A "pervasive army" of more than 25,000 federal lawyers have raked in $26.2 billion from U.S. taxpayers since 2007, according to a new report by the non-profit government watchdog Open The Books.
"Today's federal government is protected by a pervasive army of attorneys," Open The Books founder and the report's author Adam Andrzejewski told The Daily Caller News Foundation. "At a force size of 25,000, that's bigger than a conventional combat division." Nearly 2 divisions, depending on the makeup of the unit
Open The Books also found:
In 2014, the top federal lawyer salary was $266,469.
Salaries paid to more than 50 attorneys on the federal payroll topped $250,000 since 2007.
Since 2007, 19 bonuses exceeded $50,000. The top bonus was $83,900 and the second largest was $62,895.
If the attorneys working for the federal government formed a nation-state, it would rank 158th in global GDP, with $3.3 billion in annual spending. That's more than combined GDPs of vacation paradises St. Lucia, the British Virgin Islands and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
"The lawyers aren't the problem per se," the report said. "They simply serve at the pleasure of entrenched politicians and bureaucrats. Federal spending on attorneys both reflects and perpetuates the size, scope, expanse and inertia of today's federal government." Little wonder that the lawyer special interest groups donate more to politicians than any other group.
#3
Sigh ... yes, it does make uniforms look over-embellished, but what the whole matter of the ribbon rack means is that it is a coded personal resume. Know the code, read the resume at a glance. Certain ribbons are more significant than others, other certain ribbons mean 'been there, done that.'
#2
I'd expect even the Call of Duty kids could do better. Wow, everything just shoved in, no organization, nothing proper to to hand and I'm amazed their little pipe bomb launcher didn't kill them all.
[Daily Beast] A Navy sailor charged with sharing classified information to Taiwan and China--allegations that carry a potential life sentence in prison--could still avoid a full military trial and end up with a shorter sentence, defense officials told The Daily Beast.
It will all depend on who fears the prospect of a trial more--the military lawyers who have to navigate painstaking administrative procedures in order to admit the very classified information that Navy Lt. Cmdr Edward Lin allegedly shared. Or Lin, himself, who faces such serious charges that he likely could only avoid a lesser sentence by cutting a guilty plea deal.
[Daily Caller] Most Americans are listening closely to what Donald Trump has to say. Like him or not, he's got their attention.
One issue he constantly addresses that few would argue about is our relationship with China. I've personally characterized it for years in the simplest of terms. "We give them money. They give us stuff." It’s of course more complex than that, but as Mr. Trump notes, they always seem to have the upper hand.
Now there is word that one of the many companies owned by the Chinese government, the Chinese National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), is being taken to court over monies owed to a privately owned company with a large number of Western investors. That company, Primeline, is owed approximately $57.5 million after CNOOC failed to meet certain well-defined contractual obligations.
Besides monies owed Primeline, an article in a Hong Kong newspaper now states that CNOOC runs the risk of defaulting on loans from a number of lenders. A Chinese government owned company defaulting on loans? There’s something Mr. Trump could sink his teeth into. A harbinger of things to come? One hopes not. The author is a former Marine and intelligence officer.
[Ynet] Akram Rajoub was dismissed from his post in a surprise move by Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... in what could point to major rifts within the PA.
Nablus, General Akram Rajoub, was dismissed without warning by President Mahmoud Abbas according to a post on the governor’s personal Facebook page on Tuesday.
The former governor then took to social media to blast Abbas. In an unusually bitter attack, Rajoub derided Abbas for "considering himself a mighty Fatah leader and bragging that he knocked me out," referring to Abbas’ Fatah party. "Patience has its limits," Rajoub concluded.
Rajoub himself told the Paleostinian Ma’an News Agency that he had no idea why he was fired.
The governor also served as a high-ranking Paleostinian intelligence figure, and has criticized Abbas in the past for allowing Abbas loyalists in Nablus too much leeway.
"My positions and principles are not up for negotiation," Rajoub wrote in a Facebook post after being dismissed, adding that he "will not retract a single political, national, or party position" he has taken.
In a sign of recent tension, a firefight erupted several weeks ago in Nablus between Paleostinian police forces and gunnies of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, the military wing of Abbas’ Fatah party, after the police attempted to arrest a murder suspect in the Old City of Nablus. The incident and subsequent pressure from Abbas loyalists in Nablus may have contributed to Rajoub’s ousting as governor of the city.
Rajoub’s dismissal comes on the heels of his walkout during a Samaritan Passover ceremony held in Nablus in protest of the presence of local Jewish settlers attending the event. The Samaritans are a tiny, ancient sect who practice a unique form of Judaism who live mostly above Nablus on Mount Gerizim, the holiest site in their religion and the place where they conduct the annual Passover sacrifice.
The ceremony, officiated by the Samaritan high priest, was attended by local Jewish settlers and a Paleostinian delegation, including Rajoub. However, a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... Rajoub and several other Paleostinians walked out in protest as Samarian Regional Council Chairman Yossi Dagan began to speak.
"We respect and appreciate the Samaritans and consider them part of the Paleostinian people, but we cannot accept the presence of settlers," Rajoub told the Paleostinian Ma’an News Agency. "We are unwilling to talk to settlers because their presence is illegal and unacceptable."
Meanwhile, ...back at the laboratory the smoke and fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight... Dagan posted a video of his speech on Facebook, commenting that he wished a happy holiday to "the Samaritan community, IDF soldiers, and anyone who wishes to live alongside us in tranquility."
[Wash Times] DUBLIN -- They called it the Celtic Tiger, a period of prosperity between 1995 and 2008, during which everything in Ireland appeared to come up shamrocks.
According to Wikipedia, between 1995 and 2000, the long-dormant Irish economy took off, expanding by a startling 9.4 percent. There was a building boom; roads were widened to accommodate more traffic; newly confident people started buying things they had long denied themselves, including bigger and nicer houses, which, it turns out, many could not afford.
Even after 2000 when the Irish economy continued to grow at an average rate of 5.9 percent, still well above the American average, confidence in the economy remained high. By 2008, a dramatic reversal had occurred with gross domestic product contracting by 14 percent. Unemployment levels rose to 14 percent by 2011 and 15 percent the following year.
The reasons are familiar to Americans. Mostly it was a property bubble. Banks approved loans for people who could not handle big mortgages, which led to a recession, not unlike the one experienced in the United States.
As a much smaller country, Ireland’s comeback has progressed faster than in America, where real unemployment is much higher than last month’s misleading Labor Department announcement of 5.0 percent.
Being smaller isn't the only reason...
The Irish economy has experienced a dramatic reversal under the leadership of Prime Minister Enda Kenny, who is struggling to form a new government after two elections denied his party a parliamentary majority from a less than thankful public that has tasted prosperity and wants more of it now. Sound familiar?
Emerging from a joint European Union-International Monetary Fund bailout program, Ireland’s growth rate stood at a respectable 4.8 percent in 2014, declining slightly to 3.5 percent last year, but still better than any EU country.
While much credit belongs to the political leadership that has bitten the bullet and imposed austerity on government spending programs, causing howls from the left, and to the resilient Irish people who are experienced when it comes to suffering, foreign investment has also played a major role. Much of that investment has been driven by the anti-business tax policies imposed on corporations by the U.S. government, prompting many U.S. businesses to seek tax relief overseas.
And there you go...
According to a report last year in The Guardian newspaper, 700 U.S. companies now do business in Ireland. This has meant $277 billion of U.S. direct foreign investment in the past two decades. Ireland has gained more from American firms than Brazil, Russia, India and China combined, says the newspaper. Something to be learnt here possibly.
#1
Smaller government and less interference and taxing businesses means booming economy, job and income growth?
Where have I heard that before? It used to be the GOP. And part of the GOP still believes in this.
The problem is most of the leadership fell in love with the power big government gives them and the ability to restrict the economy in favor of cronies with taxes and tailored loopholes. Donald Trump believes such things as well based on his history and his touting of government healthcare, expanded government power, and tax increases. Not too different from Shrillary when you get down to it.
Its a matter of degree between the Beltway Dems and The Beltway Repubs these days, with a few exceptions.
Posted by: Andy Elmoting7772 ||
04/28/2016 7:22
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[Daily Beest] As the self-proclaimed Islamic State trumpets its global terrorist campaign, U.S. special operations forces have quietly killed more than three dozen key ISIS operatives blamed for plotting deadly attacks in Europe and beyond.
Defense officials tell The Daily Beast that U.S. special operators have killed 40 "external operations leaders, planners, and facilitators" blamed for instigating, wplotting, or funding ISIS’s attacks from Brussels and Paris to Egypt and Africa.
That's less than half the overall number of ISIS targets that special operators have taken off the battlefield, one official explained, including top leaders like purported ISIS second-in-command Haji Imam, killed in March.
The previously unpublished number provides a rare glimpse into the U.S. counterterrorist mission that is woven into overall coalition efforts to defeat ISIS, and which is credited with crippling ISIS efforts to recruit foreign fighters and carry out more plots like the deadly assault on Paris that killed 130 last fall.
As proof of the campaign's overall success, Pentagon officials this week said the influx of foreign fighters into Iraq and Syria had dropped from up to 2,000 a month last year to just 200, and the overall size of ISIS from a high estimate of 33,000 a year ago to between 19,000 to 25,000 fighters.
The U.S. strikes have picked up pace since Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced the deployment of special operations forces to northern Iraq last December, under the unwieldy moniker of "Expeditionary Targeting Force," the officials said. The spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to describe the special operations mission publicly.
The officials expect that tempo to rise as the newly expanded special operations advising team inside Syria also grows from 50 to up to 300, as President Obama announced in Germany on Monday.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
04/28/2016
04:36 ||
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#1
I wonder when they will begin reporting the domestic exterminations? Anybody think we'll see a pre-election cleanup surge? I expected more when they up-armored local police.
[AlAhram] The bomb detonated on the side of the road as a security vehicle was passing by.
Three conscripts were killed and eight coppers injured on Wednesday when an improvised explosives device went kaboom! in North Sinai’s El-Arish, a source in the governorate’s security directorate told state news agency MENA.
The bomb detonated on the side of the road as a security vehicle was passing by.
The source added that the injured were transferred to El-Arish Military Hospital.
[IsraelTimes] Israeli army forces operating in the West Bank tossed in the slammer Please don't kill me! overnight two Paleostinians suspected of instigating riots and carrying out violent acts against Israeli civilians and security forces, the IDF said Wednesday.
One of the men was arrested in the West Bank city of Qalqilya, while the other was apprehended northeast of Hebron. The two were transferred to a security facility for interrogation.
In a separate operation on Wednesday, IDF soldiers discovered hidden ammunition and weapon parts during a raid in the West Bank village of Si’ir, north of Hebron. The ammunition and weapon parts were taken to a security facility for further examination.
On Tuesday, three Paleostinians from Nablus suspected of plotting a terrorist attack against Israelis were arrested overnight in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, the Shin Bet security agency said. The joint police and Shin Bet sting operation nabbed the three, who were allegedly planning a terror attack in Jerusalem over the Passover holiday.
The Shin Bet said that the three had no weapons on their persons at the time of their arrest, but "expressed the intention to carry out a terror attack in the immediate future."
The three were all residents of the West Bank city of Nablus, but were located in an East Jerusalem apartment at the time of their arrest. It was not immediately clear if they were simply passing through the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood or had been illegally living there for some time. The suspects reportedly did not have an arrest record nor were they known members of a terrorist organization.
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – On Wednesday, a source in Nineveh Liberation Operations Command announced killing 35 ISIS fighters in an artillery shelling targeted their gathering south of Mosul (405 km north of Baghdad).
The source said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “A force from Nineveh Liberation Operations Command shelled a gathering belonging to ISIS in Khayata village in Qayyara District (60 km south of Mosul), killing 35 ISIS militants.”
The source, who requested anonymity, added, “The security forces continue to target ISIS headquarters in Qayyara District.”
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – On Wednesday, Nineveh Liberation Operations Command announced liberating an “important” village in eastern Qayyarah District south of Mosul, while indicated to the death of 200 ISIS militants.
The Command said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The 15th brigade of Nineveh Operations Command started to cleanse al-Mahana village in eastern Qayyarah from the ISIS gangs,” adding that, “The precise air strikes and artillery bombardment that lasted for more than 30 minutes, resulted in the killing of more than 200 ISIS militants, as well as destroying four car bombs and four rocket launchers.”
The statement continued, “The security forces managed to liberate al-Mahana village completely.”
Posted by: badanov ||
04/28/2016
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[Dawn] GWADAR: Two suspected militants were killed and another was wounded in an operation carried out by security forces in the mountainous area of Prome in Panjgur district on Tuesday. A helicopter provided cover to the forces conducting the operation.
According to sources, an intelligence agency informed security forces about the existence in Kanti Klug area of a camp being run by the banned Baloch Republican Army.
Security forces started the operation which led to a gunbattle between troops and militants, an official said.
During the exchange of fire lasting several hours, two suspected militants were killed and another was wounded and taken into custody.
Arms and ammunition, including three Kalashnikovs, five 7mm rifles, hundreds of live rounds and two pistols and wireless sets and motorcycles were seized from the camp which was destroyed by security forces. The arrested suspect is being interrogated by special investigation teams.
[AA.TR] A court in Cairo sentenced 76 pro-Morsi supporters to 10 years in prison Wednesday on various charges, including acts of violence and staging protests without permits, according to an unnamed judicial source.
It'll be appealed to higher and higher level courts, and at each stage some of those convicted will be released or reversed. Only heaven knows whether any of this lot will actually be convicted in the end, but it will take years to discover, and in the meantime they will languish in jail.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity because of fear for safety of his life, the source said the pro-Morsi supporters were tossed in the clink Book 'im, Mahmoud! on Aug. 30, 2013, while protesting the Rabia and al-Nahda incidents on Aug. 14, the same year.
Among the people sentenced is a deceased Moslem Brüderbund leader, Farid Ismail.
Ismail was put into jail last year and died two days later in May 2015.
Hundreds of supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, who was Egypt’s first democratically-elected leader, were killed in August 2013 when security forces violently cleared their sit-in at Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya Square.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2016
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[REUTERS] A nuclear power plant in Germany has been found to be infected with computer viruses, but they appear not to have posed a threat to the facility's operations because it is isolated from the Internet, the station's operator said on Tuesday.
The Gundremmingen plant, located about 120 km (75 miles) northwest of Munich, is run by the German utility RWE (RWEG.DE).
The viruses, which include "W32.Ramnit" and "Conficker", were discovered at Gundremmingen's B unit in a computer system retrofitted in 2008 with data visualization software associated with equipment for moving nuclear fuel rods, RWE said.
Malware was also found on 18 removable data drives, mainly USB sticks, in office computers maintained separately from the plant's operating systems. RWE said it had increased cyber-security measures as a result.
W32.Ramnit is designed to steal files from infected computers and targets Microsoft Windows software, according to the security firm Symantec. First discovered in 2010, it is distributed through data sticks, among other methods, and is intended to give an attacker remote control over a system when it is connected to the Internet.
Conficker has infected millions of Windows computers worldwide since it first came to light in 2008. It is able to spread through networks and by copying itself onto removable data drives, Symantec said.
RWE has informed Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), which is working with IT specialists at the group to look into the incident.
The BSI was not immediately available for comment. "I can say no more!" Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer for Finland-based F-Secure, said that infections of critical infrastructure were surprisingly common, but that they were generally not dangerous unless the plant had been targeted specifically.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2016
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A woman splodydope suicide bomber detonated herself on April 27 in the Marmara province of Bursa, wounding thirteen people, according to officials. The attack occurred at around 5.25 p.m. near the Ulu Cami, a mosque which is at the center of the province.
“According to initial examinations, seven people were wounded and transferred to nearby health institutions,” The Bursa Governor’s Office has stated.
It also added that examinations of the security forces on the attack were ongoing. Firefighters and health teams were deployed to the scene following the attack as shops nearby were damaged.
Health Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu said that thirteen people were wounded in the attack and their condition was not critical.
Turkey has faced consecutive suicide bomb attack organized by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in recent months.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2016
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[IN.REUTERS] "King Abdulaziz and the men who worked with him for the establishment of the state did not depend on oil and they established the kingdom without oil, and they ran this state without oil, and they lived in this state without oil," Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in an televised interview on Monday.
The deputy crown prince criticized the kingdom's subsequent "addiction" to oil which has "disrupted the development of many sectors in the past years" implying this was a relatively recent problem.
The prince claimed his national transformation program would enable the kingdom to "live without oil" as early as 2020 ("Transcript of Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Interview", Al Arabiya, April 25).
But if modern 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... was founded by conquest and the skilful statesmanship of Abdulaziz, it has been held together by the revenue from oil, even more than conservative religion.
Distribution of oil revenue to client groups has formed the foundation of the state from its earliest years and shaped the contours of the economy and society.
Sharing oil wealth in exchange for popular submission to absolute monarchical rule has always been central to the social contract between the ruling Al Saud and the kingdom's population.
Transforming that contract so that it does not center on oil is an enormously ambitious undertaking fraught with considerable risks and with an uncertain chance of success.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2016
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#1
Theprince claimed his national transformation program would enable the kingdom to "live without oil" as early as 2020
The fact that they're even talking about this means they are having a Belshazzar's Feast moment over there. Their entire social contract - and even religious dicatorships have 'em - is built on vast endless amounts of oil money, a guaranteed yearly income, and huge numbers of Third Country Nationals (TCNs) to do all the icky everyday work that Saudi males firmly believe they are above. You take any of that out of the equation, and the Saudi people (effectively just the men) are going to be pi$$ed. I think that the 'plan' actually involves setting things up so the al-Sauds can bail someplace safe and far away, and it's going to take till 2020.
And when it comes unglued, it will be hard, fast, and 'unexpected'.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/28/2016 5:15
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#2
Geopolitics abhors a vacuum.
Saudi isn't ethnoreligiously diverse like Syria, Iraq and Yemen. I don't see it sliding into a chaotic civil war like the aforementioned.
A Palace Coup is a definitely possibility, which may end up with a military strongman in charge. Which is the default Arab model of government.
Posted by: chris ||
04/28/2016 7:57
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#4
Like a drug pusher that realized the cartels are taking over the streets. Time to quit. Hope they rot in hell.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
04/28/2016 10:42
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#5
Good luck with that. Once oil isn't needed as much (go fusion and fuel cells!) and we can get it from our own countries, you and your kind are doomed. Your societies will collapse and you will destroy and eat your own.
I'm picturing a remake of Ozymandias with a cracked and weathered tombstone in a trackless desert. The inscription reads, "Where'd they all go? -- the fleas"
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) are still waging Jihad as they defend the country, region and the world against the menace of terror, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. said.
In his remarks during the commemoration of 24th anniversary of Mujahideen’s victory against the Soviet-backed Communist regime, President Ghani said "The war that murderers and smugglers wage on us is not Jihad at all."
He called on religious holy mans to speak against the wrong actions of the terror groups, urging the anti-government armed bully boy groups to renounce violence and join grinding of the peace processor.
President Ghani further added that Afghanistan is not favoring war but will stand against those willing to pursue violence.
He also added that the enemies of Afghanistan are trying to create divisions among the Afghan people but he emphasized that Afghanistan is not a country to be divided.
In other parts of his speech, President Ghani emphasized on widening the scope of campaign against corruption and said the culture of fight against corruption should gain a wider shape.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2016
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North Korea has drastically stepped up punishment for people caught trying to flee the country. According to a report by the Korea Institute for National Unification on Tuesday, the regime has sent people caught trying to flee for the first time directly to labor camps for three to five years since 2014. Until 2013, the regime only sent would-be defectors to labor camps for about six months.
The report is based on interviews with 186 North Korean defectors who arrived here from late 2014 to 2015.
Defectors account for 70 percent of the inmates in labor camps in South Pyongan and North Hamgyong Province.
In order to prevent people from escaping, the regime has tightened border controls and crackdowns on mobile phone use. In the border town Onsong, North Hamgyong Province, the regime has announced it has planted landmines along the Duman River. It also installed surveillance cameras along major escape routes in Hoeryong and Musan, North Hamgyong Province and reinforced barbed wire in Hyesan in June last year.
To keep out outside information, there are greater crackdowns on recordings of South Korean or Chinese soap operas.
"In the past, anybody could bribe their way out of punishment if they were caught watching recordings smuggled from China. But since 2015 they have been sentenced to hard labor," the report says.
North Korean workers overseas are suffering meager wages and unreasonable hours. A defector, who used to work at a building site in Russia, said, "I earned US$1,000 to 1,500 per year, the amount an ordinary Russian worker can earn in a month. Russian law stipulates working hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but North Korean laborers there work from 5 a.m. until midnight."
There are five political concentration camps in the North, where between 80,000 and 120,000 political prisoners are believed to be held.
The entire country is a concentration camp.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2016
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#1
Which probably also explains why the Chinese deployed troops along their border with the NorKs. The question is whether it was a coordinated action, or China "dictated terms" to the NorKs.
[RFE/RL] Uzbek authorities have condemned a popular singer's "shameless" choice of clothing and warned her to avoid offending national "mentality and values," hinting that she might be tossed out of the industry for her transgressions.
The singer, Aziza Niyazmetova, was told by Uzbeknavo, the state agency overseeing the music industry, that her appearance will be a determining factor in her impending license renewal. Performers are required to obtain a license to work in Uzbekistan.
An official notification tells the singer that authorities will determine whether Niyazmetova "has adhered to ethical norms,...hasn't insulted the audience's feelings, [and] has respected the national mentality, values, and culture." The letter was signed by the head of the license-issuing body, Farhod Juraev, dubbed by some Uzbek performers the "Minister of Singers."
Niyazmetova said that she was summoned over a recent mirror selfie shared on social media that shows her in a sleeveless dress with a bouquet of flowers in front of her.
The meeting at Uzbeknavo came a week after an interview Niyazmetova gave to the press in which she defended a female Uzbek singer who had been criticized on social media for shortcomings in Uzbek language skills. In the interview, Niyazmetova said that Uzbekistan is home to many ethnic groups, including Tajiks, Jews, and Russians, and that "not everyone must speak Uzbek."
(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – The leadership of al-Jazeera and al-Badiya Operations in Anbar Province announced on Wednesday, that 14 ISIS fighters including three snipers were killed in an aerial bombardment conducted by the international coalition aviation in western Heet.
The commander of al-Jazeera and al-Badiya Operations, Maj. Gen. Ali Ibrahim Dabon, said in a press statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “This morning the international coalition aircraft bombed ISIS gathering in the southern axis of al-Doulab area in western Heet District, killing 14 ISIS militants, including three snipers.”
Dabon added, “The air raid also resulted in the destruction of a weapons and missiles cache, as well as detonating a car bomb.”
(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – The leadership of al-Hashed al-Shaabi in Anbar Province announced on Wednesday, that the so-called ISIS bombed a residential compound in Baghdadi District west of Ramadi with 50 Katyusha rockets, while pointed out that the bombing resulted in casualties.
The intelligence officer of al-Somoud brigade in al-Hashed al-Shaabi Nazim Aljughaifi said in a press statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “ISIS launched 50 Katyusha rockets on a residential compound in al-Baghdadi west of Ramadi,” noting that, “The preliminary information indicated that the shelling had resulted in casualties.”
Noteworthy, Joint Operations Command announced in 28th of December 2015 the liberation of the city of Ramadi in Anbar Province from the ISIS control, while raised the Iraqi flag over its government building.
(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – On Wednesday, a source in the army’s 7th brigade announced, that 19 ISIS members were killed and others were wounded in an air strike carried out by the US-led coalition west of Ramadi.
The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The international coalition aviation backed by the army’s 7th brigade managed to bombard three ISIS gatherings in al-Doulab area west of Heet (70 km west of Ramadi).”
The source, who requested anonymity, added, “The bombardment resulted in the killing of 19 ISIS members, as well as wounding others.”
Posted by: badanov ||
04/28/2016
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This is indeed a pickle for Israel. No western power will sell Israel a reactor given the NNPT. Russia might but it would come at a heavy price, far higher than the declared dollar value. Russia would have a strong veto over whatever Israel might then do in its foreign policy. And the 'strategic ambiguity' policy disappears the moment Israel signs the NNPT.
The moment of truth for Israel's nuclear policy is nearing. Haim Levinson's publication yesterday in Ha'aretz regarding the defects in the core of the nuclear reactor in Dimona only emphasizes this fact.
Such reactors are normally taken out of service after 40 years or so. Ultrasound examinations found 1537 flaws in the metal core in Dimona, scientist from the facility reported earlier this month, Levinson wrote in Ha'aretz.
These are not defects that can develop to the level of large cracks, that would at this stage cause nuclear radiation emission from the reactor and endanger the surrounding population and environment.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2016
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#1
I am sure, like the LAVI, China would help them in exchange for US classified tech.
#2
I don't see a reason why Israel would need the US, Russia, or China to make a new reactor. If North Korea can do it, Israel should be able to do it.
[ARA News] HASAKAH – At least 15 fighters from the western-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were wounded on Tuesday in a chemical attack by the radical group of Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah, medical sources reported on Wednesday.
The SDF leadership confirmed that several shells containing chemicals dropped on their positions in the vicinity of Shaddadi city [60 km south of Hasakah city] northeastern Syria.
The SDF Media Centre issued Wednesday a statement, obtained by ARA News, saying: “On April 26, ISIS terrorists pounded our fighters’ positions in the Taqa village near Shaddadi with mortar shells containing toxic chemicals.”
“15 fighters of the SDF have been injured and suffered suffocation by toxic gases,” the SDF leadership added.
A Medical source in Hasakah told ARA News that investigations confirmed the SDF fighters have been exposed to an attack by chemical agents.
The SDF forces include the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) along with Arab and Christian groups. Backed by the U.S.-led coalition, the SDF alliance is mainly focused on fighting ISIS, al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups in northern Syria.
The hardline group has used chemical weapons in earlier attacks against the Kurdish forces of the YPG in Syria and the Peshmerga in northern Iraq.
Posted by: badanov ||
04/28/2016
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A Uighur family living in the Xinjiang region has been dogged by police surveillance and a series of arrests following the execution of a family member on terror charges almost 20 years ago. The harassment, which some are calling a form of "collective punishment," began after the family's eldest son, Abdulla Muniyaz, was put to death for his alleged involvement in a Feb. 25, 1997, bus bombing in the regional capital Urumqi.
Hesen Eysa, a local security chief, said, "Since then, Muniyaz's family has been picked out for surveillance by the public security authorities. We have been closely watching their activities but have seen nothing suspicious in their behavior, as they are all simply struggling to survive because of poverty in our township and the large number of people in their family."
Eysa was therefore surprised, he said, when he learned later that two other brothers in the family had been detained in late 2013 for illegally trying to leave Xinjiang "to wage jihad."
Eysa said, "What I believe is that they were simply trying to go abroad and find work to care for their family."
Shortly after the two brothers were given prison sentences of 17 and 13 years respectively, three younger brothers of the Muniyaz family were jailed for expressing hostile feelings toward Han Chinese migrants to the area, according to a source.
The source said, "Actually, they had only complained about the contracting out of farm work to Han migrants in the township, causing Uighur farmers to lose their jobs and homes. This is a common complaint throughout the Uighur region."
[WASHINGTONEXAMINER] Kathleen Matthews, wife of MSNBC host Chris My Thigh is Tingling! Matthews ... the late Tip O'Neill's former gopher who has magazines with centerfolds of Barack Obama in his bathroom... , was trounced Tuesday evening in Maryland's 8th Congressional District Democratic primary, but her husband's employer made no mention this defeat in its election coverage.
Polls closed in Maryland at 8 p.m. Tuesday, and State Sen. Jamie Raskin, 53, was declared the projected winner at around 11 p.m. that evening.
MSNBC's only mention of Matthews' role in the Maryland Democratic primary came at around 6 p.m., when Chuck Todd reported that she was in a three-way race for the nomination. His namedrop came well before Matthews was declared the loser in the race.
The failed candidate's husband, "Hardball" anchor Chris Matthews, took the evening off to be with her on election night.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2016
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#1
Another interesting point in that race was David Trone (owner of shopping store chain Total Wine) dumped over 9 million dollars of his own money to come in second place and get ~36k votes. That district must be worth hundreds of millions to the person who holds that congressional seat.
Spain’s King Felipe VI decided April 26 that none of the country’s political parties has enough support to form a government, setting the stage for an unprecedented repeat election in June, six months after voters ended the nation’s traditional two-party system.
Spain: the new Belgium.
Felipe announced his decision in a statement after spending two days meeting with party leaders - including those in charge of the conservative Popular Party, the center-left Socialists, the far-left Podemos party and the business-friendly Ciudadanos party. His decision means that no party will be able to cobble together a minority or coalition government that would assume control of the 350-member lower house of Parliament by May 2, triggering a new election for June 26.
Spain has been politically paralyzed since its national election on Dec. 20, 2015 that saw the entry of Podemos and Ciudadanos as strong No. 3 and No. 4 parties following decades of alternating rule between the Popular Party and the Socialists.
The upstarts were voted in by Spaniards angry about years of high unemployment, seemingly endless corruption cases affecting the Popular Party and the Socialists plus unpopular austerity cuts hitting cherished national health care and public education.
Polls suggest a repeat election - a first for Spain since democracy was restored in 1978 - is unlikely to break the stalemate and could mean a political impasse stretching into the summer, possibly ending with yet another election.
Spain has never had a coalition government at the national level. The Socialists rejected Rajoy’s proposal for a grand coalition similar to those that have been negotiated in many other European countries.
Analysts predict that Rajoy’s party, known as the PP, will again take 1st place in the June election but remain incapable of getting the votes it needs to win back the parliamentary majority it enjoyed from 2011-2015.
The Socialists came in second, Podemos took third place, Cuidadanos was fourth and a handful of small parties also won seats in the 350-member lower house of Parliament. The breakdown of legislative seats made it crucial for the parties for the first time in Spain’s history to negotiate alliances for a coalition or form a minority government, but they were incapable of doing so despite months of negotiations.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2016
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[Gulf Today] The Philippine president said on Wednesday that Abu Sayyaf rebels may have plotted to kill him and kidnap boxing star Manny Pacquiao. President Benigno Aquino III said the insurgents also wanted to explode bombs in metropolitan Manila to try to get funding from the Daesh group but the plans were uncovered and troops have reduced the militants ability to inflict harm.
Aquino promised "to devote all my energies" to ensure that the rebels would be "at the very least ... a very seriously degraded problem" for his successor.
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the hostage beheading, a senior military officer who led operations against Abu Sayyaf has been relieved of his command. Military spokesman Restituto Padilla announced the removal of Brigadier General Alan Arrojado as the commander of the Army’s 501st Brigade based on Midanao's island province of Sulu.
Padilla insisted that Arrojado's removal was not connected with the killing of Canadian national John Ridsdel whose decapitated head contained in a plastic bag was thrown by two motorcycle-riding men near the provincial capitol building in the town of Jolo, Sulu late on Monday night. He said that Arrojado has "overstayed" in his position, explaining that he had remained as the 501st Brigade commander for over two years.
Helped by helicopter gunships, the military continued their operation against the Abu Sayyaf with "no let-up" on orders of President Aquino until the Ridsdel killers have been arrested. Reliable sources said that Philippine security forces faced a dilemma because, in the ongoing campaign, they have to consider the safety of more than twenty people held hostage by the militants.
Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau who condemned Ridsdel's beheading as a "cold-blooded murder" confirmed that he continues to hold talks with Aquino on the possibility of co-operation in going after the killers. Trudeau said, "The discussions I had with President Aquino and are continuing to have with our allies in the Philippines is the need to bring these criminals to justice and to do whatever we can to express that we are very concerned about the security of Canadians. But, at the same time, we will not pay ransom."
Posted by: ryuge ||
04/28/2016
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Armed fighters from the Al-Qaeda linked Al Shabaab have re-seized Janaale town in southern Somalia, after the African Union forces who controlled the town for hours withdrew, residents said on Wednesday. The town is situated in Lower Shabelle region, some 110Km, south-west of Mogadishu.
Residents said that Ugandan troops serving with AMISOM and a unit of SNA abandoned the town and other nearby settlements on Tuesday. Afterwards, gun totting Al-Shabaab militants arrived without meeting resistance.
After Janaale seizure, Al-Shabaab commanders have addressed the local people, and urged them to work with the jihadist movement, according to local residents who spoke to Radio Shabelle by phone.
Or else...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2016
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The United States warned its citizens in Turkey on April 26 about “credible” terrorist threats to tourist areas in the country.
Turkey has been hit by four suicide bombings already this year, most recently in Istanbul last month. Two of the bombings have been blamed on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), while Kurdish militants have claimed responsibility for the other two.
“The U.S. government continues to receive credible indications that terrorist groups are seeking opportunities to attack popular tourist destinations throughout Turkey,” the Embassy in Ankara said in a statement emailed to U.S. citizens.
“Foreign tourists in Turkey have been explicitly targeted by terrorist organizations,” the U.S. embassy said in what it described as an “emergency message.”
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2016
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#5
Why's it so unbelievable? America wanted Europe to stop going to war with itself every generation and build a strong bulwark against the Soviets. Of course we would encourage unity. Tinfoil hat? Huh?
#6
A little late in the game. Charlemagne, Napoleon, that Austrian. I think the concept has been around for a while. If it was a CIA plot, someone succeeded in herding cats.
#7
Particularly in recent years, I have become very critical of the Klingon culture, but my views pale in comparison to the views of many in Europe and Africa. It's become something of a meme in some sectors.
#9
US might have pushed for Benilux (get Germany and her neighbors so economically entwined war seemed impossible) but political union that could form an uncontrolled counter to US power? Not likely.
TRIPOLI - At least nine Egyptian migrants and three people smugglers were killed in a money dispute in the town of Bani Walid, a local official said on Wednesday.
The official said a group of Egyptians had killed the Libyan smugglers and tried to drive the bodies away, but they were stopped at a checkpoint when blood was noticed on their car. A fourth smuggler then went to the police station where the Egyptians were being held, and opened fire on them, he said.
I'm trying to work up a little sympathy here but it's darned hard...
The United Nations mission to Libya said as many as 13 Egyptians had been killed in the incident and called for an investigation.
Hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants are currently in Libya. Some have settled in the North African country to work, while others are seeking to cross the Mediterranean Sea for Europe. Powerful smuggling networks linked to Libya's numerous armed groups generally control migration flows, and migrants are frequently subjected to abuses.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2016
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[AA.TR] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... will not step back from its fight against terrorism despite facing attacks, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in Ankara Wednesday.
Addressing a presser at the airport before he flew for his official visit to 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... , Davutoglu wished the injured in Wednesday evening’s Bursa attack in northwestern Turkey a speedy recovery.
A suicide kaboom killed one person and injured 20 others at the entrance of a historic bazaar in Bursa.
"We will continue to take a principled stand against terrorism and bully boyz wherever and however it occurs," the prime minister said.
About the warnings issued by the U.S. for its citizens in Turkey, Davutoglu said that such alerts were, unfortunately, giving rise to psychological unrest.
"Currently, there are no countries in the world, which is not vigilant against terrorism... A person visiting Gay Paree, Brussels or Istanbul is not under less risk than a person visiting Bursa today," he said.
About Turkey’s new constitution, Davutoglu said a preliminary draft on core issues such as fundamental human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... and freedoms is prepared; however, no final text exists so far.
"We strive for a constitution which has references to our own values and contains both universal and national values at the same time. The essence of the constitution will be liberalism.
"Our main understanding from a constitution is being citizen and human based," he added.
About the presidential system of governance in Turkey, Davutoglu said the current goal is for a clear system, which will not lead to any authority confusion.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2016
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[TIME] The South Sudanese man is being held by Canadian immigration officials
A 29-year-old South Sudanese man accused of posing as a high school student in Canada after allegedly entering the country illegally claims he did not know his real age.
Jonathan Elia Nicola, who played basketball on his high school team, told officials during a recent detention hearing that he was not lying about being a teenager to attend the high school. He said he was never given a clear answer from his mother about his actual age, according to the Toronto Star.
"I always keep asking what is the specific (year) that I was born, and she has told me that she could not remember," he testified, according to the newspaper. "Over (in South Sudan) ... they do not ask your age. They do not ask you nothing."
The Canada Border Services Agency was tipped off to Nicola’s status by American authorities late last year when he applied for a U.S. visitor’s visa to play basketball with the school in the U.S., according to the Toronto Sun. He had tried at least four times to get into the U.S. but his applications were rejected, the newspaper said.
Nicola has been held by Canadian immigration since April 15 and was ordered to remain in jug, according to the Star. "I am not a liar person. I am religious. I pray to God," he added.
"Dear God, get me out of this mess!"
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2016
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#1
Hey, he IDENTIFIES as a teenager. That's all that's important these days, not facts.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/28/2016 10:10
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#2
What tipped you guys off - the fact he's 6'8" or the double digit rebounds by halftime?
#4
A scholarship waitin' to happen:
Say, Poli Sci, minor in rappin'?
Be Big Man on Campus,
Then, why not revamp us
As President -- just throw your cap in!
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Two key Taliban group Lions of Islam were tossed in the clink Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! as they were escaping from Dahana-e-Ghori district in northern Baghlan province, disguised as married couple. "I get to be the girl!"
According to the local security officials, the two Talibs were identified as Mawlavi Jumadin and Qari Juma Khan. "No, I get to be the girl!"
Provincial security chief Gen. Ewaz Mohammad Nazari confirmed that the two Lions of Islam were involved in insurgency activities and were operating under the leadership of Majeed Akhundzada. "You always get to be the girl! Why can't I be the girl?"
He said the two Lions of Islam had disguised as a couple and were arrested during a search operation of the Afghan cops. "Because I got prettier legs!"
Gen. Nazari further added that the Lions of Islam were arrested hours after a shootout between the Lions of Islam and Afghan cops which left 5 Lions of Islam dead. "You call those hippo hams legs?"
According to Gen. Nazari, the security situation is currently better in Dahana-e-Ghori district. "At least my ass doesn't take up two camel humps!"
The Talibs group has not commented regarding the report so far which comes amid rampant Taliban-led insurgency since the group announced its spring offensive earlier last week. "Hussy!"
This is not the first time the Taliban snuffies have been arrested as they had disguised in women’s dress to escape the Afghan cops raids. "Slut!"
Earlier, a Taliban prisoner disguised in women’s dress and burqa in a bid to break jail in northern Jawzjan province of Afghanistan but was arrested by the security forces before he manage to pass through the final exit gate of the jail. "Here, cutie! Lemme see that chin! My, but that's hairy! Stick 'em up!"
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2016
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[IsraelTimes] Officers on scene shoot woman and her brother at flashpoint Qalandiya crossing in West Bank; man also found.
A Paleostinian woman and young man attacked border guards with a knife at the Qalandiya crossing in the West Bank on Wednesday, police said, and were bumped off by forces on the scene.
No Israeli forces were maimed in the incident, but the two assailants were killed in the attempted assault at the Qalandiya checkpoint, police said.
The man and woman, who were identified later as a sister and brother, arrived at the crossing and began walking towards the Border Police officers stationed at the checkpoint, which lies just south of Ramallah, a police spokesperson said.
"The officers called them to stop a number of times," according to a police statement.
Initially, the couple did stop and started walking away, but "suddenly" the two turned around, and the woman took a kitchen knife out of her purse. The Arab woman then "approached Border Police officers in guard posts with a knife in her hand," police said.
When she got closer, the woman "threw [the knife] directly at an officer, who was unharmed," police said.
"The officers and security guards worked quickly and shot at the terrorists, neutralizing them," a spokesperson said.
A butcher’s knife and a Leatherman-style multi-tool were also recovered from the man’s belt, police said.
The female assailant was identified as 23-year-old Maram Salih Hassan Abu Ismail, based on an ID card found at the scene. The male attacker was later identified as Ibrahim Saleh Taha, 16, her brother. Both were said to be residents of Surif, a village in the central West Bank.
Qalandiya and the adjacent crossing between the West Bank and Israel have been frequent hotspots of conflict in the recent wave of violence that has rocked Israel since September.
Last week, IDF troops clashed with Paleostinian residents of the city while carrying out a demolition order for the home of a terrorist who killed 23-year-old Shlomit Krigman in a January attack. Two soldiers were lightly injured in the scuffle when rocks were thrown at troops.
[ARA News] ALEPPO – Battles renewed between the western-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Islamist rebels in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo, during which heavy weapons have been used, local sources reported on Wednesday.
Activists and military sources confirmed that casualties on both sides amid progress by Islamists on several fighting fronts.
Speaking to ARA News, media activist Walid al-Sheikh, based in the town of Sheikh Issa in Aleppo province, said that the Islamist factions of Ahrar al-Sham and the Levant Corps along with other Islamist groups launched a major offensive on positions for the SDF forces on the outskirts of the towns Tell Rifaat and Ain Daqna where both sides exchanged mortar shelling and local-made artillery.
Al-Sheihk pointed out that the rebel groups also launched an offensive on al-Burad area, taking control of the town of Ain Daqna after clashes with the SDF.
“Islamist rebels seek to take control of al-Bailouniya hill which overlooks the town of Tell Rifaat,” the source told ARA News, pointing out the battles continue amid attempts by Islamists to storm the SDF-held town of Tell Rifaat.
In the meantime, the SDF leadership accused the Islamist rebels of trying to open the way before the radical group of Islamic State (ISIS) to advance in the region at the expense of the Kurdish-Arab alliance [SDF].
“There is a hidden agreement between ISIS and al-Qaeda-offshoot al-Nusra Front pushing ISIS towards areas held by the SDF affiliated group of al-Thuwar Army (Jaish al-Thuwar) after Islamist rebels delivered areas to ISIS,” Munir Nasser, a fighter in the SDF ranks, told ARA News.
“Islamist rebels asked civilians to move to the stable areas in northern Aleppo, while the Nusra Front’s leadership has tactically decided to deliver the towns of Marea and Azaz to ISIS,” a rebel spokesman from al-Thuwar Army said in a statement on Wednesday.
Two weeks ago, the SDF forces tried to break into the town of Sheikh Issa adjacent to the town of Marea in northern Aleppo, but the Islamist rebels were able to deter the offensive, forcing the SDF fighters to retreat towards the town of Tell Rifaat.
However, after the Kurdish forces and SDF allies have cut off the Azaz-Tel Rafaat road subsequent to fierce clashes with militants of Nusra Front and the Islamic Movement Ahrar al-Sham, “the SDF became able to make larger gains against the Islamists in the northern countryside of Aleppo,” according to Kurdish military sources.
[NYPOST] For the past few weeks, Republican campaign professionals and conservatives who are seeing the GOP nomination heading into Donald Trump’s hands have been counseling anti-Trump voters not to panic and consoling themselves with the notion that things will turn around for Ted Cruz when the final weeks of the campaign shift to the Midwest and mountain states.
After Trump’s astounding five-for-five primary night, by margins that were likely surprising even for Trump fans, it’s now Indiana or bust. If Trump wins the primary next week in the Hoosier State, Cruz is toast and Trump will almost certainly be the Republican nominee.
There’s no putting lipstick on this pig. Cruz’s numbers Tuesday night, like his numbers in New York last week, were beyond horrible. With six weeks to go before voting concludes, the man conservatives are hoping can overcome Trump with his clever delegate game and more serious mien is getting 10 to 15 percent of the vote in major states.
It isn’t only that the not-Trump vote is failing to coalesce around Cruz -- he’s going backward.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2016
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#1
Cruz isn't 'crumbling' - it's more like he's getting run over by Trump. Keep working the delegates, win a few out west, and 'we're on to Cleveland'.
#4
I thought asking the wall flower to dance after everyone else is on the floor was rather poor form. Someone should have given Fiorina the nod the day after she dropped out of the race. She appears to be the only one with solid plans for the economy and foreign affairs.
#5
Besoeker: If she ends up on the ticket against Hillary expect 10,000s of ex-HP workers to help Hillary destroy her.
She killed a lot of gooses laying golden eggs through poor business decision making.
#6
The amount of overt bias from parts of the supposedly "conservative" side of the media world has been astounding, with Breitbart and Drudge going over the cliff, and a lot of others doing a great job of mimicking the leftist media. Coulter and Ingraham fawning. Completely abandoning small government, pro-life, pro-family, policy and facts, and so on, all for a mob scene and the equivalent of Hope N Change.
She did a decent enough job at HP. Trends in the business were heavily against HP's business model, but the company survived and even prospered to an extent.
#8
I thought she would be Trump's running mate too. I guess Cruz is playing Go, not chess. Trump is playing Connect4, and Kasich is playing with himself.
Posted by: Injun Protector of the Sith6311 ||
04/28/2016 7:38
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#9
I voted for Cruz in the Texas primary, but picking a VP before the convention smacks of desperation no matter who the pick is.
#10
She killed a lot of gooses laying golden eggs through poor business decision making.
Posted by 3dc
Business trends, politics, and boards of directors are also contributing factors. As the old saying goes, 'Success has many fathers, failure only one.'
#12
I see this as a desperation move. Cruz wants to see if the polls in a Cruz/Fiorina vs HIllary match up go up or down. If they go up he'll stay in and fight for that second round of a contested victor. If they plummet he'll probably drop out before the convention and give it all to Trump to avoid a contested convention (with a different candidate) that might tear the party apart.
I suspect the later. Carly is impressive but the ex-HP folks I know would actively go against here. There is hostility and it is deep.
#13
She did a decent enough job at HP. Trends in the business were heavily against HP's business model, but the company survived and even prospered to an extent.
I've heard that argument. I don't buy it. Fiorina flopped at HP just like she flopped at Bell Labs. Instead of working to make HP's PC division competitive, she bought Compaq. Anti-competitive. Then the entire PC business went to China. These days HP is merely a wholesale importer of Chinese built computers and printers. Sooner or later the Chinese will put HP out it's misery. I want a national conversation about why we can't make computers in the USA anymore and Trump is the only one who will talk about it. Fiorina is part of the problem and if Cruz can't see that then so is he.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/28/2016 12:10
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#14
Besoeker: If she ends up on the ticket against Hillary expect 10,000s of ex-HP workers to help Hillary destroy her.
She killed a lot of gooses laying golden eggs through poor business decision making.
She was competing against the best in the very fast-moving and competitive technology sector. How many GOP pols could have revived HP? Nokia and Blackberry went from heroes to zeroes in the blink of an eye, not because their executives were incompetent, but because the competition was just better.
HP was a leader only in the crumbling printer and PC businesses. Printers were slowing down because of e-mail, and in PC's, even best-of-breed Dell ended up stumbling and going private, where it is starting to generate losses.
Note that any lingering resentment from HP workers was insufficient to derail her quest for the GOP senatorial nomination. Whether her residual CA political support is enough to help Cruz clinch the GOP nomination is something we'll find out real soon.
#15
I see I see this as a desperation move. this as a desperation move.
This isn't a desperation move. It's a CA move. Fiorina won the GOP senatorial nomination. If HP workers hate her guts, they don't vote in GOP primaries.
Cruz hopes she has residual support from that campaign. If Cruz denies Trump a victory in CA, Trump fails to hit 1237. Cruz has a good shot at the nomination if it goes to a second ballot, given that GOP delegates are much more informed about the candidates and would probably prefer an actual conservative over Trump.
#16
I want a national conversation about why we can't make computers in the USA anymore
Apple was the last major US computer manufacturer to assemble its computers stateside. It had the best gross margins in the business. Even it started losing money. If Apple can't bolt its computers together stateside, nobody can. If it hadn't moved production abroad, it wouldn't have survived the 90's.
Protectionism isn't some kind of magic economic salve. Most economies around the world are protectionistic. Brazil and Indonesia are way more protectionistic than Japan and Korea. Why aren't the latter world-beaters despite their closed markets?
#17
It's over Ted. You are a good man, go back to the Senate and fight the good fight.
Posted by: regular joe ||
04/28/2016 12:32
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#18
HP used to make way more than computers or printers. My co-workers and I, when developing the early digital cellular, used to buy their very expensive test equipment like a cocaine addict with coke. They didn't respond at all when others came out with cheaper and better products. Even the criminals came out with crack in response to cocaine's high price. I compare it to cocaine as any piece of test equipment from HP was usually priced from $50,000 to $90,000 and one was never enough for a testbed. One of our testlab's alone had over 1.5 billion dollars of equipment in it. At least a third of that was HP equipment at the beginning. By the end? Damn near nothing was HP.
The test equipment business is now a German company.
#19
I guess the HP point I am trying to make is that their whole suite of executive decision makers that Fiona put together didn't make decisions that favored the survival of a profitable company.
#21
HP used to make way more than computers or printers. My co-workers and I, when developing the early digital cellular, used to buy their very expensive test equipment like a cocaine addict with coke. They didn't respond at all when others came out with cheaper and better products.
And that's the result of superior competition, not necessarily inferior management. Gerstner at IBM was lionized as some kind of management genius, but when he left, IBM was no better off in competitive terms than it was before he started. His specialty was cost-cutting, not product development. The reason IBM survived was its pre-existing dominance in obscenely-profitable big iron (that had margins similar to or exceeding Apple's iPhone), which Gerstner really had little effect on, pro or con. Management can only do so much.
Steve Jobs was a product development genius, but he was very much an exception. And for every Jobs, there are numerous tech background CEO's who lost to him. Not because they were incompetent, but because others were better. Competition at that level is like the Olympics. It's hard to blame Fiorina for losing out to the top 1% of the top 1% of the top 1%.
#22
I don't see protectionism as being a dirty word if we're protecting ourselves from an aggressive, hostile, totalitarian dictatorship like China. Competition is a good thing but you can't expect American workers to compete against slaves in a communist country like that. When they start recognizing basic human rights and instituting policies to protect the environment like we do maybe we'll talk.
I would add that maybe Carly should offshore herself. I mean, if she wants to move all of her company's manufacturing and support operations overseas then why didn't she just move the whole damn company including headquarters and executive officers overseas?
But the bottom line is that we need to understand why we're not competitive anymore and try to do something about it instead of just admitting defeat and becoming a Third World country ourselves.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/28/2016 13:31
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#23
BTW, when Fiorina ran for the Senate against Barbara Boxer I voted for a third party candidate. If by some miracle she had won the Republican nomination for president and ran against Hillary I would have done the same again. There is indeed a great deal of resentment in this state among people who are familiar with HP. I was never an HP worker but my company was an HP customer for many years and I watched with sadness as they declined. The good HP workers either left or were laid off and if they were replaced at all it was with the mediocre and the foreigners.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/28/2016 13:40
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#24
She flopped at Bell Labs and Lucent (related) and HP? What did she have going for her?
Was she part Native American?
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/28/2016 14:26
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#25
Cruz today on Boehner's calling him Lucifer:
"I think John Boehner has made it crystal clear. John Boehner and his remarks describe Donald Trump as his “texting and golfing buddy.” So if you want someone that’s a texting and golfing buddy, if you’re happy with John Boehner as speaker of the house, and you want a president like John Boehner, Donald Trump’s your man."
#26
It will never happen, but wouldn't it be preferable if Presidential candidates campaigned with their intended Cabinet and other key appointees. Or at the very least, naming people they would like to appoint? It would be a lot more meaningful than the continual bombast we get - which is why it won't happen.
#28
Time to cut a real deal. Cruz bows out in return for open SCOTUS seat. If he's a real conservative, it'll give him more power to truly shape the next twenty years rather than 4 or 8.
#29
Cruz for Supreme Court? Arguably a better place for a Constitutionalist. And he is only in his 40s, so there would be a hard core conservative voice on the court for decades.
The problem is that Trump has to win. That's not going to happen. Media love fest ends at the GOP convention, and the knives come out. Plus the Clinton and Soros attack machine starts up. And the Trump University fraud trial happens to kick off too.
Trump is setting up for the biggest election flop of all time. His fans are too self blinded to see the huge flaws for what they are.
#30
This is not over yet. At least not until after Indiana and California.
The thing is if Cruz stops Trump, neither of them will be the nominee. He is fooling himself if the thinks establishment tools like Boehner and Ryan and company would give him any chance.
You are on the mark. In the U.S. due to an armada of government (local, state, federal) regulations, laws, wage controls, etc. etc. etc. etc. that are all anti-business, you cannot compete against third world slave labor.
The hypocrisy of it all is the Chamber has convinced the very people who built the anti-American business tar pit to import the third world workforce where ever possible. Cheap labor while still allowing for excessive/expensive regulations.
[Inquirer] Three people were killed in a clash between troops and communist militants in a remote area of Davao del Sur on Monday. Police chief Robert Caraoa said soldiers were conducting foot patrol in Barangay Astorga when they encountered New People's Army militants under Commander Jasmin of the Front Committee 51. A militant, a soldier, and a civilian were killed in the battle.
(IraqiNews.com) Diyali – On Wednesday, Diyali Police Command announced seizing a cache of weapons during a raid operation east of Baqubah.
The spokesperson for Diyali Police, Colonel. Ghaleb al-Atiyah, said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “Security forces belonging to the Emergency Police conducted raid operations in the village of al-Abaa on the border with Ashbiliya near the vicinity of Mandeli (90 km east of Baqubah),” noting that, “[The operations] resulted in the seizure of a cache of gear containing two mortar shells and two Katyusha rockets.”
“The operation was based on accurate intelligence,” he also added.
(IraqiNews.com) Salahuddin – Media officials with the Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday the killing of eight ISIS elements, including two suicide bombers, during an aerial bombardment northwest of Thurthar.
The officials said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The Iraqi Army Aviation conducted an aerial strike resulting in the destruction of a booby-trapped vehicle, carrying two suicide bombers, northwest of Thurthar,” adding also that, “Two booby-trapped vehicles were destroyed in the same area, resulting in the death of six ISIS elements that were inside them.”
Posted by: badanov ||
04/28/2016
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Taliban captured several police check posts in Dahan-e-Ghori district of northern Baghlan province on Tuesday night and have reportedly surrounded the district.
Baghlan provincial council members accused government of negligence and said that the Taliban have increased their activities in Baghlan and neighboring provinces.
"After the collapse of the check posts in Dahan-e-Ghori, the Taliban have actually expanded their presence and in addition to that there [in Dahan-e-Ghor] there were two important check posts of police that the government has lost [to the Taliban] now," said Besmillah Batash, a member of Baghlan provincial council.
Recently President Ashraf Ghani declared the government's new stance against militants. Many however believe that there has been no change in the fight against insurgents, after the declaration of the stance.
Meanwhile residents of the district warned that the district might fall to the Taliban, if fresh troops are not deployed soon.
"Last night in fighting that took place in Dahan-e-Ghori, the militants captured Shahr-e-Now of Dahan-e-Ghori, Qala-e-Chahar Borja and the school," said Abdul Hafiz, a resident of the district.
"Unfortunately, the routes are closed and there are lots of problems. People are faced with many challenges and most of them have set up tents at the foot of the mountains," said Kamal, another resident of the district.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) meanwhile said that military operations against militants have increased by 15 percent.
"Over the past several days, our operations have increased and we had 15 percent hike in [the number of] operations and suppression of the enemy. One or two days ago, the president ordered security forces to eliminate the Taliban and put pressure on them, so that they will know that they are being followed by Afghan forces to every nook and cranny of Afghanistan," said Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the MoI.
Chief of Army Staff Qadam Shah Shahim, speaking at a ceremony to mark 8 Sawr, the 24th victory day of mujahidden against Dr. Najibullah's government, said: "We need political leadership's support in the fight against terrorist groups that no doubt we have that support. We also want continued financial, arms and equipment support of the international community that will help us in our national duty of defending independence of our country."
One resident of Kabul also urged the government to deliver on its promise of bringing security to Afghanistan.
"Every action has a reaction. We should take serious steps in response to terrorist activities of militants that are war and suicide attacks, so as to bring peace. If we are serous against these militants, it will also please our security forces," said Del Aqa Jalali, a Kabul resident.
Another concern with people is the decrease in operations against militants in Helmand. They believe that the Taliban are busy harvesting poppy crops, and that this is a good opportunity for the government to suppress them.
ADEN: At least 27 Yemeni soldiers were killed in a government offensive, backed by Saudi-led forces, which drove Al-Qaeda militants out of a key southeastern city, military officials and medics said Wednesday.
Life, meanwhile, was returning to normal in the port city, residents said.
More than 60 other soldiers were wounded in the operations that began at the weekend and saw government forces recapture Mukalla, the provincial capital of Hadramawt, the officials said. The city had been held by Al-Qaeda for over a year.
Recapturing Mukalla was part of a wider counter-offensive against the extremists launched by pro-government forces last month after a year in which they had focused their firepower on Shiite Houthi rebels who control the capital.
Government troops were backed by special forces from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as coalition air strikes, the Arab coalition said, claiming 800 militants were killed in the offensive.
Life began to return to normal Wednesday in Mukalla, a city of some 200,000 people, as shops and government offices reopened, residents said.
Staff at Mukalla airport and its port also returned to work for the first time since April last year, when militants of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) took over, officials in the city said.
Posted by: badanov ||
04/28/2016
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#3
neither Trump nor Cruz have demonstrated anywhere near the appetite for military engagement abroad that Clinton has," Landler writes.
Supposing that to be true, might there be a correlation with her obvious disdain for the military? The military is just one of her tools to project her enormous power. Not really people to worry about, let alone appreciate.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/28/2016 8:11
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#4
She's not a hawk at all, or her base wouldn't vote for her, and she does know that!
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/28/2016 10:01
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#5
Sure she is. I remember her walking tall through sniper fire in Bosnia. Like Robert Duvall in apocalypse now. She is such a hawk and fearless patriot. If this was only April 1st.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
04/28/2016 10:46
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#6
I recall a recent article in which someone quoted a Secret Service agent who was so aghast at the real hildabeest he shared an anecdote I find uttered credible, given all I have seen of her in the past 30 years. It was some thing to the effect that while on tour for the 08 Presidential run, the motorcade stopped at a rural school that was holding a 4h/FFA event for the local families.
When they first got out of the car, she is alledged to have said: "What are we doing here, there's no fucking money here!" I resonated with me that this is exactly what she actually is, venal and corrupt to the core...
Three alleged Libyan people smugglers, 14 Egyptians and two Syrians have perished in attacks in Bani Walid that started yesterday.
The Libya Herald has been told by Bani Walid councillor Abdulsalam Ajaj that the killings were triggered by a row over money.
“It is clear that the Egyptians failed to pay the smugglers’ fees when they reached the Bani Walid transit point, ” said Ajaj, “The smugglers refused to take them further and forcesd them to stay for a night or two somewhere in the middle of the desert. At some point the migrants grew angry and fought with the three smugglers and murdered them”.
Ajaj said the migrants then drove off in the smugglers’ vehicle. But they were stopped at a police checkpoint and taken to a migrant detention centre in Bani Walid. It was there that they were found by armed relatives of the dead Libyans, said Ajaj, and sixteen of them were killed.
UNSMIL chief Martin Kobler today condemned all the murders. “I strongly deplore these terrible killings” he said, “and call on those with authority on the ground in Bani Walid to ensure that the incidents are investigated and to prevent any further killings”.
[WASHINGTONPOST] "Roof knocking" is a controversial Israeli military practice used in the Gazoo Strip. It works on a simple logic designed to minimize civilian casualties. Occupants of a building are given a warning a few minutes before a military strike.
The first warning is generally a phone call. The second is a rocket.
The Israeli military has argued that the practice saves lives by giving occupants a chance to escape, but critics say the tactic creates confusion and can amount to psychological warfare. This week, the United States announced that it had used the tactic in Iraq.
U.S. military officials told news hounds on Tuesday that roof-knocking had been carried out during an operation on April 5 in the Iraqi city of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... . The United States was targeting a building that was housing a member of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... and about $150 million in funds for the Lion of Islam group, officials said. However, you can observe a lot just by watching... a woman and children also were found to be visiting the house, raising the possibility that noncombatants could be killed in a strike.
To warn the occupants of the house about the impending strike, a Hellfire missile was fired above the building to explode in mid-air, Air Force Maj. Gen. Peter Gersten said. The tactic did not fulfill its goal: The woman ran back into the house before the second strike, which destroyed the building. Gersten said it was "very difficult for us to watch and it was within the final seconds of the actual impact."
Army Col. Steve Warren, a front man for the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria, said it was the first time that the tactic had been used by the U.S. "It was a test to see if it worked... it didn't," Warren said Wednesday.
The Israeli practice of roof-knocking goes back at least a decade. It was used widely during the 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead. The Israel Defense Forces would later say that they made about 165,000 warning phone calls and adhered to the "innovative" roof-knocking tactic during the operation. This video, shot by a Gazoo-based news agency, shows a roof-knock shortly before a building is destroyed by a missile during the 2014 Israel-Gazoo conflict, known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2016
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#1
"Critics say" = STFU
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/28/2016 11:32
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#2
I remember when USA were condemning Israeli tactic of targeted killings.
#2
Well, one could have a series of '2-day' work weeks. A governmental re-designated six day work week would permit three such work weeks in one. Unless of course, you were capable of working double shifts, which might give you as many as six part-time jobs per week.
#4
The "Missouri Millennials" probably think this is the right thing.
They probably don't work more than 2 days a week now and figure that's the way of the world. They calculate their minimum wage by what they want not what they do.
#8
Thank you, AlanC. It should have been obvious, but Mr. Wife had two back to back business trips in opposite directions, and we ran back to Buffalo for his father's 80th birthday in between, so I'm a little slow at the moment.
[WASHINGTONPOST] Salah Abdeslam, the 26-year-old French national of Moroccan origin suspected of involvement in November's terrorist attacks in Gay Paree, was transferred to French custody by Belgian authorities Wednesday. According to French officials, he'll be placed in solitary confinement in a maximum-security facility as investigative judges determine his eventual charges.
Abdeslam, as my colleague James McAuley noted, was seized March 18 in the troubled Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek, which is home to a large, impoverished Muslim minority population. He was tossed in the slammer You have the right to remain silent... for his suspected role in the Gay Paree attacks, which claimed 130 lives, but his capture also preceded -- and potentially inspired -- a grim set of bombings in Brussels on March 22. Both assaults were believed to have been carried out by proxies of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... krazed killer group.
In an interview with the French daily Liberation, Sven Mary, Abdeslam's Belgian attorney, heaped opprobrium on his departing client, whom Mary described as having "the intelligence of an empty ashtray -- an abysmal emptiness."
Mary, who has controversially represented other Belgian snuffies in the past, said Abdeslam's radicalization probably happened online. He said the young krazed killer had scant knowledge of Islam. "I asked him if he had read the Koran, which I have done, and he said he had read his interpretation on the Internet," the lawyer said.
Mary referred to Abdeslam in French as a "petit con" -- a phrase that could be translated as "little jerk" or a--hole -- who was "more a follower than a leader" among "Molenbeek’s little delinquents." He said Abdeslam "is the perfect example of the GTA generation who thinks he lives in a video game." (GTA stands for "Grand Theft Auto," a popular gaming franchise that enables players to embark on deadly rampages and killing sprees in a virtual city.)
This characterization of the terrorist suspect sketched by his attorney fits in with preexisting analysis by European counterterrorism officials, who see the current wave of violent snuffies emerging not from a position of ideological fervor, but criminality and antisocial behavior.
A report by a Brussels think tank cited by WorldViews in March observed how Abdeslam and his peers' "acquaintance with religious thought is undoubtedly more shallow and superficial than their predecessors’, as is their acquaintance with international politics." It added: "Injustice was often a starting point with their predecessors’ journey towards extremism and terrorism. This has now largely been overshadowed by personal estrangement and motives as the primary engines of their journey."
The study noted the distinction between an earlier generation of "radical Islamists" and the current crop of "Islamized radicals."
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Just think - if he'd gone the route of "waging the progressive struggle for the liberations of the masses" instead of Islamism, he'd have made the Paris cocktail-circuit.
#5
He belongs behind bars for what he did to those students.
But this prosecution bothers me in that it smacks of thought-crime. Its now a crime to know what the law is in regard to reporting requirements and structure one's affairs in such a manner as to avoid them? That doesn't sound very small-government/liberty to me.
#6
The payment of the "hush money" was legal. The method, under "Structuring" laws was not. The structuring laws were an attempt to thwart "drug" cash and RICO cash. Now the Feds can ensnare almost anyone, not just those dealing in illegal or unreported cash. Remember, ultimately Capone only was convicted of tax evasion, not for any underlying conduct. Hastert was convicted for structuring and lying to the feds, not for any underlying conduct, but the judge did consider it. Thus his upward departure from the prosecutor's sentencing recommendation.
[AA.TR] Recorded attacks against refugees and immigrants colonists have risen in Greece, showing that despite solidarity movements, more needs to be done.
In 2015, a little less than a million refugees and migrants colonists reached Greece, according to the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... Refugee Agency. However, it's easy to be generous with someone else's money... immigrants colonists have been coming to Greece since the 1990s, mainly from the Balkans, according to Interior Ministry data.
The fact that a significant number of victims suffered injuries demonstrates the contrast between the solidarity that a substantial part of the Greek population expresses towards refugees and the violent behavior of another part that coexist in the same society.
The Racist Violence Recording Network (RVRN) has been keeping track of this violent behavior since mid-2011. It was created by the Greek National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Greece (UNHCR) due to the absence of an official monitoring system for such crimes. This umbrella network of 36 non-governmental organizations as well as other entities aims to keep track of racist attacks and offer support to the victims.
According to the fifth RNRN annual report recently published, during 2015, in 75 out of 273 incidents of racist violence, immigrants colonists or refugees were targeted. In 2014 members of the network recorded 46 similar incidents out of 81 incidents of racist violence in total.
The apparent rise in incidents is largely attributed to the increase in the RVRN’s recording capacity while, according to the report, the attacks described in these records reflect a "commonplace" type of violence.
"We have certainly increased our recording capacity in 2015. But the numbers should not be the focus, because they do not necessarily reflect an escalation of racist violence as one would expect," explains Tina Stavrinaki, RVRN spokesperson.
"What is more important is to be able to see some repeated patterns which reveal persistent phenomena of racial violence. For example we may no longer see squad assaults, but we have recorded attacks in city neighborhoods or attacks by groups of people," she says.
However, it's easy to be generous with someone else's money... the main phenomenon that refugees and immigrants colonists face according to the report is verbal abuse, which may lead to further marginalization. Also, their living conditions define to a significant extent the number of incidents that could be tracked. Despite RVRN’s efforts, refugees and migrants colonists are hesitant to go to the authorities or fill in the anonymous form for fear of this bringing more problems to an already difficult reality.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
and what "Race" is the violence against? Islam?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/28/2016 11:29
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The European Union has defended its recent 20 percent cut funding to the Amisom.
I guess this means Uganda isn't getting its money...
Speaking during an interview in Mogadishu, the EU Delegation ambassador to Somalia Michele Cervone d’urso said the EU had informed the African Union of their intention to cut funding over a year ago and had expected they would have had other donors on board.
“We know that al-Shabaab has not been defeated and we are committed to the mission but there are other missions to be accomplished in other areas and we have to give our support,” he explained.
Like defending their own borders...
Michele said the EU has single-handedly supported the Amisom adding that if it wasn’t for them the mission would not have been formed.
He, however, said the cut should not be misinterpreted to mean the EU is neglecting the Amisom. “Our partnership is still excellent. We remain hugely committed to Amisom and to fighting terror.”
He hinted that the EU would like to see Africa beginning to contribute to the mission.
Africa IS contributing to the mission: the soldiers tramping through the bush are not the Fighting 515th Belgian Heavy Barbers...
“If anything we are only implementing what the AU heads of states agreed in Djibouti where they were to take up 2% of the funding,” he added.
Agreeing that there is a need to have a comprehensive approach to deal with Al-Shabaab, Michele urged partners to come together and help develop the Somali Force. “That is what this country needs,” he said.
Without the EU...
The European Union has been the biggest donor for the Amisom covering the full cost of payments to the soldiers through its contribution to the AU. Every year, the EU contributes about $200 million and the 20% cut will see this figure go down. Amisom is, therefore, staring at a crisis since the directive took effect in January this year.
“Due to delaying effect, we are still paying the balance for last year so the effect of the cut has not been felt,” Michele said.
Amisom soldiers receive a monthly allowance of $828 after their respective governments deduct a $200 administrative cost per soldier. This allowance is likely to reduce if the AU will not have secured other donors to fill in the 20%.
Head of Amisom in Somalia Ambassador Fransisco Madeira said they are working towards getting alternative sources for funds.
“People of Somalia are committed to fighting this terror group and there is no way we are stopping here. We will get funding and we are committed to staying here until Somalia is in a position to govern itself,” he said during an interview.
Madeira confirmed that the AU has been negotiating with the UN with the hopes to bring them on board. “We have been discussing with the UN and there are possibilities of them coming in full force because for sure we need more resources,” he reiterated.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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[CNN] Terror suspect Salah Abdeslam appeared in a Gay Paree courtroom Wednesday but declined to address the charges against him, saying he was exhausted due to his transfer from Belgium earlier in the day.
It's about a four hour drive, and he was relaxing in the passenger seat the entire time. Not to mention it's a trip he's done several times recently. I suspect a ruse.
After Belgium turned the 26-year-old suspect over to French authorities early Wednesday, elite French military police flew him to La Belle France.
Flying makes it a considerably shorter trip, and in the company of the MPs he would have got to skip security, the lucky duck.
He was then handed over to authorities and taken to the Palais de Justice in central Gay Paree to appear before the investigating magistrate, CNN's French affiliate BFM-TV reported.
His next hearing has been set for May 20, according to his French attorney, Frank Berton.
The Belgian-born French citizen, who is charged with participation in terrorist murder and taking part in the activities of a terrorist organization, will be held in solitary confinement under maximum security conditions, French Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas told news hounds.
Allowing him to relax without stressful distractions...
"A dedicated surveillance team of skilled agents, trained for detention of dangerous individuals, will be in charge of him," he said, according to BFM.
Marcel Duredon, a union representative at Fleury-Merogis Prison in the southern suburbs of Gay Paree, confirmed to CNN that Abdeslam would be held at that institution.
Abdeslam, the only survivor of the group of men accused of carrying out the November 13 attacks in Gay Paree, was Europe's most wanted man before he was captured last month in Brussels after a shootout with Belgian authorities.
Abdeslam's French attorney, Frank Berton, told BFM that his client "won't stay silent" and said he planned to mount a "defense based on explanation."
"Obviously the line of defense will be to explain things, especially his rather fast radicalization, to explain his acts, what happened moments before the Bataclan attack, what happened at the Stade de La Belle France," he said, referring to two targets in the Gay Paree attacks.
"He has to tell us about his journey and his role."
Abdeslam had to be judged "for what he did, not for what he didn't do," Berton said.
"He has to be judged for what he did, and not for what he represents as the last survivor. He shouldn't carry the burden of acts which are not his."
Sven Mary, Salah Abdeslam's Belgian lawyer, downplayed his client's alleged role in the terror attacks, describing Abdeslam as "more of a follower than leader" and as "smart as an empty ashtray," according to Libération newspaper.
Aline Le Bail-Kremer, a spokeswoman for the French Association of Victims of Terrorism whose cousin was among those killed in Gay Paree, said the extradition was "very important and very emotional."
She said families were desperate for answers, but there was also "a strong risk of disappointment." While Abdeslam has claimed he's prepared to talk, they have doubts about how honest his account will be, she said.
Seeing justice take its course was the most important thing, she said.
"It's a necessary step to continue an essential work of mourning."
Samia Maktouf, a lawyer for the families of 16 of the 130 attack victims, echoed her views.
"It is a first step to knowing the truth. Today, the families are looking to know what happened on November 13, and even though we don't trust Salah Abdeslam to tell the truth, we're still hoping," she said. "It's a kind of relief for them to know he's here."
Last week, Belgian authorities charged Abdeslam with attempted murder over a shootout with police in Brussels days before his capture.
Four coppers were maimed in the March 15 shootout in the Brussels suburb of Forest.
The runaway was captured three days later in Molenbeek, another district of the Belgian capital, in a shootout during which he was shot in the leg.
It ended his four months on the run. Four days later, a terror cell struck at the Brussels Airport and a metro station in the city, killing 32 people.
Investigators have said the same ISIS network carried out the Gay Paree and Brussels attacks.
Abdeslam was born in Brussels and lived there before the Gay Paree attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
The new girl came ready to barter;
She might even throw in a garter:
"Ma'm'selle Kokopelli
Will fill up your belly!"
They drummed her right out of the Quarter.
#2
Ma'm'selle Kokopelli went to the Big Rez
Wearing one garter and two tasseled Fez
The Dine' looked askance
A belagana with no pants?
But welcomed her home, The People says.
[REUTERS] Austria outlined plans on Wednesday to erect a fence at a border crossing with Italia that is a vital link between northern and southern Europe, escalating a stand-off between the two states over how to handle a migration crisis.
Migrants are crossing the Mediterranean from Africa to Italia in growing numbers and Austria has said Rome must stop them traveling onwards towards northern Europe or it will have to introduce border controls at the Brenner Pass in the Alps.
But with Austrian preparations for controls already under way, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said Austria's move was "shamelessly against European rules, as well as being against history, against logic and against the future".
Austrian police in the Alpine province of Tyrol, which borders on northern Italia, presented plans for the installation of facilities at Brenner to inspect vehicles and process migrants colonists, in the event formal controls are introduced.
Building work on some of the facilities at Brenner began two weeks ago but their scale was not immediately known.
[AnNahar] The Austrian parliament on Wednesday adopted one of Europe's toughest asylum laws, as the country's politicians struggle to halt the surging far-right which is leading in presidential polls. The hotly-disputed bill, which passed by 98 to 67, allows the government to declare a "state of emergency" if the migrant numbers suddenly rise and reject most asylum-seekers directly at the border, including from war-torn countries like Syria.
Rights groups, religious leaders and opposition parties have condemned the legislation -- the latest in a string of hardline measures against migrants colonists -- as violating international human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... conventions.
But Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka insisted Austria had no other choice as long as "so many other European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... members fail to do their part" to stop the influx.
"We cannot shoulder the whole world's burden," he said.
Wedged between Europe's two main refugee routes - the Balkans and Italia -- Austria received around 90,000 asylum requests in 2015, the second-highest in the bloc on a per capita basis.
The crisis has boosted populist fringe parties across Europe, pressuring traditionally centrist governments to adopt a much firmer stance on migrants colonists.
- 'Dangerous tools' -
Under Austria's new law, the government can now declare an emergency if the migrant flow threatens the country's "national security". Border authorities will then only grant access to refugees facing safety threats in a neighboring transit country or whose relatives are already in Austria. Some groups including minors and pregnant women will however be exempt from the rule.
The restrictions are similar to tough rules introduced by the right-wing government in neighboring Hungary last year.
"These are extremely dangerous tools that are being sharpened here, especially if they fall into the wrong hands," warned the leader of the small NEOS opposition party, Mathias Strolz, ahead of the vote.
It comes after the candidate of the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), Norbert Hofer, sent shock waves through the political establishment by winning the first round of a presidential ballot on Sunday.
The two candidates of the ruling centrist coalition failed to even make it into the runoff on May 22.
The FPOe also looks set to do well in the next scheduled general election in 2018.
Trying to stem voter desertion to the far-right, Austria's government erected border fences and introduced an annual cap on asylum-seekers.
It also pressured other countries along the Balkan trail to close their frontiers earlier this year, effectively shutting the route to migrants colonists.
The clampdown left some 54,000 migrants colonists currently stranded in Greece.
It also pushed people smugglers to seek out new routes into Europe, including via Italia, which has so far this year seen 26,000 migrants colonists land on its shores after setting off from Libya.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Obama Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said Austria's move was "shamelessly against European rules, as well as being against history, against logic and against the future".
sounds familiar
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/28/2016 8:52
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Amid a moribund economy and reduced levels of consumer spending, the Fed on Wednesday again opted not to raise interest rates.
"Economic activity appears to have slowed," the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement released after its two-day meeting this week. "Growth in household spending has moderated, although households' real income has risen at a solid rate and consumer sentiment remains high."
The statement highlighted the many conflicting signs in the U.S. economy – consistent job growth and an improving housing market against slowdowns in business investment and exports. Indeed, the Atlanta Fed has estimated that economic growth slowed to just 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2016, a condition reflected in the Fed's lukewarm assessment of conditions.
#2
Let's see: the largest retailer Walmart had its first ever drop in revenue in 45+ years. And you can't blame the internet for walmarts reversal because Apple had its first revenue miss in 51 quarters.
#3
Audit the fed. Whats slowing the economy is the weight of the government and its dead hand of regulations. That and nearly a decade of jobless recovery under Obama. The number they use is completely misleading. And neither party seems capable of slashing away at Federal spending and federal taxes, which is what is needed.
A lot of people are wise to it and are starting to save and hunker down instead of spending like madmen.
#4
It's really hard to deal with economics when all your data has been corrupted by a bureaucracy to make their masters look good. Just ask the Soviets how that worked out.
"The U.S. economy expanded in the first quarter at the slowest pace in two years as American consumers reined in spending and companies tightened their belts in response to weak global financial conditions and a plunge in oil prices.
Gross domestic product rose at a 0.5 percent annualized rate after a 1.4 percent fourth-quarter advance, Commerce Department data showed Thursday. The increase was less than the 0.7 percent median projection in a Bloomberg survey and marked the third straight disappointing start to a year."
Thanks Obama. Hildabeest is running for a third Obama term. Good luck on that
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/28/2016 8:59
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#6
wanna bet that 1.4% last Quarter gets "revised downward"?
Unexpectedly™.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/28/2016 9:00
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#7
wanna bet that 1.4% last Quarter gets "revised downward"? Unexpectedly™.
But the good news is....government revised 'downward reporting' appears to be following an upward trend.
#11
once the command economy mindset gets hold the downstream minds get very quickly that it is career terminal to disappoint the leaders, so fudge, and soon, 5 year plans and meaningless numbers become the norm.....
#12
A new "5 year plan", properly rolled out every 18 months, takes us all they way down to the "kicked can", so long as no one else kicks the can further...
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The former Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... has said the US-led war on terror failed because the krazed killers’ sanctuaries remained intact in Pakistain.
During an interview with the Russia Today television network, Karzai said Washington should focus on cutting down krazed killers’ financial sources and training grounds if the country remains sincerely determined to fight terror in all its forms, and its intentions are true.
"The war against terrorism will not succeed unless we fight it in the sanctuaries, in the training grounds, in the motivational factors, in the financial resources to them," the former President said.
Karzai further added that the reason the United States and its allies failed to provide lasting security to Afghanistan and to do away with extremism and with radicalism is because they began to fight it in Afghan villages, where terrorism wasn’t there anyway in the first place.
"They did not go to the sanctuaries, which were in Pakistain. They did not go to the motivational factors, which were in many other places. They did not go to the financial sources of it, which they knew were where they were," Karzai added.
Karzai reiterated "If this war is genuinely against terrorism, if the United States wants to succeed, then we know by now that success will not come unless you go to the sanctuaries, you go to the financial sources and all other factors."
This is not the first the Afghan officials have criticized Pakistain for remaining reckless in acting against the sanctuaries of the Afghan anti-government armed Death Eater groups using the Pak soil for their operations in Afghanistan, specifically the Haqqani terrorist network and Taliban group.
President Mohammad Ashraf called on Pakistain to take actions against the Taliban group leadership based in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. and Quetta city, warning that Afghanistan will take diplomatic measures and take the issue to the international organizations, including the UN Security Council if no measures were taken.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2016
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#1
That is a symptom of an underlying failure of nerve of our politicians.
#2
All roads lead to Beijing and the company store. The account will never be paid, thus compliance to the wishes and dictates of the store is generally viewed as mandatory.
#3
Karzai is only continuing to scratch the surface. Of course the ISI and Afghans have been fighting a proxy war...and of course the Afghan war lords played us for the fool... The deliberate indifference of our leaders over there and here is criminal. We paid the war lords for the privilege of fighting them...and allowed the Pakis to rape our supply chain. They need to pay...it ain't over.
DOHA - Iraqi authorities have revoked the operating licence of the pan-Arab satellite network Al Jazeera and closed its offices in Baghdad, accusing it of violating government guidelines issued in 2014 to regulate media "during the war on terror."
Al Jazeera, based in Qatar, said it was dismayed by the action.
"We remain committed to broadcasting news on Iraq to Iraqi people, our viewers in the Arab world and across the world," the channel said in an emailed statement.
Rights groups have criticized Iraq's media guidelines, which restrict journalists from covering insurgent movements and require them to report in favorable terms on government forces.
In 2013, Iraq's government accused Al Jazeera and nine other satellite television channels of fostering sectarian sentiment that was fueling violence.
Founded by Qatar's ruling family in 1996, Al Jazeera aggressively covered the Arab spring uprisings and has broadcast extensively on the civil war in Syria. Qatar itself is a harsh critic of the Syrian regime and a leading backer of the rebels, and has been accused by many supporters of Iraq's government of backing dissent in Iraq.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2016
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[CITY-JOURNAL.ORG] Did New York City mayor Bill de Blasio run a pay-to-play money laundering operation out of City Hall? It’s looking that way. Corruption-busting U.S. attorney Preet Bharara is probing the progressive icon’s political fundraising to determine whether those seeking something from city government were expected to pony up substantial sums that were then funneled to the mayor’s political allies.
The clearest example of these machinations was the mayor’s 2014 effort to win the New York state senate for the Democrats. The mayor--or his advisers--allegedly circumvented limits on individual campaign contributions by having wealthy real-estate developers and powerful public-employee unions make major contributions to upstate county Democratic committees. Bharara’s office is now investigating claims that those committees passed the money they received directly to designated local candidates, in violation of state law. The candidates were supposedly informed that they had to spend the money through specific New York City strategic consultants, all closely tied to the de Blasio administration and, just as important, to the Working Families Party--the political engine that launched de Blasio’s unlikely rise in 2013. The only surprise is that it has taken this long for these schemes to come to light.
The Working Families Party was a late-nineties creation of labor unions and the now-defunct Acorn (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.) Taking advantage of New York’s fusion-voting system that allows candidates to run on multiple ballot lines, the WFP gained traction in the 2000s by endorsing liberal "up-ballot" Democrats, and then encouraging people to vote the WFP line in order to maintain ballot position. Its goal, even then, was to wrest the state senate from Republicans’ decades-long control. The WFP leveraged its expertise in door-to-door campaigning to develop a superb political field operation that excelled at identifying likely voters and turning them out on Election Day. Funded heavily by public-sector labor unions such as DC 37 (municipal workers), the UFT (teachers), and SEIU 1199 (hospital workers), the WFP has become a major force in New York politics. It now has branches in New Jersey, Connecticut, and other states.
[NYPOST] The animal-rights group NYCLASS revealed Thursday that it has been subpoenaed as part of the widening corruption probe related to Mayor de Blasio’s fund-raising efforts.
News of the subpoena for the group -- which is fighting to ban horse carriages in the city -- came hours after de Blasio tried to rewrite history by denying he had ever promised to enforce such a ban immediately upon taking office.
During a testy exchange with news hounds, Hizzoner was confronted with the campaign pledge he made to curry favor with animal-rights activists.
"It’s just not accurate. I said my top priority was pre-K, and I think everyone on earth knows that," the mayor said.
But, as reported by The Post, de Blasio told a Midtown candidates forum in March 2013 that riding to the rescue of equine buggy-pullers was at the top of his political agenda.
"I would ban the horse carriages in Central Park within the first week on the job," he said at the time.
On Thursday, de Blasio was asked about his "somewhat confusing or bewildering" continued support for a carriage-horse ban, given the questions surrounding his ties to former Edison Properties boss Steven Nislick and Wendy Neu, director of Hugo Neu Recycling.
Nislick and Neu are leaders of NYCLASS, and records show they and other associates ponied up at least $900,000 in contributions to de Blasio’s 2013 mayoral campaign and his Campaign for One New York nonprofit, which he recently said was shutting down amid criticism.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2016
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#1
With all the demands from his 'progressive' supporters to ban all offshore oil & gas production, all fracking, and any pipeline or import terminal expansion or new high voltage electric lines, he'd better not ban horses - they'll be the only means of transportation of people and freight.
[DAWN] "More than ever," says legendary US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh when asked if he still believes Pakistain helped the United States get the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now beyond all cares and woe... (OBL).
When the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist first made this claim in an article published last year, it shook Washington and forced the White House to reject the story as false. Major US media outlets also rejected his claim as incorrect.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2016
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#1
Garbage. Pure garbage. If you have lived in Pakistan, if you even know a little about Pakistanis, you would understand that if they were involved in the Bin Laden episode that information would have leaked out with a day of the event.
#2
"The Pak intelligence picked him (bin Laden) in the Hindu Kush area, built the compound in Abbottabad and put him there," he said. "Pak officials did so because the Saudis asked them to. The Saudis did not want Americans to interrogate OBL."
There were unconfirmed reports that non-U.S. helicopters were heard flying low level in the vicinity of Tora Bora during the operation to capture UBL. Bin Laden somehow escaped. Next time he surfaced on the radar, he was living the dream in Abbottabod.
[AA.TR] At least 30 people were killed and 62 others were maimed Wednesday when a Russian warplane targeted a field hospital in Aleppo’s al-Sokkari neighborhood, a civil defense official said.
Ibrahim Hajj Ibrahim, a civil defense official in Aleppo, told Anadolu Agency that the attack on Quds hospital left scores dead and injured, including medical staff, women and kiddies. He feared the corpse count may rise further.
Ibrahim added that the rescue teams who rushed to the attacked hospital were also targeted in another air raid.
On Tuesday, at least 18 people were killed and more than a dozen others injured in Russian Arclight airstrikes in Syria’s northern Aleppo province, according to a Syrian civil defense official.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2016
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#1
Queue the HRW and International Outrage™ in 5...4...3..
nevermind, it wasn't us, so
*crickets chirping*
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/28/2016 8:49
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[RFE/RL] Authorities in Moscow have detained a man on the suspicion that he is a recruiter for extremist organizations. Russian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said that the suspect was detained as a result of a special operation.
She said police and security officers found a bomb and several grenades in an apartment rented by the man in the town of Khimki near Moscow. The suspect was identified as "a 23-year-old citizen of an Asian country."
Volk said he is suspected of "recruiting fighters for international extremist religious groups" among Moscow residents from Central Asia and the Caucasus.
[ARA News] ALEPPO – Subsequent to fierce clashes with Syrian rebel groups, militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) were able to seize control of several areas in the northern province of Aleppo, killing a number of rebels during the fighting, local and military sources reported on Wednesday.
Local activists confirmed that ISIS has been attempting to regain the villages and towns that have recently fallen to the rebels.
Speaking to ARA News in Aleppo, rebel spokesman Saleh al-Zein said that ISIS terrorists carried out Wednesday a major offensive on the villages and towns fell to rebel groups during the past few days in Aleppo suburbs.
“The terror group has taken over the towns and villages of Dudyan, Yahmoul, Jarez, Telil al-Hisin and al-Fayrouziya on the Syria-Turkey borderline following rebels’ withdrawal due to the ISIS-led intensified rocket fire on their headquarters in the area,” al-Zein reported.
The source pointed out that ISIS carried out two car bomb attacks on the entrance of the Dudyan town and in the vicinity of Tel Hussein village, causing the rebels heavy losses in manpower and equipment.
“Backed by Turkish artillery bombardment, rebel groups of the Sham Corps and the 1st regiment Squad and the Sultan Murad Brigade responded to the ISIS-led offensive, targeting the group’s strongholds in the areas surrounding the strategic towns of al-Raee, Qasajik, al-Bal and Dudyan with mortars and hell cannons, causing direct injuries among ISIS ranks,” al-Zein told ARA News.
However, ISIS jihadis were able to advance in the region despite the Turkish bombardment on the group’s locations near the Syrian-Turkish border.
ARA News could not verify the death toll among ISIS insurgents.
Two weeks ago, ISIS was able to seize control of the strategic town of al-Raee in northern Aleppo subsequent to fierce battles with rebel fighters.
If Syrian rebels were able to capture the villages of Soran, Ahtimlat and Doabak, they could easily fortify their presence in Aleppo province, which may lead to retaking the strategic town of al-Raee from ISIS on the Turkish-Syrian border, according to military sources.
Rebel factions are now launching hit and run attacks on ISIS militants in the key town al-Raee, amid continuous attempts to cut the group’s supply lines in the bordering towns with Turkey.
Posted by: badanov ||
04/28/2016
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Arrests of Armenians who have crossed into neighboring Georgia to try to sell nuclear materials have increased the past two years, with the latest coming just two weeks ago, said the US edition huffingtonpost.com Apr. 25.
Nuclear non-proliferation experts in the US and elsewhere are alarmed about smuggling attempts in other countries in the former Soviet Union as well, according to the edition. The arrests of most of the Armenians have been in sting operations in Georgia, where undercover officers posed as buyers from Islamic extremist groups, said the edition. Armenians have been particularly active in nuclear-materials smuggling efforts in the region, according to Huffingtonpost.
And the Azerbaijanis, who are almost as unbiased as the Huffington Post...
"The US, which has been a driver of efforts to keep nuclear materials from the former Soviet Union from falling into the hands of rogue states or terrorists, gave Georgia $50 million a few years ago to help thwart smugglers," said the edition.
"Part of the money was used to install radiation detectors at Georgian border crossings, and that proved to be the undoing of Armenian smuggler Garik Dadayan the first time," said the edition adding that he was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison, but served only a few months before being released.
"The question of why the original sentence was so light, and why he was freed so quickly after being confined, has never been answered satisfactorily. The suspicion is that bribes were at play," explained the edition.
The light sentence apparently emboldened Dadayan to try again, said the edition. "In 2010, he was arrested in another smuggling effort, this time in cahoots with two other Armenians."
Given Armenia's distinction as one of the poorest countries in the former Soviet Union, it is obvious that the issue of nuclear-materials smuggling from the country will become increasingly relevant, according to Huffingtonpost.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2016
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[Bangkok Post] Two bombs hidden in motorcycles wounded 13 people in Narathiwat province on Monday while two rubber traders were killed in a gun battle in Yala province as violence continued across Thailand's far South.
In Narathiwat, one bomb detonated near the Muang district police station and the other exploded in front of a shop, as bomb-ordnance officers sealed off the areas. Police said 13 people were injured, including five police officers and a young girl.
An eyewitness said he saw a man parking a motorbike in front of his house before leaving on another motorcycle. He said he called police, but the bomb went off a minute later. The two explosions occurred only a minute apart.
Elsewhere, two rubber wood traders were killed in a gun attack in Yala's Muang district Monday morning. As the victims were delivering rubber-tree timber to a school, they were followed by a group of men in a pickup truck. While overtaking the jeep, the men in the truck opened fire at the traders, causing them to lose control and skid off the road, hitting a power pole. The two were riddled with bullets and died at the scene.
(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 western Baghdad.
The source said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “This morning, a bomb exploded near a fruits and vegetables market in Amiriya area in western Baghdad, killing one person and wounding seven others.”
The source, who asked anonymity, added, “A security force rushed to the area and transferred the wounded to a nearby hospital for treatment and the dead body to the forensic medicine department, while cordoned off the area of the incident and barred approaching it.”
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A source in the Ministry of Interior announced on Wednesday, that one soldier was killed and other one was wounded by a sniper fire in southern Baghdad.
The source said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “This afternoon, a sniper targeted an army checkpoint in Arab Jabour area in southern Baghdad, killing one soldier and wounding one another.”
The source, who asked anonymity, added, “A security force rushed to the area and transferred the injured to a nearby hospital to receive treatment and the dead body to the forensic medicine department, while carried out a raid to search for the perpetrators.”
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A source in the Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced on Wednesday, that 11 people had been either killed or wounded in a bomb blast southeast of Baghdad.
The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “This evening, a bomb exploded near a popular cafe in al-Kargholiya village in Nahrawan District southeast of Baghdad, killing one person and injuring ten others.”
The source, who asked anonymity, added, “A security force rushed to the area and transferred the wounded to a nearby hospital for treatment and the dead body to the forensic medicine department, while cordoned off the area of the incident and barred approaching it.”
GENEVA - The United Nations mediator called on Thursday on the leaders of the Russia Federation and the United States to salvage the "barely alive" two-month ceasefire in Syria and revitalize the damaged peace process.
Putin doesn't want to, and Champ doesn't know how...
UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura spoke to reporters in Geneva after briefing the Security Council by video-link at the end of a two-week round of talks. The main opposition High Negotiations Committee pulled out of the formal talks a week ago, in protest of intensified fighting and slow aid deliveries.
Referring to the two powers, he said: "There is no reason that both of them which have been putting so much political capital in that success story and have a common interest in not seeing Syria ending up in another cycle of war should not be able to revitalize what they have created and which is still alive but barely."
Putin is venal, and Champ is clueless...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2016
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[MIRROR.CO.UK] SpaceX is planning to be the first private company to land on Mars within the next two years.
The company said it is planning to send its Dragon spaceraft to the red planet as early as 2018.
Bosses announced their intentions in a statement on Twitter this afternoon.
A spokesperson tweeted: "Planning to send Dragon to Mars as soon as 2018. Red Dragons will inform overall Mars architecture, details to come."
Earlier this month the US aerospace company successfully landed a reusable rocket on an ocean platform, after four previous attempts failed.
Mission controllers cheered as the Falcon 9 rocket remained upright on the platform off the coast of Florida on Friday April 8.
It was returning from delivering an inflatable habitat into space for Nasa. The inflatable room will attach to the International Space Station (ISS) for a two-year test and will become the first such habitat for use by humans in orbit.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/28/2016
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#1
interesting SAA contract with NASA on this..
In exchange for all data NASA will help them with JPL fully on-board.
When this is over they should know how to make an interplanetary spaceship.
#2
You need an awful lot of delta-v if you want a large payload there in a shorter amount of time. Do they have anything that can fill that role or do they plan on docking it together in orbit and go from there?
Posted by: Pearl Big Foot3043 ||
04/28/2016 19:14
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Iran will get five to eight Airbus passenger aircraft this year, Head of Iran Civil Aviation Organization Ali Abedzadeh said. Coming as the first stage of a deal between Iran Aviation Co. Homa and Airbus, the aircraft so received will be of models 320 and 330, he said, IRIB news agency reported April 25.
Referring to the removal of sanctions and its effect on foreign companies to approach Iran for business, he said the mindset to do business with Iran exists among European companies.
Iran's aviation industry grew decrepit under sanctions, with airplanes aging over 25 years in average, something that has hugely heightened air accidents in the country. Iran needs to import over 500 aircraft to refurbish its civil fleet in five years, officials have often said.
This is how the Euros get their money back after buying Iranian oil. That's why they were happy enough to see the sanctions go away.
Selling more oil, earning less -- and spending considerably more now that they can actually buy things on the open market. Who will go broke first, Iran or Saudi Arabia?
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2016
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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.
A "pervasive army" of more than 25,000 federal lawyers have raked in $26.2 billion from U.S. taxpayers since 2007, according to a new report by the non-profit government watchdog Open The Books.
[Daily Beest] As the self-proclaimed Islamic State trumpets its global terrorist campaign, U.S. special operations forces have quietly killed more than three dozen key ISIS operatives blamed for plotting deadly attacks in Europe and beyond.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) are still waging Jihad as they defend the country, region and the world against the menace of terror, President Mohammad 
[RFE/RL] Uzbek authorities have condemned a popular singer's "shameless" choice of clothing and warned her to avoid offending national "mentality and values," hinting that she might be tossed out of the industry for her transgressions.
A Uighur family living in the Xinjiang region has been dogged by police surveillance and a series of arrests following the execution of a family member on terror charges almost 20 years ago. The harassment, which some are calling a form of "collective punishment," began after the family's eldest son, Abdulla Muniyaz, was put to death for his alleged involvement in a Feb. 25, 1997, bus bombing in the regional capital Urumqi.
Chris 
[Gulf Today] The Philippine president said on Wednesday that Abu Sayyaf rebels may have plotted to kill him and kidnap boxing star Manny Pacquiao. President Benigno Aquino III said the insurgents also wanted to explode bombs in metropolitan Manila to try to get funding from the Daesh group but the plans were uncovered and troops have reduced the militants ability to inflict harm.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Two key Taliban group 
[Inquirer] Three people were killed in a clash between troops and communist militants in a remote area of Davao del Sur on Monday. Police chief Robert Caraoa said soldiers were conducting foot patrol in Barangay Astorga when they encountered New People's Army militants under Commander Jasmin of the Front Committee 51. A militant, a soldier, and a civilian were killed in the battle.
[WASHINGTONPOST] "Roof knocking" is a controversial Israeli military practice used in the 
[CNN] Terror suspect Salah Abdeslam appeared in a 
[REUTERS] Austria outlined plans on Wednesday to erect a fence at a border crossing with 
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The former 
[CITY-JOURNAL.ORG] Did New York City mayor Bill de Blasio run a pay-to-play money laundering operation out of City Hall? It’s looking that way. Corruption-busting U.S. attorney Preet Bharara is probing the progressive icon’s political fundraising to determine whether those seeking something from city government were expected to pony up substantial sums that were then funneled to the mayor’s political allies.
[DAWN] "More than ever," says legendary US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh when asked if he still believes Pakistain helped the United States get 
[MIRROR.CO.UK] SpaceX is planning to be the first private company to land on Mars within the next two years.
