[Houston Chronicle] A spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed that the suspect, 37-year-old Gary Nathaniel Moore of Houston, was arrested early Wednesday. Moore appeared in court at 7 a.m., spokeswoman Nicole Strong said, and bond was set at $100,000.
[Guardian] The growth in wages for UK workers is set to stall at just two per cent next year thanks to the large number of migrant workers waiting to fill vacancies, the Guardian has admitted.
Referring to data from the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD), the paper reports that while job creation will remain strong over the next year, wages for most workers will not rise substantially -- and this is in large part due to the high number of migrant workers.
While up to 400,000 new jobs could be created in 2016, there is no sign of a skills shortage, thus making it more difficult for workers to demand a generous pay rise.
According to separate figures, the number of non-UK nationals in the workforce has rocketed from 986,000 in 1997 to 3.22 million now, thus making up more than 10 per cent of Britain's workforce.
Over the past 12 months, three quarters of new jobs created went to non-UK nationals -- 326,000, compared to 122,000 for British workers.
#2
Gee, supply and demand. Flood the labor market and the value of wages declines. Who could have figured that out. Of course the lefty pols will counter with raising minimum wage which then meets a decline in new job creation.
[Rooters] Islamic State theologians have issued an extremely detailed ruling on when "owners" of women enslaved by the extremist group can have sex with them, in an apparent bid to curb what they called violations in the treatment of captured females.
The ruling or fatwa has the force of law and appears to go beyond the Islamic State's previous known utterances on the subject, a leading Islamic State scholar said. It sheds new light on how the group is trying to reinterpret centuries-old teachings to justify the sexual slavery of women in the swaths of Syria and Iraq it controls.
Read the fatwa here.
The fatwa was among a huge trove of documents captured by U.S. Special Operations Forces during a raid targeting a top Islamic State official in Syria in May. Reuters has reviewed some of the documents, which have not been previously published.
Among the religious rulings are bans on a father and son having sex with the same female slave; and the owner of a mother and daughter having sex with both. Joint owners of a female captive are similarly enjoined from intercourse because she is viewed as "part of a joint ownership."
The United Nations and human rights groups have accused the Islamic State of the systematic abduction and rape of thousands of women and girls as young as 12, especially members of the Yazidi minority in northern Iraq. Many have been given to fighters as a reward or sold as sex slaves.
Far from trying to conceal the practice, Islamic State has boasted about it and established a department of "war spoils" to manage slavery. Reuters reported on the existence of the department on Monday.
In an April report, Human Rights Watch interviewed 20 female escapees who recounted how Islamic State fighters separated young women and girls from men and boys and older women. They were moved "in an organized and methodical fashion to various places in Iraq and Syria." They were then sold or given as gifts and repeatedly raped or subjected to sexual violence.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
12/31/2015
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[Ynet] Russia's air force made 121 sorties and hit 424 targets in Syria during December 28-29, Russia's defense ministry said on Wednesday.
The ministry said that the strikes had occurred in Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia, Hama, Homs, Daraa, Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zor provinces.
The targets included a building in the outskirts of Raqqa, which was destroyed following a direct hit by an Su-34 bomber, following a tip-off that it was being used for a meeting of Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... field commanders, the ministry said.
[AnNahar] Three months of Russian air strikes in Syria have killed more than 2,300 people, a third of them civilians, a monitoring group said on Wednesday.
Russia began conducting its air war in Syria on September 30 in support of embattled ally Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Moscow's strikes on Syria have killed 2,371 people so far. The toll includes 792 civilians, among them 180 children.
The raids killed 655 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.... jihadist group, which Russia says it is targeting along with "other terrorist groups".
Another 924 opposition fighters -- ranging from U.S.-backed rebels to members of Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate and IS rival Al-Nusra Front -- were also killed in the Russian strikes.
The Britannia-based Observatory has an extensive network of sources inside Syria. Russia, a U.S.-led coalition and the Syrian air force are all carrying out air raids in the country, but the Observatory differentiates between strikes based on the type of aircraft flown and the munitions used.
Russia has come under growing criticism from rebels, human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... groups, and the West for inflicting civilian casualties.
Amnesia Amnesty International last week said Russian raids had killed hundreds of civilians, many in targeted strikes that could constitute war crimes.
U.S. State Department front man Mark Toner echoed the accusations on Tuesday, saying Russian strikes have "killed hundreds of civilians, including first responders, (and) hit medical facilities, schools and markets."
More than 250,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests.
[AlAhram] Turkish police on Wednesday detained two suspected 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.... holy warriors who were believed to be planning suicide kabooms during New Year celebrations in central Ankara, officials said.
The two men were detained in a raid on a cell house in the low-income Mamak neighborhood of Ankara, where police also seized a boom jacket armed with a bomb, an bomb that was fortified with ball bearings and metal sticks and placed inside a back-pack as well as bomb-making equipment, according to the Ankara Chief Prosecutor's office.
The two Turkish nationals, identified by their initials M.C. and A.Y., were being questioned by anti-terrorism police.
The prosecutor's office said the men had staked out possible locations in Ankara, where they could carry out the attacks. The state-run Anadolu Agency, quoting unnamed police and judiciary officials, said the would-be-attackers were planning to detonate the bombs at two locations near bars and a shopping mall near The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's central Kizilay district during the celebrations.
"They were caught before they had the opportunity to take action," the prosecutor's office said.
The private NTV news channel, quoting security sources, said the two had "frequently" moved in and out of Syria and that security officials had been monitoring their movements for the past month.
In The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's biggest city Istanbul, 15,000 police will be deployed to ensure security over the New Year, including 5,000 in the area around the central Taksim Square, the city's deputy police security chief Zafer Baybaba said.
European capitals have also beefed up security after the coordinated attacks in Gay Paree which left 130 people dead and hundreds more maimed on November 13.
Austrian police said Saturday they had stepped up security in Vienna and other cities after receiving a warning of possible attacks during the holiday season.
And Moscow's Red Square, traditionally a place where people gather to ring in the New Year, will be closed to revellers on December 31 amid mounting security concerns.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/31/2015
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[AnNahar] The annual New Year's Eve festivities and fireworks in the heart of Brussels have been canceled for security reasons, the mayor announced on Wednesday, as the Belgian capital remains on high alert over a possible terror threat.
"Unfortunately we have been forced to cancel the fireworks and all that was planned for tomorrow (Thursday) evening and that would have brought a lot of people together in the center of Brussels, following a risk analysis by the crisis center," mayor Yvan Mayeur told Belgian broadcaster RTBF.
Last year, some 100,000 people turned out to watch the traditional New Year's Eve fireworks display at the Place de Brouckere.
Mayeur said in the current circumstances it wasn't possible to "guarantee that we can check everyone coming to the event".
"It's better not to take any risks," he added.
The Belgian capital, home to the headquarters of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... , has been on high alert since the November 13 gun and suicide kaboom attacks in Gay Paree that left 130 dead.
A key suspect in the Gay Paree attacks, Belgian-born runaway Salah Abdeslam, is believed to have fled to Brussels in the hours after the massacre, which was claimed by the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... jihadist group.
The Belgian authorities have so far detained nine men in the case including four accused of helping Abdeslam get away from the scene of the crimes.
Earlier Wednesday, Belgian police held a man for questioning following a new search in the troubled Brussels immigrant neighborhood of Molenbeek in connection with the Gay Paree attacks.
Earlier this week, Belgian police tossed in the slammer Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! two people suspected of plotting attacks in Brussels during New Year festivities, with officers seizing military-style training uniforms, computer hardware and Islamic State propaganda material.
Belgian police detained six people during house searches in Brussels on Thursday as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to carry out an attack in the capital on New Year's Eve.
Police carried out searches at six locations in the Belgian capital and one just outside the city, seizing computers, mobile phones and equipment for airsoft, a sport involving guns that shoot non-lethal plastic pellets.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/31/2015
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#1
"It's better not to take any risks," he added.
"Everyone should stay home in 2016 ... and lock your doors"
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/31/2015 7:04
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"This video contains content from LatmaTV. It is not available in your country."
Our PC 'minders' must be at work.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/31/2015 17:50
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Happy New Year from Germany.
45 minutes ago Munich was put on high serious dire this time we mean it terror alert, railway stations evacuated and people told to stay away from public places.
Yeah right. On New Years Eve. Of course people are celebrating and ignoring.
Just in case something happens, we have stuff to shoot back tonight.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/31/2015 18:29
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[Ynet] The United States and its allies staged 28 air strikes on Tuesday against Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... in Iraq and Syria, the coalition leading the operations said in a statement.
In Syria, four strikes near four cities struck tactical units and an oil pump station, and destroyed two vehicles and an excavator, according to a Combined Joint Task Force statement released Wednesday.
In Iraq, 24 air strikes concentrated near djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... and Ramadi struck bunkers, fighting positions and bombs among other targets, the statement said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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[IsraelTimes] Border staff find bulletproof sheets of metal hidden in a shipment of car parts at Kerem Shalom crossing
Border officials this week thwarted an attempt to smuggle armor plating into the Gazoo Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
An Israeli truck hauling spare car parts aroused the suspicion of workers in the Defense Ministry's Border Crossing Authority, according to a statement.
When they examined the truck, authorities found several bulletproof plates, which could have been used to fortify terrorist strongholds in Gazoo. This was the first time the border crossing authority has discovered an attempt to smuggle armor into the Strip, the ministry said.
The Defense Ministry does not yet know who is responsible for the smuggling attempt. The Israel Police, Shin Bet, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories' unit (COGAT), the Customs Authority and Border Crossing Authority have opened an investigation into the matter, according to the Defense Minsitry's statement.
Kerem Shalom is one of two crossings between Israel and the Gazoo Strip. Kerem Shalom is located on the southern tip of the Strip, next to the Egyptian border. The Erez Crossing is located at the northern end.
Hundreds of trucks delivering food, aid and other goods pass through the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Gazoo every day.
Despite the expectations for the removal of international sanctions against Tehran, leading indexes like the Tehran Stock Exchange Index (TEPIX) don’t predict optimistic future for business conditions in Iran, says Hamid Mirmoeini, an Iranian market expert.
As 70 percent of economic activities in Iran is undertaken by the government, and given the fact that most of the government’s revenues depend on oil income, the sharp decline in oil prices has caused economic difficulties in the country, Mirmoeini told Trend Dec. 29.
The expert explained that although the removal of sanctions may increase the volume of Iran’s exports, it won’t have a considerable impact on the country’s income as the prices have fallen dramatically. Mirmoeini believes the plunging oil revenue will have a crippling effect on the government’s development projects, resulting in general slowdown in economic activities and finally worsening the recession.
President Hassan Rouhani, after assuming office in August 2013, pursued contractionary policies to bring down the 35 percent inflation in Iran.
“Apparently the government will continue its contractionary policies in the near future aimed at combating inflation,” said Mirmoeini.
“However, it is difficult to estimate how it [the release of frozen assets] will impact the economy as the value of the assets remains unclear and the government hasn’t announced any plan on spending them,” he added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/31/2015
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#1
As 70 percent of economic activities in Iran is undertaken by the government
To be more accurate, members of the IRGC run a significant part of that 70 percent; the mullahs and "veterans charities" have the rest.
[ALMANAR.LB] The Syrian army continued on Wednesday the operation in northern Daraa countryside, targeting an gang at the Sheikh Meskin roundabouts that was fortifying inside a building.
The operation left 7 gunnies killed or injured, and cannon launcher 81 destroyed.
At least eight other gunnies were killed by direct artillery fire and guided missiles fired at two cars of the gangs on the road Ibta' Sheikh Meskin in northern rural Daraa.
SANA reported that murderous Moslems are fleeing en masse from Sheikh Meskin after a number of their leaders were killed, while the army cut off all supply routes for terrorist organizations.
Earlier Tuesday, Army units established control over Tal al-Hash and the 82nd brigade camp in the vicinity of Sheikh Meskin town, 22 km north of Daraa city.
Terrorist organizations acknowledged on their social media pages the killing of the so-called "commander of Liwa Jund al-Rahman" terrorist Youssef Abdullah al-Ammar, and another commander nicknamed Abu al-Majed.
Meanwhile, ...back at the precinct house, Don Calamari's lawyer was getting even redder in the face... local sources affirmed the killing of head of Al-Nusra front operations in Sheikh Meskin city terrorist Abu Mohammad Hafez.
The Syrian army launched in May 2013 a wide scale military offensive against the gangs and takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... organizations operating in the country.
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12/31/2015
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[Dhaka Tribune] The BNP has accused the government of rigging the municipal elections and demanded that voting be re-held in municipalities that had been occupied by the ruling party men.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, acting secretary general of the party, claimed that municipal elections had turned farcical as per the blueprint of the government.
"We were apprehensive that a farcical election would be held and our premonition just came true," he told news hounds at a presser at BNP Chairperson the loathesome Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... 's Gulshan office on Wednesday.
Fakhrul claimed that fair elections were not possible to be held as long as the incumbent government was in office as it would not allow any such election to be held.
"Since morning, there was no spontaneity among voters. Rather, violence and occupation of polling centres turned the polls into a tragedy.
"Till 4pm, we have learned that BNP agents were ejected from 157 polling stations. In many places, voters were also ousted and most of the polling centres were occupied," he alleged.
The BNP leader said: "One thing we have noticed is that the government used all the state organs to manipulate elections."
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[Dhaka Tribune] An alleged murderous Moslem of 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.... originating from Bangladesh has been killed in an air strike in Syria.
Syrian-based Bangladeshi Saiful Haque Sujan was killed near Raqqa on December 10, reports the Washington Post.
Army Colonel Steve Warren, the top front man for US-led military coalition, listed the names of 10 IS turbans including the Bangladeshi one who were killed in the air strike.
"My point is this: We will continue to hunt ISIL leaders who are working to recruit, plan and inspire attacks against the United States of America and our allies," Warren said, using an acronym for the Islamic State murderous Moslem group.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Constitutional Convention = Moar rules and laws for the elites to ignore or twist to their advantage.
[WASHINGTONTIMES] Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a top contender for the Republican presidential nomination, has come out in favor of the idea of a convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution, adding a high-profile voice to an issue that has picked up renewed interest in some conservative circles.
Mr. Rubio said a convention, which would the first in the nation's history, was needed to rein in the power of Washington insiders and get the nation's finances in order.
"One of the things I'm going to do on my first day in office: I will announce that I am a supporter, and as president I will put the weight of the presidency behind a constitutional convention of the states so we can pass term limits on members of Congress and the Supreme Court and so we can pass a balanced budget amendment," Mr. Rubio said in Iowa.
In the past, Mr. Rubio has acknowledged the concerns of some critics who say such a call for a convention could go in unpredictable directions, opening up the possibility of far-reaching proposals to overhaul the Constitution.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2015
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Constitutional Convention = Moar rules and laws for the elites to ignore or twist to their advantage.
Still takes 3/4th of the states to ratify anything. A lot of little states that have no good will for the coastie elites are not likely to rubber stamp any such amendments and more likely to pass things those oligarchs fear.
[Daily Excelsior] Army troops of Delta force and police today unearthed a hideout of the holy warriors at Hachot forests in Kishtwar district and recovered large quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives.
Acting on tip off, a joint team of Army and police launched massive searches in Hachot forests of Dul area and destroyed the hideout of the krazed killers.
Recoveries made from the hideout included one AK-56 rifle along with four magazines, 150 rounds of AK-56, one 7.62mm Self Loading Rifle (SLR) along with two magazines, 12 hand grenades, eight UBGL grenades, two hand held radio sets, one radio set antenna, two all purpose binoculars and two combat pouches.
The recoveries have delivered a major setback to the krazed killers, official sources said.
Police party in the operation was led by SDPO Padder Pardeep Singh.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2015
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A number of Nangarhar residents and civil society activists held a rally in Jalalabad city on Wednesday and urged government to speed up the peace negotiation process.
The demonstrators raised concerns over the increase of insecurity in the province and said government must step up its efforts to bring about peace. They also urged the National Unity Government (NUG) to revise its security strategy for the province.
"We want security in the province. War is not the solution. Taliban must follow peace negotiations," said Abdul Rahman a civil society activist.
"War and killing civilians is not acceptable for the people. Government, Daesh and the Taliban must abide by the [international] law of war [that protects civilians]," said Noor Ahmad a resident.
Meanwhile the demonstrators argued that the NUG must address the issue of insecurity in numerous districts of the province.
"Until security has been restored in the province the people will continue to protest - this is a serious demand by residents," said Zabiullah Zmarai the provincial council head.
"It has been months that civilians are affected as a result of Taliban and Daesh battles but no one cares about this issue. But silence on the insecurity is no longer acceptable for us," said Abdullah Shenwari a provincial council member.
Afghanistan and Pakistan recently agreed to resume peace talks with the Taliban and a planning meeting is scheduled between Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States in early January where the framework of the peace talks with the Taliban is expected to be mapped out.
[HOSTED.AP.ORG] Thirty-five asylum-seekers have asked to be relocated from a refugee housing facility in southern Sweden because they believe it's haunted by ghosts, officials said Wednesday.
The asylum-seekers were spooked by flickering lights and noise in the plumbing system at the facility in Grannaforsa, a small village in Smaland province, said Magnus Petersson, a local manager at the Swedish Migration Agency.
Petersson said 35 of the 58 people living in the shelter came to the agency's office in the nearby town of Alvesta on Tuesday, demanding to be relocated. They reluctantly returned to the shelter at the end of the day after being told there were no ghosts - and no alternative housing available - Petersson said.
"I know that in their faith there is a different view on spirituality," he said. "We were responsive to them but somewhere you have to use your common sense and believe in science."
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
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#1
Might be a worthwhile rumor to spread in the lands those refugees came from. Come to Europe for the bennies, be haunted by the ghosts.
#5
Check the bolts in the power supply lines disconnect - usually on the side of the building - they are likely loose and behind the companies sealing wire.
Plumbing - likely copper air chambers (actually a vacuum chamber) is filled with water. Solution is to drain the water in the house with supply turned off and then refill. Example chamber:
#7
As for the flickering lights, might be one of those new-fangled European electric conservation requirements that automatically shuts the power off to devices at varying times. Wait until that hits the states.
(Reminds me of an old Mr. Bean sketch with the electrical supply being coin-operated)
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/31/2015 13:02
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#8
"The ghosts of Christians past." #6 AH.
"Snark of the Day"
Snark of the YEAR! :-D
Posted by: Barbara ||
12/31/2015 18:15
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[WASHINGTONTIMES] Katrina Pierson, a spokeswoman for GOP front-runner Donald Trump's presidential campaign who has made headlines for her controversial statements in defense of Mr. Trump's policies, took to Twitter to respond to criticism of a necklace made of bullets she wore during a CNN interview Monday.
Hours after the interview was aired, Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, tweeted sarcastically that "surely @KatrinaPierson wore the bullet necklace on #CNN to bring attention to 90 Americans fatally shot daily #gunsense"
About an hour later, Ms. Pierson responded with her own tweet: "Maybe I'll wear a fetus next time & bring awareness to 50 million aborted people that will never ger (sic) to be on Twitter."
Game and set to Mr. Trump and his people. They're playing the game at a level that just confounds all the usual experts and elites...
Posted by: Fred ||
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With Trump, he hands the media a shovel and encourages them to dig when they find themselves in a hole.
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – A local source in Nineveh province said on Wednesday, that 75 ISIS elements had been either killed or wounded in an aerial bombing that targeted the so-called ISIS “Sharia Court” east of the province.
The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “Today, warplanes of the international coalition bombed the buildings of the Sharia Court as well as the central prison belonging to the ISIS organization in the government complex, in addition to three other sites in Sommur neighborhood east of the province.”
The source added, “The strike resulted in killing 25 ISIS elements and wounding 50 others, including leaders,” pointing out that, “The bombardment was conducted by Hillfire smart missiles.”
Security officials in Herat province on Wednesday said they will ensure the security of TAPI gas pipeline project – that will pass through parts of the western province.
Head of police in the Ministry of Interior, Mohammad Salem Ehsas, who traveled to Herat to assess the capabilities of police in the western zone, said they will not let Afghanistan's enemies pose a threat to the project.
He said: "I assure you that the security and defense forces have the capability with all means to ensure the security of the project."
Meanwhile, an army commander in the western zone Gen. Taj Mohammad Mujahid said the security forces will soon launch military operations in four provinces in the zone in order to eliminate Taliban hideouts.
"Our capability and capacity is very high compared to that of the enemy. We carry out our winter operations in areas under threat, " he said.
Herat Police Chief Gen. Abdul Majid Rozi also said special police units have been deployed to maintain law-and-order in Herat city.
He said: "Additional troops will be added to our forces that will cover all the city day and night."
Geneva Convention rules being applied in Pakistan elections...
[Dawn] GWADAR: The house of Mohammed Ali Rind, who is contesting the by-election for PB-50 Turbat-3 as a candidate of the Balochistan National Party-Awami, was torched on Wednesday.
The incident took place in Mand Bullo, a small town in Kech district along the border with Iran, Levies officials said.
They said that a group of armed men riding a vehicle reached the house early in the morning and set it on fire. No one was in the house at the time of the attack.
“All rooms and household items were gutted,” said Barkat Ali Rind, an eyewitness.
The fire could not be brought under control for hours as the town does not have any fire-extinguishing equipment.
Two days ago, armed men had torched the house of PML-N candidate Mir Akbar Askani in Tump area.
The third important candidate is former speaker of the Balochistan Assembly and leader of National Party, Muhammad Akram Dashti, whose house in Turbat town was also attacked.
[ALMANAR.LB] The killing of a terrorist leader of a Syrian gang in an air raid last week does not serve the grinding of the peace processor in the war-ravaged country, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Tuesday.
Zahran Alloush, the head of the Saudi-backed-and-financed Jaish al-Islam ...Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) was established by Zahran Alloush, the son of Saudi-based religious scholar Abdullah Mohammed Alloush, after Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011 where he had been serving time for his Salafist activism. The group claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 2012 Damascus bombing that killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani. It was a driving force behind actions in the Damascus region. It cooperated and conducted joint operations with al-Nusra. In Sptember 2013 Saudi Arabia engineered Liwa al-Islam's merger with fifty other more or less Salafist groups as a counterweight to al-Nusra, which the Learned Elders of Islam considered was growing too powereful... , a terrorist group operating in Damascus province, was killed on Friday in a strike claimed by the Syrian army.
"I don't know what the Russians have in mind," Jubeir told news hounds, in reference to the killing.
The minister was speaking at a joint news conference in Riyadh with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Jaish al-Islam has fought off the Syrian army forces in its Eastern Ghouta bastion, east of Damascus.
Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... is a key backer of armed takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... groups battling the Syrian national forces, and Jubeir reiterated previous demands that Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... be removed from power.
Moscow had accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... and his family of involvement in the illegal oil trade with holy warriors of the so-called '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) takfiri groups, claims Ankara has strongly denied No, no! Certainly not! despite video footages that prove the Russian accusations.
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US Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Turkey next month where he is expected to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, the White House told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday. The vice president's Jan. 23 visit will take place as a U.S.-led coalition desultory fight continues against Daesh in Syria and Iraq.
The White House did not provide details about the vice president’s trip but the visit is considered important as the U.S. presses Turkey to do more in the war against the militants and in strengthening its border with Syria.
Good luck with that. I think sending Goofy Joe to 'press' Turkey isn't going to turn out the way people are anticipating. Perhaps that's just the plan...
In addition to the fight with Daesh, Biden is also expected to discuss the issue of Turkish troops staged at a training camp in northern Iraq.
Earlier this month, in a telephone call with Davutoglu, Biden welcomed the drawback of the troops deployed at the camp, calling it "an important step to de-escalate recent tensions," between the two countries, the White House said.
Biden will stop in Turkey prior to a visit to Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/31/2015
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Hunter needs a new source of income, perhaps?
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/31/2015 11:29
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"Biden to Visit Turkey"
I was thinking that he worked for one...
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12/31/2015 15:02
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[DAWN] POINT six of the National Action Plan calls for the state to choke terrorism financing. Choking funds is not possible without understanding the processes of fundraising, transfers and utilisation of funds. To ensure stern action against the controllers and financiers of terrorism, the government recently established the National Terrorists Financing Investigation Cell. The creation of NTFIC is the practical manifestation of NAP's point six. Without a specialised unit, financing cannot be stopped.
The government has tasked FIA, the State Bank, FBR and intelligence agencies to jointly operate NTFIC. The unit will track financial transactions between the national and international banking systems.
Such ventures cannot succeed without the active cooperation of the provinces. The new initiative has been taken in the light of capacity issues of the existing Financial Monitoring Unit and to improve information-sharing among investigation, intelligence and law-enforcement agencies.
Continued on Page 49
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#1
Three days following the 9/11 attack the U.S. Department of the Treasury formed an interagency task force to combat terrorism. It comprised four Treasury agencies -- the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the U.S. Customs Service, the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigations Unit (IRS-CI) and the Secret Service. All had facilities at the World Trade Center destroyed by the September 11 terrorist attack. I
The task force was soon called the Foreign Terrorist Asset Tracking Center (FTATC), and was located in the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control. Its purpose was to disrupt the funding of terrorist organizations. When the last great book on counter-terrorism is written the FTATC will finally receive its due as the most important element in the war on Islamist terrorism.
Pakistan never copied the American example because its military leaders were actually supporting terrorism.
[WASHINGTONTIMES] The Border Patrol nabbed two Pak men with ties to terrorism at the U.S.-Mexico border in September in the latest instance of undocumented Democrats from so-called "special interest countries" using the southern border as a point of entry to the U.S.
Muhammad Azeem and Mukhtar Ahmad, both in their 20s and from Gujrat, were caught Sept. 20 by agents south of San Diego and just over the international border from Tijuana. When agents checked their identities through databases they got hits on both of them: Mr. Ahmad popped up as an associate of a known or suspected terrorist, while Mr. Azeem's information had been shared by a foreign government for intelligence purposes.
Both men had been processed two months earlier by immigration officials in Panama, suggesting they took advantage of smuggling networks or other routes increasingly used by Central American undocumented Democrats to sneak into the U.S.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2015
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Nothing to see here, plebes, go about your business
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/31/2015 10:07
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Think they are the first, or just the first caught?
Symbolic attacks on New Years Day would have a huge audience. Pray we are able to catch what might be planned!
Security officials have said they are in the process of dismantling a Taliban hideout in Surobi district in Kabul province – a hideout from where militants allegedly organize attacks on Kabul city as well as Laghman, Kapisa and Nangarhar provinces.
Security sources have said there are more than 300 insurgents hiding out in remote and inaccessible parts of Ozbin in Surobi district.
Ozbin is located about 20 kilometers from Surobi's center and only 90 kilometers from Kabul city.
Sources say there are a number of villages and valleys that are believed to be safe havens for Taliban fighters.
TOLOnews reporter Tamim Hamid, who visited Surobi on Saturday, met with officials who said the insurgents also prey on locals and extort money from them.
Fakhrullah, an army commander, said: "They [militants] have centers [hideouts] in upper areas such as Qala-e-Sorkh and Diwana Ha areas, and from there they organize a number of attacks on Kabul [city]. They get to the capital city through different ways."
Sources say Ozbin is a good income source for the Taliban as they allegedly extort money from locals, especially for electricity.
Meanwhile, the district chief of Surobi, Fahim Musazai said they plan to establish local police in Ozbin area in order to maintain law-and-order.
"Tribal elders have said they are ready to help government to establish local police in the area. We have shared the issue with the Interior Minister and he vowed to provide us with the facilities for this," he added.
A number of residents of Surobi meanwhile said the presence of militants has created many problems for locals.
"The people are faced with lots of problems, including violence against women, poor economy, family problems and others, therefore they need psychologists and counseling centers – particularly for women," said Jan Agha, head of a youth training center in Ozbin.
"We have several students in schools and we have tried a lot to improve their knowledge, but we are faced with a lack of professional teachers," said Momen, the head of a training center in Surobi.
[Daily Excelsior] A 23-year-old American has pleaded guilty to defacing an Islamic Centre in the US state of Missouri with anti-Pakistain spray-painted graffiti and burning copies of the Muslim holy book outside the building.
Adam David Smock, of Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,, yesterday pleaded guilty before a US court to a federal charge of defacing the Islamic Centre with graffiti and burning two copies of the Koran.
According to the Justice Department, Smock admitted that he and two other individuals -- one of whom was a 14-year-old minor -- spray-painted graffiti on the exterior walls of the Islamic Centre of Springfield on January 7, 2011.
That was a long time ago...
The graffiti included explicit and offensive language in addition to statements such as "Bash Back," "Now is our time!" and "You bash us in Pakistain we bash here."
Smock admitted that on April 10, 2011, he and the same two individuals partially burned two copies of the Koran, and left the burned copies of the holy book right in front of the Islamic Centre, approximately 30 feet away from the building.
He also admitted that it was his idea to commit the acts and that he persuaded his co-conspirators to participate, and that he selected the Islamic Centre of Springfield for vandalism because of the religious nature of the property in order to threaten and intimidate worshippers so as to hinder and interfere with the worshippers' enjoyment of their constitutional right to the free exercise of religion.
Under the terms of plea agreement, a joint recommendation will be made to the court that Smock be incarcerated for 14 days, followed by a five-year term of supervised release; that Smock must pay USD 10,440 in restitution; and that Smock must perform 40 hours of community service. (PTI)
Posted by: Fred ||
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Should've called himself a "performance artist."
[Dhaka Tribune] Hand bombs have been blasted allegedly by the ruling party men near seven polling centres in Jessore Sadar municipality.
At least five people were maimed in the incidents. However, if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well... the injuries were not severe.
The polling centres are: Aminia Madrasa, Rail Station Govt. Primary School, Islam Colony Govt. Primary School and Police Lines High School.
Assistant Police Super Bhaskar Saha said: "We heard about the crude kabooms and sent police on the spots. Police brought the situation under control."
Supporters of Awami League rebel candidates, BNP candidates and voters alleged that the ruling party men blasted the bombs.
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The South China Sea Fleet of the PLA Navy has embraced three new vessels. A ceremony marking the beginning of military service of the three vessels, the supply ship Luguhu, the electronic reconnaissance ship Neptune and the pelagic survey vessel Qian Xuesen was held at a naval port in the South China Sea on Saturday.
These three vessels are all independently designed and built by China.
The biggest differences between the Type 904B supply ship Luguhu (Hull No. 962) and its predecessor Type 904A supply ship Fuxianhu are that, instead of the portal frame type platform, which is specific to the comprehensive supply ship, on the supply ship Luguhu, there are two davits mounted on each side in the middle section of the ship and a hangar which enhances the vertical replenishment capacity.
The ship is designed to provide material supply for the troops stationed in the Nansha islands, and undertake such tasks as providing supply for a ship formation and maritime medical aid at a certain degree.
The Type 815G electronic reconnaissance ship Neptune (Hull No. 852) is able to conduct continuous all-weather reconnaissance of various targets within a certain range.
The Qian Xuesen (Hull No. 873) is the third ship of the Type 636A pelagic survey vessel family. It mainly conducts survey of oceans and reefs, marine meteorology observation and layout of hydrometeorological buoys to provide basic data to guarantee navigation safety and carry out marine scientific research.
The sound attenuation is the most remarkable performance of the survey vessel, which is even more excellent than that of the Russian Kilo-class submarines known as the "ocean black hole" in the world. Pics at the link.
[The Nation] Thailand's supreme court on Tuesday awarded life sentences to three men and jail terms of 13 years and four months to two others after they were found guilty of terrorism in the far South more than a decade ago. The verdict reversed two previous rulings that had acquitted the five on grounds of insufficient evidence.
The defendants were charged as members of Bersatu, which has acted under supervision of BRN Coordinate, a militant group responsible for a series of deadly attacks. The men were arrested in connection with the murder of a senior policeman in Pattani's Muang district on December 29, 2004.
Maarsi Bunphol, Mustopa Jehya and Ulai Sohpanae were initially given life terms, but sentences for the latter two defendants were commuted to 33 years and four months because they confessed. Ilyas Manwang and Usman Pachee were found guilty of supporting terror and given 20-year terms, reduced to 13 years and four months since they provided useful testimony.
Morocco, an ally of the West and member of international coalition against Daesh, is on high alert. All of its forces, rescue teams & emergency personnel have been asked to be vigilant. The Moroccans officials are not taking their chances. They have decided to deploy an impressive force of 100,000 armed agents across the entire country to protect the New Year festivities from potential terrorist threats.
Intelligence services of European countries have issued lately alerts over Isis plans to attack several countries, member of international alliance against terrorist Islamic State.
Morocco is a popular destination for foreign tourists and particularly for Brits – about 500,000 travel to the North African country every year. Many tourists have been attracted by the offer of cheap full-board package deals by holiday companies.
According to some press reports, Britain has sent lately some bomb experts, intelligence officers and a ground protection squad to Morocco to help train the Moroccan armed forces in bomb disposal and coping with eventual mass casualty incidents.
In an interview with Belgian newspaper Derniere Heure, Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) chief Abdelhak Khiame said the Moroccan security services helped to foil several terrorist attacks in Europe.
“Several attacks, which were planned in some European countries, including France, Spain and Belgium, were thwarted thanks to the intelligence provided by Moroccan security services to their European peers”, said the Director of the newly established BCIJ, dubbed Morocco’s FBI.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/31/2015
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How many of these 100000 are, well, terrorists themselves?
[DAWN] Iraq's foreign minister said on Wednesday it could resort to military means if forced to defend itself from what it says is an intrusion of Turkish forces into part of its north.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... said it had deployed a force protection unit earlier this month to the area due to heightened security risks near a camp where its troops were training an Iraqi militia to fight 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.... Death Eaters. Ankara acknowledged that there had been a "miscommunication" with Baghdad over the deployment.
Iraqi security forces have had only a limited presence in Nineveh province where the camp is located since collapsing in June 2014 in the face of a lightning advance by Islamic State.
Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said Iraq was committed to exhausting peaceful diplomatic avenues to avoid a crisis with its northern neighbour Turkey, but insisted that all options remained open.
"If there is no other solution but this (military), then we will adopt this solution. If we are forced to fight and defend our illusory sovereignty and riches, we will be forced to fight," he told news hounds in Baghdad.
Turkey's deployment of around 150 troops this month to the Bashiqa military base in northern Iraq prompted Baghdad to accuse Ankara of violating its illusory sovereignty and lodge a formal complaint at the UN Security Council.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[WASHINGTONTIMES] An Emory University professor has penned an open letter to white Americans asking them to admit to "the racist poison" inside of them that's to blame for a long history of black suffering. How do you say "bite my ass" in Ebonics?
In "Dear White America," published by The New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... , philosophy professor George Yancy called his letter "a gift" to white people. Silence would be a better gift. Even better would be elementary good manners.
"Bear in mind, though, that some gifts can be heavy to bear. You don't have to accept it; there is no obligation," he wrote. Good. I'll continue to ignore you.
"I give it freely, believing that many of you will throw the gift back in my face, saying that I wrongly accuse you, that I am too sensitive, that I'm a race hustler, and that I blame white people (you) for everything." Pretty much covers it. You know: White people be like dat. Most of the time we don't even think about race and I know that really ties this kinda dipshit's crank in knots. I like to help the process along by ignoring them.
"So, as you read this letter, take a deep breath," he continued. "Make a space for my voice in the deepest part of your psyche. Try to listen, to practice being silent. There are times when you must quiet your own voice to hear from or about those who suffer in ways that you do not." There are times we must quiet our own voices and accept the judgment of our betters. This isn't one of them.
To support his argument that all white people are racist, Mr. Yancy started off by admitting that he is a sexist for perpetuating sexism "every day of my life. " In that case, bite some lady's ass. New York Times continues to print this sort of philosophical jerkoff. I continue to ignore them.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Psychological projection, also known as blame shifting, is a theory in psychology in which humans defend themselves against their own unpleasant impulses by denying their existence while attributing them to others. For example, a person who is rude may constantly accuse other people of being rude.
#5
Besoeker, if you people didn't look the other way while they took over: first teacher colleges, and then the universities; the whole world would be a lot better off.
#6
The 'take over' or origins are much deeper rooted g(r)om. I blame the early architects, Amish intellectuals like Leon Trotsky, Sverdlov, Grigori Zinoviev, Karl Radek, Maxim Litvinov, Lev Kamenev, Moisei Uritsky, and others.
Champions of the proletariat. It's a rather old but highly effective political theme.
[Daily Excelsior] Security forces today cordoned off Gussu village of South Kashmire's Pulwama district and conducted searches as they have reports of a group of murderous Moslems hiding in the village.
Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmire Police, Army 53 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and 183 Battalion of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) cordoned off Harpora locality of Gusoo village this afternoon.
They cordoned off the village after a tip off about presence of murderous Moslems in the village. The troops sealed all the entry and exit points and also brought in generators for lighting the entire area.
The cordon around the village has been tightened as security forces believed that 3-4 murderous Moslems are trapped in the village.
Posted by: Fred ||
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From one outhouse to another
[Dawn] TOBA TEK SINGH: Saddar police on Wednesday recovered three rocket launchers and their gun from the outhouse of a farmer, and arrested him and his son belonging to Chak 376-JB, Bassi.
The outhouse of Ghulam Sabir is located near Jhang branch canal from where a rocket launcher and its gun had been recovered on Tuesday. The canal is closed for a month for desilting and only a very small amount of water still flows.
Sabir told police he saw the rockets and gun in the canal and took them to his outhouse.
Station House Officer Ali Raza said bomb disposal staff of the Civil Defence department had defused the three rocket launchers. He said police were probing both Sabir and his son Mohammad Raza.
About two weeks ago, Toba and Jhang police and security agencies had launched a joint search operation in the villages located around Pakistan Air Force Rafiqui Airbase Shorkot.
The federal Interior Ministry’s National Crisis Management Cell had written a letter stating that Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Al Qaeda and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ) were plotting an attack on the airbase. Sources said the letter had mentioned that Al Qaeda’s Shoaib Cheema alias Muneeb and Amer Ali Chaudhry alias Arsalan and Huzaifa were planning the attack with the connivance of LJ.
During search operations, security agencies had taken some suspects into custody for investigation. The rocket launchers were believed to have been dumped into the canal by some suspects due to fear of a search operation.
Police were searching the area after recovery of rocket launchers and their guns.
FIRE: Three members of a family received serious burn injuries when a fire broke out due to gas leakage in a room of their house in Bakhshi Park on Wednesday.
Abdul Rauf and sons 14-year-old Amer Ali and 12-year-old Imran Ali were asleep in a room when a gas heater caught fire and spread to their beds.
All three were injured critically and admitted to the DHQ Hospital.
[CNN] After retaking most of the key city of Ramadi from ISIS bully boys, Iraqi leaders say they are setting their sights on an even bigger prize: djinn-infested Mosul. ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... Ramadi's djinn is a wimpy blue guy who got turned down for a bit part in a Disney movie.
Iraqi forces have driven ISIS jihadists out of the heart of Ramadi, which the Sunni hard boy group seized in May in a humiliating setback for the Iraqi government and the U.S.-led coalition that's backing it.
Significant pockets of ISIS resistance remain in Ramadi, still controlling as much as 25% of it as of Tuesday, local tribal leaders said. But that didn't stop Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi from visiting the shattered city and raising the national flag.
Next year "will be the year we drive ISIS out of Iraq," he declared.
With efforts to finish clearing ISIS out of Ramadi still expected to take weeks, it seemed like a bold statement, especially in light of the bully boys' habit of hiding among local populations and booby-trapping territory they give up.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Security forces in Helmand province have said negligence on the part of senior security force members in Sangin resulted in the fall of parts of the district to the Taliban.
Speaking to TOLOnews, security force members said those who failed to fight militants in the district need to be brought to justice.
They also said it will not take long for them to eliminate the Taliban in Sangin once they get their orders to launch a large-scale operation.
"The [security] personnel has a strong morale; this is the weakness of our commanders of military units [that has resulted in fall of parts of Sangin to Taliban]. Such people should be punished," said a commander of the Public Order Police in Sangin, Shinkai Qarabaghi.
TOLOnews reporters Abdul Wali Arian and Abdullah Hamim, who are embedded with security forces in Sangin, report that the Taliban are hiding out in civilian houses, which is proving a challenge for security forces.
Arian said however that reinforcement troops have arrived in the district and have joined security forces. However, bad weather, including rain, is having an impact on air support as air strike operations are not always possible.
He said the reinforcement troops had to break through tough Taliban defense lines in their bid to reach the Sangin troops.
"The convoy successfully made its way to our colleagues in Sangin and we had no casualties," said a Public Order Police member who was part of the reinforcement troop contingent.
Arian said however, that the Taliban's tactic of hiding in houses is a problem as troops have come under attack through this. In addition, the Taliban also planted mines along the main route to Sangin.
"Taliban started shelling from inside houses. They use houses as shields, but they failed. When we attacked them back, they entered people's houses. Hence, we stopped our attack [to save civilians lives]," a member of the Public Order Police said.
Meanwhile, a number of Sangin residents from areas under Taliban control said people are being oppressed by the militant group.
"They [Taliban] do not harass people a lot, but they ask for food and other things – forcibly," a resident of Sangin said.
Major General Nasser al-Tahri, Deputy Commander- in- chief, revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that, over the past few days, the Military of Yemen acquired information confirming the cooperation of several Iranian experts with Houthi rebels to gear up Scud missiles.
They are apparently also toiling on developing the Volga SAM (Surface-to-air missiles), which were previously owned by the Yemeni army, and preparing them to strike ground targets.
However, according to army info, developed Volga missiles have demonstrated early test failure, and have missed primary targets set by the militants, proving the missile’s target inaccuracy.
Field-wise, Major General al-Tahri said: “Both Military Forces and the Resistance are pulling off a series of victories across all frontiers, one of which was the freeing and bringing back the Jda’an (Medghal District) into army’s comprehensive control.”
“We also took complete control over Al Jawf Governorate ridding it from both the militias and Republican Guard, which leaves only Al Safra District and Baraqish unattended, which are areas resembling no military substance, however the army will still work on freeing them regardless”, al-Tahri adds .
Moreover, on Tuesday the Yemeni Resistance dismantled two Katyusha rocket launchers that were previously installed by Houthi militants and their allies in Dhuwab-Taiz.
Furthermore, a similar series of operations was carried out by the Military along with the Resistance’s support, which later on forced the militants to abandon several frontiers one of which was Al Bayda-Yemen.
The army fighting for Yemen’s legitimacy successfully stood up against the attacks targeting the DhiNa’im District, and obstructed militants from taking over after several fierce clashes that resulted in significant loss among the militant ranks and the death of two Yemen Resistance fighters.
On top of that, the World Health Organization confirmed in a press release, acquired by Asharq Al-Awsat, the desperate need for continuous health service aid to Yemen after proving the deteriorating circumstances that are heavily weighing down on civilians, asking all relevant parties to respect the rights of all Yemenis to health services and aid.
[DAWN] A YEAR in which significant progress has been made in the fight against militancy is nearing its end with a grim reminder that the war is far from over -- and is far from being conclusively won. The suicide kaboom in Mardan yesterday on a Nadra office has claimed over 20 lives and injured some 60 people. It is hoped that the injured will be given the best possible medical care and the needs of the families of all victims will be addressed humanely and promptly. The casualties should not become yet more forgotten victims in the fight to save Pakistain. For the state and those whose responsibility it is to keep the country safe, there are some urgent reminders about what is at stake here. Taking the fight to the hard boyz in Fata and ramping up counterterrorism efforts in the major cities through so-called intelligence-based operations was going to leave second-tier targets more vulnerable: smaller cities, soft targets -- areas the security and intelligence apparatus may not have prioritised. Therein lies the next great challenge for the state -- developing counterterrorism capabilities that are adequate to deal with the evolving terrorist threat.
Unhappily, developing counterterrorism capabilities appears to be the one area that the state -- both the military and civilian sides of it -- does not consider a priority. While the military leadership does seemingly agitate the issue, there is a basic problem: the perception that the military wants to dominate and lead the effort rather than help the civilian side of the state develop its capabilities and leadership role. But the political government must shoulder a great deal of the blame too. There is a complacency and inertia discernible that is simply unacceptable. The activation of Nacta is a fabled myth; police reforms remain a distant dream; centre-province coordination is mired in politics; and there is a distinct lack of interest in the scientific method when it comes to assembling the tools and personnel to fight terrorism. The arc of insurgencies and terrorism is a well-known one. In the face of overwhelming state power it is initially diminished, only for a gradual regrouping to usually manifest itself and for the threats to evolve and adapt to the state's responses. To win against terrorism and militancy, the state will need to be ahead of that curve.
There also remains the wider problem: the incubators of hate and extremism where bandidosLions of Islam and hard boyz continue to find sanctuary. The trail of most terrorist incidents like in Mardan yesterday usually leads to financiers, aiders and abettors and sanctuaries that run into a very long, though familiar chain. It is not enough to demand outside action against sanctuaries that are beyond Pakistain's borders -- there must be a sustained effort to ensure that no stripe of murderous Moslem or terrorist can find aid or safe haven within.
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(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – On Wednesday, a source in the Ministry of Interior announced, that an armed gang has stolen one million dollars from a jeweler in central Baghdad.
The source said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “An armed gang wearing black clothes managed to steal one million dollars from a jeweler in al-Nehr Street in central Baghdad,” adding that, “The gunmen managed to escape after seizing the money, while the jeweler was not harmed.”
Several suicide bomb blasts hit two restaurants in a Kurdish-controlled city in northeastern Syria on Wednesday, killing or wounding dozens of people. Kurdish officials and a group monitoring claimed there had been two bombings, while sources on social media said there had been three.
The explosions took place in Qamishli, near the Turkish border, the Kurdish YPG militia's Redur Xelil told Reuters. He said it had most likely been carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which the YPG is fighting in Syria's northeast, and that dozens were believed to have been killed or wounded.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 30 people had been killed or wounded.
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The top U.S. and NATO military commander in Afghanistan may seek additional American troops to help local forces as they struggle to contain the Taliban insurgency, USA Today reported on Tuesday. How about using the 82nd Airborne in an operation to clean out Kandahar all the way to Quetta? Or were they thinking of nickel-and-diming operations, which has been the Obama hallmark?
General John Campbell’s interview with the newspaper comes as the security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated in the second half of 2015, with an increase in insurgent attacks and higher casualties among both Taliban and national forces. Already, President Barack Obama has backtracked on a pledge to pull out all but 1,000 troops, and in October he announced that 9,800 U.S. forces would remain in Afghanistan until the end of 2016.
Not sure of the tooth to tail ratio there but it doesn't sound like enough. But as Fred notes, you could have the 82nd Airborne and the Big Red One and it wouldn't matter if all they do is penny-ante (I won't dignify what Obama is doing as nickel and dime) operations...
Campbell told USA Today he would ask the Obama administration to keep that higher number of troops in country as long as possible and suggested he might call for more U.S. personnel.
“If I don’t believe that we can accomplish the train, advice and assist and the (counter-terrorism) missions, then I owe it to the senior leadership to come back and say, ‘Here’s what I need.’ If that’s more people, it’s more people,” Campbell told the newspaper.
The 9,800 U.S. troops are scheduled to be drawn down to 5,500 by January 1, 2017.
“My intent would be to keep as much as I could, for as long as I could,” Campbell said.
This month marks a year since the U.S. and NATO-led mission in Afghanistan transitioned into an Afghan operation, with allied nations assisting in training and equipping local forces to tackle Taliban and other groups. The Taliban have already dealt some stinging blows to Afghan forces, including a short-lived takeover of the northern city of Kunduz.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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Tell everyone to dress warmly General. You can easily catch a severe cold at that windy and damp Fort Myer retirement parade ground ceremony.
[Telegraph] Gunmen reported to be from a Daesh-linked group opened fire at a UNESCO world heritage site in the Russian republic of Dagestan on Tuesday, killing one person and wounding 11.
The region surrounding the ancient city of Derbent has long been plagued by shootouts between police and members of the underground Islamist insurgency. The area has also become a focus for Daesh recruiters.
The shootings targeted a group of local residents, two of them border guards, who had climbed onto a viewing platform to survey the city by night. The suspects allegedly opened fire towards the citadel at Derbent from three positions in a nearby forest.
Rasul Temirbekov, a representative for the Investigative Committee, said that "a minimum of three people carried out the attack," adding that they believed Islamist extremists were behind it. Those who carried out the attack were not identified, but the leader of the group was named as Abutdin Khanmagomedov.
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.... (ISIS) group has grabbed credit for a shooting at an ancient citadel in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region of Dagestan ...a formerly inoffensive Caucasus republic currently bedevilled by low-level Islamic insurgency, occasional outbreaks of separatism, ethnic tensions and terrorism, primarily due to its proximity to Chechnya. There are several dozen ethnic groups, most of which speak either Caucasian, Turkic, or Iranian languages. Largest among these ethnic groups are the Avar, Dargin, Kumyk, Lezgin, and Laks. While Russers form less than five percent of the population, Russian remains the primary official language and the lingua franca... that killed one and injured 11, the SITE Intelligence Group said.
"With the help of Allah, the warriors of the Khalifate were able to attack a group of Russian special service officers in the city of Derbent in southern Dagestan, killing one officer and injuring the others," the bully boyz monitoring organization SITE quoted ISIS as saying on Wednesday.
Posted by: ryuge ||
12/31/2015
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[WASHINGTONTIMES] Evolutionary biologist and famed atheist Richard Dawkins is hitting back against accusations of Islamophobia ...the irrational fear that Moslems will act the way they usually do... after he angrily walked out on an interview with a Muslim journalist.
Mr. Dawkins, author of best-seller "The God Delusion," told the New Statesmen's Emad Ahmed that his belief that the prophet Muhammad flew to heaven on a winged horse was "pathetic" before storming off.
"Dawkins is in fact so outspoken about religion, particularly Islam, that I was genuinely stunned when he decided to angrily walk away from our scheduled interview after I confirmed my beliefs in the revelations of the Islamic faith, calling my views 'pathetic,'" Mr. Ahmed wrote in his Dec. 22 article, titled "My year in Islamophobia."
Mr. Dawkins, 74, took to Twitter to defend himself against numerous accusations of Islamophobia, particularly by The Intercept editor Glenn Greenwald.
"I left when [Mr. Ahmed] said Muhammad rode a winged horse. A non-timewasting journalist needs at least SOME grasp of reality," Mr. Dawkinstweeted Sunday to his 1.32 million followers. "Ridiculing belief in a winged horse is not 'bigotry', not 'Islamophobia', not 'racism'. It's sober, decent, gentle, scientific realism.
"If you believe you're Napoleon or a poached egg, you're in an asylum. If you believe in winged horses you're a New Statesman journalist," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2015
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#1
who really cares if Moslems believe in the winged horse that goes to heaven
it is the 'kill them where ever you find them' and similar verses that are the problem
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/31/2015 0:42
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[Inquirer] Attacks by renegade Moro militants are prompting residents of a village here to arm themselves for protection, say village leaders. Men from the village of Kauran said they would not leave anything to chance following attacks by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) that began on Christmas Day and have already killed at least six villagers.
"This is to defend ourselves and our communities," said a farmer, brandishing an Armalite rifle. He denied that he and other villagers who were arming themselves were members of the Pulahan, a Christian militia.
The farmers said that after the BIFF rampage, village leaders decided to go out on armed patrol to secure the village. The farmer said, "We take turns securing the village. Some sleep, but many of us remain awake at night."
The farmer said the village residents can't understand why the BIFF has made their community a target. He said, "This is too much. We have not done anything wrong. We are just farmers working hard to earn a living. Then the BIFF would come and kill us. This is not correct, this is inhuman."
Local residents said that aside from killing six of their neighbors, BIFF guerrillas also attacked the village of Palian on December 24 and executed two men. The farmer said, "We were supposed to celebrate Christmas. Instead, we are mourning the deaths of our six neighbors."
Another villager, who apparently has not slept for days, said they could not afford to be complacent because "there are reports that the BIFF is just around the village, observing and watching us. If they attack again, we are ready this time."
Since the Christmas Eve attack, only men move around the village while children and women were moved to the village hall. At least 6,000 people from neighboring villages have also fled.
One armed villager said, "If they come, we will welcome them with bullets, we will return the favor."
Colonel Ricky Bunayog, head of the 33rd Infantry Battalion, said soldiers had already been deployed around the communities the BIFF attacked. "The military is ready now," he said.
“We are holding the BIFF accountable for these attacks,” said , head of the Western Mindanao Command, after meeting local military commanders in Maguindanao province.
Asked to comment on civilians taking up arms, Major General Mayoralgo de la Cruz said only militiamen would be allowed to carry firearms in the village. He said, "If civilians are proven to be possessing guns without authority, they will be arrested and charged. Only paramilitary [men] will be allowed to carry guns in Kauran."
(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – A security source in Anbar province said on Wednesday, that violent clashes broke out between the residents of Fallujah and ISIS militants in the city of Fallujah.
The source said in a brief statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The residents of Fallujah have shown great displeasure due to the siege imposed by the ISIS on the city,” noting that, “[They] demanded the ISIS to allow them to get out of the city, but the organization had refused.”
“This dispute led to the outbreak of armed clashes between the gathering of the people on the one hand and the ISIS militants on the other hand,” the source also added.
At least 29 people in Bahrain were handed down jail sentences ranging from five years to life imprisonment on terror charges on Wednesday, according to Bahrain News Agency. Terror Crime Prosecution Chief Advocate, General Ahmed Al-Hammadi, confirmed that the High Criminal Court handed out the sentences.
According to the news report: “The convictions relate to attempted murder of policemen, using and possessing explosives and weapons, rioting, and receiving and providing explosives, training in order to commit terrorist crimes.”
Al-Hammadi stated that Bahrain’s High Criminal Court revoked the citizenship of two individuals and ordered twenty seven defendants to pay heavy fines for damages.
The suspects were charged for an incident that took place Dec. 19, 2014, when the individuals in question detonated an explosive device with the intent of murdering policemen. The explosion caused injuries to security personnel and damage to patrol vehicles.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/31/2015
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[DAWN] Federal 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... on Wednesday said networks of gunnies had been "broken", however, the elimination of their controllers would still "take some time". In that case they're not broken.
Addressing the upper house of the parliament, he said that a Joint Intelligence Directorate of the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta) would be functional very soon and added that it would be a big step forward in the fight against terrorism.
He said for the first time 61 proscribed organizations had been put on record, and that these organizations had also been banned from the media.
The minister said that although the "'situation in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... was not normal", there was a notable improvement in the law and order situation in the province.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[REUTERS] U.S.-led forces have killed 10 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.... leaders in air strikes, including individuals linked to the Gay Paree attacks, a U.S. front man said, dealing a double blow to the krazed killer group after Iraqi forces ousted it from the city of Ramadi.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi planted the national flag in Ramadi after the army retook the city centre from Islamic State, a victory that could help vindicate his strategy for rebuilding the military after stunning defeats.
"Over the past month, we've killed 10 ISIL leadership figures with targeted air strikes, including several external attack planners, some of whom are linked to the Gay Paree attacks," said U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a front man for the U.S.-led campaign against the Islamist group also known by the acronym ISIL.
"Others had designs on further attacking the West."
One of those killed was Abdul Qader Hakim, who facilitated the krazed killers' external operations and had links to the Gay Paree attack network, Warren said. He was killed in the northern Iraqi city of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... on Dec. 26.
Two days earlier, a coalition air strike in Syria killed Charaffe al Mouadan, a Syria-based Islamic State member with a direct link to Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected ringleader of the coordinated bombings and shootings in Gay Paree on Nov. 13 which killed 130 people, Warren said.
Mouadan was planning further attacks against the West, he added.
Air strikes on Islamic State's leadership helped explain recent battlefield successes against the group, which also lost control of a dam on a strategic supply route near its de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria on Saturday.
"Part of those successes is attributable to the fact that the organization is losing its leadership," Warren said.
He warned, however: "It's still got fangs."
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KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday issued non-bailable arrest warrants for five absconders in a terror case registered against former federal minister and PPP leader Dr Asim Hussain.
The court ordered Investigating Officer (IO) Deputy Superintendent Police (DSP) Altaf Hussain to arrest and produce the absconders ─ Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM) Waseem Akhtar, Anis Qaimkhani, Saleem Shahzad, PPP's Qadir Patel and Pasban leader Usman Moazzam ─ before the court on the date of the next hearing on January 8.
MQM's Rauf Siddiqui who was also named an absconder in the investigation report is on pre-arrest bail.
A First Information Report (FIR) booked Dr Asim for allegedly treating and harbouring terrorists, gangsters and activists of banned militant outifits at the North Nazimabad and Clifton branches of his hospital at the behest of political leaders.
Police in the remand paper earlier had stated that IO Rana Zulfiqar had questioned Dr Asim, who confessed to having provided treatment to alleged terrorists of the MQM and gangsters of Lyari at his hospital and harboured them after MQM leaders Waseem Akhtar, Rauf Siddiqui, Anis Qaimkhani and Saleem Shahzad, Qadir Patel of the PPP had allegedly asked him to do so.
The court on Wednesday (today) also expressed displeasure over provision of incomplete prosecution documentation by IO DSP Hussain to Dr Hussain and directed the IO to produce all prosecution documentation along with a list of documents before the ATC in the next hearing.
The court, in a hearing earlier this month, had ordered that copies of all prosecution documents, including statements of witnesses, be handed over to Dr Hussain in compliance with Section 265-C of the Criminal Procedure Code by December 30.
It is pertinent to mention that Dr Hussain has been on physical remand of the National Accountability Bureau and will be produced before the court on Jan 5.
The arrest of Dr Hussain, chairman of the Sindh Higher Education Commission, came on Aug 26 and was described as the first major action against PPP leaders during the ongoing Karachi operation.
Following the end of his 90-day preventive detention with Rangers, police sought multiple extensions in his remand for further questioning and collection of evidence in a case relating to treatment of, and sheltering, terrorists.
After police released him on Dec 11, he was arrested by NAB from the court's premises and an accountability court later remanded him to the anti-graft body's custody until he was arrested by the police again on Monday.
One last hurrah before the end comes.
(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – A security source in Anbar province said on Wednesday, that the ISIS militants had executed 40 civilians, including women and children, in eastern Ramadi.
The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “This evening, militants belonging to the ISIS had executed 40 civilians, including women and children, in the area of al-Sharka in eastern Ramadi,” pointing out that, “This came after the ISIS militants had dressed in military uniforms of the Iraqi army to lure the citizens.”
[DAWN] A court on Wednesday sentenced a turban to 14 years in prison for hurling grenades at the Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... n consulate 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... , four years ago, a prosecutor said.
Zaki Qazi of the little known Lashkar-e-Mehdi group and his accomplice Tabish Hussain lobbed two grenades at the mission as they rode past on a cycle of violence in May 2011, causing no casualties.
Police carried out a raid in November that year, killing Hussain during fighting and arresting Qazi -- who claimed to be from the Shia sect.
The suspected criminal mastermind of the grenade attack had died at a local hospital from bullet wounds he sustained during an armed encounter in Gulistan-e-Jauhar in November, 2011, police said.
Special public prosecutor Shamim Akhtar said, "The court has awarded 14 years' imprisonment to the accused (Qazi) and confiscation of his property."
Pakistain has since the 1980s been a battleground for proxy groups funded by Saudi Arabia and Iran. Sectarian violence has claimed thousands of lives over the past decade.
Donors in Saudi Arabia have long been accused of quietly funding terror groups sympathetic to the kingdom's hardline version of Sunni Islam.
Leaked diplomatic cables by the then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as The Liberatress of Libya and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another William H. Seward ... in 2009 said Saudi Arabian donors were "the most significant source of funding to terrorist groups worldwide".
The cable cited the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and Pakistain's sectarian gunnies Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ... as examples of where funds were being channeled.
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An official with the EU has voiced a concern that the Union is facing a threat of falling apart.
Of course, he has no idea why...
Gunther Oettinger, European commissioner for digital economy and society, said in an interview with German newspaper Bild on Dec. 30 that there is a threat of disintegration of the EU, TASS news agency reports.
“The European Union has learned to overcome the crises. However, there are more and more countries with unstable or populist governments. I am concerned about it,” he said.
A populist government like the ones in Hungary or Poland are threats precisely because they understand that they have to listen to their people rather than their betters...
“For the first time I see a serious danger that the EU could fall apart,” Oettinger added.
The commissioner further called for continuing the talks for Western Balkan countries’ joining the EU, saying “however, the conditions for accession to the Union have to be strict.”
Like, no 'populist' government...
Posted by: Steve White ||
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[ALMANAR.LB] Kim Yang Gon, a high-ranking North Korean official tasked with handling the fractious relationship with South Korea, has died in an automobile accident, state media reported.
He's the latest in a series of top aides to young North Korean leader Kim Pudge Jong-un ...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished... who are reported to have died in recent years.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) provided no further details Wednesday on the death of Kim Yang Gon, 73, who was a veteran of negotiations with South Korea since the era of former leader Kim Jong Il.
Kim Yang Gon played a prominent role in talks to defuse tensions between the two sides after an exchange of artillery fire in August. He was the head of the United Front Department, the main agency responsible for dealings with South Korea.
"He was surely trusted by the Kim family regime," said Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. "The one who appointed him head of the United Front Department was Kim Jong Il, the father of the current leader. And what we knew was that he was really close to young Kim Jong-un."
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
"He's Gon, Jim"
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/31/2015 7:10
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#3
Maybe, he pissed on the The Leaders hushpuppies and needed to be re-educated, but the feral dogs were already fed.(Way to go, Frank G!)(How do you make a a "thumbs up" emoticon?)
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Amid efforts to push the Taliban group leadership to sit-in for the second round of direct peace talks with the Afghan government, a top Pak official said Wednesday that the group will have to shut down their subversive activities in a bid to help kick off peace talks and achieve success.
The Pak Prime Minister's foreign affairs adviser, Sartaj PrunefaceAziz ...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in good jihadis and bad jihadis as a matter of national policy... , told news hounds in Islamabad that a quadrilateral committee meeting comprising of senior diplomatic representatives from US, China, Afghanistan and Pakistain is due for next month, insisting that the Taliban group should shut down their subversive activities if they want the peace talks to happen and succeed.
Aziz further added that the quadrilateral committee meeting has been called on 10th January next year to discuss the Afghan reconciliation process.
The Afghan and Pak leaders agreed to revive the stalled Afghan peace talks during a meeting on the sidelines of the Heart of Asia conference in Islamabad earlier this month.
Pakistain hosted the first round of direct peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban group earlier in July this year.
The Afghan officials were expecting to sit-in for the second round of peace talks with the Taliban group representatives in Pakistain late in the month of July.
However, Switzerland makes more than cheese... the process was delayed with the sudden disclosure of the Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar's death shortly before the second round of talks.
Mullah Omar ... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality... 's death confirmation led to widening rift among the Taliban leadership which resulted to suspension of peace talks.
A series of deadly attacks also rocked capital Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... earlier which left scores of people dead or maimed and resulted into deteriorating relations between Kabul and Islamabad.
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[ALMANAR.LB] The Supreme Fearless Leader of the Islamic Revolution ...Iran's doddering head theocrat... Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei on Tuesday voiced hope for establishment of new Islamic civilization and cautioned Islamic World about enemies' divisive ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled... plots.
He made the remarks in his meeting with the Muslim scholars, thinkers and political figures attending the 29th International Islamic Unity Conference as well as the Islamic countries ambassadors in Tehran.
"Today, enemies pursue civil wars between Muslims and unfortunately, to some extent, they have been successful in realization of this goal and have ruined the Islamic countries including Syria, Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... and Libya," the Leader said.
He criticized pressures on Muslims in Bahrain and also arrest of Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, saying that why Muslim Umma is silent towards all these issues.
"Western civilization has started to show its paradoxical nature and it is the turn of Islam to re-emerge," Ayatollah Khamenei added.
The Leader said that Muslims are duty bound to establish the new Islamic civilization.
'I am disappointed with the Islamic World politicians, but I am hopeful about those Muslim religious scholars and intellectuals for whom the West has not become a Mecca," he noted.
The Muslim scholars, thinkers and political figures attending the 29th International Islamic Unity Conference as well as Islamic countries ambassadors in Tehran met with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution on Tuesday.
Ayatollah Khamanei addressed them at Imam Khomeini (RA) Religious Center in Tehran on the occasion of the birthday anniversary of the Holy Prophet (PTUI!) and the Unity Week.
The 29th International Islamic Unity Conference kicked off in Tehran on Sunday with the participation of hundreds of scholars and thinkers.
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40 members of the Bahraini parliament agreed on a petition filed by 5 of their colleagues to the chairman for the recognition of Ahwaz as an occupied Arab country, a Bahraini MP said.
The source stated that the petition calls on considering Ahwaz as one of the Arab countries located east of the Arab homeland, in addition to depicting its people as “Arabs subjected to Iranian occupation”.
Moreover, it accuses Tehran of carrying out acts of aggression in Ahwaz and “taking advantage of the absence of the Arab role in view of regional and international conditions that threaten the nation’s solidarity and attempt to drive it apart.”
MP on Foreign Affairs and National Security Defense, Abdullah bin Howail told Asharq Al-Awsat that the petition reflects the Ahwaz people’s aspirations of being rescued from oppression and injustice inflicted by Iran, for decades now. The action taken represents “a start to voice the Ahwaz people’s opinion to the world, and highlight their suffering from subjugation and exclusion.”
“The daily executions being carried out are based on oppressing provisions that embody Iran’s exposed attempt to frighten the people of Ahwaz away from speaking up and raising legitimate demands, which is what we will be taking upon ourselves persistently and permanently, we will request international movement to give the people of Ahwaz the right to determine their own future”, MP bin Howail added.
There was also the notion of uprooting the natives from their rightful place accompanied with random unjust acts of Iranian settlement, and the imposition of measures benching on stripping Ahwaz from its Arab Identity.
Furthermore measures Iran is imposing prove inhumane and comprise form a stretching variety of executions, arbitrary arrests, and unjust torcher of Ahwaz’s youth.
The parliament’s petition insists on the necessity and duty of Bahrain’s official recognition of Ahwaz as an Arabian country, and for the government to pursue within gulf effort movements towards the recognition of this country.
Gee. Golly. Gosh. Shucks. That's too bad. I suppose sowing the site with salt is out?
Aachen, Frankfort, Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden. Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe. All blasted to hell and back in a certain war. All pretty much rebuilt (except for East Berlin) within a decade or so. Think Ramadi is going to be picturesque in that time?
The problem is that our forces and influence will be gone in a matter of months. We stayed in Europe and Japan for a coupla generations before kicking the Japs and the Krauts back out on their own. Think our elites will want to hang out with those folks?
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
12/31/2015
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#3
That's the whole point t of ISIS. Take over the Sunni bits of Iraq and Syria, kill lots of them, and give the Iranians a pretext to move troops in, and kill more when they take it back. Ethnic cleansing with plausible deniability.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Taliban leadership is concerned of losing fighters and income from lucrative sources to the emergent loyalists of 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 Syria (ISIS) terrorist group in Afghanistan, it has been reported.
"The rapid growth of this group [IS] that appeared in Afghanistan in summer of 2014, its intention to 'swallow' other bad boy groups, draw faceless myrmidons of all kinds into its ranks, in particular Taliban fighters themselves, redistribute sources of income, including such lucrative sources as drug trafficking -- all these factors are very worrying for the Taliban leadership," Russian special presidential envoy on Afghanistan, Foreign Ministry's second Asian department director Zamir Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... ov quoted in a report by TASS news agency said.
Kabulov further added "The Taliban movement has been strengthening its positions across Afghanistan lately, including in the north of the country."
"They demonstrate intentions to establish full and stable control over separate regions and make attempts to seize administrative centers," Kabulov said, adding that Taliban took control over the provincial center, Kunduz, for several days in September for the first time since 2001.
According to Kabulov, the loyalists of ISIS terror group demonstrates a hostile position in turn toward the Taliban leaders. "In April 2015 IS leader His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ...formerly merely the head of ISIL and a veteran of the Bagram jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us... made accusations against Taliban leader Mullah Omar ... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality... . Several days later media reported that IS and Taliban proclaimed jihad against each other. In spring-summer of 2015 two groups clashed in different Afghan provinces several times," he added.
He also added that confrontations between Taliban and ISIS terror group has flared up between Taliban groups and Taliban-ISIS loyalists following the announcement of Taliban group founder and supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar's death in July this year and the appointment of new Taliban supreme leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor.
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A Somali official says four people, including militants were killed in a fierce fighting between Al shabaab fighters and SNA, along with Djibouti-an peacekeepers in Hiiraan region. Confirming the incident, Bula-burde district commissioner Abdulaziz Durow said the fighting broke out at militants-controlled Doonkadiide village, killing three Al shabaab fighters and SNA soldier.
“Our SNA soldiers and their allied AMISOM troops attacked Al shabaab base at Doonkadiide village and killed three fighters while one Govt soldier lost his life,” said Bula-burde DC.
On the other hand, Mr Durow denied the district is still under Al shabaab siege.
Bulo-burde is in the middle of nowhere a strategic town, linking Somalia’s Hiran and Middle Shabelle regions, and was an important base for al-Shabab for more than five years.
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According to the coalition forces in Yemen, a Bahrain F-16 fighter jet has crashed on Wednesday in southern Saudi Arabia close to the Yemen border in Jizan. The fighter jet had experienced technical failure but its pilot has survived the crash.
A statement by the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia and released by the Saudi Press Agency said that to "the Bahraini air force pilot participating in the coalition managed to escape after his plane crashed in Jizan region on Wednesday morning after a technical malfunction."
Bahrain has taken part in the Saudi-led coalition that has been bombing Iran-allied Houthi militias for nine months, and scores of ground forces from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have been killed since the start of the conflict.
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#1
No fire, no scorched nearby vegetation. Somebody forgot to look at the gas gauge.
[Inquirer] Eight Abu Sayyaf militants and one Philippine soldier were killed as troops and insurgents clashed anew in Sulu on Wednesday.
Military spokesman Major Filemon Tan, Jr. said the battle happened in Patikul town amid the continuing military operation against the Abu Sayyaf. He said, "The group of Scout Rangers hit about a hundred armed bandits under the group of Hajan Sawadjaan."
Tan said four soldiers were injured, while the Abu Sayyaf had eight of its gunmen killed and seven injured.
Wednesday's clash was the latest encounter involving soldiers and the Abu Sayyaf this month as the military intensified its operation against the group in Sulu.
On December 22, five Abu Sayyaf gunmen were killed in Patikul town. On Monday, two marines were killed when heavily armed Abu Sayyaf militants stormed a military detachment in Talipao town in an apparent retaliatory attack.
Posted by: ryuge ||
12/31/2015
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Guardian] The growth in wages for UK workers is set to stall at just two per cent next year thanks to the large number of migrant workers waiting to fill vacancies, the Guardian has admitted.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
...Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) was established by Zahran Alloush, the son of Saudi-based religious scholar Abdullah Mohammed Alloush, after Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011 where he had been serving time for his Salafist activism. The group claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 2012 Damascus bombing that killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani. It was a driving force behind actions in the Damascus region. It cooperated and conducted joint operations with al-Nusra. In Sptember 2013 Saudi Arabia engineered Liwa al-Islam's merger with fifty other more or less Salafist groups as a counterweight to al-Nusra, which the Learned Elders of Islam considered was growing too powereful...
[WASHINGTONTIMES] The Border Patrol nabbed two Pak men with ties to terrorism at the U.S.-Mexico border in September in the latest instance of 
Security officials have said they are in the process of dismantling a Taliban hideout in Surobi district in Kabul province – a hideout from where militants allegedly organize attacks on Kabul city as well as Laghman, Kapisa and Nangarhar provinces.
[The Nation] Thailand's supreme court on Tuesday awarded life sentences to three men and jail terms of 13 years and four months to two others after they were found guilty of terrorism in the far South more than a decade ago. The verdict reversed two previous rulings that had acquitted the five on grounds of insufficient evidence.
The top U.S. and NATO military commander in Afghanistan may seek additional American troops to help local forces as they struggle to contain the Taliban insurgency, USA Today reported on Tuesday.
[Inquirer] Attacks by renegade Moro militants are prompting residents of a village here to arm themselves for protection, say village leaders. Men from the village of Kauran said they would not leave anything to chance following attacks by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) that began on Christmas Day and have already killed at least six villagers.
Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz 
Hillary Clinton
North Korea
...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in 
[Inquirer] Eight Abu Sayyaf militants and one Philippine soldier were killed as troops and insurgents clashed anew in Sulu on Wednesday.
