This is the Duchess of Cambridge's priceless reaction after being told of the obscenities being chanted at Prince William by female cheerleaders during the royal couple's tour of Bhutan.
"You're bald! You're a baldy! Your nose is really big! We hope your private parts are as big," chanted the cheerleaders as the heir to the British throne took part in an archery competition. Who do these people think they are? Republican presidential candidates or something?!
The cheerleaders had not just singled out the Prince though - rude songs are part of the archery tradition in the mountain kingdom. It is commonplace for the women to chant nasty things to try and put off archers from opposing teams. The chants were barely needed though, as William failed to hit the target.
Archery is the national sport in Bhutan.
The Duchess also tried the archery but was as successful as her husband. They also took part in a traditional dart-like game called Khuru, where the arrow is made of tree branches and bird feathers.
The royal couple are on a seven-day tour of India and Bhutan and arrived in the mountain kingdom on Thursday.
Posted by: Angoling Prince of the Sith1435 ||
04/18/2016 14:11
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#3
Cried Oliver Wendell, right haughtily,
"You've covered your skirt mighty bawdily
With my marine neighbors!
Come see me in chambers
And throttle a cuttlefish naughtily."
For your consideration.
Once-secret video footage shows the entire story behind the Donald Trump-Michelle Fields controversy.
A video obtained by BizPac Review reveals how former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields ignored warning by US Secret Service agents to move away from Trump’s "secure area" at a Florida press conference where she was later pulled away by Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
As reported, Secret Service agents can be seen telling Fields she was in a secure area where she was not supposed to be, in the beginning of the video footage.
Agents directed Fields to where the press was allowed to be. Fields is seen in the video going to the media area, but right when the Secret Service agent turned his back, Fields ran back to the secure area she was told not to enter.
#1
the country would be forced to sell $750 billion in Treasury securities
I suppose that's better than borrowing the $18-20 billion to make ends meet, mentioned a few weeks ago. Why they could probably pull $300-400 billion in cash from the sale. [Full disclosure: I am an engineer, not a financial wizard.]
And selling securities - paper - ain't the same as 'pulling assets'. Does The Daily Mail have an agenda, too?
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/18/2016 13:17
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Good luck finding a buyer, unless you're willing to take a small bath.
#3
Saudi Arabia is behind the lower gasoline prices in its attempt to put US frackers into bankruptcy. But now Iran, with our president's lifting of sanctions is going to flood the market with oil to hurt the Saudis.
You think the China melt down was bad, there is more to come.
Posted by: Ho Chi Crinens5363 ||
04/18/2016 14:01
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#4
Most likely would be better for the US in the long run if the Saudis fucked right off.
#9
Or better yet encourage the Heshimites to restate their claim as guardians of Mecca and Medina. I think without Uncle Sam providing assurances for the Saudi's they'd be rolled over and as long as it wasn't Christian soldiers charging into the Magic Kingdom the rest of Islam probably wouldn't mind so much. With oil wealth Jordan might be positioned to take on ISIS.
#13
The US government should just tell Intel, Cisco, and Microsoft to activate the backdoor kill switches on all of their hardware inside the sand kingdom. Turn their lights out, and their air conditioners off. I bet they'll come around to our way of thinking right quickly.
In the hours before they took the stage for their March 29 press conference, Democratic attorneys general received a secret briefing from two top environmentalists on pursuing climate change dissenters.
Peter Frumhoff of the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Climate Accountability Institute's Matt Pawa spent 45 minutes each providing talking points behind the scenes on "the imperative of taking action now" and "climate change litigation," according to a cache of emails released over the weekend by the free market Energy & Environmental Legal Institute.
For climate change groups, the New York press event was the culmination of four years of planning and advocacy in support of an explosive proposition: using the legal system to link fossil fuel firms and others challenging the catastrophic global warming consensus to fraud and even racketeering, the emails and other documents show.
The effort paid off. At the press conference, which included former Vice President Al Gore, a coalition of 16 Democratic attorneys general and one independent ‐ Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude E. Walker ‐ announced that they would use the power of state government to explore legal avenues to challenge climate change dissent.
Four of the attorneys general have reportedly launched investigations into Exxon Mobil Corp., and Mr. Walker has issued a subpoena for 10 years worth of climate change documents and communications from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free market think tank.
Mr. Walker also issued a subpoena last month to Exxon Mobil, citing the territory's laws against racketeering. The company filed a motion Wednesday to block the subpoena in Texas state court.
David Schnare, legal counsel for E&E, called on the coalition, operating under the name AGs United for Clean Power, to reveal its relationship with the climate change movement.
"We call on these AGs to immediately halt their investigation and lay out for the public the full extent of this collusion, producing all records or information provided them in briefings or other work with the outside activists, including those they are trying to keep secret through a Common Interest Agreement," Mr. Schnare said in a Friday statement.
He highlighted a March 30 email from Mr. Pawa telling two members of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's staff about a call from a Wall Street Journal reporter about his attendance at the press conference.
Mr. Pawa asked, "What should I say if she asks if I attended? No comment?"
Lemuel Srolovic, environmental protection bureau chief for the New York attorney general, advised Mr. Pawa to say nothing about his participation.
"My ask is if you speak to the reporter, to not confirm that you attended or otherwise discuss the event," Mr. Srolovic says in the email.
Mr. Pawa said in a Sunday email to The Washington Times that it is "inaccurate in attributing to me the idea that lawsuits should be used to achieve political outcomes."
"I have always been consistent in my position that lawsuits should be brought to remedy legal wrongs," Mr. Pawa said in an email. And denying climate change is a legal wrong, by Gadfrey...
The New York attorney general's office told Reuters that it routinely seeks input from outside organizations but pursues cases based only on the merits. Tar, feathers, rope, tree.
#1
Just another avenue to "tax" the rich oil companies. Apparently Exxon Mobil didn't contribute enough to the right PAC.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/18/2016 12:49
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Just the beginning I'm sure. Next is businesses with any sort of anti-Globull-Worming slant, then individuals who dare question the 'settled science'.
[Stars and Stripes] When Nathan Ross Chapman became the first military casualty to die by enemy fire during the war in Afghanistan, the only American flag available for his casket was a patch torn off the uniform of an airman loading his coffin for the long trip home. He was buried on Jan. 11, 2002, a week after his death, with full military honors in Tahoma National Cemetery, Washington.
It took another 13 years for the CIA to recognize on its Memorial Wall that Chapman, an Army Green Beret, was also one of its own -- the sergeant first class had been officially detailed to the agency in the weeks after the 9/11 attacks and died acting as a CIA paramilitary team's communications specialist.
#1
Rutherford-Brown also goes by the name Jackie Brown.
Was she 'Rutherford', 'Brown', or "Rutherford-Brown' at the time of the crime? Was she married prior to the murder, or afterwards? No mention of her husband being arrested as well.
Apparently it pays to do a background check prior to getting hitched.
Headline corrected.
[Venezuelanalysis.com] Human Right Watch's (HRW) latest report on Venezuela has shock value galore, but it needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
HRW has claimed its latest report documents "widespread allegations of abuse" of civilians at the hands of Venezuelan security forces. The alleged abuses centre around the government's highly controversial crackdown on organised crime, the somewhat awkwardly named "Operation to Liberate and Protect the People" (OLP).
Rather than cutting through the hype, when it comes to Venezuela, HRW has a long history of adding to the confusion. It's pretty much what they do. It's only an issue now because they're criticizing a socialist government.
One well known example of HRW's Venezuela blunderings was their landmark 2008 report, "A Decade Under ChĂĄvez: Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human Rights in Venezuela."
The document garnered massive media attention with bold claims such as allegations of widespread discrimination in the provision of government services. But behind the sweeping claims, the report was only able to dig up one case of possible discrimination. When HRW was questioned on this by a group of Latin America experts, they responded by arguing there are actually two more cases hidden in the report. It might seem odd that a human rights group would make broad claims based on what their own research showed were isolated incidents, but luckily the report's lead author has cleared up at least some of the confusion. The lead author, JosĂŠ Miguel Vivanco, has explained in an interview that the 2008 report was published "because we wanted to demonstrate to the world that Venezuela is not a model for anyone..." Yup, distorting their reports to score political points that the authors approve of. Classic HRW. And it's all OK because it's for the greater good.
There's nothing wrong with having a political opinion, but clearly HRW has a history of confusing human rights promotion with promotion of its own political views. If someone like Vivanco wants to express his opinions, then he should try writing an op-ed (like this one), rather than going through the trouble of dressing up opinions as well-researched facts. All too often, HRW gets its facts plain wrong. LOL.
Personally, my favourite example of this can be found in a February 2014 report titled, "Venezuela: Violence Against Protesters, Journalists". In the report, HRW painted a disturbing picture of largely peaceful anti-government protesters facing a wave of state repression. Yet the document included a photograph of anti-government protesters standing on what HRW described as a "tank in San Cristobal". The "tank" was covered in graffiti, and surrounded by garbage. Of course, the "tank" was actually a local war monument that had been vandalised by the demonstrators. Without knowing it, HRW had accidentally included evidence that perhaps those peaceful demonstrators weren't all that peaceful. Put simply, it can be pretty hard to take this stuff too seriously.
This is a shame, because the latest report contains some potentially useful information. Published jointly with the Venezuelan human rights group PROVEA, the report includes a series of interviews and original research that could add to the body of public knowledge about the impacts of the OLP.
Just because this information comes from an organisation with a revolving door with the US government, doesn't mean it's inaccurate. Venezuelanalysis.com is already preparing a deeper investigation into some of the claims made by the HRW report to hopefully to separate some of the wheat from the chaff.
Personally, I strongly disapprove with many aspects of how the OLP was carried out, and would like to see more broad, honest investigations into the initiative, including serious scrutiny of the human rights impact. Unfortunately, HRW's history of shonky research in Venezuela should disqualify it from this task. In Venezuela, the organisation is too far gone to be considered credible, and everything it publishes about this particular country needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Everything they say everywhere is not just taken with a grain of salt, it's politically biased from the beginning and the conclusions are shaped by the biases of the authors. Nothing new here but I thought it was entertaining for a butthurt socialist to complain about it for once.
Pity about Venezuela. We had such high hopes that Socialism would finally, at last work somewhere on God's gray earth. But like the man said, "We seen dis movie!"
#4
Are you sure you don't mean Red on Red? They are all commies & socialists, after all.
Th Blue on Blue thing comes from the 200 and (I think) the 2004 electoral maps which showed the left as blue and republicans as blue. It has been that way since 2000; whenever anyone mentions the left fighting the left, as blue on blue, as counter intuitive as it may be, I have used it.
#5
The Blue on Blue thing comes from the 2000 and (I think) the 2004 electoral maps which showed the left as blue and republicans as red. It has been that way since 2000; whenever anyone mentions the left fighting the left, as blue on blue, as counter intuitive as it may be, I have used it.
#8
The red state vs blue state paradigm is from the last Dan Rather presidential election coverage. CBS put the Republican states in red and Democrat wins in blue. All the other channels depicted the Republican state wins in green.
In military terms rather than this political shorthand, Red on Red is slang for U.S. foes killing themselves. Blue on Blue is for fratricide.
So, all Americans oppose Blue on Blue. Yet watching Bernie busting up on Hillary is great for everyone -- competition is good. Calling it Blue on Blue is natural, but it is really Socialist on Commie; so, pink on red.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A horrific report has emerged from Iran regarding the brutal murder of a 6-year-old Afghan girl who was initially raped by a teenage Iranian.
The brutal murder of the girl, Setayish Quraishi, has sparked anger both in Afghanistan and outside, with the local media reports in Iran saying the perpetrator was a 17-year-old Iranian national.
The reports further added that the incident took place in Khairabad area in Veramin city in the outskirts of Tehran, the scenic provincial capital of Iran.
According to the reports, the girl was initially kidnapped and was raped by the teenager Iranian who then murdered by stabbing her to death.
The girl was also burnt with acid in a bid to hide the brutal rape and murder incident, the reports said, adding that the perpetrator attempted to burn the victim after his friend denied to help him.
He was locked away Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! by police after reports regarding the brutal murder and rape of the girl spread in the society.
According to the semi-official Fars News Agency, a number of high level officials, including the Afghan ambassador to Iran have visited the family of the victim to offer condolences regarding the horrific incident.
The father of the victim has been reported to be a labourer who migrated to Iran nearly 16 years ago. He has demanded the authorities to serve justice and hang the perpetrator for the brutal murder of his daughter.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2016
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#1
Hang the son of a bitch? That's ALL? What kind of a father is that?
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
04/18/2016 6:46
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#2
One who knows the more likely result will be the condemnation of his daughter as an adulterer.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
04/18/2016 7:30
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#3
Yeah! hang him! Don't they know that you must wait until they are nine before you rape them 'consummate your marriage'?
LANDI KOTAL: An activist of a pro-government armed group and a would-be suicide attacker were killed in the Bazaar Zakhakhel area of Khyber tribal region late on Saturday night.
A spokesman for the group, Hakim Khan, told reporters that the target of the suicide attack was one of their leaders, Bilal Afridi. He said Mr Afridi was in the hujra (guest house) of Said Jamal in the Kharko Sarhgi area when a man reached there and insisted on going inside the mud compound. He was intercepted by a guard of Mr Afridi’s.
“The suicide jacket that the unidentified man wore exploded when the guard Umar Khan fired at the attacker, killing him on the spot. The guard also lost his life in the blast,” the spokesman said.
Local authorities sent a khasadar party to carry out an investigation into the incident.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Over 90 anti-government armed forces of Evil were killed and 48 others were maimed during the clearance operations of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) in the past 24 hours.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the operations were conducted in Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. , Ghazni, Maidan Wardak, Khost, Kandahar, Zabul, Badghis, Farah, Jawzjan, Faryab, Sar-e-Pul, Baghlan, Kunduz and Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... provinces.
A statement by MoD said the operations were conducted by the security forces who were receiving artillery and close-air support.
The statement further added at least 22 of the forces of Evil were killed in Sangin district of Helmand which included a group’s commander.
At least 38 forces of Evil were killed and 13 others were maimed during the operations in Dasht-e-Archi, Khanabad and in the outskirts of Kunduz city, MoD said, adding that 8 others were killed and 13 more were maimed in a seprate operatoin in Sayad district of Sar-e-Pul province.
The Afghan forces killed 11 forces of Evil and maimed 12 others during a separate operation conducted in Dand-e-Ghori and Dand-e-Shahbuddin of Baghlan, the statement added.
A clearance operation was conducted in Farah province in the west of the country where 6 forces of Evil were killed and 3 others were maimed, MoD said.
The statement by MoD also added that 8 forces of Evil were killed and 7 others were maimed during an operation in Andar and Deh Yak districts of Ghazni province.
According to MoD, at least 5 soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces also bit the dust during the operations.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2016
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Every once in a while we get the rest of the story.
[Ynet] Shatila Abu Iyadh, 22, who carried out a stabbing attack in Rosh HaAyin earlier this month was indicted for attempted murder at the Central District Court in Lod on Sunday.
According to the indictment, a dream inspired the Kafr Qasem resident to become more religious and kill Jews as part of her new religious obligations to Allah.
She set about purchasing the necessary materials to produce a bomb, which she learned to assemble from the internet, and intended to plant the explosives in two restaurants in Afek industrial park in Rosh HaAyin.
She also visited the restaurants a number of times prior, according to the indictment, and made contact with an individual in order to acquire an automatic weapon. However, nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits... having failed to purchase a gun or produce a bomb, Iyadh decided to carry out a stabbing attack in which she stabbed one woman in the hand before being overpowered and jugged Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!.
[Ynet] Police arrest Arab hurlers of Molotov cocktails at homes in Ma'ale ha-Zeitim neighborhood; residents of Ma'ale ha-Zeitim complain that similar incidents happen almost daily, but thank police for their efforts to undermine assailants.
Arab residents of East Jerusalem threw Molotov cocktails Saturday at police and Border Policeman in the East Jerusalem neighborhood Ras al-Amud, adjacent to the Jewish neighborhood of Ma'ale ha-Zeitim. The forces placed in durance vile Please don't kill me! one of the assailants. Residents of the Ma'ale ha-Zeitim neighborhood say such incidents occur almost daily.
A member of the Ma'ale ha-Zeitim Security Committee, Joshua Wander, said that Arabs practically hurl Molotov cocktails at Jewish homes and police forces nightly. He added that he heard kabooms last night: "I ran outside and I saw the fire and that they (the police) had arrested a number of young persons. It seems that the police had been waiting for them and we would like to thank the police for (its) work."
A video that has spread on Paleostinian social networks shows Molotov cocktails being thrown in addition to one of throwers being injured by a Molotov cocktail thrown by another Arab. According to a resident of Ma'ale ha-Zeitim, the documentation of these incidents by Paleostinians demonstrates that they are organized. He said. "Throwing Molotov cocktails lasts five seconds. They succeeded in capturing those moments on a camera, which means photographer is one of them."
Maor Tzemah from "Go, Jerusalem," an organization advocating for the full application of Israeli illusory sovereignty over Jerusalem, said, "Unfortunately throwing Molotov cocktails in Jerusalem has become a routine affair. I call on the minister of internal security to use his authority and order the end to this dangerous phenomenon."
[AnNahar] Mali's special forces have nabbed Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! the suspected "Number Two" of a group of Islamists accused of carrying out an attack last month on Ivory Coast's Grand Bassam resort, Malian security sources told AFP Sunday.
Malian national Alou Doumbia, 32, was arrested in the capital, Bamako, on Saturday night, the sources told AFP. He was wanted in connection with his role in a grenade and rifle assault on Grand Bassam's beachfront hotels that left 19 people dead.
"Special forces from Mali's intelligence services carried out the arrest of the Number Two of the organization behind the terrorist attacks against Ivory Coast during a 'special operation'," one of the sources told AFP under condition of anonymity.
Fifteen people have been detained in connection with what was Ivory Coast's first jihadist attack, later claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in retaliation for anti-terror operations in the Sahel region ... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas... led by La Belle France and its allies.
Doumbia drove the attackers from Mali to Ivory Coast, according to a second security source, and helped the group rig a 4x4 vehicle to hide an arsenal of weapons in the spare tyre well.
The brains of the operation, Kounta Dallah, is still on the lam, and is suspected of both organizing and taking part in the attack, as well as appointing Doumbia to his role.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/18/2016
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#1
"I will call him... Number Two"
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/18/2016 9:17
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#2
You arrest number two's, you whack number three's.
It's good to be a number two...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/18/2016 12:44
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Afghan-Air-Force-MD-530At least 6 murderous Moslems were killed and 3 others were maimed in an Arclight airstrike carried out by the Afghan Air Force in western Farah province of Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the Arclight airstrike was carried out in Posht-e-Rod district of Farah.
MoD further added that another operation is being conducted in Bala Murghab district in the west of the country.
The anti-government armed Death Eater groups have not commented regarding the reports so far.
Farah is among the relatively volatile provinces in western Afghanistan where anti-government armed Death Eater groups are actively operating in a number of its districts and often carry out insurgency activities.
The Afghan forces have stepped up counter-terrorism operations amid deteriorating security situation in the country.
The increase in operations comes amid rampant Taliban-led insurgency as the group announced its spring offensive last week.
The increasing raids against the Death Eater groups follow as the government’s efforts to encourage the krazed killer groups for peaceful settlement of the violence has not yielded any positive result so far.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2016
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(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – The commander of al-Jazeera Operations General Ali Ibrahim Daboun announced on Sunday, that the security forces killed four ISIS members west of Ramadi, while pointed out that the international coalition aviation destructed a booby-trapped vehicle west of Haditha.
Daboun said in a press statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “A force from the army’s 7th brigade managed to destroy a mortar detachment and killed four ISIS members in Juba area north of Baghdadi vicinity.”
Daboun added, “The international coalition aviation in cooperation with the army’s 7th brigade destroyed a booby-trapped vehicle belonging to ISIS in al-Khasfa area west of Haditha City.”
(IraqiNews.com) Anabr – The commander of Anbar Operations Major General Ismail al-Mahalawi revealed on Sunday, that the security forces found tunnels and weapons caches belonging to the so-called ISIS, and dismantled 45 IEDs and 11 booby-trapped houses in Ramadi.
Mahlawi said in a press statement received by IraqiNews.com, “A force from the army’s 16th brigade found tunnels and weapons caches belonging to ISIS in Abu Tiban area northwest of Ramadi,” pointing out that, “The force destructed the tunnels completely.”
Mahalawi added, “The caches contained rockets launchers, mortar shells, explosive devices and different weapons,” indicating that, “The security forces also cleansed 4 streets, as well as dismantling 45 improvised explosive devices and 11 booby-trapped houses in al-Aramel neighborhood in southern Ramadi.”
(IraqiNews.com) The commander of al-Jazeerah Operations, Maj. Gen. Ali Ibrahim Dbon, announced on Sunday seizing a booby-trapped armored vehicle carrying large amounts of explosive materials west of Ramadi.
Dbon said in a brief statement received by IraqiNews.com, “A force from the army’s Seventh Division, with support from the tribal fighters, had managed to seize a booby-trapped armored vehicle carrying large amounts of explosive materials near the vicinity of Kabisa South of Heet City (70 km west of Ramadi),” adding also that, “Another force from the Seventh Division was able to seize a Katyusha rocket with a rocket launcher and explosive devices near the vicinity of Kabisa south of Heet City.”
Posted by: badanov ||
04/18/2016
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[ARA News] QAMISHLI ــ Radical group of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Sunday launched an offensive on positions for the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq, using rockets filled with chlorine gas, according to local sources. At least one fighter from the Kurdish Peshmerga forces was killed and four more wounded in the attack.
Local activists confirmed that ISIS attacked the Peshmerga forces in the fighting front of Kweir in Makhmur district with chemical weapons, killing the Kurdish fighter Jaffar Omar Karim and wounding four others, who suffered suffocation.
Iraqi Kurdistan authorities said in a medical report that the corps of Karim and his face was exposed to burns, without the emergence of any traces of bullets in his body.
In the meantime, Kurdistan Regional Security Council (KRSC) has reported earlier that the ISIS hardline group has repeatedly used chemical weapons against the Peshmerga forces on several fighting fronts in the region.
In November 2015, the Peshmerga forces have repelled an attack by the radical group, during which ISIS was planning to use chlorine gas against the Kurdish troops in a military base near Erbil, according to the Peshmerga leadership.
In August 2015, Officials in Iraqi Kurdistan confirmed the use of mustard agent by ISIS extremists against the Peshmerga forces. The Peshmerga Ministry in the Kurdistan Region said in a statement at that time that blood tests have shown the use of the chemical agent by the terror group against the Kurdish forces. At least 35 Peshmerga soldiers have been exposed to the mustard agent, while some of the injured soldiers have been taken abroad for treatment.
The ministry urged all countries combating the ISIS extremist group to provide the Peshmerga forces with anti-chemical gear.
Posted by: badanov ||
04/18/2016
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#1
ISIS is not a signatory to the Geneva Conventions banning chemical warfare, right.
The Local De-Escalation Committees in the Governorate of Taiz have reached an agreement with the warring sides to reinforce ceasefire on all fronts in the city and its western districts, open the roads and lift the siege of the city.
The cessation of hostilities began at midnight on April 10 to pave the way for the next round of face-to-face talks on April 18 in Kuwait.
The committees said the ceasefire would come into effect at 3pm (local time) on Saturday.
Under the agreement, a source at the committees added, roads from the city's downtown leading to capital Sanaa and Al Hudaydah would be opened in the first phase and other roads will follow gradually.
''An understanding has been reached to reinforce the ceasefire on the ground,'' a source at the committees said, adding that monitors will be deployed to supervise implementation of the ceasefire.
The source said that each of the warring sides will bring lists of prisoners for a potential swap.
On Friday, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, told the 15-member Security Council that Yemen is now at a critical crossroads with one path leading to peace while the other can only worsen the security and humanitarian situation.
He expressed his hope the parties will come to an agreement on a clear way to end the violence and devastation in Yemen.
The talks between the internationally-recognized government and Houthi militias will commence on April 18 and aim to reach a comprehensive agreement, to end the conflict and allow the resumption of inclusive political dialogue in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 2216 (2015) and other relevant resolutions.
(IraqiNews.com) Diyali – A local source in Diyali province said on Sunday, that four civilians had been injured in a mortar shell fall that took place in a field northeast of Baqubah.
The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “Four civilians had been injured as a result of the fall of seven mortar shells on the village of Abu Karma (25 km northeast of Baqubah),” noting that, “[The attack] was launched from a field filled with armed cells linked with ISIS.”
The source, who requested anonymity, added, “The injured were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.”
(IraqiNews.com) Diyala – On Sunday, a local source in Diyala Province revealed, that a member in al-Hashd al-Asha’ri was killed by a sniper fire northeast of Baqubah.
The source said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “A member in al-Hashd al-Asha’ri was killed by a sniper fire in a checkpoint inside the gardens of al-A’li area.”
The source, who requested anonymity, added, “The sniper fire came from the gardens of al-Zour area.”
Posted by: badanov ||
04/18/2016
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The former provincial governor for western Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... province and jihadi leader Mohammad Ismail Khan has urged the people not to use the photographs of the late President Dr. Najibullah in their cars.
Dr. Najibullah is widely regarded as a patriot late leader who was murdered by the Talibs following the fall of Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... city in 1996.
In his address during a gathering in Herat province, Khan said the people of Herat should not allow the photographs of Dr. Najibullah to be displayed in the cars, calling him ’Killer of the Nation’.
He also criticized the government of national unity leaders for maintaining peace and stability in the country, insisting that they have failed to do so.
The former governor said he will not wait for the decision of the unity government leaders if the security deteriorates in Herat and warned that an armed campaign will be launched to fight the Lion of Islams.
Khan was previously serving as the Minister of Energy and Water has long been criticizing the government of national unity for failing to bring peace and stability in the country.
Earlier, he urged the government to get assistance of former Mujahideen leaders in fight against terrorism while criticizing the government for sidelining the jihadi leaders.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2016
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BEIRUT: Twenty-two civilians were killed in an exchange of fire in Syria’s second city Aleppo, a monitor said Sunday, in one of the highest single tolls since a fragile truce came into force.
Nearly all warring parties in Syria — the regime, rebels, radicals, and Kurds — have carved out zones of control in war-torn Aleppo province.
Since Feb. 27, a truce has seen violence drop across parts of Syria, including the provincial capital of Aleppo city.
But renewed violence in the northern city during the past 24 hours has seriously strained the truce, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday.
At least six civilians were killed and eight wounded in regime airstrikes on rebel-held eastern parts of the city on Saturday.
And a barrage of rockets and sniper fire by opposition groups onto government-controlled western districts killed 16 civilians, including 10 children and two women.
“There’s a clear escalation. This was the bloodiest incident in Aleppo and its province” since the cease-fire took effect, said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
“This escalation directly threatens the truce.”
Brokered by Russia and the United States, the agreement to cease hostilities excludes the fight against the Daesh group or Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria.
The truce had largely held across parts of Syria since late February, despite frequent accusations of breaches on both sides.
But violence around Aleppo has sparked concerns the cease-fire may peter out, partly because rebels are involved in the battles too.
Daesh terrorists have seized fresh territory from rebel groups in recent days, threatening the key opposition bastion town of Azaz, just 8 km south of the Turkish border.
The onslaught has forced 30,000 Syrians to flee, and tens of thousands more are at risk of displacement.
Since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, half of the country’s population has been displaced — including five million who have fled to neighboring states.
Three police officers were killed while eight security officials were wounded in three separate attacks by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on April 16 and 17 amid ongoing security operations in a number of Turkey’s southeastern provinces.
PKK militants launched a rocket attack against an armored police vehicle passing through Vatan Street in central Şırnak and injured three police officers. All three were transferred to the nearby Şırnak State Hospital, where police officer Hüseyin Danacı, 28, succumbed to his wounds. The other officers are reportedly in good condition.
A funeral ceremony was held for Danacı at the 23rd Gendarmerie Border Division Command on April 17. His body was later sent to his hometown of Kayseri in Central Anatolia.
In a separate attack, special operations police Sinan Kunduracı was killed in Hakkari’s Yüksekova district at 3 p.m. on April 17, while a soldier was wounded. According to reports, two other soldiers were wounded as clashes erupted in northeastern Kars province.
Later in the day, one police officer was killed while three others were wounded as militants detonated an improvised explosive device during the passage of policemen in Nusaybin’s Abdulkadir Paşa neighborhood in southeastern Mardin province. The wounded policemen are being treated at Nusaybin State Hospital, according to reports.
Meanwhile, 15 PKK militants were killed by security operations in different operations across southeastern provinces of Şırnak, Mardin and Hakkari on April 16, according to a statement by Turkish Chief of Staff.
In the statement released on its official website, the army said some seven militants were killed in Nusaybin, six were killed in Şırnak’s center and Aslanbaşer district, while two others were killed in Hakkari’s Yüksekova. A total of 633 militants were killed so far in all three provinces combined, the army added.
Fresh curfews are still being declared in the region, as Diyarbakır’s Silvan is has been put under repetitive curfews since April 14.
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[Guardian] A former senior director at a British firm says that it employed mercenaries from Sierra Leone to work in Iraq because they were cheaper than Europeans and did not check if they were former child soldiers.
James Ellery, who was a director of Aegis Defense Services between 2005 and 2015, said that contractors had a "duty" to recruit from countries such as Sierra Leone, "where there's high unemployment and a decent workforce", in order to reduce costs for the US presence in Iraq.
"You probably would have a better force if you recruited entirely from the Midlands of England," Ellery, a former brigadier in the British army, told the Guardian. "But it can't be afforded. So you go from the Midlands of England to Nepalese etc etc, Asians, and then at some point you say I'm afraid all we can afford now is Africans." He said the company had not asked recruits if they were former child soldiers. Don't take it so hard Brigadier Ellery, the push for 'local nationals' and cost savings has beset our diplomatic establishment as well, and with some genuinely horrific outcomes. Perhaps were talking about the same firm? Does Benghazi and Blue Mountain Security ring a bell ?
Aegis Defence Services, which is chaired by Sir Nicholas Soames, a Tory MP and Winston Churchill’s grandson, had a series of contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to provide guards to protect US military bases in Iraq from 2004 onwards. From 2011 the company broadened its recruitment to take in African countries, having previously employed people from the UK, the US and Nepal.
Contract documents say that the soldiers from Sierra Leone were paid $16 (£11) a day. A documentary, The Child Soldier's New Job, to be broadcast on Monday in Denmark alleges that the estimated 2,500 Sierra Leonean personnel who were recruited by Aegis and other private security companies to work in Iraq included former child soldiers.
Things in Venezuela keep finding ways to get worse. Because of acute shortages, people can't find basics like toilet paper. Now, it will be harder to make overseas calls or watch pay TV.
The global drop in oil prices has made dollars much more scarce in Venezuela -- which is dependent almost totally on petroleum for hard currency. Local telecoms companies don't have greenbacks to pay international suppliers. President Nicolas Maduro's leftist government controls the currency market, and distributes dollars to private companies as it sees fit.
The government owes local companies around 700 million dollars, which these firms need to honor obligations with foreign providers, according to the Chamber of Telecommunications Services Companies.
As a result, for instance, the Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica will temporarily suspend this week long distance phone service for calls to countries such as the United States, Spain, Mexico, Italia, Brazil, Colombia and Panama. Mobile phone company Digitel, which is privately owned, has halted long distance calling services and international roaming since April 9 because it cannot reach agreement with providers on new payment timetables.
But it is not just telephone service that is affected. State-run television company Cantv, which provides cable service, says it is reviewing contracts with providers of local and international content. That means there is less to watch on TV in Venezuelan living rooms.
The state regulator, the National Telecommunications Commission, admits there is a problem and blames the lack of dollars.
The government says Venezuela's oil revenue went from 37.2 billion dollars in 2014 to 12.6 billion dollars last year. And the country is saddled with commercial debts of 12.5 billion dollars.
Companies are desperate to raise rates. Industry sources say that Telefonica's mobile branch Movistar was given permission in 2014 to raise its rates by 35 percent, while inflation was running at 68 percent; in 2015 it won a 35 percent rise, with inflation at 181 percent. Still, regulators denied local operators permission to rate their rates in February and March.
The operators say they need a rate hike badly because foreign providers' costs are rising in the wake of a 37 percent devaluation of the Bolivar in February and because of rampant inflation.
All the debt and the delays in gaining rate hikes also mean the sector cannot make the investments it needs -- an estimated billion dollars a year. So coverage and service quality are suffering.
With prices so low, Venezuelans are tripping over each other to sign up for cell phone and mobile Internet packages. But the industry cannot keep up because of the lack of investment, the chamber of commerce said. So networks will become saturated and service will decline, the chamber said in a recent report.
Venezuela is one of Latin America's biggest consumers of mobile data. The country has 65 percent penetration in cable and satellite TV, and 99 percent cell phone penetration, regulators say.
All this comes on top of the day to day problems Venezuelans face just trying to buy basic necessities like food and medicine. This also stems from the shortage of dollars. The economy contracted 5.7 percent in 2015.
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – Media officials with the Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday the killing of 17 ISIS members, including a financial official, during an aerial bombardment in the city of Mosul.
The officials said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The F-16 warplanes conducted three air strikes, based on information by the National Intelligence Agency, targeting three headquarters belonging to the ISIS in the district of Tal-Kaif in the city of Mosul,” pointing out that, “The bombardment resulted in the destruction of the three headquarters as well as the death of seventeen terrorists.”
The statement added, “The terrorist Ahmed Qasim al-Farahat, the financial official in Tal-Kaif, was among the dead,” indicating that, “[He] was recently transferred from the district of Tal-Afar to Tal-Kaif.”
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – A local source in Nineveh Province announced on Sunday, that a biological expert in the so-called ISIS was killed in an air strike carried out by the international coalition aviation on a pharmaceutical laboratory north of the province.
The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “Yesterday the coalition aviation bombed Nineveh pharmaceutical laboratory north of the province, destructing the laboratory completely,” pointing out that, “ISIS was using the laboratory to develop its weapons.”
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added, “The bombardment resulted in the killing of a biological weapons expert and other ISIS members.”
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – Media officials with the Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday the killing of the so-called ISIS Wali of al-Hamadaniyah District in an aerial bombing by the international coalition aviation east of the city of Mosul.
The officials said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The international coalition aviation, in coordination with Nineveh Operations Command, carried out an aerial strike that targeted a gathering for ISIS elements in the village of Omar-Kan in Nineveh Plain in the district of al-Hamadaniyah east of Mosul,” adding that, “The aerial bombardment resulted in killing a group of terrorists including the terrorist known as Barzan Hossam, the new Wali of al-Hamadaniyah District.”
[ARA News] DUHOK – Militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) executed a journalist and a member of the Nineveh police forces in Mosul city in the Iraqi northwestern province of Nineveh, local sources reported Sunday.
Speaking to ARA News in Mosul, rights activist Khalid Musilli said: “Subsequent to several months of detention, ISIS militants executed Saturday the Iraqi journalist Ayham Khazaal, who was working as a broadcaster in the local television of Sama al-Mosul.”
“Daesh has also brutally executed Nashwan Khazaal, the journalist’s brother, who was serving as a member of the Nineveh police forces in the region,” Musili said, using an acronym for ISIS.
Both brothers were accused of spying for the US-led coalition and Iraqi security forces, according to the same source.
“The victims were shot dead in front of a crowd of people in western Mosul,” an eyewitness told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The source confirmed that both victims were arrested together in the northern city of Mosul several months ago and tragically killed in public in front of dozens of people.
The execution was carried out at Qasim al-Khayat Square west of the city, and some residents handed over corpses of the two brothers to the forensic medicine.
“A member of the ISIS-led Sharia Court, who recited the death sentence in public, threatened to hunt what he called ‘all spies’ of the US-led coalition in the region, including journalists and aid volunteers,” he reported.
Journalists and media activists are main targets for ISIS jihadis, who view reporters as spies for the western powers, leaking security information about the militants’ positions in the region.
In July 2015, the extremist group executed more than 25 Iraqi journalists in Nineveh province. In August 2015, ISIS militants executed the journalist Sabah Muhammad and photographer Walid Abdullah, who worked for al-Musiliyah channel in Mosul, on charges of violating the group’s regulations.
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[AnNahar] The U.S. Supreme Court weighs a major immigration case Monday that could impact the fate of millions of people facing possible deportation and further raise the stakes in the 2016 White House race.
The eight justices are due to determine the legality of an ambitious bid by President Barack Obama I bowled a 129. It’s like — it was like Special Olympics, or something... to shield from deportation nearly five million undocumented immigrants colonists.
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#1
"No one individual state should be allowed to disrupt federal immigration policy."
Left unstated - "Only a few select individuals are so empowered."
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/18/2016 7:36
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This has nothing to do with immigration and everything to do with a president refusing to perform one on his primary responsibilities: defend our borders.
#4
If SCOTUS doesn't recognize the legal standing of states when their schools, hospitals and social services are being overwhelmed by illegal aliens then we really do live in a dictatorship.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/18/2016 10:36
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I suspect they Court will find the States do not have jurisdiction to address immigration. The question will be do they then have no standing to contest Federal immigration law enforcement - or lack thereof. In fact does anyone have standing to contest it? The best outcome the states are likely to get is a 4-4 split, returning the status to that of the various lower courts.
#6
It's not even an immigration fight. It's all about selective enforcement of law. The law as applied to illegal aliens. People who entered the U.S. illegally, whether for good intent or evil.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/18/2016 12:57
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Well the oligarchy in DC benefits from illegals, so I expect the SC to at best be deadlocked in this and at worst confirming their power over the states and the people by telling them to shut up and color or lose federal funds and possible jail time.
We really could make this a daily feature at the Burg...
If someone else wants to take it on. Otherwise I'll continue checking these two sites every several days.
More than 400 migrants drown in the Mediterranean after four overcrowded boats capsized whilst crossing from Egypt to Italy
18/04/16 Dozens of African have reportedly drowned after a boat carrying 400 people capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. Most of the 400 migrants aboard the boat were fleeing from Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea and had been hoping to reach Italy.
Libyan authorities round up 200 migrants just about to make perilous Mediterranean crossing after raid on Tripoli safehouse
18/04/16 Libyan authorities have arrested 203 migrants and in an alleged people smuggler after busting a illegally migrant safehouse in Tripoli just hours before the group were set to travel to Europe.
There's no place like Rome! 12 migrants arrive in Italian capital to start new life after Pope Francis plucked them from Lesbos camp
17/04/16 Twelve refugees have arrived in the Vatican (shown) after Pope Francis rescued them from a camp in Lesbos following a visit to the Greek island to highlight the humanitarian crisis.
Migrants who battled Paris vigilantes with iron bars, planks and bottles 'were on their way to UK'
17/04/16 An officer investigating the mass brawl by the Stalingrad Metro station, caught on CCTV (pictured) said that four migrants were taken to hospital and many were on their way to the UK.
People smugglers use ancient donkey trails to establish new migrant route through the Alps after Austria tightens border controls and Switzerland deploys army
16/04/16 Located deep within the woods above the Brenner Pass connecting Italy and Austria, every night about 50 migrants pay smugglers 200 euros each to be led through the trails.
17/04/2016 – BORLANGE, Sweden – Migrant raped woman at knifepoint
An 18 year old Nigerian migrant stands accused of raping a woman at knife-point. The Swedish court heard that when the woman was at his apartment, he drew a knife and told her if she didn’t have sex with him, he would rape her, which he did.
He is also facing charges for having stabbed another woman, and for sending death-threats. He will be deported if convicted, reports FriaTider.
17/04/2016 – LEKSAND, Sweden – Migrant to be deported for rape
A Syrian migrant has been sentenced to two years in prison, and will be deported after serving his time for the rape of a woman at a migrant centre. The 34 year old man forced his way into his victim’s room at the specialist reception centre for deaf and hard of hearing migrants in January, then breaking down the door to her toilet, where she was hiding.
The court heard the man only stopped the violent rape of the woman once he saw his own wife walk past the bedroom window. He was convicted on the strength of his victim’s testimony and DNA evidence, reports FriaTider.
17/04/2016 – CALAIS, France – Migrants Have “No Intention” of Assimilating
An Arabic-speaking aid worker has warned Europe to “get tough”, saying migrants have no intention of assimilating into Western society.
He told the Express that he has often overheard the migrants saying things in Arabic they wouldn’t say in English as they mistake him for a Muslim – and that they often refer to his fellow charity-workers as “filthy Christian kuffars [non-believers]”.
“The difference is I know these people, I hear them. I’m sorry, I have to say it, I hear what they say when they speak to their own people – not what they say in English,” he said.
“I am not saying don’t take them, I am saying your country needs to be strong, get tough.
“What happens is you let them build mosques and you let them practice their religion and then what? They don’t want to live by your rules. You don’t know what is going on in mosques.
“You have to make it happen or it won’t be your country anymore. They have no intention of living under Christian law. … Help? Yes, but be smart.”
16/04/2016 – FREIBERG, Germany – Migrant Threatens to Behead Saleswoman
A 23-year-old Algerian asylum seeker threatened to behead a saleswoman with a machete and afterwards attacked a kebab shop. The migrant is said to have terrorized the town and committed multiple offences including shoplifting, drug possession and resisting and insulting police officers.
He also is said to have driven a car while on drugs, without a license and with fake license plates, reports news.de
16/04/2016 – BRENNER, Austria – Open Borders Activists Plan New Border Protest
Plans are under way for a new protest at the Austrian-Italian border by left win activists who want to see migrants let through. The original protest in early April saw several police officers injured by open borders activists. Left-wing party Left Ecology Freedom visited the area to prepare but have not announced a date for the protest, reports TheLocal.
16/04/2016 – COLOGNE, Germany – NYE Sex Attacks: Migrant Thief Sentenced
The first criminals charged in the wake of the NYE sex attacks in Cologne have been sentenced. An Algerian migrant was sentenced to one year in prison for stealing the wallet of a woman on the night.
The 21-year-old came from Algeria to Germany in November of 2015 as an asylum seeker, reports Zeit.
15/04/2016 – LEIBNITZ, Austria – Girls molested in ‘broad daylight’
Two 18 year old girls were forced to run and hide from a 42 year old Slovenian man after he attempted to molest them in the street. The man passed the girls a number of times in his car, and then got out, verbally abusing them, prompting them to flee and call the police. During interrogation the man confessed to harassing the girls, and to other crimes stretching back two years, reports Kronen Zeitung.
[ARA News] ERBIL – The Turkish army on Saturday bombed Kurdish positions in Syria without causing any casualties, Kurdish officials confirmed.
“At about 4 pm today, Turkish army shelled about 6 rockets at Dikmatash village in Afrin and fired at a YPJ [Female Protection Units] headquarters but no casualties confirmed yet,” Idris Nassan, a
Kurdish analyst and former official in the Kobane administration, told ARA News.
The news was also confirmed by Kurdish activists. “There are no injuries, although the Turkish army fired more than 6 mortar shells near the village,” Kurdish activist Nidal Hassan told ARA News.
This is not the first time Turkish troops target Kurdish positions in Syria.
Last Thursday, Kurdish activists and fighters accused the Turkish troops of targeting positions for the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in the eastern neighborhoods of Tel Abyad city in Raqqa province.
Turkey has also been supporting Syrian rebel groups with artillery against the Islamic State (ISIS) and the Kurds.
Moreover, hundreds of civilians recently fled Aleppo to Afrin after fighting intensified between ISIS and Syrian rebel groups.
[Jpost] "The Islamic State is still a force in the region, but, this drop in revenue is a significant figure and will increase the challenge for the group to run its territory in the long term," expert says.
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.... ’s monthly revenue has dropped almost 30 percent in the past year and the terrorist organization has resorted to imposing fines to make up the funds, new analysis released Sunday by IHS revealed.
In mid-2015, Islamic State’s overall monthly revenue was around $80 million, but it had declined to $56 million as of March 2016 as oil production fell to 21,000 barrels per day from 33,000.
"The Islamic State is still a force in the region, but, this drop in revenue is a significant figure and will increase the challenge for the group to run its territory in the long term," said Ludovico Carlino, a senior analyst at IHS. " According to the report, the decline is highly likely to reflect the intensification of the US-led coalition’s military and, to a lesser extent, Russian efforts to degrade Islamic State’s capability to produce oil.
About half of the group’s income is from taxation and confiscation and around 43% from oil revenue with drug smuggling, electricity sales and donations making up the rest.
In addition, the population that Islamic State controls is dropping, further affecting revenue.
"The Islamic State has lost about 22% of its territory in the past 15 months," said Columb Strack, also a senior analyst at IHS. "Its population has declined from around nine million to around six million. There are fewer people and business activities to tax. The same applies to properties and land to confiscate."
The report was issued by the team responsible for the IHS Conflict Monitor, which tracks events in Iraq and Syria from social media and other open sources.
To make up the shortfall, Carlino said IHS research determined that Islamic State is increasing taxes on basic services and coming up with new ways to get money from the population.
"These taxes include tolls for truck drivers, fees for anyone installing new or repairing broken satellite dishes and ’exit fees’ for anyone trying to leave a city."
Carlino also pointed out that fines are being imposed for driving on the wrong side of the road or not answering questions about the Koran correctly.
Furthermore, according to the report, Islamic State began accepting payment for violations instead of the corporal punishments proscribed under Shari’a law.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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#1
"we now accept EBT cards"
Snark of the day.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/18/2016 9:58
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#2
It's amazing how many battles are won by the power of the purse.
Four Yemeni soldiers were killed in a Sunday suicide attack on a checkpoint near the international airport in second city Aden, a security official said.
"A suicide bomber driving a bomb-laden vehicle blew himself up on Sunday upon arrival at a checkpoint near Aden airport," the official told AFP.
"Four soldiers were killed and two others were wounded," he added, without blaming any group for the attack.
On Friday, a car bomb exploded in the port city near a building housing the foreign ministry, without causing casualties, security sources said.
ISIL terrorist group claimed responsibility for that attack and also for a suicide bombing Tuesday in Aden targeting army recruits that killed five.
#1
Mr. Cafferata's commanding officers later "counted approximately one hundred Chinese dead around the ditch where he had fought that night but had decided not to put the figure into their report because they thought that no one would believe it."
[AnNahar] Nigeria's security services have hailed the arrest of the leader of the Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... splinter group Ansaru, Khalid al-Barnawi, saying it will lead to them to other senior Islamist commanders.
"The arrest of Barnawi is a huge success and will have a profound effect on counter-terrorism operations in Nigeria and beyond," one security source told AFP.
"He is a known transnational terrorist and the backbone of all Al-Qaeda affiliate groups in West Africa."
Barnawi, designated a global terrorist by the United States since 2012, was detained on April 1 with three others in the Kogi state capital, Lokoja, and found with four Thuraya satellite phones.
The phones "provided several leads" to "high-profile Boko Haram and Ansaru elements" in the capital, Abuja, Lokoja and the central city of Jos, said another source.
"This has been our biggest breakthrough against terrorism in Nigeria ever," said a third.
"We still have other high-ranking holy warriors on our radar based on the information gathered from the phones of Barnawi and his three comrades. We will rope them in at the right time," he added.
Barnawi is certainly a major prize for Nigerian intelligence, the Department of State Services (DSS), which called him "a trained terrorist commander" who also recruited for Al-Qaeda affiliates.
He is accused of criminal masterminding a string of kidnappings of Westerners between 2011 and 2013.
"This arrest is a major milestone in the counter-terrorism fight," the DSS said in a statement on April 9, with an accompanying mugshot of Barnawi.
But while security analysts agree he is the most high-profile capture since the start of the Islamist insurgency in 2009, it remains unclear what effect it will have on operations on the ground.
Boko Haram has been pegged back by an aggressive fightback from the Nigerian military since January last year, losing territory and its capacity to mount conventional attacks.
President Muhammadu Buhari has gone so far as to say the snuffies were "technically" defeated, even if suicide and kabooms have continued in northeast Nigeria ... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border... , Cameroon ...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there... and Niger.
Yan St-Pierre, from the Modern Security Consulting group, however, said Barnawi, who trained in Sudan, Afghanistan and with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Algeria, was "influential".
But he was "only one" part of a disparate organization.
His arrest "should not change much in terms of Ansaru's terrorist activities", St-Pierre said, as the group has not carried out many operations since 2013.
"Where things could change however is in the recent openings some Boko Haram-affiliated groups have made to AQIM in the last few months, and Khalid al-Barnawi was a huge part of that," he said.
"His arrest will affect the dynamic of the discussions between AQIM and those he represented" at a time when the Nigerian snuffies were reaching out to jihadists further afield.
Ansaru, which is more ideologically aligned to Al-Qaeda, is believed to have been formed as a result of disapproval at Boko Haram's indiscriminate targeting of civilians.
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Iranian Major General Qassem Suleimani has flouted an international travel ban and flown to Moscow for talks with Russia's military and political leadership on Syria and deliveries of Russian missiles, sources said on Friday.
Suleimani met Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Friday, one source said. A Kremlin spokesman said a meeting with Suleimani was not on Putin's schedule.
Asked about Suleimani's visit, the Iranian embassy in Moscow said it had no information about it.
The main purpose of his visit was to discuss new delivery routes for shipments of Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, sources said. Several sources also said Suleimani wanted to talk about how Russia and Iran could help the Syrian government take back full control of the city of Aleppo.
Suleimani's visit is likely to be seen as a sign that the tactical alliance of Russia and Iran over Syria remains strong despite some reported differences over battlefield strategy.
A senior regional source told Reuters last year that Russia's military intervention in Syria was set out in an agreement between Moscow and Tehran that said Russian air strikes would support ground operations by Iranian, Syrian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces. Iran has committed troops to help prop up the Syrian army, sometimes sustaining heavy losses, and Suleimani has been reported to be spending time in Syria, where he is thought to have helped coordinate operations.
Suleimani, the commander of foreign operations for Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, flew to Moscow in July last year to help Russia plan its military intervention in Syria and forge an Iranian-Russian alliance to support Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. He helped reactivate the stalled S-300 deal, which Russia had put on ice in 2010 under pressure from the West.
He remains subject to an international travel ban by the U.N. Security Council. The U.N. ban remains in place despite implementation of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that triggered sanctions relief for Tehran.
U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Secretary of State John Kerry raised concerns about reports of Suleimani going to Russia in a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday, but added that Washington was not in a position to confirm the visit.
Kirby said U.N. sanctions on remained in effect, "so such travel, if true, would be a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and we believe, then, a serious matter of concern to both the U.N. and the United States.”
A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the United States would continue to insist that Russia and other countries comply with U.N. obligations "and prevent the international travel of Suleimani."
"We also intend to continue to raise the issue in New York," the official said, referring to the United Nations.
Posted by: Pappy ||
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(IraqiNews.com) Kirkuk – On Sunday, official journalists with the Ministry of Defense announced, that 12 ISIS members were killed in air strikes conducted by the Iraqi Army Aviation southwest of Kirkuk.
The journalists said in a brief statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “Today, Iraqi Sukhoi aircraft bombed ISIS headquarters in al-Bashir village southwest of Kirkuk, destroying the headquarters, hideouts, a bulldozer and a booby-trapped vehicle belonging to ISIS terrorists.”
The statement added, “The air strikes also resulted in the killing of 12 terrorists in the village.”
Posted by: badanov ||
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[Mindanao Examiner] Maoist militants launched simultaneous raids in Davao City and captured 5 policemen and 2 government militiamen. New People's Army spokesman Rigoberto Sanchez has declared the policemen as prisoners of war.
Sanchez said the policemen were in their patrol vehicle when militants from the 1st Pulang Bagani Command intercepted them. He said, "The POWs will be held in custody pending an investigation for possible war crimes and other crimes against the people and the revolutionary movement."
Their capture came after militants swooped down an army post in Paquibato district on Saturday and clashed with security forces. Two militiamen surrendered following a gun battle that lasted about 30 minutes. Two other militiamen managed to escape.
Sanchez said, "The victorious tactical offensive comes at the heels of the Armed Forces of the Philippines' pompous declaration that (the anti-insurgency campaign) Oplan Bayanihan has weakened the armed resistance of the NPA following the death of beloved Red Commander Leoncio “Ka Parago” Pitao last year.
"As Oplan Bayanihan nears its defeated end, this latest tactical offensive of the People's Army serves as a nail in the coffin to one of the most atrocious operation plans the fascist AFP has ever unleashed against the Filipino people."
He said the 1st Pulang Bagani Battalion and all ten NPA units in the Davao region have become even more inspired to wage armed struggle, agrarian revolution, establish the seeds of a socialist government and "squarely defeat the onslaught of heightened and sustained attacks by enemy troops."
[Daily Signal] As Republican policymakers nationwide continue debating ways to replace Obamacare with patient-centered solutions, a Colorado group has landed a plan implementing a single-payer model of health care on November’s ballot. Coloradans are already bracing for its impact.
In the general election, Colorado residents will not only head to the polls to cast their votes for president, but they’ll also weigh in on a controversial ballot measure: Amendment 69, which would create a government-run health care plan in the Centennial State.
The plan, formally known as ColoradoCare, is the first in the country that would replace Obamacare, action made possible by Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act, which allows states to receive a waiver from the health care law if their own plan provides residents with "access to high quality, affordable health insurance while retaining the basic protections of" the health care law.
#5
CO's health insurance COOP failed just before fall enrollment opened last year, so the state has a proud history of healthcare failure. The smart thing would be to tax the weed dispensaries only -- because it's the one business that can't leave the state.
Posted by: regular joe ||
04/18/2016 11:25
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#6
doubling down on a broken straight
Posted by: Angoling Prince of the Sith1435 ||
04/18/2016 14:16
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#7
Voters to FO? No, get your shit together and get to the caucuses like I did, ya mindless Trumpkin. Doing it every year, helped pass rules in the off years, etc. Why the changes to caucuses came in: to prevent the Denver Country Club elites from parachuting in their anointed one and backing him with immense amounts of money. Caucuses require you to get local and meet the people and work the precincts. They also allow grass root candidates access to the ballot and a chance at winning. Primaries are a bueaty contest and depend on low information voters being bought by TV ads. Caucuses are the most grass roots representative democracy way of working things. You argue, you discuss, then you select someone from your neighborhood to represent you at the county meetings. County meeting do the same thing for State convention and Congressional Districts. Candidates are nominated there by the delegates we personally chose to represent us. None of this "superdelegate" crap the Dems have. Reps elected by the grass roots. Rules nominated and voted on by the grass roots and our representatives.
Now do you understand?
Posted by: Harry Ulumble6172 ||
04/18/2016 15:25
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#8
That's how you got a bartender for Governor, Harry?
#9
Primaries are a bueaty contest and depend on low information voters being bought by TV ads.
And as if you haven't been paying any attention for the past 16 years, that's how the general elections have gone. Those are the people you want to engage if you want to win in November. Your party activists and insiders don't carry enough votes then no matter how grass roots and 'democratic' you think it is.
#11
From what I've read it looks like the Trump campaign didn't bother getting people on the ground in Colorado in time, being more interested in sweeping New York.
As for the primaries being a beauty contest, I always vote for the person I think will be the best for the country of those who survived to get to Ohio. Inevitably, my first choice has already fallen by the wayside, and generally my next several choices, too. In other words, for me it's an ugly contest.
[Daily Signal] People seem a bit surprised--even perplexed--by the breathless news reports and video of Russian warplanes "buzzing" an American warship operating in international waters in the Baltic Sea this week.
The reality is that they shouldn’t be.
That, of course, isn’t to say that we shouldn’t be deeply troubled for the safety of our sailors on the USS Donald Cook at the hands of some "hot dog" Russian pilots involved in reckless and provocative actions that could have had dire and or unintended consequences.
But, that said, there’s a method to Moscow’s madness.
First, there’s the matter of geography. The Baltic Sea has long been a Russian security priority. For instance, the Baltic waters lap up against the Russian coast at the iconic city of St. Petersburg (once Leningrad), where a successful invading force could drive into the heart of Russia, including reaching Moscow.
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union controlled the southern Baltic Sea coastline from Russia through the Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia), across Poland and into East Germany. In Moscow’s eyes at that time, the Baltic Sea should be a Soviet "lake."
Today, rather than lined with Soviet Republics and loyal members of the Warsaw Pact, that same coastline is instead populated with NATO states with rough relations with the Russians. That’s not at all comforting to Kremlin & Co.
The only section of the southern Baltic Coast that isn’t part of NATO is Kaliningrad, a Russia-controlled outpost between Poland and Lithuania that Russia sees as not only isolated and vulnerable, but strategic to Russian security.
Indeed, after the less-than-stellar response to the Crimea crisis, there’s been a constant concern among some that Moscow might try to carve out a Russian-controlled access route to Kaliningrad through NATO member Lithuania
Of course, taking on NATO is different than taking on Ukraine.
#5
"We've liberated you from Napoleon & Hitler. We'll liberate you from Caliphate", sorta thing,
Possibly, in the sense that eastern Europe & East Germany were "liberated" by the Soviet Union.
The European "quadrille of Nations" and the related cycle of empire will now commence.
Ah, well, the unipolar world moment was fun while it lasted.
#7
With hindsight letting the Baltic states join NATO was a mistake that reinforced the Russian view that are being surrounded by hostile states. There should have been a treaty to make them neutral like Finland.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Ministry of Defense (MoD) has confirmed that an Afghan army helicopter was hit by 82mm rocket fire anti-government armed myrmidon groups.
Dawlat Waziri, front man for the Ministry of Defense, said the helicopter was making emergency landing in Nari area of Kunar when it was hit by the rocket.
He said two pilots of the helicopter suffered minor injuries after the rocket impacted the helicopter and caught fire.
Waziri further added that the Taliban group claims that 20 soldiers were killed in the incident are baseless and the two pilots have fully recovered.
The Taliban group released the video late on Friday as part of the group’s ongoing propaganda as the group has launched its spring offensive under the name of Omari Operations.
The group announced its offensive early on Tuesday and vowed to carry out more attacks across the country.
The Lions of Islam of the group has since then launched numerous coordinated attacks including a major offensive in northern Kunduz province with an aim to capture the strategic Kunduz city.
However, if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... the attack was repulsed by the Afghan cops, causing heavy losses to the myrmidons.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2016
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
In the hours before they took the stage for their March 29 press conference, Democratic attorneys general received a secret briefing from two top environmentalists on pursuing climate change dissenters.
[Stars and Stripes] When Nathan Ross Chapman became the first military casualty to die by enemy fire during the war in Afghanistan, the only American flag available for his casket was a patch torn off the uniform of an airman loading his coffin for the long trip home. He was buried on Jan. 11, 2002, a week after his death, with full military honors in Tahoma National Cemetery, Washington.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A horrific report has emerged from Iran regarding the brutal murder of a 6-year-old Afghan girl who was initially raped by a teenage Iranian.
[AnNahar] Mali's special forces have 
Iranian Major General Qassem Suleimani has flouted an international travel ban and flown to Moscow for talks with Russia's military and political leadership on Syria and deliveries of Russian missiles, sources said on Friday.
[Mindanao Examiner] Maoist militants launched simultaneous raids in Davao City and captured 5 policemen and 2 government militiamen. New People's Army spokesman Rigoberto Sanchez has declared the policemen as prisoners of war.
