Hi there, !
Today Sun 04/10/2016 Sat 04/09/2016 Fri 04/08/2016 Thu 04/07/2016 Wed 04/06/2016 Tue 04/05/2016 Mon 04/04/2016 Archives
Rantburg
532976 articles and 1859845 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 67 articles and 105 comments as of 1:39.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix    Main Page
Secular Bangladeshi writer murdered in the street
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
15:15 4 20:25 charger [4]
09:48 0 [2] 
08:52 14 20:22 Dale [5]
05:54 4 23:09 james [7]
03:32 9 13:26 Tarzan Slailet2796 [5]
00:45 2 23:13 Bill Clinton [5]
00:00 2 11:47 Glenmore [2]
00:00 0 [3]
00:00 0 [2] 
00:00 0 [2] 
00:00 0 [8] 
00:00 0 [1]
00:00 0 [12]
00:00 0 []
00:00 0 [5] 
00:00 1 06:08 g(r)omgoru [6] 
00:00 0 [5]
00:00 0 [3] 
00:00 0 [1]
00:00 5 13:29 trailing wife [2]
00:00 3 05:04 g(r)omgoru [3]
00:00 0 [6]
00:00 5 14:55 WarDoof [3]
00:00 0 [3] 
00:00 1 23:52 Bill Clinton [9]
00:00 3 13:30 Frozen Al [1]
00:00 0 [8]
00:00 0 [3]
00:00 2 16:57 Ebbang Uluque6305 [3]
00:00 7 17:51 Nguard [2]
00:00 15 20:30 charger [2]
00:00 0 [1]
00:00 1 19:00 Capsu78 [2]
00:00 0 [8] 
00:00 0 [8] 
00:00 1 03:12 g(r)omgoru [3]
00:00 0 [4]
00:00 0 [1]
00:00 0 [3]
00:00 0 [] 
00:00 3 15:16 Skidmark [2]
00:00 1 11:38 Bill Clinton [4] 
00:00 1 23:54 Bill Clinton [5] 
00:00 0 [1] 
00:00 0 [1] 
00:00 0 [3] 
00:00 0 [3] 
00:00 0 [1] 
00:00 0 [8] 
00:00 0 [5] 
00:00 1 23:10 Bill Clinton [4] 
00:00 0 [7]
00:00 0 [5]
00:00 0 [3] 
00:00 0 [1] 
00:00 0 [1]
00:00 0 [3] 
00:00 0 [1] 
00:00 0 [2] 
00:00 4 11:43 Procopius2k [1]
00:00 5 16:38 Pappy [2]
00:00 3 04:28 gorb [6]
00:00 4 14:05 Shipman [2] 
00:00 2 15:46 Frank G [5]
00:00 0 [2] 
00:00 0 [5]
00:00 2 11:38 Procopius2k [1]
Europe
EU may require visas from Americans and Canadians, EU source says
The European Union executive is considering whether to make US and Canadian citizens apply for visas before traveling to the bloc, a move that could raise tensions as Brussels negotiates a trade pact with Washington.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 15:15 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ..oh, and an insurance policy to cover being caught in another boomer.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/07/2016 16:48 Comments || Top||

#2  Easy - just claim refugee status.
Posted by: Pappy || 04/07/2016 17:00 Comments || Top||

#3  The way uncontrolled border crossings into and in the EU are going, the US may require visas from the EU. However, all you have to do is to cross the US southern border illegally. So it is all moot.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 04/07/2016 17:47 Comments || Top||

#4  Not rapey enough for 'em?
Posted by: charger || 04/07/2016 20:25 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
Secular Bangladeshi writer murdered in the street
Machete-wielding attackers struck in the capital of Bangladesh Wednesday night, killing 26-year-old secular writer Nazimuddin Samad. Samad, described by Bangladesh police as a masters student at Jagannath University, is the sixth secularist writer or publisher to have been murdered in Dhaka in the last 16 months. Police called the murder a pre-planned attack.

"He was on his way back home from his evening classes when he was circled by a group of three to four people," Senior Assistant Police Commissioner Nurul Amin of the Dhaka Police, told CNN.
"First the attackers hacked Samad with machetes, then shot him."

Police say the attackers then fled the scene on motorcycle. No arrests have yet been made.

The murder is certain to add to fears among intellectuals and writers who have dared to challenge religious thought in Bangladesh, a majority Muslim country with a sizable Hindu religious minority. The constitution in Bangladesh defines Islam as the state religion. But it also includes a clause promising to defend the "principle of secularism."
Nice defense there. You guys look like the Cleveland Browns...
Imran Sarker, who leads a blogging and online activist network in Bangladesh, described Samad as a "very active secular activist."

"He was very vocal on issues of religious fundamentalism, war crimes, minority issues, corruption and injustice against women," Sarker told CNN. "He used to regularly post notes on Facebook expressing his views."

Friends and supporters took to social media to express their grief, and tributes for, the young writer. "Rest in Power, Nazimuddin Samad," one Facebook post said. "There is no end to this brutality."

On Twitter, the U.N. Special Rapporteur Karima Bennoune said that extremism "is a human rights issue."
So the Special Wrapper is involved? What's next, Carla del Ponte?
Mukto Mona, an English- and Bangladeshi-language website which frequently challenges and criticizes religious beliefs, added its voice to the tributes.

"Nazimuddin was a courageous freethinker; he was vocal in his support for a secular and humane Bangladesh," the post reads.

"This is terribly shocking," said Gulam Rabbi Chowdhury, a childhood friend and former high school classmate of Samad. Chowdhury said Samad went into hiding for several months last year because he feared for his life.
Why is it "shocking" as opposed to "expected"? B'desh has watched several writers being murdered on the streets without doing anything about it. You get more of what you encourage...
Mukto Mona posted excerpts of an exchange between a writer who expressed concern for Samad's safety.

"I am also scared... scared of getting killed," Samad responded in writing, according to a post published on Mukto Mona. "But what else can I do? It's better to die rather than living by keeping my head down."

Mukto Mona's founder, a US-based Bangladeshi writer named Avijit Roy, was murdered by machete wielding attackers outside an annual book fair in Dhaka in February 2015.

Press freedoms groups have been sounding the alarm about the campaign of violence against writers in Bangladesh.

"Bangladesh has been ravaged by a spate of bloody attacks on bloggers and other writers who espouse secular viewpoints," said Karin Deutsch Karlekar, director of Freedom of Expression Programs at PEN America. The group urged the US government and other countries to provide shelter to writers at risk of being attacked.
Alternately, you could hunt down the murderers and hang them. You'd only have to do it a few times before everyone else got the message. Just a thought...
Posted by: Steve White || 04/07/2016 09:48 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [2 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Culture Wars
1956: "America Peaked Back Then and We've Been In Decline Ever Since"
h/t Gates of Vienna
Is America a better place today than it was back in 1956? Of course many Americans living right now couldn’t even imagine a world without cell phones, Facebook or cable television, but was life really so bad back then? 60 years ago, families would actually spend time on their front porches and people would actually have dinner with their neighbors. 60 years ago, cars were still cars, football was still football and it still meant something to be an American. In our country today, it is considered odd to greet someone as they are walking down the street, and if someone tries to be helpful it is usually because they want something from you. But things were very different in the middle of the last century. Men aspired to be gentlemen and women aspired to be ladies, and nobody had ever heard of "bling", "sexting" or "twerking". Of course life was far from perfect, but people actually had standards and they tried to live up to them.

So how did it all go so wrong?

Could it be possible that life in America peaked back then and we have been in decline ever since?

Before you answer, I want to share with you a list of comparisons between life in America in 1956 and life in America in 2016...
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 08:52 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So how did it all go so wrong?

Something, something, about urban growth. How many cities ranked at one million, how many at ten million. The urban bubble grew and forgot what kept it sustained. What sustained it became magic. Flip a switch and you got light. Go to a store and see it loaded with food. Nothing is understood how it all got there. It's magic. Let's not forget it's also about the decline in education to grasp all that. So let's close down the icky stuff that makes it all happen.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/07/2016 10:47 Comments || Top||

#2  Rent-seeking.
It kills every empire, unless vigorously fought.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 04/07/2016 11:32 Comments || Top||

#3  I dunno - I think the decline started during the disco era.
Posted by: Raj || 04/07/2016 12:14 Comments || Top||

#4  By disco era, the damage was already done.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 12:37 Comments || Top||

#5  America as conceived by the founders was wrecked long before the 50's. Wilson's progressive amendments and FDR had pretty much obliterated our Constitutional form of government. Everything since then has just been us getting used to the new regime.
Posted by: Iblis || 04/07/2016 13:12 Comments || Top||

#6  1968
Posted by: Shipman || 04/07/2016 14:17 Comments || Top||

#7  In 1956, you retired at 60, but you probably died five years earlier. You lived in a shoebox, and thought a Levittown Cape Cod of less than 900 square feet was a palace. You drove a rolling stamped-steel piece of shit that drank oil by the gallon. Your relatives drank and drove and died like flies on underbuilt highways. Your children were eating lead paint chips. Europe was surging economically because they were starting to get a handle on "rebuilding from rubble and starvation". The US was fat and stupid from ten years of being the only major undestroyed industrial economy left in the world. Taxes were through the ceiling, and everybody who couldn't figure out how to legally shelter their income cheated like bandits. A sickeningly high percentage of the economy was run by gangsters, and big corporations ran much of the rest. Everybody chain-smoked. Everything stank of tobacco. Pollution was terrible - Pittsburgh was practically mainland-China-level lethal.
Posted by: Mitch H. || 04/07/2016 15:06 Comments || Top||

#8  So America peaked when the world was still mostly wrecked and recovering? I'd say most stats from that era are an anomoly that should be ignored for this sort of thing.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 04/07/2016 15:15 Comments || Top||

#9  So America peaked when the world was still mostly wrecked and recovering? I'd say most stats from that era are an anomoly that should be ignored for this sort of thing.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 04/07/2016 15:15 Comments || Top||

#10  Pining for the past through rose colored glasses. Happy days was a movie, not a reality for most Americans. In the city housing was cramped, and not very safe. in rural America outhouses were still in use. People were not as healthy as today. And cars were cars? Really? They looked cool but 40,000 miles was the end of its life. Today 40k is when we change tires. When folks restore a 50s era car they replace the entire drivetrain. But then I do love a girl in a poodle skirt and pony tail...
Posted by: 49 pan || 04/07/2016 15:55 Comments || Top||

#11  So America peaked when the world was still mostly wrecked and recovering? I'd say most stats from that era are an anomoly that should be ignored for this sort of thing.

Y'know, if that analysis were entirely true, they wouldn't need to pass laws to shut down coal plants, coal mines, and fracking, it would just dry up on its own.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 04/07/2016 16:17 Comments || Top||

#12  The biggest difference between then and now was in the pervasive sense of endless optimism for most of the population.

That was the year we moved out of NYC to NJ because my parents hated the public schools in the city and wanted us kids to have a better life.

A lot of good things were around. The biggest cliff off which we fell was base in civil rights, or lack thereof. After the desegregation of the Army in WWII there was a chance to get it right. It was tricky but doable. A number of events made it too hard to overcome the cynical manipulation of LBJ and his cohort.

Now, the rampant optimism is cynicism and pessimism. Material products are much better but does that mean anything important?
Posted by: AlanC || 04/07/2016 16:18 Comments || Top||

#13  A number of events made it too hard to overcome the cynical manipulation of LBJ and his cohort.

LBJ...The whole country went nuts after JFK was shot. Then we got Vietnam, the Great Society, taxes, inflation, hippies, Affirmative Action. Dunno if we ever recovered from that. Wilson and FDR might have been bad but LBJ really got us sliding down that slippery slope.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 04/07/2016 16:53 Comments || Top||

#14  Libbers say all the women were on Valium then. Good times and a great hardworking people.
Posted by: Dale || 04/07/2016 20:22 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
April cold threatens 'significant losses' of fruit crop in northeastern US
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 05:54 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  More man-made global climate change! Hotter, colder, wetter, dryer - all due to coal burning power plants. Except the Chinese and other third-world power plants.
Posted by: Bobby || 04/07/2016 7:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Whiners.
85 today, maybe rain Monday.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/07/2016 12:00 Comments || Top||

#3  My apricots were about to bloom before this 24F crap.
Posted by: 3dc || 04/07/2016 13:30 Comments || Top||

#4  Doesn't this sort of thing happen every few years?
Posted by: james || 04/07/2016 23:09 Comments || Top||


Europe
Israel warns: Europe flooded with hundreds of jihadists planning to strike
There are "hundreds of jihadists planning to strike Western targets on European soil," already present on the continent, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon told his Polish counterpart, Antoni Macierewicz, in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

"We are concerned that what we saw in Paris and Brussels is just the start, and that attempts to carry out terrorist attacks in Europe will continue," he added.
Paging Mr Kratman. Mr Tom Kratman to the white courtesy phone, please.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 03:32 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How the Kremlin Manipulates Europe’s Refugee Crisis

"Warsaw is similarly sanguine. “We’re familiar with this Kremlin game,” stated a senior Polish intelligence official who noted that Poles who were repatriated home after decades in the Soviet Union, where Stalin had deported them, included many KGB Illegals. Polish security had a devilish time detecting those spies, “and these were our own people. We have no idea who these Arabs even are.”"


It is worth a read.
Posted by: newc || 04/07/2016 3:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Still fighting the last war, newc?

p.s. Communists has moved from Kremlin a few years ago. They main center nowadays is in---what's its name: EC or FC; something like this.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 6:18 Comments || Top||

#3  Communists has moved from Kremlin a few years ago

It's still full of Russians.
Posted by: Pappy || 04/07/2016 11:22 Comments || Top||

#4  "How the Kremlin Manipulates Europe’s Refugee Crisis"

The KREMLIN!?! Wow the GOP go so delusional for putin when it's EUSSR policy to break democracy via subsidised migration.

Putin is to the left of most of the EUSSR politburo.

Where do people find these "theories".
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 04/07/2016 11:29 Comments || Top||

#5  The Kremlin plays the middle against both ends; they're so good at it you cheer them on as their AA missiles 'mysteriously' and (as the blogfather would say) 'unexpectedly' fall into the possession of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 04/07/2016 11:30 Comments || Top||

#6  That was for From. Bright Pebbles, you're the guy who said it was People's Private Business when the Panama Papers were released talking about how the Russian government laundered money to buy influence in the West.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 04/07/2016 11:35 Comments || Top||

#7  Pappy,

Yep, something in the collective Russian DNA that seems to revel in dark plots and schemes.

"The Brothers Karamazov" offers some insight into the REAL workings of the Russian mind.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 04/07/2016 11:37 Comments || Top||

#8  Interesting link, newc. It's no surprise that Russians would get up to such shenanigans. What is surprising and extremely disappointing is that Western European leaders would play right into it.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 04/07/2016 12:15 Comments || Top||

#9  Main world center of Communism and Marxism today is USA.
Posted by: Tarzan Slailet2796 || 04/07/2016 13:26 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Taliban commander turns himself in to Americans... to claim $100 reward on his own 'wanted' poster
An oldie but a goodie none the less.
U.S. officials couldn't believe their luck last week when a suspected Taliban commander who heard there was a $100 reward for his whereabouts turned himself in to authorities.

Perhaps misunderstanding the meaning of 'wanted', Mohammad Ashan sauntered up to police in Sar Howza, Paktika province, with a poster bearing his own face - and demanded the finder's fee.
Sometimes it pays to learn how to read.
Officers arrested Ashan on the spot, the Washington Post reported. Nevertheless, when U.S. forces went to confirm Ashan had come forward they were understandably incredulous.

'We asked him, "Is this you?"' SPC Matthew Baker told the Post. 'Mohammad Ashan answered with an incredible amount of enthusiasm, "Yes, yes, that's me! Can I get my award now?"'

Biometric checks confirmed that the man Afghan police were holding was the alleged insurgent U.S. troops had been looking for.

He is suspected of plotting at least two attacks on Afghan security forces and his face was on hundreds of posters plastered all over the district.

Nato forces often distribute wanted posters, but they are rarely so effective.

Civilians are usually afraid to pass on information for fear of reprisals, and Taliban fighters themselves usually avoid urban areas when they are being hunted.

But not it seems, Ashan. 'Clearly,' one U.S. official told the Post, 'the man is an imbecile.'
And therefore probably qualified to run the Republican party.
Ashan's effort to claim the reward money on his head may have been a misguided attempt to replicate the recent taunts of the White House made by Pakistani militant Hafiz Mohammad Saeed

The 61-year-old founder of militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba mocked U.S. officials who put a ÂŁ10million bounty on his head, saying they should give the reward money to him, as he had made no secret of his whereabouts.
Personally, I think these enormous rewards just scare off anyone who would rat him out. What would they do with such a huge sum of money? You can't even stay in the country after that! On the other hand, $10,000 would be something they could hide relatively easily or put it in their local bank and not raise such a fuss.
Speaking to a news conference near to Pakistan's military headquarters earlier this month, he boasted: 'I am here, I am visible. America should give that reward money to me.

'I will be in Lahore tomorrow. America can contact me whenever it wants to.'
Well, we can't exactly get hold of you whenever we want, but on occasion we will kill you.
Saeed has been accused of orchestrating the 2008 attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people, including six American citizens.

But he operates openly in Pakistan, giving public speeches and appearing on TV talk shows.
And the Paki government probably has no idea you're there, either.
Posted by: gorb || 04/07/2016 00:45 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I hope they gave him the money. A deal is a deal.
Posted by: SteveS || 04/07/2016 12:16 Comments || Top||

#2  $100 will go a long ways in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 04/07/2016 23:13 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Russian alligator copters breathe fire on Daesh in Syria
[Iran Press TV] Russian Kamov Ka-52 attack helicopters, nicknamed Alligator, have been captured on a video while pounding positions held by the ISIS 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...
terrorist group in Syria’s Homs province.

The new footage showed advanced copters pouring unguided rockets on terrorists’ positions somewhere between the city of Palmyra and al-Qaryatayn town, which has been liberated from ISIS just recently by the Syrian Army.

The Ka-52 Alligator, one of the Russian Air Force’s most advanced choppers, is able to destroy tanks, armored and non-armored ground targets, and enemy troops and copters, both on the front line and in tactical reserves. It can travel at a speed of 290 kilometers (180 miles) per hour.

Alligator’s 30-mm automatic cannon can carry explosive incendiary or armor-piercing rounds. Moreover, it is equipped with both guided missiles such as Ataka and Vikhr-1, and a launch system for S-8 unguided missiles, and can operate around the clock and in all weather conditions.

Upon a request from the Syrian government, Russia started conducting Arclight airstrikes against the ISIS Takfiri terrorist group’s positions and those of other terrorist groups in Syria on September 30. Since then, the strikes have killed hundreds of ISIS Death Eaters and other foreign-backed bully boyz and inflicted heavy material damage to them.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. According to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injuring 1.9 million others, and displacing nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Infighting leaves heart-eating militant dead in Syria: Monitor
[Iran Press TV] Infighting among 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...
holy warrior groups in Syria has left a holy warrior, who ate the heart of a dead Syrian soldier about three years ago, dead in the country's northwestern province of Idlib.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said late on Tuesday that rival Lions of Islam killed "Khaled al-Hamad, who was known as Abu Sakkar and who was a military commander in al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
, by gunning him down" in Idlib.

The monitor group said Abu Sakkar joined al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group, nearly a year ago.

The observatory’s head, Rami Abdel Rahman, further said Abu Sakkar was killed in an apparent "settling of accounts" between his terrorist group, which controls parts of Idlib province, and other Takfiri Lions of Islam in the area.

A gruesome video emerged on the Internet in May 2013, showing the foreign-backed holy warrior carving the heart of a Syrian soldier out of his chest and eating it.

Abu Sakkar was battling in a holy warrior brigade in Homs Province back then.

The news comes less than a month after the Britannia-based observatory reported that infighting has intensified between rival anti-government groups in Idlib.

Militants from 13th Division of the so-called Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA) and al-Nusra Front Lions of Islam engaged in a fighting in Idlib’s Ma’arrat al-Numan district, the monitor group said on March 13, adding the skirmishes left six FSA murderous Moslems dead and 40 others maimed while dozens more were taken captive.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. According to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injuring 1.9 million others, and displacing nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [6 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra

#1  Unhealthy diet.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 6:08 Comments || Top||


Hezbollah condemns Nilesat’s suspension of Al-Manar
[Iran Press TV] Leb’s Hezbollah resistance movement has strongly condemned the latest decision by the Egyptian satellite service provider, Nilesat, to stop airing its news channel, Al-Manar.

Hezbollah decried the decision in a statement issued on Wednesday, according to al-Ahed news website.

The movement said the decision is a blatant violation of the freedom of opinion and expression as well as an attempt to "silence the voice of resistance".

Hezbollah also stressed that such unjust measures will not succeed in silencing the voice of the pro-resistance media outlets in Leb and Paleostine.

The movement called on the company to reverse its decision immediately and urged the Egyptian authorities to exert pressure on the satellite operator to restore Al-Manar.

The statement added that the Egyptians know before others that such actions serve the Israeli goals and demands.

Egypt satellite operator drops Hezbollah mouthpiece Al-Manar

[IsraelTimes] Move comes ahead of visit to Cairo by Saudi Arabian king, amid Gulf crackdown on Lebanese Shiite group

A leading Arab satellite operator cut transmission of Hezbollah’s television channel Al-Manar on Wednesday amid soaring tensions between the Lebanese Shiite terrorist group’s backer Iran and Sunni powerhouse 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...
"Nilesat informed the [Lebanese] telecommunications ministry of the need to stop transmitting Al-Manar channel through the Nilesat satellite," Leb’s National News Agency reported. "The management of Nilesat said the reason for the request… was that it had violated their agreement by airing programs that provoke sectarian strife and sedition.”

Nilesat did not immediately comment when contacted by AFP at its Cairo headquarters.

The cut came ahead of a planned visit by Saudi King Salman to Egypt, which operates the Nilesat satellite.

Last month, Gulf Arab states led by Saudi Arabia blacklisted Hezbollah, the leading force in Lebanon’s governing bloc, as a “terrorist” organisation. The kingdom halted a $3 billion program of military aid to Lebanon to protest what it said was “the stranglehold of Hezbollah on the state”. It also urged its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid travelling there.

Al-Manar said on its Arabic Twitter account that it could still be watched via a Russian satellite or online.

The moves against Hezbollah come amid a spike in tensions between its backer Tehran and Riyadh this year after demonstrators stormed the kingdom’s missions in Iran following Saudi Arabia’s execution of a Shiite cleric. The kingdom cut diplomatic ties with Iran and led Arab allies in a series of retaliatory measures against it. While Saudi Arabia is the main supporter of Syria’s Sunni-led rebels, Hezbollah is fighting alongside President Bashar Assad’s troops, who are backed by Iranian troops officially called “military advisers” by Tehran.
Perhaps this influenced Egyptian sensitivity to Saudi desires:
Egypt to sign final financial agreements with Saudi Arabia worth $22bln
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [12 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Over 1,500 mines removed in Syria’s Palmyra
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Russian forces have helped remove more than 1.5 thousand mines in the Syrian city of Palmyra since it was taken from ISIS militants by government forces in March, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Bangladesh
ISIS in Bangladesh: There’s still time to stop it, but only if action is taken
[Dhaka Tribune] In November 2015, 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....
declared its intent to extend its operations to Bangladesh, threatening: "The soldiers of the Khilafah will continue to rise and expand in Bengal and their actions will continue." Unfortunately, ISIS efforts seem to be working. While ISIS’s ideological appeal far outweighs its operational capacity in Bangladesh, eight "affiliated" attacks have occurred under the group’s mantle since the autumn of 2015. What do the eight attacks in Bangladesh in the last six months tell the world about ISIS in South Asia?

First, that the spread of ISIS ideology to South Asia will result in increasing attacks targeting religious minorities and foreigners. ISIS is rooting its domestic appeal in social fault lines already present within the state. Bangladesh has not previously been targeted as fertile ground by jihadis, allowing ISIS to control much of the narrative. Though ISIS is struggling to retain its territory in the Middle East, its successful establishment of terror cells to carry out attacks abroad will perpetuate attacks by disenfranchised local terror groups and lone wolves. These types of attacks are the most difficult to prevent and the most effective for spreading terror.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [4 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Ansarullah explosives coming through border
[Dhaka Tribune] Upon analysis of the arms and explosives recovered from the dens of banned outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team in a recent drive in the capital, police’s Detective Branch (DB) found those have been coming from outside the country.

The organisation is reportedly taking support from other militant outfits, including Hizb-ut Tahrir and Jama’atul Mujaheedin Bangladesh (JMB), in bringing these arms into the capital, according to sources.

“These arms and explosives are mainly coming from the hill tracks and border areas of the country,” says Md Didar Ahmed, additional commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).

Didar Ahmed also said they are working to track down the route through which these arms make their way in, giving priority to finding out who support and finance the network of such activities. Police have already tracked down three Ansarullah dens and are working to uncover if any are left.

Meanwhile, the organisation has already shifted existing hubs to new locations after a joint drive by DB police and counter-terrorism and transnational crime (CT) unit saw the end of three such dens.

During this drive, interrogation and some recovered documents pointed to the fact that the organisation has eight hubs in the capital.

When inquired, Monirul Islam, additional commissioner of DMP and chief of the CT unit, told the Dhaka Tribune that even though the Ansarullah dens were shifted before they could take action, there would be continued efforts to locate them.

Sources in the DB informed that although Ansarullah members in the other dens fled, the raid from three hubs in Mohammadpur, Badda and Dakkhinkhan yielded documents with information on suspected members and two possible financiers.

Sources also said Ansarullah operational wing member Redowanul Azad Rana is currently in Malaysia from where he is trying to conduct activities in Bangladesh, along with an IT expert named Tamim Al Adnani.

Directed by these two, the existing local members are now reportedly trying to make “book bombs,” which are easily transferable and law enforcers might not suspect them.

A DB high official, requesting to remain anonymous, told the Dhaka Tribune that they have got proof that an organisation named Dawatul Islam is providing financial support to Ansarullah along with Hizb-ut Tahrir.
Dawatul Islam is a Moslem organisation based in London. The group was founded in 1978 from the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan-originated UK Islamic Mission to cater to East Bengali Muslims in Britain after the founding of Bangladesh in 1971. In 1990, the group Islamic Forum Europe broke off from Dawatul Islam, reportedly over Bangladeshi regional differences. The group is now based at another mosque, Jamiatul Ummah Bigland Street.
The raid of the Dakkhinkhan den yielded bombs set up inside books, usually dictionaries, said the official.

Upon contact, Mashruqure Rahman Khaled, deputy commissioner of DB police, said: “We are now analysing the evidence. We are looking into some suspects who used to live in the house, and trying to trace their locations.”
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under: Ansarullah Bangla Team


India-Pakistan
With army assistance, security operation underway in southern Punjab
[DAWN] Security forces, with assistance from Pakistain Army, are conducting an operation against holy warriors and hardcore criminals in areas of southern Punjab.

"Coordinated operations are underway against terrorists, hardened criminals and ferraris by law enforcement agencies including Rangers, Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


15 suspected militants killed in Balochistan's Kalat district
QUETTA: Security forces on Wednesday claimed to have killed 15 suspected militants in Balochistan’s Kalat district.

“Security forces conducted a raid against miscreants of a banned militant organisation in Johan area of Kalat,” said Balochistan government spokesperson Anwarul Haq Kakar.

Kakar added that 15 militants were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces, with two security personnel injured in the action.

The injured security personnel were shifted to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.

Security forces also recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition, and destroyed two sanctuaries used by the militants, said Kakar.

“It is premature to say if any high-profile militant commander was among the dead,” said a security official.

Johan is considered a sensitive area in Kalat district, militants operating in the area have been targeting security forces and pro-government politicians in the area.

Militants have conducted attacks against security forces and national installations in Balochistan, which has been plagued by an insurgency and growing sectarian killings for more than a decade.
Posted by: badanov || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [3 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
Ninevah Nightmares: 120 Bad Guys die
50 ISIS Bad Guys die in Mosul airstrike

(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – A security source in Nineveh Province announced on Tuesday, that 50 militants from the so-called ISIS were killed in an air strike targeted their training sites in central Mosul (405 km north of Baghdad).

The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The international coalition aircraft bombed training headquarters belonging to ISIS near the Grand Mosque in the city of Mosul.”

The source, who asked anonymity, added, “The bombing resulted in the killing of 50 fighters belonging to ISIS, as well as destructing their headquarters completely.”

70 ISIS troops die near Mosul

(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – The commander of Nineveh Operations Major General Najim al-Jubouri announced on Wednesday the killing of 70 ISIS militants and wounding of others during a military operation south of Mosul (405 km north of Baghdad), while pointed out to the destruction of seven car bombs.

Maj. Gen. Najim al-Jubouri said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “Nineveh Liberation Operations Command received information about the presence of a large number of booby-trapped vehicles and suicide bombers belonging to ISIS in al-Nasser village south of Mosul,” indicating that, “The security forces from the army’s 15th brigade, Peshmerga and tribal fighters began a military operation to destroy the enemy’s capabilities, and they were able to achieve their goals.”

Jubouri added, “The operation resulted in the killing of 70 ISIS fighters, as well as wounding dozens others,” noting that, “Seven booby-trapped vehicles were destroyed during the operation.”

Jubouri continued, “Nineveh Operations Command is awaiting the arrival of the forces from Nineveh police and tribal fighters to control the territory after its liberation,” pointing out that, “The Iraqi Army troops will attack the operations axes.”
Posted by: badanov || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [3 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Afghanistan
30 killed as Afghan Air Force pound militants in Uruzgan province
At least 30 militants were killed in two separate operations conducted by the Afghan National Security Forces pounded militants in southern Uruzgan province in coordination with the Afghan Air Force.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the militants were targeted in Dehrawood district of Uruzgan by the Afghan security force.
According to an operational update by Ministry of Defense (MoD), at least 17 militants were also wounded during the raids.

At least 5 militants were killed in separate operations conducted in Ghazni and Farah provinces, MoD said, adding that 6 others were also wounded.

The anti-government armed militant groups have not commented regarding the reports so far.

The Afghan security forces have stepped up counter-terrorism operations amid deteriorating security situation to suppress the activities of the militants.

The Afghan officials are optimistic to curb the summer offensive of the militants with greater capabilities including close-air support with the addition of new equipment supplied by United States and other allies of Afghanistan.
Posted by: badanov || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
The endless cycle that is Libya
ISIS in Libya is growing stronger - close to 10,000 fighters - and occupies prime coastal real estate that helps it import more fighters from the Levant, and aids its illicit economy via smuggling and crime

-- Dr. Theodore Karasik
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] As the Government of National Accord (GNA) tries to set up its government in 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...
, Libya continues to lurch from crisis to crisis. We are observing the uneven, hypothetical transition from a two government debacle- represented by the General National Council (GNC) in Tripoli (Tripolitania) and the House of Representatives in Tobruk (Cyrenaica) ‐ to one government.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Right to protect, eh?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 3:12 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Is Hezbollah involved in the biggest prostitution network ever exposed in Lebanon?
[JPOST] Leb has been bustling in the past few days following the discovery of the biggest prostitution network ever operated in the country. While pro-Hezbollah newspapers deem that the Lebanese organization aided in exposing the network, anti-Hezbollah social media activists have launched an attack against the organization, claiming that one of its members was the network's head.

The prostitution network, revealed by the Lebanese police in the coastal city of Jounieh, north of Beirut, included 75 women, most of them Syrian. The network's operators convinced the women to leave their homeland and move to Leb by offering them apparent jobs at Lebanese restaurants.

Inspected by 18 guards at the brothel, the women were obliged to serve as hookers 20 hours a day. If a woman's client did not like the way he was treated by her, she would have been hit, tortured or sexually harassed by the network's operators.

The network, which started operating in 2011, was not only a prostitution network, but also an ISIS-like human trafficking network, in which the operators sold or hired out women to other networks.

Four women had managed to escape from the brothel, fleeing to the southern Dahiya, a Beirut suburb known as Hezbollah's enclave in Leb. A source affiliated with Hezbollah told the Lebanese daily newspaper al-Nahar that the women arrived in Dahiya believing that they would find a refuge there from the network's operators.

The official Iranian news agency, Fars, also stressed the positive role performed by Hezbollah in that incident. Hailing the Lebanese terror organization, the story's headline on Fars read: "How did Hezbollah rescue young Syrian girls from prostitution network in Jounieh?"

Nevertheless, anti-Hezbollah newspapers argued that the girls have undergone sexual harassment by Hezbollah's members, which caused Dahiya residents to address Hezbollah's security committee in the suburb, demanding its immediate intervention.

A well-known social media activist opposing Hezbollah, the Lebanese journalist Jerry Maher, claimed that the network was headed by Hezbollah member, Ali Hussien Zeaiter. Zeaiter was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in 2014 for "helping Hezbollah to acquire UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)."

According to Maher, a group of Hezbollah's deputies in the Lebanese Parliament helped the network's members to smuggle the women into Leb illegally. The Hezbollah-affiliated MPs also ordered senior Lebanese security officials to aid and protect the network's members, while in exchange, they received some of the network's profits. According to Maher, Hezbollah used this income to pay the expenses of its deaders' families.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Economy
Military Spending Worldwide Rose Again in 2015
[AnNahar] Rising tensions worldwide helped push up military expenditure in 2015, the first increase after four years of declining spending, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report published on Tuesday.

For the full-year 2015, world military spending totalled $1.67 trillion, a rise of one percent from the previous year.
This seems commensurate with inflation...
The increase was attributed primarily to more expenditure in Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East, while the decline in spending in the West was levelling off, SIPRI said.

The United States remains in pole position as the country that spends the most on its armed forces, by far.

Washington's military spending budget of $596 billion was down by 2.4 percent from the previous year, a smaller decline than in recent years.

SIPRI senior researcher Sam Perlo-Freeman said the United States now has "additional overseas contingency operations' (OCO) spending from the war against" the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(IS) group.

The world's second-biggest spender, China, dished out $215 billion, followed by 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...
which overtook Russia for third place at $87.2 billion. Moscow spent $66.4 billion.

During the 10-year period from 2006-2015, the U.S. military budget shrank by four percent, while China's soared by 132 percent. Those of Saudi Arabia and Russia also increased significantly, by 97 and 91 percent respectively.

La Belle France, which had the fifth biggest budget in 2014, fell to seventh place behind Britannia and India.

Military spending budgets continued to decline across Western Europe, albeit less sharply than in recent years.

"The reasons for the change in trend are Russia, IS and NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
politics," Perlo-Freeman said, noting that Alliance members have agreed to maintain spending at two percent of their gross domestic product until 2024.

In Asia, rising spending in Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan and Vietnam reflected tensions with China and North Korea, SIPRI said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well, just think how bad it would've been without the Nobel Peace Prize-winner on the throne in D.C.
Posted by: Bobby || 04/07/2016 7:29 Comments || Top||

#2  When you believe the Left's fantasy that America was really the big evil in the world and do what you can to leash and declaw it, you get this result. The world has always been a nasty place. Now its going to revert to its natural state of nastiness and chaos. Those who can are going to build their equivalent of walls and armies to protect their own interests. That big mangy flea bitten watch dog that howled in the night and crap on the lawn is about gone and that which it kept at bay is now coming to knock on your door.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/07/2016 8:57 Comments || Top||

#3  The other way to look at it, P2K, is: somebody been blocking steam escape valve---and now we're going to have an explosion.

Mind you, I think lack of "international law" is good for mine.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 9:01 Comments || Top||

#4  The world has always been a nasty place.
Now its going to revert to its natural state of nastiness and chaos.

"A rising tide lifts all boats."
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/07/2016 15:32 Comments || Top||

#5  $1.67 trillion, a rise of one percent

That's $1.67 trillion that won't end up in the pockets of the Tranzis.
Posted by: Pappy || 04/07/2016 16:38 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
WhatsApp Enables End-to-End Encryption. FBI Wets Itself.
From the comments: "Maybe the government shouldn't have imposed so many surveillance programs on its citizens -- and kept quiet about it for years -- that they now feel the need to use sophisticated security technologies."
Posted by: Iblis || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The stasi would blush seeing what the establishment protection (they don't protect you, you just pay the bill) agencies get up to.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 04/07/2016 11:34 Comments || Top||

#2  To bad Hillary didn't use it.
Posted by: Glenmore || 04/07/2016 11:47 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Turkey Arrests 'Would-be PKK Female Suicide Bomber' in Ankara
[AnNahar] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
has incarcerated
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
a female bad boy affiliated to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) suspected of planning to carry out a suicide kaboom, a report said Wednesday.

The arrest of the woman in the capital Ankara -- identified as R.I., 21 -- comes after the city was this year rocked by two suicide boom-mobileings claimed by Kurdish bandidos forces of Evil that left dozens dead.

She was detained by police during a regular traffic inspection at one of the entrances to the city in the Golbasi district, the Dogan news agency reported.

The woman had been the subject of a nationwide search after digitally-stored data was found on a Kurdish bad boy killed in the southeastern Mardin region that identified her as a potential suicide attacker, Dogan said.

There was no suggestion she had explosives on her when detained.

She was placed under arrest by a criminal court in Ankara ahead of a trial whose date has yet to be set.

It said that the woman had been treated for one-and-a-half months for liver problems in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir before heading for Ankara.

Over 350 members of the Turkish security forces have been killed in bomb and gun attacks by the PKK since a ceasefire collapsed last summer last summer.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [2 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Brussels bomber ‘had cleaning job’ at European Parliament
[IsraelTimes] One of two Islamic State jacket wallahs briefly worked at the EU body headquarters in 2009 and 2010, report says

One of two 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....
jihadists who blew themselves up at Brussels airport on March 22 briefly worked as a cleaner at the European Parliament several years ago, the EU body said Wednesday.

"He held a summer holiday job cleaning at the Parliament for one month in 2009 and one month in 2010. Those were the only instances he worked at the Parliament," it said in a statement.

It did not name the individual, but a source close to the inquiry told AFP it was Najim Laachraoui.

Laachraoui and fellow suicide bomber Ibrahim El Bakraoui blew themselves up at Brussels Airport in coordinated attacks two weeks ago that also struck a Brussels metro station and killed a total of 32 people.

Laachraoui is also suspected of being the bomb-maker for the Gay Paree terror assaults last November after his DNA was found on some the explosives used in the attacks, which killed 130.

The European Parliament said the suspect did not have a criminal record when he worked for the cleaning firm it had contracted at the time.

"As required by the contract, the cleaning firm submitted proof of the absence of a criminal record to the European Parliament," the statement said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Does the fact that my first reaction was a sigh of regret, makes me a bad person?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 3:05 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm conflicted too g(r)om. We have people here with lots of security telling the peons they must accept the risks of the ruling class' virtue signaling. They only seem excited when it's the 'right people' who get harmed.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/07/2016 11:38 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Fatalities in Pakistan's massive floods hit 92
Two days ago it was only 60.
[Iran Press TV] The corpse count from heavy downpours and landslides in Pakistain’s north and northwest has risen to 92 as rescue workers are still searching for survivors.
Nobody does "unprepared" like Pakistain.
Since they do it every year, they've developed a certain level of expertise.
Pakistain's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Wednesday that more than 1,200 houses have been damaged since April 2.

Figures show at least a dozen people were killed by heavy rains in Pakistain-administered Kashmire, and 15 others bit the dust in the far northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Abdul Latif, a local government official, said most of the deaths and destruction from the flash floods and landslides occurred in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
Province.

Figures show at least 65 people were killed in the province alone and nearly 930 homes were either damaged or completely destroyed.

Latif said real damage could be too extensive as roads blocked by landslides remain closed, adding, "When the road access is cleared, then our teams can go house to house and survey the damage."
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel prepares to defend against Anonymous online attacks
[IsraelTimes] Israeli security agencies are on alert over the potential for cyber-attacks by Anonymous on Thursday, after the hacker group previously targeted the Jewish state each April 7.

The attacks in solidarity with the Paleostinians have in the past succeeded in blocking government sites, including for the ministries of defense and foreign affairs.

"We are prepared for all forms of aggression," an official from the Shin Bet domestic security agency tells AFP. "Israel is well-protected."

In the past Israeli governmental and company sites have been shut down; sites have been hijacked to display photos and videos from Anonymous; and data has been pirated and made public, says Meni Barzilai from the University of Tel Aviv’s cyber research center.

Dozens of experts from both the private and public sectors as well as hackers are to gather Thursday in Tel Aviv to monitor potential attacks and offer help to companies and institutions targeted.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  One could hope the Mossad would knock on some doors of these little buck futters who seem to think they can get away with stuff like this with no physical consequences.
Posted by: Spavitch Grusoque7316 || 04/07/2016 2:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Time for black ice?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 3:07 Comments || Top||

#3  Identify them, make them 'somewhat less anonymous', and let nature take its course.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 04/07/2016 10:44 Comments || Top||

#4  Who could connect a campaign of 'accidents' or wet jobs if they're anonymous? How do you connect the dots? Unless they self identify, but that in turn, makes them targets for others. Put themselves into a corner haven't they?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/07/2016 11:43 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
ISIS militants expel Syrian rebels from key town in Daraa
[ARANews] HOMS – Subsequent to fierce clashes with opposition factions, militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) were able Wednesday to capture a key town in Syria’s southern province of Daraa, local sources reported.

Speaking to ARA News in Daraa, local media activist Ghalib Ali said that ISIS, represented in the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade and the Islamic Movement of Muthanna [who had swore allegiance to ISIS], were able Wednesday to seize control of the strategic town of Adwan after clashes with opposition fighters in the western suburbs of Daraa, southern Syria.

“The clashes broke out in the early hours of Wednesday’s morning and lasted for several hours after a number of ISIS militants infiltrated into the western district of the town,” Ali reported.

The extremists carried out an offensive on an opposition-held checkpoint at the western entrance of Adwan town and were able to kill a number of Syrian rebels and capture some others, according to the source.

“With taking over the checkpoint, Daesh was able to send dozens of insurgents into the heart of the town,” he ARA News, using an acronym for ISIS.

“At least 19 rebel fighters were killed and four others captured at the hands of the terror group after seizing control of the town,” Ali said, pointing out that ISIS extremists have publicly executed a number of captives in the town’s main square, vowing opposition fighters in the rest of the towns to face the same destiny.

“ISIS militants hang several corpses of the victims [rebels] in the public square of the town,” an eyewitness told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In response to ISIS’s advancement in the western suburbs of Daraa province, the opposition-linked Supreme Military Council operating in the southern province issued a statement, in which it regarded the ISIS-held towns of Taseel and Adwan in the western countryside of Daraa as military targets.

Subsequent to ISIS progress on Wednesday, opposition fighters in the southern front of Syria have pounded Taseel and Adwan towns with heavy artillery from their positions in Tel al-Jumu near the city of Nawa in Daraa province. No casualties reported.
Posted by: badanov || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


30+ Islamic rebels die in Kurd counterattack in Aleppo
[ARA News] ALEPPO ــ Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) on Wednesday clashed with Islamist rebels, and killed and injured dozens near the Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo, leadership of the YPG said on Wednesday.

The Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Mqsoud in Aleppo –held by the YPG fighters– has been exposed to heavy shelling by Islamist rebels over the past few days.

The YPG issued Wednesday a statement, obtained by ARA News, saying: “On April 5, the terrorist groups [Islamist rebels] bombarded the Kurdish neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud from their positions in the ‘youth housing’, ash-Shaqif housing, the intelligence Street and the Ashrafiyeh district in Aleppo.”

“At least 15 civilians were killed and more than 56 others wounded in Wednesday’s attack,” the statement reported.

The YPG leadership pointed out that the Islamist rebels tried to storm the Kurdish neighborhood, but the YPG forces foiled the attack which led to fierce clashes between the two sides.

“The clashes, which continued until Wednesday midnight, resulted in the destruction of a tank and a weapons depot for the radical Islamists,” the statement read. “According to preliminary information, more than 36 terrorists have been killed and 70 others injured.”

Also, four YPG fighters were killed during the clashes, according to the Kurdish leadership.

Speaking to ARA News in Aleppo, Rezan Hiddo, member of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), close to the YPG leadership, said: “Amid shameful international silence, dozens of civilians have been killed and injured so far due to the barbaric attacks by the terror Islamist groups.”

“At least 14 civilians were killed and 52 others wounded, some of them are seriously injured,” he said.

ARA News could not verify the death toll from other independent sources.

“Five Kurdish fighters were killed while defending civilians in Sheikh Maqsoud. One of them was identified as Abu Rawanــ a leading member of the YPG forces in Aleppo,” eyewitnesses told ARA News.

Over the past few weeks, hundreds of civilians, including women and children, were killed in attacks led by Arab Islamist groups on the Kurdish neighborhood in Syria’s northern Aleppo city, according to local sources.
Posted by: badanov || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan
39 ISIS loyalists killed in Afghan forces raids in Nangarhar
At least 39 ISIS loyalists were killed during a raid by the Afghan national security forces in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the militants were killed in air and ground operations conducted in Nazian, Achin and Kot districts.
MoD further added that 15 militants affiliated with the terror group were also wounded during the same operations.

Local security officials earlier said at least 19 militants were killed during the raids conducted in Kot district of Nangarhar as part of a military operation to clear the area from the militants presence.

Provincial police spokesman Hazrat Hussain Mashriqwal said the operations are led by provincial police Chief Gen. Fazal Ahmad Sherzad.

He said the Afghan forces kicked off the operations this morning and as a result at least 19 ISIS loyalits were killed and 15 others were wounded.

Mashriqwal further added that the Afghan security forces did not suffer any casualties during the operations.

This comes as the US forces conducted a drone strike in Achin district of Nangarhar province earlier, leaving at least 6 loyalists of the terror group dead.

The Afghan forces have intensified counter-terrorism operations against the terror group loyalists amid concerns that attempts are being made by the militants affiliated with ISIS to expand foothold in Afghanistan.
Posted by: badanov || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [2 views] Top|| File under:


Afghan forces instructed to consolidate operations to fight growing instability
The Afghan security institutions have been instructed to consolidate and create further coordination to fight the growing instability in the country.

The instruction was issued during the National Security Council (NSC) meeting chaired by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani.

According to the Presidential Palace media office, the NSC meeting reviewed the reports about the security situation of Helmand, Urugan, Kunduz, Badakhshan, Faryab, Sar-e-Pul and Baghlan provinces.

The Afghan national security forces were also hailed for their achievements and bravery to defend from the national interests of the country.

The instructions by NSC are issued amid deteriorating security situation across the country as the Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant.

There are concerns that the Taliban militants will pursue violence during the summer despite efforts by the Afghan government to end the violence through reconciliation process.

The acting Afghan intelligence Chief Massoud Andarabi earlier warned that the Taliban will not renounce violence and will continue to their insurgency with the full support of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence.
Posted by: badanov || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:


No other casualties in Kandahar bomb attack
A relatively heavy explosion rocked Kandahar city earlier today with the preliminary reports suggesting only the suicide bomber was killed in the incident.

The bomber detonated his explosives before reaching to his potential target which remains unascertained, leaving only himself dead.

The Afghan Intelligence – National Directorate of Security (NDS) confirmed that a suicide bomber was shot dead by the Afghan intelligence operatives in the 5th police district of Kandahar city.

Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban insurgents however the Afghan security forces have managed to maintain security and stability in this province during the past several months.

The anti-government armed militants have been trying to expand their insurgency activities in this province lately amid deteriorating security situation in the south.

At least 19 militants operating in 4 groups were arrested by the Afghan intelligence operatives lately as they were planning to carry out terrorist attacks in this province.
Posted by: badanov || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
Egyptian senior security official wounded in North Sinai blast
[AlAhram] A security bigshot was maimed in a blast Wednesday in North Sinai, state news agency MENA reported.

A roadside kaboom went off as a patrol responsible for securing a cash-transport vehicle passed by on a highway near the quiet provincial capital of Al-Arish.

Assistant Security Director of North Sinai Yasser Hafez was injured in the leg as a result of the bombing.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)


India-Pakistan
LeT militant killed in Lolab
[Daily Excelsior] A bully boy of Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
(LeT) was killed during a shootout in North Kashmire Lolab forests today while security forces have launched massive searches against his colleagues who fled from security cordon last night.

Army today recovered body of a bully boy from Dardpora forests during searches along with an AK-47 rifle. The bully boy is believed to have been killed in the shootout during the night.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [2 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba


Africa North
Cyprus agrees to extradite EgyptAir hijacker
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Cyprus said on Wednesday that it had approved a request from Cairo to extradite the man accused of hijacking an EgyptAir plane and diverting it to the Mediterranean island.

Egyptian Seif al-Din Mohammed Mostafa, 58, is accused of using a fake suicide belt to seize the Alexandria-to-Cairo flight on March 29 and force it to land in Cyprus.

Cypriot government officials said that a legal process would now begin to send home the 58-year-old, who is in police custody on the island.

"Instructions were given for the relevant procedures to begin," a government official told AFP.

Nicosia is expected to try to fast-track the extradition process which could take several weeks.

The suspect is expected to remain in jug until his extradition papers are ready.

The Egyptian state prosecutor’s office had asked for him to be handed over under a 1996 bilateral extradition treaty.

Mostafa -- described by authorities as psychologically unstable -- has said he acted out of desperation to see his Cypriot ex-wife and children.

Cypriot prosecutors said last week he faced possible charges of hijacking, kidnapping, reckless and threatening behavior, and breaches of the anti-terror law.

According to police, Mostafa has given a voluntary statement admitting to the hijacking.

His ex-wife has been quoted by Cypriot media as describing their five years of marriage as a "black period" of her life.

The hijacking ended peacefully with Mostafa’s arrest.

Most of the 55 passengers were quickly released after the plane landed, but some escaped only minutes before the six-hour standoff finished.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Five killed as seminary roof caves in
[DAWN] DERA GHAZI KHAN: Five children, two brothers among them, were buried alive while eight others were maimed when the roofs of a double-storey building of a seminary on Dera-Multan Road caved in during construction.

According to eyewitness account, labourers were engaged in construction when the roof of the seminary’s upper storey collapsed triggering a chain reaction leading to fall of the roof of the ground floor where children were taking the Koranic lessons.

Thirteen children were trapped under the rubble and a team of Rescue 1122 came there and launched an operation. The rescuers managed to bring out eight injured children including Habib, Akhtar, Irfan, Rasheed, Nadir, Yousaf Ansar and Yousaf Ahmed and shifted them to the DHQ hospital. An instructor also was injured.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  got their Koranic lesson from Allah:
don't study in Pak buildings under construction
Posted by: Frank G || 04/07/2016 8:59 Comments || Top||

#2  Where to draw the line?
The loss of any child is a terrible thing.
Killing off feral groups of indoctrinated junior jihadists-in-training is efficient. Imagine a representation of 60%(3) as passive muslim drones, 20%(1) as imaginative activists and 20%(1) as "soldiers of the faith". Then killing 5 to get 1 to save 200 seems to balance karma, but how do you test the premise?
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/07/2016 11:59 Comments || Top||

#3  The result of "inshallah architecture"

Posted by: Frozen Al || 04/07/2016 13:30 Comments || Top||


Police kill two ‘militants’
[DAWN] Two suspected bandidos forces of Evil were killed in a shootout with police in Gulshan-e-Maymar area on Tuesday night. One of them had a reward of one million rupees on his head.

Officials said the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Sindh police, acting on a tip-off about the presence of some bandidos forces of Evil and criminal elements, conducted a raid in Gulshan-e-Maymar area, near Northern Bypass. The raid turned into an exchange of gunfire.

"The police cordoned off the area," said SSP Junaid Sheikh of CTD. "The gunnies in the hideout attacked personnel of our team when they were busy taking positions. The attack led to retaliation from police which triggered exchange of gunfire. After a brief encounter, both the bandidos forces of Evil were killed. They were later identified as Mujahid and Abdullah."

The government, he said, had announced one million rupees reward for Mujahid, who was an active member of Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent. Police had also recovered two suicide jackets, hand-grenades and assault rifles from their possession, he added.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [3 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent


Concept of secret balloting alien to Islam, observes chief justice
[DAWN] Supreme Court Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali observed on Tuesday that the concept of secret ballot is alien to Islam and is rather, derived from the west. "The method of secret ballot is a western concept and has nothing to do with Islam," the chief justice observed, adding that the open ballot system discourages hypocrisy.

The observation came during the hearing of an appeal instituted by the Sindh government against the Sindh High Court’s Feb 10 judgment which, while deciding the applications of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement
...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead...
and the PML-F, had declared as void the recent amendments in the local government law, whereby secret balloting was replaced with a show of hands for electing mayors, deputy mayors and other local government representatives in the province.

On Feb 17, a three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by the chief justice had stayed the upcoming elections in Sindh to elect mayors, deputy mayors, chairmen, vice chairmen and members of reserved seats in the recently-elected local government bodies.

The last three years have seen a raging debate on whether the local government elections should be held in an open manner or through secret balloting, the chief justice regretted, while also questioning the need for amendments in the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Act 2013.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  ..sort of like unions here in the states.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/07/2016 7:52 Comments || Top||

#2  "I mean, you could literally vote for anyone, and we can't have that"
Posted by: Frank G || 04/07/2016 9:01 Comments || Top||

#3  "I mean, you could literally vote for anyone, and we can't have that"

I remember reading, don't remember where, about a Soviet citizen, who wrote "none of the above" on his ballot in mid 70es. KGB spent several thousand man hours to find him.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 9:06 Comments || Top||

#4  ..sort of like unions here in the states.

US Steel announced intent to drop 25% of the non-union workforce due to reduced demand for domestic steel.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/07/2016 12:05 Comments || Top||

#5  Yeah...alien, like hygiene.
Posted by: WarDoof || 04/07/2016 14:55 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Nusra Front confirms senior Syrian figure killed in US strike
[AlAhram] Al Qaeda's Syrian offshoot Nusra Front confirmed on Wednesday that their front man and veteran Death Eater fighter Abu Firas al-Suri was killed in a US air strike in Syria.

In an online statement, Nusra Front said Abu Firas died in an attack on Sunday by an "Arab-crusader coalition" led by the United States, confirming an April 4 statement on his death by al Qaeda's North African wing.

Abu Firas, a former Syrian army officer discharged in the late 1970s because of his Islamist leanings, fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s and worked with al Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden
... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones...
to galvanize support for the fundamentalist Taliban movement, Islamist rebel sources said.

Abu Firas became a front man for the Nusra Front and was also a member of the group's policy-making Shura Council.

A Pentagon front man told Rooters on Monday that a US air strike on April 3 hit a meeting of high-level al Qaeda officials in northwest Syria at which Abu Firas was present.

While the United States is part of a coalition of nations attacking Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
in Iraq and Syria, it has also launched separate strikes on the Nusra Front group, notably in the northwestern province of Idlib.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [6 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


-Land of the Free
Abortion Activist Claims Planned Parenthood Videos Caused Raid At His Home
[SACRAMENTO.CBSLOCAL] An anti-abortion activist who made undercover videos at Planned Parenthood
...has received federal funding since 1970, when President Richard Nixon signed into law the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act. It is sometimes described as the gynecololgical wing of the Democratic party.
clinics said in a social media posting that Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, Department of Justice agents raided his home Tuesday.
We've achieved the status of a police state.
Agents seized all video footage from his apartment, along with his personal information, David Daleiden said in a Facebook post. Daleiden, the founder of a group called the Center for Medical Progress, said agents left behind documents that he contends implicate Planned Parenthood in illegal behavior related to the handling of fetal tissue.

Center for Medical Progress front man Peter Robbio confirmed the social media posting is authentic, but he declined further comment. He said Daleiden lives in Orange County.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If US women choose to abort their children and allow them to be chopped up and sold for money then yes God is in control and yes illegal immigrants will be handed your neighborhood, your city, your state, your nation and they will consume the treasury to where there will be nothing left but debt even unto the 4th generation of your surviving descendants.
Posted by: Ho Chi Crinens5363 || 04/07/2016 0:27 Comments || Top||

#2  FYI, the prosecutor running this got a large check from Planned Parenthood for their campaign.
Posted by: Andy tse Tung1835 || 04/07/2016 2:23 Comments || Top||

#3  Misleading headline
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 5:04 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Turkey hub for Daesh-looted historical relics: Russian UN envoy
[Iran Press TV] The southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep has become a hub for selling antiques and artifacts stolen by the ISIS terrorist group from Syria, says Russia’s permanent UN ambassador.

ISIS’s annual illegal income from the sales of stolen historical relics reaches nearly 200 million dollars, Vitaly Churkin said in a letter presented to the UN on Wednesday.

He stressed that most of the artifacts are sold on the black market after being smuggled into The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
from Syria. "Those pieces of antiques are sold through auctions illegally on websites and through local markets," Churkin added.

Thousands of internationally recognized archaeological sites are still held by 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...
terrorists, nine of which are present in the United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List, he noted.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


India-Pakistan
Afghan agent arrested from Balochistan: FC official
[DAWN] An agent working for the Afghan National Directorate of Security
...the Afghan national intel agency...
(NDS) ‐ Afghanistan's premier spy agency ‐ was incarcerated
I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
from Chaman district in Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
Wednesday morning, officials said.

A Frontier Corps
...a provincial paramilitary force. Total manpower is about 80,000. They are tasked to help local law enforcement in the maintenance of law and order, and to carry out border patrol and anti-smuggling operations....
(FC) front man said personnel conducted a raid on a compound in Boghra, a residential and commercial area in Chaman, and picked up an agent working for the NDS.

The front man said the 'spy' was supplying weapons and kabooms for terrorist activities inside Balochistan.

Intelligence agencies are interrogating the agent, he added.

The arrest comes just weeks after forces arrested Kulbushan Jadhav, an Indian agent from Balochistan, who Pakistain said was involved in "terror activities" in the province.

Law enforcement agencies announced the arrest of Jadhav during an intelligence-based raid in Balochistan's Chaman last month.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Arabia
Three Saudi-backed commanders killed in Yemen
[Iran Press TV] The Yemeni army and Ansarullah fighters have engaged in fierce festivities with Death Eaters loyal to the Saudi-backed runaway former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, in northern Yemen, leaving three field commanders dead.

Almashhad-alyemeni, a pro-Hadi website, said on Wednesday that a leader from the Salafi Islah party and two field commanders were killed in the festivities in the northern area of Naqil al-Aqabah of al-Jawf province on Tuesday.

According to the report, pro-Hadi forces were sent to capture the area of al-Aqabah in al-Jawf from the Yemeni forces on Monday.

The news comes as the Yemeni forces continued to make gains against the Saudi-backed forces on Wednesday as Yemen's army and popular committees took control of the strategic military base of al-Shabaka, which overlooks the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, in Ta’izz Province, according to al-Masirah television channel.

Also on Wednesday, the Yemeni security forces raided a hideout of al-Qaeda Death Eaters in al-Qadad area of Dhamar Province, killing two Death Eaters and injuring four others. Three snuffies were also placed in durance vile
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
The forces also seized the terrorists’ weapons and boom belts during the raid.

Meanwhile,
...back at the pound, the little lost dog backed into the corner and showed its teeth. And what big teeth they were!...
Saudi warplanes continued to bomb the Yemeni provinces of Ma’rib, Ta’izz and al-Jawf, but there were no immediate reports of casualties so far.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Africa North
Tripoli authorities refuse to cede power to Libya unity government
[Iran Press TV] The head of Libya's self-declared administration in the capital, 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...
, has refused to cede power to a UN-backed unity government, contradicting an earlier pledge by his administration.
Say one thing on Monday, another on Tuesday. Contradict them both on Wednesday.
Khalifa Ghweil, chief of Tripoli's so-called National Salvation Government, in a statement on Wednesday, called on his ministers not to stand down, adding, "Given the requirements of public interest... you are requested to continue your mission in accordance with the law."

The statement threatened to prosecute anyone who cooperates with the new government.

This is while an earlier statement bearing the logo of Tripoli authority had said its prime minister, deputy premiers and cabinet ministers were all stepping aside in an attempt to "preserve the higher interests of the country and prevent bloodshed and divisions."

The latest announcement is a setback to UN-backed prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj who arrived in Tripoli in late March to assert the unity government's authority.

Upon his arrival in the capital on March 30, Sarraj said "uniting Libyans and healing divisions" were among the challenges the country is facing.

"We will work for a ceasefire across Libya, for national reconciliation and the return of displaced people, and we will seek to confront" the ISIS 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...
terrorist group, he added.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Iraq
Qatar Royal Freed by Iraq Kidnappers after 4 Month Ordeal
[AnNahar] A member of the Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates...
i royal family and a Pak have been released by kidnappers in Iraq after nearly four months in captivity, the Qatari foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

The pair were among more than 20 people kidnapped from a desert hunting party close to the Saudi border last December.

Reports at the time of the kidnapping said that those seized included members of the emirate's ruling family.

The ministry initially announced "the release of a Qatari citizen and his Asian companion who were kidnapped in Iraq."

"Efforts are still ongoing to free the rest of the 26 kidnapped," a brief statement published on the official QNA news agency said.

A foreign ministry front man told AFP that negotiations were continuing with the Iraqi government to try to secure the release of the remaining hostages.

It is not known if any ransom was paid for the release of the two men freed on Wednesday.

The hostages were kidnapped when gunnies attacked their camp in a Shiite-majority area of southern Iraq.

Nine members of the party managed to escape and cross into nearby Kuwait.

There is widespread enmity towards the Gulf Arab states in Shiite areas of southern and central Iraq because of their support for Sunni rebels in the conflict raging in neighboring Syria.

Iran-backed Shiite militias, which have a major presence in the region, have sent fighters to Syria to support Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
's regime.

The hunting party was in Iraq on an officially licensed expedition and Doha has put pressure on the Shiite-led government in Baghdad to help secure the hostages' release.

Wealthy Gulf Arabs often brave the risks of travel to countries like Afghanistan and Pakistain as well as Iraq to hunt with falcons without the bag limits and conservation measures they face at home.

Their favored prey is the houbara bustard, a large game bird once nearly hunted to extinction in the Middle East.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Brussels attacks a 'failure' but Belgium not a 'failed state': PM
"It's... ummm... something else."
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The March 22 ISIS attacks in Brussels represented a security "failure", Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel admitted Wednesday, but he rejected the notion his country was a "failed state".

Belgian authorities have faced strong criticism at home and abroad for not doing more to prevent the carnage, as links emerged between the Brussels attackers and the snuffies behind the Gay Paree terror assaults in November.

"When there is an attack like that of course that’s a failure and nobody can deny this," Michel told news hounds in Brussels.

But "I cannot accept the idea that we’re a failed state."
Reality doesn't care whether you accept it or not, it just continues being real.
A total of 32 people died in the suicide kabooms at Brussels airport and a metro station.

The carnage came four days after the sole surviving suspect in the Gay Paree attacks, Salah Abdeslam, was tossed in the slammer
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
in Brussels, just around the corner from his family home, after four months on the run as Europe’s most wanted man.

"It took 10 years to stop Bin Laden," Michel countered, referring to former Al-Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden
... who is now neither a strong horse nor a weak horse, but a dead horse...
Abdeslam is currently awaiting extradition from Belgium to La Belle France and has denied any prior knowledge of the Brussels bombings.

Belgium, a notoriously complex country divided along linguistic and political lines, has been accused of failing to keep better track of suspected Death Eaters, as the Gay Paree attacks were largely planned in Brussels.

"We’re a small country at the heart of Europe... a hub from where one can easily organise attacks in other European countries," Michel said, calling for better cross-border intelligence cooperation.

"That’s where we have a lot of work to do."
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [3 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  a notoriously complex country

There's a more piquant phrase, but this is supposed to be a family-friendly site.
Posted by: Pappy || 04/07/2016 11:27 Comments || Top||

#2  "That’s where we have a lot of work to do."

First line up all your box cars...
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 04/07/2016 16:57 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Iraqi kops detain 35 in Babel
(IraqiNews.com) Babel – A source in the Iraqi police said on Wednesday, that Babel Police managed to detain 35 wanted individuals on various criminal charges during raid operations in different areas of the province.

The source, who requested anonymity, said in a brief statement received by IraqiNews.com, “Today, Babel Police managed to detain 35 wanted individuals on criminal charges, ranging between murder and armed robbery, in different areas of Babel,” adding that, “The detainees were transferred to a security center for interrogation.”
Posted by: badanov || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:


Anbar Antics: 34 die

19 ISIS Bad Guys have a Very Bad Day

(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – The leadership of Anbar police announced on Wednesday, that 19 fighters belonging to the so-called ISIS were killed and their convoy was destroyed in western Ramadi (110 km west of Baghdad).

The police’s 14th emergency regiment in al-Baghdadi vicinity, Captain Shoaib al-Obeidi, said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “The international coalition aircraft bombed, at noon today, a convoy of ten vehicles belonging to ISIS in al-Baradiya area in western Baghdadi (70 km west of Ramadi), killing 19 ISIS fighters and destructing their convoy.”

Obeidi added, “ISIS is seeking to bolster the presence of its members in the areas of Heet and Baghdadi, as well as launching unsuccessful attacks in order to open havens for its besieged fighters to escape from Heet and the nearby regions.”

Noteworthy, most of Anbar Province were controlled by ISIS, while the Iraqi security forces begun several cleansing battles and managed to retake the city of Ramadi after fierce battles.

15 ISIS troops die in airstrike in Quaim City

(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – A source in the Joint Operations Command announced on Wednesday, that 15 fighters of the so-called ISIS were killed and others were wounded by an Iraqi air strike that targeted their headquarters in the city of Qaim west of Ramadi, while indicated that the dead ISIS members included eight suicide bombers.

The source said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “Falcons Intelligence Cell backed by the Joint Operations Command and Iraqi Air Force launched an air strike on a headquarters belonging to ISIS in the city of Qaim in western Anbar.”

The source, who asked to remain anonymous, added: “The air strike resulted in the killing of 15 ISIS militants, including eight suicide bombers, as well as wounding others.”
Posted by: badanov || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [3 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Bernie Sanders claims Israel killed '10,000 innocents' in Gaza
[ISRAELNATIONALNEWS] Grossly inflating casualty figures, Jewish Democratic presidential candidate condemns Israel's defensive actions in Gaza.
He has never forgiven Israel for turning its back on the Stalinist path of the kibbutz he summered at in his long ago youth -- sadly fitting for what the party he is attempting to usurp has become.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Capo de capos.
Posted by: JHH || 04/07/2016 0:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Kibbutz is not stalinist, only who wants goes there.
Posted by: Tarzan Slailet2796 || 04/07/2016 2:16 Comments || Top||

#3  One more of the thousands of reasons I can't stand this cock splash.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/07/2016 11:11 Comments || Top||

#4  Why do you think Israelis don't like Jewish American Pols?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 12:43 Comments || Top||

#5  Kibbutzes in general are not Stalinist; the one he went to was.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2016 13:29 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Yemeni Army Fully Controls Strategic Post overlooking Bab Al-Mandeb Strait
Yemeni army and Popular Committees announced on Wednesday they were in full control of Shabaka military post which overlook Bab al-Mandeb strait.

Military sources reported that dozens of Saudi-led forces were killed and injured in the fierce clashes which erupted before the control of the post.

Earlier on Tuesday, at least 70 Saudi-led forces were killed and other 100 were injured when the Yemeni allied forces fired a ballistic missile, targeting al-Hazm complex in al-Jawf province.Popular committees in Yemen

Yemeni military source said that the missile unit in the Yemeni army and the popular committees fired on Tuesday Tochka missile, noting that among the killed and the injured were commanders.

The source told Yemeni news agency, Sabaa, that many commanders, including foreigners, were at the complex which was destroyed.
Posted by: badanov || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [4 views] Top|| File under: Houthis

#1  The best equipment money can buy and they are just a bunch of tin hat phonies getting their butts handed to them on a plate.

No wonder the KSA royalty pisses themselves thinking about Iran.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 04/07/2016 23:10 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Damiani resigns in 'Panama Papers' fallout: Fifa
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET]
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yes, everyone who owns a South American Football team needs a shell company; where else does one store your shells?
Posted by: Capsu78 || 04/07/2016 19:00 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
JMB man Masum's death sentence upheld
[Dhaka Tribune] The Appellate Division has upheld a High Court order to confirm the death sentence of banned krazed killer group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
The JMB is said to be the youth front of Al Mujahideen, the parent organization that began working toward establishing Bangladesh as an Islamic state in the mid 1990s which remains obscure even today. Other organizations, such as Jama'atul Jihad, JMB, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), Hizbut Tawhid, Tawhidi Janata, Islami Jubo Shangha, Islami Shangha, Al Falah A'am Unnayan Shanstha and Shahadat-e al Hiqma are believed to be part of the Al Mujahideen network. The JMB at its peak was reported to contain at least 100,000 members, and an alleged 2,000-man suicide brigade, few of whom actually exploded. JMB allegedly received financial assistance from individual donors in Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Libya. Reports have claimed that funding of JMB by international NGOs like Kuwait based Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage (RIHS) and Doulatul Kuwait, Saudi Arabia based Al Haramaine Islamic Institute and Rabita Al Alam Al Islami, Qatar Charitable Society and UAE-based Al Fuzaira and Khairul Ansar Al Khairia. The top leadership of JMB was captured in 2005 and hung in 2007, which pretty much shot their bolt.
(JMB) operative Masumur Rahman Masum in a case filed over the 2005 bombings in a Lakshmipur court.

A four-member bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha yesterday scrapped a High Court verdict that acquitted another JMB activist Amzad Ali in the same case and ordered retrial.

The apex court gave the retrial order since the High Court in its verdict in 2013 observed that the charges against Amzad had not been taken into cognisance properly, Deputy Attorney General Shashanka Shekhar Sarker told news hounds.

The court also ordered the jail authorities concerned to shift Amzad from the condemn cell to general ward.

According to the case, members of the banned Islamist outfit on October 3, 2005 launched a kaboom on Lakshmipur district court during a trial session leaving many people including a judge and a bench officer seriously injured. One of the injured later died at a hospital.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [3 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria launches operation to liberate city in Aleppo
[Iran Press TV] The Syrian army has launched an attack, described as the biggest government assault in Aleppo since February, to recapture the town of Tela'at al-Eis.

Syrian ground forces, supported by heavy and concentrated air raids, targeted the positions of terrorist groups in the area, Leb’s al-Ahed news website reported on Wednesday.

The army said in a statement that the operation was a response to the Death Eaters’ violations of the cessation of hostilities agreement, which entered into force on February 27.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces had made progress but not been able to recapture the town.

The monitor also said a pregnant woman and three children were among 18 civilians killed when turbans shelled a Kurdish neighborhood in the northern city of Aleppo.

The attack by Ahrar al-Sham
...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014...
, which is allied to al-Qaeda in Syria, targeted the Sheikh Maqsud neighborhood which houses some 50,000 residents, it said.

The observatory said the attack was "a very clear violation of the ceasefire" in place in Syria.

The agreement stipulates the cessation of all military hostilities, except for the operations against 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...
ISIS terrorist group and the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Palestinians dressed as Jews arrested in Beersheba
[IsraelTimes] Police arrest two Paleostinian teenagers near the bus station in the southern city of Beersheba.

The two brothers, 17 and 19, are residents of Hebron
...Hamas central in the West Bank...
and are in Israel illegally, police say in a statement.

One of them was wearing a kippah and tzitzit,
...ritual fringes on a shirt worn by orthodox Jews -- the Ashkenazi or European Jews leave them out for all to see, while the Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews (those who came to Israel from the Ummah) tuck them in, which explains why a Palestinian lad so clad would look suspicious...
and raised the suspicions of a security guard at the bus station, who alerted the police.

The two are brought in for questioning. Police say the pair are not armed.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Does dressing like a Jew mean they were "cross dressing"?

Not to sound too frivolous but the Paleostinians are becoming a very curious lot. Is it inbreeding or bad Falafel?
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 04/07/2016 23:54 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Cross-border shelling from Yemen kills two in Saudi
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Shelling from Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
has killed two people in a Saudi town, the civil defence agency said, in a rare breach of a calm in the border area agreed with Iran-backed militias early last month.

"Shelling from Yemeni territory on Samtah left two people dead and maimed a child," the agency said on Twitter late on Tuesday.

Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
is leading an Arab coalition that has been bombing the Houthis for more than a year, in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Monday that a Houthi
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ...
delegation was holding talks in Riyadh, ahead of a planned UN-brokered ceasefire next weekend which is to be followed by peace negotiations in Kuwait on April 18.

The Saudi-led coalition announced on March 9 that after negotiations though tribal mediators, it had agreed to an exchange of prisoners and a "state of calm" along the border to enable the delivery of desperately needed aid.

Dozens of people have been killed on the Saudi side of the border since the coalition launched its intervention in March last year after the rebels and their allies overran much of the country, prompting Hadi to flee into exile.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan
Civilians suffer casualties as militants attack vehicle in Ghazni
A civilian was reportedly killed and nine others were wounded after gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in the restive southeastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan.

According to the local government officials, the incident took place earlier today in Andar district after unknown gunmen targeted the vehicle.

Provincial police spokesman Ahamd Fahim Amiri confirmed that the incident took place in Kote Sangi area of Andar district.

He said at least five people were wounded in the attack and were taken to Kabul for treatment with the condition of the victim’s reported to be critical.

However, the eyewitnesses in the area said at least one civilian was killed and nine others were wounded in the attack.
No group including the Taliban militants has so far claimed responsibility behind the incident.

Ghazni is among the volatile provinces in southeastern Afghanistan where anti-government armed militants are actively operating and frequently carry out insurgency activities.
Posted by: badanov || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [3 views] Top|| File under:


Terror Networks
US, allies stage 23 strikes against Islamic State group in Syria, Iraq
The United States and its allies conducted 23 strikes against Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group in Syria and Iraq on Tuesday, the coalition leading the operations said.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Combined Joint Task Force said four strikes near four cities in Syria hit tactical units and destroyed a mortar system, a fighting position and two vehicles.

In Iraq, 19 strikes near eight cities struck several tactical units, a financial storage center and a headquaters and destroyed boats, vehicles, supply caches and a tunnel system, among other targets, the statement said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [4 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Is the quality of the targets improving or is this just more PR BS from CENTCOM?
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 04/07/2016 11:38 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Fearing jihadis, US said to mull pulling troops from north Sinai
[IsraelTimes] As Egypt struggles to provide security for peacekeeping force, American officials reportedly say Israeli-Egyptian border can be monitored by unmanned technology instead

US military is reportedly considering pulling its peacekeeping force from a base in the northeastern part of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, partly because of the increasing threat from Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group jihadists.

The B.O. regime may order the movement of some US and international troops into the southern Sinai, and is discussing such a move with Egypt and Israel, according to a CNN report Tuesday.

The two Middle East countries signed a peace deal in 1979, agreeing that a Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) mission would monitor compliance.

There are 707 US troops in that mission, the largest contingent in the 12-nation force of some 1,600 soldiers.

Most of the peacekeepers are stationed at El-Gorah camp, near the Gazoo Strip. Under the reported move, they would be transferred to a base near Sharm al-Sheikh, in the less-restive southern peninsula.

US officials, according to the CNN report, say that MFO soldiers can be replaced by unmanned sensing technology that can fulfill the duty of monitoring the Egyptian-Israeli border.

The Egyptian army has been battling to quell a four-year insurgency in the Sinai, which has grown fiercer since the group formerly known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis
...Supporters of Jerusalem, the current pen name of al-Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula...
, founded in 2011, switched its allegiance to the Islamic State terror group late in 2014.

The IS branch has shown resilience, fending off daily Arclight airstrikes and land operations by Egyptian security forces.

Attacks on security personal and civilians have become frequent occurrences in the northern Sinai, including IEDs, kidnappings and raids on security checkpoints.

Israeli officials have expressed fears that the Islamic State fighters could also target southern Israel along the border, which has been mostly quiet since a spate of attacks in 2012.

The frequency of IS attacks and ease with which the group seems to move around northern Sinai have already led the MFO to leave some of its smaller positions near Gazoo.

Last September, four US troops were maimed by an IED attack. The US then added an additional 75 servicemen to their ranks in the Sinai help boost security.

The US troops in the Sinai are not intended to participate in the fight against the Islamic State.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [6 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)

#1  You Guys have any problem with a FRAGO?


Sinai is groundworx for armies of death.
Posted by: newc || 04/07/2016 4:11 Comments || Top||

#2  Nevermind. I have seen your CINC. Come home instead.
Posted by: newc || 04/07/2016 4:12 Comments || Top||

#3  So the US will pull a military force out of Egypt because ISIS may be some kind of threat far far away, but they won't pull unarmed ambassadorial staff out of Libya in the face of an armed assault.

Makes sense to me!
Posted by: gorb || 04/07/2016 4:28 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
First Syrians leave for US under surge resettlement program
Goody.
[AlAhram] The first Syrian family to be resettled in the US under a speeded-up "surge operation" for refugees left Jordan on Wednesday for Kansas City, Missouri, to start a new life.

Ahmad al-Abboud, who is being resettled with his wife and five children, said he is thankful to Jordan, where he has lived for three years after fleeing Syria's civil war. But the 45-year-old from Homs, Syria, said he was ready to build a better life in the US.

"I'm happy. America is the country of freedom and democracy, there are jobs opportunities, there is good education, and we are looking forward to having a good life over there," al-Abboud said.

They have been living in Mafraq, north of Amman. Al-Abboud was unable to find work, and the family was surviving on food coupons.

"I am ready to integrate in the US and start a new life," he told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named in Amman's airport before the family boarded a flight to Kansas City.

Al-Abboud said he wanted to learn English and find a job to support his family.

Since October, 1,000 Syrian refugees have moved to the US from Jordan. President Barack Obama
We're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us...
has set a target of resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees by Sept. 30.

A resettlement center opened in Amman in February to help meet that goal, and about 600 people are interviewed every day at the center.

The temporary processing center will run until April 28, said US Ambassador Alice Wells, who was at the airport to see the al-Abboud family depart.

Gina Kassem, the regional refugee coordinator at the US Embassy in Amman, said that while the target of 10,000 applies to Syrian refugees living around the world, most will be resettled from Jordan.

"The 10,000 (figure) is a floor and not a ceiling, and it is possible to increase the number," Kassem told news hounds.

While the resettlement process usually takes 18 to 24 months, the surge operation will reduce the time to three months, Kassem said.

The UN Refugee Agency prioritizes the most vulnerable cases for resettlement, and refers them to the US to review, Kassem said. The priority is given to high-risk groups such as unaccompanied minors and victims of torture and gender-based violence, she said.

"We do not have exclusions or look for families with certain education background, language skills or other socio-economic factors, and we do not cut family sizes," she said.

Jordan hosts about 635,000 of the more than 4.7 million Syrians who have registered with the UN refugee agency after fleeing the war. The total number of Syrians in Jordan is more than 1.2 million, including those who arrived before the conflict began in 2011.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Congratulations for all Americans on the 'burg.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 3:08 Comments || Top||

#2  Same to you. ;-)
Posted by: gorb || 04/07/2016 3:17 Comments || Top||

#3  Well, the good thing.
The (35 hour!) lightly loaded flights back to Jordan will be cheaper, like $700.
Travel advisory: gun bags and boxes of ammo should be shipped separately.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/07/2016 15:16 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
The Pentagon plans to hunt enemy submarines using this drone warship
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Does it self repair? Things break at sea.
Posted by: Woodrow Ebbavitch5099 || 04/07/2016 2:34 Comments || Top||

#2 
Posted by: Pliny Glons2836 || 04/07/2016 9:47 Comments || Top||

#3  My first thought (after "I want one!") was why not a subDrone? Surface is faster, more manuverable and easier to repair. Well OOOK, so airDrone for faster and more efficient, but there are altitude control issues when components fail, again surface wins. Does/how does surfDrone defend itself? Well, it doesn't but it costs less than current platforms if it is lost. So embed it with a battlegroup, the most likely sub target, other than other subs being targeted by attack subs. But if you have a battlegroup, you already have armed airborne assets, so maybe this is best intended as a shoreDrone for perimeter patrols? Then I had to ask myself, "Why not a deployable passive sensor grid?" for 'special interest' perimeters with shore launched munitions?

So I guess I couldn't really come up with a set of use cases other than "I want one".
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/07/2016 11:48 Comments || Top||

#4  SORKS get refurbed S-3s we get drones.
Posted by: Shipman || 04/07/2016 14:15 Comments || Top||

#5  I'm guessing it will be a SURTASS platform and not a knife-fighter.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam || 04/07/2016 15:06 Comments || Top||

#6  SURTASS, and likely in some sort of hunter-pack mode.
Posted by: Pappy || 04/07/2016 17:03 Comments || Top||

#7  A CAPTOR mine with enhanced range and delusions of grandeur is the next step in this evolutionary chain.
Posted by: Nguard || 04/07/2016 17:51 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Jafari Threatens Saudi Arabia With the Houthis
The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari directed threats at Saudi Arabia yesterday in response to Riyadh’s declaration that the Lebanese Hezbollah which is backed by Iran is a terrorist organisation.

At the first Revolutionary Guards’ leaders meeting held during the current Iranian year that started recently, Jafari said that his forces “have prepared plans and projects to respond” to Saudi Arabia and are “waiting for commands” to implement them. He stressed that Tehran would defend Hezbollah with all its power in order to “strengthen its position in Lebanon and the region”.

At a time when the region anticipates an end to the war in Yemen, Jafari said that his country “will not leave the Yemeni people alone” and “that the sword of the Ansar Allah group (the Houthis) will be sharper”.

The commander of the Revolutionary Guards also defended the idea of “exporting” the Iranian revolution abroad and stressed the importance of “engineering” the revolution and expanding its domain in the international field.

Jafari tried to justify his country’s position and its military intervention in Syria, and pointed out that the participation of Iranian forces in the war in Syria came in response to “the British, American and Zionist strategy to divide Syria”.

At a domestic level, Jafari continued to attack the policies of the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his government, a day after Rouhani defended the nuclear deal and its achievements for Iran. In response to Rouhani’s comments, Jafari said that considering the nuclear agreement to be a “model” is a form of “humiliation” and that those who defend the continuation of these deals are “involuntarily taking the road to counter-revolution and want to humiliate our great people”. Rouhani has been widely attacked by the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for talking about internal agreements along the lines of the nuclear deal and the discussions that preceded it.
Posted by: badanov || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Gulshan-i-Iqbal blast Forensic report hints at Khorasani group’s involvement
[DAWN] LAHORE: The first analysis report of the Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....

Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) about the identity of the suspected jacket wallah indicates that Khorasani group, an offshoot of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), was behind the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park attack.

Khorasani group of the TTP (Jamatul Ahrar) was said to be most notorious since it had leanings towards the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(IS) murderous Moslem group.

The PFSA was engaged by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) after a damaged head of the suspected suicide bomber was found at the site of the blast which claimed more than 70 lives, besides injuring over 300 people, mostly children and women.

After the blast, the TTP (Jamatul Ahrar) had shared a photo of the alleged bomber, claiming responsibility of the attack.

The CTD had sent the photo to the PFSA for a detailed comparative analysis to reach a conclusion.

The analysis was done using forensic image analysis tools and software.

"After performing morphological analysis for forensic image comparison it was concluded that the "ear" seen in the questioned photo matches with the "ear" seen in the reference photo", the PFSA’s report disclosed. A copy of the report is available with Dawn.

As only an ear of the suspected bomber was left undamaged, the analysis remained restricted to that particular body part.

"The forensic image comparison was inconclusive for other facial features due to extremely damaged condition of facial features in the questioned photograph", the report states.

It says the analysis was conducted according to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the agency’s audio visual analysis department.

A senior police official who was privy to the investigation told Dawn the image analysis by the agency helped the detectives to trace the turbans network.

However,
nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits...
he said, the police would not rule out other options till the completion of the investigations.

He said after the PFSA analysis report, Khorasani group was being focused on by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed by Punjab government after the blast. The group had its network of controllers in many parts of the province, the police official added.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [3 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-ul-Ahrar


Europe
Migrant Shenanigans
Anti-Semitic incidents in Austria up 80%

The number of anti-Semitic incidents reported in Austria increased by more than 80 percent last year, according to the Austrian Forum Against Anti-Semitism.
Canary in the coal mine stuff. If it's happening to Jews, it's happening to the other natives as well.
The forum says 465 incidents were recorded during 2015, over 200 of them being Internet postings hostile to Jews.

The total number of Internet postings reported to Austria’s constitutional protection authority as offensive remained stable in 2015, but the number of postings liable to be used in criminal proceedings doubled compared to 2014, an Interior Ministry front man tells Rooters.

“The whole picture is terrifying," Oskar Deutsch, president of the Jewish Communities of Austria, tells the news agency.

There was a clear trend of increasingly hostile behavior by Muslims against the 15,000 Jews living in Austria, the Jewish community representative says.

"There is an increasing concern in our community that if the proportion of Muslims in Austria continues to rise due to immigration, due to the refugees, this could become problematic for us," Raimund Fastenbauer says.

Germany arrests Syrian on war crimes charges

German authorities Wednesday arrest a Syrian national on war crimes charges, on suspicion of commanding a rebel militia in Aleppo that committed atrocities and plundered artifacts for sale. Federal prosecutors say in a statement that the 41-year-old accused, identified only as Ibrahim Al F., were tossed into the calaboose in the western region of Westphalia on a German arrest warrant.

"The accused is strongly suspected of treating people entitled to protection under international humanitarian law cruelly and inhumanely in the autumn of 2012 during the Syrian civil war," prosecutors say.

Ibrahim Al F. is believed to have led a 150-man district militia in Aleppo belonging to the Islamist rebel group Ghuraba al-Sham, then part of the Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
, a loose coalition of opponents to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Lord of the Baath...
’s regime.

Prosecutors says the militia, however, mainly pursued "self-serving aims." These included repeated plunder after the withdrawal of government troops from parts of Aleppo, including the looting of valuable art that the accused later tried to sell.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Is it Hemingway again?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 8:47 Comments || Top||

#2  Yes.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/07/2016 10:05 Comments || Top||

#3  It was Hemingway...
Posted by: Pappy || 04/07/2016 11:06 Comments || Top||

#4  Idaho IP?
Was? By shotgun?
Posted by: Shipman || 04/07/2016 14:05 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Sept 11 case at Guantanamo hits yet another snag
This seems odd -- perhaps various parties are working at cross purposes?
[AlAhram] An effort to prosecute five men held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the Sept. 11 terrorist attack has hit another snag.

A two-week pretrial hearing scheduled to start Tuesday was abruptly canceled late last week by the military judge presiding over the case after he received a confidential notice from Justice Department lawyers.

The document is sealed, its contents not even disclosed to prosecutors or the defense. But there are indications the filing has raised issues that will result in further delays in a case that has been mired in the pretrial stage for years.

"I suspect we are back in this limbo stage and it will take some time to get out," said Jim Harrington, a lawyer for Ramzi Binalshibh, one of the five men facing a tribunal known as a military commission for his alleged role in the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacking plot.

From what little information can be gleaned from the judge's brief cancellation order, the new issue appears to be at least tangentially related to an FBI investigation of a possible security breach involving members of the Binalshibh defense team. The investigation was closed without criminal charges and the judge, Army Col. James Pohl, ultimately decided that it did not create a conflict of interest that required Harrington to step down.

Pohl had directed a special review team of Justice Department lawyers to look into the FBI investigation and any potential conflict. He also told them to notify him of any new investigations. That may have happened Friday, when the judge received the notice that prompted him to cancel the session.

"My best guess, and this is purely speculation, is that there is some new investigation that the special review team is advising the commission of," said James Connell, a lawyer for defendant Ammar al-Baluchi.

A Justice Department front man declined comment Tuesday.

The revelation of the FBI investigation in April 2014 stalled proceedings in the case for 18 months. Though the judge ruled there was no conflict, Harrington said he is still receiving court-ordered information into what he called a "gross violation of the attorney-client privilege" and there may be future revelations that the judge will have to address.

The five defendants, including self-proclaimed criminal mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, face charges that include terrorism and nearly 3,000 counts of murder. They could get the death penalty if convicted.

All five men were held in secret CIA prisons for interrogation before they were brought to Guantanamo in September 2006 for military prosecution. The case has been dogged ever since by legal and political issues as well as the logistics of trying a case at the isolated base in southeastern Cuba. They were arraigned for a second time in May 2012 and more than a dozen pretrial hearings have been held since.

The chief prosecutor, Army Brig. Gen. Mark Martins, is legally barred from any involvement with the work of the special review team and did not predict when the proceedings would resume in a statement on the cancellation of the hearing. He said prosecutors are still working seven days a week to compile classified evidence for the defense by a Sept. 30 deadline.

"We pledge to the families of the 9/11 fallen that the United States will not rest until justice is fully achieved," Martins said.

The next hearing is to start May 30 but the judge said in his order that "further adjusting the schedule" may be necessary.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  DOJ wants to keep this dick dance in limbo as long as possible.

I wonder why?
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 04/07/2016 23:52 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hezbollah building missile base in Syria, to strike at Israel
[IsraelTimes] Satellite images show villages razed in area; reports suggest fortified site may house armed Iranian missiles for use against Jewish state
Neatly labelled satellite images provided by Stratfor can be seen at the link.
The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah has reportedly been constructing a fortified base inside Syria that it may be using to store Iranian ballistic missiles with the range to hit Israel.

Satellite images of an area on the northern Lebanese-Syrian border show that Hezbollah has been consolidating positions it conquered from Syrian rebels in June 2013, global intelligence company Stratfor said Wednesday.

Photos show several facilities in the region around Qusair, including one large compound surrounded by an earthen berm. Villages up to four kilometers (2.5 miles) from the base have been razed to enable clear observation of the territory, and tunnels have reportedly been dug back under the border and into Leb.

Other sources said there are long-range missiles at the base including Iranian-manufactured Shabaab-1, Shabaab-2, and Fateh-110 ballistic missiles, although there was no satellite confirmation to back up the claim.

"While these missiles could prove crucial in the event of a large-scale Israeli ground offensive against Hezbollah in Leb, they are not beyond the reach of the Israeli Air Force," the report said. "Notably, imagery does not show significant underground facilities at the base capable of protecting this weaponry."

The missiles are estimated to have ranges from 200 to at least 1,000 kilometers (125-625 miles), putting all of Israel within striking distance.

Several Arclight airstrikes in Syria, attributed to the Israeli Air Force, reportedly targeted advanced weapons shipments to Hezbollah. Although Israel has never publicly admitted to carrying out the strikes, it has vowed to prevent Hezbollah from obtaining any game-changing weapons.

One source said the plan is to also store Katyusha rockets, mortars, and howitzers at Qusair as well as to station some of Hezbollah’s 60 T-72 battle tanks at the base. Additional intelligence reported four munitions factories in the complex.

Stratfor said the installation is part of a Hezbollah plan to keep a force of 3,000 fighters in Syria as well as provide a base of operations for its sponsor, Iran. An Iranian diplomatic source claimed officers from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps make frequent visits to the positions near Qusair, Starfor said.

Hezbollah conquered the area while fighting on behalf of the Syrian government against rebels in the country’s civil war.

Based on information from diplomatic sources and those described as "close to Hezbollah," Stratfor assessed that Hezbollah will strive to further increase its presence in Syria as a precaution against the possible ousting of 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...
’s regime by rebels.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  What they are waiting for?
Posted by: Tarzan Slailet2796 || 04/07/2016 2:32 Comments || Top||

#2  "Hezbollah building a target in Syria"
Posted by: Frank G || 04/07/2016 15:46 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Opposition critical of ‘one-member commission’ to probe Sharif family
[DAWN] Politicians belonging to opposition parties severely criticised Prime Minister 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...
's decision to form a judicial commission to clear his children of allegations that resurfaced after 'Panama Papers' revelations.

The Pakistain People's Party termed the premier's address to the nation last evening "most unfortunate," because he "blamed his woes on the policies of Zulfikar and 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...
to deflect the storm brewing as a result of the Panama Papers."

"Instead of answering questions raised in the leaked documents, the PM resorted to a blame-game against PPP leaders," Farhatullah Babar, the party’s spokesperson, said in a statement issued soon after the PM’s address.

Responding to the PM’s claims regarding the detention of the fat merchantman ’Jonathan’, Babar said, "He conveniently forgot that the fat merchantman was held up by customs authorities after it was found to be carrying a sugar plant instead of the intended steel scrap cargo."

The prime minister, Babar said, would do well to answer questions raised by the leaked documents, rather than playing a blame-game.

Talking to a private television channel, Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
leader Asad Umar claimed that the whole nation is disappointed over the "one-member judicial commission" formed to probe such a critical matter.

"He [PM Nawaz] said whoever has a complaint against him or his family shall go to the commission and prove it, which is a joke since it is the PM who needs to prove his innocence," said Umar.

PTI front man Naeemul Haq, in a statement, said the PM had not specified who would choose the judge to head the proposed judicial commission, or whether it will be empowered to examine Sharifs’ assets abroad as well.

Haq also contended that rather than anyone else having to prove their claims, it was the Sharifs who would have to account for their wealth before the commission.

Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
emir Sirajul Haq
...current head of the Pak Jamaat-e-Islami. Siraj was born in 1962 and entered politics shortly after that...
said if the premier sincerely desires a probe, he should immediately hand over the matter to the National Accountability Bureau so that the truth is out.

He said given nature of the allegations, inquiry into the matter is not the job of a retired judge. Rather a full-fledged investigation agency should do the task.

Or else, he suggested, the matter should be entrusted to the Chief Justice of Pakistain who should appoint a judicial commission comprising three senior most judges of the apex court for the purpose.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Arabia
Alroaini: No Ceasefire in Yemen Prior to Militias Withdrawal
Aden- Yemeni State Minister for the Implementation the Outcomes of the National Dialogue, Yaser Alroaini, said that Houthi armed militia must begin withdrawing from Yemeni governmental institutions, which are overrun by Houthi militants. Minister Alroaini requested that Houthis relinquish all weaponry prior to implementing ceasefire next Sunday.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Alroaini confirmed that negotiations are conducted in direct reference to the U.N. Security Council resolution, which should be met with comprehensive implementation.

Stressing on the dangers posed on the Yemeni community and neighboring countries, Alroani brought up the distressing necessity to unarm all militias, so that Yemen’s sovereignty remains intact.

Alroani stated that military field pressure is what forced militias to consider border ceasefire and participate in upcoming national talks. Arm’s cargoes are still being confiscated on their route to Houthis, which proves the militias’ corrupt intentions.

Alroani stressed that Houthis remain a constituent to the Yemeni community; however, only when they abandon arms.

When asked about the Yemeni legitimacy government delegation arriving to Kuwait for ceasefire preparations and about the entailed measures taken by the legitimacy government, Alroani confirmed that the legitimate administration had responded with notable positivity to the U.N. special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed proposal on ceasefire.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the pro-legitimacy delegation has accepted Ahmed’s suggestion on establishing an atmosphere which encourages conducting deliberations in Kuwait.

The Yemeni legitimate government has officially embarked on ceasefire set for April 10, based on the U.N. envoy’s request, which represents a preliminary cessation of hostilities.

However, on the other hand, endorsing declarations on future peace talks were not made by the insurgency, nor were trust-building actions provided, Alroani added.

Trust-building actions were a set of pointers agreed on at the second Geneva peace talks, which will guarantee the insurgency’s good intentions for establishing peace in the war-torn country.

Regardless, the pro-legitimacy administration is bent on guarding both peace and Yemeni citizens, in addition to its discretion that the course towards a solution is political, which is the adopted approach for resolving the Yemeni crisis according to the U.N. resolution 2216, Alroani said.

Concerning attending a political solution in Kuwait, it is regrettable that the insurgent militias have not issued any statements; it seems that they are still fixed on their insurgency. Despite all the aforesaid, ceasefire will be implemented on the date decided by the Yemeni President, and the governmental delegation will openly and unconditionally attend the talks, Alroani added.

The Yemeni government mission will attend negotiations despite that trust-building actions should have been provided by Houthi and pro-Saleh militants (supporters of ousted Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh ) prior to engaging in any negotiations.
Posted by: badanov || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
Baghdad Bomb and Bullet Bulletin: 2 die

1 dead in bomb attack near garage

(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A source in the Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced on Wednesday, that eight people had been either killed or wounded in a bomb blast in southern Baghdad.

The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “This morning, a bomb exploded near a garage in al-Wehda neighborhood in southern Baghdad, killing one person and wounding seven others.”

The source, who asked anonymity, added, “Ambulances rushed to the area and transferred the wounded to a nearby hospital for treatment and the dead body to the forensic medicine department, while the security forces cordoned off the area of the incident and barred approaching it.”

1 dead in al-Sibaa bombing

(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A source in the Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced on Wednesday, that seven people had been either killed or wounded in a bomb blast in central Baghdad.

The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “This morning, a bomb exploded in al-Sibaa area in central Baghdad, killing one person and wounding six others,” pointing out that, “Ambulances rushed to the area and transferred the wounded to a nearby hospital for treatment and the dead body to the forensic medicine department.”

The source, who asked anonymity, added, “A security force cordoned off the area of the incident and barred approaching it.”

3 wounded in bombing at al-Amin

(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A police source revealed on Wednesday, that three civilians had been wounded in a bomb blast in eastern Baghdad.

The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “This evening, an improvised explosive device exploded in al-Amin area, wounding three civilians in the area.”

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added, “A security force cordoned off the incident area and transferred the wounded to a nearby hospital.”
Posted by: badanov || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
US security chief compares anti-Muslim remarks to red scare
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The US domestic security chief on Wednesday compared current anti-Muslim sentiment to the anti-communist "Red Scare" of the 1940s and ’50s, suggesting that divisive
...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled...
statements by Republican presidential candidates are to blame.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who is black, noted that his grandfather was forced to testify in front of the House of Representatives in 1949.

"He had to, in the height of the Red Scare, to deny he was a member of the communist party, and went on to give an impassioned statement about how American negroes are patriotic," Johnson said at a conference in Washington about countering violent extremism.
"Just look at Paul Robeson!"
"Efforts and dialogue that have the effect of vilifying American Muslims are counter to our homeland security interest," he said, without specifically naming any political candidates.

Those who don’t know history "are bound to repeat it," Johnson added.

Republican presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and Ted Cruz have both been criticized for statements seen as hostile to Muslims.

Trump wants to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States, while Cruz has called for allowing law enforcement to "patrol and secure" Muslim neighborhoods.

The B.O. regime slammed those remarks, with Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
calling them "an embarrassment to our country."

The candidates’ views run counter to government efforts to build bridges with Muslim communities and prevent radicalization.

"The overwhelming, overwhelming majority of American Muslims ... are patriotic, dedicated people who love this country and want to help us in public safety, and secure our homeland because they know it’s their homeland too," Johnson said.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Those who don’t know history "are bound to repeat it," Johnson added.

Much like a favorite song, over and over again.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/07/2016 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  [Jeh Johnson] compared current anti-Muslim sentiment to the anti-communist "Red Scare" of the 1940s and ’50s

We know now from Russian sources that they were quite busy back then actively trying to subvert our government and our institutions like Hollywood and universities. The persistence of the 'Red Scare' meme is one example of their success.

So if Jeh wants to argue that the Muslim situation is like the Red Scare with a lot of people lying to you about whether a problem exists, then he is exactly right.
Posted by: SteveS || 04/07/2016 0:28 Comments || Top||

#3  "The overwhelming, overwhelming majority of American Muslims ... are patriotic, dedicated people who love this country and want to help us in public safety, and secure our homeland because they know it’s their homeland too,"

Wonder how long his nose is, nowadays.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/07/2016 3:39 Comments || Top||

#4  What a dildo.

Where do you find these turd burglars?
Posted by: newc || 04/07/2016 4:16 Comments || Top||

#5  Where do you find these turd burglars?

Go to any university campus or federal office building. Throw a rock. You will hit at least 3 of them at least as bad as him.
Posted by: Nguard || 04/07/2016 5:40 Comments || Top||

#6  Arrogant incompetent f*ck. Much like his boss. AA hire
Posted by: Frank G || 04/07/2016 7:29 Comments || Top||

#7  The overwhelming, overwhelming majority of American Muslims ... are patriotic, dedicated people who -- vote Democratic?
Posted by: Bobby || 04/07/2016 7:37 Comments || Top||

#8  We know now from Russian sources that they were quite busy back then actively trying to subvert our government and our institutions like Hollywood and universities. The persistence of the 'Red Scare' meme is one example of their success.

Along with another success by convincing the public that the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), aka Nazis, were not socialists but conservatives.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/07/2016 7:49 Comments || Top||

#9  From Wiki, Johnson's grandfather.

Charles Spurgeon Johnson (July 24, 1893 – October 27, 1956) was an American sociologist and college administrator, the first black president of historically black Fisk University, and a lifelong advocate for racial equality and the advancement of civil rights for African Americans and all ethnic minorities. He preferred to work collaboratively with liberal white groups in the South, quietly as a "sideline activist," to get practical results.

His position is often contrasted with that of W. E. B. Du Bois, who was a powerful and militant advocate for blacks and described Johnson as "too conservative." During Johnson's academic studies and leadership of Fisk University during the 1930s and 1940s, the South had legal racial segregation and Jim Crow discriminatory laws and practices, including having disfranchised most black voters in constitutions passed at the turn of the century. Johnson was unwavering in personal terms in his opposition to this oppressive system, yet worked hard to change race relations in terms of short-term practical gains.

His grandson Jeh Johnson served as the United States Secretary of Homeland Security beginning in 2013.


American history is full of Black American elites.
Posted by: jvalentour || 04/07/2016 8:23 Comments || Top||

#10  Go to any university campus or federal office building. Throw a rock. You will hit at least 3 of them at least as bad as him.

Do me a favor and throw it hard.
Posted by: regular joe || 04/07/2016 9:18 Comments || Top||

#11  Since Mr. Johnson is old enough to hold office I'm guessing he's old enough to legally change the spelling of his first name.
Posted by: Crusader || 04/07/2016 11:17 Comments || Top||

#12  The sad truth is that Joe McCarthy was bang on to the problem and the commies in the media manipulated the story and Joe did himself no favors either.

AND we are still up to our eyeballs with leftists in the State Department, moles in the CIA and self-professed socialists running the country.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 04/07/2016 11:52 Comments || Top||

#13  BC has the truth of it. The Red Menace was real. If anything, McCarthy (a Democrat) understated the threat.
Posted by: Iblis || 04/07/2016 14:46 Comments || Top||

#14  When the Wall came down, accounts should have been settled. However, you all were so tolerant of the traitors, that now they expect submission and give no tolerance.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/07/2016 16:47 Comments || Top||

#15  Guess he didn't read the Venona decrypts.
Posted by: charger || 04/07/2016 20:30 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
34[untagged]
10Islamic State
5Govt of Pakistan
3Hezbollah
3Houthis
2al-Nusra
2Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)
1Govt of Syria
1Jamaat-ul-Ahrar
1Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
1al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent
1Lashkar e-Taiba
1Ansarullah Bangla Team
1Arab Spring
1al-Qaeda

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
Comments Spam
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
RSS Links
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio
Sink Trap

Alzheimer's Association
Day by Day
Counterterrorism
Hair Through the Ages







On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2016-04-07
  Secular Bangladeshi writer murdered in the street
Wed 2016-04-06
  Tripoli authorities cede power to Libyan unity government
Tue 2016-04-05
  al-Nusra Top Dawg dies in Idlib airstrike
Mon 2016-04-04
  Strikes kill Qaeda spokesman, militants in Syria
Sun 2016-04-03
  Salah Abdeslam 'refused to blow himself up', says brother
Sat 2016-04-02
  Nigeria’s Boko Haram Releases New Video Denying Surrender
Fri 2016-04-01
  Kurd Arab alliance drives ISIS troops from oil rich area near Raqqa
Thu 2016-03-31
  Gitmo aumnus Mullah Zakir ends rifts with Mullah Akhtar Mansoor
Wed 2016-03-30
  Houthis claim Daesh emir titzup in Taiz, andhis little mufti, too!
Tue 2016-03-29
  Belgium charges three more people with 'terrorist activities'
Mon 2016-03-28
  Two Arrested in Mali over Ivory Coast Resort Attack
Sun 2016-03-27
  Belgium charges suspected Brussels airport bomber, two others
Sat 2016-03-26
  Islamic State second in command likely killed - U.S.
Fri 2016-03-25
  Brussels police nab terror suspect at tram stop; bomb squad dispatched
Thu 2016-03-24
  Paris attacks fugitive Laachraoui named as second Brussels airport bomber

Better than the average link...



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.
3.137.171.121
Paypal:
WoT Background (25)    Non-WoT (8)    Opinion (3)    (0)    Politix (3)