Terrorist had planned stabbing attack against IDF soldiers in Hevron to avenge death of relative killed during stabbing attack. Talk about learning curves
HT Instapundit. The EPA tried to hide it, apparently
The EPA said Thursday night that the spill happened on Tuesday, and officials are still attempting to determine how much and what metals were contained in the sludgy discharge, according to the Associated Press.
Local officials said this week's release was not large enough to warrant a public advisory.
Last year's spill sent nearly 1 million pounds of metals into the waterways of the Animas and San Juan rivers, which traverse three states. The metals include arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel and zinc.
This week's spill came from the treatment plant that the EPA set up near the mine to filter water coming from the mine before releasing it into the creek and river systems. A large amount of rain in Colorado caused the treatment facility to overflow and some of the untreated water to spill into the waterways.
EPA said the water that spilled from he plant was partially treated, and the metals present in it should quickly settle to the bottom of waterways where they are less harmful. riiiggghhtt
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2016
11:24 ||
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#1
I believe the EPA about as much as I believe Hillary at this point.
"Nancy Malone, a spokeswoman for the American Red Thingy Cross, told The Advocate that the volunteer who removed the officer from the center did the right thing in following the organization's policy, which states that no religion can be singled in practice.
To prevent anyone of a different faith from being offended, the Red Thingy Cross has gone completely politically correct with a Spiritual Prayer Team that they prefer evacuees use, which isn't specific to any religion." Remember this the next time someone muscles you to donate to the "United Way."
#1
American Red Cross - I'll remember that. We had a San Diego ARC CEO that had to be kicked out for taking wildfire victim donations...and not spending them
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2016 13:07
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#2
Don't get the whole concept of 'Red Cross' do they? /rhet question
#4
well they could always rebrand it like Prince did, with an abstract squiggle for which no word exists.
Posted by: Bov Flimbers ||
08/27/2016 15:36
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#5
Used to hear "oh, that's all the International Red Cross, the American Red Cross does good work in disaster relief". Maybe they do. But in this case, I think they've forgotten WHY they exist.
I know their founding wasn't explicitly religious, but they should be making a stand for tolerance, not caving to hatred. Tolerance means you don't get butthurt when someone else expresses their faith. Tolerance means you understand that others have beliefs you don't share.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/27/2016 20:57
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"That the story of the Syrian conflict is clouded by a fog of misperception is today almost a commonplace. The recent visit of a strong Indian delegation to Syria headed by the Indian Foreign Minister shows one other way in which this is true.
The way the Syrian conflict is regularly represented in the West is of a Syrian government that has lost the support of the "international community" save for its allies Russia, Iran and China.
This has never been true. The structure of the UN Security Council means that the US can normally rely on a majority there, and within the Arab world the Gulf Arab states led by the two Wahhabi monarchies Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been been able to rally the Arab League against Syria. However in the world as a whole the conflict is perceived very differently, not as some sort of Manichean struggle between good and evil, but rather as a geopolitical conflict and as part of a broader struggle against Jihadi terrorism.
The Indian government has been as outspoken a supporter of the Syrian government as the Chinese and Russian governments have been. More so in some ways since like China but unlike Russia India is not involved in the diplomacy of the Syrian conflict and does not therefore have to take even a theoretical position that President Assad's future should be eventually decided by the Syrian people.
As the very cordial meeting between Indian Foreign Minister Mubashir Javed Akbar and Syrian President Assad which took place in Damascus on 20th August 2016 shows, the Indian government instead openly and straightforwardly supports the government of President Assad.
India has many reasons for supporting Syria and the government of President Assad. As Assad is reported to have said during his meeting with Mubashir Javed Akbar, relations between the countries are longstanding and they are accustomed to thinking of each other as friends.
More importantly, India is as hostile to the "regime change" doctrines that have been coming out of the West as Russia and China are, and as indeed most of the world is. Last but not least, India has its own problem of Jihadi terrorism and is naturally sympathetic to a country like Syria which finds itself waging a bitter war against the two most powerful Jihadi organisations in the world: Daesh and Al-Qaeda (in the form of its regional branch Jabhat Al-Nusra).
India's support for Syria obviously cannot compare with that of countries like Russia or Iran. India neither needs nor is able to intervene in Syria in the way that those two powers are. Instead it makes sense for India to sit back and let the Russians and the Iranians do the heavy lifting in Syria whilst quietly reaping the benefits and giving diplomatic support.
That is neither cynical nor improper but is merely good policy and - despite a recent ramping up of Chinese support for Syria - it is essentially what the Chinese have also been doing.
The point however is that the Western narrative of a Syrian government discredited by its war crimes that is isolated internationally is simply untrue. On the contrary all three of the great Eurasian powers - China, Russia and India ‐ in their different ways support it."
[Judicial Watch 20 June 2014] Excerpt follows, full story here - Ms. Rogers was a strong advocate for Aegis. In 2010 testimony before the congressionally chartered Commission on Wartime Contracting, she noted that "contractors are a necessary reality of the United States missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and perhaps similar, future missions." Aegis, she said, was a "threat driven and intelligence led" company with "seasoned professionals" and "exceptional performance." She added that the firm "regularly meets with Members of Congress, their staff and other key decision makers." Link Yes, nightly in fact.
In 2007, Aegis won Pentagon renewal of a contract to run security services for reconstruction projects in Iraq, a deal "worth up to $475 million over two years," the Washington Post reported. In 2011, it was awarded a $497 million State Department contract for embassy security in Kabul, Afghanistan, according to the Project on Government I believe Tim Spicer headed that effort.
Oversight. Theories linking Aegis to the failed Blue Mountain Group guarding the State Department's Benghazi mission have circulated on the Internet. Aegis issued a statement denying it. No "member of the Aegis Group has ever entered into a contract with any department of the U.S. government to perform work in Libya," the company noted.
#1
Aspen Healthcare, please meet CHAI. I must assume you've not previously been introduced.
Would someone PLEASE investigate that noise? It could be a telephone! Oh, it's Doctor Shakeel Afridi, says it's urgent? Sorry, we're no longer taking calls from Doctor Afridi.
Police in Bangladesh killed three suspected militants Saturday, including an alleged mastermind of a major attack on a cafe last month that left 20 people dead.
Top counterterrorism official Monirul Islam said police raided a two-story house in Narayanganj district near Dhaka and killed the suspects early Saturday.
The dead included Tamim Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi-born Canadian, who police believe was one of two masterminds of the attack on a popular restaurant in Dhaka.
The militants belonged to the banned group Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh, or JMB, Bangladesh's police chief A.K.M. Shahidul Hoque told reporters.
Chowdhury was the mastermind of the July 1 attack in Dhaka and another attack on an Eid congregation outside Dhaka on July 7 marking the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, he said.
Bangladesh police have been conducting raids across the country to hunt those behind the attack.
The police chief said security officials raided the house acting on a tip that Chowdhury, along with other suspects, was hiding in the building. The suspects opened fire at officials who retaliated, he said.
A SWAT team made the final push and fatally shot the suspects after they failed to surrender. Haque said the team asked them to give themselves up but they went on firing.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2016
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[SUN] "I went cycling on Virgin Gorda with Holly and Sam as part of my training for the Virgin Strive Challenge.
"I was heading down a hill towards Leverick Bay when it suddenly got really dark and I managed to hit a ’sleeping policeman’ hump in the road head on.
"The next thing I knew, I was being hurled over the handlebars and my life was literally flashing before my eyes."
The accident-prone Virgin boss - who escaped a run in with a deadly stingray just a few months ago ‐ said he genuinely thought he'd finally run out of lives.
"I really thought I was going to die. I went flying head-first towards the concrete road, but fortunately my shoulder and cheek took the brunt of the impact, and I was wearing a helmet that saved my life ," he said.
"My bike went flying off the cliff and disappeared. We've since recovered the crumpled bicycle, completely destroyed. My cheek has been badly damaged and my knee, chin, shoulder and body severely cut.
So true. You want to mitigate the risk as much as possible. You don't want to get killed. But, yes, there has to be some risk or else you might as well sit indoors and play video games.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
08/27/2016 12:56
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#3
"I really thought I was going to die."
Just a bit over the top, isn't it? If you're riding on unfamiliar roads and it 'suddenly got really dark', do what intelligent and experienced cyclists would tell you to do - slow the fuck down, idiot.
JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) - Forty-six year old Rodney Earl Sanders of Kosciusko has been charged with two counts of capital murder in connection with the killing of two nuns in Durant Thursday.
MBI agents were able to develop enough information to charge Sanders after an interview Friday evening.
"Sanders was developed as a person of interest early on in the investigation," said MBI Director Lt. Colonel Jimmy Jordan. "With the cooperation of the Durant and Kosciusko Police Departments, Holmes County Sheriff’s Department and the Attorney General Office this heinous crime has been resolved."
Sanders is being held in an undisclosed detention center awaiting his initial court appearance. Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill were nuns in the Catholic Church and nurse practitioners at the Lexington Medical Clinic.
Their bodies were found in a home they shared in Durant, on Castalian Springs Road. The nuns' missing car was located late Thursday night behind a grocery store on Mill Street, about a mile away from where they lived.
The car was towed to a crime lab for analysis. Authorities have not released a motive or cause of death, but the Rev. Greg Plata said police told him the sisters were stabbed.
PHOENIX - The US Justice Department will decide whether criminal contempt charges will be brought against Arizona lawman Joe Arpaio for violating court orders in a racial profiling case, court documents released late on Friday showed.
The department's criminal division has been assigned the case against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and three others after the U.S. Attorney's Office for Arizona asked to be recused, according to documents filed in US District Court in Phoenix.
The criminal referral centers on U.S. District Judge Murray Snow's ruling that Arpaio intentionally violated a 2011 court order barring the sheriff's office from stopping and detaining drivers solely based on the suspicion that they were in the country illegally. The stops continued for another 18 months.
Snow also cited Arpaio and his office for failing to disclose documents and preserve records in the case, as ordered. The war goes on
h/t Gates of Vienna
A DANISH politician has warned the European Union (EU) is a "bigger threat than Russia" and said the 28-country bloc needs to be "buried".
The ferocious slap-down saw Marie Krarup, of the right-wing
I was waiting for that as soon as I read the headline.
Danish People’s Party, dismiss Russia as the country’s main threat and instead pointed the finger at divisive Brussels.
When asked whether the EU was the biggest danger, Ms Kararup replied: "For Denmark? Yes, without a doubt!
"Just Schengen alone is a catastrophe.
"It’s something that will make Denmark disappear from the world map if we don’t pull ourselves together.
"That national borders have been disbanded is a threat against Denmark’s existence."
h/t Gates of Vienna
According to most polls taken since last month’s party conventions, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton enjoys an insurmountable lead over Republican nominee Donald Trump. Consequently, a number of commentators on both sides of the partisan divide have declared the race over. Clinton, they say, has won.
There are several problems with this conclusion.
First of all, the "official campaign," won’t begin until September 26, when Clinton and Trump face off in their first presidential debate. Clinton is not a stellar debater and Trump, a seasoned entertainer excels in these formats.
Second, recent polls indicate that Trump is closing the gap. Whereas until this past week Clinton enjoyed a 6-8 point lead in the polls, in two polls taken this week, her lead had contracted to a mere 1-3 points.
Third, it is quite possible that Clinton’s problems have only begun. Her peak popularity may be behind her. Since her nomination, barely a day has passed without another stunning expose of apparently corrupt behavior on the part of Clinton and her closest advisors. This week’s AP report that half of Clinton’s non-official visitors during her tenure as secretary of state were donors to the Clinton Foundation was merely the latest blow.
...On the eve of his 2008 electoral victory, Barack Obama pledged to "fundamentally transform," America.
He kept his word.
...Trump is no Billy Sunday. He is not a champion of free trade or social conservativism. He isn’t a neoconservative interventionist. Trump is the bar brawler who says things no one else will say. And the people who lack faith in the country’s ability to help them, who have lost hope that things that used to work can work again adore him for it.
This brings us to the issue of the lessons that will be learned by Republican voters if Trump loses as the NeverTrumpsters hope and expect.
#4
Trump has an appealing message. However, I'm not sure G_D himself could straighten out the mess in Washington. It is time to be done with the Bush and Clinton political dynasties. Give someone new a try.
#5
Indeed, JohnQC. We've been doing the Bush/Clinton thing since 1988 and since then the country has been on a long, slow, gradual decline. It is time to try something else.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
08/27/2016 12:29
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Nobody points out the elephant in the room, and that is that the US govt is bankrupt and insolvent, except for the ability to create dollars out of thin air and sell them as T-bills.
Once direct bank to bank foreign currency transactions are widespread, nobody will need the US dollar as a reserve currency. The value of the dollar collapses, then the US govt collapses.
The presidential election is just Kabuki Theater.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/27/2016 13:57
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#7
The government is bankrupt -- why not a president with experience with bankruptcy?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/27/2016 14:16
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#8
Rob---that is the most compelling reason for Trump, heh! Besides being the only alternative to a massive criminal enterprise.....
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/27/2016 16:30
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ATLANTA (AP) - A judge on Friday sentenced a man to serve nearly five years in federal prison for lying on his citizenship application after prosecutors said he failed to disclose he was a guard at a detention camp during the Bosnian War.
A jury in May convicted Mladen Mitrovic of giving false answers on his naturalization application form. Mitrovic said on that application in 2002 that he hadn't ever persecuted anyone because of race, religion or national origin.
But federal prosecutors said he beat and tortured Muslim prisoners while serving as a guard in the Trnopolje detention camp in the spring and summer of 1992. He then lied about his violent past and his military service to get refugee status, and ultimately citizenship, in the United States, prosecutors said. Charges that he enrolled in colleges as a foreign student using an alias, his illegal travel to Pakistan, and admitted narcotics trafficking were dropped.
Mitrovic, 55, has been living just outside Atlanta with his wife and two sons since coming to the U.S. in 1997.
U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg sentenced him to serve four years and nine months in prison. She also granted prosecutors' request to revoke his citizenship and said he would likely be deported after he serves his prison sentence. Totenberg? No, she ain't from around here. NYC I think, appointed by Obama. Official DoJ BulletinNeglected to mention the name of the Fed Judge.
#1
The Totenberg Strad sings a riddle:
"Who doesn't resent, just a little,
Those mealy-mouthed kiddies,
Self-satisfied biddies
Whose dad wasn't bad with a fiddle?"
[Wash Times] The largest union representing New York City police officers has awarded its Man of the Year honor to an outspoken black conservative and supporter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, known for his criticisms of the Black Lives Matter movement as well as President Obama, was named Man of the Year by the New York Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.
Annual honors have often gone to elected leaders or lawmen with New York ties -- such as the 2015 award to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the 2009 award to former New York Police Department Commissioner William Bratton, as he served as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.
But association President Patrick Lynch said Sheriff Clarke’s unflinching support of law enforcement during a time when many are critical of or second-guessing the work of police officers made him a prime choice for the honor.
"Sheriff Clarke is a passionate and vocal defender of police officers, at a time when our job is more difficult and dangerous than ever before," Mr. Lynch said. "That is exactly what the PBA does for New York City police officers, so it has been encouraging to hear Sheriff Clarke make the same case on a national stage. We should be hearing that type of support from elected leaders in both parties and at all levels of government."
[Wash Times] After three days helping victims of the Louisiana flood, volunteer Thomas Achord was piloting his boat back to shore when he saw authorities barricading the entry to the waterway in Livingston Parish. Lending a hand to a neighbor in need? That's a gov't job. What was this fellow thinking ?
"They were being friendly and they weren’t saying anything to us, but it was very clear that they were blocking things off," said Mr. Achord. "It looked like they were purposefully getting in our way, and then they were directing traffic away from where people were putting their boats in the water."
That was his last day as a member of the so-called Cajun Navy, the all-volunteer flotilla of Louisiana private boat owners credited with rescuing and helping countless thousands of marooned homeowners, livestock and pets at the outset of the flooding.
"After that, I didn’t go back out because I knew they were blocking off the main path that I could use to get to the water," said Mr. Achord, a teacher and administrator at the Sequitur Classical Academy in Baton Rouge.
Experiences like Mr. Achord’s are what prompted Republican state Sen. Jonathan J.P. Perry to float the idea of legislation to certify trained volunteers in order to give them greater access to flood sites, instead of watching authorities turn away the would-be rescuers.
#1
...Some years ago, a gentleman of my acquaintance - former F-4/F-16 pilot of all things - became a missionary and felt called to try and serve in Cuba. Against all expectations and after a long effort, he was actually approved. Goes without saying that he had some remarkable stories when he got back, and the most disturbing one was that fishing - by the book - is a prison offense there. The Castros want the people depending on them for EVERYTHING, and their attitude is that if you can feed yourself for even a single meal, it's a threat to their power.
An extreme example? Yep. But it's at the end of a surprisingly straight, short road that starts with telling people they can't help their neighbors without Gummint training and permission.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/27/2016 8:35
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#2
Did the posse need training? Nope, the sheriff called for volunteers, deputized them, and saddled up.
I suspect, the local sheriff today knows who's the good guys and bad guys in the neighborhood. Just to the same damn thing. Just have a Good Samaritan law in place.
Someone is really interested in power, not solving problems.
#3
Trump and Mike Pence talking to flood victims. Fellow in the upper right in the olive coloured shirt - Franklin Graham. Another 'enemy' of the State, who generally likes to keep a somewhat low profile.
[Wash Times] France’s top administrative court has overturned a town burkini ban amid shock and anger worldwide after some Muslim women were ordered to remove body-concealing garments on French Riviera beaches.
The ruling by the Council of State Friday specifically concerns a ban in the Riviera town of Villeneuve-Loubet, but the binding decision is expected to set a legal precedent for all the 30 or so French resort municipalities that have issued similar decrees.
Lawyers for two human rights groups challenged the legality of the ban to the top court, saying the orders infringe basic freedoms and that mayors have overstepped their powers by telling women what to wear on beaches.
Mayors had cited concern about public order after deadly Islamic extremist attacks this summer, and many officials have argued that burkinis oppress women.
Lawyer Patrice Spinosi, representing the Human Rights League, told reporters that the decision should set a precedent, and that other mayors should conform to it. He also said women who have already received fines can protest them based on Friday’s decision.
#1
The court was between a rock and a hard place. Banning the "Burkini" would have required the banning of habits worn by Catholic Sisters, who also visit the beachs.
#3
Banning the "Burkini" would have required the banning of habits worn by Catholic Sisters
I do not understand that claim. The habits of the various orders of Catholic nuns are as much a uniform as that worn by soldiers or police, designed to identify the members to the general public and each other. The burkini is a recently developed fashion and sport item for a particular activity, as subject to regulation by the authorities as female topless sunbathing or nudity.
[Wash Times] The Russian foreign minister made comments Tuesday on the whereabouts and wisdom of the United States providing shoulder-fired ManPAD anti-aircraft missiles to groups in Libya. The comments were reported by the Russian state news agency TASS.
"To all appearances, our Western colleagues have not yet become fully aware of the consequences of their military operations of the past few years in the countries of the Middle East and Africa. They believed that they would destroy the regimes of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Qaddafi and immediately democracy would triumph in Iraq and Libya. Instead, chaos came to reign there and army depots and arsenals abandoned by the military were ransacked there." All the weapons, including shoulder-fired antiaircraft missile systems and hundreds of tons of ammunition "have disappeared without a trace," Sergey Lavrov said.
"Now fratricidal wars are raging in these states and no end to them can be seen so far. Unfortunately, the situation was predictable and the Russian president warned about this numerously."
In Libya alone, no less than 500 Strela and Igla shoulder-fired antiaircraft missile systems have disappeared.
"The first alarm bell rang in Mali where militants shot down a governmental MiG-21 plane from a portable antiaircraft missile in 2012. No one knows in the hands of which terrorist groupings these systems most dangerous for civil aviation may end up -- the ISIL, Jabhat al-Nusra, Al Qaeda. Likewise, no one knows when and where these weapons will be used next time. In Iraq, hardly anyone --hundreds of thousands of those killed or millions of people living in the conditions of a civil war -- has felt more at ease that the Britons have found after a probe that then-Prime Minister Tony Blair had actually deceived the parliament, pushing through a decision to involve the UK army in the invasion together with the Americans.
"It goes without saying that the effects could have been far more ruinous, if Russia three years ago had not prevented a US strike on Syria persuading Assad to give up his chemical weapons. One cannot but feel horror at the thought in whose hands portable antiaircraft missiles, other conventional weapons and chemical weapons stockpiles might have ended up now," Mr. Lavrov said.
#1
...I've said this before, but it bears repeating - Stingers are remarkably high-maintenance beasts. Add to that the fact that the batteries have a limited shelf life, and the threat decreases considerably though it doesn't disappear entirely. Unless those missiles are stored properly (not likely in the Libyan desert) and maintained well (not likely in a culture where Inshallah is a guiding concept) we don't have as much to worry about as one would think. Myself, I think ol' Sergey is covering for the MANPADS they gave the bad guys.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/27/2016 8:54
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[Free Beacon] Dr. Drew Pinsky's HLN show Dr. Drew has been canceled shortly after he made remarks questioning Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's health care and overall well-being.
He will continue hosting the current affairs show until Sept. 22.
The New York Post reports that CNN will make temporary schedule changes:
The current-affairs show, hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky ("Celebrity Rehab," radio’s "Loveline"), has been axed after 5 ¹/₂ years. It will be replaced -- at least for the time being -- with reruns of "Forensic Files" and CNN originals (documentaries, etc.).
Pinsky released a statement following the announcement by CNN, who manages HLN: "It has been a privilege working at HLN. My executive producer, Burt Dubrow, and our outstanding staff and contributors were consistently exceptional. I am very excited to stay within the CNN Worldwide family as a contributor."
Last week, Pinsky gave an interview, where he had strong concerns about Clinton's health and her health care after saying that he had read through her released medical records . Pinsky pointed back to Clinton's 2012 concussion after a fall and the effects that followed in Clinton’s final months as secretary of state, and he openly questioned the wisdom of some of the treatments she'd been given by physicians.
#1
His show was bottom-rated, so it may have been a convenient excuse to dump him
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2016 9:40
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#2
Miraculous! Dr. Drew Pinsky,
(he studied with Smith and Wollensky!)
has stilled Billy's willy...
And now, to fix Hilly:
He deftly resects her Alinsky.
Posted by: Oscar Elmeremp6989 ||
08/27/2016 18:45
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[Daily Caller] Deborah Amdur, the Department of Veterans Affairs senior executive brought in to bring stability to the scandal-ridden Phoenix VA hospital, is retiring after just eight months on the job.
Amdur was transferred there from Vermont, succeeding a series of short-term leaders and billed as the person who would end wait-time manipulation that left scores of patients dead, even as VA executives collected bonuses.
But a VA Inspector General report that officials saw that wait time metrics became implausibly positive the moment she arrived at the Vermont hospital, strongly suggesting she presided over a severe case of the same thing she was supposed to be stopping in Phoenix.
On Friday, the hospital sent a memo saying "Amdur notified Service Line Chiefs this morning that she will be retiring in the near future. This is unexpected and is related to medical issues she has had flare up recently. In the short term, Ms. Barbara Fallen (Director of the Loma Linda facility) will work with us as we transition to a new Director," according to DisabledVeterans.org.
The resignation announcement comes a day after the local news reported that a cancer patient secretly recorded his nurse calling Phoenix’s scheduling system "a nightmare," his doctor told him he’s "not a fan of the VA" and a doctor didn’t have a stethoscope.
Shortly after Amdur arrived at the Phoenix hospital, Sen. John McCain, Arizona’s senior senator and a veteran who was imprisoned in the Hanoi Hilton, said she refused to meet with him.
Amdur’s departure continues the cycle of VA rotating managers with horrible track records out of one facility, giving frustrated veterans the illusion of progress there, only to install them in a different facility where they are pitched to veterans as cleanup artists who will turn the hospital around after bad prior management at those hospitals.
The directors, who complain that their $181,000 salaries are too low, get massive relocation packages, so moving every few years -- or every few months -- can significantly increase their earnings.
A Daily Caller News Foundation analysis found the VA shuffled nearly 100 hospital administrators to three or more states each in the last eight years, often to deal with underperforming directors whom they could not fire.
The list of VA employees with unusual workplace moving patterns includes infamous names like Diana Rubens, who was a D.C. based administrator until she created a job for herself with less work and the same $181,000 salary near her family in Philadelphia. Then she billed VA for nearly $300,000 in relocation costs. (INTERACTIVE: Take A Ride On VA’s Bad-Bosses Merry-Go-Round)
A veteran who asked to remain anonymous said he and other veterans don’t understand how the VA expects different results by rotating the same cast of characters instead of bringing in new blood. They don’t buy VA’s argument that only a handful of people in the country have the specialized qualifications necessary, noting, for example, that Amdur is merely a social worker by training.
In Vermont, Amdur’s hospital gave a recalled drug to a veteran, then hid the records on it for five years, and lied about the issue to a senator. Soon after, VA transferred Amdur to the Tomah, Wisc., hospital, which is regarded as the VA’s second-most corrupt facility behind Phoenix.
Amdur served as director of the Vermont hospital beginning in January 2013. For years before she took over, the facility "was in the red" for the performance measure "Same Day Access With [Primary Care Provider]." When she took over, the facility’s rate was 49 percent.
Six months after Amdur took the reins, the reported rate rose rapidly until 96 percent of patients were recorded as not having to wait a single day for treatment. Anyone who saw those figures would have known it was not credible that any hospital system would see every patient the exact day the patient preferred.
In Phoenix, Amdur took the job of Sharon Helman, who is now seeking reinstatement despite being a convicted felon. Explore the VA’s "march of the lemons" below:
#1
Aveteran who asked to remain anonymous said he and other veterans don’t understand how the VA expects different results by rotating the same cast of characters instead of bringing in new blood.
Cause in the military, those who screw up on that level are relived and replaced. The services have their own versions of 'Siberia' for assignments which start to show up on orders. If they're retirement eligible, they're strongly urged to put in their papers.
Time to repeal or suspend the Civil Service Act. Then your Congressman/woman can be directly held accountable for performance.
[LI] The "Movement for Black Lives," a coalition of approximately 50 Black Lives Matter groups, recently issued a policy platform which raised issues such as mass incarceration, policing, and other issues of importance.
Yet in that platform were included deranged libelous accusations against one and only one foreign country - Israel. That section of the platform was not surprising to anyone who has been paying attention to our coverage of how anti-Israel activists methodically and deliberately set out years ago to stoke racial tension against Israel by falsely accusing Israel of being responsible for local police shootings of blacks in the U.S. That effort went into overdrive during the Ferguson riots after the Michael Brown shooting in the summer of 2014.
Since then, redirecting the U.S. Black Lives Matters movement to turn it as a weapon against Israel has been a top priority for anti-Israel activists, including those working under the banner of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
[PJ Media] Target is launching a first-of-its-kind one-day sale to try and boost back-to-school shopper traffic amid a boycott over its bathroom policy. The retailer is offering a 10% discount on everything in its stores and online on Sunday. Target is calling the event #TargetRunDay.
It marks the first time Target has ever offered a 10% discount both in stores and on its website. The sale comes after Target last week reported its first quarterly traffic decline in more than two years.
This is what happens when you blindly hop on the social-justice bandwagon without consulting your customers, understanding their mores, or giving a damn about what they think. Serves Target right. Drive by any Target store since the "transgender" policy went into effect and witness an ocean of empty spaces in their parking lots.
Target's same-store transactions, which is how traffic is measured, fell 2.2% in the second quarter. Overall, sales fell 7.2% to $16.2 billion. "In the second quarter, our No. 1 challenge was traffic, which affected sales in all of our merchandise categories," Target CEO Brian Cornell said last week on a call with analysts.
Shopper traffic is falling amid a boycott over Target's new policy, announced earlier this year, that welcomes customers to use any bathroom or fitting room that matches their gender identity. The announcement triggered an immediate backlash. Critics said the policy opened the door for sexual predators to victimize women and children inside the retailer's bathrooms, and more than 1.4 million people signed a pledge to stop shopping at Target unless it reversed the policy.
#2
When they fire the CEO and the acquiescent board, then run ads saying they're in the market for 'business' not virtue flashing, you might get the attention of your former patrons. Who ever calculated that to make 3 percent of the population (plus or minus the number of real supporters) happy at the expense of over half the population as the 'target' audience of their business, must live in the deep urban cocoon of contacts. Meanwhile, after the anti-Chic-fil-A boycott resulted in a 14% increase in business, you know the marketing department also needs to house cleaned as well.
#3
Well, not really. My local Target has had no problems with the bathroom policy. It's problems are too few employees on the sales floor to help customers find what they are looking for, and I am more concerned by the creepy collectors and resellers who hang around the toys. If they did that in a park they would be arrested.
[Daily Caller] One fire department has found an inventive solution to the problem of the soaring costs of EpiPens.
An EpiPen is a lifesaving epinephrine injection device for those suffering from anaphylacic shock‐a deadly allergic reaction. The price of the epinephrine inside an EpiPen amounts to just one dollar.
Heather Bresch, the daughter of Sen. Joe Manchin and CEO of Mylan, the company that makes EpiPen’s, has raised the price of EpiPen’s 461 percent since acquiring the drug in 2007. Ms. Bersch, whose company Mylan acquired the mechanism in 2007, has raised of the price of the device from $56.64 to $317.82 in 2015, according to CBS News.
Cary Turner, a thrifty paramedic trainer and EMT coordinator at the Salt Lake City Fire Department, came up with solution to evade the burdensome cost of the EpiPen. Turner, a veteran of the Iraq war, was determined to find a simple solution to curb the cost of acquiring this lifesaving drug without paying for an EpiPen.
Turner devised a prepackaged "kit inside a zippered pouch, that contains a small vial of epinephrine, and a syringe," reports Salt Lake City’s KUTV. He then lobbied for it’s approval with the Utah Health Department and got his kit approved for EMT agents to carry and administer. The price of Turner’s device is just $3.50 which is in stark contrast to the over $300 EpiPen.
He trained his EMT agents on how to properly dose and administer the epinephrine. Turner told the press, "I went ahead and grabbed an orange, pretending it was a patient’s skin, and we walked through and taught all our EMTs to draw their own medications."
Thus far, there have been no accidents or safety issues with Turner’s device.
While the FDA has upheld the monopoly on the market for epinephrine injection devices, Turner’s solution could bare some light for families and those with severe allergies that are trying to curb costs
#1
[Free Beacon} Government Funds to Mylan Spiked After Manchin’s Daughter Became CEO.
Millions in government funds directed to subsidiaries after Heather Bresch became CEO
Government funds awarded to Mylan, Inc. increased dramatically after the daughter of Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) took over as its chief executive officer.
The pharmaceutical company Mylan sparked controversy this week for hiking the price of its EpiPen, an autoinjector used to counter allergic reactions. The life-saving device was sold wholesale at $56.64 per unit in 2009. That price skyrocketed to $317.82 by 2015, an increase of 461 percent. Company executives increased their own salaries as the cost of the EpiPen rose.
Heather Bresch, Manchin’s daughter, served as president of Mylan between 2009 and 2011. She took over as the company’s chief executive officer in 2012.
Bresch was paid $2,453, 456 in salary in 2007. Her total compensation increased to $18,931,068 in 2015, NBC News reported. Link to article
#2
Appears to be a lot of money in the epipen biz. You'd think other companies would be scrambling for a cut, necessarily driving prices down.
Wonder why they're not.
No, I don't.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
08/27/2016 9:13
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#3
...A brilliant and well-thought out idea that will be outlawed momentarily by bureaucratic fiat....
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/27/2016 11:54
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#4
The key to the EpiPen isn't the epinephrine inside. That's generic and cheap.
The key is that 1) it's the right dose ready to go and 2) it's in a spring-loaded, virtually idiot-proof syringe. The spring loading means that when used, the needle comes out at the right depth and puts the epinephrine into the muscle where it needs to go.
When seconds count you want this to work and to be idiot proof.
Epinephrine is cheap. The device is well understood and the patent (as I understand it) has expired. So if you ran a mid-cap Pharma company you could conceivably come to the market with a competitor device.
Except you won't because the FDA won't approve you in less than a decade. You'll need more studies and documentation than you ever dreamed possible.
Why? Because Heather Bresch is Joe Manchin's daughter, and the FDA knows that.
In fact, several companies have tried -- each has been sued by Mylan (or a predecessor company) for patent infringement. A couple others have found that indeed, the FDA is, um, "slow" in its approval process. And Teva Pharmaceuticals had its generic eli-pen device rejected by the FDA.
The drug is cheap. The device is well-understood and cheap to manufacture. The regulatory process would be simple enough (for a mid-cap Pharma). It's the politics that stops you.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/27/2016 14:45
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#5
I think Heather is very soon for "under-bus visuals". She's worn out her benefits and become a negative. Bye Heather, watch the axle pig!
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2016 18:11
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[Daily Caller] South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy suggested earlier this week that the public will be surprised when it hears how the FBI described Sidney Blumenthal and his working relationship with his longtime friend, Hillary Clinton.
Gowdy, the former chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, mentioned in passing during an interview with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly that the FBI had quizzed Blumenthal as part of its probe into Clinton’s private email server.
Blumenthal, a former journalist and Bill Clinton White House aide, had dodged when asked in several interviews back in May about whether he was interviewed. He said that he did not want to comment on an ongoing investigation.
Gowdy noted that when Blumenthal's emails with Clinton were made public last year, Clinton bristled when Blumenthal was described as her adviser. But the FBI thought he was even more than a mere adviser, Gowdy suggested.
[Breitbart] Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), tells Breitbart News Daily on SiriusXM that countries that are known to support radical Islamic terrorism are "cutting deals" with Mexican cartels for access to human smuggling routes into the United States.
Citing photos from the U.S. Border Patrol component of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency on Friday, Gen. Flynn also told Washington Political Editor Matthew Boyle, host of Breitbart News Daily, that there are signs in Arabic posted along human smuggling routes at the section of the border that lies in Texas providing directions for how to sneak into the United States.
Moreover, the former DIA chief said that the Shiite Lebanese narco-terrorist group Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, is illegally trafficking humans, drugs, and other contraband into the United States.
His comments echo recent warnings from the U.S. military, suggesting that criminal groups in Latin America may be collaborating with Islamic extremist organizations.
Gen. Flynn’s remarks came while he was discussing his new book The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies during Friday’s edition of Breitbart News Daily.
Most of the trouble is coming thru the unvetted refugees, the offspring of previous refugees, and stay behinds. Why go thru the trouble of sneaking across the border? Dosent matter anyway the FBI won't do anything but tell us they were watching them.
[Breitbart] The Pentagon has lost track of at least 750,000 guns it provided to security forces in Afghanistan and Iraq during 14 years of the ongoing war on terror in response to the 9/11 attacks, according to a tally by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), a London-based charity.
The lost weapons could be fueling the black market, reports The New York Times (NYT).
With a string of Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] requests that began last year, he [Overton] and his small team of researchers pooled 14 years’ worth of Pentagon contract information related to rifles, pistols, machine guns and their associated attachments and ammunition, both for American troops and for their partners and proxies. They then crosschecked the data against other public records.
Today the Pentagon has only a partial idea of how many weapons it issued, much less where these weapons are. Meanwhile, the effectively bottomless abundance of black-market weapons from American sources is one reason Iraq will not recover from its post-invasion woes anytime soon.
The charity’s research covered U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) data from September 11, 2001, thru September 10, 2015.
AOAV found that of an estimated 1.45 million guns the U.S. government gave to Iraq and Afghanistan over that period, the Pentagon could only account for 700,000 (48 percent).
The 1.45 million small arms included more than 978,000 assault rifles, 266,000 pistols, and almost 112,000 machine guns.
#1
Weapons, vehicles, supplies, cash...the Generals have been foolish...and ended up paying the enemy for the privilege of fighting them. This continues in AF and started back up in IQ. And no one cares.
#3
Considering that federal and state agencies lost just under a thousand firearms since 2013 in California, including fully automatic MP5s, it really isn't a surprise that our government is more dangerous with weapons than its citizenry are.
The Commerce Department slightly cut its estimate of US economic growth in the second quarter to 1.1 percent Friday, underscoring the surprise weakness in activity during the period.
The 0.1 percentage point cut to the initial estimate of the annual expansion rate came on the back of more complete data that showed lower state and local government spending and higher imports than initially estimated.
In an encouraging sign for growth in the current quarter, personal expenditures and business investment were both revised higher. But the revisions were small, the Commerce Department said, adding that "the general picture of economic growth remains the same."
In the same report, the department said that US corporate profits fell by $24.1 billion in the second quarter after a $66 billion increase in the first, and were down 4.9 percent from a year earlier.
Banks and other financial institutions saw significant gains in the quarter but those were offset by a sharp fall in profits at non-financial corporations.
The slight downward revision in growth for the period was expected and economists generally forecast a solid rebound to an annual pace of close to three percent in the current quarter.
#2
Set out to destroy the middle class, reward your rich crony backers, and expand the bureaucracy to dictate ever more 'regulations' (re: Central Planning), how can this happen?
[Hurriyet] Eleven coppers were killed and 78 people, including three civilians, were maimed in a terror attack carried out by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) using a bomb-laden truck in the Cizre district of the southeastern province of Sirnak early on Aug. 26.
The attack targeted a police checkpoint some 50 meters away from a riot cop shoppe in the Konak neighborhood located on the Cizre-Sirnak highway.
The kaboom caused huge damage in the riot cop shoppe building. Police blocked access to the district following the attack, while security forces conducted an operation to apprehend the fleeing holy warriors.
Health minister Recep Akdag said more than 70 people were maimed in the attack with four of them in a criticial condition.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/27/2016
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The necessary shrinkage of the outer party proceeds apace as the purge continues.
[Hurriyet] The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has expelled four of its district mayors over suspected links to the movement of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, said to be behind last month’s failed coup attempt.
AKP spokesperson Yasin Aktay told reporters that Enver Başaran, the mayor of the Aşkale district of Erzurum; Savaş Akarçeşme, the mayor of the Çamoluk district of Giresun; Halil İbrahim Oral, the mayor of the Ilgın district of Konya,;and Ali Erdoğmuş, the mayor of Nar district of Nevşehir have all been expelled from the party. Aktay recalled that Başaran and Akarçeşme had already been arrested as part of ongoing investigation into the so-called Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ).
Following the thwarted coup attempt, the AKP formed a commission to identify potential Gülenists within different branches of the party.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov "have achieved clarity" on a path to restore a truce in Syria but details remain to be worked out, AP reported.
How much ransom did we pay this time?
After meeting off-and-on with Lavrov for nearly 10 hours in Geneva on Friday, Kerry said the "vast majority" of technical discussions on steps to reinstate the ceasefire and improve humanitarian access have been completed. Kerry says experts will remain in Geneva with an eye toward finalizing the unresolved steps in the coming days.
Friday's meeting came a month after the two men met in Moscow and agreed on a number of unspecified actions to get the all-but-ignored truce back in force. However, as in Moscow, neither Kerry nor Lavrov would describe them in detail.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/27/2016
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#1
Based on a secret transcript of the secret meeting that I have secretly obtained, the discussion went something like this:
Lavrov: Stay the f**k out of our way.
Kerry: ... OK.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Tunisia’s premier-designate called for "sacrifices" as parliament convened on Friday to vote on a cabinet line-up he has proposed to tackle pressing economic and security challenges.
It is likely that a majority of parliament’s 217 members will vote for the line-up, making Youssef Chahed, at 40, the country’s youngest prime minister since it won independence from La Belle France in 1956.
The prime minister-designate addressed the assembly on Friday morning ahead of the vote of confidence, which is not expected before 2000 GMT.
Parliament also took a midday break before resuming deliberations at 1400 GMT.
Chahed noted that members of his government will each also issue a declaration of interests within 15 days.
He stressed the "necessity" of his proposed unity government to address mounting economic challenges not resolved since the 2011 revolution.
"We have until now been unable to realize the objectives of the revolution. Our youth have lost hope, the trust of citizens in the state has decreased," he said.
"We are all responsible" and "will all have to make sacrifices".
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2016
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[Ynet] Following Waheed Borsh's arrest for siphoning UN funds to Hamas terror infrastructure, UN request for immunity for its former employee is rejected; 'Israel rejects the claim that a person assisting a terror organization recognized by the international community such as Hamas could enjoy immunity.'
The Israeli government on Thursday rejected a UN request for diplomatic immunity for a Paleostinian engineer who worked for the UN in the Gazoo Strip, but is now in prison after being accused of assisting the territory's Islamic holy warriorHamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, rulers.
Israel locked away ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... 38-year-old Waheed Borsh, who worked for the UN development agency (UNDP), on July 16 on suspicion of aiding Hamas. The government announced on Aug. 9 that he had been indicted on charges of assisting the holy warrior group.
Israel's Foreign Ministry front man Emmanuel Nachshon said, "Israel rejects the claim that a person assisting a terror organization recognized by the international community such as Hamas could enjoy immunity."
Israel's Shin Bet intelligence agency said that Borsh used UNDP resources last year to build a marina for Hamas' naval forces. In addition, the Shin Bet alleged that at Hamas' request, he persuaded his managers to prioritize the reconstruction of houses damaged in conflicts with Israel in areas where Hamas members lived.
UNDP said in a statement on Aug. 9 that it was "greatly concerned" by the allegations, that it was investigating them, and that it has "zero tolerance for wrongdoing" in its programs and projects.
Nachshon said the UN suddenly claimed in a letter Wednesday that Borsh is entitled to diplomatic immunity. The claim was examined by jurists who determined it is "unsubstantiated," he said.
"It is outrageous that a man assisting a terror organization could benefit from UN immunity," Nachshon said. "It is clear that immunity is not a license to commit acts of terror."
Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said the UN legal office claimed that any UN employee should receive diplomatic immunity from local authorities and that until Borsh's release from prison, he should be granted visits by the organization.
Shortly before Borsh's arrest, Israel charged the Gazoo manager of the international charity World Vision for allegedly funneling millions of dollars to the group.
Danon said he has been in touch with international aid organizations operating in Gazoo and advised them that, "Any dollar spent, and any local hire by an international organization, must be monitored to ensure they fulfill the purpose of aiding the residents of Gazoo and not fund terror activities."
[ALMASDARNEWS] The syrian rebel group "Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham" (formerly Al-Nusra Front) reportedly stoned a woman to death for committing adultery in the Idlib Governorate town of Kafr Basin on Wednesday.
This heinous crime was reported by a number of local activists in the southern countryside of the Idlib Governorate, including the Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) photographer ’Abdel-Razaaq Fadl.
Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham has not issued a statement regarding this alleged incident; however, they are well-known for their brutal methods of execution in Syria.
Al-Masdar could not verify the validity of this story because no images or footage have been released to corroborate it.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Jaysh Al-Fateh (Army of Conquest) suffered heavy casualties along the Khan Touman-Ramouseh Road on Friday after they were caught by a number of the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) ATGMs (anti-tank guided missile) while trying to reach the provincial capital.
The Tiger Forces release images of their ATGM destroying a jihadist rebel vehicle along the Khan Touman-Ramouseh Road.
Led by the Tiger Forces, the Syrian Arab Army imposed fire control over the Khan Touman-Ramouseh Road after capturing Tal Umm Qara’, leaving the jihadist rebels trapped inside the southern Aleppo districts.
Over the last four days, Jaysh Al-Fateh has attempted to recapture Tal Umm Qara’ from the Syrian Armed Forces; however, they have failed every time and suffered a significant number of casualties as a result of their offensive to seize this key hilltop in southern Aleppo.
If Jaysh Al-Fateh does not recapture Tal Umm Qara soon, they will be in serious trouble inside the southern districts of the provincial capital, as provisions run low.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Jaish Al-Fustat, an Islamist rebel group in the East Ghouta region of rural Damascus, issued a statement on Friday that offered peace to their rivals from Jaish Al-Islam.
In the statement released by Jaish Al-Fustat, the Islamist group promises to release their Jaish Al-Islam prisoners in order to make peace with the group.
The purpose of this statement was to end the war between the Islamist groups, so that they could focus on fighting the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the East Ghouta.
Jaish Al-Fustat also added that they are halting all offensive operations against Jaish Al-Islam due to the recent developments that have transgressed in the East Ghouta.
These developments include the Syrian Arab Army’s capture of several rural villages near the Jaish Al-Islam stronghold of Douma and the recent capture of Darayya, which is located in the West Ghouta.
Jaish Al-Islam has not issued a formal response to this truce offering.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2016
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[Libya Herald] The much-sacked Libyan ambassador to the UN, Ibrahim Dabbashi, appears to have finally been removed. The UN’s list of permanent representatives, which constitutes the definitive record of who is the envoy for which country, no longer includes him. Instead, it has Elmahdi S. Elmajerbi as the chargé d’affaires of the Libyan mission.
The foreign minister in the Presidency Council’s caretaker Government of National Accord (GNA), Mohammed Taha Siala, has also confirmed that Elmajerbi has taken over, saying that Dabbashi has done four years in the job and claiming that was the legal limit.
Dabbashi has been sacked three times as ambassador, twice by the Thinni administration in Beida and once by the Presidency Council. However, those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... he managed to stay on by ignoring the dismissals ‐ until now.
At the beginning of last month, when the Presidency Council announced it was removing him, it appointed former Prime Minister Abdulrahim Al-Kib as his replacement. He, however, has refused to take the post.
From Sabratha but firmly opposed to Islamists, Dabbashi developed a formidable reputation as a politician not afraid of telling uncomfortable truths. After the Banyan Marsous operation against IS in Sirte started, he questioned the loyalty to the Presidency Council of some of those involved, drawing the fury of a number of Misratan leaders who called for him to be sacked.
Having broken with the Thinni administration at the end of last year and backed the UN-supported Presidency Council instead, he recently started distancing himself from it. Privately, he is said to have concluded that it would fail.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2016
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] According to Abdullah al-Shandaqi, the official front man of the Popular Resistance forces in Sanaa, military operations "will continue until all districts and governorates are freed and the capital is reached."
Meanwhile, ...back at the the conspirators' cleverly concealed hideout the long-awaited message arrived. They quickly got to work with their decoder rings... the resistance and the national army have taken control of multiple strategic mountains and positions on the Nehem front and in Taiz, around 16 people were killed and tens of Houthi- Saleh bully boyz were maimed during severe festivities on different fronts.
In Nehem, combat is exacerbating and the army and resistance, backed by the coalition, have laid their hands on the al-Bayad Mountains, al Qutub and other strategic positions overlooking al-Mahali after brutal festivities with the militias.
According to a source in the resistance, the al-Mahali village and valley and the main Sana’a-Marib valley road have become under control, allowing the army and the resistance to cut the main supply route for militias in Bani Barq, get hold of al-Kohl and al-Sanani and get closer to the al-Ghalimah valley.
In addition, the coalition’s fighter jets have launched new raids on the Houthis’ positions in the Saada governorate and in Sanaa where the Academy of Aviation, Air Defense and Military Reserves, and the Faj Attan camp were shelled.
In Taiz, men from Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... militias and militias affiliated to ousted Yemeni former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... were killed or injured during skirmishes on most of the city’s fronts.
The resistance and the national army were able to free al-Tair and Chaeb Soumi in the Hathran region, west of the city. In the al-Ahkoum region, located in the Hayfan district, south of Taiz, al-Tabbah al-Hamra came under control and the Hija alabed road linking Taiz to Adan became safe again while fighting is still raging on in the al-Aqbush mountain.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... forces, backed by the Yemeni Republican Guard, seized a key military base in the Najran area of southern 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... , Al-Masirah News Agency reported on Friday night.
According to Al-Masirah, the Houthi forces and Yemeni Republican Guard managed to capture the bases in east Shabakah, which is located in the Najran Valley of Saudi Arabia.
Video footage of this advance was captured by Hezbollah’s media wing and shared on Al-Masirah’s news channel:
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2016
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#1
losing a Saoodi base in Saoodi? A reflection of what a paper tiger they really are without mercs and 'Mericans defending them?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2016 9:18
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#2
If there was a way to turn Filipino maids into a fighting force, the Saudis would be unbeatable.
[DAWN] FOR many years now, the Pak military has been criticised for supporting violent jihadi groups. And liberals can be forgiven for having strong feelings on the subject. During the 1990s, when the Kashmire insurgency was in full swing, the liberals repeatedly predicted a backlash. The number of people killed by jihadists since then -- including many in the army -- shows that the liberals’ warnings were well founded.
But the military has not been alone in indulging the men of violence. Civilian leaders too have cut deals with jihadis who, if circumstances permitted, would like to see those politicians not only out of power but dead and buried too. And this is not a point that favours one party over the others: all the mainstream parties have made compromises with the murderous Moslems.
The most obvious recent example concerns the decision of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... provincial administration to grant $3 million to Samiul Haq ...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time... ’s Haqqani madressah. Lest anyone be in any doubt about where Samiul Haq stands on matters of contemporary politics, his recently published book claims that the Afghan Taliban provided good government; that the late Osama bin Laden ... who used to be alive but now he's not... was an "ideal man" and that Al Qaeda was a figment of the Western imagination.
Perhaps more importantly, some of those who assassinated Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... met in his madressah whilst planning the attack. And Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... has form in this area. When, in 2013, he agreed to head up the Pakistain Taliban’s negotiating team he demonstrated not only that he thought peace could be achieved through dialogue but also that he was willing to represent and speak for the TTP.
But it is not fair to single out the PTI leader. After all, in 2010 the Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... provincial administration gave $1m to institutions linked to Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... . In the same year, files recovered from Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... reportedly revealed that as Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif ...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab... suggested the Pakistain government was ready to re-establish "normal relations" with the Pak Taliban as long as it did not conduct operations in Punjab. And there have been compromises within Punjab as well. In the run-up to the 2013 election there were widespread reports of a seat adjustment deal between the PML-N and ASWJ. Faced with criticism about these arrangements, some PML-N spokesmen did not issue a denial but argued instead that PPP exhibited a blatant double standard on the issue because it had done much the same thing in 2008.
Certainly, the PPP has on occasion helped hardliners. Given what happened in Islamabad in 2007, it is astonishing that, today, Abdul Aziz Ghazi is not only back in charge of the Lal Masjid ...literally the Red Mosque, located in Islamabad and frequented by all sorts of high govt officials. The proprietors, Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi, unleashed their Islamic storm troopers on the city, shutting down whorehouses and beating people up who weren't devout enough. The Musharraf govt put an end to the nonsense by besieging the place. Abdul Aziz Ghazi was nabbed while he was trying to escape dressed up like a girl. BBC reported that the corpse count at 173, but other claims, usually hysterical, say there were up to 1000 titzup. Among their number was Abdul Rashid Ghazi. Everyone then said tut-tut and what a nice guy he had been... but also drawing a state salary. As a recent independent documentary, Among the Believers, has recorded, it is not as if Abdul Aziz Ghazi has changed his view on the need to overthrow the government and impose Sharia: "if you think you can change us, forget it," he said.
And yet while Asif Ali Zardari was president the authorities not only oversaw the rehabilitation of Abdul Aziz Ghazi but went as far as offering him land for a new madressah on the edge of Islamabad. The idea, it seems, was that Lal Masjid needed to be compensated for the destruction it had brought upon itself.
These examples of civilian willingness to do business with violent jihadis suggest that they should not be taken too seriously when they criticise the army for doing much the same thing. Yet there is an important difference between the two. Ever since 1947-48, when the state connived in allowing Pakhtun rustics to go on jihad in Kashmire, the military has perceived the jihadis as a strategic asset that can help achieve various policy objectives. And some objectives have been achieved. The successful Mujahideen campaign against the Soviets in Afghanistan demonstrated that the violent jihadis can serve a purpose.
The politicians have different motives. Some are simply trying to protect themselves. After all, anyone extending favours to the jihadi leadership must calculate that there will be an improved chance that they won’t be the victim of an attack. But it’s not just a case of avoiding physical harm. There is also the grubby business of political advantage. Politicians on all sides have calculated that if securing power depends on reaching a deal with the religious hardliners then it’s a price well worth paying.
For millions of Paks who are not at the top of the various power structures, it might seem obvious enough that people who use violence to secure their objectives should be opposed. But most of those who have held power in Pakistain seem to have seen it differently. And while the military is often criticised for sponsoring jihadis, it’s only fair to point out that the politicians have themselves repeatedly appeased them.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2016
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A headquarter of the Taliban group was destroyed in an Arclight airstrike in southern Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province of Afghanistan along with a mine making factory of the group.
Local authorities in Helmand said the headquarter used by the Taliban was destroyed in Nad-e-Ali district during a special night operation conducted on Thursday night.
The authorities further added that the headquarter was destroyed after the Afghan forces conducted a surveillance operation that lasted for almost 72 hours to ascertain the exact location.
However the Talibs group has claimed that a prison run by the group was targeted in Arclight airstrikes carried out by the US forces.
According to a statement released by the Taliban group, at least 22 soldiers and coppers kept inside the prison were killed in the Arclight airstrikes.
But the authorities in Helmand deny the claims as baseless and said at least 24 holy warriors of the group were killed in the Arclight airstrikes.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) also confirmed 24 Taliban holy warriors were killed and 4 others were maimed in the Arclight airstrikes conducted around 1:30 am local time.
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08/27/2016
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#1
along with a baby-milk mine making factory of the group.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2016 11:49
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Aws al-Khafaji, head of the Iraqi militia group Abu al-Fadhl al-abbas, which is currently part of the country’s anti-ISIS Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), said the Saudi ambassador to Iraq Thamer al-Sabhan is a "wanted person" and it is an "honor for everyone if he was assassinated."
"The animosity of the Iraqi people towards Sabhan is obvious," he added in an interview with Wesal TV on Monday.
On Sunday, sources told the London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat with full details that Iran has plans to assassinate the ambassador and has commissioned Shiite militia groups to do so.
The envoy, Sabhan, meanwhile, told Al Arabiya net that despite liquidation threats from "sectarian radical groups," the embassy’s operations will continue.
"We will not stop our support to the Iraqi people. The Iraqi people deserve all the sacrifice and love. We will not only continue all our normal measures and tasks, but more than before," he said.
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08/27/2016
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[RUDAW.NET] Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) released on Friday a video depicting the killing of five Kurdish captives in Raqqa. They were executed by gunshot by five children soldiers dressed in military fatigues. The children appear to be of five different nationalities: British, Kurdish, Tunisian, Egyptian, and Uzbekistani.
In the video, ISIS said that the captives were Kurdish and had been executed in Raqqa, but did not provide further information of which part of Kurdistan they were from, when they were been taken held captive, or when they were killed.
They were reportedly killed in retaliation for recent Kurdish advances in Syria.
This is not the first time ISIS released such videos of the killing of captives. They routinely release videos of executions for propaganda purposes.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2016
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#1
kid "appeared to be of British nationality", did he?
Fair haired, freckles, answered to the name Nigel?
Posted by: Bov Flimbers ||
08/27/2016 18:46
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[Hurriyet] Turkish anti-terrorism officers on Aug. 26 detained 40 Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) suspects in the Central Anatolian province of Konya and the southern province of Adana, a police source has told the state-run Anadolu Agency.
According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, police also seized several documents from the suspects. Half of the suspects are being held in Konya and the other half are being held in Adana.
The move comes after the Turkish army and U.S.-led coalition forces launched military operations early on Aug. 24 in northern Syria to push ISIS away from territory on the border.
[Hurriyet] A mortar shell from Syrian territory landed in the Yayladagi district of the southern Turkish province of Hatay on Aug. 26, wounding three soldiers.
The maimed soldiers, who were patrolling on a field when the shell fell, were taken to a nearby hospital.
Sources say the shell likely came from festivities over the border between Syrian regime forces and local Turkmen forces.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/27/2016
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[Ynet] Following Israel-Turkey reconciliation agreement, business ties with Turkey, especially in the area of energy, are taking off with the arrival of Turkish energy executives; Energy Minister: ’We will strengthen economic relations in general and export Israeli natural gas to the Turkish market in the coming years.'
The reconciliation agreement between The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and Israel has begun to bear fruit as a delegation of Turkish businessmen, including Ahmed Zorlu--owner of Turkish energy giant "Zorlu" and a close associate of President Erdogan--is visiting Israel with the goal of strengthening business interests, particularly in the energy market.
The Zorlu family is one of the wealthiest in Turkey
...but no members will be arrested for Gulenist tendencies and their properties confiscated until after the energy deals have been signed...
and according to Israeli assessments, the visit would not be possible without the blessing of the Turkish authorities. As part of their visit, Zorlu officials met with Erez Halfon, Chairman of Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC) and Dorad power station.
Turkish Energy Minister, Berat Albayrak, who is married to President Erdogan's daughter, is believed to have carried out the president's policy in the area of energy and Israel.
Objectives: obtain access to Israeli technology and investment, secure a non-Russian source of natural gas, turn an enemy with access to American policy-makers into an ally.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/27/2016
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#1
Sounds Machiavellian. All Israel has to do is to not get stiffed by the Turkish govt. Good luck with that.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/27/2016 13:46
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The US Embassy in Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... has vowed support to Afghanistan in investigating and bringing the culprits of the deadly attack on the American University in Kabul.
"The U.S. Embassy stands ready to assist Afghan authorities with their continuing investigation in bringing those responsible to justice," a statement by the Embassy said
Condemning the attack on the university compound, the US Embassy said "The targeting of Afghan students and university staff who are working to improve the future of Afghanistan is a cruel and cowardly act."
"Our thoughts and prayers are with those killed and injured, as well as with the victims’ families, colleagues, and friends," said U.S. Ambassador P. Michael McKinley. "We remain strongly committed to the people of Afghanistan who are dedicated to establishing lasting peace and security and building the brightest possible future for their children."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2016
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... said they are "close" to a Syrian peace agreement after lengthy discussions at Geneva on Friday.
"I want to thank Foreign Minister Lavrov for joining me today...for what I would call a long but productive and constructive discussion," Kerry told news hounds.
"We literally stand on the brink of the Syrian regime and opposition parties going back to a state of all-out war, so needless to say the situation has dramatically deteriorated since the brief oasis of calm that followed the launch of the cessation of hostilities in February," he said.
"We are close, but as I have said...we’re not going to rush to an agreement until it meets fully the needs of the Syrian people," he continued
Lavrov emphasized that the opposition side in Syria to distance itself from terrorist groups.
"Without separating the sane forces in Syria from terrorists, I just do not see a solution for ending hostilities in this country," Lavrov said.
Kerry on the Kurdish issue however expressed that he does not support an independent Kurdish state. Lavrov however did add that Washington and Moscow agree that the Kurds will have an equal voice in the grinding of the peace processor.
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08/27/2016
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Lion of Islam Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Friday claimed a suicide kaboom on Turkish police in the southeastern town of Cizre that left 11 officers dead and maimed dozens more.
"Our sacrifice team staged a comprehensive action in Cizre that left dozens of police dead," said the PKK, which is known for exaggerating tolls.
In the statement on its website, it said the attack retaliated for the "continued isolation" of its tossed in the calaboose Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! leader Abdullah Ocalan and the "lack of information" about his whereabouts.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Not long after the Salafist tough guys of Liwaa Shuhada Al-Islam surrendered Darayya to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), the hard boyz in the nearby town of Mo’adhimiyah requested a similar deal from the Syrian government.
According to a military source in Damascus, the Salafist tough guys are requesting to be transported from the Mo’adhimiyah to an opposition area that is currently not under siege.
Mo’adhimiyah Al-Sham is currently under a ceasefire agreement that allows the Salafist tough guys to control the town in exchange for peace with the government forces.
However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... with the recent surrender of Darayya, the remaining Salafist tough guys in Mo’adhimiyah will be completely isolated, leaving them with no choice but to give up the town.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2016
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Eleven children were killed on Thursday in a barrel kaboom carried out by government forces on a rebel-held neighborhood of Syria’s Aleppo city, a monitor said.
"Fifteen civilians, among them 11 children, were killed in a barrel kaboom on the Bab al-Nayrab neighborhood" in the south of Aleppo city, the Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.
The group also reported eight civilians, including two children, were killed on Thursday in rebel fire on the government-held west of the city.
An AFP journalist in Bab al-Nayrab saw rescue workers and civilians digging through the rubble of collapsed buildings.
One man carried out the lifeless body of a baby no bigger than his forearm. Its eyes were closed and its body was white with dust except for speckles and smears of blood.
Nearby, a civil defense worker protected the face of another dead child as his colleagues scraped away the rubble encasing the rest of the child’s body.
Syria’s regime has been accused of regularly using barrel bombs - crude, bombs - on rebel-held areas that are home to civilians, and other parties to the conflict are not known to have used the weapons.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... and his government deny using barrel bombs.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2016
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... forces fired a significant number of rockets into the Jizan Region of 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... on Friday, destroying several armored vehicles that belonged to the Saudi Royal Army.
According to the Yemen-based "Al-Masirah News Agency," the Houthi rockets struck a Saudi military installation inside the Al-Souda Center of the Jizan Region, causing significant damage to the infrastructure.
The Houthi rocket strike was in response to the Saudi Royal Air Force conducting several Arclight airstrikes over the Saada and Sanaa governorates; these attacks killed a half dozen people on Thursday.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2016
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Ongoing deadly protests in Bolivia reached a new level on Thursday when the country's deputy interior minister was found dead after having been kidnapped by striking mineworkers, according to a local journalist.
The head of a mining radio station said Illanes had been found dead after being taken in Panduro, about 160 km (100 miles) outside of the capital of La Paz.The politician's death hasn't been confirmed by the government. However, a government spokesperson did say earlier that Illanes had been kidnapped and could possibly face torture at the hands of his captors.
The National Federation of Mining Cooperatives of Bolivia (FENCOMIN) began the strike to protest poor workers' conditions. The miners are demanding higher pay and greater union representation, among other things.
Three days ago the miners began blocking a highway, leading to clashes with police. Reuters news agency reported that at least one person was killed and dozens were injured during the clashes. FENCOMIN slammed authorities for an overuse of force, though police have denied charges of brutality. The deputy prime minister's murder might have been in response to the deaths of three miners during the protests.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Turkish forces will remain in Syria for as long as it takes to cleanse the border of ISIS and other bully boys, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Friday, after a truck bombing by Kurdish militia killed at least 11 coppers.
The suicide kaboom at a police headquarters in a province bordering Syria and Iraq came two days after The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... launched its first major military incursion into Syria, an operation meant to drive ISIS out of the border area and stop Kurdish militias from seizing ground in their wake.
Turkey, a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... member and part of the US-led coalition against ISIS, has seen a series of deadly bombings this year blamed on the radical Islamists. But it also fears Kurdish militias in Syria will seize a swathe of border territory and embolden Kurdish holy warriors on its own soil.
President Tayyip Erdogan said the bombing in Sirnak province would increase Turkey’s determination as it fights terrorist groups at home and abroad. Yildirim said there was no doubt the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy, was responsible.
"From the beginning we have been defending Turkey’s territorial integrity. We are also defending Syria’s territorial integrity. The aim of these terrorist organizations is... to form a state in these countries... They will never succeed," Yildirim told a news conference in Istanbul.
"We will continue our operations (in Syria) until we fully guarantee security of life and property for our citizens and the security of our border. We will continue until ISIS (ISIS) and other terrorist elements are taken out."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2016
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"We shall fight until there are no more Kurds"?
[AnNahar]. Iran's intelligence minister says security officers have investigated more than 1,500 young men at risk of being recruited by the bully boyIslamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency on Friday quoted Mahmoud Ali as saying that his department has summoned for questioning, detained or talked with the young people to stop them from joining IS.
Alavi didn't elaborate but says his officers are closely watching those who show an inclination toward joining the bully boy group fighting in Iraq and Syria.
In recent months, Iran has executed or killed dozens of bully boy Islamic "terrorists" in festivities in the country's western regions.
In June, Iran claimed breaking up one of the "biggest terrorist plots" ever on its soil by Sunni turbans planning bombings in Tehran and elsewhere.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/27/2016
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Yes, far better that they're IRGC volunteers in Syria.
[DAILYTIMES.PK] KARACHI: A front man of the paramilitary force revealed that Rangers have announced a reward amount of Rs 5 million for chief of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ... al-Alami Syed Safdar on Thursday (today).
The bounty has been set for any kind of information that could lead to the arrest of the chief of the banned outfit.
Syed Safdar, who is a runaway, is the chief of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami which has been accused of carrying out Lion of Islam activities in Pakistain.
The paramilitary front man stated that Syed Safdar alias Yousuf Khorasani was the chief of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and his associates are terrorists. The information to the paramilitary force for the arrest of the outlaw and his accomplices will be awarded the head money.
For this, important information leading to the arrest of Safdar or his accomplices could be shared on the Rangers' WhatsApp number or an email can also be written to the paramilitary force.
The Rangers' spokesperson guaranteed that the name of the person who provided the information of the notorious outlaw, will be protected and kept confidential due to security reasons.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2016
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[AnNahar]. Canadian twin brothers who had hoped to join the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (IS) group pleaded guilty to "terrorism" offenses and were sentenced on Friday to prison terms, prosecutors announced.
The brothers, Ashton and Carlos Larmond, both 25, received sentences of 17 and seven years, respectively.
A third man, Suliman Mohammed, 23, faces a seven-year term for conspiring with the twins.
In court, prosecutor Douglas Curliss described Ashton as the "organizer and director" of an unspecified krazed killer plot.
Police alleged that he had urged others to wage jihad after his mother alerted the authorities of his plan to travel to Syria to join the IS group in 2013 and the government revoked his passport.
Later, on the day in October 2014 when a gunman rubbed out a ceremonial guard and attempted to storm the parliament building in Ottawa, Ashton allegedly bragged to an undercover agent that he had "bigger plans."
Within hours of his arrest in January 2015 after a lengthy investigation, his brother Carlos was apprehended as he boarded a flight at Montreal's international airport.
Carlos acknowledged in court that he was planning to join the IS group in Syria.
At the time of their arrest, the trio were presented by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as an krazed killer "cluster."
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/27/2016
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You just wait until CSIS gets home tonight and I tell him what you've been doing!
[DAWN] KARACHI: Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) leader Faisal Vawda's vehicle came under fire on Friday in the Delhi Colony area of the city, local media reported.
"Unknown assailants opened fire on my car upon which my guards retaliated," Vawda told DawnNews.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the incident and requested a report from Inspector-General Police (IGP) A.D. Khawaja.
"Total six bullets were fired at the car," said senior PTI leader Imran Ismail, adding that the gunnies were just a few metres away from the car.
"The gunnies opened fire on Vawda from his side and then I was fired upon from the opposite side. I told Vawda to 'accelerate the car, we're under attack'."
Both Vawda and Ismail escaped unhurt.
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08/27/2016
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[DAWN] KARACHI: Police on Friday tossed in the slammer You have the right to remain silent... three women workers of Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... over charges of their alleged involvement in arson attacks on private media houses located in Zainab Market on August 22, said a police brass hat.
Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... -South Investigation SSP Adeel Hussain Chandio told Dawn that the police arrested Sumera from Burns Road, she was affiliated with the party’s sector there.
The officer added that two more suspects, identified as Rabia Bibi and Quratul Ain alias Ainee, were arrested from Defence area.
Rabia was joint secretary of MQM’s women wing while Ainee, who is Rabia’s daughter, was the local body’s councilor, said the SSP Investigation.
Violent protesters including women had attacked the ARY News office located in the Saddar area of the metropolis, which resulted in clash between police and the angry mob -- killing one person and injuring several others.
Police later confirmed that "MQM workers pelted stones at police officials and the ARY office", adding that they also resorted to gun sex outside the office.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Philippine commandos killed 11 Islamist Death Eaters on a remote southern island on Friday, an army front man said, stepping up the offensive after President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated his aim to "destroy" one of Asia’s most notorious kidnap gangs.
Major Filemon Tan said dozens of Abu Sayyaf ...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... rebels, a small but brutal group affiliated with ISIS Death Eaters in Iraq and Syria, were also maimed in the 45-minute shootout in the jungle of Jolo island.
Seventeen commandos were maimed, Tan said, adding the soldiers clashed with about 100 Abu Sayyaf Death Eaters holding about 20 hostages, including eight Indonesians, five Malaysians, a Norwegian and a Dutch national.
"The mission is clear. Seek and destroy the Abu Sayyaf," Tan told news hounds. "By all means, that’s what we are doing and we will not stop until it’s done."
The Abu Sayyaf has dogged successive Philippine governments, entrenching its network with vast sums of ransom money in what has become one of Asia’s most lucrative kidnap rackets.
Security experts say the rebels are motivated less by Islamist ideology and more by the tens of millions of dollars from kidnappings.
Two Canadians were executed this year by the Abu Sayyaf. Last week, two Indonesians escaped captivity but there was speculation the Abu Sayyaf freed them after their families paid their ransoms.
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[DAWN] COULD he have been joking? Maybe, there was an element of irony or cynicism in his comments about the hegemony of privilege. But the more we analyse media reports of a Senate meeting on Thursday, the clearer it becomes that the august member of the upper house Sardar Yaqoob Khan Nasar was not in a jovial mood. Nor can his remarks be seen as an attempt at bringing out the disparity between the poverty-stricken and the privileged strata. His was an earnest evaluation as he saw it from his perch that, fortunately for him, exists at a considerable distance from the homes of the poor. Only complete ignorance on his part can explain the nonchalance that his words conveyed.
Sardar Nasar appears to think that if everyone were to become rich there would be no one to labour and till the land -- this is far from an original assertion but always a timely one. According to the reports, he was ready to stand his ground as some of his colleagues in the house tried to make him take a more balanced and politically correct view of the issue. Maybe he will be brought around to accepting their advice and eventually concede that he had been indiscreet. That would be desirable for the system but even if that does not happen, some merit can be found in the senator’s comments. By speaking his mind he did provide a more realistic measure of the problem that those who have been struggling for various kinds of equalities continue to face. Such reality checks are perhaps necessary from time to time. They are better than having 10 revered personalities debating just how cruel the world is to the underprivileged, while being convinced deep down that their speeches are not likely to change the status quo and create an impression about a benevolent world where none exists. One can thank the senator for reminding us of a mindset that will continue to hold society back.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2016
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[Hurriyet] Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Aug. 26 denounced as a "bare-faced lie" suggestions in Western media that Ankara’s military operation in Syria was singling out Kurdish groups rather than jihadists.
Yildirim has slammed German news magazine Der Spiegel over a report suggesting that Ankara was equally targeting the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the military operation launched against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) jihadist group in Syria’s Jarablus, calling it a "bare-faced lie."
"This magazine [Der Spiegel] is probably living on another planet. Either it is unaware of what is going on around or it made reporting bare-faced lies its own business," Yildirim said while speaking at a presser with Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borissov in Istanbul.
The premier also criticized the magazine’s claims of a long-term occupation of Syrian territory was in plan with the joint Euphrates Shield military operation by coalition forces.
The premier also criticized the magazine’s claims of a long-term occupation of Syrian territory was in plan with the joint Euphrates Shield military operation by coalition forces.
"On one hand, you will make false claims that The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... remains weak in the fight against ISIS and on the other hand you will report like that when it advances on ISIS and saves the lives of innocent people. I am not buying that. Those have no rhyme or reason. The duty of our soldiers is to provide security for our borders and guarantee life and property security for our citizens. The news apart from that is just a lie," he said.
Ankara has said it will act in the operation against the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed-wing YPG, which Turkey regards as terror groups who represent neither the Kurdish nor the Syrian people. The YPG is an ally of the United States in the fight against ISIS but Ankara argues this is a dangerous error.
Yildirim’s remarks came a day after Turkish troops fired on YPG Death Eaters in northern Syria. A Turkish security source said the army shelled the YPG south of Jarablus. The state-run Anadolu Agency described the action as warning shots.
Some of the blasts were triggered as Turkish security forces cleared mines and booby traps left by retreating ISIS bad boys, according to Nuh Kocaaslan, the mayor of Karkamis, which sits just across the border from Jarablus. He said three Turkish-backed Syrian rebels were killed but no Turkish troops.
Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said the PYD wanted to unite Kurdish-controlled cantons east of Jarablus with those further west. "We cannot let this happen," he told NTV. "ISIS should be completely cleansed, this is an absolute must. But it’s not enough for us ... The PYD and the YPG should not replace ISIS there."
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[Hurriyet] The political party of Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders,
...actually, he is a standard social democrat with this single kink...
which is leading polls ahead of parliamentary elections next year, has vowed to close mosques and "ban the Koran" in its manifesto.
"All mosques and Islamic schools closed, a ban on the Koran," said the document outlining the electoral program of the Freedom Party (PVV) ahead of March 2017 legislative elections, which was posted on Wilders’ Twitter feed on Aug. 25.
The PVV says it will reverse the "Islamization" of the country with a range of measures including closing the borders, shutting asylum seeker centers, banning migrants colonists from Islamic countries and stopping Moslem women from wearing the headscarf in public.
On the back of Europe’s migrant crisis, opinion polls have for months given Wilders’ PVV the edge over the current coalition parties of the Labor Party and the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Late last year polls predicted soaring support for the PVV saying it could gain as many as 38 seats in the 150-seat parliament. But that has slipped back. In August, a poll from Ipsos gave it 28 seats -- still way up on the 12 it currently has.
The immigrant crisis has polarized the Netherlands, a nation of 17 million people, leading to heated debate and some attacks on refugee centers.
Wilders, who will go on trial for inciting racial hatred in October,
Again? Is this the third time, or the fourth? They never win, he enjoys the government-provided pulpit, and each time he persuades more that he is correct...
also said he would do all he could to hold a referendum on the Netherlands leaving the EU, despite an unsuccessful first attempt in June following Britannia’s shock Brexit vote.
His party has also pledged to cut all foreign aid while boosting funding for police and security.
[IsraelTimes] France’s highest administrative court on Friday suspended a controversial ban on the burkini by a French Riviera town after it was challenged by rights groups.
In a judgement expected to set a precedent, the State Council ruled that local authorities could only restrict individual liberties if wearing the Islamic swimsuit was a “proven risk” to public order. The judges said there was no such risk in the case before the court concerning Villeneuve-Loubet, one of around 30 towns to have introduced the bans. A court in Nice had upheld the Villeneuve-Loubet ban this week.
[AlAhram] Several mayors in southeast France on Friday said they would maintain their bans on the Islamic burkini swimsuit despite a ruling by France's highest administrative court to suspend the measures.
Town hall authorities in Nice said the mayor would continue to fine women wearing burkinis while the mayor of nearby Frejus, David Rachline, told AFP that "the Frejus order is still valid."
[Ynet] The new requirements from the French government come following a string of extremist attacks in the country, and in Europe at large. "It's not a question of succumbing to panic or into paranoia, but simply to face our responsibilities," said Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem.
French schools will now hold three security drills a year — including one in which an alleged assailant enters their premises — as the French government ramps up security measures after a string of deadly extremist attacks.
Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced a series of measures Wednesday to improve how French schools and children handle terror threats.
Students will be taught how to hide or to escape, depending on the situation and where they are. All students aged 13-14 and class representatives will also get a basic training on life-saving measures. Vallaud-Belkacem said, as of now, only 30 percent of students are trained. In pre-school and kindergarten, for children aged 2 to 6, no mention of an attack or a danger should be made but children must be taught to hide and keep quiet through games, Vallaud-Belkacem said.
[IsraelTimes] Soldiers fire on alleged terrorist who refused to stop after running at guard post near Silwad; no soldiers injured in incident
A Paleostinian man was rubbed out by IDF troops Friday morning when he ran toward a guard post near the West Bank settlement of Ofra, north of Ramallah.
The IDF said it appeared that the suspect was not armed when he approached the guard post near the adjacent Paleostinian village of Silwad. He did not heed the soldiers’ repeated orders to halt and was shot, Army Radio reported.
Channel 2 reported on Friday evening that the Paleostinian was being described by security forces as a terrorist. It noted that Israel ordered a security alert earlier in the week amid reports that a Paleostinian suspect had disappeared from his home having said he intended to carry out a terror attack, and that the security alert was cancelled on Friday morning.
A senior Paleostinian official later named the man as Iyad Hamad, 38, and said he suffered from mental illness and was unarmed, Channel 2 said. Paleostinian media reported that the man, identified as 38-year-old Ziad Zakaria Hamed, died after suffering a critical gunshot wound.
According to the IDF, troops stationed outside Silwad identified a suspect running toward them and opened fire, killing him. The details of the case are being investigated, an army spokesperson said. No Israeli soldiers were maimed.
[IsraelTimes] An Israeli soldier was lightly injured Wednesday in a stabbing attack in the northern West Bank, while his attacker was shot dead, the army said.
The injured soldier was among a group of troops chasing Palestinians who had thrown rocks from their car at passing vehicles near the Yitzhar settlement. One of the Palestinians exited their vehicle and stabbed the soldier. The injured soldier then shot and killed the assailant, the army said in a statement. The soldier was taken to a hospital for treatment. The identity of the assailant was not immediately clear.
Earlier on Wednesday, Border Police arrested a Palestinian woman in possession of a knife near the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, a police spokesperson said. She was handed over to security forces for questioning, police said.
[Ynet] An 18-year-old man from Kfar Qassem was arrested after calling the Israel Police's emergency hotline and saying he intended to commit a terrorist attack at a police station. The suspect admitted to the act in questioning, citing anger as his motivation. He was remanded to house arrest for a period of three days.
#5
While dressing one day in Hyères,
She steadied herself on a chair.
The fellas next century
Were so complimentary...
"You fools never care what we wear!"
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] In his foreword in Fouad Ajami’s book "The Syrian Rebellion," Charles Hill, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, quotes historian Arnold Toynbee as saying: "Syria is the roundabout in which all the forces face one another and spin off consequences - for good or ill ‐ around the compass."
The photos of Omran Daqneesh and Aylan Kurdi, and the diplomatic chaos that has accompanied developments in Syria, have become the topic of prominent American intellectuals and observers. Ajami has criticized the White House’s tiredness, and considers the administration of President Barack Obama The point I was making was not that Grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn’t. But she is a typical white person... "hopeless" because there is no international community without a US role.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2016
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#1
When isolationism dominates upcoming US policy, and when the necessity to intervene is ignored, there will be more regional unrest.
You are damned if you do and damned if you don't. With an 18 Trillion dollar debt to make you all play nice, it's not possible anymore. Go ask the Chinese for help (heh).
#2
I may disagree with a number of Trump's positions but he is spot on with one thing. Moving forward the US should only support the countries and organizations that openly support the US in kind. And that starts with so-called friends and allies.
Pic at the link is priceless, just needs the "Ma-cho ma-cho man" soundtrack...
Fighters with the Somalia-based Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab have staged an ambush raid on Somali government troops near Wajid district in Bakol region.
A witness told Radio Shabelle the attack occurred in the outskirts of the city as Somali troops were in security patrol.
Friday’s ambush attack has ignited a gunfight between the Al shabaab fighters and SNA – Somali National Army forces that raged on for several hours. There was no any report on the casualties on both sides due to the remoteness of the area and poor phone networks.
Today’s clash near Wajid comes day after deadly battle between Al Shabaab and Somali troops, along with AMISOM soldiers at Moro-Gabey village near Hudur, the regional capital of Bakol.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/27/2016
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[AlAhram] Egypt's military said it has foiled an attempted attack Friday on a military outpost in North Sinai, where it is battling an Islamist insurgency.
Four bully boyz were killed when forces opened fire on bully boyz attempting to attack the outpost in Rafah, the army said in a statement.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The United States is increasingly concerned about supposed training by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) for the Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... rebels in Yemen, where they continue to make territorial gains in 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... despite Arclight airstrikes its neighbor.
U.S. officials concluded without providing evidence that the IRGC are providing training and equipment to the Houthis.
The U.S. officials in question spoke in anonymity.
Saudi Arabia also expressed its view that not only Iran, but also Hezbollah, are providing training and arms to the Houthis.
"We see ... Iran playing a large role in supporting the Houthis," Saudi ambassador to Washington Adel al-Jubeir told news hounds on Thursday.
"There are Iranian advisers advising them and Hezbollah operatives advising them," Jubeir said.
Asked about Jubeir’s accusations on Friday, White House front man Josh Earnest told news hounds: "We’ve expressed our previous concerns about the destabilizing impact that Iran is having on this particular situation. We continue to have those concerns."
A Houthi official told Rooters on Thursday that the group was prepared to confront the Saudi-led Arclight airstrikes without calling on Iran’s help.
"The Yemeni people are prepared to face this aggression without any foreign interference," said Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a Houthi politburo official.
The Saudis "cannot accept the idea of an Iranian-backed regime in control of Yemen, which is why they felt compelled to intervene the way they have," British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Friday during a visit to Washington.
"It’s no secret," he said, that the Iranians "are providing assistance and support to the Houthis, both political as well as militarily, as well as economic."
"The first thing the Houthis did when they entered and occupied Sanaa was to free Iranian Revolutionary Guards operatives and Hezbollah operatives from the jails," he said.
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Linus Guardian Escandor II knew what was coming. The station, AM 594 kHz, would report a summary execution. He would squeeze into a pickup truck with four other photojournalists, speed through Manila to some rain-slicked slum or dark alley and arrive while the bodies still lay in the streets.
Their hands would likely be tied, their faces wrapped in tape, blood flowing from bullet wounds in their heads and chests.
For more than a month, the scene has played out every night — often twice a night, sometimes more. But on this Thursday morning at 2 a.m., it hadn’t yet — so Escandor, a 37-year-old freelance photographer, sat in the press room at Manila’s police headquarters with about a dozen other photojournalists, the TV on mute, just listening to the radio crackle.
“In the morning, if you shoot dead people, it's gory, but at night it’s almost beautiful,” he said, clicking through photos on his laptop. “You can hide the blood, because of the shadows. It's psychedelic, the colors.”
If you shoot dead people, it's gory, but at night it's almost beautiful. You can hide the blood, because of the shadows. It's psychedelic, the colors.
As promised in his election campaign, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is waging a war against drugs, with a shoot-to-kill policy for suspected criminals. Since his inauguration on June 30, the bodies have been piling up, alarming human rights advocates. Photojournalist Linus Guardian Escandor II has documented the killings.
When Escandor began working the graveyard shift in 2014, he mainly covered fires and car accidents. Then, this June, Rodrigo Duterte came to power as president of the Philippines. Duterte, a tough-talking, 71-year-old former mayor of the southern city of Davao, had campaigned on promises to eradicate the country’s drug problem within six months.
He vowed to let nothing stand in his way — not his opposition, not human rights, not due process.
"Please feel free to call us, the police, or do it yourself if you have the gun — you have my support," he said on June 6, in a nationally televised address. "Shoot [the drug dealer] and I'll give you a medal."
Since Duterte was inaugurated on June 30, the bodies have been piling up. About 1,900 people have been killed, according to local media, the vast majority of them poor. Among them, more than half were executed by vigilantes, often gunmen on motorcycles. The rest were killed by police.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/27/2016 9:43
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#2
Maybe this is just what happens when the justice system and law enforcement are either overwhelmed or corrupted. If the police and judiciary can't cope it becomes a real war with the survival of the nation at stake. Somehow the government has to get a grip on the situation or else it becomes a failed narco state.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
08/27/2016 11:55
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An unidentified armed group shot at and raided a European rescue boat off the coast of Libya, it has emerged, raising questions over the viability of refugee rescue operations in the southern Mediterranean.
On 17 August an unidentified speedboat fired at the Bourbon Argos, a rescue boat chartered by Médecins Sans Frontières, hitting the window of the bridge shortly after 9.30am. The MSF team managed to retreat to the ship’s safe room before the armed men boarded the Argos. Unable to reach the crew, the intruders then left after an estimated 50 minutes without taking anyone or anything, and without giving any concrete indication of why they had come.
Remember, these folks are grateful for all the help...
However, prior to their arrival, the attackers appeared to be shooting to kill, said Stefano Argenziano, operations coordinator for the MSF mission. “[We speculate that] They were not warning shots,” he said. “There were a number of bullets shot at us from a distance – with an intention, we believe, to harm and potentially kill.
That's generally what it means when people are shooting at you; particularly the 'kill' part, with no 'potential' about it...
We received at least 13 bullets, hitting different parts of the bridge. People who were on the bridge, the command-and-control part of the ship, could have been killed or seriously harmed.”
In a statement, MSF said: “MSF believes that the intruders aimed to physically harm the Bourbon Argos’s staff but thanks to the sound security procedures enacted, all team members were safe. Nothing was taken during the incident and the damage to the ship was only minimal.”
The group added: “MSF strongly condemns this shameful act towards a humanitarian organisation rescuing and delivering lifesaving medical care to those crossing the central Mediterranean Sea.”
MSF has rescued more than 25,000 refugees from the southern Mediterranean over the past two years, and currently has three different boats operating off the coast of Libya. MSF said it was still assessing who might have been behind the raid, and analysts agreed it was hard to pinpoint who was responsible, given the complexity of Libya’s civil war.
The attackers seemed surprisingly well trained and well equipped, suggesting they came from some of Libya’s better-organised factions. “These were professionals, they were not just random fishermen,” said Argenziano. “They were trained in military tactics and [in the] use of weapons.”
There are dozens of militias operating along the Libyan coast, as well as special forces from several European countries including the UK, making identification difficult. Some militias are actively involved in the smuggling business, while others have tried to stop it – most effectively in the smuggling hub of Zuwara, where a masked militia is said to have forced most migrant smugglers to either down tools or switch to fuel smuggling.
Anas El Gomati, the director of the Libyan thinktank the Sadeq Institute, said it was unlikely that Islamic State, which is losing a battle for territory in central Libya, was behind the attack. “You can never rule out Isis, but it doesn’t have the signature PR [follow-up] that Isis goes for when they do these kinds of operations,” said El Gomati. “It also seems beyond Isis’s current capacities, given they are wedged into a war in central Libya.”
Argenziano said MSF would now spend two weeks assessing the situation before deciding on what long-term steps to take, but stressed that MSF’s commitment to lifesaving operations remained unchanged. “It is important to stress that we are an organisation specialised in working in emergencies and highly insecure contexts,” he said.
But Argenziano ruled out working under the direct protection of the European navies operating in the area, citing MSF’s history of acting independently of state actors. He also questioned the role of the naval operations, which are first and foremost meant to be anti-smuggling missions aimed at deterring future migration across the Mediterranean. “Is the deterrent bringing any of the intended results?” said Argenziano. “People keep on dying in large numbers, while the [arrival] numbers are not going down.”
It's not like your group is having that big of an effect, and there are at least a few folks who don't appear to appreciate your effort. Is that going to stop you?
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
In a statement, MSF said: “MSF believes that the intruders aimed to physically harm the Bourbon Argos’s staff but thanks to the sound security procedures enacted, all team members were safe. Nothing was taken during the incident and the damage to the ship was only minimal.”
Horsefeathers! They were doing a fast in-and-out raid for hostages to hold for ransom.
Two men from the IED cell padded silently down the road. Abdul and Roshanullah had two 107mm rocket warheads, a cell-phone detonator, and detailed instructions, including a sketch map of their emplacement point. The rest of their cell waited for them to return.
At a point where the road crossed a filled area, the two HIG men — many Afghans changed allegiances more frequently than their shalwar kameez, but once you were Gulbuddin Hekmatayar’s man, you were always Gulbuddin’s man — slipped down the side of the fill to the mouth of the culvert. This one hadn’t been fitted with a grating yet, but even if it had, they had been prepared.
There was just enough starlight for Abdul to see Roshan’s grin. This was going to be easy! First, the blessing: “Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem,” In the Name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful…
High on a hill facing the culvert, nearly half a mile away, a sniper team leader whispered, “Send ’em.”
The wind was fortuitously towards the hill, and at the culvert, all that there was to hear was the thwack of bullet impacts. Then one of the men — Roshanullah, not grinning any more — groaned and moved.
Thwack.
All was still.
An hour before sunrise it was visibly getting light in the valley, and the five armed men who came down the road moved from cover to cover, nervously. They were breaking every tactical rule that had kept them alive this long, but their leader wanted to lay his own eyes and hands on the IED team.
They all died within the span of one and a half seconds. With five targets, both snipers, the spotters, and the team leader had all taken one. That was breaking a tactical rule too, but the difference was, the rulebreaking worked for the ISAF snipers. They recovered their 360º observation as soon as the shots were sent, also.
The team met the road clearance unit for a ride into the FOB. Intelligence collected from the dead laid bare the workings of the cell, and the telephone carried by the deceased IED cell leader allowed the Afghan NDS to identify two key HIG facilitators; one fled to Peshawar and the protection of ISI, but the other was reputed to be singing like a canary.
It was a successful operation until the Staff Judge Advocate spoke up, taking, as usual, the side of the enemy, and demanded the snipers be charged with war crimes — for shooting armed unlawful combatants carrying out combat operations!
Believe it or not, Army lawyers have defined this tactic as a “baited ambush” and have worked hard, if not to make it a “war crime,” at least to create a grey area in which it is the slightly less felonious “violation of the laws of war” and possibly a “war crime.” Lawyers, of course, love grey areas which take decisions out of the hands of decision-makers and deliver them, instead, to the captivity of cabals of, what else, lawyers.
For example, Army judge advocate LTC Chris Jenks — clearly, from his writing, the sort of SJA who joined the Army for personal gain, hostile to the guys with guns who make up the actual Army part of the Army — wrote in The Army Lawyer1 that this tactic “comes close to, if not enters, the law of war violation continuum….”2
Certainly this is an example of why it is impossible to win a war without first staking out the enemy’s fifth columnists, to wit, about 95% of SJAs, on culverts like the ones in our hypothetical, and letting the enemy have their way with them.
Jenks also doesn’t think the troops should enjoy a victory: More at the link The judge advocate should be required to spend some time on convoy duty...
#2
I bet he couldn't specify which law of war was actually violated, and is depending on an examination of a penumbra of a lump of pity the pulled out of his behind.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/27/2016 8:39
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#3
Most of the Army lawyers I know are conservative - Jenks is an fobbit aberraton. Next posting - 9 months of convoy commander duty - front truck.
#4
I witnessed an almost identical situation south of Kandahar. Stay-behind sniper team took out two armed border crosser's on a yes....red honda motorbike.
High-fives, sharing of fotos, and much frivolity in the TOC. Not so much the next day when an 06 helo'd in for a 3 day visit to collect over 30 sworn statements.
That was the last of the stay-behind missions. Sojurs don't like discussing such matters with 06's or signing sworn statements. Both the brigade and battalion commanders clearly got the message.
[AlAhram] China's military will provide training for Syrian armed forces, a front man for Beijing's defence ministry said Thursday, adding it would take place on Chinese soil.
Beijing is a longstanding backer of the Syrian government of Bashir al-Assad, which has engaged in a bloody war that has left more than 290,000 people dead and displaced millions since it began in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations.
Last week senior Chinese military official Guan Youfei met with Syria's defence minister in Damascus and said he wanted closer military ties with the Syrian government, state media reported.
"The Chinese military will provide the Syrian side with medical and nursing professional training," defence ministry front man Wu Qian told news hounds at a monthly briefing.
The training would take place in China, he added, and was intended "to ease the humanitarian crisis in Syria".
The Chinese military has already provided Syrian authorities with medical equipment and medicines "to help reduce the humanitarian suffering of the Syrian people", Wu said.
"For a long period of time, China and Syria have helped each other. And China has been pushing for a political solution of the Syrian conflict and we have always supported the independence of Syria," he added.
[IsraelTimes] Syrian opposition figures said Israeli warplanes struck targets belonging to the Shiite terror group Hezbollah in the Qalamoun Mountains along the Syria-Leb border, on Wednesday, according to Hebrew news sites citing Arab media.
The reports gave few details, saying only that the targets had been hit from the sky three times.
The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday night it "will not comment" on the reports of a strike in Syria.
A Twitter account linked to Hezbollah denied that there had been any attack on its headquarters in Qalamoun.
The Qalamoun range is considered a key stronghold for Hezbollah, linking Damascus to eastern Leb, and is suspected to be used as a supply route for arms transfers between the regime and Hezbollah, which is fighting alongside Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... ’s forces.
Earlier this month, Lebanese media reported Israel struck a weapons convoy of four trucks belonging to Hezbollah near Maarba, north of Damascus. No one was killed in the August 4 air strike, according to the Mulhak news website. An IDF spokesperson at the time declined to comment on the report.
Since the start of the Syrian civil war five years ago, a number of Arclight airstrikes in Syria have been attributed to Israel.
Hezbollah has thousands of fighters in Syria, providing military might to help Assad’s regime put down the insurgency.
U.S. and Japanese experts believe that North Korea is developing a new submarine even bigger than the 2,000-ton it now uses for the launch of ballistic missiles, the website 38 North said Thursday.
Military boffin Joseph Bermudez, whose information is usually sound, told a conference hosted by 38 North that the North seems to have started building a new bigger submarine. He also said the submarine-launched ballistic missile the North fired from the East Sea on Wednesday was launched directly from a submarine, not from a barge as some reports speculated.
How could he tell? I'm genuinely curious...
"Assuming the current rate of development, while North Korea still faces significant technological challenges including building a new class of submarine to carry the missile, it is on track to develop the capability to strike targets in the region -- including Japan -- by 2020," the website said.
Meanwhile, the Asahi Shimbun reported that the North could even deploy SLBMs warfare-ready this year. It said Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo believe the North will make haste to build a nuclear-powered submarine from which it can strike the U.S. mainland.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/27/2016
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Orbital spectroscopy data may have revealed different fuel mix. 'Some' underwater launches involve an initial compressed air burst, the missile doesn't ignite until it breaches the sea/air barrier. In such cases there is a visual plume of sea water vapor preceding ignition.
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.
"Nancy Malone, a spokeswoman for the American Red 
Aspen Healthcare, 
[Wash Times] The largest union representing New York City police officers has awarded its Man of the Year honor to an outspoken black conservative and supporter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Trump and Mike Pence talking to flood victims. Fellow in the upper right in the olive coloured shirt - Franklin Graham. Another 'enemy' of the State, who generally likes to keep a somewhat low profile. 
[LI] The "Movement for Black Lives," a coalition of approximately 50 Black Lives Matter groups, recently issued a policy platform which raised issues such as mass incarceration, policing, and other issues of importance.
[PJ Media] Target is launching a first-of-its-kind one-day sale to try and boost back-to-school shopper traffic amid a boycott over its bathroom policy. The retailer is offering a 10% discount on everything in its stores and online on Sunday. Target is calling the event #TargetRunDay.
the 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Hurriyet] Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Aug. 26 denounced as a "bare-faced lie" suggestions in Western media that Ankara’s military operation in Syria was singling out Kurdish groups rather than jihadists.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The United States is increasingly concerned about supposed training by Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) for the 
Ref #4, a bit of trivia. Type of rifle that made the shots. In excess of 350m on moving targets, in near darkness by the way. (stock photo) 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
