In a dramatic opening to Thursday's military court remand hearing over the continued custody of the soldier who shot a subdued Palestinian terrorist in Hebron last week, IDF Prosecutor Lt.-Col. Edoram Rigler announced the charge against him would be reduced from murder to manslaughter.
At the same time, Rigler told IDF Lt.-Col. Judge Ronen Shor at the hearing in Kastina that the IDF feels highly confident it would get a conviction for manslaughter, which carries heavy jail time.
...The Palestinian and an accomplice had attacked another soldier with knives, and then was wounded. He is seen on a video, which immediately went viral, lying on the ground motionless for an extended period until the accused soldier shot him dead. Common sense/justice against the deeply sited desire to appease the Gentiles---some Jews still haven't absorbed the lesson of the Holocaust.
Almost half of Jewish Israelis favor expelling Arab Israelis from the country, but, as is the case with many other societal issues, they are deeply divided along levels of religiosity, a new report by the Pew Research Center shows.
The survey published on Tuesday divided Israeli Jewish society into four large sub-sectors: secular, traditional, religious-Zionist and haredi (ultra-Orthodox), and also looked at religious and societal sentiment in the non-Jewish population. It was conducted by face-to-face interviews in Hebrew, Arabic and Russian among 5,601 Israeli adults 18 and older from October 2014 through May 2015.
Some 48 percent of Jewish Israelis polled agreed with the statement that "Arabs should be expelled or transferred from Israel," though the percentage ranged from 54% to 71% for those defining themselves as ultra-Orthodox, religious or traditional; and only about 36% of the secular community felt that way.
Opinion on this also was split decisively on political lines, with 87% of the ideologically left opposing expulsion or transfer, 54% of centrists against it, 37% of centrist supporting transfer, and 72% of the ideologically right in favor.
[KIT UP] The U.S. Army has chosen Heckler & Koch to make its new Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System.
The March 31 contract award to Heckler & Koch Defense Inc. -- worth up to $44,500,000.00 -- allows the Army to purchase a maximum total of 3,643 Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System (CSASS) units, according to an announcement on FedBizOpps.gov.
In June 2014, the Army released a request for proposal to invite gun companies to build compact versions of the service’s 7.62mm M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System.
Part of the goal of the effort was to arm snipers with a rifle that doesn’t stick out to the enemy as a sniper weapon. The M110, made by Knight’s Armament Company, is easy to recognize since its 46.5-inches with suppressor, more than 13 inches longer than the M4.
The CSASS is also intended to provide improved reliability, accuracy and ergonomics, according to the request for proposal. The CSASS is also designed to have reduced felt recoil and better suppressor performance.
The minimum ordering obligation for this contract is 30 CSASS units to be used for production qualification testing and operational testing which is scheduled to take 24 months, according the award announcement.
#4
It's $3,000 for the rifle and $9,000 for all the oversight and accounting that goes into it.
Only $9,000 for all the oversight and accounting that goes into each rifle? I would say more like $10k+ for the admin overhead. The taxpayer did get a good deal on these rifles.
Have to agree with mike, well done, but still lots of room for improvement on the procurement contracting.
#5
Get the same procurement group to work on the pistol problem...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/02/2016 13:48
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#6
It's $3,000 for the rifle and $9,000 for all the oversight and accounting that goes into it.
Probably an additional 2k in there for all the administrative paper and work to file the compliance and reviews with the LGBT directives issued by the Obama administration.
#7
I've heard that reducing the length of the barrel doesn't reduce the long range accuracy of a rifle, but that seems counter-intuitive. Does anyone in the 'Burg know the facts?
#10
Ranging, drop compensating electronic sights and a good match of twist rate with bullet weight allow short barrels equal or better accuracy with a less capable shooter. Multiple intermediate reflectivity samples from the ranging laser can also be used in building compensation for a target windage profile. I expect separate pricing.
[AlAhram] The Egyptian military has killed 65 militants in operations in the cities of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah in North Sinai, according to an official statement released on Friday.
The military has been fighting a militant insurgency, which includes the IS-affiliated Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, in parts of North Sinai for several years. Hundreds of troops and militants have been killed in the violence.
In October, a spokesman for the Egyptian military announced that the army had gained "full control" over the areas of Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid after successful raids on "terrorist strongholds" and weapons caches.
Will this lot return to ISIS or to Al Nusra when they graduate?
[Ynet] The US military said on Friday it had started training "dozens" of Syrian opposition fighters to battle 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.... as part of a revamped program that aims to avoid mistakes that doomed its first training effort in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... last year.
US Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Baghdad-based front man for the US-led coalition battling Islamic State, told Pentagon news hounds that no Syrian fighters had graduated yet from the new program.
[Ynet] Turkish police detained 15 people in raids early on Friday targeting 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.... bully boy group in the western coastal province of Izmir, the private Dogan news agency reported.
Among those detained were people who fought for Islamic State in neighboring Syria and who trained others to fight for the group, it said.
Among those they had trained was a man now being sought by police in connection with kabooms on offices of a pro-Kurdish party in
southern The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... last year and who was regarded as a potential jacket wallah, Dogan said.
Turkish authorities say a Turkish member of Islamic State was responsible for a suicide kaboom in central Istanbul on March 19 that killed three Israelis and an Iranian. That was the fourth suicide kaboom in Turkey this year and the second to be blamed on Islamic State.
Counter-terror squad police launched the raids on various address in the city and seize four shotguns along with Islamic State documents and materials.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/02/2016
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[AlAhram] A British delivery driver was convicted Friday of planning to attack American military personnel in the U.K. in a plot inspired 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.... turban group (IS).
A jury at London's Kingston Crown Court found Junead Khan guilty of preparing an act of terrorism.
The 25-year-old's work for a pharmaceutical firm took him past several U.S. air bases in eastern England, and prosecutors said he discussed ways of targeting them with an IS group turban in Syria.
Prosecutors said Khan, who was tossed in the clink Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! in July, had exchanged online messages with a man calling himself Abu Hussain. They discussed attacking military personnel after faking a road accident.
They said Abu Hussain was British-born turban Junaid Hussain, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in the IS group stronghold of Raqqa last year.
In one exchange, Khan told Hussain he had seen some soldiers driving, "but I had nothing on me or wouldve (sic) got into an accident with them and made them get out the car."
Hussain replied: "That's what the brother done with Lee Rigby." Rigby was a British soldier who was run down by a car and stabbed to death by two al-Qaeda-inspired attackers in 2013.
When police raided Khan's home, they found an IS group-style black flag and a laptop containing an article from an al-Qaeda magazine entitled "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom."
Khan and his 23-year-old uncle, Shazib Khan, were also convicted of preparing to join IS group Lions of Islam in Syria.
Both men will be sentenced May 13. Junead Khan faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/02/2016
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#1
"Khan and his 23-year-old uncle, Shazib Khan"....
That kinda says it all with muslims
Posted by: Bov Flimbers ||
04/02/2016 22:42
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[GLOBALPOST] A deadly wave of arrows fell from the sky, opening the battle. Men screamed and fell, as the flint and bronze arrowheads struck deep into their bones. Some slipped from the bridge and sank beneath the river.
Out of the mist, a wave of armored warriors -- some on horseback -- charged at their enemies, defending the ancient wood and stone causeway across the boggy valley.
Warrior bands had come from all over Europe, some of them from hundreds of miles away, and the campaign had brought them here, on this day, to fight to the death, for possession of this causeway. Now, thousands clashed. Hundreds would die.
The two sides rained blows on each with wooden clubs and bronze swords, or stabbed with spears, tipped with flint or brass.
One spearman thrust his weapon into the horse carrying a nobleman, sending horse and rider crashing off the bridge into the cold gray water.
Finally, one side broke, and the losing warriors were chased down and cut down from behind.
When the fighting was done, some men lay where they fell, only to be stripped of their clothes, weapons and valuables. Their mangled, naked bodies were tossed into the river. Others sank, untouched, into the river, or into the mud along the riverbanks.
This is the story pieced together by archaeologists, working on what might be the oldest known battlefield in the world, and their findings are shaking up everything that is known about society and warfare in Bronze Age Europe. The story is told in depth in the latest edition of Science Magazine.
The battlefield is located on the Tollense River, near the coast of the Baltic Sea in Germany, due north of Berlin. The fight took place in approximately 1250 BC, about 3265 years ago. That’s a time of legends -- roughly a half-century before Achilles is said to have fought in the siege of Troy.
The ancient texts of India, China and the Middle East contain stories of battles in this period. Some are almost mythical, with gods and godlike men taking part. But no physical evidence has been discovered to provide archaeologists with anything to substantiate these stories. That’s largely because of climate and time.
But the bogs of north Germany appear to have been perfect for preserving the bones of men and horses, and their arms, armor and personal possessions.
Only one small portion of the site has been excavated, between 2009 and 2015, and already 130 individual corpses have been identified. Mostly they are young men, and all show signs of violent trauma. Given the extent of the area, archaeologists estimate a possible body count of 750. In turn that suggests maybe 4,000 warriors took part in the action.
The scale of the conflict has surprised historians and archaeologists. Previously it had been widely accepted that warfare at this time in northern Europe was confined to small scale raids for necessities like food. But this discovery indicates a much larger scale of organization.
Writing did not arrive in this part of Europe for another 2,000 years, so it’s a mystery as to who was fighting whom. A full DNA analysis has yet to be completed, but evidence from teeth indicates that this was no local struggle. Instead, the chemical composition of the teeth show that the men came from many different parts of Europe, some from hundreds of miles away.
One hypothesis suggests that bands of warriors were brought together for a common purpose, in the same way warbands came together in the story of siege of Troy.
But what’s really startling historians is that nobody knew North European society was this organized, stratified and warlike so early in history. One researcher told Science magazine "if you fight with body armor and helmet and corselet, you need daily training or you can’t move. ... This kind of training is the beginning of a specialized group of warriors."
An elite warrior class can only exist if someone else is growing the warriors' food and making their weapons and tools. That suggests a degree of hitherto unsuspected stratification of Bronze Age society. Shouldn't surprise anyone. The Iliad was only a couple hundred years after this northern European fandango. If they could come from all over Greece, they could likely come from all over Prussia. There wasn't al that much difference among Aryan groups way back then. I think it was the Mittani who worshipped the same Pantheon as the group who invaded India.
Posted by: Fred ||
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It shouldn't be a surprise, and yet it is.
Poor stupid credentialed elitist cocoon dwellers.
They truly have no clue about human nature.
These credentialed ignoramuses need to go back and really read the classics. Not "interpret". Not "Deconstruct". Read.
Somewhere down in hell J. Rousseau, K. Marx, E. Goldman, et al. are is laughing their asses off.
Just one more example of the arrogance of modern academia. Nothing really worth noting happened before they were born and the "ancients" were incapable of doing anything noteworthy or instructive for us today.
#4
Jericho's walls date to 8000 B.C. They were a different set from the one that came tumblin' down. The Wiki on it sez the era was pre-pottery Neolithic. You don't go to the effort of building a high, thick wall (17 feet in places) with a ditch and a tower to defend against floods or swarms of locusts. The town itself held 2000-3000 people.
I have this vision of some way pre-Homeric hero, battered and bloody, picking flint arrowheads out of his hairy hide, being told that his deeds will never be forgotten.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016 18:23
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[DAILYMAIL.CO.UK] President Barack Obama is meeting dozens of world leaders for a nuclear summit in Washington, DC, today
He gave the peace sign as the group stood together for a 'team photo' - bemusing dozens of the world's politicians
Prime Minister David Cameron looked less than impressed by Obama's behavior amid a strained special relationship
Obama recently slammed Cameron for being 'distracted' during the crisis in Libya and turning it into a 's**t show'
World leaders discussed nuclear terrorist threats as well as the controversial Iran deal at the summit
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016
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#1
My first reaction was "what a f#cking idiot". Hasn't changed now three hours later.
How can this punk say Trump (or anyone else) is not a qualified to be president?
Simply f#cking stupid.
#5
Hes starting to see the end of the job. Gonna play loose from this point to the door. Gonna say and do things hes always wanted to. Doesn't have to worry about burning any bridges. Maybe even get a couple of brewskis at lunch. 'Cause whadda they gonna do, fire him?
#9
Nuclear security? What that? He provided an open door for Iran's nuclear weapons program along with a huge amount of boodle (billions) to finance it. Yes, he is a blithering idiot.
[DAWN] A Pak man was handed a two year jail sentence Friday after becoming the first in England to be convicted of keeping his wife "in domestic servitude".
In what the Crown Prosecution Service said was the first case of its kind in England, London's Woolwich Crown Court heard that Safraz Ahmed, 34, imprisoned and beat his wife after an arranged marriage in Pakistain.
The mechanic from Charlton in southeast London forced his wife, Sumara Iram, to cook, clean and look after his mother from 5am to midnight every day after she moved to Britannia in 2012.
He also slapped her in the face when she asked him to consummate their marriage, throwing tins of cat food at her head and covering her face with a cushion in other attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016
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Watch you back, Judge.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/02/2016 13:07
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[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] Military operations across Syria continued on Thursday, with the army units, in cooperation with the popular resistance, targeting terrorist organizations’ positions and dens and repelling their attack attempts in various areas, leaving many of their members dead and maimed.
Deir Ezzor
The popular resistance in the eastern area killed 30 ISIL bully boyz in separate areas in Deir Ezzor and its countryside.
Local sources in al-Mayadeen city told SANA that members of the popular resistance, backed by the locals of the city and the villages of Saalou, al-Shaheil in the southeastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, clashed with ISIL terrorists, killing 10 of them.
Other Five bully boyz of the so called " al-Hesba" were killed in an ambush carried out by the popular resistance in al-Ghabra village , 130 km east of Deir Ezzor city.
In a special operation of the popular resistance in al-Bukamal city, four ISIL bully boyz also were killed.
In Deir Ezzor city, at least 11 ISIL bad boyz were potted in al-Sina’a neighborhood and the train rail, according to the local sources.
Sweida
An army unit targeted gathering for ISIL terrorist organization in Tal Asheiheb al-Janoubi in northeastern countryside of Sweida province, a military source said.
Heavy losses were inflicted upon ISIL bully boyz in personnel and weaponry , the source added.
Hama
Army units, in cooperation with the popular defense groups, thwarted an attack by ISIL bully boyz on a number of military posts in al-Sheikh Hilal village in al-Salamiyeh area in Hama eastern countryside, destroying 3 vehicles equipped with heavy machineguns.
In the same context, a source on the ground told SANA that army units and the popular defense groups fired intensively on sites and gatherings of ISIL bully boyz in al-Rahjan, Um al-Mayal and Abu Hanaya villages in the eastern part of al-Salamiyeh during the last 24 hours.
A command center and a weapons and ammunition depot were destroyed in the operations, which also left a number of bully boyz dead.
Yesterday night, army units clashed with ISIL bully boyz who attacked military checkpoints in the area surrounding Wadi al-Azib in the eastern countryside of al-Salamiyeh, killing at least 10 bully boyz and destroying one of their vehicles before the other bully boyz fled.
In the meantime, army units firmly established posts in the area surrounding Tabaret al-Dibe hill and the surrounding hills after bringing under their firing range the villages of Abu Hbeilat, Abu Hanaya, Salba and other villages that are considered first lines of defense for ISIL in the direction of Ekeirbat, the main stronghold of ISIL in Hama eastern countryside.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016
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[DAWN] KOHAT: An intelligence agency with the help of local police placed in durance vile You have the right to remain silent... an alleged terrorist wanted by 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... police in acts of terrorism and attacks on security personnel from Bazidkhel here on Thursday.
The district security branch got the information that a wanted terrorist was present in a house in Bazidkhel area. He was hiding since 2012 and declared proclaimed offender by Karachi police.
The alleged terrorist, identified as Mohammad Iqbal was arrested in a raid on the house. He was also wanted to police in a murder case of coppers and the Sindh government had issued his arrest warrants. He was taken to an unknown place for interrogation. The local police said that he would be soon handed over to Karachi police.
Meanwhile, ...back at the mall, Clarissa suddenly spied Mr. Bartlett at the checkout counter. He was buying Grecian Formula!... the police arrested an alleged thief here on Thursday who had stolen pistols and cartridges after breaking a shop in Bara market. The victim, Vaqar Hussain, had informed Saddar police that one Tahir Khan had stolen 37 pistols and 3,850 cartridges from his shop. They raided the house of Tahir in Khattak Colony and arrested him and recovered the pistols and cartridges from his possession.
Saddar police have handed over the accused to the City police for further interrogation after registration of a case against him.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#9
Zeb, my opinion also. Anything is possible. I say he will go broke quickly. Possibly divorced. I really think cocaine will be his end. Like Marion Barry. Especially if he stays in DC. He acts like he is God above it all and so his demise will be self inflicted. Especially with the media(Washington Post) pumping up his ego. He will be treated as though he is still in office.
[WASHINGTONPOST] The U.S. military carried out a drone strike in Somalia Thursday against a senior member of the al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... myrmidon group who has overseen attacks resulting in the deaths of at least three U.S. citizens, Pentagon officials said Friday.
Hassan Ali Dhoore, the al-Shabaab figure, also was a member al-Qaeda, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a statement. Dhoore was part of al-Shabaab’s security and intelligence section, and was involved in plotting more attacks against Americans in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, Cook said.
"While we are still assessing the results of this operation, removing Dhoore from the battlefield would be a significant blow to al-Shabaab’s operational planning and ability to conduct attacks against the government of the Federal Republic of Somalia, its citizens, U.S. partners in the region, and against Americans abroad," Cook’s statement said.
[U.S. Arclight airstrike kills more than 150 at Somalia terrorist camp, military says]
A defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... because of the sensitive nature of the operation, said the strike occurred about 20 miles from the town of Jilib, southwest of Mogadishu. The Arclight airstrike hit a vehicle in which Dhoore was traveling with two other members of al-Shabaab in the early evening.
The defense official said the U.S. military has been "watching him off and on for a long time," and that the Somali government was involved in sharing information that led to the attack. It marks the second time in a month that the Pentagon acknowledged carrying out Arclight airstrikes in Somalia. In the last one, a series of strikes were launched on an al-Shabaab training camp in Raso, about 120 miles north of Mogadishu.
Cook said Dhoore played a direct role in the Dec. 25, 2014, attack on Mogadishu International Airport that killed several troops with the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... mission in Somalia and one American. He also was "directly responsible" for a March 27, 2015, attack on the Maka al-Mukarram Hotel in Mogadishu, which killed 15 people including one Somali-American, the Pentagon said.
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[BREITBART] On Wednesday, Rooters announced that an online poll showed "nearly two-thirds of Americans believe torture can be justified to extract information from suspected terrorists."
A great deal of hand-wringing about the awful results of this poll ensued. Rooters argued, in the very first paragraph of its article, that American support for torture is "similar to that seen in countries like Nigeria, where Death Eater attacks are common."
Got that, Americans? You’re just like Nigeria! Especially you Trump supporters, who come in for several paragraphs of psychoanalysis by Rooters, which claims Trump "has forcefully injected the issue of whether terrorism suspects should be tortured into the election campaign," because he said he would "seek to roll back President Barack Obama Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though.... ’s ban on waterboarding"... and maybe even "bring back a hell of a lot worse."
Rooters quotes Elizabeth Zechmiester of Vanderbilt University declaring that Trump gives "a certain credibility" to the American public’s "negative emotions" of "fear, anger, and general anxiety."
Posted by: Fred ||
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not just justified, appropriate and good policy
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/02/2016 12:20
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#2
There have to be effective ways of obtaining information than things like electric drills to kneecaps and pliers pulling fingernails, etc. Best would be drugs which don't cause long-term damage and where the interrogatee doesn't even realized they've told anything. C'mon, drug companies, get researching.
#4
The best forms of torture for intel keep the subject alive for further discussions.
That makes waterboarding and screwing with the body clock and loud music good.
A certain amount of pain is needed to reinforce the idea that it could get worse without cooperation.
For all their hand-wringing, Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Italy will gut you like a flounder if they thought you had information on a terrorist act.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
04/02/2016 17:18
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#5
I'm comfortable letting those that extract the info make decisions on what they are comfortable with and what works. Monday morning quarterbacking from Soros funded grouos are only useful in that they help highlight the fools and traitors in our midst.
[YAHOO] Europe has more than 900 "no-go areas" with large immigrant populations, Hungary's government claims on a hard-hitting new website aimed at drumming up opposition to an EU scheme to share out migrants colonists around the bloc.
In these areas "with a high number of immigrants colonists", for example in Gay Paree, London, Stockholm or Berlin, the authorities have "little or no control" and "norms of the host society barely prevail," the site says.
Asked for the source of the information, government front man Zoltan Kovacs told AFP on Friday it came from "data publicly available on the Internet," without giving further details.
The website, launched this week ahead of referendum in Hungary in the second half of the year on the EU quota plan, also features a ticking clock representing a migrant entering Europe every 12 seconds.
"The mandatory European quotas increase the terrorist risk in Europe and imperils our culture," the website says.
"Illegal migrants colonists cross the borders unchecked, so we do not know who they are and what their intentions are. We do not know how many of them are disguised as terrorists," it adds.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government voted against an EU plan in September to distribute 160,000 asylum-seekers among member states via quotas, and in December joined Slovakia in filing a legal complaint.
So far, only 1,100 have been relocated, with Hungary not taking a single one. If Hungarian voters reject the quotas in the referendum, as surveys suggest, this would be another blow for the troubled scheme.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016
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So if no one of value goes there they could be used as targets for bomber practice, right? Maybe B-52 Arc Light practice?
[THEMOSCOWTIMES] Turkish police have detained Alparslan Celik, the man who claims to be responsible for killing a Russian SU-24 bomber pilot in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... last November, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Friday.
An unidentified source in Turkish police confirmed that the man was in police custody.
He was tossed in the clink You have the right to remain silent... in the Turkish city of Izmir, along with 13 other people on Wednesday, Turkish media reported Thursday.
Celik was a field commander for groups of Turkmen militia in southern Turkey and one of the leaders of the Turkish Gray Wolves radical nationalist group that first appeared in Turkey in the 1960s.
Last November Celik said in a video interview that his group had killed one of the pilots of a Russian Su-24 bomber downed by Turkish aircraft.
The pilot, Oleg Peshkov was shot to death while parachuting to earth after his jet was hit. The other pilot survived and was later rescued by Russian and Syrian special force units.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016
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#1
I'd hand him over to the Rooshuns. Then we can get the pliars and blowtorch graphic up
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/02/2016 11:19
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#2
Turn over Erdogon to the Russians and they will forgive all.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/02/2016 22:04
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(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – Media officials with the Ministry of Defense stated on Friday, that the Iraqi Army Aviation destructed a headquarters belonging to the ISIS and killed 14 “terrorists” during a security operation in Anbar Province.
The officials said in a press statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “[The army’s] Air Force, based on information by the General Intelligence and Security Directorate, was able to destroy a headquarters for the ISIS gangs and kill 13 terrorists, in addition to destroying a weapons depot and a tunnel in al-Sen and Tal al-Marg in Heet west of Anbar.”
Noteworthy, journalists with the Ministry of Defense announced earlier today destructing a vital bridge for ISIS during an aerial bombardment in the district of Heet west of Anbar.
(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – Official journalists with the Ministry of Defense announced on Friday destroying a vital bridge belonging to the ISIS during an aerial strike in Heet District west of Ramadi.
The journalists said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The army’s aviation conducted an accurate air strike, based on intelligence by the Anti-Terrorism Directorate, resulting in the destruction of a vital bridge belonging to the ISIS terrorist gangs in Heet west of Anbar.”
The statement added, “[This also led] to cutting off their supplies in the district.”
Posted by: badanov ||
04/02/2016
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[ARA News] ALEPPO – Radical group of the Islamic State (ISIS) has recently banned dozens of Christian families from leaving Syria’s northeastern city of Raqqa, especially after the U.S.-led coalition forces intensified their airstrikes on the group’s headquarters in the region, local sources reported on Friday.
The ISIS terror group is trying to use the Christians, who are stranded in Raqqa along with other minority religious groups, as human shields in the coming days, according to local activists.
Speaking to ARA News in Raqqa, rights activist M.Z. said there are fears that ISIS may use all the remaining Christians as human shields in its de facto capital Raqqa, especially with the approaching battles on its border from both northeast and southwest of the province.
“ISIS is about to be besieged by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-Arab alliance operating along the Syria-Turkey borderline,” he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
On Thursday, the SDF reported advancement in the oil-rich area between Deir ez-Zor province and Raqqa, northeast Syria, subsequent to clashes with the radical group of Islamic State (ISIS), military sources told ARA News. The western-backed SDF forces have seized the Rweshid oil field after expelling ISIS from the Abu Khashab district west of the town of Margada in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province.
“Also, the Syrian army forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad are progressing towards the Syrian desert areas subsequent to its control over the ancient city of Palmyra,” the source reported.
Retaking Palmyra from ISIS, in central Syria, is paving the way for the army to head to the eastern Deir ez-Zor province and then to the group’s de facto capital of Raqqa.
An informed local source told ARA News that ISIS has issued a new decision to ban Christians [Assyrians and Armenians] from leaving Raqqa, pointing out that the fate of at least 41 Christian families remains unknown under ISIS reign.
Christians are deemed as ‘infidels’ by ISIS, which accuses them of loyalty to nonbelievers and Crusaders (in reference to the Western countries).
“ISIS has prevented many of its local top leaders from leaving the city [of Raqqa] as well, especially with the group’s power declining in the past few months,” media activist Salim Raqqawi told ARA News, pointing out that ISIS “is preparing to use religious minorities remaining in the city as human shields during battles against opponents”.
In March 2013, Syrian rebel groups controlled the city of Raqqa after battles with Syrian army forces. It was the first province controlled by rebels in the Syrian conflict since 2011. However, the city has then fell to ISIS militants who expelled Syrian rebels from whole province.
“Christians in Raqqa suffer the most under ISIS control,” Raqqawi stressed.
Last May, ISIS extremists abducted Father Jack Murad, head of Mar Alyan monastery in al-Qaryatain town after seizing the nearby ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
At that time, the terror group has kidnapped over 220 civilians, including at least 60 Christians, after seizing the key town al-Qaryatain in the countryside of Homs, according to local activists.
The radical group carries out atrocities against Christians after accusing them of apostasy and legitimizes their death, confiscation of their property and enslavement of their women.
On the other hand, independent human rights organizations blamed the Syrian government for spreading sedition within the Syrian society by giving the conflict a sectarian dimension, yet denying the detention of hundreds of Christians.
Two weeks ago, U.S. State Department declared that ISIS is pushing to the extinction of Christians and other religious minorities from Syria and Iraq, accusing the terror group of committing what it described as a ‘genocide’.
However, despite U.S. supportive remarks to the religious minorities in the war-torn countries of Syria and Iraq, especially Christians, the Obama administration seems unable to change its military strategy in order to stop such atrocities.
Christians constitute a main social component in Hasakah province and other areas across Syria. During the crisis, many Christians escaped their homes for fear of persecution. The majority of Christians in Syria belong to the Eastern communions, which have existed in Syria since the earliest days of Christianity.
KHANEWAL: A commander of banned outfit identified as Waseem was arrested from Bhatta Kot area of Tehsil Kabeerwala.
According to police sources, the accused stated to be involved in many criminal activities was arrested as a result of joint operation conducted by the police, elite force, CTD and other agencies under National Action Plan (NAP). Further investigation is underway.
Today, Friday, April 01 2016, the Baltic Dry Index climbed by 21 points, reaching 450 points.
Baltic Dry Index is compiled by the London-based Baltic Exchange and covers prices for transported cargo such as coal, grain and iron ore.
The index is based on a daily survey of agents all over the world. Baltic Dry hit a temporary peak on May 20, 2008, when the index hit 11,793. The lowest level ever reached was on Wednesdayy the 10th of February 2016, when the index dropped to 290 points.
#1
These new super ships are mostly upgraded and much less costly to operate. No longer are they required to use canals as in the past. Big money in these upgrades.
Supporters of Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders have filed a lawsuit against former President Bill Clinton in Massachusetts court, claiming he broke the law to help deliver the state to his wife earlier this month.
According to the lawsuit filed by a group called MA Sanders Voters and Volunteers Disenfranchised by Bill Clinton, the former president engaged in a number of illegal activities, including openly campaigning at polling stations.
LAHORE: Security agencies continued a search operation in Punjab on the fourth consecutive day on Thursday and detained 244 suspects for further questioning out of the total 6,563 picked up during the last 24 hours.
The 61 intelligence-based operations were conducted by the army and Rangers with the coordination of other sensitive agencies.
The Punjab police conducted 82 search operations and the Counter Terrorism Department 21, a spokesperson for the police said.
She said the focused areas of operations of the law-enforcement agencies were residential areas, markets, hotels, rest houses, educational institutes and other important offices.
Two militants were blown up by own explosives in western Herat province of Afghanistan as they were busy making an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said four civilians including a child were injured in the incident.
No further details were given regarding the exact location where the incident took place although it seems the militants were busy making the IED inside a residential house.
The Taliban militants and other insurgent groups are frequently using Improvised Explosive Device (IED) as the weapon of their choice to target the security forces which normally lead to civilian casualties.
Although IED attacks are the main cause of the Afghan security forces casualties but the attacks also largely contribute to civilian casualties in the country.
A civilian was killed and five others were wounded in an explosion involving Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.
According to the latest UN report on civilian casualties, the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) remained one of the top causes of civilian deaths in the country during the year 2015, which saw 3,545 deaths and 7,457 casualties.
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] Moscow has submitted data on The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s illegal arms and military hardware supply to ISIL in Syria to the UN Security Council. Supplies are supervised by the Turkish intelligence service, Russian UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said as cited by Russian media.
The main supplier of arms and military equipment to ISIL turbans is Turkey, which uses non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for this purpose. The National Intelligence Organization of Turkey is in charge of the operations. Transportation is carried out mainly via automobiles, including humanitarian aid convoys, Churkin wrote in a letter to the UN Security Council (UNSC).
Terrorist groups operating in Syria received kabooms worth $ 1.9 million via Turkey last year, according to the letter.
In total, the Lions of Islam were delivered 2.5 thousand tons of ammonium nitrate (worth around $788,700), 456 tons of potassium nitrate ($468,700), 75 tons of aluminum powder ($496,500), sodium nitrate ($19,400), glycerin ($102,500) and nitric acid ($34,000 thousand) via Turkey in 2015, Churkin wrote.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016
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KARACHI: Two suspected gangsters were killed in a shootout with police in Mochko area of the city on Thursday.
An official said that a police party had raided a hideout near Gadha Gari Stand on Hawkes Bay Road on reports about the presence of some gangsters. An exchange of gunfire took place during the raid.
“Armed men in the hideout attacked personnel of our team when they were busy taking positions following a tip-off about the presence of some criminals in the area,” said SSP city Fida Hussain Janwari.
“More force was called in to join the operation and during an exchange of gunfire two gangsters were killed. They all belonged to a criminal gang of Baba Ladla group mainly operating in Lyari.”
[BREITBART] On Thursday, a Muslim woman in New York City claimed she was attacked by a white male who called her a terrorist and slashed her cheek with a knife before running away. On Friday, police announced the as-yet unnamed 20-year-old slashed her own cheek, giving herself a two-inch cut, and invented the hate crime story.
The young woman described her imaginary attacker as a "white man wearing a black hat and a black jacket." Here is the News Agency that Dare Not be Named story on today’s developments, in its entirety, headlined "NYPD: Woman Made Up Story About Manhattan Slashing Attack"
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04/02/2016
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[DAWN] Pakistain has formally asked the Iranian government for pro-active support in dismantling the Indian intelligence network that is said to be operating from Chabahar.
The letter from the interior ministry -- sent to Iran through its embassy in Islamabad -- was written following the revelations made by Commander Kulbhushan Jhadav alias Hussain Mubarik Patel, the Indian naval officer and self-confessed agent of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
Jhadav was placed in durance vile Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! from the Musakhel area of 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... on March 3 and the information gleaned from him was laid before the media -- in the form of a video interview -- by ISPR chief Lt-Gen Asim Bajwa and Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid at a presser in the capital on Tuesday.
Written by Interior Secretary Arif Ahmed Khan, the letter stated Jhadav had revealed that he was based in Chabahar, under the cover of a businessman dealing in jewellery and that he was assisted by other RAW personnel, including Sub-Inspector Rakesh alias Rizwan. The letter also contains the address of a shop supposedly run by these RAW operatives in a mall in Chabahar.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016
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[BenarNews] The widow of an Indonesian who died in custody after being arrested as a suspected militant wants an autopsy to be done on his remains, but neighbors in her home village are trying to block that. Resistance is so strong in the Central Java village of Pogung, where her late husband is buried, have threatened to expel her or anyone else who supports her plan to exhume his remains in order to determine the cause of death.
Siyono, the widow's 34-year-old husband and father of five, was buried in a local graveyard, five days after his arrest by Densus 88, the Indonesian police counter-terror unit. Police suspected Siyono of being connected to a resurgent Jemaah Islamiyah.
Siyono's home province of Central Java is where Indonesian authorities recently arrested rebels during a nationwide crackdown that followed the January 14 terrorist attacks in Jakarta. Eight people, including four insurgents, died in the attacks – the first act of terrorism claimed by Daesh in Southeast Asia.
#1
I'll guess he had perimortem blunt force trauma injuries which might have led to his death but they can't be determined as fatal because of the bullet in his head.
[MRCTV.ORG] The White House website has censored a video of French Pres. Francois Hollande ...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist... saying that "Islamist terrorism" is at the "roots of terrorism."
The White House briefly pulled video of a press event on terrorism with Pres. Obama, and when it reappeared on the WhiteHouse.gov website and YouTube, the audio of Hollande’s translator goes silent, beginning with the words "Islamist terrorism," then begins again at the end of his sentence.
Even the audio of Hollande saying the words "Islamist terrorism" in French have, apparently, been edited from the video.
According to the official White House transcript of Hollande’s remarks, Hollande refers to "Islamist terrorism." The audio of the bold text in brackets is missing from the video -- the only point in the video were the audio is absent:
"We are also making sure that between Europe and the United States there can be a very high level coordination.
"But we're also well aware that the roots of terrorism, [Islamist terrorism, is in Syria and in Iraq. We therefore have to act both in Syria and in Iraq, and this is what we're doing within the framework of the coalition.] And we note that Daesh [Islamic State] is losing ground thanks to the strikes we've been able to launch with the coalition."
Pres. Obama has come under fire from Republicans for his refusal to say "radical Islam" when discussing terrorism and, again yesterday, he declined to do so.
Obama made three vague mentions of terrorism, citing the "hands of terrorism," the "scourge of terrorism," and "counterterrorism" in Thursday’s press event.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016
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#1
Of course. President "Workplace Violence™"
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/02/2016 12:14
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#2
it's just folks who have "nothing to do with Islam" killing folks who WANT nothing to do with Islam
Posted by: Bov Flimbers ||
04/02/2016 23:12
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(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – Media officials with the Ministry of Defense announced on Friday the killing of 27 ISIS elements during armed clashes in the village of Khrbirdan south of Mosul.
The officials said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The [army’s] 15th Division had managed to kill 27 terrorists belonging to the ISIS, including three suicide bombers that had worn explosive belts,” pointing out that, “The terrorists were trying to intercept the troops in front of the defensive line in the village of Khrbirdan south of Mosul.”
Posted by: badanov ||
04/02/2016
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A retired Israeli soldier by the name of Cherev Gidon offers a unique set of classes for people who have no training with firearms. The only reason I am familiar with this individual is through Facebook. He offers a number of courses for those who have had zero firearms training, and gives the student a chance to fire a number of different firearms. He also offers advanced courses in firearms training, as well as tactical training focusing on a single weapon type, such as the AK or AR. He offers classes all over the eastern United States.
I mention this individual because several Rantburg.com regulars are from the east coast and/or live in areas/states with draconian firearms laws. I was impressed with his offerings for those with no familiarity with firearms, who may count themselves among those who are the most likely victims of crime or a frisky political opposition.
To that end, I think that offering to install laser sights and flashlights onto ARs and AKs, as well as providing training is a good way to help the elderly to train with firearms.
For the do-it-yourselfer there is what is claimed to be a printed semiautomatic firearm that actually works. The printed part is the barrel shroud and an AR style receiver. According to what little I have read, the gun only lasted a few shots before heat from the barrel begins to damage the shroud.
The actual inner workings are steel, so the basic design appears to be sound as far as the receiver is concerned.
From Missouri comes a story of a man who shot his private member off while taking a selfie. About 20 years ago during the Jay Leno Tonight Show monologue I heard the story of a man whose firearms went off in his pants. The joke at the time was, "I don't know which is worse: A firearm going off in your pants, or a firearm going off in your pants which doesn't hit anything."
As far as our own paid media influencing gun control, we are so screwed.
Loads.
Rantburg's summary for arms and ammunition:
Prices for pistol ammunition and for rifle ammunition were mostly unchanged.
Prices for used pistols and for used rifles were mixed.
New Lows:
None
Pistol Ammunition
.45 Caliber, 230 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Cased, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: Mass Ammo, Sasquatch, FMJ, Reloads, .22 per round (From Last week: -.02 Each After Unchanged (2 Weeks))
.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (5 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Goose Island Sales, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .22 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Ammo Marketplace, Leadhead brand, Brass, Reloads, .20 per round (From Last Week: -.02 Each After Unchanged (1Q, 2016))
9mm Parabellum, 115 Grain, From Last Week: -.01 Each After Unchanged (3 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Glen's Army Navy Store, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .16 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: J&G Sales, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .16 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks))
.357 Magnum, 158 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (4 weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Goose Island Sales, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .25 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 1,000 rounds: SG Ammo, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel cased, .25 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4Q, 2015))
Rifle Ammunition
.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Goose Island Sales, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .21 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, FMJ, steel casing, .22 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (3 Weeks))
.308 NATO 150 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Goose Island Sales, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .34 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, steel casing, FMJ, .34 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (3 Weeks))
7.62x39 AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (3 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Munire USA, Wolf Polyformance, steel case, FMJ, .23 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: SG Ammo, Wolf WPA, steel case, FMJ, .23 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (5 weeks))
.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Ammomen, Aguila, RNL .08 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds (2 Cases Max): Ammunition Supply Company, Federal Automatch, RNL, .06 per round (From Last Week: -.01 Each After Unchanged (5 Weeks))
Saw a show, think it was Best Defense or it was something like it, which demonstrated that if you are going to carry, one thing to consider is if there were a negligent discharge while holstering, where does the bullet go? Host said something like, "If you do carry front waistband as I prefer to, be certain of the safety of your firearm. A negligent discharge may shoot something off, or if you can imagine even worse, hit your Femoral Artery."
badanov, the article the other day referencing an article by fancy boy "Old people should not defend themselves and just die already." had a commenter state that a large percentage of recent firearm training students were, what the commenter referred to as, elderly. Have you come across anything which confirms or backs up that claim?
And make no mistake, it is in fact in the mosques that recruitment and organization for Jihad is occurring. Despite what the so-called mainstream media's narrative claims--namely that "radicalization" occurs simply over the internet and social media--an honest review of history indicates that it is mosques that serve as the outposts for Jihad around the world.
There is evidence to support this.
In France this week, security agencies shut down three mosques. One was in Lagny-sur- Marne, a suburb of eastern Paris. Nine Muslims associated with that mosque were placed under house arrest and 22 others from barred from leaving France.
According to USA Today, in that investigation, police seized a 9mm handgun, a computer hard drive that was hidden behind a wall, as well as jihadist propaganda materials. Police also discovered documents about an unregistered Quranic school.
In addition, two other mosques, one in Gennevilliers in the northwest suburbs of Paris and one in Lyon, were closed by French police. Moreover, four Muslim "prayer rooms" in the Nice area in the south of France have also been shut down. It is worth noting that these so-called "prayer rooms" are very common throughout the West and are often operated in strip malls and in store fronts and private homes.
The Germans have been shutting down mosques for a few years now and, as of yet, they haven't been hit by a Paris or Brussels-style attack. But they are good at keeping the door open to infect their neighbors.
Back in December, they shut down a mosque in Stuttgart that was involved in recruiting for the Islamic State:
[The Nation] A suspect has been detained in relation to Tuesday's bomb and gun ambush that killed three police officers and injured six others in Narathiwat province. A combined security team arrested the suspect and took him to Ingkhayuth Borihan Military Camp.
Meanwhile, Chaichana Krittiyanart, chief of Yala's Yaha district, yesterday dismissed rumors that 200 families were moving out of Ban Sapong out of fear after five villagers were killed in four previous attacks. He said that those who had moved were only returning to their home in Pattani's Ma-Yor district as rubber trees were now shedding leaves and couldn't be tapped.
Russia is doubling the number of its strategic nuclear warheads on new missiles by deploying multiple reentry vehicles that have put Moscow over the limit set by the New START arms treaty, according to Pentagon officials.
A recent intelligence assessment of the Russian strategic warhead buildup shows that the increase is the result of the addition of multiple, independently targetable reentry vehicles, or MIRVs, on recently deployed road-mobile SS-27 and submarine-launched SS-N-32 missiles, said officials familiar with reports of the buildup.
"The Russians are doubling their warhead output," said one official. "They will be exceeding the New START [arms treaty] levels because of MIRVing these new systems." Meanwhile, from DC, we are told how important it is to reduce ours.
[THEMOSCOWTIMES] A specially trained group of cats from St. Petersburg's Hermitage museum will help in restoring Palmyra, The Moscow Times can reveal. I'm not sure about the validity of the story, but The Little Woman and I went to see the Moscow Circus in DC in the late seventies. They had a cat trainer who had kitties doing handstands and several other things you don't expect to see house cats doing.
Devastated by nearly a year's worth of fighting between Islamic State (a terrorist organisation banned in Russia) and regime forces, the ancient city was re-taken on Sunday 27 March.
Russia's leading cultural organisations said they would step up to assist the restoration effort. But few commentators expected such an unusual intervention.
Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the Hermitage museum, told The Moscow Times that deploying the cats was part of the museum's contribution to world heritage.
"We know that cats can do amazing things given the right training — they can smell out landmines and use their whiskers to remove topsoil," Piotrovsky told The Moscow Times in a phone interview Thursday. "More importantly, our cats know art and they know how crucial it is to treat treasures like Palmyra gently."
Hermitage cats have been living in the museum basements for decades, and were used primarily to catch mice that might pose danger for stored paintings. A source close to Russia's Defense Ministry told The Moscow Times that the Hermitage cats might now be sent to eliminate surveillance mice the Islamic State have reportedly deployed to Palmyra.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the source said that military planners understand the Islamists have created their own special rodent battalion — MISIS (also banned in Russia). "Special Rodent Battalion?"
"Everyone thought [vice prime minister Dmitry] Rogozin was joking about the U.S. sending mice to spy on Russian military developments, but in fact he wasn't far off the truth. MISIS are spying on us, and we're going to deal with it, thanks to Mr. Piotrovsky's generosity," the source said.
Another source familiar with the situation said the cats underwent secret training in a Russian monastery.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016
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[THEMOSCOWTIMES] The majority of Chechens fighting in Syria have been killed,
..a good use for them, and a happy result for everyone else...
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said in an interview with the RIA Novosti news agency, published Friday.
Syrian rebels used natives of the Russian republic of Chechnya as "cannon fodder," Kadyrov said. "There are about 200 of our Chechens left. They traveled to Syria from Europe -- gangs of around 20-30 people," he said, RIA Novosti reported.
Very few Chechen citizens have left to fight abroad because the local security service is able to "control" them, Kadyrov said.
In November 2015, Kadyrov said that about 500 Chechens had traveled to Syria to fight alongside 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.... -- 200 of whom had already been killed.
So the majority remain alive? Hopefully that will soon be rectified.
Kadyrov added that government agents had "brought back" 47 Chechen men believed to have been drafted into IS "by means of deception," RIA Novosti reported.
In total, almost 650 criminal cases were being investigated in Russia against Russians fighting for the Islamic State, according to Prosecutor General Yury Chaika, RIA Novosti reported on Nov. 10, 2015.
Islamic State is a terrorist group banned in Russia.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016
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The Yemeni national army backed by local fighters seized control of the historic city of Baraqish, Marib Governorate, following heavy fighting against the Houthi militia and forces loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The city has been under the control of rebels since 2011 who turned it into barracks, training camps and a centre for combat operations.
A resistance source said the victory had come one day after the government and resistance fighters seized the strategic Safra area between governorates of Marib and Jawf, where tens of rebels were killed and others fled towards Al-Ghail Directorate, west of Jawf.
[CNN] British police mounted an elaborate undercover operation to seize a terror suspect's cellphone before it could lock and potentially become inaccessible, a source close to the investigation told CNN on Friday.
A goldmine of information retrieved from the phone, including communications with a British ISIS operative in Syria, played a key role in securing a conviction against Junead Khan.
The 25-year-old delivery driver, accused of plotting to kill U.S. airmen at the RAF Lakenheath air base in eastern England, was convicted Friday by a British court of preparing terrorist acts, according to the British Crown Prosecution Service.
British Sherlocks feared that if Khan's iPhone 5S had become locked it would be very difficult to retrieve data, the source told CNN. Their quick action also helped avoid problems faced by the FBI after the San Bernardino, Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,, shootings in December.
The FBI was unable to gain access to gunman Syed Farook's locked iPhone 5C for almost four months. On Monday the Department of Justice announced the FBI had finally obtained access to data on the phone after an unidentified third party provided help. The FBI and Apple had been engaged in legal proceedings after U.S. authorities attempted to compel Apple to provide a technological solution to unlock the phone.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016
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[DAWN] KARACHI: A jirga of notables in Ghulam Nabi Shah area of Umerkot district allegedly settled a gang rape case for a compensation of 30 maunds of wheat, the victim’s father claimed. One maund is zackly 37.3242 kilograms x 30 = 2463.3312, or a little over a ton of wheat. That's a lot, but it's the price of a girl's honor. Paperwork was started but nothing else was done with the local police a few days ago on complaint of the 14-year-old victim's brother, Sajan Sheikh.
The victim’s father said following the registration of the case and the subsequent arrest of the main suspect, he was forced to settle the dispute through the jirga and was promised a compensation of 30 maunds of wheat.
The jirga was held under the supervision of a local influential landlord Mohammad Hassan Mangrio, he added.
The victim’s father deplored that after he refused to accept the compensation he was forced to leave the area with his family.
He alleged that since local media highlighted the issue, local elites have been threatening him to keep mum and withdraw the case.
DIG Mirpurkhas division Javed Alam Odho took notice of the incident and directed SSP Umerkot to investigate the case and provide protection to the victim’s family.
The SHO of Ghulam Nabi Shah, Arif Bhatti, said local police had registered the case on March 21 under Sections 376 (2) and 34 of the Pakistain Penal Code, and has already tossed in the clink Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! the prime suspect.
The official, however, said he was not aware of any jirga being held in the jurisdiction of his cop shoppe.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] Fierce battles erupted Friday dawn on the Yemeni border line with 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... after Saudi troops tried to restore the city of Rabuah, Al-Manar TV correspondent reported.
Rabuah was taken by the Yemeni army and Popular Committees
Al-Manar news hound said the Yemeni military and the Committees have recently seized control over new Saudi zones around Rabuah.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016
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#1
With all their money you'd think SA would have put theY's away a long time ago. Speaks to fools and their money, doesn't it?
#3
The superior Zaki M.A. Farsi atlas of Saudi Arabia does not list the town of Rabuah. Nor does a scan of the Saudi-Arabia/Yemen border region provide any help. Anyone know where Rauah is located?
[ARA News] ALEPPO ــ Militants of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) radical group carried out an offensive on strongholds of the opposition factions in an attempt to advance in Syria’s northern Aleppo province, military sources reported on Friday.
Amid clashes between ISIS militant fighters and Syrian rebel groups, the U.S.-led coalition conducted several air raids on ISIS tactical units in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
Speaking to ARA News in Aleppo, rebel spokesman Saleh Zein said that ISIS militant fighters tried to advance towards headquarters of the Levant Front [main Syrian rebel group in Aleppo] on the outskirts of Miregil town on the Syrian-Turkish border, “but our fighters repelled the attack”.
“Rebels of the Suqur al-Jabal Brigade [member of the Levant Front] were able to destroy an ISIS-led bulldozer with a missile, while trying to remove the roadblocks near the town,” the spokesman reported.
The source pointed out that other clashes erupted between fighters of the Sham Corps and ISIS militants on the outskirts of the Doodyan and Kara Kopri towns, which led to the injury of a number of ISIS jihadis and their retreat under heavy strikes.
Opposition fighters have been able to recapture several locations from ISIS in the northern suburbs of Aleppo, taking advantage of the intensified U.S.-led airstrikes near the Syrian-Turkish border.
In the meantime, pro-regime forces continued to target ISIS headquarters in the northern and eastern suburbs of Aleppo, in a bid to advance in the city of al-Bab–one of the main bastions for ISIS in northwestern Syria.
Noteworthy, the northern countryside of Aleppo is witnessing battles between different armed groups. The developments in Aleppo could determine the results of the ongoing Syria peace talks in Geneva, according to observers.
A news blackout has been imposed on the sinking of two trawlers near Misrata which were suspected to have been running supplies to the Benghazi Revolutionaries’ Shoura Council.
The fishing vessels are believed to have been sunk on Wednesday evening after limpet mines were attached to them as they lay alongside the quay at the Libyan Iron and Steel Company’s (LISCO) port outside the city.
Photographs of the wrecks have been forbidden and the authorities have refused to make any official comment. There has been no indication as to who might have been responsible for the vessels’ destruction. However sources in the city say that both fishing boats were known to be operated by supporters of the BRSC.
[THEMOSCOWTIMES] Two weeks after President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... declared the "majority" of Russia's military goals in Syria have been accomplished, Moscow and Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... turned their attention from rebel groups in northern Syria to dislodging 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.... from the ancient city of Palmyra. After nearly a year under IS control, the Syrian army -- with considerable Russian support -- retook the city on March 27.
It was a much needed public relations victory for Putin and his military. Since intervening in the Syrian conflict, the Kremlin has been accused of targeting opposition groups fighting Assad instead of fulfilling its stated goal of fighting terrorist groups. That was until a cessation of hostilities went into effect and Moscow announced a partial withdrawal.
Now, it seems, Russia has finally directed its attention to IS, a terrorist group banned in Russia.
Moscow has revealed some information about the types of forces it is using in Syria. Celebrating the liberation of Palmyra from IS on March 28, Russia's Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said the city "was freed from snuffies yesterday with support from Russian aerospace forces and special operations forces." It was the first time the Defense Ministry has acknowledged that Russia's elite special operators, the so-called Spetsnaz, are fighting in Syria.
Previously, Russian Spetsnaz units were understood to be providing reconnaissance and targeting support to the Syrian military. In addition, Russian regular troops, such as naval infantry, armor, artillery, and logistical units were also known to be present at two bases in regime-held territory. But these forces were deployed mostly for defense of these positions, and saw little, if any combat.
On March 28, the news website Fontanka.ru published an investigative report claiming that Russia was using private military companies. The investigation found that private army soldiers had been awarded medals for bravery and courage in Ukraine and Syria by Putin himself.
It remains unclear, however, just how actively Russians -- be they active duty Spetsnaz operators or reserve GRU officers -- have been involved in Syrian army ground offensives. One Spetsnaz soldier who died during the offensive is said to have been guiding air strikes.
The Defense Ministry said its aircraft conducted 40 flights and hit 117 targets in the area over a 24-hour period. This is a high sortie rate that throws Putin's claims to have withdrawn the bulk of Russian air forces into doubt. When the operation began in September 2015, Russia flew just 20 sorties a day.
A senior Israeli military official told the newspaper Defense News that Putin retains a significant force in Syria, simply swapping airplanes for helicopters, rather than withdrawing. "He still has a significant force there [with which] he can do almost whatever he wants," the source was quoted as saying.
And Russian ships continue to run supplies to Syria. Rooters, on March 30, published a report suggesting that Russian naval traffic through the Bosporus -- the waterway connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean -- showed little indication of slowing. Ships traveling to Syria appear heavily loaded when heading out of the Black Sea, the report said.
All of this indicates Russian involvement is likely transforming, rather than drawing down. "It is safe to say that the Kremlin will stay while the costs are relatively cheap," agrees Russian analyst Yury Barman. "The next stage is probably some kind of counter-terrorism alliance and an advance towards Deir-Ezzor and Raqqa."
For now the Kremlin appears to be relishing its liberation of Palmyra -- the kind of victory of which Washington's more hawkish elements dream -- and the resulting good publicity, however brief it may be.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[BREITBART] Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who’s endorsed Donald Trump, is in Wisconsin campaigning for the GOP frontrunner.
Palin posted on Facebook, “Just touched down in the great state of Wisconsin to #Stump4Trump! Wisconsin’s middle class has been hurt by DC politicians’ out-of-touch policies worse than any other state – 100,000 jobs lost to Mexico and China thanks to trade deficits with countries that cheat on our ‘agreements.'”
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04/02/2016
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#1
Poor Sarah. Even Ann Coulter is backing away from this train wreck.
And in other news, support for a border wall is plummeting. Thanks, Donald.
[JihadWatch] As you watch the video, note how loudly he is praying. The idea of praying quietly out of consideration for his fellow passengers never enters his mind: his prayer is a declaration of supremacism and an assertion of power. Also note that the terror of some of the passengers is perfectly understandable given the contexts in which "Allahu akbar" is most notoriously heard these days. For some reason these passengers don't associate it with fuzzy bunnies and unicorns. How odd.
[REUTERS] China has put a hold on India's request to add the head of the Pak bad boy group Jaish-e-Mohammad ...literally Army of Mohammad, a Pak-based Deobandi terror group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, after he split with the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. In 2002 the government of Pervez Musharraf banned the group, which changed its name to Khaddam ul-Islam and continued doing what it had been doing before without missing a beat... to the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... ' al Qaeda-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.... blacklist, U.N. diplomats said on Friday, eliciting an angry reaction from the Indian government.
India accused Jaish-e-Mohammad of criminal masterminding a fatal attack on the Pathankot air base in India in January. India had requested that its leader be added to a U.N. Security Council blacklist of groups linked to al Qaeda or Islamic State, the diplomats said, but China objected.
The Kashmire-based group Jaish-e-Mohammad has already been blacklisted by the 15-nation Security Council, but not its leader, Maulana Masood Azhar ...One of the major players in Pak terrorism. In early 1994, India incarcerated him for his terrorist activities. In 1995, foreign tourists were kidnapped in Jammu and Kashmir. The kidnappers included the release of Masood Azhar among their demands. One of the hostages managed to escape but the rest were eventually killed. In 1999, he was freed by the Indian government in exchange for passengers on hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 that had been diverted to Kandahar. The hijackers were led by Masood Azhar's brother, Ibrahim Athar. Once he was handed over to the hijackers, they fled to Pak territory despite the fact that Islamabad had earlier stated that any of the hijackers would be jugged at the border. The Pak government had also previously indicated that Azhar would be allowed to return home since he did not face any charges there. Shortly after his release, he made a public address to an estimated 10,000 people in Karachi, firing up the rubes against America and India... , an Islamist hardliner and long-time foe of India.
"We find it incomprehensible that while the Pakistain-based Jaish-e-Mohammad was listed ... as far back as 2001 for its well-known terror activities and links to al Qaeda, the designation of the group's main leader, financier and motivator, has been put on a technical hold," Indian government front man Vikas Swarup said in Washington.
"This does not reflect well on the determination that the international community needs to display to decisively defeat the menace of terrorism," he told news hounds on the sidelines of a nuclear summit in the U.S. capital.
It was not immediately clear why China requested that a hold be placed on the Indian request to blacklist Masood Azhar. Technical holds can be lifted and often arise when a Security Council member wants more information. But sometimes they lead to a permanent blocking of a proposed blacklisting.
Asked about China's decision to place a technical hold on the proposed blacklisting of Masood Azhar, Chinese U.N. Ambassador Liu Jieyi offered no details.
"Any listing would have to meet the requirements" for blacklisting, he said.
Pak security officials have said that a special investigation team set up in Pakistain to probe the Pathankot attack found no evidence implicating Masood Azhar.
If Masood Azhar was blacklisted by the U.N. Security Council, he would face a global travel ban and asset freeze.
The Jan. 2 attack at Pathankot was followed by a raid on an Indian consulate in Afghanistan that has also been linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad, or the Army of Mohammad.
Jaish-e-Mohammad forces of Evil are blamed for a 2001 attack on India's parliament that nearly led to a war between the nuclear-armed rivals.
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#1
Now, if he'd been a Uighur....
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/02/2016 14:57
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[BREITBART] Five men, including two believed to be accessories to murder, have been arrested on suspicion of gang raping a girl on-board a special, high school kids-only pleasure cruise in Sweden.
Four men aged between 18 and 19 were arrested when the luxury MS Galaxy landed after its cruise to Finland on Wednesday, with a fifth arrested yesterday. They are all accused of gang-raping an unidentified woman,
If she's a high school girl, she is not yet a woman, and somebody with the fiduciary duty of loco parentis should share culpability for not protecting her from adult risks. Were I her mother I would be preparing a law suit with the best lawyer I could find.
and face charges of aggravated rape.
The prosecutor has given no more detail about the crime or the victim, and was initially even reluctant to disclose that it was a woman who had been raped.
It wasn't a woman. It was a schoolgirl.
Although the politically-correct Swedish police have gone to their usual lengths to obscure the identities and nationalities of the suspected perpetrators, a mistake by Sweden’s largest newspaper has revealed the men to be migrants.
A film crew from newspaper Aftonbladet interviewed a number of students boarding the ship as it prepared to sail earlier this week for a feature on the cruise.
Of the 1,700 young people who sailed they by chance ended up interviewing two of the attackers.
The non-Western young men told the camera of their plan to have a good time while at sea, remarking they wanted to “Just fuck about”. He remarked “because we are students”, they wanted to “actually go fucking wild”, reports Sweden’s Aftonbladet.
The footage was released by the paper accidentally to their website and later taken down, but a screenshot was preserved of the men, censored by Friatider to comply with Swedish law.
In a further development, it has been revealed one of the men has a previous conviction and two of the men arrested for the gang-rape are suspects in a separate criminal case, a high-profile murder in Stockholm dating back to November 2015. Although the men are suspected of accessory to murder and were arrested by police, they were later released pending trial and allowed to potentially violently offend again.
My motherly lawsuit proceeds apace.
None of those men arrested were born in Sweden. They deny all charges of aggravated rape.
"That girl willingly placed herself beyond the reach of her protectors. As uncovered meat she was asking for what we gave her, and so were her father and brothers."
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[POLITICO] Huma Abedin hasn’t freshly read any of her email exchanges with Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as America's Blond Eminence and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Bainbridge Colby ... that have been released by the State Department, but the longtime Clinton aide said it is "terrifying" to know that the messages are out there.
"It’s something I can’t really think about, but I can’t even imagine what’s in those emails. But I’m sure I would probably be mortified. I have no idea. I haven’t read any of them," Abedin, who served as one of Clinton's top aides at State, said in an interview with the podcast "Call Your Girlfriend."
The State Department publicly released thousands of emails from Clinton, including many messages to her aides, after it was discovered that she used a private email server during her four-year tenure as secretary of state. Clinton has said that, looking back, it wasn't the best decision, but that she did not violate any rules or laws. The FBI is investigating the unusual server setup.
In the interview, Abedin was also asked about the infamous fax emails in which she is trying to coach Clinton through using a secure fax machine. Abedin said the exchange showed "a little bit of her frustration because it wasn’t working, and my frustration that she couldn’t figure it out or whatever it was."
"It wasn’t unusual when secure faxes were coming through that we had some challenges," she said, adding that she didn’t remember that specific moment until the email made the headlines. Yes, 'challenges' such as keeping up with the removal of classification markings, scanning, and re-transmitting, etc. Due to the large volume, it must have been quite laborious and time consuming.
But it isn’t all bad, Abedin said. She had heard about a woman who decided to back Clinton after reading her emails because she felt she got to know her better through her personal writing. "She saw what a warm, caring, thoughtful, determined person she was," Abedin said. Yes, 'warm and caring' to an entirely new level indeed. Shouldn't we have 'March of the defenders of Moscow' playing softly in the background ? You can tell Hilarity is in trouble: she's trotted Huma out for a "charm offensive"...
Posted by: Fred ||
04/02/2016
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Well f&#k you Huma. It's all about you just as it is for your former boss. How about all the people who might have been jeopardized by Hilda's insecure server and all the top secret emails which were read by our enemies?
[GLOBALPOST] Libya’s new "unity government" arrived in the country this week aiming to bring together warring factions.
The product of United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... -brokered peace talks that concluded late last year, its nine members led by Prime Minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj had been tasked with heading to Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... and taking control of state institutions.
But they made an inauspicious start. The powerful militias that have come to rule the city in recent years warned them to stay away, and the capital’s airspace was closed. So, the would-be rulers of Libya were forced to travel by boat.
The ordeal of reaching the city from which they plan to govern pales in comparison to the task they face now that they've arrived. Since the overthrow of former Libyan President Muammar Qadaffy ...whose instability was an inspiration to dictators everywhere, but whose end couldn't possibly happen to them... in 2011, the country has been beset by chaos and conflict.
At the time the Government of National Accord (GNA) pulled into port, Libya was ruled by two rival parliaments: the Islamist-dominated National Salvation government in Tripoli, and an internationally recognized parliament based in Tobruk, in the east.
Fighting between the two sides has paralyzed the country, and allowed for the entry of the self-proclaimed 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) into the vacuum. Western officials estimate the number of ISIS fighters in Libya to be as many as 6,000, according to Rooters.
The peace deal signed in December 2015 was supposed to see the rival parliaments cede power to the new government, led by Sarraj. But both administrations view the new government with suspicion, and appear unwilling to hand over the reins.
Speaking before the GNA’s arrival, Khalifa al-Ghawi, the leader of the Tripoli-based parliament, described the unity government as "illegitimate infiltrators" and called on them to "hand themselves over and be in safe hands, or to go back to where they came from."
Effectively, Libya now has three governments, none of which are able to govern.
The cool reception Sarraj received could be a harbinger of things to come. While he and his deputies have some support from a number of militias, the patchwork of gangs and allegiances that arose out of the Libyan revolution will make it difficult for any central power to rein them in.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[SunStar] Philippine police have arrested a convicted Abu Sayyaf militant in Zamboanga City Friday morning. Chief Superintendent Miguel Antonio Jr.identified the arrested insurgent as Toh Ventura Abdilla alias Toh Abdulla Abdulla, a resident of Sacol Island, Zamboanga City. Several subversive documents and a grenade were seized from Abdilla's possession.
On January 18, Abdilla was sentenced in absentia to a period of over four years for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
Abdilla has denied that he is an Abu Sayyaf militant, claiming to be a seaweed farmer.
Posted by: ryuge ||
04/02/2016
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#1
"I use the grenade for my seaweed farm"
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/02/2016 12:44
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Gotta be properly armed to protect your farm from seaweed rustlers.
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] A drone strike near the Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed... group, ISIL's so-called de facto Syrian capital Raqa killed an holy warrior commander heading to Aleppo province on orders from the organization’s chief, a monitoring group said Thursday.
His death is the latest in a series of blows to the jihadist group in recent weeks, and comes days after Russian-backed Syrian government forces recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra from its grip.
Abu al-Hija, a high-ranking Tunisian ISIL commander, was killed late on Wednesday in a strike by a drone that was "most likely operated by the US-led coalition", the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
He had travelled to Syria from Iraq just 24 hours earlier at the behest of ISIL chief 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... , the monitoring group said.
Abu al-Hija is the latest senior ISIL member to be killed in recent weeks.
Last week, US forces killed ISIL deputy leader Abd ar-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli.
Earlier this month one of the group's most notorious commanders, Omar al-Shishani, was also killed.
"ISIL's leadership is being debilitated," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
"Without infiltration of ISIL, these killings would not have been possible."
The latest killing came after Syrian government troops backed by Russian forces seized Palmyra on Sunday.
The recapture of Palmyra, known as the "Pearl of the Desert" for its colonnaded alleyways and stunning temples, was seen as the biggest blow so far in the war against ISIL in Syria.
Abu al-Hija had been ordered by Baghdadi to travel from Iraq to Aleppo province near The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's border, to oversee fighting between the Takfiri bandidos holy warriors and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
"The fighting, which has been especially fierce in the past four or five days, could lead to ISIL being expelled from the area and pushed eastwards into Raqa province," Abdel Rahman said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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At least five militants were killed during a raid by the Afghan security forces in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said at least 10 militants were also wounded during the raid conducted in Ghorak district.
The anti-government armed militant groups including the Taliban insurgents have not commented regarding the report so far.
Kandahar is the birth place of the Taliban insurgents however the Afghan security forces have managed to maintain security and stability in this province during the past several months.
However, the anti-government armed militants have been trying to spread violence by attempting to carry out coordinated attacks.
At least 15 Taliban insurgents were arrested by the Afghan intelligence operatives late last month as they were planning coordinating suicide attacks in this province.
This comes as the security situation in the southern provinces has sharply deteriorated during the recent months, mainly in Kandahar’s neighboring Helmand province.
At least five incidents involving terrorist attacks have been reported in this province since the beginning of the month which involves two insider attacks and a coordinated attack that left a senior army general dead.
The deputy commander of 205th Atal Corps of the Afghan National Army General Khan Agha Achekzai was killed after a group of militants attacked him near a guesthouse late last month.
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s security forces have dismantled the country’s largest known sex trafficking ring and freed 75 mainly Syrian women, a security source said on Friday.
They had been raped and beaten, while some showed signs of “mutilation,” a statement from the Internal Security Forces said.
“This is the largest sex trafficking ring we’ve uncovered since the outbreak of the Syrian war,” a Lebanese security source said.
Police officers in the Mount Lebanon region north of Beirut “identified and arrested a group of people who made up Lebanon’s most dangerous human trafficking network,” the ISF statement said.
They “rescued 75 women, most of them Syrian nationals who had been subjected to beatings and psychological and physical torture, forced to perform sexual acts and had indecent images of them taken and distributed,” it said.
Ten men and eight women guarding the apartments where the victims were kept have been arrested, the statement said.
Two other suspects remain at large.
Speaking to AFP, the security source added that “an eight-month-old baby, likely the child of one of the rescued women, was also found.”
Even before the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, Syrian women had been pushed into the illicit sex trade in neighboring Lebanon.
“However, as with any war, conflict has made Syrian women and children even more vulnerable,” the source said.
[ARA News] DAMASCUS – At least 22 soldiers from the Syrian regime’s army forces have been killed on Friday subsequent to clashes with Islamist rebels on several fronts in Syria’s southern province of Damascus, local media sources reported.
This comes as the pro-regime forces seek to advance in the southern suburbs of Damascus [Eastern Ghouta] at the expense of Islamist rebel groups.
Speaking to ARA News in Damascus, media activist Mohammed Mousa said pro-Assad regime forces on Friday tried to advance on several fronts in the Eastern Ghouta–supported by an air cover and artillery shelling.
In the meantime, Syrian air force carried out dozens of airstrikes on the Hosh al-Admel area in addition to the towns of Zibdeen and Bala southeastern the Ghouta region, targeting rebel positions, according to the source.
“Subsequent to the airstrikes, pro-Assad forces prepared to storm the central city of Zibdeen and Bala district,” Mousa reported.
Rebel fighters were able to foil the pro-regime offensive “through well-prepared ambushes” in the area, which led to the death of dozens of Syrian troops, according to a rebel spokesman, who spoke to ARA News on condition of anonymity.
“At least 22 soldiers from the regime’s army were killed during the operation, and dozens more wounded,” the source reported, adding: “Brigadier Ahmad al-Mohammad from [the pro-Assad] Republican Guards has been killed in the operation.”
“The rebel fighters were able to destroy a tank [type T-72], and eventually forced the regime’s army forces to retreat,” the spokesman told ARA News.
In the town of Zibdeen, Islamist rebels were able to repel the regime’s army attack, killing five soldiers as well as destroying an armored vehicle, pro-opposition sources reported.
The southern region of Eastern Ghouta has been witnessing battles between pro-regime forces and opposition fighters for more than five months. The Syrian army tries to advance in the region in a bid to impose a blockade on the southern towns of Eastern Ghouta, according to military sources.
The Greek parliament has approved a law which will allow the deportation of migrants to Turkey starting from Monday.
The bill is going to be implemented based on an EU-Turkey deal signed last month. It is expected to halt the uncontrolled influx of refugees fleeing war-torn countries, particularly Syria. The bill, which will incorporate EU law on asylum seekers, will introduce several conditions for registering refugees, allowing them to find work and to qualify for international protection.
From the 300-seat parliament, 169 Greek MPs voted in favor and 107 against; 24 MPs were absent. The ruling Syriza and Independent Greeks coalition, plus the Democratic Coalition and Potami voted in favor. New Democracy, Golden Dawn, the Greek Communist Party and the Centrists’ Union voted against the legislation.
The bill had been tabled in parliament on Thursday under a fast-track procedure amid a heated debate between MPs.
Main opposition New Democracy MP Vasilis Kikilias said that the tactic used by the government is “unacceptable” claiming it was impossible to read a 150-page bill in one day.
“You use the accelerated procedure when you know you have to submit 56 regulatory acts? You won’t even be able to implement them in three years,” he stated.
Earlier today, the Greek authorities struggled to persuade refugees and migrants who are currently staying at the port of Pireaus in Athens, to leave the site and move to other designated accommodation. From the estimated 5,300 people at the port, only 72 agreed to board busses which arrived to take them to a camp in Ioannina in northern Greece.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/02/2016
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[DAWN] TAXILA: Hassanabdal police have incarcerated Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! six people who were on the fourth schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act and were thought to have links with banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all...
organizations.
Many arrests were made during the operation which was started across the province after the bombing in Lahore on Sunday, which killed more than 70 people and injured many more.
As part of the operation, those who were placed on the fourth schedule are being monitored more closely.
A total of 11 people who were on the watch list were arrested from various areas including two from Rangoo and three in the limits of the Attock Khurd cop shoppe.
The Hassanabdal police also arrested 24 workers of the Sunni Tehrik ...formed in Karachi in 1992 under by Muhammad Saleem Qadri. It quickly fell to trading fisticuffs and assassinations with the MQM and the Sipah-e-Sahaba, with at least a half dozen of its major leaders rubbed out. Sunni Tehreek arose to become the primary opposition to the Deobandi Binori Mosque, headed by Nizamuddin Shamzai, who was eventually bumped off by person or persons unknown. ST's current leadership has heavily criticized the Deobandi Jihadi leaders, accusing them of being sponsored by Indian Intelligence agencies as well as involvement in terrorist activities... for arranging protests and staging a sit in on G.T. Road near Cadet College Chowk.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[DAWN] URDU is a marvellous language for vaulting flights of fancy. So when Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... promised an accounting for every drop of innocent blood spilled by jihadi terrorists, we almost believed him.
Almost, but not quite. Rewind to a couple of years ago, before the massacre of schoolchildren at the Army Public School in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. , and we see a Nawaz Sharif in full foot-dragging mode. Restraining a military that was champing at the bit, he dragged out a doomed negotiation process that went nowhere. Its only function was to give the Taliban time to regroup.
And in his recent speech following the Lahore bloodbath, our prime minister seemed more sad than angry. In fact, he came across as a headmaster disappointed by a promising student. At times, he appeared to be delivering a lecture on Islamiat rather than issuing a rousing call to arms.
Not a word about the army action that was in full swing in Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... even as he spoke to the nation. Indeed, there was nothing specific about what precisely his government was going to do in response to the atrocity. In short, he delivered the kind of vague, woolly speech he has been giving for much of his political career.
Actually, we could have done with a progress report on the National Action Plan to combat terrorism hammered out with a wide consensus after the December 2014 terror attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar. This plan called for the government to undertake a number of measures ranging from madressah reforms to cleansing our curricula of all their Lion of Islam content.
Needless to say, little action has been taken on most of the agreed items. The only institution that has made significant progress has been the military, although at the cost of many lives. And it has been Nawaz Sharif who, together with his brother Shahbaz, has blocked robust action against the Punjabi Taliban holed out in southern Punjab.
The reason for this reluctance is obvious: thus far, a policy of live and let live has governed the provincial and central governments’ attitude towards the Punjabi Taliban. But if you keep vipers as pets in your garden, don’t be surprised when they bite you.
Even after the Lahore carnage, Rana Sanaullah, a senior figure in the Punjab government, declared that there were no Taliban hideouts in his province. This flies in the face of intelligence reports and investigative stories filed by journalists. We remember all too well the sight of Sanaullah accompanying an Lion of Islam candidate on his election campaign a few years ago.
The point here is that until we can clearly identify the enemy, and go after him, his sense of immunity will only embolden him further. And as so many people have been saying here and in other media outlets, we need to drain the swamp of its poison if we are to destroy the nasty creatures infesting its depths.
This means a root-and-branch change in school and college curricula, and a clampdown on hate speech in mosques and TV chat shows. The financing of madressahs and so-called Islamic charities needs to be scrutinised, and the hate-filled ideology taught in most of our seminaries has to be removed.
This is a pretty tall order. Even Musharraf at the height of his considerable power flinched from taking on our holy mans and our religious parties. But as Ayaz Amir reminded us in a recent column in The News, Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... showed more spine than her male successors when she authorised Gen Babar to crack down on the MQM terror machine in the mid-1990s.
This was when dozens of tortured bodies were found in sacks, and the increasingly roundedAltaf Hussain ..The head of MQM in Pakistain, who has lived in London and hasn't laid eyes on Pakistain since Caesar made corporal. Judging from the size of him,he may be a Hutt... ’s hit-men held the city in an iron grip. Those of us who lived 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... then recall those dark days with a shudder. The operation took a lot of political will, especially when the military establishment was hostile towards the PPP government at the time.
This only shows that what is lacking in Nawaz Sharif’s approach is conviction. He genuinely believes that the Taliban will leave Punjab alone provided they are allowed to carry out their activities without interference. But as we have seen in the Islamabad and Karachi dharnas, give our holy mans and their followers an inch and they’ll take a mile.
In both pro-Qadri protests, these faceless myrmidons sought to provoke the authorities into violent reaction, thereby causing casualties that would further inflame the mobs. But by adopting this softly-softly approach, the federal, Sindh and Punjab governments have signalled a weakness that will be exploited in the future.
This style of sit-in politics was pioneered by Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer... and Tahirul Qadri ...Pak politician, and would-be dictator, founder and head of Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran and Pakistain Awami Tehrik. He usually resides in Canada, but returns to Pakistain periodically to foam at the mouth and lead demonstrations. Depending on which way the wind's blowing, Qadri claims to be the author of Pak's blasphemy law. Other times he says it wasn't him... when they dragged out their protests before parliament for weeks. Despite the destruction of public property, the government showed great restraint, setting the stage for the recent round of dharnas.
Perhaps Nawaz Sharif should just abdicate the fight against terror to the army chief.
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[DAWN] Words ought to fail us. But we can't afford the luxury of that failure anymore than we can afford the luxury of all the other potential failures staring us in the face as this phase of the 21st century performs a fractured, farcical, obscene repeat of the third decade of the twentieth.
People point out that more Muslims died than Christians. Is this consolation or schadenfreude? In any case, what do we with that fact? To what end does one point this out if one is a Muslim? Are we addressing the jihadis?
Bombs. Suicide attacks. Drones. Bodies of Baloch youth turning up tortured and destroyed on roadsides. Death is the norm as alliances implode. America, Pakistain and 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... bicker like graceless divorcees who don't know how to move on.
You might call the jihadis children of this marriage, but in this custody battle, everyone fights to give away the children who, in turn, are determined to eat their parents.
Vitriol against Muslims and Mexicans sweeps America, internment camps, repatriation, walls, bans on travel.
Amidst declining oil prices and more disasters to come, the Saudis crush dissidence and abduct their own princes in luxury airplanes: rendition for the oil rich.
Pakistain reaps the brutal, devastating benefits of years of state policy, grandly bankrolled by the US and Saudi Arabia.
And no. Not just the cultivation of the jihadis in the service of delusions of regional grandeur and "strategic depth," all other kinds managing to elude our "leaders."
I write of the quieter, cumulative bigotries we have nourished, through indifference, silence and outright cultivation.
Non-existent schools (although they do exist on paper), deliberate and systematic attempts at de-vernacularising progressive thought, a state intent on being in a permanent counter-insurgency relation with all its citizens (although, of course, the Baloch are especially loved in this regard).
A state refusing to address the condition of minorities from its very inception.
J.N. Mandal saw the signs and left. Minorities howled about the anti-minoritarian tendencies already manifest at the earliest constituent assemblies, only of course to be ignored.
The Munir report released and well...ignored. Constitutional amendments against Ahmadis under "secular" leadership that enshrined discrimination, formalising the bigotry of events like the attack on Rabwah put into place. Shias assassinated in Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... in the eighties.
Christians rigorously persecuted at the same time. Bishop John Joseph did away with himself to protest the persecution of Christians -- did we notice?
The bigoted application of the "blasphemy" law, the attempted indigenisation of Chapter 15 of the Indian (subsequently Pakistain) Penal Code of 1860/62 normalised.
People talk about extremism taking over. But let's be clear: extreme is a relative term, a measure of degree.
"Extreme" -- so not the centre, or ordinary, or usual. What does it mean to talk about extremism when brutality has become the norm?
If bombs aimed at Christians are Death Eater, is the circulation of terms like chura and achut ordinary, usual, "moderate"?
We miss being a part of India so much we decided to hang on to the idiom of caste bigotry just to feel at home.
And now Lahore was attacked and there seems surprise. One should ask: Why?
What tacit understanding led us to believe it could be protected as each other part of the country and every segment of its population slowly burned. 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... burned in the eighties and nineties but Lahore was safe. 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... burned but Lahore was safe.
And, and, and...was it really? Should we be pleased that we can still be surprised or horrified that this is the surprise we can muster?
The viciousness is aimed at Christians this time.
People point out that more Muslims died than Christians. Is this consolation or schadenfreude? In any case, what do we with that fact? To what end does one point this out if one is a Muslim? Are we addressing the jihadis?
As in: you killed the wrong people. Is that an implicit acknowledgement that killing the right people is well...right? I don't think that's what people mean when they point out the attack killed more Muslims than Christians. It does, however, seem a symptom of a profound moral aphasia.
Out of which side of our mouth do we speak when we do point it out? What does it mean that this was an attack on Christians at Easter and the Muslims were just collateral damage?
Let's try to be precise in our grief and rage and list some names: Bishop John Joseph, Shantinagar, Manzoor Masih, Ayub Masih, Gojra, Rimsha Masih, Aasia Bibi, the twin church blasts in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. , Shahbaz Bhatti and...memorise this list. Expand it. Write an unconsoling history.
Now add the names of the dead of Lahore. All of them. And mourn, all of us, together.
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[WASHINGTONEXAMINER] One more police officer was shot to death this week, raising the number to 16 this year, and still President Obama hasn't mentioned the slayings or reached out to the victims, according to law enforcement.
Virginia State Trooper Chad Phillip Dermyer, 37, was killed Thursday at a Richmond bus station. Richmond is less than two hours from the White House. I believe we all know why he saw fit to not mention it. Ten more slowly passing months, just ten more months.
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[FOXNEWS] The murders of four translators working to bring the Bible to obscure languages in the Middle East earlier this month won't stop the charity behind the effort from its work, officials said.
The four unidentified translators, who worked secretly for Wycliffe Associates, a Florida non-profit dedicated to bringing the gospel to hundreds of obscure languages, were killed by suspected Islamist holy warriors at some holy man's guesthouse an undisclosed location,Wycliffe officials said in a statement.
"They shot and destroyed all the equipment in the office," read the statement. "The invaders burned all the books and other translation materials in the office."
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[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB]Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... released a new video Friday denying any suggestion it might surrender, just over a week after shadowy leader Abubakar Shekau appeared in a rare message looking dejected and frail.
Shekau, unseen on camera for more than a year, released an unverified video late last month saying his time in charge of the Nigerian 'jihadist' group may be coming to an end.
If the video indeed depicts Shekau, he appears thin and listless, delivering his message without his trademark fiery ...a single two-syllable word carrying connotations of both incoherence and viciousness. A fiery delivery implies an audience of rubes and yokels, preferably forming up into a mob... rhetoric.
It prompted speculation from the army that the murderous Moslem group was on the verge of collapse in the face of a sustained military counter-insurgency.
However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... in Friday's message, Boko Haram maintained it was a potent fighting force, with men holding AK-47s posing in front of Toyota Hilux pick-up trucks and a lorry mounted with a military cannon.
"You should know that there is no truce, there is no negotiations, there is no surrender," an unidentified masked man in camouflage said in a prepared script in Hausa, the dominant language in the north, in the video posted on YouTube.
"This war between us will not stop."
The video, of markedly better quality than Shekau's and including Arabic subtitles, featured nine masked Boko Haram fighters standing on sandy ground in an undisclosed desert location.
It is unclear if the masked people in the video include the Boko Haram leader.
Shekau was still the head of the "West African wing", said the masked speaker, likening Boko Haram to the murderous Moslem insurgencies in Iraq, Libya and Syria.
In March 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to ISIL group, another deadly terror organization.
But there were few signs that Boko Haram -- now styled as ISIL in West Africa Province (ISWAP) -- has drawn benefits from the partnership.
Since then Nigeria's army has won back swathes of territory from the hard boys, liberating thousands of people who had been living under Boko Haram control.
The video appears to confirm collaboration between Boko Haram and the ISIL group, Africa security specialist Ryan Cummings told AFP.
"The production quality bears the hallmarks of the ISIL's media wing," Cummings said, explaining that it is expected that Shekau shun the limelight.
"A hallmark of the group and its affiliates is that you very seldom see leaders," Cummings said.
The analyst said it still remains to be seen what support, if any, the ISIL group is offering to Boko Haram Death Eaters on the ground.
"What we do know is that there has been a pledge of allegiance and we are seeing Boko Haram communiqués being spread around cyberspace by 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.... accounts," Cummings said.
"Whether that has been translated into any operational links in the field, I don't think there's enough verifiable evidence to suggest that."
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DERA BUGTI: The Frontier Corps (FC) foiled a terror bid as it recovered a bomb weighing 15-kilogrammes on Friday which was defused by bomb disposal squad (BDS).
Security sources said that FC conducted search operation against militants in Misri Goth locality of Sui in Dera Bugti during which a bomb weighing 15-kilogrammes planted by roadside by unknown miscreants was found which was later defused by BDS. The bomb could have resulted in massive lives and property loss if would have exploded but timely action of FC prevented the losses, the security sources added.
[INVESTORS] Energy: The benefits of “fracking” have never been greater. Prices are lower and the country is emitting less CO2. Yet most people now oppose fracking. What gives?
A Gallup poll taken in early March shows that 51% of Americans say they oppose fracking “as a means of increasing production of natural gas and oil in the U.S.” That’s up from 40% just one year ago.
Even more surprising, the drop in overall support is largely the result of a shift among Republicans. While 66% supported fracking last year, a bare majority (55%) do now. Support was steady among independents (35% vs. 34%) and Democrats (26% vs 25%).
Gallup speculates that lower gas prices and a decline in the share of Americans worried about energy shortages are behind the decline.
This makes absolutely no sense.
The drop in gasoline prices is a direct result of fracking, which has turned the U.S. into an oil producing giant. In fact, the drop in gasoline prices compared with 2014 will save the average household $1,000 this year, on top of the $660 saved last year.
Natural gas prices are also at historic lows thanks to fracking, which is lowering heating bills and the cost of goods and services throughout the economy.
A report from the consulting firm IHS finds that the average household had an additional $2,000 in disposable income last year because of lower energy prices, which it says will climb to $2,700 in 2020 and $3,500 in 2025.
Ban fracking, as Democratic presidential contenders Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton want to do, and these savings would quickly evaporate.
So all we need do is vote Republican in November?
For those who think that global warming is mankind’s most serious threat, fracking has been a huge windfall, resulting in a sharp drop in CO2 emissions, as power plants switch from coal to gas. Even the far-left liberal publication Mother Jones has admitted that banning fracking would reverse these gains.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
People have been convinced fracking causes immense environmental damage, and earthquakes. Fear mongering is big business for some. (There is a small element of truth in the claims, but of course when the environment is at stake there is no cost-benefit analysis permitted!)
#2
Who benefits from a ban on fracking? Energy prices would rise, with benefit to foreign producers. Rising prices would bring renewed calls for controls on profiteering oil companies, and nationalization - giving government control over one more of civilizations essential elements. And the fear mongers themselves get more power.
[REUTERS] The U.S. State Department has suspended an internal review of whether classified information was properly handled in former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another John C. Calhoun ... 's emails at the request of the FBI, a spokeswoman said on Friday.
Clinton, the front-runner in the race for the Democratic Party nomination in the Nov. 8 presidential election, has apologized for using a private email server for official business while in office from 2009 to 2013 and said she did nothing wrong. The FBI is investigating the arrangement.
On Jan. 29, the State Department said 22 emails sent or received by Clinton had been upgraded to top secret at U.S. intelligence agency's request and would not be made public as part of the release of thousands of Clinton's emails. It said that none of the emails was marked classified when sent.
At the time, the department also said it would conduct an internal review on whether the information in the emails was classified at the time it passed through Clinton's private clintonemail.com account run on a server in her New York home.
The department consulted the FBI about this in February, and in March the law enforcement agency asked the State Department to halt its inquiry.
"The FBI communicated to us that we should follow our standard practice, which is to put our internal review on hold while there is an ongoing law enforcement investigation ," State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told news hounds.
"The internal review is on hold, pending completion of the FBI's work," she added." We'll reassess next steps after the FBI's work is complete."
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Delay, dawdle and deflect. Nothing will ever come of this.
[REUTERS] North Korea will pursue its nuclear and ballistic missile program in defiance of the United States and its allies, a top Pyongyang envoy said on Friday, adding that a state of "semi-war" now existed on the divided Korean peninsula.
So Se Pyong, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... in Geneva, denounced the huge joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises taking place which he said were aimed at "decapitation of the supreme leadership of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)" and conquering Pyongyang.
North Korea conducted a fourth nuclear test in January and launched a long-range rocket in February. The South Korean military said on Friday that North Korea had fired a missile into the sea off its east coast.
"If the United States continues, then we have to make the counter-measures also. So we have to develop, and we have to make more deterrence, nuclear deterrence," So, who is also North Korea's envoy to the U.N.-sponsored Conference on Disarmament, said in an interview with Rooters conducted in English.
"Simultaneous policy is the policy of my country, and my party also, meaning nuclear production and economic development," he said, referring to the twin aims of the policy course of 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... which is expected to be endorsed at a congress of the ruling Workers' Party in May, the first in 36 years.
So had no information about the latest missile firing or about South Korean allegations that his country was disrupting GPS signal reception which Seoul says has forced some boats to return to port amid heightened tensions.
"They (Seoul) are making too many manipulations, too many false reports," he said.
U.S. President Barack Obama Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though.... joined South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday in vowing to ramp up pressure on North Korea in response to its nuclear and missile tests. The three leaders recommitted their countries to each others' defense and warned they could take further steps to counter threats from Pyongyang.
"Actually that summit, we call it ... a kind of propaganda," So said, dismissing the talks on securing vulnerable atomic materials to prevent nuclear terrorism.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
How many tons of rice will the US be sending this year?
With talk of nuclear proliferation heating up within the Republican presidential primary, Former UN Ambassador and AEI scholar John Bolton made his position very clear to Breitbart News Daily host Stephen K. Bannon: "In terms of letting other countries get nuclear weapons, I have a very clear view and that is, I don't want to see anybody else get nuclear weapons, whether they’re friends of ours, or not."
As for nuclear weapons, their deployment and command and control, Bolton also expressed strong feelings, saying, "The reason people are even talking about countries like South Korea or Japan getting nuclear weapons is because they think under Obama, our nuclear umbrella is disappearing and that, if we’re not going to provide that deterrent capability, they need to provide it for themselves. The strongest argument against other countries getting weapons is, we're going to take care of that. Underneath that umbrella, countries like Japan and South Korea do have an obligation, I think, to do more than they're doing now. Obama doesn't push them, or encourage them to do that because he doesn't care about our national security, or that of our allies, either."
#1
That ship has sailed. The only one interested in your defense is yourself. Relying upon some foreign entity that vacillates, dithers, and plays stupid games with Leftist of the Month autocrats, is just plain suicidal. Reliability is sorta of like virginity. You can only lose it once in a lifetime.
The loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group in Afghanistan have claimed to have shot down a drone aircraft in eastern Nangarhar province.
According to the photographs posted by the loyalists of the terror group in social media, the drone seems to be of surveillance type.
However, the authenticity of the photographs could not be independently verified as the terror group claims the drone belongs to US forces in Afghanistan.
They have also claimed that the drone was downed in Achin district of Nangarhar which was once a stronghold of the terror group in east.
This comes as the US forces in Afghanistan have intensified air campaign against the terror group in Afghanistan with reports suggesting the US Air Force dropped 251 bombs and missiles during the months of January and February this year.
The intensified airstrikes followed shortly after the Obama administration granted more authority to the US forces to target the loyalists of the terror group in Afghanistan.
The move by Obama administration followed amid concerns that the terror group was gaining foothold in the country amid efforts to consolidate operations with the militants in Syria and Iraq.
The coalition officials had earlier estimated around 1,000 to 3,000 Islamic State fighters in eastern Afghanistan are trying to establish a base of operations in the rugged mountains of Nangahar Province.
A US Air Force F-16 fighter jet has crashed at the Bagram Air Base outside Kabul, Afghanistan, says the Pentagon, Press TV reported.
According to Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook, the incident took place on Tuesday while the plane was taking off. He added that the pilot was able to eject before the crash and is currently under medical evaluation.
The jet was part of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing of the US Air Force.
F-16 fighter jets have been deployed in Afghanistan since the beginning of the US-led military in 2001. The US Air Force has maintained one squadron of F-16s at Bagram since the 2014 Washington’s partial military drawdown.
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[RT] The Syrian Army has captured the village of Al-Bahsa in the Hama province. An RT crew went to witness the trail of destruction left behind by the forces of Evil over their two-month reign of terror.
The village was under control of the Al-Nusra Front, a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda. They retreated on Friday as the Syrian government forces, supported from the air by Russian warplanes, went on the offensive.
Dozens of bodies, many of them with their hands tied and apparently killed execution-style, were discovered by the advancing troops in Al-Bahsa. RT’s Murad Gazdiev and his crew went to the scene to witness the horrors as the battles continued mere kilometers away.
Posted by: Fred ||
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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.
[BBC] 
[THEMOSCOWTIMES] Turkish police have detained Alparslan Celik, the man who claims to be responsible for killing a Russian SU-24 bomber pilot in 
Supporters of Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders have filed a lawsuit against former President Bill Clinton in Massachusetts court, claiming he broke the law to help deliver the state to his wife earlier this month.
[BenarNews] The widow of an Indonesian who died in custody after being arrested as a suspected militant wants an autopsy to be done on his remains, but neighbors in her home village are trying to block that. Resistance is so strong in the Central Java village of Pogung, where her late husband is buried, have threatened to expel her or anyone else who supports her plan to exhume his remains in order to determine the cause of death.
[The Nation] A suspect has been detained in relation to Tuesday's bomb and gun ambush that killed three police officers and injured six others in Narathiwat province. A combined security team arrested the suspect and took him to Ingkhayuth Borihan Military Camp.
Russia is doubling the number of its strategic nuclear warheads on new missiles by deploying multiple reentry vehicles that have put Moscow over the limit set by the New START arms treaty, according to Pentagon officials.
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
...One of the major players in Pak terrorism. In early 1994, India incarcerated him for his terrorist activities. In 1995, foreign tourists were kidnapped in Jammu and Kashmir. The kidnappers included the release of Masood Azhar among their demands. One of the hostages managed to escape but the rest were eventually killed. In 1999, he was freed by the Indian government in exchange for passengers on hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 that had been diverted to Kandahar. The hijackers were led by Masood Azhar's brother, Ibrahim Athar. Once he was handed over to the hijackers, they fled to Pak territory despite the fact that Islamabad had earlier stated that any of the hijackers would be jugged at the border. The Pak government had also previously indicated that Azhar would be allowed to return home since he did not face any charges there. Shortly after his release, he made a public address to an estimated 10,000 people in Karachi, firing up the rubes against America and India...
Hillary Clinton
[SunStar] Philippine police have arrested a convicted Abu Sayyaf militant in Zamboanga City Friday morning. Chief Superintendent Miguel Antonio Jr.identified the arrested insurgent as Toh Ventura Abdilla alias Toh Abdulla Abdulla, a resident of Sacol Island, Zamboanga City. Several subversive documents and a grenade were seized from Abdilla's possession.
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] A drone strike near the 
North Korea
A US Air Force F-16 fighter jet has crashed at the Bagram Air Base outside Kabul, Afghanistan, says the Pentagon, Press TV reported.
