Flynn’s former partner at Flynn Intel Group (FIG), Bijan Rafiekian. Rafiekian, who co-founded FIG with Flynn, is on trial for conspiring with his co-defendant Kamil Ekim Alptekin and others (unnamed in the indictment) to act as an unregistered agent of the Turkish government and conspiring to file a material false Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) statement. (Alptekin is a fugitive believed to be in Turkey.)
The government had planned to call Flynn as a witness at Rafiekian’s trial, but at the last minute prosecutors informed the court that Flynn would not testify. Instead, prosecutors notified the court that they viewed Flynn as an unindicted co-conspirator and that they intended to present hearsay evidence against Rafiekian‐something allowed if Flynn had conspired with Rafiekian and Alptekin to file the false FARA statements.
Last week, presiding Judge Anthony J. Trenga held that the government had not yet presented sufficient evidence of a conspiracy to admit prior statements made by Flynn and Alptekin. Until prosecutors made a preliminary showing of a conspiracy at trial, Trenga ruled, the hearsay evidence would not be admitted, and even then the government may be bound by its prior admission that Flynn was not a co-conspirator.
Then last Friday came the revelation that the government possessed previously undisclosed information supposedly implicating Flynn in a separate conspiracy with Alptekin. Rafiekian’s attorney disclosed this shocker at the close of a pre-trial hearing, telling the court that before the start of the proceedings, the government had handed him a one-sentence statement. "If I may read it for purposes of the record," Rafiekian’s lawyer continued:
#1
I'm trying to formulate a 25-words-or-less summary of this convoluted story.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/20/2019 6:52
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#2
There is only one reasonable explanation for this: The intelligence community viewed the special counsel’s investigation as an insurance policy meant to destroy Trump. And Flynn was just a means of getting to Trump.
The author's bottom line above. She's coming to the party a bit late. Many of the guests have already departed.
#3
GEN Flynn was, to my mind at least a great innovator with intel and timely distribution. I wouldn't underrate the animus the collected agencies have for him personally.
#6
The left has assiduously tried to take down Trump before and after he was POTUS. Everyday it is death-by-a-thousand-cuts from all directions from the left, Donks, RINOS, MSM, and even some foreigner s. Trump must have the skin of an armadillo. The usual Pub response would have been to cave long ago. Go Donald and thxs for taking the slings and arrows.
#7
Why is Steele not being prosecuted as an "unregistered foreign agent"
He was very likely "registered" (and compensated) under a different type of....hmm hmm system. To charge him as an "unregistered foreign agent" would open up a virtual Pandora's box. A Pandora's box that would make any defense attorney ecstatic.
Very possibly the same with Nellie Ohr I might add.
BLUF:
Is it bad that I don’t go? How often should I go?
There’s no rule that says you must go once a day. "On average, people go once or twice a day," says Dr. Schnoll-Sussman. "But many people go way more." And not pooping for a day, two, or even three can also be fine. In short, if you feel OK‐no upset stomach, no trouble making it to the bathroom on time‐then you probably don’t need to worry.
"The rule is there’s no such thing as normal‐just normal from one person’s perspective," says Dr. Schnoll-Sussman. So what if you’re a once-a-day BM person who’s suddenly going three or four times a day? Dr. Schnoll-Sussman says that it could be as simple as your diet (eat some sketchy meat recently?) or as complex as an infectious diarrheal disease. It could even be a good change; maybe you’ve started eating more fiber, for example. The important thing is to go to your doctor if your new BM schedule gives you a constant upset stomach or your frequent bathroom trips start to make social situations awkward.
[IsraelTimes] Some soldiers, Patriot batteries arrive in kingdom as part of deployment that officials say will include fighter aircraft, missile defense systems.
With Iranian military threats in mind, the United States is sending American forces, including fighter aircraft, air defense missiles and likely more than 500 troops, to a Saudi air base that became a hub of American air power in the Middle East in the 1990s but was abandoned by Washington after it toppled Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein in 2003.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry announced the basing agreement Friday without mentioning details.
Continued on Page 49
[Jpost] Fatah, the party PA President Mahmoud Abas, said that the decision to name a summer camp after Dalal Mughrabi is justified as she is a "symbol for the humanistic struggle" against Israel.
Mughrabi was killed in 1978 after she led eleven Paleostinian and Lebanese faceless myrmidons in a killing and hijacking spree within Israel that claimed the lives of 38 Israelis, 13 of them children. It is the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians in the history of the Jewish state.
Among Paleostinians, Mughrabi is often seen as a martyr and as a positive example. The deaths of the children are explained as the result of the Israeli efforts to rescue the hostages Mughrabi kidnapped. The Israeli claim is that she blew up the entire bus with the children, and herself, inside.
"There’s nothing humanistic about you or her," wrote Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson Ofir Gendelman on Thursday, "look at the kids she murdered.’
The Sisters of Dalal Summer Camp was organized by the Tulkarem branch of the Fatah Movement’s Shabiba Youth Movement high school committees, with the support of the PLO Supreme Council for Sport and Youth Affairs, Paleostinian Media Watch reported on July 14.
July 19 (UPI) -- An improvised explosive device blew up near the southern entrance to Kabul University in Afghanistan Friday, killing at least eight people and injuring 33.
The death toll continues to rise with Ministry of Health spokesman Wahidullah Mayar reporting the latest numbers at 10 a.m. local time Friday.
The attack happened at 7:20 a.m.
Kabul police said the IED was inside a private vehicle that was driven to the site. Two vehicles caught fire from the explosion.
A traffic officer is among the dead.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Taliban and Afghan officials wrapped up two days of meetings in Qatar that resulted in an eight-point road map for peace in the country.
[The Hill] With massive protests continuing in Hong Kong against China’s efforts to erode its freedoms, Washington is missing a sizable opportunity to promote our ideals, encourage democratic forces elsewhere, and leverage Beijing’s need for a trade deal.
Of late, President Donald Trump has sidestepped the matter and forced other administration officials to do the same. Trump reportedly assured China’s autocratic leader, Xi Jinping, in recent days that he would avoid criticizing Beijing over Hong Kong in order to advance trade talks, and the State Department prevented outgoing U.S. Consul General Kurt Tong from criticizing China over Hong Kong as part of a farewell address.
Trump’s approach to Hong Kong is part of a broader U.S. strategy of sacrificing human rights at the altar of trade. Vice President Mike Pence had planned to echo the criticism he leveled at Beijing last fall over its brutal suppression of Muslim Uighurs who seek to practice their faith, but he changed course and remained silent last month as Washington and Beijing sought to reignite trade talks.
The President’s reluctance to speak out for Hong Kong’s protestors is particularly ill-timed, for it comes as China cracks down more harshly on freedom at home while promoting its authoritarian model of governance abroad as an alternative to U.S.-led freedom and democracy ‐ thus challenging U.S. influence in Asia and elsewhere. That this year marks the 30th anniversary of Beijing’s crackdown on protestors in Tiananmen Square makes Trump’s silence even more painful.
Moreover, Hong Kong may be a particularly bad place for Trump to take a pass on defending freedom because that city has come to symbolize freedom, ranking first in the Heritage Foundation’s 2019 Index of Economic Freedom ‐ and at a time when the United States, the free world’s leader, languishes at number 12.
[Washington Examiner] Nellie Ohr, the wife of Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, is under scrutiny again.
In testimony to lawmakers late last year, Ohr said she gathered information during the 2016 campaign about President Trump, his wife Melania Trump, and his children for Fusion GPS, the same opposition research firm that was paid by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign for British ex-spy Christopher Steele's anti-Trump dossier.
The Republican investigators want to know if Ohr's Trump family research made it to the FBI or got into Steele's dossier.
Ohr testified in December that she was tasked with researching the Trump family "broadly in connection with any ‐ any Russian
#5
Regarding Nellie, I think it is great that a 50-something woman should suddenly decide to take up ham radio as a hobby. We should celebrate her as a STEM hero.
Of course, that might invite some embarrassing scrutiny...
#6
When I was a kid there was this one woman married to a successful attorney. We all called her Mz. Frizzy Bean and wonderd why she didn't spend any money on her awful hair.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/20/2019 16:02
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[Washington Examiner] Some of his victims were just 14 years old when they were sexually exploited, coerced, and beaten. The Jeffery Epstein case shows what sex trafficking a form of human trafficking really looks like: a living nightmare filled with mental manipulation, substance abuse, and all manners of sexual violence including rape.
Yet, as the human trafficking epidemic continues, presidential candidates Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Tulsi Gabbard and Kamala Harris are on-record supporting the decriminalization of prostitution. They do so in defense of a women’s right to use her body as she sees fit. Other Democratic candidates are also likely to jump at the chance to raise their hands in support of legalizing the abuse of women under the guise of freedom. New York, Maine, and Washington, D.C. feel similarly and are currently considering decriminalization bills.
Supporters argue decriminalization is a "choice" made between two consenting adults who should have autonomy over their bodies and their labor.
#3
Regarding my post about the young lady losing her win in the Miss World (Miss Michigan) contest for supporting Trump. Considering the sad history of Miss World and the sex trade.... (not quite the same with Miss Universe) she should be counting her blessings at being dethroned.
[Breitbart] A D.C. federal judge upheld Friday the Trump administration’s expansion of short-term health insurance, which offers Americans a more affordable alternative to high-cost Obamacare plans.
D.C. District Court Judge Richard Leon upheld Trump’s expansion of short-term health insurance plans, which are less expensive compared to Obamacare plans. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2018 expanded short-term plans to offer Americans more affordable options.
Short-terms plans cost less than Obamacare plans because federal statute does not require the insurance plans to comply with all of Obamacare’s onerous insurance regulations, thus they serve as a good alternative for many younger and healthier Americans.
The Trump administration’s rule allowed Americans to purchase short-term plans for up to 364 days and renew the plans for up to three years. The Barack Obama administration curbed these rules to encourage Americans to purchase Obamacare; "encourage" = FORCE
Several states such as Maryland, Delaware, California, and Washington have implemented rules to prohibit insurers from issuing short-term plans for longer than three months. Other states have also issued rules to block short-term plans’ renewability.
#1
Short term is short term. If I could see one reform, it would be to extend the same tax credits to individuals buying health care that employers receive. You could choose the plan you want and keep it even when changing employers. Also, since they know you'll be with them longer (current average is just under 5 years), the insurance company would have more incentive to keep you healthy.
[SYRIAHR] A member of the rebel factions died in rocket shelling carried out by the regime forces on areas at the northern countryside of Hama, in the same context, regime’s warplanes carried out 22 Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s Thursday morning, targeting places in Khan Shaykhun and Tremla in Idlib countryside and the towns of al-Lataminah and Kafr Zeta in the northern countryside of Hama, in conjunction with the targeting by heavy machine guns for areas in Khan Shaykhun city, while 3 barrel bombs bombed were dropped by helicopters over Khan Shaykhun, while the Russian warplanes carried out after midnight of yesterday several raids on Ma’aret Hurmah, Maarzita, and Kafrsajna in the southern countryside of Idlib, and the area of Dweir al-Akrad in the northwestern countryside of Hama, after that the aerial bombardment stopped on "Putin -Erdogan" in a repeated-daily routine scene, and in the same context, the factions targeted this morning by more than 45 missiles areas in Joureen village, which is controlled by the forces regime in Sahl al-Ghab at the northwestern countryside of Hama, while the regime forces shelled after midnight and dawn of today places in al-Jabin, Tal Meleh, the surroundings of al-Hamamiyat, and al-Sermaniyyeh in the northwestern countryside of Hama.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[DW] Germany's Central Register of Foreigners registered 1.8 million people seeking protection in 2018, an increase of 6%. Most of those who had protection status came from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Some 192,000 of registered applicants had rejected protection status, an increase of 15,000 compared to 2017. This was due to either a rejected asylum application or loss of their protection status, meaning they had to leave the country.
However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... the government temporarily suspended most of those rejected for asylum. Afghanistan (19,000), Iraq (14,000) and Serbia (11,000) were the origin countries with the highest number of rejected applications.
The number of people seeking protection from the Western Balkan countries fell for the third consecutive year, from 68,000 in 2015 to 42,000 by the end of 2018.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] ISIS has grabbed credit for a suicide kaboom that killed two people, including a civilian, and maimed three in Egypt’s restive northern Sinai Peninsula.
The bully boy group says in a statement on an ISIS-affiliate website that an ISIS bully boy named Abu Omar El-Seedy had detonated his boom vest near a military checkpoint at dawn on Thursday.
Egyptian security officials had said the bomber targeted an armored vehicle near the local market of the northern Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid, killing a soldier and a civilian and wounding three soldiers.
Egypt has battled krazed killerbandidosDeath Eaters for years in the Sinai Peninsula in an insurgency that has occasionally spilled over to the mainland, striking minority Christians and also at times tourists.
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#3
Animalism (not anamism) is what the left has always wanted here. Epstein was just a little ahead of the curve.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/20/2019 7:36
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#4
Like Obama, the left chooses to give this woman a pass on everything despite wrong-doing. If you choose to question this circuitous mess of two marriages, you do so at the risk of being called racist, xenophobic, islamophobic and sexist. For the left, they use color, sex, and language to hide behind and mask political agenda. The MSM abets all this. The time is long past when we should give a flip what the left says about much of anything. Screw them. Vote them out!
#3
In the nine months beginning with November 2016, about 3.2% to 3.6% more preterm births to Latina women occurred above the levels of preterm births that would have been expected had the election not occurred,
Nine months is a curiously short period for a population study. Three plus percent is a small change. And 2016 was the beginning of a drastic decline in the number of sunspots. Yeah, I'm going with sunspots.
[IsraelTimes] Petrobras says vessels belong to a company sanctioned by the United States.
Brazil’s state oil company has refused to supply two Iranian ships anchored in the southern port of Paraná because they belong to a company sanctioned by the United States.
Petrobras said in a statement Friday that the Iranian ships, which were hired by an export-import company, appear on a list of the US government’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
"If Petrobras supplies the ships, it runs the risk of being sanctioned and included on the same list and suffer serious harm," the statement said.
In addition, Petrobras said, the ships arrived from Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan, the abbreviation IRGC is a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... transporting urea, which is subject to sanctions by the United States. Urea is used in manufacturing fertilizer, which is important for Brazil’s big agriculture sector, but it also is an ingredient for explosives.
"Brazilian companies were warned by us of that problem (US sanctions on Iran) and are at risk in that sense," President Jair Bolsonaro said when asked about the ships by journalists in Brasilia, the capital.
Bolsonaro noted that he is getting "increasingly" close to US President Donald Trump ...the Nailer of NAFTA... , who pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal with world powers last year and imposed economic sanctions on Tehran.
Iran is one of the main buyers of Brazilian agricultural products. The Tehran government has not publicly commented on the matter.
Petrobras said there were other fuel companies in Paraná that could supply the Iranian ships. It did not provide the name of the export-import company that hired the vessels or say where the firm is based.
The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had limited its involvement to providing information to Petrobras.
Posted by: 3dc ||
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#1
I'm having some trouble figuring out just what Iran is up to. Is their economy so bad that they are hoping for war just as a diversion? This doesn't make any sense at all to me, but it's hard to think of any other explanation for all this.
Posted by: Tom ||
07/20/2019 12:51
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#2
Sanctions and inflation is crushing their economy, even the Ayatollah's and IRGC's personal economies. The populace is rising up, and they need the distraction and hope to split the EU/US. Approaching irrational decision time
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/20/2019 12:57
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[AnNahar] Iraqi Kurdish authorities Friday identified a Kurdish man from The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... as the suspected shooter in the murder of a Ottoman Turkish diplomat, as Ottoman Turkish state media said he's the brother of an opposition politician.
Mazloum Dag, 27, is "wanted" for Wednesday's murder of Ottoman Turkish Vice Consul Osman and two Iraqis at a restaurant in the regional capital Arbil, the area's counterterrorism unit said.
A wanted notice released by the unit showed two photos of a black-haired young man with a close-cut beard, with one image apparently taken from CCTV footage.
"We call on all citizens to provide security services with information about this suspect as soon as possible," the counterterrorism unit said, adding that Dag is from Diyarbakir in Turkey.
It called the murder a "terrorist" act.
Turkey's Anadolu state news agency said the suspect is the brother of Dersim Dag, a member of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party, the People's Democratic Party (HDP).
The HDP, the country's second largest opposition group, is regularly accused by President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... of links to Turkey's outlawed separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
It "strongly" condemned the Arbil attack, calling it an "absolutely unacceptable provocation attempt".
The HDP also slammed the accusation that one of its deputies was "designated as a target because of his brother", without mentioning any names.
No group has grabbed credit for the attack.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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[AnNahar] al-Qaeda jihadists on Friday attacked an army checkpoint in southern 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... , killing five pro-government soldiers and wounding several others, security officials said.
The attack took place in the Mudiya region of Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... province, they added.
"Five soldiers were killed and several others maimed on Friday morning in an attack carried out by al-Qaeda button men... on a checkpoint," one security official told AFP.
A second security official said the "Al-Qaeda gunnies used machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades" in the attack, confirming that five pro-government forces had been killed.
The United States considers Yemen-based 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) the global jihadist network's most dangerous branch.
AQAP, Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group and other jihadist factions have flourished in the chaos of Yemen's civil war, which has pitted the government -- backed by a Saudi-led military coalition since 2015 -- against Shiite Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... s.
Mudiya region, where the attack took place, used to be a bastion of al-Qaeda at the onset of the civil war before loyalist forces drove jihadists from it, the security sources said.
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[SYRIAHR] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned from reliable sources thon the lam military mobilizations of the Ottoman Turkish forces and factions loyal to them have arrived in the north-western outskirts of Manbij city in the north-eastern countryside of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory has received information about The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... ’s intention to start a wide-spread military action with their loyal factions, to storm Manbij city which is under the control of the Kurdish forces on the 20th of July 2019, and in connection with this, the SOHR monitored the arrival of large military reinforcements of the Syria Democratic Forces heavily armed by heavy machineguns, coming from the areas of Ayn Issa, al-Raqqah province and Kobani to Tal Abyad city at the border with Turkey, in the shadow of the information about the Turks’ intention to advance towards the city.
And the SOHR published on the 19th of July 2019, that areas located on the Syrian ‐ Ottoman Turkish border within the east Euphrates area are witnessing relative calm, amid Ottoman Turkish reinforcements and mobilizations on the Ottoman Turkish side through bringing tanks to the border strip areas such as Tal Abyad, Ras Al Ain and Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), while the sky of the area is witnessing daily flight of reconnaissance drones for the U.S. Forces, and the Syrian Observatory published on the 13th of July 2019, that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned from reliable sources that the Ottoman Turkish Intelligence intends to hold training courses for Syrian fighters loyal to Turkey on the Ottoman Turkish territory, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; the Ottoman Turkish Intelligence asked factions operating within "Olive Branch and Euphrates Shield" to be prepared and get their fighters ready for starting 20-day training courses in camps on the Ottoman Turkish territory, and the training includes the development of using developed and anti-tank weapons, and the Ottoman Turkish Intelligence insisted on the necessity of the presence of the old fighters who have undergone previous courses whether on the Ottoman Turkish territory during earlier operations such as "Olive Branch and Euphrates Shield", or fighters who have undergone courses that held at that time, in Arab countries such as the preparations for battles against the regime forces, and Turkey had trained hundreds of members of the police and security services in the areas of the "Olive Branch and Euphrates Shield", inside its camps, and graduated several batches affiliated to the police bodies, while these preparations apparently come as a Ottoman Turkish preparation for carrying out a new military operation inside the Syrian territory, and as usual, the aim is the controlled areas of the Syria Democratic Forces and this time it (the military operation) will be in the Euphrates and al-Jazeera.
Continued on Page 49
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[AnNahar] German captain Carola Rackete, who sparked international headlines by forcibly docking in an Italian port with rescued migrants colonists, was questioned by an Italian prosecutor on Thursday over allegedly aiding illegal immigration.
The captain of the Sea-Watch 3 arrived at court in the southern Sicilian town of Agrigento just before 10 am (0800 GMT).
She was met by a media scrum as she climbed the steps to the court under a baking sun but made no comment.
Rackete was arrested on June 29 for entering Italia's Lampedusa port despite a veto imposed by far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, and knocking a coasties boat out of the way to land 40 migrants colonists who were blocked at sea for over two weeks.
A judge overturned the arrest three days later, saying the 31-year old had merely acted to save lives.
Rackete remains in police custody in the Sicilian port of Licata and is still the object of two investigations -- one for entering Italian waters despite a direct order to stop, and another for aiding illegal immigration.
She will be heard on the latter on Thursday, and will have to explain why her crew rescued the migrants colonists without waiting for the Libyan coastguard, which has jurisdiction over the stretch of water in which they were found.
The 31-year-old will also be asked why she then sailed the Dutch-flagged vessel to Italia rather than a Libyan or Tunisian port.
Salvini insists that Italia's ports remain closed to people who attempt the perilous Mediterranean crossing.
Prosecutors in Agrigento appealed to Italia's highest court this week against the decision to drop charges against Rackete for forcibly entering the port of Lampedusa, in the hope of establishing a precedent to put off other privately run ships.
A few days after the Sea-Watch drama, another charity vessel forcibly landed in Lampedusa, a scenario that is likely to recur.
- 'CRIMINAL' -
Salvini's hardline stance has led to an upsurge in investigations into charity rescue vessels.
In March 2017, the Spanish vessel Open Arms was seized and its captain and head of mission were prosecuted after the crew refused to hand saved migrants colonists over to the Libyan coastguard, which arrived at the scene during a rescue operation.
A month later a judge ordered the vessel be released on the grounds that crisis-hit Libya could not be considered a safe port.
And the prosecutor's office in Catania, eastern Sicily, recently archived the case against the captain and mission head.
The same prosecutor closed a similar probe against the NGO Sea-Watch after a rescue operation in January, concluding that the crew's actions were justified.
But the Sea-Watch 3's dramatic port entry in June marked a new chapter in the war between Salvini and charity vessels.
The arrest of the dreadlocked Rackete sparked an online campaign which raised over 1.4 million euros ($1.57 million) in a few days to pay her legal fees and enable the German NGO to continue its operations -- with a new boat if necessary.
On Tuesday the parliament of Catalonia in Spain voted unanimously to honour Rackete with a Gold Medal, its highest award.
And the city of Gay Paree announced a donation of 100,000 euros to Sea-Watch, as well as a medal for Rackete and Pia Klemp, another German captain prosecuted in Italia.
Gay Paree's move infuriated Italia's far right, which noted that the French government had remained silent throughout the 15 days the ship had been blocked at sea, despite Rackete's numerous appeals for a safe port.
Salvini has stepped up his attacks on the rescue charities, which he has accused of aiding people-smugglers, while calling Rackete a "bigmouth" and a "criminal".
Rackete filed a complaint last week for defamation and incitement to violence, noting that Salvini's hostile messages on social networks have prompted an outpouring of sexist, violent and threatening comments from users.
[IsraelTimes] 25 years after Jewish center bombing, Treasury Department says Salman Raouf Salman remains a threat; State Dept. offers $7 million reward for information on his location.
The United States on Friday imposed financial sanctions on a Hezbollah leader suspected of criminal masterminding the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.
The US Treasury sanctions on the 25th anniversary of the attack freeze any assets of Salman Raouf Salman for acting for or on behalf of Hezbollah, while the State Department is offering a $7 million reward for information on his location.
Salman, a top leader in Hezbollah’s External Security Organization, which directs terror attacks around the world, "coordinated a devastating attack in Buenos Aires, Argentina ...a country located on the other side of the Deep South. It is covered with Pampers and inhabited by Grouchos, who dance the Tangle. They used to have some islands called the Malvinas located where the Falklands are now. They're not supposed to cry for Evita... against the largest Jewish center in South America 25 years ago and has directed terrorist operations in the Western Hemisphere for Hezbollah ever since," said Sigal Mandelker, the US Treasury Department’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
The Treasury Department said Salman "provided all necessary support to perpetrate the terrorist attack against the AMIA building, coordinating the activities of the Hezbollah attack squad in Buenos Aires, and maintaining communication with Hezbollah leaders in Leb and the operations logistics command center in the Tri-Border Area [of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay]."
He has since risen through the ranks of the organization, and in recent years was identified as being behind foiled terrorist plots in Chile and Peru.
The US Treasury said the new sanctions highlight Hezbollah’s "ongoing operational presence in the Western Hemisphere and that [it] continues to pose a threat to the region by actively plotting attacks against civilian targets."
Salman has been reported to have joint Lebanese and Colombian citizenship, allowing him to move more easily across Latin America.
Asked where he is believed to be now, a senior administration official said: "We think he is probably somewhere in the Middle East."
The Treasury designation will freeze any assets he may have in the United States and criminalize any assistance to him, although Hezbollah as a whole is already under heavy US sanctions.
A State Department official said that the United States has been encouraging Latin American nations to follow the US model in blacklisting groups and individuals as terrorists.
Additionally on Thursday a bipartisan group of US senators introduced a resolution to remember the 1994 bombing.
And Argentina’s government on Thursday branded Hezbollah a terrorist organization and froze its assets, on the day it remembered the attack. Sirens rang out in cities throughout the country at 9:53 a.m., the exact time the bomb destroyed the Buenos Aires building, and names of those killed were read out at an official ceremony.
Argentina has accused top Iranian ex-officials of being behind the AMIA attack but has never been able to question them. Decades of investigations have been beset by political interference and allegations of high-level corruption.
With its 300,000-strong Jewish community ‐ second only to the US in the Americas ‐ Argentina is the only country in Latin America to have suffered such an anti-Semitic attack.
[ToloNews] The NDS says in a statement that such attempts are aimed at disrupting the ongoing peace efforts.
The National Directorate of Security ...the Afghan national intel agency... (NDS) in a statement on Friday said that the Taliban ...Arabic for students... attack on Kandahar police headquarters ‐ that killed 12 people ‐ was plotted in Pakistain.
Nine of those killed in the attack were civilians, according to local officials. More than 100 others, mostly civilians, were maimed in the attack.
The complex attack started at around 4:40 pm on Thursday with a boom-mobile explosion outside the provincial police headquarters in the city of Kandahar, followed by shootout by five attackers, who were all bumped off by security forces after few hours of fighting, local officials said.
The NDS said in the statement that the attack was plotted in the city of Chaman in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... Province, Pakistain.
The attackers were ordered and led by an individual named Mullah Agha during the attack, the statement said.
The NDS has sent to media an audio file which apparently shows a telephonic conversation between the attackers and the plotters of the attack.
The NDS says that such attempts are aimed at disrupting the ongoing efforts for peace in the country.
Taliban grabbed credit for the attack sharply after it happened.
A Taliban front man Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement rejected the NDS remarks and said the attack was plotted within the country.
[DW] Maritime security firms are increasingly turning to India and other Asian countries to hire lower-paid security guards. For some armed forces veterans, it's a lucrative way to return to civilian life.
That confrontation with Somali pirates still sends shivers down Abdul Razack's spine. It was a close shave for the former Indian Navy sailor.
Razack and his team of former Indian veterans were manning an oil tanker in the Red Sea off the coast of Somalia in 2013, when they came under attack from pirates.
Continued on Page 49
#BREAKING: After almost 38 years, #Israel Air Force carried-out an airstrike in #Iraq. #Israeli F-35I jets carried-out an airstrike against a Popular Mobilization Forces camp in E. Saladin. They killed 6 #IRGC & #Hezbollah members & destroyed their Fateh-110 ballistic missiles. pic.twitter.com/YrVOjZ1kxd
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#1
Who did they alert first? Who's upset?
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
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More importantly, what route did the F-35I take to and from the targets? I presume it was mostly a straight line route with very gentle turns here and there. I wonder how they turned to return back to base? was it a gentle slow 180 turn or..?
[Jpost] U.S. prosecutors have charged a New York man with fighting for the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... turban group in Syria and serving as a weapons trainer, according to court documents unsealed on Friday.
Ruslan Maratovich Asainov, a 42-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Kazakhstan, was charged with providing material support to the terrorist organization, including providing training to terrorist soldiers and attempting to recruit personnel.
Asainov traveled to Istanbul, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... , from his home in New York's Brooklyn borough in December 2013 and then to Syria, where he joined Islamic State and rose through the ranks as a sniper and then as a weapons instructor, according to charging documents.
Prosecutors said Asainov was detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces and was transferred into FBI custody.
The charges filed against Asainov were based in part on his regular communication between August 2014 and March 2015 with a confidential informant working for the New York Police Department. According to the complaint, Asainov attempted to recruit the informant to work for Islamic State's media operations and asked that he send about $2,800 for military equipment.
Islamic State has grabbed credit for several attacks against Americans in the United States and abroad.
According to Asainov’s neighbor in Brooklyn, he was married to Alexandra and had a younger daughter. Alexandra later moved to England alone.
The neighbour told New York Post "They were a nice married couple. She got pregnant, I was very happy for her. They had a baby girl. She was adorable. She was very nice, a typical American girl. She worked in retail. He was polite but aloof. At first, he was normal, but then he grew a beard. She said they were arguing before, he was drinking, then she said he stopped and everything was good between them."
Interesting that his American wife and child went off to England without him, given he encouraged others to bring their entire families including grandmothers to live in the ISIS caliphate.
And Scoop Nest answers an unasked question, as well as offering a different photo from a time when he was younger and better groomed:
Ruslan Maratovich Asainov, arrested today by the FBI for terrorist activities related to ISIS. He entered the U.S. on a DIVERSITY LOTTERY VISA on February 27, 1999, and became a naturalized U.S. Citizen on September 1, 2006.
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The Telegraph started live blogging events as of Friday evening. This post summarizes what was known as of 6:30 p.m. EDT.
[Telegraph] A British-flagged oil tanker was seized by Iran on Friday night and was heading towards a Revolutionary Guard base, in a major escalation of tensions along one of the world's most vital oil shipping routes.
The Stena Impero had been en route to Saudi Arabia but made an abrupt change of course and began moving towards the Iranian island of Qeshm, according to data relayed by maritime tracking services.
The ship “went dark”, meaning its identification system was turned off, at 16:29 UK time and nothing has been heard from her or her 23 crew since.
Northern Marine, a Clyde-based subsidiary of the ship's Swedish owner Stena AB, confirmed that a “hostile action” had preceded the vessel's change of course on Friday afternoon.
They issued a statement saying it had been “approached by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter during transit of the Strait of Hormuz while the vessel was in international waters.”
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that they stopped the tanker at the request of the maritime authority in the Iranian province of Hormozgan on suspicion it has "violated international maritime law", but did not elaborate.
There were also concerns about a second oil tanker, the British-operated, Liberian-flagged Mesdar, which turned sharply north towards Iran's coast, about 40 minutes after the Stena Impero's course shift.
The tanker changed course again on Friday to head back into the Gulf, Refinitiv tracking data showed.
Britain said the Mesdar and another tanker, the Stena Impero, had been seized by Iran, making the announcement after both suddenly took up a course towards the Iranian coast.
But an Iranian news agency said the Mesdar had not been seized but had been issued a warning, while the Iranian military said it had captured the Stena Impero.
Tracking data showed the Stena Impero was in the same area where a United Arab Emirates-based vessel was detained on Sunday and where a British vessel, the British Heritage, was blocked by Iranian forces earlier this month.
A Cobra meeting was held between officials from the Foreign Office, Ministry of Defence and other Government departments on Friday night to determine the UK's response.
A Government source said the crews on board the two ships are “a range of nationalities” but no Britons are among the crews of either ship.
Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed by snipers in Donbas today. One - as he was fortifying the trench. The other one - as he was rescuing his wounded comrade.
[KhaamaPress] The Afghan forces conducted 104 Joint and Special Operations against the Death Eater groups in the past 24 hours.
The Ministry of Defense in a statement said the security forces conducted 11 joint and 93 special operations to suppress the Death Eater groups.
Furthermore, the Afghan Air Force conducted 15 Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s to support the ground forces during the operations.
The statement further added that the security forces conducted the operations in Badakhshan, Faryab, Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... , Badghis, Uruzgan, 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.. , Ghazni, Balkh, Paktika ...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo... , Takhar, Kunduz and Sar-e-Pul ...a city and eponymous province in northern Afghanistan, population about 500,000. Demographically it is majority Tadjik and Uzbek. There are small Pashtun, Arab, and Hazara communities, of which the Hazaras mostly don't bother anyone... provinces.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pond, Gloria slowly backed away from the eight-foot bull frog. If the creature croaked she would surely be deafened... the defense ministry said the security forces killed 66 holy warriors and maimed 14 others during the same operations.
The security forces also arrested a suspected Death Eater during the operations, the Ministry of Defense added.
The Ministry of Defense also added that the coalition forces also provided support to the Afghan cops during the operations.
The anti-government armed elements have not commented regarding the operations so far.
[IsraelTimes] Iranian and Hezbollah operatives said hurt or killed in strike; some reports say the site recently received shipment of ballistic missiles from Islamic Theocratic Republic
An unmanned drone bombed a base used by pro-Tehran paramilitary units in central Iraq, the country’s military announced Friday, with sources saying one fighter was killed and two Iranians maimed.
The US immediately denied involvement in the attack, which took place overnight between Thursday and Friday in an ethnically and religiously mixed area north of Baghdad. "Was probably 'domestically-produced' Houthi drones... *snicker*"
"The al-Shuhada base of the Hashed al-Shaabi in the Amerli region was hit at dawn... by an unidentified drone, wounding two people," the Iraqi military said in a statement on Friday.
But an official from the Hashed al-Shaabi, a network of Iraqi paramilitary units dominated by pro-Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan, the abbreviation IRGC is a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... Shiite forces, and a police officer both gave a toll of one Iraqi fighter dead and two people maimed.
Meanwhile the Saudi-based al-Arabiya network said members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps and the Hezbollah terror group were killed in the strike. It said the base had recently received Iranian ballistic missiles, which were hidden inside trucks.
The police source, who visited the site of the attack, said the two maimed were "Iranian military engineers."
Pentagon front man Sean Robertson said "US forces were not involved" in the attack.
Iran says it does not have forces officially deployed in Iraq, but observers say Iranian advisors regularly train Iraqi forces, including the Hashed.
The Hashed is largely opposed to the United States, which has slapped sanctions on some of its leaders for ties to Iran.
The US, meanwhile, has an estimated 5,200 troops based across the country in training and advisory roles. In recent months, a string of rocket attacks have targeted bases where US troops are stationed, sparking concern of a potential confrontation between the US and Iran on Iraqi soil.
[Rudaw] Two members of the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitary forces were maimed on Friday in Saladin province by ordinance from an unknown aircraft. The US-led coalition has denied that its forces were involved in the incident.
"Martyrs Military Camp in Amirli area, affiliated with Brigade 16 of the Hashd al-Shaabi, was bombarded by grenades thrown from an unknown aircraft today at 1:15 and 2:20 [a.m.], injuring two," the Iraqi Security Media Cell confirmed on Friday.
An unnamed official told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that there were two dronezaps. The first hit a headquarters of advisers, wounding two Iranians. While the second attack hit a weapons depot. The US-headquartered agency added that advisors from Leb were also present.
An Iranian commander previously said that Iranians had died in the area.
"On behalf of myself and all the mujahideen of Hashd al-Shaabi's (Turkmen Force) Northern Front Command, I strongly express condolence to Mujaheddin Iqbal Pour, a military adviser of Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan, the abbreviation IRGC is a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... in the Northern Front over the death of his father," Hajj Abu Mustafa al-Imami posted on Facebook on July 11.
The US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS denied that "coalition forces" were involved in the reported attack on Friday in Saladin.
"We are aware of the reports of an attack against the Iranians and a Popular Mobilization Force unit in Salah ad Din. Coalition Forces were not involved, and we have no further information at this time," the spokesperson for the US-led coalition tweeted on Friday evening.
Members of Brigade 16 of the Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMFs), told Rudaw English on Friday they had no further information.
Amirli is located in Saladin province and 160 kilometers northeast of the Iraqi capital. It is in the Tuz Khurmatu district near the border with Diyala province.
The area not far from the border with Iran is a disputed territory claimed by Erbil and Baghdad. It long has been a spot of friction between Turkmen and Arab Shiites, and Kurds.
The second attack hit a weapons depot, causing a large fire at the base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose sensitive information.
An Iraqi official said IS forces of Evil were most likely behind the attack, ruling out a U.S.-led coalition or American attack. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
[Rudaw] Five civilians, including two children, were maimed on Thursday in the village of Spindar when a Ottoman TurkishArclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... targeted a vehicle containing three suspected Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members, according to residents.
Spindar, in the Chamanke sub-district of Amedi, is 40 kilometers northeast of Duhok city. The Ottoman Turkish military did not confirm the strike, but claimed to have carried similar attacks on the Hakurk region of Erbil.
Rudaw Kurdish has not been able to establish the identity of those injured or their condition.
According to Spindar residents, a Ottoman Turkish missile struck the village at around 4.30 p.m. local time. It narrowly missed the PKK members’ car, leaving them lightly injured.
Three civilians in a nearby shop were caught in the blast, as were two children in a neighboring house.
Residents who spoke to Rudaw Kurdish said the PKK members were chased out of the village by an armed local, who feared the Ottoman Turkish jet would launch a second strike if they remained.
Although the PKK does not have a presence inside the village, locals told Rudaw the group regularly imposes taxes on them.
"We tell both The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... and the PKK not to make our village a battleground," an unnamed witness told Rudaw Kurdish.
"Those injured were in the village, going about their business and work."
"Our government keeps asking us to repopulate the villages. How can we do this if shells rain down on us on daily basis?" he asked.
"There hasn’t been such an incident before. I challenge the Turks and others to find one PKK position in our area."
The intensity of the airstrike shattered the windows of several homes in the villages.
Four cars were also damaged, including the vehicle driven by suspected PKK members. Powerlines connecting Spindar to other villages in Chamanke were also damaged.
Following the incident, several families have moved their children to safety in Duhok city.
"Our children are afraid. The road is also cut. We have no other option but to leave," Bedel Spindari told Rudaw Kurdish.
"My family is afraid. We have to leave. I was very close when the incident occurred," his wife added.
The strike came a day after a Ottoman Turkish diplomat was rubbed out in an Erbil restaurant. The PKK has denied responsibility Nope. Nope. Wudn't us. for the shooting, which Kurdish security forces are treating as a "premeditated terrorist attack".
The Ottoman Turkish military claimed on Friday to have targeted the PKK’s camp on Qarachogh Mountain in Makhmour.
It also claimed to have killed six PKK fighters in bombings in Metina and Gara in the Hakurk region.
A resident of the Martyr Cudi refugee camp, which shelters PKK fighters and refugees from Turkey, confirmed to Rudaw that Ottoman Turkish jets struck areas around the camp at around 12:20 a.m. on Friday.
Rojnews, media close to the PKK, claimed that two residents of the camp were maimed in the bombing.
"Ottoman Turkish airplanes violated Iraq's airspace yesterday midnight and carried out two airstrikes, near an IDP [sic] [refugee] camp by Makhmour Mountains east of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... city, injuring five," Iraq's Security Media Cell confirmed in a statement on Friday.
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2017 story: ELON MUSK'S NEURALINK COULD TURN US INTO CYBORGS
Neuralink’s ultimate mission is to level up the human brain with “ultrahigh-bandwidth brain-computer interfaces.” The startup began as a medical research company that has downloaded $27 million since its inception in 2016. Musk remains cryptic about the project with the exception of rare public comments about the advantages of augmenting human intelligence with technology. What we do know is that his fear of AI as a threat to humanity is what inspires him to seek innovative ways of keeping up with the droids.
[KhaamaPress] An explosion near Kabul University left four people dead and sixteen others maimed.
Officials in the Ministry of Interior confirmed that the earth-shattering kaboom took place earlier today.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wrecked scow, Agent 49 felt gingerly for his head. It was still there. He had been hoping differently... officials in the Ministry of Public Health confirmed that the blast claimed the lives of 4 people.
The officials further added that the earth-shattering kaboommaimed 16 others.
No individual or group has so far grabbed credit for the earth-shattering kaboom.
Ynet adds:
No group immediately grabbed credit for the attack, the latest to target Kabul. Both the Taliban ...Arabic for students... and the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group often stage large-scale bombings in the city, targeting Afghan forces, government officials and minority Shiites.
The early morning blast also set two vehicles ablaze although it wasn't clear if the attack was carried out by a jacket wallah or a remotely detonated bomb, said Kabul police front man Ferdous Faramarz.
The casualty tolls were released by the Health Ministry front man, Dr. Wahidullah Mayar, who tweeted that "6 people have been martyred & 27 more maimed, as a result of today's explosion in Kabul. All the maimed patients were evacuated to our hospitals and have been receiving the required treatment.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he was not aware of any Taliban involvement in Friday’s attack.
Then until further notice we shall assume this is an ISIS attack.
Health ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar said there were students among the 33 injured taken to hospital after the blast, which a student at the university campus said occurred while some were waiting to take a law exam.
An eyewitness and an interior ministry official said a vehicle caught fire after a bomb stuck to its underside exploded.
"The blast happened when hundreds of students were entering the campus. We were scheduled to appear for the law exam but the blast shook all of us," said Karima Wardak, a student at the Kabul University.
A police team defused a second bomb placed near the explosion site, Kabul police spokesman Faramarz Firdaws said.
Also on Friday, a roadside mine killed five people who were riding in a car in central Ghazni province.
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[DW] The raids in the western cities of Duren and Cologne ...the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth populated city in Germany.... came after credible tipoffs were received by police. Six men have been taken in for questioning, according to German media.
Police in Germany's western state of North Rhine-Westphalia carried out raids against suspected Islamist gunnies on Thursday. Officers were searching for "concrete indications" of a planned attack, authorities said.
Sniffer dogs were present as the police searched for explosives, but officers confirmed late Thursday that they had not found any explosives on site.
The search was concentrated on six apartments in the city of Duren, but a building site in Cologne was also investigated after security services received credible tipoffs.
Six men were detained "for reasons of averting danger," police said after the raids. One, a 30-year old Lebanese-German national, was said to have links to a Salafist and jihadi group in Berlin.
IMMINENT THREAT OF ATTACK
"We had up-to-date covert knowledge that an attack could be imminent," the head of the Criminal Division in Cologne, Klaus-Stephan Becker, said. State Minister for Internal Affairs Herbert Reul said 200 police took part in the raids.
Police said the man, who they called C., had tried to travel to land occupied by the so-called Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group a number of times. He had been planning an attack, but it was not clear when or where the attack was meant to take place.
He was one of the two arrested who worked at the building site in Cologne, also searched by police on Thursday.
Cologne's police chief, Uwe Jacob, told news hounds the situation demanded an emergency response.
AN AFFINITY FOR GUNS
"We do not wait until we have enough evidence ‐ for me that is too dangerous at this stage," Jacob said. Officers said another 21-year-old suspect, who they called R., had expressed "a very high readiness to use violence, at least verbally."
He had also declared loyalty to the so-called Islamic State group, and had a "considerable affinity for guns."
In the raid, officers took three laptops and 20 mobile phones for analysis, police representatives confirmed.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The US added two leaders of Iranian-linked militias in Iraq to its sanctions list on Thursday, designating them under the Magnitsky Act as "perpetrators of serious human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... abuse and corruption."
Rayan al-Kildani and Waad Qado both lead militias part of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs) with close ties to Iran.
Al-Kildani, the leader of the 50th "Babylon" Brigade, is accused by the US of "serious human rights abuse."
Based in Iraq’s northwestern Ninewa Province, the 50th Brigade is accused by the US Treasury of looting, extortion and intimidation of the local population, making it "the primary impediment to the return of internally displaced persons to the Ninewa Plain."
The US Treasury alleges that al-Kildani can be seen cutting the ear off a handcuffed detainee in a video that circulated in May, 2018.
Qado, the leader of the 30th Brigade, is accused of commanding the brigade while it conducted similar human rights abuses including extortion, kidnapping, and rape.
Both al-Kildani and Qado are members of ethnic minorities: al-Kildani is a Christian, while Qado is a member of the Shabak minority who live around djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... Both their militias operate as part of the PMUs, the Shiite-majority militias formed in 2015.
Although the PMUs are officially led by the Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi, deputy commander Jamal Jaafar al-Ibrahimi, known by his nom de guerre Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, is widely seen as the real leader. al-Mohandes heads the Kata’ib Hezbollah militia, which has been recently accused of carrying out a drone attack on Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and has close ties with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Alongside al-Kildani and Qado, two former governors of Iraqi provinces were also sanctioned for corruption.
Nawfal Hammadi al-Sultan, the former governor Ninewa Province, and Ahmed al-Jubouri, the former governor of Salah al-Din province, both received sanctions for corruption and bribery.
"The United States is taking action against four individuals in Iraq implicated in serious human rights abuse or corruption," said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
"We will continue to hold accountable persons associated with serious human rights abuse, including persecution of religious minorities, and corrupt officials who exploit their positions of public trust to line their pockets and hoard power at the expense of their citizens," Mandelker added.
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#1
When you start talking "Eiger Sanction", wake me up.
[DAWN] Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Shabbar Zaidi on Friday called on the nation to pay taxes as "giving zakat, charity money and donations is simply not enough".
The remarks came as he addressed a symposium in Islamabad, titled 'Pakistain Economy and IMF Programme: Challenges and Opportunities' organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
"I have endured enormous pressure over the past two weeks. I meet 13-14 delegations every day with whom I hold discussions."
"Everyone says the same thing: 'Please stop charging all these taxes'. We must realise that simply giving zakat, charity and donations is not enough," he said, adding, "Everyone is equally liable to pay taxes."
Posted by: Fred ||
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#IranMilitary A relatively inauspicious-looking airbase at Khoram Abad, but it is reputed to be an #IRGC#Missile Silo base. About 6 km northeast of the field is a strange array of bukers / shelters / silos. Sat images dated March 22nd 2019 - so pretty recent. pic.twitter.com/C0YASTqJuW
[Jpost] One Action Against Hunger staff member, two drivers and three other health workers are missing after an attack on a convoy in northeast Nigeria ... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border... in which one driver was killed, the aid organization said in a statement on Friday.
"We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident as these colleagues are dedicated to providing life-saving assistance to individuals and families," Action Against Hunger said of Thursday's attack.
Islamist bandidos bad boys carried out the attack and kidnapped the surviving members of the convoy, sources told Rooters earlier on Friday.
[IsraelTimes] Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... health officials report dozens struck by live fire; IDF vehicle said hit by bullet near border, none hurt.
Several thousands Paleostinians gathered near the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel Friday to take part in weekly protests near the fence.
Some 6,000 people reportedly took part in the demonstrations. The army said some protesters hurled rocks and bombs at the border fence and that troops were responding with less-lethal means as well as live fire in several cases where suspects attempted to sabotage or break through the border.
The Hamas, the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,-run Gaza health ministry said over 100 people had been injured in the demonstrations, around half of which were hit by live fire. Also hurt were four paramedics and two news hounds, the ministry said.
Channel 12 news reported that an IDF vehicle was hit by a bullet during the demonstrations, but no one was hurt.
Egyptian security officials held talks with Paleostinian leaders in recent days, in part to prevent a new flareup of tensions between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
[DW] Greek police have arrested 15 people suspected of facilitating migrant smuggling on the Greek islands of Samos and Kos. There are reports they charged up to €6,000 to make false travel documents.
Six individuals, who are reported to include a security official working at Kos airport, were taken into custody this week.
They are accused of charging up to €6,000 ($6,700) per person to make false documents for migrants colonists to travel by plane to other Europe ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... an countries.
Police representatives said they had detained nine people on the island of Samos the day before on charges of providing false health certificates which allowed migrants colonists to leave the island.
Only minors, unaccompanied children and the sick are entitled to travel to the Greek mainland.
A ROBUST POLICY
Greece's former left-wing Syriza government struggled to manage around 70,000 migrants colonists who have been on the Greek Aegean islands since 2015.
The more conservative New Democracy party, who won a snap election this month, pledged earlier this week they would speed up asylum background checks.
New Democracy's Junior Minister for Migration, Giorgos Koumoutsakos, said he was planning a "robust" policy of sending migrants colonists to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund... or to their home countries.
[SYRIAHR] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that a commander in the “Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine” Militia that is loyal to the Syrian regime, was killed after being targeted by an IED which exploded while he was passing on the road to Palmyra in the eastern countryside of Homs, and the SOHR published on the 14th of July 2019, that the gas line between Shaer field and the Ebla Gas Plant in the eastern city of Homs went out of service, after being targeted by unknown entities until now, this comes in a new economic strike against the Syrian regime, where this line transports more than 2 million cubic meters of gas daily to Ebla plant and from it to the power plants, but it is not known yet whether the targeting was carried out by the “Islamic State” organization which is active in the Syrian desert, or by parties form within the Syrian regime which are benefiting from getting this line out of service, but the victim will be as usual, the Syrian citizen.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[DAWN] Protesters set tyres alight and lobbed stones at security forces on Thursday in the Æthiopian city of Hawassa, where residents are demanding the creation of their own federal state.
The Sidama ethnic group, the largest in the southern region, has been agitating for their own semi-autonomous state, and expectations were high they would declare their own region unilaterally on Thursday.
While one prominent party earlier said it had agreed to delay the formation of the state, not everyone appeared happy with this decision.
An activist for the cause, Mate Mengesha, said security forces had blocked a planned meeting of Sidama elders and youth activists in the morning, where it was hoped officials would declare the formation of the new region.
However the officials never showed up, and the activists threw stones at security forces blocking them from the site. "The expectation was today is July 18 and on July 18 they want to have a declaration," he said. "The meeting didn’t happen."
Elsewhere protesters set tyres on fire, and blocked off roads, while several residents reported that mobile internet was down in the city.
"There are some fires around the outskirts of the city. Tyre fires in the road and so on. Most of them are on the outskirts," said Dr Abel Gedefaw, director of the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at Hawassa University. "Everybody is not allowed to go out. There are a lot of security forces and nobody is allowed to move."
He said the university’s medical facilities had not received reports of casualties as of early afternoon.
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#1
With my coffee habit I have unintentionally learned a bit about Ethiopia. There are 2 big cities the capital being the prime. Then only place the government gives a damn about is the capital with rural regions being tagged to it sort of like fodder ...
So this breakaway region likely makes perfect sense from a distance.
#3
A good way to get a sense of it is to go to sweetmarias dot com and click on the green coffees. Then select Africa and select Ethiopia. View the videos and read the text about the peoples and plantations for each varietal. When you consider them in the political and geographical context the whole starts to make sense.
[American Spectator] Man ascended to the glorious heavens and sank to the murky depths 50 years ago this weekend. The juxtaposition serves as a metaphor for modern times, when our technology races to infinity and beyond as our behavior periodically knuckle-drags toward barbarism.
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landed on the moon, and a few hours later, on July 21, Neil Armstrong, and then Buzz Aldrin, bounced on the regolith-over-rock surface of our only natural satellite. They spent more than 21 hours walking on the moon. The hard part followed the pedestrian part. The Eagle took off, linked up with the Apollo 11 command module in lunar orbit, returned to Earth’s gravitational pull, and splashed down in the Pacific.
Less than 66 years after the Wright brothers’ first flight and 42 years after Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic solo in the Spirit of St. Louis, man had somehow flown to a heavenly body without water, oxygen, and atmosphere 239,000 miles away ‐ taking a stroll, planting a flag, and collecting nearly 50 pounds of souvenirs while there. What boys reading Galaxy Science Fiction, listening to Dimension X, and visiting Walt Disney’s Tomorrowland dreamed about in the early 1950s they accomplished as men in the late 1960s.
Perhaps President John Kennedy most embodied this "If you can dream it, do it" mentality. While Eisenhower had launched the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, his successor dared pledge his nation to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s, a pronouncement not without the possibility of egg-on-the-face consequences given the decided possibility that the same Soviets who beat us putting a man in space would also beat us to the moon. Ironically, the same weekend Americans amazingly fulfilled Kennedy’s audacious promise, the promise of Camelot was extinguished.
A half century ago this morning, Sen. Ted Kennedy drove Mary Jo Kopechne, a 28-year-old former aide to Sen. Robert Kennedy, off a bridge and into Poucha Pond. The senator’s main failing came in neither organizing a party for married men and unmarried women nor drinking and driving (without a license and with a chauffeur available), but in consciously deciding not to get help for Kopechne lest it reveal his misdeeds. He placed his political interests above the life of a woman who sacrificed for his brother and his party.
"She didn’t drown," the diver who retrieved Kophechne’s body from the Oldsmobile Delmont 88, maintained. "She died of suffocation in her own air void. It took her at least three or four hours to die. I could have had her out of that car in 25 minutes after I got the call. But he didn’t call."
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Lockheed Martin was awarded a $1.48 billion contract to build the THAAD missile defense system for Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , bringing the total value of the deal to $5.36 billion, the Pentagon said on Friday.
The new contract was a modification to a previously awarded agreement to produce the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptor for Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said.
In November 2018, Saudi and US officials signed letters of offer and acceptance formalizing terms for Saudi Arabia’s purchase of 44 THAAD launchers, missiles and related equipment.
In April Lockheed was awarded a $2.4 billion contract for THAAD interceptor missiles, some of which are slated to be delivered to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The latest contract is for interceptor support items.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Used to be we bought their oil and they sent our money back to buy weapons. Now they just send their money to buy weapons. An improved business model for us, no doubt.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/20/2019 7:57
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#2
As we continue to 'follow the money' I anxiously await discovery of the role Jeffrey Epstein and others may have played in all of this.
[DAWN] A mob in an Indian village beat to death three men suspected of stealing cattle on Friday in a new "cow vigilante" attack reported by police that highlights hardening Hindu nationalism.
A fourth man was at death's door in hospital after the attack in a village in the eastern state of Bihar.
Police said three people were tossed into the calaboose for the killings and others in the village were suspected. At least one of the dead was Moslem.
The group had been driving a truck and were stopped in Pithori Nandlal village by a crowd who accused them of stealing cows, which are considered sacred by Hindus.
Many Indian states ban the eating and slaughter of beef. Attacks on individuals suspected of trading in cows have been increasing since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, according to rights groups.
A Bihar police official told AFP the latest victims, who came from a rival village, "were badly beaten on suspicion of stealing cattle and died on the way to the hospital."
As news of the deaths spread, residents from the men's home village went to the hospital to stage an angry protest, police said. Relatives of the dead beat up a man from Pinthori Nandlal.
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KEY POINTS George Nader, who was a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, is charged in a new federal indictment with transporting a 14-year-old boy for sex, child pornography and carrying obscene materials.
Mueller’s report says Nader helped arrange a January 2017 meeting between Erik Prince and the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, who reported directly to Vladimir Putin, as part of a purported Russian effort to build a link with President Donald Trump’s new administration.
George Nader, a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, has been charged in a new federal indictment with transporting a 14-year-old boy for sex two decades ago, child pornography and carrying obscene materials into the United States.
The new charges against Nader, a 60-year-old Middle East power broker, were revealed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
A dual citizen of Lebanon and the United States, Nader is scheduled to go on trial on Sept. 30
#2
A dual citizen of Lebanon and the United States.
Foreign passport? - CHECK!
High placed ME contacts and associates? - CHECK!
Highly placed US political contacts and associates? - CHECK
Long-standing pattern of such activity - CHECK!
Stash of diamonds and cash in private residential safe ? - DBD
#3
That's strange, Nader is not a Pashtun name, it is a Turkish name. The Pashtun's are the ones who embrace the practice of bacha bazi. OTH, we must have a lot of Pashtuns in Washington, Hollywood and on the Blue Coasts.
#6
TrailingWife. Change a few words around of "Boys for love and pleasure, wives for babies" and this has the lilt of the lyrics from the Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing:" "Money for nothin' chicks for free." You have the soul of a poet.
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.
[WND] Officials of the Miss World America pageant removed Miss Michigan’s title because she refused to allow a Muslim woman to "forcibly" put a hijab on her head and then reported the incident on social media.
[Telegraph] The Royal Navy has trialled a new missile to target small boats in the wake of tensions with Iran. 
July 19 (UPI) -- An improvised explosive device blew up near the southern entrance to Kabul University in Afghanistan Friday, killing at least eight people and injuring 33.
[The Hill] With massive protests continuing in Hong Kong against China’s efforts to erode its freedoms, Washington is missing a sizable opportunity to promote our ideals, encourage democratic forces elsewhere, and leverage Beijing’s need for a trade deal.
[Washington Examiner] Nellie Ohr, the wife of Justice Department official Bruce Ohr, is under scrutiny again.
[Washington Examiner] Some of his victims were just 14 years old when they were sexually exploited, coerced, and beaten. The Jeffery Epstein case shows what sex trafficking a form of human trafficking really looks like: a living nightmare filled with mental manipulation, substance abuse, and all manners of sexual violence including rape.
...
No, nothing will come of it. 
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the 
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
...Arabic for 
Somali pirates
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
...
...a city and eponymous province in northern Afghanistan, population about 500,000. Demographically it is majority Tadjik and Uzbek. There are small Pashtun, Arab, and Hazara communities, of which the Hazaras mostly don't bother anyone...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...
2017 story: ELON MUSK'S NEURALINK COULD TURN US INTO CYBORGS
...the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth populated city in Germany....
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Lockheed Martin was awarded a $1.48 billion contract to build the THAAD missile defense system for 
[DAWN] A mob in an Indian village beat to death three men suspected of stealing cattle on Friday in a new "cow vigilante" attack reported by police that highlights hardening Hindu nationalism.
