"His motives were unclear"
A driver screaming "Allahu Akbar!" (Arabic for "God is great") appeared to deliberately mow down about a dozen pedestrians in the French city of Dijon before being arrested on Sunday, officials said.
The driver, who was in his forties, hit groups of pedestrians in five parts of the eastern city before being arrested, a spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior said on French television. Eleven people in all were injured, two of them seriously, officials said.
According to testimonies on the scene, the driver also invoked "the children of Palestine"' to explain his actions, the ministry's spokesman said. France's Interior Ministry Spokesman Pierre Henry Brandet said "the man acted alone," and that the suspect was known to police for crimes committed in the 1990s. A day earlier, French police in a Tours suburb shot and killed a man also shouting "Allahu Akbar" who had stabbed and wounded three officers in a police station. "we're investigating his motives"
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/23/2015
09:35 ||
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#1
"All terrorism is the same. Now if only we could find some terrorists other than Muslims . . . ."
#2
A day earlier, French police in a Tours suburb shot and killed a man also shouting "Allahu Akbar" who had stabbed and wounded three officers in a police station.
#4
It is true that not all Muslims are terrorists. However, virtually all terrorists are Muslim.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/23/2015 11:56
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#5
Keep pushing, you bastards, and you'll find the Germans are not the only ones capable of a holocaust.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/23/2015 11:58
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#6
That is a good argument for the shutting down of travel from Islamic countries where there is radical Islamic terrorism for awhile. That should give the Western countries time to know who they have in-country and clean up their domestic terrorism problem.
#7
U.S. officials prevented a British Muslim family from flying to Disneyland for a planned holiday.
"Creasy’s office told ...She complained that officials who kept the family — two brothers and their nine children — from boarding provided no information and said she had hit “a brick wall” seeking information about the case."
h/t Instapundit
...It is clear that many Republicans and a lot of conservatives even to this moment do not really understand what we're up against and what we have been up against for seven years. As far as they're concerned, it's just liberalism, and we face here an intellectual debate and challenge in the arena of ideas, and our task is nothing more than convincing the American people that our ideas are superior to theirs.
...I mean, the evidence is staring in the face, more so each and every day. My quote/unquote "problem" is I knew it before Obama was even inaugurated what was coming down the pike. I knew what his purpose with Obamacare was. I knew when he threw the Winston Churchill bust the Oval Office. I knew when I listened to tapes of Obama talking to his buddies in 2002, 2005, 2006. I knew what he thought of this country: Unjust, immoral, should not have existed, not a legitimate superpower, there's no such thing as American exceptionalism.
That, folks, is not just the average, ordinary serving up of liberalism that we debate every day.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump used a vulgar Yiddish to describe Hillary Clinton's loss to Barack Obama for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination and then poked fun at her taking a bathroom break during a debate.
Trump's off-color comments about the Democratic front-runner at a campaign appearance on Monday night came a day after he called Clinton a liar for saying his proposal to ban entry of all foreign Muslims to the United States has aided Islamic State's propaganda efforts.
"She was going to beat Obama," Trump said of Clinton in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "... She was going to beat - she was favored to win - and she got schlonged. She lost. She lost."
"Schlong" is a Yiddish slang term for a man's genitals.
#1
They forgot to report maxed out the place. Media bias at work here and abroad. Hillary has a much sharper tongue. She probably had to change her depends on that bathroom break. Good to see her get some of the hind end.
#3
This is just another distraction from the fact that Hillary had trouble changing her diaper during the debate. If a Republican was late from the break there would be rapid speculation about prostate cancer, Alzheimer's....
Yiddish shlang, literally, snake, from Middle High German slange, from Old High German " Modern urban street use penis. Putz better but I am just a smuk, oy vay.
#5
It has been my experience that women in an office environment refer to men many times as "dicks". I can see Hillary using that word myself. Well, use of vulgar language is supposed to be a sign of intelligence these days.
#6
Hillary is a vile creature who will use any means to achieve her ends--namely unbridled power. A guy like Romney was too nice to win; he didn't not have a sense for the juggler or for winning. He wouldn't take the fight to the opponent. Trump will carry the fight and possible win and that has everyone in both parties and the media scared to death. Trump is a bit rough but seems to be authentic and speaks his mind; what is on his mind also seems to be what's on the minds of many voters.
#10
As opposed to Bill Clinton who used his actual schlong in all kinds of inappropriate ways instead of just using the word.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/23/2015 12:04
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#11
What we see here is a revolution, American style. We the people are fed up with our leaders, we want change, transparency, honesty. We still love the constitution, democracy, and freedom. We just need to rid the government of the roaches and rodents that have infested DC.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
12/23/2015 15:19
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#12
49 Pan your thoughts are echoed among many people. The older especially so. They have seen the before and after and so can compare. Allowing government to grow has created this monster. Each agency, each branch are a law unto themselves. Even education and military are infected with this rot. Leadership at the top can change our course. Major house cleaning. No holdovers. The holdovers only hurt Bush when he tried to play fair. Change can happen and fast if we have the right people and the will. Hold the line.
#1
Well, you see cobber, your thinking has a major flaw in it. Far as they're concerned, it's not your country, it's they country---given to them by Allan. And, because Allan is kind and considerate, he's given them the country already lavishly equipped with future Dhimmis. All they have to do, is prove their faith by teaching you the proper order of things.
#2
Nice sentiment but how are you going to back it up now that you have outlawed guns? Can't sing them to death and they have no such qualms about arming themselves. Goo luck mate!
The U.S. Navy shouldn't spend any more money on the Littoral Combat Ship, a vessel designed to be small and speedy in shallow waters close to shore, because it's unclear if it has enough firepower or can even survive in combat, according to the government's top watchdog agency.
A Government Accountability Office (GAO) study released late last week concluded that the "actual lethality and survivability performance of LCS is still largely unproven through realistic testing," even though 24 ships have already been built or are under construction.
The LCS uses an aluminum alloy that's unlike any used in other Navy ships, cutting the ship's weight to increase its speed. However, aluminum loses its strength faster than steel at high temperatures. The GAO states that while the Navy has identified the flaw and conducted tests, the service lacks enough data on how fire or underwater explosions might affect the ship's hull, and won't have the information until 2018.
"The vulnerability of the ship's hull to various sea conditions also remains unknown," the report said. "Due to the dynamic nature of waves, the Navy cannot rely on modeling and simulation alone to provide an accurate assessment of a ship's performance in rough seas."
The two deficiencies led the GAO to recommend the service hold off on spending the $1.4 billion it requested for fiscal 2016 to buy three more ships.
The Navy was expected to spend around $37 billion on the LCS program. But that was before Defense Secretary Ash Carter sent a letter to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus earlier this month instructing him to cut the service's projected purchase from 52 to 40 vessels; "downselect" to one ship model by fiscal 2019, rather than continue with the two designs that exist today; and put the savings toward upgrading other ships and buying more F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.
The directive leaves the total cost in flux, especially since Capitol Hill lawmakers haven't had a chance to scrutinize Carter's proposed plan yet. Already the congressional delegations from Wisconsin and Alabama, where the vessels are built, have vowed to fight the move.
The GAO report, a classified version of which was completed in July, likely influenced Carter's thinking on the fate of the troubled LCS effort. The program has been besieged with cost overruns and schedule delays.
Daniel GourĂŠ, a national security and military analyst with the Lexington Institute, wrote that Carter's instruction "may have been to encourage the other service secretaries as well as the leadership of the services to get with the program which is, to use current jargon, capability over capacity."
Put another way: stick with weapons and equipment that already exist or are within reach and can be used by the maximum number of people, rather than pursue costly efforts that could lead to painful cuts elsewhere.
GourĂŠ said the three military branches are "falling behind when it comes to the qualitative arms race with a range of opponents. For the Navy, the Army and perhaps even the other services, this means sacrificing quantity in order to bolster quality."
#2
...In fairness to the Buffalo, when it was in testing it was a superb aircraft. Didn't go south until the Navy started loading it down with things like radios...fuel tanks...guns....
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/23/2015 5:06
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#3
a vessel designed to be small and speedy in shallow waters close to shore
#5
I thought the Navy learned their lesson about aluminum when the USS Belknap burned to the main deck after she collided with the Kennedy.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/23/2015 9:41
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#6
"The vulnerability of the ship's hull to various sea conditions also remains unknown,". That doesn't sound good.
Here's the USS Fort Worth in allegedly heavy seas.
Posted by: Matt ||
12/23/2015 13:18
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#7
What BS is that? That's NOT heavy seas. While riding CV66 I've seen Frigates and Destroyers take green water all the way back to the superstructure while practically disappearing, only to POP back up.
Hell, I've sailed rougher than that off the mouth of San Fransisco Bay.
Seattle's new tax on gun and ammunition sales can take effect on Jan. 1, a judge ruled Tuesday, siding with the city against the National Rifle Association.
King County Superior Court Judge Palmer Robinson dismissed the NRA's lawsuit seeking to block the tax, which it filed in August along with other firearms groups.
Seattle City Council President Tim Burgess, who sponsored the city's ordinance establishing the tax of $25 per gun and 2 or 5 cents per round of ammunition, commented after the decision.
"Then NRA and its allies always oppose these common-sense steps to shine light on the gun-violence epidemic," Burgess said.
"They have blocked funding for basic gun-safety research at the federal level for decades. But in Seattle it is different. Judge Robinson saw through the NRA's distorted efforts to put gun-industry profits ahead of public safety."
The NRA vowed to appeal.
"It's unfortunate the court chose to ignore the law and embrace the Seattle City Council's anti-gun agenda," spokesman Lars Dalseide said in a statement.
"This is not the final word. We will keep fighting until all legal avenues are exhausted and the people of Seattle are free to exercise their Second Amendment rights without persecution from their elected officials."
The City Council voted unanimously in August to approve the tax on gun and ammo sellers.
But in a hearing before the judge last week, a lawyer for the plaintiffs argued the ordinance violates a state statute that bans cities from regulating firearms, reserving that authority for state officials. He called the ordinance a regulatory fee masquerading as a tax and accused city officials of trying to sneak around state law.
A lawyer for the city responded that the ordinance should be allowed because it involves taxation, distinct from regulation. He said the point of the ordinance is to raise money to fund research and programs to curb gun violence, such as a gunshot-victim-intervention program -- not to discourage the sale of firearms or impose gun control.
In a written opinion, Robinson agreed that the ordinance will impose a tax. The judge denied the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, granting the city's cross-motion.
"I'm gratified by Judge Robinson's thorough analysis," City Attorney Pete Holmes said in a news release, adding, "The NRA needs to butt out of Seattle's efforts to enact sensible gun-safety legislation."
The Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility also praised the ruling, as did Seattle Mayor Ed Murray.
"For too long, we have had insufficient research and data on gun violence to help guide our response," Murray said in a statement. "We will now have critical funding to advance our work on gun-violence research and prevention."
The plaintiffs are the NRA, National Shooting Sports Foundation, Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation, two Seattle gun stores and two local gun owners.
The gun-store owners who are part of the lawsuit have called the ordinance an unfair burden that will force them to lose business or relocate outside the city.
Sergey Solyanik, the owner of Precise Shooter near Green Lake and one of the plaintiffs in the case, declined to comment Tuesday.
"We are disappointed and strongly disagree with (Robinson's) ruling, and we are confident that the state Court of Appeals will ultimately concur with our position," Second Amendment Foundation founder Alan Gottlieb said in a news release.
"It is unconscionable for Mayor Ed Murray and the City Council to codify what amounts to social bigotry against firearms retailers and their customers, and we are going to fight this vigorously in defense of a state ... law that has served Washington citizens well for more than three decades," Gottlieb added.
Seattle isn't the first jurisdiction in the country to adopt a tax on gun sales; the Illinois county that includes Chicago did so in 2012. The tax there is being collected in escrow pending the outcome of a lawsuit against the county.
Burgess has said Seattle's tax is expected to raise thousands of dollars annually. Solyanik and other critics of the ordinance have questioned that, saying the tax won't raise much at all if it drives the city's few remaining gun stores out of town.
#3
Gun stores, suppliers and ammunition suppliers should deny the selling of any firearms or ammunition to their police departments on the grounds of laws against supplying terrorist organizations.
#2
...What I find interesting here is that the 'yaw' - or 'tumble' - characteristic of the 5.56mm round has been known and understood for about, oh, fifty years now. Not sure why this should be a surprise to anyone; it's one of the reasons we use the damned thing.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/23/2015 7:52
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#3
Well they could have done the Hughes Chain gun treatment or one of the variations of that on the barrel. A gun drill bore prior to heat treat then heat treat to extreme hardness and then grind bore to final size then etch the rifling in.
Posted by: Chaith Oppressor of the Lutherans1517 ||
12/23/2015 19:53
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[AnNahar] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday that Russian air strikes have killed 2,132 people in Syria, a third of them civilians, since they began on September 30.
Of those killed, 598 were fighters from the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group and another 824 from al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front, the Syrian affiliate of al-Qaeda, and other rebel groups.
There were a further 710 civilians killed, of whom 161 were children and 104 women.
The Britannia-based Observatory has an extensive network of informants inside Syria. It bases its tallies on Russian-caused casualties by the type of aircraft flown and the munitions used.
#4
2/3 were Islamic fighters; only 1/3 civilians? Seems like that is successful. One can't really fight sanitary, hygienic wars and expect to bring about a conclusion to the war. There's got to be a price to pay.
[AnNahar] A jihadist attack plot was foiled and two men incarcerated ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... last week in the French region of Orleans, southwest of Gay Paree, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Tuesday.
"A planned attack targeting representatives of state forces in the Orleans region was foiled last week by the DGSI (La Belle France's internal intelligence agency)," Cazeneuve said.
The two men arrested on December 19 are French citizens aged 20 and 24, he said. The older has a police record for petty crime.
A police source told AFP that one was originally from Morocco and the other from Togo.
They were "in contact with a French jihadist in Syria and the investigation ought to establish if he ordered the attacks that one of the two arrested men has admitted they were planning to carry out against soldiers, police and representatives of the state," said Cazeneuve.
"These arrests are the result of meticulous work by our intelligence services and bring the number of attacks foiled on the national territory since 2013 to 10," he added.
He also said that 3,414 people had been turned away from La Belle France's borders since a state of emergency was introduced in the wake of last month's Gay Paree attacks, which left 130 people dead.
They were refused entry "due to the risk they present to security and public order," said Cazeneuve.
La Belle France took back control of its national borders on the night of the attacks on November 13, which is permitted under European rules in special circumstances.
Police also announced plans on Tuesday to hold a special recruitment drive and exams in March that will help meet the government's goal of appointing an additional 5,000 trainees in the coming year.
[IsraelTimes] Army says she failed to heed calls to turn back; Paleostinians say she died of her injuries in hospital
A Gazoo woman who approached the security fence on the border with Israel was shot by IDF troops Tuesday after failing to respond to warnings to turn back, the army said.
Paleostinian reports said the woman, who was not immediately identified, died of her injuries in a Gazoo hospital, the Ynet news site reported.
The incident took place at a stretch of border near Khan Younis in the southern Gazoo Strip.
An bomb targeted an IDF patrol last Wednesday near the same part of the border.
No injuries or damage were reported on the Israeli side. Paleostinian sources said at least one Paleostinian farmer was injured when soldiers returned fire across the border.
Gazoo's Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,-run Health Ministry said that a 20-year-old man suffered moderate injuries to the leg and hand.
Israeli reports, however, said three Hamas fighters were maimed in the firefight.
Every society has its asses. Thank goodness this lot didn't actually kill anyone.
[IsraelTimes] 2 smoke grenades thrown into home near Ramallah where a couple and their 9-month-old baby boy were sleeping; family unharmed
A Paleostinian family was attacked with smoke grenades early Tuesday morning in their West Bank home in what police are investigating as a suspected Jewish bad boy attack.
The attackers broke a window of a house in Beitillu near Ramallah, in which a couple and their 9-month-old baby boy were sleeping, and threw in the grenades. There were no injuries in the attack.
The words "Revenge" and "Greetings, prisoners of Zion" were found sprayed on the wall of an adjacent building, an apparent reference to Jewish suspects being held in connection with a deadly arson attack six months ago in the Paleostinian village of Duma.
In an interview with Army Radio, Husain al Najjar, the father, said the attack woke his family in the early hours of the morning.
"Settlers came at 1:30 at night and wrote on the wall outside and broke the glass [window]," he said. "The house is still full of gas. The neighbors came and helped get us out of house. Thank God nothing serious happened."
He claimed that the house was attacked by settlers a year ago as well, and that his neighbors have also suffered multiple attacks.
"I just want to live in quiet -- for me and all people," al Najjar said.
Security forces and officials from the Civil Administration, which governs Paleostinians in Israeli-controlled areas of the West Bank, arrived at the scene along with police, who opened an investigation into the attack as a suspected "nationalistic crime."
The attack in Duma on July 31 killed three members of a Paleostinian family. Only one member of the Dawabsha family -- four-year-old Ahmed -- survived the attack, and remains hospitalized in Israel. The 18-month-old baby Ali was killed on the night of the attack, while parents Riham and Sa'ad gave up the ghost in the succeeding weeks.
An unspecified number of Jewish suspects have been incarcerated Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! in connection with the attack, which is being investigated as an act of terrorism, and prosecutors say they are preparing to indict them. Details of the investigation, and the identity of the suspects, have been withheld from publication by a court-imposed gag order.
On Monday, dozens of right-wing protesters attempted to block a highway leading into Jerusalem, but were prevented from doing so by law enforcement officers, a police spokesperson said.
Violence broke out on Sunday night during a similar, but larger demonstration by right-wing activists in the same area, under Jerusalem's Chords Bridge, to protest the ongoing incarceration of suspects in the case.
[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: Amid allegations that not enough was being done to tackle growing extremism in the country, the armed forces announced on Tuesday that they would take on this menace (extremism) as well in addition to their continuing operations against terrorism.
Top armed forces commanders expressed their commitment at a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) -- the principal coordination forum of the three services (Army, PAF and Navy), which was chaired by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Rashad Mahmood. Others who attended the meeting included Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif ..Pak chief of army staff, meaning he pulls the strings on the Nawaz Sharif puppet to make it dance and sing and not do much at all.... , Naval Chief Admiral Zakaullah, PAF Chief Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman and senior officers of the services.
"All military leaders resolved to continue operations to eliminate terrorism and help government fight extremism," a statement issued by the ISPR said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/23/2015
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#1
riiiggghhtttt
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/23/2015 9:02
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Local security officials in northern Baghlan province said Tuesday that over 100 Taliban fighters have been arrested by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) over the past two months after security check posts were established on the Kabul-Kunduz Highway.
"More than 100 Taliban fighters including their shadow governor for Kunduz have been arrested by security force members at check posts along the highway over the past two months," said Abdul Satar Barez, the governor of Baghlan.
"We assure the people that the sons of this soil are struggling day and night to ensure a safe environment for the people," he added.
Meanwhile, Khan Pacha Shirzad a commander for Baghlan's Special Forces unit said: "Our soldiers are ready day and night to serve the people and we assure the nation that we will put our hearts and souls into defending the country. This is our duty."
Recently reports emerged that militants are traveling along highways; however, local officials in Baghlan assured they will not let this happen anymore in their province.
Saudi air defence systems shot down a ballistic missile fired from Yemen, state media reported.
The missile, fired late on Monday night, was intercepted on a trajectory towards the Saudi city of Jizan, Saudi Arabia's state news agency SPA quoted a coalition spokesman as saying.
A source in Jizan said there was no sign of any attack in Jizan Economic City, where a refinery and oil terminal are under construction, some 80km north of the city of Jizan and about 150km from the border with Yemen.
Saudi Aramco said all its facilities in the area were ‘in safe and normal operations.’
In recent months ISIS fronts in Syria and Iraq have taken a defensive turn, after several strikes drained its ranks already exhausted by fighting on multiple fronts, according to analysts. The extremist organization suffered a number of field losses in both Iraq and Syria, but despite this ISIS has broadened the scope of its operations beyond the two countries and includes several countries across the world, killing tens of victims.
The Iraqi Analyst Hisham al-Hashimi, who monitors the terrorist group in both Syria and Iraq, told AFP “ In recent months, ISIS’ positions along most of its fighting fronts in Syria and Iraq have turned defensive , it has lost the initiative that it depended on to attack its enemies.”
Al-Hashimi also pointed out that the terrorist group has recently lost a great deal of suicide attackers, who play a major role to their offensive strategy.
Developments in Iraq also show that ISIS is losing control over the city of Baiji, specifically its nearby oil refinery in the Saladin Governorate which fell in October, followed by losses of the city of Sinjar, West of Mosul just last month.
These losses cut strategic Iraqi-Syrian supply routes exploited by the group. The routes also facilitated passage into other regions like the Governorate of Diyala and the city of Kirkuk.
In Syria the terrorist group withdrew its militants from vast areas like the rural areas north east Al-Hasakah province, and several towns in other rural areas north of Aleppo.
Syria analyst and geographical expert Fabrice Balanche said “ISIS is being attacked on numerous fronts by various actors: the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northeast Syria and Kurdish forces in Iraq backed by American air support have been able to squeeze ISIS in the border area, in addition to the Syrian government troops using the additional boost of Russia’s air power to push back against ISIS in the northern Aleppo province and central Homs.”
“Without being able to shoot down coalition planes, ISIS will organize attacks in the heart of the coalition countries, like France, to try to destabilize us and win the propaganda battle, which is likely to bring it more funding and fighters,” Balanche added.
They are more dangerous over here when they are losing over there
I am concerned especially as we have done nothing to prepare ourselves culturally.
In australia the spy agencies still have not climbed down from their 15 years of wrongness since 9/11.
Still pretending terror attacks have nothing to do with islam
Every violent attack wins Islamists more cultural ground over here and will until the silly sausages in "intelligence" correct their error
We should be preparing our communities to speak intelligently about the secular vs theocrat struggle within Islam, in preparation for the next attack, so we can avoid a bigot backlash and defend ourselves against the islamophobia grievance narrative after.
#3
With every terrorist attacked repeatedly denied or downplayed by the 'authorities' is another reduction in the 'legitimacy' of those governments. The same governments and ruling class that aids the enemy by refusing to put in place common sense measures to avoid such attacks. ISIS may well triumph over their adversaries by taking down those very same people.
[VOX] In a lengthy London Review of Books piece, Hersh says that the top leaders of the Pentagon deliberately subverted American policy toward Syria, sabotaging US efforts to aid Syrian rebels and even sending US intelligence to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. From fall 2013 to September 2015, he says, US military leaders effectively conducted a secret alliance with Assad and with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom they saw as their best allies in fighting ISIS.
It is a fantastic and stunning claim. And Hersh, rather than condemning this all as what would appear to be the highest act of treason in modern American history, rather seems to portray it as necessary and appropriate. But, much as with Hersh's now-notorious bin Laden story, it is backed up with no evidence beyond the word of one anonymous "former senior adviser" to the Joint Chiefs.
What follows is a simple guide to Hersh's theory: what he says happened, what the article states, and how it squares with what we know.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Very believable if you delete the DoD subversion piece and replace it with a regime PR 'offset' and plausible deniability. Kerry indicated out of the blue last week that 'Assad's removal or regime change [paraphrasing here] was NOT an administration goal.'
The Obama regime will go to great lengths in order to avoid admitting mistakes or errors in judgement or strategy. Pinning the rose on DoD thru a Hersh conspiracy theory with a bit of truth, a bit of bullshi* is a convenient segue to deniability.
#2
I welcome the idea that some people in USA are smart enough to know that Obama must be fought by any means necessary. I don't believe it, but I welcome it.
#4
Once more you see a "journalist" pushing the lie that Abu Ghraib was some sort of exposè. The Army announced the charges at the daily briefing, months before the press showed any interest, and the photos were fed to the press by lawyers for the accused, along with the lie that they were following an example or policy.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
12/23/2015 9:40
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#5
From the article linked by Pappy:
The four core elements of Obamaâs Syria policy remain intact today: an insistence that Assad must go; that no anti-IS coalition with Russia is possible; that Turkey is a steadfast ally in the war against terrorism; and that there really are significant moderate opposition forces for the US to support.
Any intelligent person who has been following the situation understands that each of the four core elements of Obama's policy are as stated by Hersh, and that each is not realistic.
We can insist Assad must go, but if he doesn't, what then? We have no backup plan.
Refusing to work with Russia against IS means that we fight with one arm tied behind us. There are indeed certain parts of our foreign policy that align with Russia's; this is one of them.
Erdogan is duplicitous and is focused on building a Greater Turkey. That is not necessarily in our interests, just as it certainly isn't in Russia's interests.
Finally, Hersh is correct: there are no 'moderates' in the region other than the Kurds; the Kurds are behaving reasonably only because they can't get away with behaving the way they'd like to behave. We spent a lot of money and time trying to build up 'moderate' forces that are simply not viable. The Russians see that and wonder why we can't admit a mistake.
Gads, I'm in at least partial agreement with Seymour Hersh.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/23/2015 9:47
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#6
Hersh, regardless of his "anonymous source", weaves a cogent narrative. On more then one occasion Assad has cryptically spoke of receiving US intel. It also may not be a huge leap to speculate that the Pentagon's IG probe into DIA "disorted ISIS claims" is a shot across the bow. My assumption here is the author of this article is on the Obama propaganda speed dial.
#7
Hersh bizarre and conspiracy theory have always had the same address. I fail to understand why anybody ever reports anything that braindead fool spouts about anything.
#8
Pappy, good link. Thank you. This talk of treason is smoke and misdirection. The alternative to pencilneck is ISIL. Choice of the lesser of the two evils is obvious. 0bama is clearly way out of depth. Where is Congress?
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
12/23/2015 13:49
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#9
Of course the anointed one did not fail, the chairman of the joint chiefs betrayed everyone.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
12/23/2015 15:16
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#10
So does this mean the US = Obama Admin includ US SecState Jaawhn Kerry will soon be BFF wid the Afghan or AFPAK Taliban???
The US surrendered like France to Putin + Russia over letting Baby Assad stay in power until further notice in Syria, SO WHY NOT DITTO ALA THE ANTI-ISIS/ISIL TALIBUNNIES???
The Kurdish administration of Iraq is preparing to hold a referendum on the status of their autonomy, the Turkish newspaper Aksam reported on its website Dec. 22 citing diplomatic sources.
The head of the administration, Massoud Barzani is expected to announce the date of the referendum in the near future. Earlier, Barzani said the Kurdish administration of Iraq is determined to hold a referendum, adding that attaining independence is a matter of time.
After Iraq’s provinces were captured by the IS terrorist group the relations between the central government of Iraq and the Kurdish administration deteriorated markedly.
Barzani accused the central government of being guilty of the developments in the country. He said Iraq is on the verge of splitting, and Baghdad doesn’t control the situation in the country.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/23/2015
00:00 ||
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[Hurriyet] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... has begun recovering from a week-long cyberattack amid criticism from IT experts over its decision to help solve the issue by prohibiting international access to the country's DNS, daily Hurriyet has reported.
Turkey has been experiencing a cyberattack that started on Dec. 14, targeting nearly 400,000 websites with the extension ".tr." The cyberattack nearly came to a halt in the morning hours of Dec. 21, and recovery and damage assessment activities have been launched by leading IT organizations along with Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ).
Turkish IT professionals in response banned access to the DNS from abroad and communication channels were re-opened when the cyberattack first started. Around 400,000 websites, however, were denied access from abroad.
An IT source speaking to daily Hurriyet said it was not clear whether Russia was behind the cyberattack, although initial reports suggested Russian hackers were the perpetrators of the mass slowdown both in Internet access and the operation of hundreds of Turkish websites, including official websites of governmental bodies and those of private companies.
The international hacking group Anonymous, meanwhile, also threatened greater cyber action in a video posted Dec. 19 if the Turkish government "did not stop buying oil" from 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 (ISIL).
"This mass cyberattack is known to be the biggest so far with the intensity of slowing down the websites," ODTÜ Computer Engineering Professor Attila Özgit said.
Those who sought to access Turkish websites had no or limited access and received error messages during the cyberattack.
But IT professionals criticized the method of banning access to Turkish websites from abroad to protect servers in the country, saying the country should have been more prepared for any possible cyberattacks.
IT experts criticized the fact that no reporting was made by the National Computer Emergency Response Center (USOM), a team of IT professionals that intervene in nationwide cyberattacks, about the attack and also that authorities issued no explanation regarding the virtual assault.
European IP Networks (RIPE), an Internet organization dealing with DNS servers, stated that it had to shut down Turkey's servers because of the attacks, but the move slowed down international access to the websites when the hackers created artificially intense traffic on main Internet lines.
The slowdown did not affect all of the Internet in Turkey, as social media users experienced no problems, unlike those attempting to conduct electronic transactions.
IS has announced that it has set up a new police force in Sirte. The terrorist group has released video footage which opens with a shot showing a parade of men in smart blue uniforms with police flashes on their left shoulders.
All are wearing black balaclavas and most carry Kalashnikovs. They are ranked in front of a line of shiny new white Toyota trucks. Their leader speaks to them with a pronounced Tunisian accent.
Later shots in the film show the gunmen on patrol, receiving a cheery wave from one of the few men on the streets. A sequence showing two police vehicles parked on either side of a wide intersection, contains some remarkably un-Libya motoring, as drivers in the sparse traffic edge their way cautiously through the junction, under the watchful gaze of the gunmen.
Negotiations are underway between the Afghan and Russian officials for the purchase of Mi-35 gunship helicopters directly from Russia, it has been reported.
Reports regarding Afghanistan’s intention to directly purchase the gunships from Russia comes amid reports that India has delivered one of the four Mi-25 gunships to Afghanistan with three others to be delivered in the near future.
According to a State-run news agency in Russia quoting an Afghan diplomat based in Moscow, negotiations are currently underway and initiated following President Ghani’s request for Russian military aid in October, asking for artillery, small arms and Mi-35 helicopters.
The diplomat further added that the Afghan Air Force needs the helicopters to be operational in at least two to three districts, insisting on the importance of the Russian-made gunships which can perform better in the country.
However, the Russian Presidential envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said earlier this month that Moscow is carefully reviewing the request by Afghanistan for the delivery of weapons.
Kabulov said the task of weapons supply to Afghan forces primarily goes to the United States and its allies having forces in Afghanistan.
“There have been requests already and they are being reviewed, but this will be done in stages, with thought and reason,” he added.
The Afghan national security forces are in critical need of close-air support after they took full control of the security from the NATO-led coalition security forces last year and are since then leading the majority of security operations across the country amid deteriorating security situation.
Maltese kidnap victim, Pierre Baldacchino, has been found and safely freed by Rada (Special Deterrent Force).
Baldacchino, Manager of Saint James clinic in the Ben Ashour area of Tripoli was kidnapped last week whilst in his car on the motorway. His kidnappers had demanded a Euro 5 million ransom.
Rada said that they had staked out a hideout in the Ain Zara outskirts of Tripoli and had stormed the location at 1.30 am today.
They had found Baldacchino and arrested two suspects. The other members of the gang were being pursued.
Speaking on a video posted by Rada on their Facebook page, Baldacchino said that he had been blindfolded and his hands tied for the duration of his ordeal.
An emotional Baldacchino, holding back the tears said: ‘’It was a very bad week. I was thinking of a lot of things, including not seeing my kids’’.
[Rudaw] Tehran is happy with the reassurance given to them by the United States on keeping business interests out of harm in light of a new US bill restricting visitor visas to the country, Iran's foreign ministry said Monday.
Abbas Araghchi Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister said, according to BBC Persian, that 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... has reassured Iran in a letter that Iranian businessmen will still be issued 10-year multiple entry visas.
"We remain fully committed to the sanctions lifting," Kerry's letter reads. "The recent changes in Visa requirements will not in any way prevent us from meeting our JCPOA commitments...we will implement them so as not to interfere with legitimate business interests of Iran."
Araghchi said that Kerry's explanations were satisfactory for Iran.
Kerry's letter sent to Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohamad Javad Zarif, reassures Tehran that Iranian business interests will not be hurt by the new visa bill passed by the US Congress this week.
US and other Western powers have a standing deal with Iran over its nuclear program that will see to the lifting of sanctions and opening up Iran's markets to western companies.
On Saturday, the Congress passed a new legislation that restricts the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), which normally exempts nationals from 38 countries from having to obtain visas to visit the United States.
The new law stipulates that the program no longer includes dual nationals from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Sudan as well as anyone else who have traveled to those countries in the past five years.
BERLIN (Sputnik) -- Dozens of alleged refugees have entered Germany on fake Syrian passports, which were produced using technology similar to that used to forge documents for some of the perpetrators of the Paris attacks, the German Bild newspaper reported Tuesday, citing government sources.
Last week, two French citizens posing as refugees were arrested in Austria on suspicion of having links to the November 13 Paris terror attacks. The suspects, of Algerian and Pakistani descent, were allegedly using fake Syrian passports and are believed to have entered Austria with some of the Paris attackers in October. Individuals posing as refugees entered Germany using passports made by the same means as those found on the suspects arrested in Austria.
The Pakistanis are going to be so-o-o-o jealous...
"They contain the same features of forgery," one of the sources told the German media outlet.
Stolen genuine documents were so intricately altered by counterfeiters that the forgery was not detected immediately, meaning those who entered the country on fake passports have not yet been found, according to the newspaper.
The majority of the forged passports originate in the Syrian city of Raqqa, one of the key Islamic State strongholds.
Surprise!
In September, the executive director of the EU border agency Frontex, Fabrice Leggeri, said a new trend of using fake Syrian passports to increase a migrant's chances of being granted permission to remain in the European Union was gaining momentum.
About a dozen migrants may have entered Germany on forged Syrian passports like those used by two Gay Pareejacket wallahs, according to a news report Tuesday which authorities did not confirm.
The report said German authorities did not know where the "about one dozen" arrivals were now, having entered the country before November 13, and that no fingerprints had been taken of them.
Goody.
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Should be "Scores Caught Entering Germany With Fake Syrian Passports"
[ISW] Russian military intervention in Syria has forced the West to negotiate on the Kremlin's terms, granting Moscow greater freedom of action to challenge and destabilize its adversaries. President Barack Obama reaffirmed the concession of the U.S.'s demand for a Syrian postwar government without Assad and his regime, a policy shift Secretary of State John Kerry previously expressed during his December 15 visit to Moscow. President Obama called for a Syrian political settlement that would build a "bridge" to Moscow and Tehran by respecting their interests. This shift coincided with a landmark unanimous UN Security Council decision to approve a peace framework for Syria that did not address Assad's future. The U.S. and Russia also cosponsored a UN Security Council resolution increasing sanctions against ISIS's financial network while France agreed to expand information sharing with Russia about anti-ISIS airstrikes and the disposition of armed groups in Syria.
The U.S. and Europe attempted to balance their reengagement with Moscow over threats emanating from the Middle East with reaffirmed opposition to Russian aggression in Ukraine. The EU extended sanctions against Russia despite growing internal divisions over German plans to increase Russian gas imports. The U.S. also expanded its sanctions against Russia, which criticized Western sanctions related to Ukraine as an obstacle to cooperation in the Middle East. NATO also reaffirmed its support to Ukraine by agreeing to boost defense industry cooperation and revealing possible plans to expand cooperation between NATO special forces and the Ukrainian military. Russia meanwhile continued to confront the transatlantic military alliance through its conflict with Turkey, which both countries accelerated by inviting ethnic minority opposition leaders to hold high-level talks. Russia will likely seek to expand its military, economic, and political levers of influence in order to eventually undermine Western opposition to its destabilization operations in Ukraine and other vulnerable areas of the former Soviet Union.
[DAWN] MONDAY's debate in the Senate on the 34-member Saudi-led alliance serves to focus our attention on the crucial role an upper house plays in a federation.
Even though our Senate has existed since 1973, when Pakistain's first directly elected National Assembly enacted the Constitution, the upper house has not been able to play the role expected of a chamber that represents the constituent units and performs functions that serve as a check on the powers of the lower house, besides holding the government to account.
Even though Britannia has a unitary form of government, the House of Lords, despite the clipping of its powers twice, still performs some useful functions like putting brakes on speedy legislation and enlightening the Commons by the quality of its debate.
America has a powerful upper house. It not only scrutinises money bills but also deals with the appointments of cabinet ministers, besides having a crucial foreign policy role that includes the ratification of treaties and ambassadorial appointments.
By having the powers to amend or reject aid bills, the US Senate plays a key role in shaping American foreign policy.
In Pakistain, two military interventions since 1973 have militated against the evolution of constitutional institutions and done incalculable harm to the country in the domain of external relations.
Resultantly, the Senate hasn't been able to perform the role expected of it. Ideally, the government should be bound to sound out the upper house on foreign agreements, treaties and defence deals -- indeed, the ratification of these should be contingent upon the approval of the Senate.
In fact, the latter should be able to summon both politicians and military personnel holding high office to account for the state's gains and losses in its interactions with, say, Afghanistan and India.
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America has a powerful upper house.
That does not seem so to me. Congress has ceded far too much power to the Executive Branch. The Judiciary has done likewise. Both should be doing everything they can to prevent an executive branch dictatorship; otherwise known as a king or emperor.
[AlAhram] Police in Bosnia have detained 11 people suspected of links with the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group and its faceless myrmidons fighting in Syria and Iraq.
Police said Tuesday the operation, launched on the orders of the state prosecutor's office, was continuing in 13 locations in the wider area of Sarajevo.
The prosecutor's office said in a statement the operation is targeting 15 suspects who have been investigated for "incitement of and recruitment for terrorist attacks" and are believed to be in "close contact" with the Islamic State group holy warriors, including persons fighting in Syria and Iraq.
During the search of locations used by suspects, including two places of worship and several private homes, police found and seized evidence confirming such links, the statement added.
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Apparently the Bosnian police may have headed off an impending attack on Sarajevo as well.
A missile fired from war-torn Yemen has struck a Saudi border city, killing three civilians, the Kingdom said, in yet another violation of a ceasefire aimed at helping peace talks.
Saturday's attack on Najran left one Saudi citizen and two Indian workers dead, according to a civil defence spokesman quoted by the official SPA news agency. India's consul-general in Jeddah, B.S. Mubarak, confirmed that two Indians from the southern state of Tamil Nadu were killed in the attack near a museum on the edge of Najran.
\The latest incident comes after the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed rebels in Yemen announced that two ballistic missiles were fired on Friday at the Kingdom from its neighbor. One of the missiles was intercepted by Saudi air defences, while the other struck a desert area east of Najran, the coalition said without reporting any casualties in that incident.
The attack had prompted Saudi Arabia's border guard to repeat a warning that residents should stay away from the frontier.
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An Egyptian military court on Tuesday sentenced Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie to 10 years in prison over deadly clashes following the 2013 ouster of president Mohammed Mursi, judicial officials said.
Ninety other defendants tried in absentia were sentenced to life terms, which in Egypt, runs to 25 years.
Badie and dozens of others were found guilty of participating in clashes that killed 31 people in the canal city of Suez between August 14 and 16, 2013. The clashes erupted after police brutally broke up two pro-Mursi protest camps in Cairo on August 14 that year.
The charges in the military trial included vandalism, inciting violence, murder, assaulting military personnel and setting fire to armoured personnel carriers and two Coptic churches in Suez.
Badie, the Brotherhood's spiritual guide, was sentenced to 10 years in prison along with fellow Brotherhood leader Mohamed Beltagy and Safwat Hegazy, a pro-Brotherhood Islamist, army and judicial officials said. Forty-one defendants were sentenced to serve between three and seven years behind bars, while 90 others were handed down life sentences.
Badie is facing several trials and has been sentenced to death in a separate case along with Mursi for plotting jailbreaks and attacks on police during the 2011 uprising that ousted president Hosni Mubarak. The Brotherhood chief has also been handed life sentences in five other cases.
At some point they're just piling on. But not yet...
Afghan asylum-seekers have set up a homeless camp at the site of a prominent Paris terror attack memorial in protest at the lack of migrant housing. The migrants have laid down mattresses and blankets at the busy Place de la Republique in Paris, where tens of thousands held a march of solidarity in the wake of the attacks.
The location of a tribute to those killed on November 13, the area is now been covered in protest signs and debris from the migrants living in the area. Photographs from the scene show dozens of migrants lying in the concreted area on mattresses, pieces of cardboard, and blankets.
Next to one group of the Afghan asylum seekers is a sign stating 'borders kill', which sits nailed to a tree.
The Place de la Republique in Paris was the site of solidarity rallies in the wake of the attacks in November. Tens of thousands marched through the square, where a tribute, dedicated to those killed in the attacks, has now been erected
Dozens of Afghan migrants chose the site of the Paris attacks memorial to call attention to their lack of housing.
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The Ministry of Interior (MoI) on Tuesday said that five people have been arrested in connection with Monday night's rocket attack in Kabul.
The ministry said one rocket landed in a U.S base, Camp Eggers, close to the US Embassy - another near Amani High School and the third one inside the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum compound.
However no casualties were reported.
"Fortunately, the [rocket] attacks left no casualties," said MoI spokesman Sediq Sediqqi.
A number of senators meanwhile called on government to take measures to avoid a repeat of such an attack.
"We urge the security forces to seriously investigate the incident and find out where it originated from," said Senator Anarkali Honaryar.
This comes after a spike in criminal and insurgent attacks in and around Kabul in recent two days.
On Sunday evening Lisa Akbari an Afghan-American was gunned down while leaving a gym in Kart-e-Char in Kabul.
Kabul Police said the victim was shot by a mullah from a mosque within the complex that houses the gym.
Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi has said the mullah was a graduate of the Sharia Faculty of Ustad Rabbani Education University in Kabul.
[DAWN] THE finance minister acknowledged the widespread incidence of malnutrition in Pakistain the other day, but missed the point in presenting remedies for the problem.
The annual report of the National Economic Council, placed before the National Assembly by Mr Ishaq Dar, says that one out of three Paks "does not have regular and assured access to sufficient nutritious food".
The words in which the problem is identified immediately betray a lack of awareness about malnutrition and how to study its incidence.
The report goes on to suggest that the "poor performance of the agriculture sector in recent years" is responsible for this situation, and that the remedy must, therefore, be in making agriculture growth more "pro-poor", that is by diversifying the base of incomes and creating more linkages between the farm and non-farm sectors.
If the authors of the report had studied the literature on malnutrition in Pakistain, they would have realised that increasing the supply of food, or producing greater rural incomes will have only a marginal effect on nutritional outcomes.
The latter are more closely linked to social variables such as female education. They could have taken, as an example, a report published in the Lancet Series on Maternal and Child Nutrition in Pakistain in 2013, which found that half of all children in this country are chronically undernourished, and a quarter of all children are born underweight.
These are staggering numbers, and the vulnerabilities they create to disease aggravates the problem further. In a list of remedies required to arrest the growth of these numbers, the authors had mentioned steps such as marrying girls at a later age, greater awareness of prenatal health, improved health programmes to give women access to trained birth attendants, targeted safety nets in rural areas, empowerment of women, early childhood development programmes, and so on.
Malnutrition can occur widely even in areas of food abundance, and should not be just linked to incomes.
By taking such a narrow economic view of malnutrition in Pakistain, the finance minister has revealed a poor understanding of the problem, and has gone on to identify a flawed set of policies as the remedy.
When the Lancet study was launched back in 2013, the Planning Commission was represented at the event, and promised that its findings would be incorporated in Vision 2025 to guide the government's approach to long-standing problems. Sadly, this does not appear to have happened.
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[DAWN] After much deliberation, the interior ministry gave a 60-day extension in the special policing powers of Rangers in Sindh, after a meeting at the ministry chaired by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan ...Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz Uncle Fester Sharif. He is noted for his vocal anti-American railing in the National Assembly. However (comma) Khan told the U.S. ambassador that he was in fact pro-American but he and the PML-N would have to be critical of US actions in order to remain publicly credible. Khan cited his wife and children's US citizenship as proof, which means he's lying to one side or the other and probably both. He wears a wig, but you probably guessed that. since hair doesn't grow naturally in that shape or texture... , DawnNews reported on Tuesday.
The summary sent to the federal government by Sindh government on the matter of extending Ranger's policing powers was earlier rejected.
A letter was issued to the Sindh government in this regard on Tuesday, instructing it to draft a new summary regarding the matter without posting any conditions.
"The provincial assembly does not reserve the authority to amend the federal laws," the interior ministry said in a statement.
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[Rudaw] Turkish security forces evacuated some 500 residents in several towns in the country's Kurdish southeast, as festivities continued on Tuesday and the military said it had killed two more rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and lost one soldier.
The official Anadolu Agency reported that residents of Silopi in Sirnak province were sheltered at a sports hall before being transferred to the homes of relatives in calmer districts.
It said a Turkish soldier was killed along with two PKK fighters in an operation in the village of Olek in Bitlis province on Tuesday.
Local media reports said that some homes in Silopi sustained heavy damage from festivities, which have continued across The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... since the military launched a crackdown on the PKK in late July, shattering a fragile peace deal with the Kurds that had been two years in the making.
Taliban fighters are operating in more than 10 districts of southern Helmand province and are gaining ground there, said officials Tuesday.
A number of members of Helmand provincial council have said that Afghan security forces have control over three out of 14 districts in the province.
"Insecurity in Helmand is a matter of concern. The situation will worsen if no attention is paid by relative organizations," said Abdul Majid Akhondzada Helmand provincial council member.
"We always sought attention for Helmand but it is not known why government has paid less attention to the province," another member of Helmand provincial council, Hayatullah Mayar said.
Meanwhile, a number of senators voiced their concerns over the deteriorating security situation in the province and said there is a need for serious attention by the security agencies.
"We have contact with the people. The security situation in Helmand is really bad," said Akhondzada a senator from Helmand.
"We repeat our call to government to pay serious attention to the security situation in the province and also help overcome the problems faced by security force members there."
However, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said Tuesday that security in Helmand is improving and that additional troops will get there soon.
"Helmand's security is improving and our [security] forces have advanced in several parts," said MoI spokesman Sediq Sediqqi.
"Joint special operations are underway in order to defeat militants. The enemy has suffered casualties in parts of Helmand," he added.
Sediqqi said that special units of police from Logar and Kandahar provinces will be deployed to Helmand in order to help the troops there.
He said that the Interior Minister has sent a delegation to Helmand in order to assess security forces' requirements there.
DUBAI: Forces loyal to Yemen’s government fought their way into the province surrounding the capital on Monday, tribal sources said, the closest they have advanced toward Sanaa since the Houthi movement seized it in September last year.
The advance comes despite a conditional agreement to extend a seven-day truce in Yemen, following a week of UN-sponsored peace talks in Switzerland in which the parties reached a broad framework for ending the nine-month-old war that has killed nearly 6,000 people.
“(President Abed Rabbo Mansour) Hadi’s forces took control of two mountains in the Nihm district in Sanaa province,” one tribal source said. The area is about 60 km northeast of the capital.
UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed had voiced deep concern at “numerous reports of violations of the cessation of hostilities” and set up a mechanism to strengthen compliance, a UN statement said.
The peace talks are scheduled to resume on Jan. 14. The location had yet to be set, although both Switzerland and Ethiopia are possible venues.
The parties also agreed to set up a military de-escalation committee and to develop a package of confidence building measures such as prisoner releases.
Before dawn Monday, Saudi Arabia intercepted a missile fired from Yemen into the southern Jazan district, the coalition said.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said diplomatic efforts are being made to open “direct dialogue” between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
“Diplomatic efforts are underway between Iran and Saudi Arabia to prepare the ground for direct dialogue to resolve differences and regional issues,” Hossein Jaber, ministry spokesman, Ansari told reporters in Tehran.
Yemen’s coup rebels are hiding their weapons at diplomatic missions and houses of foreign diplomats in Sanaa after most of those diplomats left the capital because of the war, a UAE newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The Arabic language daily Albayan quoted residents in the rebel-controlled Sanaa as saying they saw armored vehicles and trucks carrying arms and ammunition entering diplomatic compounds in the capital after they were evacuated and shut.
“Witnesses said they saw many trucks and armored vehicles going into diplomatic missions to hide the weapons there,” it said.
It said the move by the Iranian-backed Houthis and forces loyal to deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh came after their military positions were targeted by the Arab coalition warplanes as part of a military campaign to quell the coup and restore legitimacy.
It quoted residents as saying the armored vehicles stayed inside those compounds while the trucks left empty after unloading the weapons.
“One resident said he saw some trucks unloading their shipments inside the houses of foreign diplomats who left the country,” it said.
Most ambassadors and other foreign diplomats in Yemen shut their missions and left the country following the Iranian-backed coup last year.
Yemen’s national army and resistance in Sanaa governorate have completed preparations for an offensive to expel coup rebels with the help of the Arab coalition and other pro-regime forces, the governor of Sanaa has said.
“Liberating Sanaa from the coup militias is our next target…we are ready for this battle,” Sheikh Abdul Qawi Shareef told the Saudi daily Okaz.
“The national army and the resistance are now ready to carry out a plan to restore legitimacy in the capital and eliminate challenges facing its residents.”
Qawi said the army and resistance have seized some areas in the governorate over the past days and that the Iranian-backed insurgents have suffered heavy losses.
“Many of them were killed or wounded while a large number of their military vehicles were destroyed…the morale of their fighters is in shambles.”
Qawi said they have received instructions from Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi to “preserve the property of the people and help them.”
“We also have instructions to welcome and help anyone who comes to us and abandons those militias…the army and the resistance are part of the people and will never target any civilian who come to them,” he said.
A Sufi shrine at the central Tripoli Bu Mishmasha cemetery was destroyed early this morning in a bomb explosion. No one was hurt.
It is not known if the attack, which occured before dawn, was carried out by Salafists or by supporters of Ansar Al-Sharia or the so-called Islamic State. All are violently opposed to such shrines.
Since the revolution, almost all the major Sufi shrines have been destroyed by militants. Only a few small ones remain.
The attack comes a day ahead of Mawlid Al-Nabi, the Prophet’s Birthday, and it is thought that the two may be connected. Salafists and militants are strongly opposed to it as well although, unlike previous years, there has been no call as yet from the Sharia Research and Studies in Tripoli for people to ignore it.
The festival is popular in Tripoli and for several days young people have been letting off fireworks to celebrate it.
This year, with Mawlid coinciding with Christmas, artificial decorative trees of the sort more usually associated with the Christian festival, are also selling well in the capital.
Ukrainian news media reported December 21 that the country's national security service has banned the leader of the U.S. rock band Limp Bizkit from entering the country for five years.
They're still playing together on the road? Or is this the reunion tour ala Spinal Tap?
The Ukrainian security service told Interfax and the online publication Apostrof December 21 that it had banned Fred Durst, the founder of the group and its lead singer, from entering Ukraine for five years starting in November, "in the interests of guaranteeing the security of our state."
Durst in October had told TASS and Interfax that he would be happy to have a Russian passport and a "pretty little house" in Crimea, the Black Sea region annexed by Russia in 2014. His wife, Kseniya Beryazina, was born in Crimea.
He also expressed an interest in performing in Donetsk, a city held by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine has previously banned French actor Gerard Depardieu and American actor Steven Seagal for expressing support for the Russian government and its policies in Ukraine.
HASAKAH – Clashes broke out on Tuesday evening between western-backed Kurdish-Arab-Christian alliance of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and pro-Assad troops in the northeastern province of Hasakah, military sources reported.
“The clashes broke out after pro-Assad militias attacked our (SDF) positions in the Arisha district in southern Hasakah,” a spokesman for the SDF told ARA News.
The Kurdish-Arab-Christian joint forces have been preparing to attack the terror group of Islamic State (ISIS) in Shaddadi city south of Hasakah from their headquarters in the Arisha district.
“By attacking our headquarters in Arisha, pro-Assad militias aim to serve ISIS terrorists,” the spokesman said.
At least four SDF fighters were injured during the clashes, while one militant of the National Defense was killed.
“The pro-Assad militias were forced to retreat from the vicinity of Arisha under the blows of the SDF units,” the source reported.
The pro-Assad militia of the National Defense in Hasakah has warned earlier this week residents of the ISIS-held city of Shaddadi about a possible attack by the Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG)–a leading member of the SDF.
The National Defense called on the residents of Shaddadi to take up arms and defend their city against the alleged Kurdish offensive.
Local sources in Hasakah told ARA News that the pro-Assad militia of National Defense has recruited hundreds of Arab tribal men in preparation to attack the SDF units in the province.
Noteworthy, the Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by the U.S.-led coalition’s air cover, have expelled ISIS militants from more than 220 towns and villages in northeastern Syria since the start of its operations last September. After cleansing the key town of al-Hawl on the border with Iraq from ISIS extremists, the Kurdish-Arab-Christian joint forces started heading to the ISIS-held Shaddadi city in Hasakah province.
The Afghan Air Force (AAF) targeted a group of anti-government armed militants in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said Tuesday.
A statement by MoD said the airstrike was carried out in Hesarak district by helicopters providing close air support to 201st Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces.
The statement further added that one militant was killed and three others sustained critical injuries in the airstrike.
Nangarhar is among the relatively volatile provinces in eastern Afghanistan where anti-government armed militant groups are actively operating and frequently carry out insurgency activities.
Militants belonging to Taliban group as well as loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group are operating in Nangarhar province.
In a separate statement, MoD said at least 34 militants were killed and 10 others were wounded during counter-terrorism operations conducted by the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces during the past 24 hours.
According to MoD, the operations were conducted in Kunar, Hesarak district of Nangarhar, Logar, Kunduz, and Helmand provinces.
The Afghan armed forces also discovered and defused numerous Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), MoD said, adding that six members of the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces also lost their lives during the operations.
KOBANE – Militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) bombed on Tuesday two Kurdish villages in Kobane suburb in northern Syria, local sources reported.
ISIS militants shelled the villages of Bojaq and Malha with mortars after detonating explosive devices near two primary schools there.
Kobane and its countryside have been recaptured by Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) early this year, subsequent to fierce battles with ISIS militants.
Speaking to ARA News in Kobane, YPG member Sarhad Abbas said that the targeted villages have been evacuated of civilians for security concerns.
“Our (YPG) forces have evacuated the villages of Bojaq and Malha as they are located near the battlefront with Daesh terrorists,” Abbas said, using another acronym for ISIS.
“Today’s bombardment could have caused dozens of civilian casualties if we haven’t had evacuated the targeted villages.”
Also on Tuesday, ISIS militants bombed with mortar shells a secondary school in a regime-held neighborhood of Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria. According to local activists, nine female students were killed in the attack.
Six Arab defendants, including a Gulf citizen, have stood trial in Abu Dhabi on charges of providing the terrorist Houthi movement in Yemen with communication devices and equipment.
The public prosecutor at the State Security Circuit of the Federal Supreme Court accused the defendants of supplying communication devices and chemical materials to the terrorist organisation in Yemen. The public prosecutor charged the second defendant with managing funds owned by the organisation and investing them in a company he established in the UAE.
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(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – The commander of Anbar Operations, Maj. Gen. Ismail al-Mahalawi, announced on Tuesday the liberation of al-Juraishi area (north of Mosul) from ISIS militants.
Mahalawi said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The security forces managed, this afternoon, to regain full control of the area of al-Juraishi, after dismantling all explosive devices,” adding that, “[The forces] killed nine terrorists during the liberation operation, while the army’s 10th brigade controls the region and advances more into [the area].”
Germany is withdrawing its Patriot missile systems from Turkey, about three years after bringing them in, Anadolu reported.
Sources from the Turkish port of Iskenderun said the Danish ship with the patriot missile systems left Turkey on Tuesday. The ship is headed to Germany. The German government has previously said that the mandate of the mission would end on January 2016.
Germany had deployed Patriot batteries in the southern Turkish city of Kahramanmaras in January 2013, as part of a NATO mission to counter possible threats from Syria. Germany provided two of five NATO batteries and around 250 personnel for the mission.
Wouldn't want a German Patriot shot off accidentally at a Rooshun aircraft...
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Migrants have dumped rubbish in the streets in protest at not getting a cleaner or wi-fi at the free villa they have been given for shelter.
The 24 refugees are up in arms after demanding someone clean up after them in the Italian duplex where they have been housed since arriving from sub-Saharan Africa last summer. They are also angry at not being provided free internet, which has prevented them from contacting relatives back home.
The demonstrations, which first took place last week, also blocked main roads in the town of Ceranova, near Milan, sparking heated rows with members of the local community.
The town's mayor, Alessandro Grieco, was forced to intervene personally with the help of three police officers to calm the situation, it was reported by The Local, which cited La Repubblica.
Mr Grieco has expelled the 24-year-old leader of the protests from the villa. He said: 'The migrants have obviously flagged up a few issues for them but this is not the way to draw attention to them.
'We absolutely won't tolerate protests like this.'
Really? Have you sent all them back home? If not you're tolerating it...
Matteo Salvini, the leader of the anti-immigration Northern League party has also attacked the protest, asking: 'They want someone to clean their homes – can you believe it?'
Unfortunately, yes we can...
It comes as new figures revealed that more than a million migrants had now crossed into Europe this year - more than four times the total for 2014, it has been revealed. Half of those arriving were Syrians fleeing the war, another 20 per cent were Afghans, and seven per cent were Iraqis, according to agencies monitoring the flow.
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#1
Load em into a Conex. Ship em home on a slow boat
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How about reporting how many are military age men verses the 'widows and orphans' we have been hearing so much about?
MARKA, Somalia -- Al Shabaab guerrilla operations commander has been reported killed in suspected United States drone strike on Tuesday, Garowe Online reports.
Pic at the link shows some Shaboobs carrying an ISIS flag. Not sure if the newly deceased former number three had turned to them...
Residents of the five Americas, a small vicinity near Lower Shabelle regional district of Kurtunwarey confirmed that militants closed drone-hit areas to the public.
The killed commander was identified as Abu Utayba, with other sources saying other terror commanders might have been targeted in the strike. Details remain patchy, and Garowe Online couldn’t reach officials with explicit knowledge of the drone attack for comments.
Officials at National Security Ministry said, the incident is being investigated.
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AW DHEEGLE, Somalia -- Somali government forces aided by African Union peacekeepers have killed five militants in fresh squeeze into Lower Shabelle region village of Aw Dheegle.
I have no idea where that is...
Heavy fighting raged after allied forces pressed ahead with surprise thrust in a bid to take back strategic village from Al Shabaab militants.
A spokesman for Somali Federal Government, Mohamed Hussein Shiino confirmed the re-liberation of Aw Dheegle. The riverine village was previously overrun by beleaguered Al Shabaab fighters.
Two government soldiers have been confirmed dead in subsequent confrontation while another one sustained gunshot wounds.
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(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – A security source in Anbar province said on Tuesday, that an artillery force belonging to the Anti-Terrorism Forces had managed to destroy two ISIS shelters and kill six ISIS militants in the neighborhood of al-Dobat in central Ramadi.
The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “The army’s 8th brigade participated alongside the Anti-Terrorism Forces in operations to retake the neighborhoods of Ramadi from ISIS,” pointing out that, “The artillery force of the brigade supported the Anti-Terrorism Forces in the neighborhoods located in central Ramadi, by targeting the shelters and gatherings of the ISIS organization.”
The source, who requested anonymity, also added, “An Abrams tank belonging to the 8th brigade shelled one of the ISIS shelters in the southern axis of Ramadi, resulting in the killing of 6 ISIS elements.”
The Syrian government and an opposition monitoring group say that at least nine students have been killed and several wounded by a mortar shell that shammed into their school in the northeastern city of Deir El Zour.
Syrian TV says the shell that hit the Harabesh elementary school for girls in a government-held part of the city on Tuesday was fired by "terrorists", the term the government uses for all armed groups fighting against President Bashar Al Assad's forces.
The city of Deir El Zour is divided between the Daesh and Syrian government forces.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that nine female students were killed and around 20 wounded when mortar shells fired by the IS group hit several parts of the school.
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[DAWN] SAUDI ARABIA recently announced the formation of an Islamic military alliance for combating terrorism consisting of 34 Muslim-majority states. After some initial confusion, the Pak government confirmed its participation in this coalition, but without stating whether it would be willing to commit troops abroad. The credibility of this alliance is questionable, since Syria, and Shia-majority Iran and Iraq, have not been included. Without the collaboration and support of these three key states, the Middle East stands little chance of neutralising the hard 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 US has welcomed the Saudi announcement -- behind closed doors, it might even have pressured the Saudi government to initiate this project. The US presidential election is less than a year away, and the B.O. regime is under intense pressure from the Republicans for not doing enough to battle IS. The US does not want to commit boots on the ground; it wants friendly Arab nations to commit resources and soldiers for fighting IS.
Ironically, the rise of IS can be partially credited to the US: its inference and military adventurism in the Middle East, including by arming rebels many of whom later joined IS, has significantly weakened state policing and military institutions in the region. The US desired regime change in Libya and Syria. It succeeded in Libya by astutely getting the Security Council to acquiesce in its military involvement on the premise of protecting human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. . But on Syria, both Russian and China vetoed any Security Council resolution authorising the use of force against the established government.
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[DAWN] British troops are being sent to south Afghanistan's Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province where Afghan forces are battling the Taliban for control of a strategic district, stated Britannia's Ministry of Defense (MoD) on Monday.
An MoD statement announced that "a small number of UK personnel" have been deployed to Helmand "in an advisory role".
The United Kingdom currently has 450 troops in Afghanistan as part of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... 's training mission. . Fighting was still underway Tuesday in Helmand. In the Sangin district, most government buildings are now in Taliban hands. Afghan officials say the entire province is in danger of falling to the holy warriors.
Helmand is a traditional stronghold of the Taliban and one of the biggest centers of opium production, which helps fund the insurgency.
Over the recent months, it has seen fierce fighting between the Lions of Islam and Afghan forces. The Lions of Islam are pressing their insurgency after the withdrawal of most international forces last year.
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#1
As per DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS + WORLDNEWS.COM Sanjin District, Helmand Province is repor all but under complete Taliban control.
WHY SEND UK FORCES TO SANJIN IFF THE POST-MULLAH OMAR AFGHAN TALIBAN ARE GOING TO BE THE BAMMER'S = USA'S NEW BFF AGZ ISIS/ISIL IN AFGHANISTAN OR AFPAK LIKE BABY ASSAD + RUSSIA IN SYRIA???
* See RELATED WORLD NEWS > [Independent.UK] AFGHAN CALLS FOR NATO AID AS TALIBAN CLAIM CAPTURE OF SANGIN.
* SAME > SIEGE OF SANGIN: TAILBAN AIM TO SHOW IMPOTENCE OF [Obama/US-supported, trained] AFGHAN ARMY.
As in Syria [Syria-Iraq], only Anti-US Putinist Russia + Iran can defeat the ISIS/ISIL + save Afghanistan once-n-forevar???
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Somalia is no longer a failed state but a recovering fragile country, the top U.N. official for war-torn Somalia has said. In the last three years the country has stabilized but there is still a lot of work to do, Nicholas Kay, the outgoing representative for the U.N. Secretary General in Somalia, told The Associated Press.
Told the AP safely from Addis Ababa. I'm only surprised he didn't do the interview in Geneva...
"The country is the past two-three years has come together quite significantly. It is both politically stable and developed as well," he said.
Somalia's Islamic extremist insurgents, al-Shabab, who are allied to al-Qaida, will not succeed in undermining the progress being made but the prospect of some members shifting allegiance to the Islamic State group is a real concern, Kay said.
Somalia has been torn by decades of conflict since the 1991 ouster of long-time dictator Siad Barre by warlords who then turned on each other. Somalia had transitional administrations from 2004 but it did not have a functioning central government until the 2012 election of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Somalia's weak U.N.-backed government is struggling to rebuild the country but insecurity caused mainly by al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaida-linked, remains its greatest challenge.
Kay says the political process in Somalia is successful with political leaders of the country engaging in political dialogue and negotiations with each other.
"These are not armed warlords fighting each other on a clan basis," Kay said. "They are presidents of interim regional administrations who are willing to sit and talk than use a barrel of a gun. In so, they are contributing to peace in the country, not to the fragmentation of the state as in the old days."
Kay said the parliamentary and presidential elections that are set for 2016 will take place and he expects leaders to respect the constitutional term limit of four years after they made firm commitments to do so.
Somali leaders are currently discussing how elections will be held. President Mohamud in June had ruled out the possibility of holding a vote with public participation in 2016, citing security challenges stemming from an Islamic insurgency. Opposition parties charge that that his government is taking advantage of poor security to extend its mandate through postponement of elections.
In the 2012 elections, Somali elders were tasked with naming the parliament since no election could be held, given the state of security around the country. Somalia's Parliament then elected a new president. Analysts criticized the system.
That's what analysts do, and usually from the safety of Geneva...
The International Crisis Group then described the selection of Somali parliamentarians as undemocratic, "with unprecedented levels of political interference, corruption and intimidation."
The difference being, a somewhat larger group of elders shared out the boodle than had been done in the process. I tell ya, some people don't recognize progress when they see it...
"Some elders allegedly nominated uneducated and objectionable individuals, some sold seats to highest bidders, and others even nominated their own family members," the International Crisis Group said then.
The elders modeled their system to look like Chicago...
Al-Shabab was forced out of their strongholds, including Mogadishu, the capital, by African Union troops and Somali forces, but the insurgents still carry out attacks. Lately, the Islamic extremists have been targeting hotels where government officials and Somalis from the diaspora looking to invest in the country congregate.
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[DAWN] Pakistain Awami Tehrik Chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri ...Pak politician, and would-be dictator, founder and head of Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran and Pakistain Awami Tehrik. He usually resides in Canada, but returns to Pakistain periodically to foam at the mouth and lead demonstrations. Depending on which way the wind's blowing, Qadri claims to be the author of Pak's blasphemy law. Other times he says it wasn't him... alleges that "corruption money" is being used for acts of terrorism in the country and both major political parties -- PML-N and PPP -- are covering up each other's wrongdoings.
Speaking to the media at the Lahore airport on his return from Canada on Tuesday, he claimed: "The rulers' corruption money is behind the (acts of) terrorism as they are allowing those who order the murders to go scot free."
He alleged that the old allies (PML-N and PPP) had joined hands to foil the Rangers' operation in 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... and their challenging statements were part of a "script" aimed at "hoodwinking" the masses and the institutions.
Both the main political parties had entered into a compromise for covering up and securing each other's corruption, he added.
"Whatever is being done to the Rangers is at the behest of Islamabad as a dangerous game is being played in Sindh," he alleged.
Demanding army operation in 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.... too, he said the Rangers were seeking powers only in Sindh while 14 dead bodies and over 100 injured were awaiting justice in Punjab, a reference to the Model Town police raid back in June 2014.
He said the country was being run like a personal business and rule of law was seen nowhere.
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Any minute now Volodya will come around, hat in hand, with an apology
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's bombing of Syria may amount to a war crime because of the number of civilians its strikes have killed, Amnesty International said on Wednesday, presenting what it said was evidence that the air raids had violated humanitarian law.
"Russian air strikes in Syria have killed hundreds of civilians and caused massive destruction in residential areas, striking homes, a mosque and a busy market, as well as medical facilities, in...attacks that show evidence of violations of international humanitarian law," Amnesty said in a new report. The Rooshun MoD will be on it like a Boss
Russia started its campaign of air strikes against militants in Syria on Sept. 30, saying it wanted to help the Kremlin's main Middle East ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, defeat Islamic State and other militant groups.
It has repeatedly and forcefully denied targeting civilians, saying it takes great care to avoid bombing residential areas.
When asked by Reuters to comment on the Amnesty allegations, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had no immediate comment, while the Russian Foreign Ministry said it first needed to study the report before giving any official reaction. More comedy gold at the link...
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – on Tuesday, the Peshmerga forces in Mosul announced, that 12 ISIS elements were killed in a rocket attack on an asphalt plant used as a hideout by the elements of ISIS in Bashiqa north of Mosul Province.
KDP spokesman in Mosul Saeed Mumozini said, “The Peshmerga forces in the center of Bashiqa north of Mosul targeted a group of ISIS elements in an asphalt plant in Bashiqa and managed to destroy it completely, killing 12 of ISIS elements.”
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – On Tuesday, a source in the Ministry of Interior stated, that ten people had been either killed or wounded in an explosion near a popular market west of Baghdad.
The source said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “This morning, a bomb exploded near a popular market in Bakriya area west of Baghdad, killing one person and wounding nine others,” adding that, “Ambulances rushed to the area and transferred the dead body to the forensic medicine department and the wounded to a nearby hospital to receive treatment.”
Tunisian Interior Ministry Monday announced they had dismantled a cell recruiting women for terrorist organizations in hotbed conflict zones. The Ministry’s statement pointed out that the cell based in Bizerte region (North of the country) was known for recruiting young women whom they send to terrorists for marriage in hotbed conflict zones.
Four people have been arrested in a security operation.
Tunisian authorities and other reports recently indicated that 700 Tunisian women have joined IS in Syria while a UN report on Tunisian foreign fighters in the ranks of IS in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Yemen revealed around 6,000 Tunisians have left the country–making Tunisian top foreign fighters supplier.
In recorded video featuring 4 Tunisians aired this month, IS promised to further attack Tunisia.
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[Hurriyet] Two female hard boyz were killed on early Dec. 22 during festivities with counter-terrorism police in Istanbul as a part of an operation against hard boyz responsible for an kaboom in central Istanbul early December.
Istanbul counter-terrorism police conducted an operation in Istanbul's Gaziosmanpasa district around 2:30 a.m. to apprehend hard boyz responsible for the Dec. 1 kaboom near the central Bayrampasa metro station.
Armed conflict erupted when hard boyz inside a cell house responded to police fire. Two unidentified female hard boyz were killed in the raid while four coppers were slightly injured and later reported to be in good condition.
In the aftermath of the festivities, police seized a bomb set-up, hand grenades and various weapons inside the raided cell-house. Another operation targeting hard boyz have also been reported at various cell houses.
Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, the SWAT team had finally arrived... locals in the neighborhood said the residents of the cell house had recently moved to the area.
(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – The commander of the Rapid Intervention Forces, Gen. Tamer Ismail, announced on Tuesday the killing of 17 ISIS elements as well as the destruction of 17 shelters for the organization by a rockets attack in eastern Hasiba in Anbar Province.
Ismail said in a brief statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “A force belonging to the Rapid Intervention Forces had managed to kill 17 ISIS elements and detonate 12 explosive devices in eastern Hasiba in Anbar,” noting that, “The Karrar Rockets Battalion was able to destroy 17 shelters and a vehicle that was carrying a mono-gun in the same area.”
A remote-controlled roadside bomb blast ripped through a convoy of vehicles belonging to the African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in northern Mogadishu on Tuesday.
Good thing Somalia is no longer a failed state...
Eyewitnesses said the AU soldiers opened indiscriminate fire at crows nearby the scene of bomb attack that destroyed a water tank at an area between Arbiska and Aimiska in Mogadishu’s Yaqshid district.
No group has claimed the responsibility for the IED attack, but Al shabaab has been known for carrying such targets against the AU and SNA military vehicles in Mogadishu.
AMISOM did not comment on Tuesday’s bomb attack in Mogadishu.
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[DAILYCALLER] Miss Puerto Rico has been suspended indefinitely from the Miss Universe pageant after she went on a tirade about Muslims on Twitter.
In a lengthy Facebook post where he called Donald Trump a big wuss, Michael Moore said that Trump was "desperate and insane" for proposing a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country. He said, "We are all Muslims."
Destiny Velez criticized Moore's comments and told him to stop defending Muslims who "have done nothing for the USA."
"Muslims use our constitution to terrorize USA & plant gas stations," Velez tweeted. "There's NO comparison between Jews, Christians & Muslims. Jews nor Christians have terrorizing agendas in their sacred books."
The Miss Puerto Rico organization apologized for Velez's conduct over the weekend.
"In regards to Miss Puerto Rico, Destiny Velez's, recent actions and conduct; the Miss Puerto Rico Organization feels that her words do not represent the integrity and esteem of our program, nor that of our board members, our sponsors and partners, or the National Organization," a statement from the organization read.
"Miss Velez's actions were in contradiction to the organization, and therefore as a consequence of her actions, she has been suspended indefinitely. The Miss Puerto Rico Organization will not tolerate any actions or behavior contrary to the Miss Puerto Rico Organization."
Velez has since deleted her Twitter.
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#1
I've seen a piece on Trump, which claims that such sentiments are widely shared among "Hispanics".
#5
Matamoros actually translates into "Kill the Moors", from the Spanish verb 'Matar' (to kill). Several cities and towns (and a few surnames) go by that or derivative thereof. Must have been a popular sentiment at one time or another.
'Moros muertos' would denote the Moors' previous passing.
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12/23/2015 12:33
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I stand corrected. It's even better in pointing out the PC insanity.
Iraqi security forces advanced on Tuesday into the centre of Ramadi for a final push aimed at retaking the city they lost to the Daesh group in May, officials said.
"We went into the centre of Ramadi from several fronts and we began purging residential areas," said Sabah Al Noman, spokesman of the elite Iraqi counter-terrorism service.
"The city will be cleared in the coming 72 hours," he said.
"We did not face strong resistance, only snipers and suicide bombers and this is a tactic we expected," Noman said.
The fresh push was launched on Monday night and aims to result in the full recapture of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province in western Iraq. Footage on state TV channel Iraqiya showed soldiers driving down the deserted streets of the bombed-out city, entering homes with caution to detect possible booby traps and retrieving shells and rockets from abandoned Daesh positions.
The fighting in Ramadi is led by the elite counter-terrorism force, backed by US-led coalition air strikes and also supported by the police, army and Sunni tribes opposed to the militants.
Daesh has lost several key towns in Iraq since Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdish region in the north started fighting back following the militant group's devastating offensive 18 months ago.
The Shia-dominated Hashed Al Shaabi paramilitary forces were heavily involved in battles that led to the recapture of towns such as Tikrit and Baiji, but they have remained on the fringes in the battle for Ramadi.
Retaking the city, an insurgent bastion that saw some of the deadliest fighting against US troops a decade ago, would be the Iraqi federal forces' most significant victory so far.
"We built temporary bridges on the Euphrates and our forces were able to cross the river to enter residential areas and gain access to the city centre," a brigadier general said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Daesh fighters have had plenty of time to dig in since they took full control of Ramadi on May 17 after blitzing government forces with wave after wave of car and truck bomb attacks. The militants built tunnels to move without being exposed to the coalition's daily raids, but their supply lines have been gradually severed and military officials estimated last week there were no more than 300 fighters left in the city.
The breakthrough came earlier this month when counter-terrorism forces broke down Daesh defences and retook the key southwestern neighbourhood of Al Tameem.
After beefing up their new positions, Iraqi military leaders had said a final push was imminent and leaflets urging the population to flee were dropped over the weekend.
"The distance between our forces and the governmental compound, which is located in the central district of Hoz, is less than a kilometre", said the brigadier general.
The provincial headquarters is believed to be one of the main Daesh bases in the city, and was at the heart of deadly fighting earlier this year.
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Security raids in several cities of the Kingdom led to the arrest of 11 Jihadists suspected for plotting terrorist attacks on the New Year, security services told media on Monday. The 11 suspects among students, unemployed, vendors, local manufacturers were arrested in the cities of Fes, Moulay Yacoub, Sefrou, Taounate and Missour on Monday.
Moroccan local daily Assabah in its Tuesday publication indicates that the suspects were arrested in terrorist attack preventive operations coordinated by judicial police and National Territory Surveillance Direction (DST). Security forces during the raids seized CDs, computers, flash disks which will be subject to investigations.
The suspects according to forces were plotting attacks on the New Year.
Security and judicial authorities also added that some of the suspects were already known to security forces as they belonged to Salafia jihadia; a terrorist organization affiliated to al-Qaeda. The organization is believed responsible for Casablanca coordinated terrorist attacks which killed 33 people on May 16, 2003.
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ALEPPO – Syrian military helicopters dropped several barrel bombs on a Kurdish neighborhood in Aleppo city, causing casualties among civilians, activists reported on Tuesday.
The neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud in Aleppo was hit by four barrel bombs dropped by pro-regime military helicopters.
At least four Kurdish civilians were killed and ten others were heavily injured in the attack, which caused a large destruction in residential buildings in the Kurdish neighborhood.
Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) have been protecting the area against Islamist rebels of al-Nusra Front (Syria’s branch of al-Qaeda) and the Islamic Movement of Ahrar al-Sham. This is the first time for pro-Assad air force to bomb the Kurdish neighborhood with barrel bombs.
“Four dead bodies were found subsequent to the bombardment, while more than ten others were heavily wounded and transferred to a field hospital for treatment,” a medical source told ARA News in Aleppo.
The source added that activists are still searching for victims under the rubble.
The regime-led bombardment of Sheikh Maqsoud comes just few days after the YPG forces reached a ceasefire agreement with the Islamist rebels subsequent to months of heavy clashes.
[Rudaw] ERBIL, Kurdistan Region--Over the last two days US-led coalition jets hammered 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) positions in Kirkuk and djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , killing a number of bully boys, Kurdish military officials said.
In Mosul two air strikes on houses believed to be occupied by a local ISIS commander resulted in the death of 12 civilians on Monday, Rooters reported today. Eight gunnies were also reported killed.
On Tuesday coalition jets covered a Peshmerga ground offensive against ISIS in Kirkuk.
"Peshmerga obtained intelligence on an ongoing ISIS maneuver on the front," Kamal Kirkuki, the Peshmerga commander in Western Kirkuk, ... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time... told Rudaw.
The ISIS gunnies were believed to be digging trenches and tunnels to fortify their positions in the region.
"We foiled their plots before they reached any Peshmerga posts," he added.
According to Kirkuki the air strikes killed 5 bully boys.
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#1
In Mosul two air strikes on houses believed to be occupied by a local ISIS commander resulted in the death of 12 civilians on Monday, Rooters reported today. Eight gunnies were also reported killed
OR "two airstrikes killed eight snuffies along with their harems and camp followers"
Posted by: Frank G ||
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DUBAI: UAE security authorities have seized an Iranian ship that was smuggling drugs and people, the state WAM news agency said on Tuesday.
WAM said the ship’s captain was trying to smuggle “big amounts of drugs and two Iranian nationals through the Khaled port in the emirate of Sharjah.”
Separately, six people are on trial in the UAE on charges of providing supplies to the country’s enemies from the Iran-allied Houthi movement in Yemen, WAM said.
“Six Arab defendants, including a Gulf citizen, are on trial on charges of providing the terrorist Houthi movement in Yemen with communication devices and equipment,” WAM said.
The Emirati public prosecutor accused them of giving the Houthis “communications devices and chemical materials,” without elaborating, according to WAM. One of the defendants managed Houthi funds in the UAE, the prosecutor said.
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.
The U.S. Navy shouldn't spend any more money on the Littoral Combat Ship, a vessel designed to be small and speedy in shallow waters close to shore, because it's unclear if it has enough firepower or can even survive in combat, according to the government's top watchdog agency.
An Egyptian military court on Tuesday sentenced Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie to 10 years in prison over deadly clashes following the 2013 ouster of president Mohammed Mursi, judicial officials said.
Afghan asylum-seekers have set up a homeless camp at the site of a prominent Paris terror attack memorial in protest at the lack of migrant housing. The migrants have laid down mattresses and blankets at the busy Place de la Republique in Paris, where tens of thousands held a march of solidarity in the wake of the attacks.
[DAWN] THE finance minister acknowledged the widespread incidence of malnutrition in Pakistain the other day, but missed the point in presenting remedies for the problem.
[DAWN] After much deliberation, the interior ministry gave a 60-day extension in the special policing powers of Rangers in Sindh, after a meeting at the ministry chaired by Interior Minister 
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Somalia is no longer a failed state but a recovering fragile country, the top U.N. official for war-torn Somalia has said. In the last three years the country has stabilized but there is still a lot of work to do, Nicholas Kay, the outgoing representative for the U.N. Secretary General in Somalia, told The Associated Press. 
[DAWN] Pakistain Awami Tehrik Chairman Dr 
Iraqi security forces advanced on Tuesday into the centre of Ramadi for a final push aimed at retaking the city they lost to the Daesh group in May, officials said.
