The New York Times has an article describing how Ben Rhodes, President Obama,s deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, sold fiction as truth in communicating the president's foreign policy.
Thomas Ricks, writing in Foreign Policy, calls the article "a stunning profile of Ben Rhodes, the asshole who is the president's foreign policy guru."
But it is also a profile of the president. As David Samuels wrote in the NYT source article, Rhodes saw himself as a reflection of the president:
Rhodes is the reflection. Obama is the originating image. Rhodes is just a flunky who transcribes what the president dictates. Still the Samuels article, by printing the administration's admission of its willful deception on Iran policy, provides crucial insight into the fascinating subject of whether Barack Obama -- if you believe he is a failure -- is incompetent or malevolent.
At first glance the admission that the administration lied to the public seems a slam-dunk case for malevolence. But there's more to it than that. There is a perception that political imbecility is a lesser offense than malice. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the anti-Nazi activist, while in prison waiting to be executed, reflected that "stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice" because evil left behind in its conscious perpetrators "a sense of unease."
Against true imbecility even reasoning was useless since you couldn't even appeal to your enemy's self interest because they were too dumb to see it. "Against stupidity we are defenseless," he wrote, because imbeciles never feel a qualm. Against the stupid "neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything ... reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict ... simply do not need to be believed ... and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this, the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack."
It's worse than all that.
Rhodes and his people (and he had a nice team of staffers) played the MSM. He called them what they were: inexperienced, wet-behind-the-ears kids. Noobs. Stupid kids with stupid degrees from high-priced colleges that didn't educate them. They were there to be played, and he played them. He understood them after all, he's one of them -- just a little smarter, maybe, and with mentors who knew how to direct him. Jarrett. Axelrod. Plouffe. And of course, Obama himself. Rhodes was a tool -- a computer calibrated, finely crafted tool. Obama and his team used Rhodes as a tool on the MSM, and it worked. Gloriously. Far better than any of them could hope.
But it's worse than that. Those kid reporters? Whores, the lot of them. Or wannabe whores. As Glenn Reynolds calls them, Democratic operatives with bylines.
When this story broke the MSM had a choice: they could stand up on their hind legs, protest, and trash Rhodes for revealing what he revealed. Or they could pick up the twenty on the bedside table and remain quiet.
"Just a security review"
The Romanian hacker who says he easily breached Hillary Clinton's personal email server also claimed, in a series of interviews with Fox News, that he spoke with the FBI at length on the plane when extradited from Romania to Virginia last month.
"They came after me, a guy from the FBI, from the State Department," 44-year-old Marcel Lehel Lazar, who goes by the moniker "Guccifer," told Fox News during a jailhouse phone interview. He said the conversation was "80 minutes ... recorded," and he took his own notes.
A government source confirmed that the hacker had a lot to say on the plane but provided no other details. Lazar was flown to the U.S. to face separate cyber-crime charges.
In addition to the apparent conversation with the FBI on the plane, Fox News has learned a meeting was expected as early as this week at the Alexandria, Va., detention center where he's being held involving Guccifer, the FBI, the U.S. attorney and the defendant's court-appointed lawyer.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/07/2016
11:28 ||
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Safe to assume he got immunity for spilling his guts?
[Guardian] Margot Honecker, politician and widow of former East German leader Erich Honecker, has died in Chile at the age of 89, her family said. That right arm appears to have a bright future in 'Bodies - The Exhibition.'
Honecker, who had lived in the country since 1992, died at home in the capital, Santiago, on Friday.
She was a prominent member of the East German communist party and served as education minister under her husband, who ruled the country with an iron fist from 1971 until just before the Berlin Wall came down in 1989.
She defended her husband’s rule to the end, writing on the 10th anniversary of Germany’s reunification that: "In the east, we never knew social incertitude, need and misery. Now, monster money has taken the place of human relations.
"Xenophobia and neo-fascism are developing in the east. All that is explained by the recent past. The roots of this evil are inherent in the capitalist social order," she added in a book published in 2000, titled The Other Germany.
Erich Honecker died in Chile in 1994 of liver cancer.
#1
German pension fund to recover €1,500 per month heretofore spent in Chile. No word on whether Merkle or the Champ will attend funeral. Huge homecoming reception planned in Hölle.
BLUF: [LI] "In November, I will not vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, but I will support principled conservatives at the state and federal levels, just as I have done my entire life. For Republicans, there is no greater priority than ensuring we keep control of both chambers of Congress. I look forward to working hard for great conservatives in the Senate and House in the coming months." Music to the Clinton's ears.
#1
The day after Jeb dropped out of the race I commented that he could now focus on getting Hillary elected. A Rantburger called my comment 'idiotic'. I request a written retraction on the critique of my comment.
#3
...During the early primaries, if I was asked whether or not I supported JEB!, my answer was that I felt he was an honest, sincere man - but I would be damned if I was going to vote for a dynasty. Now, it's clear that the honest/sincere part was a complete lie as well - whether or not you agree with Trump, this can't be seen as anything more than a petulant hissy fit on JEB!'s part.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/07/2016 8:18
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....honest, sincere man
Yes, please strike 'honest, sincere men' from my assessments of Ryan and Romney as well.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/07/2016 11:33
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Jeb takes his toys and goes home. The same thing they made Trump promise not to do if he lost. Anyone wonder why nobody like politicians these days?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/07/2016 11:56
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I doubt if I'm alone in saying that I would have never voted for Jeb either. I'd just as soon cast a protest vote for a third party candidate and thereby let Hillary win than vote for Jeb. So there.
Principled conservative my ass. Jeb's only principles are to server the special interests both foreign and domestic who sponsored his candidacy.
The primaries are over, Jeb. You lost. You are now irrelevant and that's a good thing.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/07/2016 12:02
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The beltway party won't give up. It is an existential thing.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/07/2016 13:01
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Lotta bed-wetting from the usual anti JEB! Parties. You have emerged victorious from the shit-pit with Mr. Bouffant who is yes,yes,yes, here it comes babies a RINO!
LOL I got my rino speks on.
JEB! Was worser than Hitlery!
Talk to yawl later after After the reign of the "Führerin" (at least she's not a RINO,) is over.
[Daily Caller] An ex-District of Columbia government parking official gave towing jobs to a company in exchange for more than $35,000 in bribes, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Vernita M. Greenfield, formerly a customer service representative in the city’s Parking Enforcement Management Administration, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to taking bribes as a federal official.
[Daily Caller] Ben Rhodes, President Barack Obama's close confidante and national security adviser, just supercharged the ongoing feud between former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and the National Security Council by calling Gates an incessant whiner.
The same Gates who has largely earned the respect of experts and politicians alike, across the aisle, for his measured, pragmatic approach to foreign policy: according to Rhodes, an incessant whiner.
Rima Fakih is believed to be the first Muslim to win the title of Miss USA when she was crowned the winner in 2010.
Now, the beauty pageant winner has converted to Christianity, recently sharing a verse from Philippians on Twitter.
Fakih converted to Christianity last month in preparation for her marriage in Lebanon next week to Wassim Salibi, a wealthy Christian music producer, Christian Today reports.
"Rima Fakih is a Lebanese-American actress, model, professional wrestler and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 2010. She represented the state of Michigan in the national pageant, having previously won the 2010 Miss Michigan USA pageant."
Got my attention....
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
05/07/2016 12:22
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Mullah Richard,
she appeared in one season of wwe Tough Enough getting eliminated in the early rounds.
Similarly her acting career consists of one movie.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
05/07/2016 12:56
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Frozen Al,
In fairness, the only thing she's actually known for simply requires her to stand there and look good.
Which, you know. She does.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/07/2016 14:36
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Y'all seem to be knocking her accomplishments. Looking attractive puts her ahead of most, but her courage really sets her apart. (I think I'll stop before discussing intelligence...)
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] German Chancellor Angela Merkel ...current chancellor of Germany. She was educated in East Germany when is was still run by commies, but in 1989 got involved with the growing democracy movement when the Berlin Wall fell. Merkel is sometimes referred to by Germans as Mom... on Thursday urged European leaders to protect EU borders or risk a "return to nationalism" as the continent battles its worst migration crisis since World War II.
As Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi kicked off two days of talks in Rome with Merkel and senior EU officials, the German leader said Europe must defend its borders "from the Mediterranean to the North Pole" or suffer the political consequences.
Support for far-right and anti-immigrant parties is on the rise in several countries on the continent which saw more than a million people arrive on its shores last year.
In Austria, Norbert Hofer of the far-right Freedom Party is expected to win a presidential run-off on May 22 after romping to victory in the first round on an anti-immigration platform.
Merkel told a presser with Renzi that Europe's cherished freedom of movement is at threat, with ramped-up border controls in response to the crisis raising questions over whether the passport-free Schengen zone can survive.
With over 28,500 migrants colonists arriving since January 1, Italia has once again become the principal entry point for migrants colonists arriving in Europe, following a controversial EU-The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... deal and the closure of the Balkan route up from Greece.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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When the open borders let in the attacking hordes, it might be a good idea to close the gates. A little nationalism beats being overrun and have your civilization destroyed. Merkal's got a death wish.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/07/2016 1:03
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[AA.TR] A high court in Istanbul convicted Turkish journalists Can Dundar and Erdem Gul Friday night on charges of revealing state secrets, sentencing them to five years and 10 months, and five years in prison, respectively.
Dundar, the editor-in-chief of the Cumhuriyet newspaper and Erdem Gul, the paper’s Ankara bureau chief, were put on trial following the publication of images purporting to show arms being transported to Syria in trucks belonging to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s National Intelligence Organization, also known as the MIT.
The 14th High Criminal Court acquitted the duo of charges of attempting to overthrow the government, while ordering that the charges of "knowingly and willfully" helping the terrorist FETO/PDY organization or the so-called "parallel state" to be separated from the trial.
A few hours before the court announced the guilty verdict, Dundar had escaped a gun attack outside Istanbul's Caglayan courthouse, police said.
He was assaulted by a gunman outside the courthouse. Dundar was not maimed in the attack, but a Turkish news channel, NTV, Correspondent Yagiz Senkal was slightly injured.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Tunisian forces have dismantled two al-Qaeda-linked cells that had been planning to carry out attacks against shopping malls and political parties, the interior ministry said Thursday.
Nine people were placed in durance vile I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! during the operation against the cells that had pledged allegiance to the Okba Ibn Nafaa Battalion, a group linked to al-Qaeda.
The operation took place on an unspecified date in the Kef region, which borders Algeria.
Explosives were seized from one of the cells that had been preparing to attack shopping centres, military and security installations, and politicians or parties, said the ministry.
The second cell of five members had procured financial assistance and sent provisions to a "group of terrorists" holed up in the same mountainous area, it said in a statement.
Tunisia, the cradle of the Arab Spring uprisings, has been plagued by Islamist violence since the 2011 overthrow of longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
In March 2015, jihadist gunnies killed 21 tourists and a policeman at the National Bardo Museum in Tunis.
And in June, 30 Britons were among 38 foreign holidaymakers killed in a gun and grenade attack on a beach resort near the Tunisian city of Sousse.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Rebels seized a village from government forces near Aleppo overnight, a monitoring group and rebel sources said on Friday, gaining important ground near the Syrian city where the United States and Russia are trying to de-escalate the war.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 73 people had been killed in the battle for Khan Touman, some 15 km (9 miles) southwest of Aleppo in a location near the Damascus-Aleppo highway. While multiple rebel sources said it had been captured, a Syrian army source denied Khan Touman had fallen.
The attack was launched by an alliance of faceless myrmidons known as Jaish al-Fatah, including the Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which has rejected diplomatic efforts to halt the war and promote peace talks.
The United States and Russia this week brokered a ceasefire in the city of Aleppo itself, where some 300 people have been killed in the last two weeks in government - and rebel-held areas as a result of air strikes and shelling.
"Throughout the night the battles were very intense," said Abu al-Baraa al-Hamawi, a fighter from the Ajnad al-Sham group, one of the factions taking part in the attack. "Areas south of Khan Touman have been liberated," he told Rooters.
The Observatory said 43 of the dead were rebels and 30 were government forces.
Groups fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... , which have mostly supported diplomatic efforts in Syria, were not taking part in the attack, a fighter from one Aleppo-based FSA group told Rooters.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] ISIS snuffies on Thursday captured the main Shaer gas field in eastern Syria in the first gain for the ultra hardline fighters in the Palmyra desert area since they lost the ancient city in March, rebel sources and a monitor said.
Amaq, a news agency affiliated to the holy warriors, said they had taken over the gas field area and its facility where Syrian troops were stationed and killed at least 30 soldiers and gained large caches of heavy weapons including tanks and missiles.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the snuffies seizure of the gas field area that lies roughly 150 km northwest of Palmyra after a three-day assault. The snuffies were able to seize the area despite heavy aerial bombing to push them back, it said.
The snuffies had captured the gas field and nearby gas facilities in Homs province on several occasions but had lost it late in 2014 although they continued to attack government forces stationed in the area.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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As Taliban militants step up efforts against the hard-pressed Afghan security forces battling the group in the volatile regions of southern Helmand, residents in the embattled province on Friday blasted government for not taking an offensive approach to curb the advance of the Taliban.
Residents claim poor war strategy has enabled the Taliban to infiltrate peaceful areas. They accused President Ashraf Ghani and his CEO Abdullah Abdullah of failing to deliver on campaign promises they made to the residents of Helmand during elections.
They said that government leaders pledged to outline more robust and coherent security strategies for Helmand and other volatile regions so as to fix the deteriorating security climate.
As battles between the security forces and Taliban deepens, soldiers battling the Taliban on warfronts have told TOLOnews that the Taliban intends to carry out more offensives unless military campaigns and operations are doubled against the militants.
"Leaders of the national unity government have done nothing so far, neither Abdullah nor Ghani did anything beneficial for us," a resident of Helmand, Sardar, said.
"The government is very weak. Taliban continues to destroy our country on a daily basis, they (Govt) must act," another resident, Sediqaullah, said.
While life in Lashkargah, the provincial capital, appears secure, many fear the security situation could deteriorate.
"Regarding war, I can say that if you go out of the city, there is a security threat," a resident of Lashkargah city Talib Mohammad said.
Meanwhile, on the frontline, the security forces are still committed to defending their country against threats.
Threats have increased in Nawa and Garmsir districts as Taliban push to disrupt the security in the entire province.
"No one must commit negligence, we are here and deployed here, operations must be launched and more aid should be dispatched," an Afghan National Army officer said.
"This area is entirely controlled by the Taliban," a local resident, Janat Gul, said.
When it comes to foreign policy, President Obama has spent more than seven years now living the dream. And I mean dream, as in fantasy -- a trip to an alternate universe. Never mind the dangerous and in some cases deadly realities that increasingly beset the rest of the planet. For the White House, it's been one glorious fiction after another. Russia was a "reset." Libya was a success. So was the pivot to Asia. The tide of war is receding. There was a red line in Syria (until there wasn't). The Iran nuclear program is now "exclusively peaceful." America's standing in the world is now -- according to a White House tally of nameless surveys -- higher than when Obama took office.
Remarkable. But don't credit Obama alone for the creative talent behind these fictions. In a story just posted by The New York Times Magazine, veteran reporter David Samuels brings us a long, appalling and masterfully reported look behind the scenes at influential White House senior staffer Ben Rhodes, "The Aspiring Novelist Who Became Obama's Foreign Policy Guru." Rhodes, 38, serves as assistant to the president, deputy national security advisor for strategic communications and speechwriting, and oversees, as the White House web site tells us, "President Obama's national security communications, speechwriting and global engagement."
How did Ben Rhodes get there? From New York prep-school, Rhodes went on to study creative writing at New York University. He published one short story, before enlisting his mother's connections to enter the world of foreign policy. He then rose to become, as Samuels describes it, "the master shaper and retailer of Obama's foreign-policy narratives, at a time when the killer wave of social media has washed away the sand castles of the traditional press." Samuels notes, "His lack of conventional real-world experience of the kind that normally precedes responsibility for the fate of nations -- like military or diplomatic service, or even a master's degree in international relations, rather than creative writing -- is still startling."
In an era when the-most-transparent-administration-ever is prone to such locutions as "Off the record, we have no comment," Samuels has done a superb job of pulling back the curtain on Rhodes, "Boy Wonder of the Obama White House." Samuels describes Rhodes as relatively low profile (he tends to turn up in big stories as "an unnamed senior official in paragraph 9"), "But once you are attuned to the distinctive qualities of Rhodes's voice -- which is often laced with aggressive contempt for anyone or anything that stands in the president's way -- you can hear him everywhere."
Honest, that's not my editorial snark, that's the actual headline at Foreign Policy magazine. Though I'd be proud to claim it if only I'd written it first.
This may be behind a paywall.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/07/2016
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Well, it is true. He is an asshole and he is a little Gobbels.
Leftists are all alike when you get down to it.
Zombie, government worshiping freaks that care nothing for their own Nation.
#2
The Ben Rhodes interview just confirms what most of us already knew from the moment Barack Obama announced that he was running for President: that there's no "there" there, just a cynically concocted fiction.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
05/07/2016 8:04
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#3
After November 2008, I anticipated four years of misery. I got eight instead.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Britannia on Thursday slammed Russia for blocking a UN Security Council statement condemning the Syrian military offensive in the battleground city of Aleppo.
The statement was circulated to the 15-member council on Wednesday during an emergency meeting on Aleppo but was dismissed by Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin as a "propaganda coup".
British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said Russia’s refusal to back the statement "speaks volumes about their support for and protection of the Assad regime."
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... ’s forces launched an offensive in Aleppo on April 22 that they said was aimed at flushing out jihadists. But the West has accused Damascus of targeting civilians, hitting hospitals and markets.
After air strikes hit a camp of displaced Syrians near the Turkish border on Thursday, the British ambassador called for more pressure to be exerted to rein in the Damascus regime.
"It is really high time for every member of the Security Council to use every last drop of influence on the Assad regime to get them to respect the cessation of hostilities and every other obligation under international humanitarian law," said Rycroft.
At least 28 civilians, including women and kiddies, were killed Thursday in the bombing of the camp in Sarmada in Idlib province, which is controlled by Syria’s Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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[DAWN] TAXILA: A local leader of the banned Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat ...which is the false nose and plastic mustache of the murderous banned extremist group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain, whatcha might call the political wing of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi... (ASWJ) was tossed in the slammer Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! by law enforcement officials during a raid in a mosque in the Mohallah Manzoorabad.
Police sources said law enforcement officials picked up Mufti Haider Ali Haideri from the mosque and shifted him to some holy man's guesthouse an undisclosed location.
The arrest is believed to be a development related to an earlier incident in which two men and a woman belonging to a banned sectarian outfit and a law enforcement official were killed in a clash in the Pind Ghakhara village.
The suspect was previously an office bearer in a banned sectarian organization, and in addition to being a local ASWJ leader was also a founder of the socio-political Rah-e-Haq party.
The central president of the ASWJ, Aurangzeb Farooqi, was also arrested in Taxila in June last year.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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[DAWN] WHEN Pak students open a physics or biology textbook, it is sometimes unclear whether they are actually learning science or, instead, theology. The reason: every science textbook, published by a government-run textbook board in Pakistain, by law must contain in its first chapter how Allah made our world, as well as how Muslims and Paks have created science.
I have no problem with either. But the first properly belongs to Islamic Studies, the second to Islamic or Pak history. Neither legitimately belongs to a textbook on a modern-day scientific subject. That’s because religion and science operate very differently and have widely different assumptions. Religion is based on belief and requires the existence of a hereafter, whereas science worries only about the here and now.
Demanding that science and faith be tied together has resulted in national bewilderment and mass intellectual enfeeblement. Millions of Paks have studied science subjects in school and then gone on to study technical, science-based subjects in college and university. And yet most -- including science teachers -- would flunk if given even the simplest science quiz.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
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#3
Word Brer. I've been teaching for the last 9 months---which brought me in contact with a lot of (Israeli) textbooks (and I assume EU/USA are worse). AGW is a fact, so is interchangeability of genders. Hell, they even managed to louse up the grade school math books.
Trinidad and Tobago suffered the western hemisphere's only attempted Muslim takeover in 1990, despite a Muslim population of under 5%. Nearly three decades later Trinidad is still in trouble, as the writer explains.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A source in the Iraqi police said on Friday, that nine people had been either killed or injured in a bomb blast west of Baghdad.
The source said in a brief statement received by IraqiNews.com, “Today, an explosive device exploded near a number of shops in the district of Abu Ghraib west of Baghdad, resulting in the death of one person and wounding nine others,” pointing out that, “A security force rushed to the area of the incident and transferred the injured to a nearby hospital for treatment and the dead body to the forensic medicine authority.”
Cumhuriyet Editor-in-Chief Can Dündar has escaped unharmed from an armed attack in front of the Istanbul Çağlayan courthouse on May 6 following the fourth hearing of a case due to stories published about Turkish intelligence trucks bound for Syria with hidden weapons in early 2014.
The assailant, identified as Murat Şahin, who was born in 1976 and registered in the Central Anatolian province of Sivas, approached Dündar as he was speaking to reporters during the break. He fired two shots at Dündar’s legs, saying, “You are a traitor.” The assailant was detained while Dündar was uninjured.
The assassin is about as capable as the usual assassin in that part of the world...
However, Yağız Şenkal, a reporter for the private broadcaster NTV, was wounded in the leg.
Police immediately intervened as Şahin was seen in footage surrendering calmly.
“The court had given a break for the verdict. This attack happened while we went out to wait for the verdict. I do not know who he is. I only saw he pointed his gun at me. We know who painted us as a target. I hope they take lessons,” Dündar said.
Dündar returned to the courthouse to hear the verdict after the attack.
It was revealed that Şahin had a criminal record for previously conducting such armed attacks.
Meanwhile, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said those who target journalists were responsible.“ Those who target journalists doing their jobs with hate speech are the ones responsible for the attack against Can Dündar,” Kılıçdaroğlu said in a tweet, extending his best wishes.
Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) also strongly condemned the attack, calling it “unacceptable.”
“As long as there is a president in a country who declares journalists doing their jobs traitor and says “[they] would pay a heavy price. I won't let go of this,” those kind of attacks become normal,” a statement read.
Dündar and the daily’s Ankara bureau chief, Erdem Gül, were on trial for “leaking state secrets” due to stories published about Turkish intelligence trucks bound for Syria with hidden weapons in early 2014. They were arrested on Nov. 26, 2015, and released on Feb. 26 following a Constitutional Court decision.
Speaking before the trial began on May 6, Dündar said he expected to be acquitted of the charges.
“We’ve come a long way in this case. I think this is the end. They’ve tried everything since the beginning,” Dündar told reporters in front of Istanbul’s Çağlayan courthouse on May 6, while representatives from opposition parties and workers’ unions also attended the hearing in support of the journalists.
“Journalism is on trial here,” Dündar added.
The prosecutor in the case, who earlier dropped espionage charges, demanded up to 31 years and six months in prison for Dündar and up to 10 years for Gül.
The prosecutor has demanded up to 31 years and six months in prison for Dündar and up to 10 years for Gül, Doğan News Agency reported.
The hearing was closed to the public.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/07/2016
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[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] Armenia said Thursday it may consider formally recognizing the breakaway Nagorny Karabakh region, in a move that would increase tensions with Azerbaijan just a month after festivities over the disputed territory claimed 110 lives.
Armenia said it would debate a law that would recognize Karabakh as an independent country "in the event of fresh Azerbaijani aggression", according to a statement on the government's official website.
At least 110 people died last month in the worst violence to hit Karabakh since an inconclusive ceasefire deal in 1994 halted a war that left some 30,000 people dead.
The two sides never signed a definitive peace deal after Armenian separatists seized the territory from Azerbaijan, and have been rearming heavily in recent years.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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[AA.TR] More than 30 people have been killed in an ongoing intercommunal conflict between the Fulani and Bambara communities in Mali’s central Mopti region, a civil society leader said.
Oumar Aldjana, representative for Mali’s Union of Fulani, told Anadolu Agency on Thursday that 33 Fulani civilians have been killed in the conflict so far. He also said festivities were still ongoing.
According to Aldjana, the conflict started after a Bambara local administrative official was killed by a Fulani in the West African nation, population 14.5 million.
In retaliation, relatives of the victim attacked the family of the perpetrators, Aldjana said, urging Malian authorities to take action immediately.
The United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) told a presser that "several" had died in the festivities, without giving exact numbers.
MINUSMA also said that it has commissioned a team of human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... and civil affairs experts "to get to the scene of the festivities for the purposes of gathering facts and investigation".
Mali’s ministers of solidarity and humanitarian action and national reconciliation are already on the scene, they said.
"The initiative of senior Malian officials aims to calm tensions, support the families of victims, and address the facts," Aldjana added.
Tensions between the two communities are common in Mali, but the violence had escalated due to the recent terrorist threat.
These confrontations are often the result of conflicting claims of land; the Fulani are pastoralist trading people, while the Bambara are farmers.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] Kim Jong-Un on Friday opened North Korea's first ruling party congress for nearly 40 years with a defiant defense of the "magnificent" strides made in the country's nuclear weapons program.
Hailing the historic test of what North Korea claims was a hydrogen bomb in January, the isolated state's young leader said it had shown the world it would not be cowed by sanctions or outside pressure.
Dressed in a western style suit and tie, Kim's speech was delivered to thousands of party delegates who had gathered in Pyongyang for the once-in-a-generation conclave.
In particular, he praised the country's scientists for "creating milestone miracles with the magnificent and exhilarating sound of the first H-bomb of our republic".
The test and successful long-range rocket launch a month later "clearly demonstrated to the whole world our undefeatable spirit and endless power ... in defiance of malicious pressure and sanctions by enemy forces," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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#1
Prowess. PROWESS.
North Korea is, well, sort of is synonymous with Prowess.
Ask anyone.
Posted by: Marilyn Jomotle6622 ||
05/07/2016 8:48
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#2
Can't help thinking that someday somebody is gonna put a bullet in the back of this little bastard's head. Sleep well, Pudgy. You never know who among your loyal sychophants might be plotting to do the deed.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/07/2016 12:11
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#3
It could be anyone, even the disinterested. You know for the sprot of it.
#4
If he becomes a problem to the Chinese he's dead. He cannot be stupid enough to not realize that. Therefore I have to conclude that his behaviors are at least approved of - if not demanded be - the Chinese.
[ARA News] QAMISHLI – Militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Friday executed a number of Iraqi civilians in the city of Abu Kamal in Syria’s eastern province of Deir ez-Zor on charges of apostasy, local sources reported.
Local activists confirmed that ISIS executed five men in Abu Kamal city on charges of apostasy and violation of ISIS regulations.
Speaking to ARA News in Deir ez-Zor, media activist Khidir al-Faris said that ISIS militants have brought five people from the Iraqi city of al-Qaim, and executed them publically in the city of Abu Kamal in the eastern suburbs of Deri ez-Zor province on the Syrian-Iraqi border.
“They were executed on charges of apostasy and disobeying the group’s rules in the region,” the source reported.
The victims were arrested by ISIS-led Hisba police earlier this week. They were then referred to the Sharia Court which convicted them of apostasy and ordered their execution, according to local activists.
According to activists, the victims were not identified; they were only known as Iraqi nationals.
Al-Faris pointed out that ISIS has taken the city of Abu Kamal as a center for the field executions carried out against opponents from the people of Deir ez-Zor province and the ISIS-controlled areas inside Iraqi territory.
Posted by: badanov ||
05/07/2016
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[ARA News] ERBIL – A senior jihadi from the radical group of Islamic State (ISIS) was reportedly killed along with several militants in an explosion that hit one of the group’s headquarters in Manbij city in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo, local sources reported on Friday.
Local activists confirmed that at least 20 jihadis were killed in the explosion.
Speaking to ARA News in Manbij, media activist Nasser Taljbini said that a huge explosion hit an ISIS stronghold near the mosque of al-Ala’ee in central Manbij [30 km west of the Euphrates river].
At least 20 ISIS jihadis were killed, including the Emir of Hisba police in Manbij, Abu al-Walid al-Halabi, according to the source.
“The targeted building was entirely destroyed,” he said.
Taljbini pointed out that the destroyed building was used by ISIS for manufacturing improvised explosive devices, as well as being a center for the group’s Hisba police forces.
“The explosion was likely caused by an error during the manufacturing of one of the devices,” he quoted an ISIS source as saying.
ISIS depends heavily on booby-trapped vehicles and roadside bombs in its military operations, and in most cases it moves the explosives from one region to another in the areas under its control in accordance with its needs, according to eyewitnesses.
Earlier this week, the US-led coalition forces intensified their airstrikes on positions of ISIS, hitting the group’s main arms storehouse in the city of Azaz in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo, according to local sources.
The coalition’s airstrikes have also recently killed dozens of prominent ISIS jihadis across Syria besides hitting tactical units, Sharia courts and oil fields held by ISIS. With the death toll increasing in its ranks, the hardline group currently suffers shortage of manpower and financial resources.
Posted by: badanov ||
05/07/2016
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
Brigadier General Charles Cleveland, a spokesman for the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan has said that the Taliban are trying to enhance cooperation with the al-Qaeda network in a bid to improve their military capabilities.
It appears that the Taliban's push for expansion of ties with al-Qaeda has raised major concerns among Afghanistan's strategic partners including the U.S and NATO alliance.
The U.S army officials have said that although al-Qaeda itself is not a major threat to the Afghan government, a Taliban affiliation with the terror network could lead to more danger for the Afghan government.
"There is still an al-Qaeda presence here in Afghanistan. As you probably are well aware there are two components of al-Qaeda. There is first a core of al-Qaeda in some places in the Pakistan-Afghanistan region with Ayman Alzawahiri still really running their global operations and then there is new franchise of al-Qaeda on the Indian sub-continent or AQIS. We think both of those elements do have some type of presence here in Afghanistan," said Cleveland.
When asked whether al-Qaeda was a threat, Cleveland said that NATO does not think they can pose a significant threat to the government of Afghanistan, but their work with the Taliban is a threat.
"By themselves we don't think that they pose a real threat a real significant threat to the government of Afghanistan. But because we think that al-Qaeda is beginning to work more with the Taliban, so they can provide capabilities, skills and those types of things," he said.
"We have seen more in action, we have seen them working more together. But the real thing and the real reason why we continue to watch al-Qaeda is I think we have all seen before. Although they have been significantly diminished, they do have the ability to regenerate very quickly and still they do have the ability to pose a threat," he added.
Meanwhile, a number of Afghan analysts have played down the threat.
"Taliban want to use al-Qaeda's military tactics and methods and expand their guerrilla war, but Taliban will not reach to their targets, because al-Qaeda has significantly weakened after the killing of Bin Laden and also the Afghan security forces have improved considerably," security analyst Hamid Obaidi said.
Pentagon statistics show that up to 100 al-Qaeda members are still operational in Afghanistan.
(IraqiNews.com) An informed military source stated on Friday, that Turkish warplanes attacked sites for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) north of Iraq.
The source said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “Earlier today, Turkish warplanes attacked and destroyed targets for the PKK [militants] north of Iraq,” adding that, “The air raids destructed shelters and defensive positions belonging to the PKK militants.”
[DAWN] The US State Department has urged Pakistain to take military action against Taliban leaders who allegedly used its territory for cross-border attacks, besides continuing to encourage them to resume peace talks with Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj PrunefaceAziz ...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in good jihadis and bad jihadis as a matter of national policy... told news hounds in Islamabad earlier this week that Pakistain could not accept the Afghan demand to abandon its peace efforts and take immediate military action against the Taliban leaders. Instead, Mr Aziz offered to push for resuming the reconciliation talks as soon as possible.
When asked for comments on the Pak position, a State Department official reminded Islamabad that in December last year Afghanistan and Pakistain signed a joint statement, agreeing, "not to allow use of their respective soil against each other".
The official noted that Afghanistan and Pakistain had also agreed to "sternly handle any elements crossing over and getting involved in violence on either side, through active intelligence sharing and intelligence-based operations".
Last month, Afghanistan's Caped PresidentAshraf 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. .. urged Pakistain to evict Taliban forces of Evil through military action or arrest and hand them over to Kabul for trial and punishment for killing innocent Afghans. President Ghani also said that he would no longer seek Pakistain’s help in arranging reconciliation talks with the Taliban.
But Mr Aziz said on Tuesday that the Afghan outrage at Pakistain was "an expression of frustration" at the delay in reconciliation talks. He said it was unfortunate the Taliban had gone ahead with their Spring Offensive, pushing aside Islamabad’s efforts for re-starting the talks.
But the State Department official reminded Mr Aziz and other Pak officials that Pakistain had made a commitment to Afghanistan and other partners not to allow the holy warriors to use its territory.
"This is the commitment that Pakistain has made to its partners, and we expect it to take steps necessary to promote dialogue, reduce violence in Afghanistan, and encourage the Taliban to engage in meaningful negotiations," the official said.
When reminded that Mr Aziz clearly signalled they would not take military action against these Taliban leaders, the US official noted that Paks’ commitment to support a reconciliation process was clearly stated through the Quadrilateral Coordination Group as well, which includes Afghanistan, China, Pakistain and the United States.
"That is the basis and expectation on which we will continue to engage Pakistain," he said.
The US official pointed out that at a recent congressional hearing, the United States underlined the need for an effective engagement with Pakistain as critical for promoting peace and stability in the region.
Asked what was the US policy regarding Pakistain’s support for the Haqqani Network and other Afghan Taliban groups allegedly operating from the Pak soil, the official said: "We have consistently expressed our concerns at the highest levels of the government of Pakistain about their continued tolerance for Afghan Taliban groups, such as the Haqqani Network operating from Pak soil. We did so again following the devastating suicide kaboom on April 19 in Kabul."
He said the US administration had "pressed" the Pak government to follow up on its commitment not to discriminate among terrorist groups, regardless of their agenda or affiliation, by undertaking concrete action against the Haqqanis.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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#1
Good luck with that
Posted by: chris ||
05/07/2016 0:25
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[AA.TR] A video of a young girl reciting the Koran in a northwest China school has been slammed by local authorities, who claim that such activities are harmful to young people.
Outside of government-approved religious institutions, all schools in the northwest province of Gansu are banned from holding religious activities, offering religious classes or forcing students to follow any religion.
On Friday, the Global Times reported Gansu's education bureau as saying in a statement that a video uploaded to the Internet of the careful recital by a young girl wearing a black headscarf at a kindergarten in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture had been strongly condemned by netizens.
It strongly denounced such activities, stating they "harm young people's well-being".
The statement -- released late Wednesday -- also underlined that all religious activities are banned in schools and ordered education departments at all levels to firmly put a stop to such activities.
According to China Ethnic News, around 1.8 million of residents in Linxia are religious, with Muslims making up around 63 percent.
The Global Times -- a Chinese government mouthpiece -- reported an official from Gansu's education bureau as contacting the Sina Weibo user who posted the video, but said he was unable to confirm at which kindergarten the video was filmed.
Sina Weibo provides a Twitter-like service that allows users to post a feed of up to 140 Chinese characters, to which they can attach multimedia.
The same video -- titled Chinese Young Girl Recites Koran -- is reported to have been uploaded to YouTube in 2014.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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At the rate they're going, they soon won't have any news sources at all. Then who will announce to the populace that the Kurds dunnit?
The Ministry of Truth, of course...
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] Turkish government shut down Zaman newspaper, previously a strong critic of President Erdogan, which it seized control of in March.
Zaman was taken over by Ankara in early March. Following the seizure, the government immediately appointed new trustees for Feza Media Group, which owned the paper.
A number of other media outlets are also being closed by Ankara, according to CNN Turk.
Police also raided Zaman's offices to enforce a Turkish court order stating that the media outlet must be brought under government authority. The newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Abdulhamit Bilici, was fired soon after.
Once the state took over, the newspaper soon turned into a government mouthpiece. The first edition under the new ownership featured the image of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... .
Critics slammed the government for the move, with Zaman supporters taking to the streets of Istanbul in protest. Police deployed tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets on the demonstrators.
Along with Zaman, a number of other Feza Media Group outlets will be shut down, including Cihan News Agency. Kure.tv will also be closed.
Erdogan has been fiercely criticized for his crackdown on press freedom in recent months, including the pre-trial detention of two journalists who published a report which purportedly showed intelligence officials transporting arms to Syria.
In late April, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... barred foreign journalists from entering the country, without providing any explanation for the move.
News of the shutdown of the media publications comes as Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu effectively resigned following a rift with Erdogan, whose leadership has become increasingly authoritarian.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A Saudi police officer has been rubbed out in the Makkah region, the interior ministry said on Friday, after four suspected Lions of Islam died during a raid in the same area.
Corporal Khalaf al-Harithi was on duty at a station in the western region on Thursday evening when he was hit by gunfire from an unknown source, the ministry said in a statement.
An investigation is under way into the incident.
It occurred several hours after officers rubbed out two "terrorists" during an exchange of fire at their hideout between the holy city of Makkah and the mountain resort of Taif, about 80 kilometres to the east, according to the ministry.
Two other suspects killed themselves by detonating suicide belts, it said.
A simultaneous raid occurred on a hideout in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, where two people were tossed in the clink Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! .
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Special Operation Forces of the Afghan National Army (ANA) conducted a night raid in southern Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province targeting a prison run by the Taliban krazed killers.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the raid was conducted on Thursday night in the restive Nawzad district.
A statement by MoD said at least 60 people kept in the prison were released during the operation, leaving at least 2 faceless myrmidons dead and 3 others maimed.
The statement further added that 10 cycle of violences belonging to the gunnies were also destroyed during the operation and large amount of explosive were confiscated.
MoD did not disclose further information regarding the casualties of the Afghan forces during the raid, saying further information regarding the operation will be released later.
The anti-government armed murderous Moslem groups including the Taliban gunnies have not commented regarding the report so far.
The Afghan Special Operations Forces have stepped up night raids targeting the Taliban gunnies in the restive provinces recently as experts believe the operations have yielded positive results in curbing the insurgency activities of the murderous Moslems.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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Norway announced on Monday that it would deploy 60 soldiers to train Syrians fighting the Islamic State (Isis) group, boosting its involvement in the international coalition against the jihadists. The soldiers belonging to the Norwegian special forces would conduct the training in Jordan, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said at a press conference in Oslo.
Maybe they'll have more luck then U.S. trainers had...
"The brutal acts by IS have cost many civilians their lives and led an even greater number to flee [the country]," Solberg said, employing one of several names used to describe the terrorist group.
The Isis group has also "brought terrorism to Europe and young people are radicalised and recruited in order to have foreign fighters," she added.
The Syrian groups that will be trained by the Norwegian soldiers were not identified, but according to Defence Minister Ine Eriksen SoreidIne Eriksen, they were chosen following a "thorough and systematic" selection process.
"One condition for our support is that their operations be directed against IS and that they do not harm any of the current peace efforts in Syria," Soreide said.
Norway is already involved in the anti-Isis coalition, in particular by training Kurdish peshmerga fighters in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
That seems like a better bet...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/07/2016
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Hamas’ leader in Gaza said May 6 that his Islamist movement did not seek war with Israel
No, no, never war, not the boys in charge of Hamas, no, not that. Those rocket launches? That's not war, that's, um, something else...
but would resist incursions into the Palestinian enclave, following the worst cross-border violence since the 2014 war.
Three days of mortar and tank fire between Israel and Palestinian militants, as well as Israeli air strikes, have raised concerns of a new conflict in the Hamas-run territory.
"Please don't let them kill us!"
Ismail Haniyeh accused Israeli forces of intruding nearly 200 meters into Gazan territory.
Isn't it time for Haniyeh to find a new life? Or lose his current one?
“We are not calling for a new war, but we will not under any circumstances accept these incursions,” he said in a Friday prayer sermon in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier in the day Israeli aircraft carried out their fourth air raid on the Palestinian enclave since May 4, attacking sites at Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza and near Khan Yunis in the south of the territory, witnesses said. There were no reports of any casualties.
The Israeli army confirmed only one strike, saying it was a reaction to cross-border mortar fire.
“In response to the ongoing attacks against Israeli forces, Israel Air Force aircraft targeted a Hamas terror infrastructure,” an army statement said.
Since May 4, Hamas and other militant groups have fired at least 12 mortar rounds across the frontier, while Israeli tanks stationed on the border have fired repeatedly at what the army said were Hamas targets.
Time to fire up the dozers...
The Palestinian fire targeted Israeli forces searching along the border, and short distances inside Gaza, for infiltration tunnels leading into southern Israel -- among the most feared weapons of Hamas fighters during the 2014 conflict.
On May 5, Zeina Al-Amour, a 54-year-old Palestinian woman, became the first fatality of the flare-up after Israeli tank fire hit her home, medics said.
Which was above a tunnel...
The violence has raised concerns for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist rulers of Gaza, that has held since the 50-day war in 2014 left 2,251 Palestinians and 73 Israelis dead.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/07/2016
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GAROWE, Somalia-Puntland Security Minister Abdi Hirsi Ali (Qarjab) has sustained gunshot wounds to his leg after being caught in a cross fire of a shootout in Bossaso port city on Thursday, Garowe Online reports.
This is why a lot of foreign officials have Western companies provide their security details...
Bari regional Police Commander Abdihakin Yusuf noted that several people were wounded in “exchange of fire” by bodyguards of Puntland Police Chief Abdirizak Mohamud Yusufand the commander of paramilitary Birmadka forces Colonel Afdalow.
Mustache cursing?
Qarjab is said to be in a good condition, with reports indicating that he could be airlifted for further treatment.
“May Allah make it easier, a shot penetrated into his thigh. His health condition is getting better for now,” said Yusuf. ”A Deputy Commander [Ali Iman] shot in the kidneys is now in critical condition, there were also other security officers who are recuperating gradually following surgical treatments.”
The soldiers fired at each other, wounding six people including the Security Minister who toured Birmadka forces base for authorized government inspection.
“Paramilitary Birmadka forces commander arrived at the scenewhere the counting regarding actual number of soldiers was underway, and he subsequently traded punches with the Police Chief. [Qarjab was injured] by ensuing shots fired by bodyguards of the two commanders,” a security official said under customary condition of anonymity.
Sources say, the gunfire exchange was likely triggered by an order that could have stripped Colonel Afdalow of post.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/07/2016
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Each day, millions of gallons of raw sewage pour into the Gaza Strip's Mediterranean beachfront, spewing out of a metal pipe and turning miles of once-scenic coastline into a stagnant dead zone. The sewage has damaged Gaza's limited fresh water supplies, decimated fishing zones, and after years of neglect, is now floating northward and affecting Israel as well, where a nearby desalination plant was forced to shut down, apparently due to pollution.
You know, the Israelis are looking for something to do with all those tunnels...
“It's certain that Gaza Strip's beaches are completely polluted and unsuitable for swimming and entertainment, especially in the summer,” said Ahmed Yaqoubi of the Palestinian Water Authority.
Environmentalists and international aid organizations say that if the problem isn't quickly addressed, it could spell even more trouble on both sides of the border.
#5
Each day, millions of gallons of raw sewage pour into the Gaza Strip's Mediterranean beachfront, spewing out of a metal pipe and turning miles of once-scenic coastline into a stagnant dead zone.
If you kill the pipe at its source....
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/07/2016 10:26
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[DAWN] THE action ordered by the army chief against six officers for offences committed during their tenures in the Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... Frontier Corps ...a provincial paramilitary force. Total manpower is about 80,000. They are tasked to help local law enforcement in the maintenance of law and order, and to carry out border patrol and anti-smuggling operations.... generated considerable debate on social media where some commentators lauded the military action while others questioned why the offenders were allowed to keep their pensions, medical benefits and were not locked away Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! Such questions were expected against the backdrop of the army chief’s call for steps to curb corruption as the battle against terrorism could not be won with widespread corruption eating away at the vitals of society.
Many observers said his statement that came on the heels of the Panama Papers leak amounted to ’interference’ in the civilian domain and advised him to also focus on corruption within his institution.
But insiders defended their chief, saying he was not asking anyone to do what he wasn’t doing within his own rank and file. "His men have responded to his call and have taken casualties in several thousands in the fight against terrorism. He will demonstrate how he respects their memory and will not tolerate wrongdoing within his institution," said one source.
Before further ado, the ’dismissals’ news was leaked to the media though officially it took the army’s spokesperson a couple of weeks to confirm it in passing during a TV interview where he wouldn’t give any further details.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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More than 50 mass graves have been discovered in territory formerly controlled by ISIS fighters in Iraq, including three burial pits in a football field, the UN envoy said Friday.
Jan Kubis told the Security Council that evidence of the “heinous crimes” committed by the militants in Iraq were being uncovered as territory is retaken from ISIS.
“More than 50 mass graves have been discovered so far in several areas of Iraq,” he said.
Iraqi forces, with backing from the US-led coalition that carries out daily air strikes against ISIS, have retaken significant ground from the militants in recent months.
In the city of Ramadi, three graves containing a total of up to 40 sets of remains were found in a football field on April 19, said Kubis. Ramadi was declared liberated when Iraqi forces seized the main government compound back from ISIS late last year, but the city was completely retaken only in February.
The envoy said the humanitarian crisis was worsening in Iraq, with nearly a third of the population, or over 10 million people, now requiring urgent aid - double the number from last year. He projected that a further two million people could be displaced by the end of the year by new military campaigns aimed at driving out ISIS.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces launched an offensive in March in the province of Nineveh, of which ISIS-controlled Mosul is the capital. The militants have held Mosul since June 2014.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/07/2016
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
#1
Economy of scale
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/07/2016 10:20
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Syrian military denied it had conducted air strikes on camps near the Turkish border on Thursday which killed at least 28 people, but the UN human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... chief said initial reports suggested a government plane was responsible.
The corpse count from attack on the camp for internally displaced people near the town of Sarmada included women and kiddies, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, and could rise further because many people were seriously maimed.
"There is no truth to reports... about the Syrian air force targeting a camp for the displaced in the Idlib countryside", the Syrian military said in a statement on Friday carried by state media.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al Hussein said the attacks were almost certainly a deliberate war crime.
"Given these tent settlements have been in these locations for several weeks, and can be clearly viewed from the air, it is extremely unlikely that these murderous attacks were an accident," Zeid said in a statement.
"My staff, along with other organizations, will leave no stone unturned in their efforts to research and record evidence of what appears to be a particularly despicable and calculated crime against an extremely vulnerable group of people," he said.
"Initial reports suggest the attacks were carried out by Syrian Government aircraft, but this remains to be verified."
Footage shared on social media showed rescue workers putting out fires which still burned among charred tent frames, pitched in a muddy field. White smoke billowed from smoldering ashes, and a burned and bloodied torso could be seen.
Sarmada lies about 30 km (20 miles) west of Aleppo, where a cessation of hostilities brokered by Russia and the United States had brought a measure of relief on Thursday.
Zeid said most of the people in the camps had been forced to flee their homes in Aleppo in February because of sustained aerial attacks there.
He said he was also alarmed about the situation in Syria’s Hama central prison, where detainees had taken control of a section of the prison and were holding some guards hostage.
"Heavily armed security forces are surrounding the prison and we fear that a possibly lethal assault is imminent. Hundreds of lives are at stake, and I call on the authorities to resort to mediation, or other alternatives to force," Zeid said.
He urged governments on the UN Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... so that there is "a clear path to punishment for those who commit crimes like these".
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
it is extremely unlikely that these murderous attacks were an accident," Zeid said
Indeed. Doing it for practice or 'just because', sounds a bit random. But if you had intelligence about who you where bombing, then it becomes a sort of low-rent drone zap. Just thinking out loud.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A Taliban capo who was involved in major terrorist attacks has been jugged Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! by the Afghan intelligence operatives in central Maidan Wardak province.
The National Directorate of Security ...the Afghan national intel agency... (NDS) said Qari Syedullah who was also famous as Worekhmin was arrested during an operation of the intelligence operatives.
He really does look like he was beaten with the ugly stick...
A bath, a haircut, a shave, a nice suit, he'd still be ugly.
A statement by NDS said the operation was conducted in Sheikhabad village of Syedabad district.
According to NDS, Syedullah was involved in numerous terrorist attacks, including bombings, ambushes on Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... -Kandahar highway, armed attack on convoys carrying logistics for security forces.
The statement by NDS further added that the intelligence operatives also confiscated a 82mm rocket launcher, 1 Dshk heavy machine gun, 1 Ak-47 rifle with 4 magazines and one communication device set.
The Talibs group has not commented regarding the report so far.
Wardak is among the relatively volatile provinces in central Afghanistan where anti-government armed bad boy groups are actively operating in a number of its districts and often carry out insurgency activities.
The key Kabul-Kandahar highway goes through Maidan Wardak province linking capital Kabul with the southern and and southeastern provinces of the country, including Ghazni and Kandahar provinces.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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#1
Major Stanley Robbins to the Rantburg Courtesy phone!
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir said on Thursday that the practices being pursued by Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... against his people, especially the deliberate strikes on hospitals and civilians, have breached all international norms and treaties.
Addressing a joint presser with the Foreign Minister of Norway Borg Prendh at the ministry headquarters in Riyadh, Jubeir said Assad has not committed himself to ceasefire or halting of hostile acts in line with the directive of the UN Security Council. "Apart from this, he is continuing to violate the UN agreement in order to provoke the opposition," he said noting that 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... and the international community consider this as a criminal act.
Jubeir emphasized that complying with ceasefire is a commitment that should be fulfilled so as to allow humanitarian relief to be delivered to Aleppo and thus paving the way for the political process which enables the establishment of a transitional government without any role for Assad. "This is a step that guarantees the development of a democratic Syria," Jubeir said adding that Saudi Arabia favors Assad’s departure, which might come through political process or through a military action.
On his part, the Norwegian foreign minister said ISIS has lost vast terrain in Syria and Iraq thanks to the recent victories of the international coalition forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#3
Ahh, yes, have breached all international norms and treaties.. I think that the best thing would be to abrogate all "international norms and treaties" and start over.
The entire UN is a waste of space and oxygen, as are all other so called "international" organizations.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Al-Qaeda turbans began to pull out of two southern Yemeni town on Thursday, residents said, following weeks of mediation by rustics for them to exit peacefully rather than resist a Gulf-backed offensive.
Dozens of fighters in Zinjibar and Jaar, the two largest towns in southwestern Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... province, were seen leaving with their weapons to the surrounding countryside.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ...the latest incarnation of various Qaeda and Qaeda-allied groups, including the now-defunct Aden-Abyan Islamic Army that boomed the USS Cole in 2000... , widely considered the most dangerous branch of the global bad boy group, took advantage of over a year of war in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... to seize towns along a 600-km (370-mile) stretch of Arabian Sea coastline.
But Yemeni troops backed by a Saudi-led military coalition pushed the group out of its main base in the port city of Mukalla late last month, depriving them of the estimated $2 million a day in revenue from port taxes and fuel smuggling.
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... and its Gulf Arab allies intervened in the civil war in Yemen on March 26 last year in support of Yemen's government after it was pushed into exile by the Iran-allied Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... militias.
The war has killed more than 6,200 people, displaced more than 2.5 million and caused a humanitarian catastrophe in one of the world's poorest countries.
Coalition bombing had mostly ignored the steady rise of AQAP until forces funded and trained by the United Arab Emirates launched a surprise attack to win Mukalla last month.
But an armed push toward Qaeda-held towns in Abyan and neighboring restive Lahj ... a Yemeni governate located in the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. It is the stomping grounds on the southern secessionist al-Harak movement province proved more difficult, and turbans launched repeated suicide kabooms against Yemeni forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The leader of Hezb-e-Islami party Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil... may visit Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... next week to sign a peace agreement with the Afghan government, it has been reported.
According to the officials in Afghanistan High Peace Council, quoted in a report by Tolo News, Hekmatyar is expected to sign the agreement with President Ghani and High Peace Council Chief Pir Syed Ahmad Gilani.
Mohammad Ismail Qasimyar, international relations adviser to Afghanistan High Peace Coucil, confired Hekmatyar is expected to visit Kabul to sign the agreement.
Citing the representatives of Hezb-e-Islami, Qasimyar said Hekmatyar is based in Afghanistan and the delegation is not prepared to disclose the location until he arrives in Kabul for formal meeting with the Afghan officials.
Meanwhile, ...back at the argument, Livia had made her point with her knee to Jane's stomach... the officials in High Peace Council have said Hekmatyar has demanded the release of Hezb-e-Islami prisoners with the signing of the agreement besides removing his name together with his party member’s from the international blacklist.
The officials further added that the government is still at odds to reach an agreement on 3 remaining conditions of the party out 25 conditions put forward for peace deal.
Earlier, Deputy High Peace Council Chief Mawlavi Ata-ur-Rehman Salim said only 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. .. has the authority to decide regarding the remaining proposed conditions of Hezb-e-Islami, informing that the government has reached to an agreement on 20 conditions of the party.
Salim further added that the government is contact with the UN Security Council to remove Hekmatyar’s name from the blacklist and President Ghani has promised to send his final decisions in this regard to high peace council soon.
The delegation of Hezb-e-Islami arrived for peace talks to capital Kabul in mid March and shortly after the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) called on Death Eater groups to participate in direct peace talks with the Afghan government.
Hekmatyar is considered is a notorious warlord for his involvement in the devastating civil war and insurgency following activities following the fall of the Taliban group.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/07/2016
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Top|| File under: Hizb-i-Islami-Hekmatyar
#1
So he's throwing his support for a peace agreement. What are the odds he misses?
Snark of the day.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/07/2016 11:49
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Islamist militant Abu Walid Al-Sahrawi, a member of the so-called People’s Army of Sahrawi Liberation (military branch of the polisario secessionist movement) who joined the terror organization ISIS, has threatened to attack MINURSO and foreign tourists in Sahara. In an audio recording aired by Al Jazeera, Abu Walid Al-Sahrawi has, for the first time, threatened overtly to attack members of the UN peacekeeping mission MINURSO.
The MINURSO currently maintains a limited presence in the Sahara after Moroccan government drastically reduced its civilian personnel in retaliation for comments made by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
The polisario extremist has also threatened Moroccan security forces, popular tourist destinations and foreign targets in the region. In the audio, Abu Walid Al-Sahrawi also called on Muslims living in Morocco to support the Islamic Caliphate.
A confidential leaked e-mail sent to former US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in January 2013 has exposed the secret deal the Algerian government reached with Algerian terrorist Mokhtar Belmokhtar to attack Moroccan interests in the Sahara
“According to sources with access to the Algerian intelligence agency DGSE, the Bouteflika government reached a highly secret understanding with Belmokhtar after the kidnapping in April 2012 of the Algerian consul in GAO (Mali)”, reveals the e-mail.
“Under this agreement, Belmokhtar concentrated his operations in Mali, and occasionally, with the encouragement of DGSE, attack Moroccan interests in Western Sahara, where the Algerians have territorial claims,” stresses the message made public by Wikileaks.
In 2011, an Italian and two Spanish aid workers were abducted from Tindouf camps, wherein Sahrawis are sequestered in Southern Algeria, and over the following years several polisario fighters were reported to have taken part in the militant Islamist advances in Mali. Top security experts have warned against the threat and collusion of the polisario fighters with Islamist extremist groups operating in the Sahel.
According to J. Peter Pham, director of the Washington–based think tank Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, the polisario should accept the Moroccan offer of autonomy, because an independent state would not be viable. “The last thing Africa needs is another failed state, and that’s exactly what Western Sahara would become if Morocco left,” he says.
How much money did the Moroccan king donate to the Atlantic Council?
“There are no real natural resources which can be commercially exploited, it would never be viable by itself. An independent Western Sahara would be an even bigger breeding ground for terrorists.”
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/07/2016
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This week we found out who will be running in our binary presidential election in six months. Hillary's coronation nomination is expected in a few weeks, but I suspect we still may have a convention fight over Donald Trump.
A few days ago, a blog post from Weapons Man appeared which dealt with American politicians using their power in the form of willing police and military to fire on, detain or otherwise punish errant American citizens on American soil. The article is short but comprehensive, so you come away with the idea that for all the protestations over the oath that enlistees utter when they join US security services, hell yes, those men and women will willingly fire on US citizens if ordered to. Plenty of examples exist in the past which support this conclusion.
How this affects the presidential campaign is how the two respective candidates would deal with armed protests, not armed resistance, but protests held by armed men and women. If national guard and local security forces were sent to confront the protesters, would they fire on them? The shooting of Lavoy Finicum provides some answers. From what I have read to date agents for the federal government and for the state of Oregon fired first without provocation. As I have said before, all the golden throats and public figures who wanted blood finally got it.
Hillary Clinton was an active agent in her husband's administration, so it is impossible to believe she had zero input in the solution the government had at Waco in 1993. Since that time, her supporters have evolved with regard to armed citizens. Instead of the finger wagging from 20 years ago, they want blood and piled up bodies of the political opponents who own firearms.
And I believe Hillary Clinton will oblige her supporters and give them the show they have been begging for.
But what about Trump? The Weapons Man article provides some insight into his thinking. Trump has said in the past he would order his military to eliminate the families of terrorists. Many people I have spoken with greeted this with glee. Now, finally someone will do something about terrorism!
And I think very few military would hesitate to obey the order, unlawful as it is. It depends on how the violence is formed. A US Navy F/A 18 pilot who is given nothing more than coordinates and an order to eliminate military assets in a village will obey the order, but I think once non combatants are observed, the pilot would end his attack. He essentially would defy orders.
Terrorists' families would survive and propagate new terrorist fodder unaware of being spared a violent fate.
It is a hard choice. President Barak Obama has been executing terrorists using drones with the presumptive approval of military lawyers. With this administration's penchant for bald face lying it is equally hard to imagine they have not already killed non combatants just because of their personal nexus to an illegal combatant. It is hard to imagine how that would change under either candidate.
You should read the post along with the comments. It is all thought-provoking.
Loads.
Rantburg's summary for arms and ammunition:
Prices for pistol ammunition were mixed on the minus side. Prices for rifle ammunition were mostly steady.
Prices for both used pistols and for used rifles were mixed.
Note: For the second time in two weeks, the average price for a used AR-10 Pattern Semiautomatic jumped, this time 5.5 percent average, with Florida leading the way. Average price: $1,300. This is reverse the trend from last year when the AR-10 pattern semiautomatic rifles was selling $820 average nationwide just nine months ago.
New Lows:
None
Pistol Ammunition
.45 Caliber, 230 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Goose Island Sales, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Cased, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Top Shot Ammunition, Store Brand, RNL, Brass Casing, Factory Seconds, .23 per round (From Last week: -.01 Each After Unchanged (3 Weeks))
.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (3 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt!, American Bullet, TMJ, Brass Casing, .20 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Ammo Marketplace, Leadhead, RNFP, Brass Casing, .20 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks))
9mm Parabellum, 115 Grain, From Last Week: -.01 Each After Unchanged (3 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Bud's Gun Shop, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .16 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: SG Ammo, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .16 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (8 Weeks))
.357 Magnum, 158 Grain, From Last Week: -.02 Each
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt!, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .25 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 1,000 rounds: SG Ammo, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel cased, .25 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4Q, 2015))
Rifle Ammunition
.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Ammunition Supply Company, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .21 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt!, Tulammo, FMJ, steel casing, .21 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (3 Weeks))
.308 NATO 150 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Casing, .37 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: J&G Sales, Tulammo, steel casing, FMJ, .34 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks))
7.62x39 AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: -.01 Each After Unchanged (4 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: AmmoFast, Wolf WPA, steel case, FMJ, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: Ammunition Supply Company, Wolf WPA, steel case, FMJ, .22 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (3 weeks))
.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: +.01 Each After Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds (10 Boxes Max): Ammomen, CCI Blazer, RNL, .08 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 5,000 rounds (1 Cases Max): Ammunition Supply Company, Aguila, RNL, .07 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks))
#1
American Egyption Said murdered his two daughters, Amina and Sarah Said, in Texas. His family no doubt facilitated his escape and continued evasion of capture. This shows that even in America, a tight nit group can assist another escape justice after a brutal murder of innocent people. Some even believe Said is still driving a cab deep in the concrete jungles of NYC. Under current conditions this evasion of justice is doable in the US.
However, if the Trump approach of going after the family with real pressure had been used, maybe justice would have been served by now.
Posted by: Ho Chi Crinens5363 ||
05/07/2016 0:31
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#2
I am not longer comfortable with violating the civil liberties just to "serve the interest of justice."
Find some other way.
American civil liberties have been wrecked all on the alter of law, justice and antiterrorism. It is past time for that to end.
#3
The article is short but comprehensive, so you come away with the idea that for all the protestations over the oath that enlistees utter when they join US security services, hell yes, those men and women will willingly fire on US citizens if ordered to Plenty of examples exist in the past which support this conclusion. Aided by all those NIMBY attitudes to keep ugly and smelly vitals in the outlands..
Yep, except when they realize it's their own kin they're told to kill. Why do you think the Party brought in outsiders to do the killing in Beijing? It'll fracture the armed forces. That won't be able to control the entire population. We couldn't turn things around in Iraq till the Iraqis decided they had skin in the game and joined in the pacification process. All those rails, bridges, and power lines are going to be very tough to keep open or operational to the major cities. Cold/Baked and on rationed food doesn't make for stability.
#4
You can now get a fully functional 3" Ordinance Rifle with implements for $7,500.00.The limber and limber chest are extra.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
05/07/2016 10:49
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#5
In this age of Euro suicide bombers wearing civilian clothes, female Paleo teenagers stabbing innocent Joos, suicide bomber Boko Haram children, who's a noncombatant on visual inspection? Few wear uniforms in this era of non-state warfare, and that Islamist Militia guy who just set his AK down is not a noncombatant...
Bombing an Islamist training camp is likely to kill some noncombatant camp-followers but it should still get done
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/07/2016 11:17
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#6
I read the entire linked essay, and some of the comment thread. I'v been now retired from the military for nearly as long as I was in it for a career, and now and again I wrote on SSDB about illegal orders. And it was always my own contention that - yes, you might be given them, and it might seem initially the easiest way out to be to obey them ... but you ought not. Not if you wanted to sleep at night for years to come.
It always appeared to me that the best defense against being given illegal or even somewhat questionable orders was to be, and to cultivate the appearance of being such an absolute straight-arrow and obstinate stickler for old-fashioned morality -- that one would never be given an illegal or questionable order to begin with.
The military likely has changed since I retired from it, though.
Almost two-thirds of non-Muslim Germans don't know any Muslims personally, a new survey has showed, casting light on increasing unease over the religion's place in society.
Most German Muslims don't have non-Muslim friends...
The YouGov poll for press agency DPA found that 62 percent of people said that they didn't count a single Muslim among their close personal friends. But that may be in the process of changing, as around half of young people aged 18-24 said that their social circles included Muslims.
Pollsters also found that the number of Muslim friends a person had was closely linked to their level of education. Among those who had graduated from high school with the Abitur academic qualification, 42 percent said they had Muslim friends. But just 28 percent of people who had finished their schooling with only a secondary education certificate could say the same.
“Our own surveys also show that higher levels of education go along with greater openness to diversity,” said Cornelia Schu, an expert with the German Foundations for Integration and Migration (SVR).
So, free college for everyone!
People with higher income also “generally tend to have a more positive attitude towards people with a migration background,” Schu said.
Public anxiety about Islam has led to increasing calls from politicians in recent weeks to police the religion and its followers.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) called recently for state surveillance of preachers in all mosques to make sure they weren't spreading radical ideas. And right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has made a ban on minarets, the Muslim call to prayer and full-face veils a key part of its policy platform.
More than half of non-Muslims surveyed said that they didn't have much idea about the content of the Muslim religion, while one in five said they knew nothing at all about it. What's more, 84 percent of non-Muslims said they had never been inside a mosque in Germany – although mosques have been holding open days since 1997 in a bid to boost understanding.
By contrast, 68 percent of Muslims said that they had good or very good knowledge about Christianity.
Around 60 percent of non-Muslims said they had noticed an increased number of Muslims in their everyday life, but most did not report encountering radical minorities.
Germany is home to more than four million Muslims. Many arrived in the late 20th Century as so-called “guest workers” - or are relatives of those same migrants. Some also arrived as refugees from countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Iraq, while there is a small minority who have converted to Islam.
Most Muslims live in western Germany, with only two percent living in the states making up the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) before the refugee crisis began in 2015.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/07/2016
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Top|| File under:
#1
Most German Muslims don't have non-Muslim friends...
Something to do with the Crayonic admonition not to take non-Muslims as friends, perhaps.
Quran 5:51 - Believers, take neither the Jews nor the Christians for your friends. They are friends with one another. Whoever of you seeks their friendship shall become one of their number. God does not guide the wrong-doers.
Quran 98:6 - The unbelievers among the People of the Book [Bible] and the pagans shall burn for ever in the fire of Hell. They are the vilest of all creatures.
Quran 3:28 - Let not the believers take disbelievers for their friends in preference to believers. Whoso doeth that hath no connection with Allah unless that ye but guard yourselves against them
Al-Bukhari Hadiths - We smile in the face of some people (non-Muslims) although our hearts curse them.
#3
Funny you must learn these things the hard way. You started more wars yjan everyone on the planet than the moslems. It is funny how you never learned from all those defeats.
I get a very angry feeling inside after seeing what you did to all of Europe for your own stupid liberal self guilt.
Leftists will be the death of all of you with your fake caring and marxist bullshit pandering to "Victoms".
Frankly, I do not care now. You deserve to shoot yourselves in the head after the hell you gave this planet. But spreading it to your Neighbors is a major NO-GO.
You are again a useless or even destructive nation to all of Europe, and ... I Love you but you just don't care.
I have a Hint for you stupid HUN idiots...
Your LORD THY GOD HAS NO MOSLEM "Friends".
Why would that be?
#7
I do not know any Amish or have any Amish friends but I do not have any desire to invade their farms, businesses or way of life. And I certainly respect their right to live the way they choose. Maybe because the Amish treat me the same. No friendship required.
#9
The Germans I've known are not as liberal with friend as we Americans are. They know plenty of people, but a friend is someone they've let into their heart only after a long vetting to be sure that person can be trusted forever. A lovely woman explained to me, after having lived in America for half a decade, that they see their hearts as a pure, deep mountain lake hidden in the forest. One doesn't reveal that lake to one who might pollute it.
You are very right. It takes time to develop true friendships in Germany. The South is more outgoing, but the rule still apply. Once friendship has been earned it's often forever.
It happens that Germans get invited to a Turkish wedding, and they rave about the generosity and hospitality of the Turks. But true friendships don't develop often out of this. Most of the time there simply is too little common ground.
It does happen though. But the poll doesn't surprise me at all.
Our family has close friends in the U.S., in France, UK, Italy, Spain, Poland, Russia and Israel.
People from Muslim countries: Close friends, no, friendly acquaintances, yes.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
05/07/2016 10:46
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#12
Isn't beng close friends with infidels against Ialam? Unless you at lying to them and are ready to stab them in the back?
[ARA News] DUHOK – Subsequent to a strategic security operation in the western city of Ramadi, Iraqi police forces were able to arrest three jihadi leaders from the radical group of Islamic State (ISIS), Iraqi police command announced in an official statement on Friday.
The arrestees were identified as Abu Musa al-Assafi, the ISIS official in charge of allegiance affairs, Abdul Wahab Namrawi, a booby-trapping official in the district of Hit, and Abu Muthana Hayani, an official of the so-called Divan of Muslims’ affairs in the state of Anbar, according to the police leadership.
This comes as ISIS suffers a remarkable decline in its manpower and equipment inside Falluja, the largest city in the Anbar province, western Iraq, especially after the intensified military operations waged by Iraqi joint forces and the US-led coalition forces over the las few weeks.
In the meantime, ISIS began cracking down on the people of Fallujah through the closure of the old and new bridges of the city, and prevented them from passing in order to flee the war-torn region, according to local sources.
In another development, official sources in the Peshmerga forces in the Kurdistan region of Iraq confirmed they received on Friday dozens of displaced civilians who have fled the district of Hawija [30 miles south of Kirkuk] due to the continued military operations between ISIS and the Iraqi forces.
Speaking to ARA News in the Dibis district, Kurdish official Mihyar Yawir said that the Peshmerga in the Dibis district northwestern Kirkuk Governorate, have provided the displaced from Hawija with necessary support and assistance.
In this regard, the Peshmerga official Lt. Izzedin Wanki told ARA News: “The Peshmerga forces receive civilians fleeing from ISIS-held areas on a daily basis, especially in the fighting fronts of Kirkuk province.”
“These people [displaced], who are mostly from the Arab component, reach to the Peshmerga-controlled areas after having endured difficult circumstances,” Wanki said.
“They were walking for long distances and for many hours at night, so as not to be seen by ISIS terrorists,” Wanki said, pointing out the Peshmerga forces have been providing them with necessary assistance since the first day they arrived to the Kurdish region.
The Kurdish official confirmed that they check the names and identities of those displaced people, fearing the infiltration of any ISIS jihadis into the Kurdistan Region.
A number of key districts south of Kirkuk province, in northern Iraq, including az-Zab, Abbasi, Riyadh, al-Rashad and Hawija are still under the control of the hardline group, using them as centers for launching their attacks on Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Iraqi army in the region.
Posted by: badanov ||
05/07/2016
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
A projectile fired from Gaza fell in an uninhabited area of the Eshkol region, the IDF said.No injuries or damage were initially reported.
On Thursday, at least six mortar shells were launched at IDF positions near the Gaza border, according to statements released by the military. No injuries or damage were reported in the two separate incidents.
The IDF reported that soldiers stationed in the area came under mortar fire and returned fire on a Palestinian position shortly thereafter.
Arab media claimed that the Palestinian mortar attacks were fired near a terror tunnel that was discovered earlier Thursday.
After initially replying with tank fire, the Israeli Air Force attacked four targets in retaliation to the second round of mortar fire, which came a number of hours after the first barrage. The airstrikes targeted "terrorist networks belonging to the terrorist organization Hamas in southern Gaza Strip," a statement from the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said.
The statement said the IDF will continue to act "with determination, and do whatever it takes to destroy Hamas's tunnels encroaching on Israeli territory."
The last time a siren sounded in the Eshkol Regional Council was on April 28. After an investigation was conducted by the military, The IDF stated that no rockets were known to have fallen in Israeli territory.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/07/2016
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Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
I recommend a prolonged disproportionate response... just because
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/07/2016 10:20
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North Korea's military has been placed on a heightened state of alert as the country held its first ruling party congress in more than 30 years, Seoul's military said Friday.
"There does not seem to be any out of ordinary movement among frontline troops, but they seem to be maintaining a higher state of readiness with the congress kicking off in the capital city," said an official defense ministry source who declined to be identified.
He pointed out that in the past, the North would raise the readiness of its troops during key domestic political events.
The Congress of the Worker’s Party of Korea is technically the highest deliberative institution of the sole governing party of the North. The last time the congress was convened was in October 1980.
"There have been more frequent visits to frontline guard posts by higher ranking field and staff officers," the official said.
Seoul then said that intelligence has shown no particular activity under way at the North's Punggye-ri nuclear test site. There had been strong speculation that the communist country will conduct its fifth nuclear test ahead of the party congress, but this has not happened. The government also said they have yet to pick up signs that the North will launch more ballistic missiles like it did in April.
Fat Boy can't afford another big technical failure right now...
"The North did not conduct another nuke test, but since it can do so without warning, South Korea and the United States are jointly keeping close tabs on what is happening in the reclusive country," the insider said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/07/2016
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[DAWN] The prime minister, in a speech at the groundbreaking of a motorway section on Friday, equated the opposition parties agitating against his government with anti-state elements facing a military operation in the mountains.
"There is no difference between the enemies of the country against whom the Zarb-e-Azb ..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)... operation is under way and the united opposition pursuing the politics of sit-ins," Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... said at Salehpat after the ceremony marking start of work on the Sukkur-Multan portion of the Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... -Lahore motorway.
He accused opposition parties of banding together to "impede development", but expressed resolve that the government would "foil their designs" and complete all projects by 2018. "We will be able to win the the next general election by virtue of our performance in office."
Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems... , the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... chief, did not take long to launch a counter-attack. He said peaceful protest was a part of democracy.
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Today, Friday, May 06 2016, 2016, the Baltic Dry Index decreased by 11 points, reaching 631 points.
Baltic Dry Index is compiled by the London-based Baltic Exchange and covers prices for transported cargo such as coal, grain and iron ore. The index is based on a daily survey of agents all over the world. Baltic Dry hit a temporary peak on May 20, 2008, when the index hit 11,793. The lowest level ever reached was on Wednesday the 10th of February 2016, when the index dropped to 290 points.
Chicago wheat was on track on Friday for its biggest weekly decline since November as a crucial crop tour is forecasting higher-than-expected yields across the U.S. Plains, adding pressure on an already amply supplied market. Corn faced its biggest weekly loss in nine months, while soybeans are set to fall after three straight weekly gains.
Wheat crop prospects in Kansas, the top U.S. producer of the grain, are well above average as crop-saving rains last month should more than offset the impact of an earlier drought, scouts on an annual tour said on Thursday.
“The U.S. hard red winter wheat market was headed for indigestion at harvest anyway,” said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, commenting on a market that already has a sizeable surplus.
“The indigestion will be well worse if these forecasts are realised.” The scouts on the three-day Kansas wheat crop tour estimated the average yield at 48.6 bushels per acre (bpa), topping last year’s U.S. Department of Agriculture estimate of 37.0 bpa and a five-year Kansas tour average of 39.3 bpa. Adding to the bearish picture, the USDA on Thursday said that weekly old-crop export sales of wheat totalled just 178,900 tonnes, down from 351,800 tonnes a week ago. New-crop wheat export sales of 140,000 tonnes fell below market forecasts. More at the link
The biggest increase in U.S. gasoline demand in almost 40 years hasn’t been enough to keep storage tanks from filling up.
Gasoline imports into the U.S. East Coast are near the highest in seven months and American refiners have maximized gasoline output as diesel margins falter. That’s helped push inventories in the region up by 3.68 million barrels over the past two weeks to the highest seasonal level in three decades, during a period when supplies typically decline.
Refiners across the U.S. had been flying high on cheap oil and strong demand, pumping out fuel at record rates and reaping healthy margins. Now, a 67 percent rally in crude since mid-February has increased costs, while tankers sailing from Europe and elsewhere are flooding New York Harbor, the delivery point for futures contracts. Profits for processing crude into gasoline have fallen for six days in a row to $18.66 a barrel, down $2.99 from a week ago, based on futures prices.
“We have to start drawing inventories at some point, otherwise the margin situation is going to deteriorate pretty quickly,” said Sam Margolin, lead analyst at Cowen & Co. If inventories build for another six to eight weeks, “at some point runs are going to be cut.” More at the link
China is among the contributors to bolster steel price in the global market, according to a press conference held today by the Ministry of Commerce.
Shen Danyang, a spokesman at the ministry, said China participated in the progress as the government has taken unprecedented efforts to cut supply and seek ways to expand domestic demand.
Price of steel in the global market has surged 20 percent from US$305 per ton at the year’s beginning to US$365 per ton in April.
The State Council, China’s cabinet announced in February that China plans to reduce steel production by 150 million tons over the next five years as the country aims to streamline its heavy industry.
“Apart from limits on capacity, we are taking comprehensive measures to expand domestic demand for steel,” said Shen, adding that lots of China’s infrastructure constructions are still in progress to boost the needs for steel.
UNITED NATIONS -- The 120-nation Nonaligned Movement headed by Iran accused the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday of violating international law by ruling that nearly $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets can be paid to victims of attacks linked to the country.
Most of the "non-aligned movement" is run by thugs who are worried about the precedent the USSC set. Might the accounts in the Caymans be at risk?
A communique issued by the NAM's Coordinating Bureau follows an Iranian appeal to the United Nations last week to intervene with the U.S. government to prevent the loss of their funds. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called the ruling an "outrageous robbery, disguised under a court order."
The NAM, comprising mainly failed developing countries, called the U.S. waiver of "the sovereign immunity of states and their institutions" a violation of U.S. international and treaty obligations.
Sovereign immunity is a European invention. Comes right out of the Treaty of Westphalia. You folks don't want to be aping the Euros, now do you?
It called on the U.S. government "to respect the principle of state immunity" and warned that failing to do so will have "adverse implications, including uncertainty and chaos in international relations." It also warned that a failure would also undermine the international rule of law "and would constitute an international wrongful act, which entails international responsibility."
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 23 that the families of victims of a 1983 bombing in Lebanon and other attacks linked to Iran can collect nearly $2 billion in frozen funds from Iran as compensation. The court's ruling directly affects more than 1,300 relatives of victims, some who have been seeking compensation for more than 30 years. They include families of the 241 U.S. service members who died in the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut.
Iran denies any links to the attacks.
Iran's U.N. Ambassador Gholamali Khoshroo asked that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon circulate the NAM statement to the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council.
The NAM called for "dialogue and accommodation over coercion and confrontation" to peacefully settle disputes.
That'll work as well as it did last time...
In last week's letter, Iran's Zarif appealed to secretary-general Ban to use his good offices "to induce the U.S. government to adhere to its international obligations, put an end to the violation of the fundamental principle of state immunity."
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in response that "U.S. laws and the application of those laws by the courts of the United States comport with international law."
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
In last week's letter, Iran's Zarif appealed to secretary-general Ban to use his good offices "to induce the U.S. government to adhere to its international obligations, put an end to the violation of the fundamental principle of state immunity."
TRANSLATION: "L'etat, c'est Moi...and no way does Moi want this aimed at Moi-self someday. Might cost money or liberty, and we can't have THAT."
Mike
Snark of the day.
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/07/2016 8:22
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North Korea holds its first Workers Party congress in 36 years on Friday amid unprecedented international isolation and crippling sanctions.
The aim is to consolidate leader Fat Boy's Kim Jong-un's disastrous doctrine of pursuing nuclear arms and economic growth in tandem. But international sanctions triggered by the North's nuclear tests are cutting into Pyongyang's sources of hard currency, and the harder Kim leans on his people to make up for the shortfall, the more signs of discontent are growing.
Press-ganging the population into sprucing up the country for the party congress has only aggravated the situation, so that the congress meant to highlight big achievements may well have the opposite effect.
The official Rodong Sinmun daily on April 4 claimed a couple in North Pyongyan Province "volunteered" to labor even on their wedding day. On April 10, a state security agent in Kangwon Province "performed her duties the day after her husband's funeral."
Oppression is never on leave...
In other words, no quarter was given. On April 17, state TV showed images of women laboring in coal mines, which is banned around the world. A source said some 30 soldiers died when a tunnel collapsed during the construction of a canal for power plant near Mt. Baekdu because of the unreasonably tight deadlines, and a landslide on a railway project in Ryanggang Province killed a dozen villagers.
The regime has ordered each family to cough up between 6,500 to 26,000 North Korean won as "loyalty payments" to fund the congress. That is a lot given that North Koreans make between 3,000 to 4,000 a month.
An even more serious problem is that open-air markets which propped up the moribund economy are being hollowed out already. Security services strictly controlled the movement of people and goods to mobilize as much labor as possible for state projects and cracked down on unregistered traders. The regime also charged traders hefty loyalty payments, which ended up weakening their purchasing power. One Chinese businessman who visited North Korea recently said, "Prices of goods in North Korea's open-air markets remain stable despite sanctions because people have no money. It looks like North Koreans will pay a heavy price economically."
A vicious cycle of raw material shortages due to a lack of hard currency has decreased production in factories. That kicks away one leg of Kim's doctrine, while the shortage of hard currency could well endanger the other. Already several recent missile launches have failed, whether due to incompetence or inferior fuel.
Kim is expected to replace key officials to rejuvenate his organization, but intensifying conflicts between the new appointees and the old guard will continue to put a strain on Kim's power.
One source in North Korea said, "There are complaints among the old guard in Pyongyang that young officials in their 40s are strutting around like they own the place."
They pretty much do...
North Korea has not held a party congress since 1987, when nation founder Kim Il-sung halted them until the regime was able to adequately feed, clothe and accommodate people.
But the corpulent Kim Jong-un seems to be eager for the legitimacy that a party congress would confer and lay the groundwork for long-term rule. "Kim Jong-un inherited his position, but that does not mean he was also given authority," an intelligence source here said.
But he too has failed to improve the livelihoods of North Koreans and seems to rely increasingly on hasty weapons demonstrations to make a splash.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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Slouching towards Venezuela
WASHINGTON (AP) ‐ In the event that the U.S. economy crashed, Donald Trump has floated a recovery plan based on his own experience with corporate bankruptcy: Pay America's creditors less than full value on the U.S. Treasurys they hold.
Experts see it as a reckless idea that would send interest rates soaring, derail economic growth and undermine confidence in the world's most trusted financial asset.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee suggested in a phone interview Thursday with CNBC that he would stimulate growth through borrowing. If trouble arose, he added, he could get investors to accept reduced payments for their Treasury holdings.
Trump later clarified that comment to say he would offer to buy the bonds back at a discount from investors in hopes of refinancing them at lower rates.
"I would borrow, knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal," Trump told CNBC.
Such a move, never before attempted by the U.S. government, would likely spook investors whose trust in Treasury notes keeps global financial markets operating.
#1
The deficit has doubled under Obama on the Dem side and under the Republican Chair of the House Budget Committee .............. Paul Ryan
Who is the Republican Speaker of the House who says he is not ready to support the Republican Nominee? ................ Paul Ryan
Who was a major Republican who said he will skip the Republican Convention this year because he cannot support the current Republican nominee? Mitt Romney. And who is close to Mitt Romney? ............. Paul Ryan
Who lost his own state in the 2012 election as candidate as Vice President? ............... Paul Ryan
Who is willing to try anything now to stay in power even if it means undermining Trump somehow, someway? ............ The Establishment and Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.
Posted by: Ho Chi Crinens5363 ||
05/07/2016 1:22
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#2
The economy has been on the verge of collapsing since about 2007. There has been no real economic growth. Only the Fed's money printing and suppression of interest rates has been keeping it going. Maybe the easiest way out of a crash would be an Arc Light strike of B52s dropping Benjamins over US soil.
#4
The reason that we are in such trouble is BECAUSE the interest rates have been held artificially low.
If Bush or Obama had raised them to even half of the real cost of borrowing money, there would have been 18 months of pain followed by at least a partial authentic recovery.
But that would entail incumbent politicians and bureaucracy chiefs falling on their swords and losing their precious six-figure jobs, so it never happened.
Forty years of easy borrowing so that the entrenched in the public sector have never had to tell the truth about the WWII peace dividend running out and come up with honest solutions and plans for America going forward have come home to roost.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
05/07/2016 5:03
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#5
Rising interest rates could also signal a return of investor dollars to banks, which sadly, are now owned by the government.
#7
Such a move, never before attempted by the U.S. government, would likely spook investors whose trust in Treasury notes keeps global financial markets operating.
We are bankrupt. The only thing keeping the game going is lying to ourselves. When we go tango uniform like other countries, they'll all go down economically with us. What would they prefer, to be paid at a discount or stiffed like the GM/Chrysler stockholders? The 'world financial markets' are just as guilty in keeping this ponsi scheme running as anyone else. They should have avoided buying Treasury notes a long time ago.
#9
BTW, because of all that, expect the amount of (illegal) foreign money flowing into the Hillary campaign to eclipse the first Obama run. Got to keep the game going.
The United States has put emphasis on "better understanding" with Bangladesh to counter terrorism and offered assistance to combat terrorism and violent extremism.
The B-Desh Observer publishes only the best press releases as news...
"We are ready to help Bangladesh in fighting terrorism and violent extremism by providing experts and technical supports," US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal said today.
Biswal made the offer when she paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office here this morning.
Expressing concern over recent killings in Bangladesh, Biswal said the USA and Bangladesh could share information over combating terrorism and violent extremism.
More units of the RAB?
Posted by: Steve White ||
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Perhaps the US could send an Aircraft Carrier to patrol the Bay of Bengal ? Or , how about an emergency airlift by C-130s loaded with Clark Bars.
Getting "involved" in Bangladesh is sort like petting a burning dog. I would avoid that sort of thing, if I were you.
BanglaDesh is a very very ( very) crowded SWAMP surrounded by Swamp and living deep in the middle of a swamp. Bring a Candle, its dark in there.
Posted by: Marilyn Jomotle6622 ||
05/07/2016 8:41
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Getting "involved" in Bangladesh is sort like petting a burning dog. I would avoid that sort of thing, if I were you.
#3
Harvard hasn’t said how it will identify which students are members of the famously secretive final clubs. A university spokeswoman said the school will form a group of faculty, students and administrators to help implement the new policy and to devise enforcement options.
I'm sure the underground bunker for the official Star Chamber is being excavated even now.
[AA.TR] A group of Belgians on Friday filed a criminal complaint against their Interior Minister Jan Jambon over his claims that many Muslims danced after the March 22 terror attacks in Brussels.
In an interview with the Belgian daily, De Standaard, published on April 16, Jambon claimed: "A significant section of the Muslim community danced when attacks took place."
The remarks followed the deadly airport and subway suicide kabooms in Brussels, which left 32 people dead.
The minister later also defended his claims in the parliament, but despite repeated requests by MPs, he had failed to provide any evidence to support his remarks.
A group of Belgians comprising Muslims and Christians gathered in front of the Palace of Justice Friday before they made an official complaint with the prosecutor’s office against Jambon, accusing him of discrimination.
One of the organizers, lawyer Marie Pierre, said that Jambon’s remarks only served to increase tension in the society.
"We do not accept this. This is not normal. The job of an interior minister is to ensure security. However, nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits... these words increase tension in the society," Pierre said.
Another complainant, Liesbet Temmerman, asked Jambon to either take his words back or issue an apology.
"Although I am not a Muslim, I don’t agree with him. We want him to take his words back or apologize," Temmerman said.
Semir Hamdat, an Afghan-origin Belgian citizen, said that Jambon’s claims were not true, and he had to provide proof or take his words back.
Muslim politicians also slammed Jambon, accusing him of marginalizing a part of the community.
A Turkish-origin MP, Veli Yuksel, said that around 800,000 Muslim citizens lived in the country, and Jambon’s remarks were "unacceptable."
"Dividing the Belgian society as Muslims and others won’t benefit Belgium.
"This pain belongs to all of us. Portraying a large part of Muslims as if they are supporting terrorism is very dangerous," he said.
Another Turkish-Belgian MP, Mahinur Ozdemir, also condemned Jambon's "divisive ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled... " remarks.
"It is not nice for someone in the capacity of the interior minister to stigmatize Muslims," Ozdemir said.
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[AA.TR] The U.S. has recently deployed troops to Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... to help United Arab Emirates forces drive al-Qaeda out of the port city of Mukalla, the Pentagon said Friday.
"We have seen over a period of many months a troubling growth of AQAP [al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ...the latest incarnation of various Qaeda and Qaeda-allied groups, including the now-defunct Aden-Abyan Islamic Army that boomed the USS Cole in 2000... ] in Yemen," front man Capt. Jeff Davis said, adding that the U.S. sent a "small number of people" to help the United Arab Emirates [UAE] efforts to rout the bully boy group from the Hadhramut coastal region in the south, located 480 kilometers (300 miles) east of Aden.
Davis declined to give a number of troops but said they are providing "intelligence support," and "assistance with operational planning."
It has been less than two weeks that the troops have been in Yemen, he added.
He underscored that the operation in Makalla is led by Yemeni forces, backed by gulf partners, particularly the UAE.
Apart from troops on the ground, the U.S. is also providing Emirati forces with "airborne Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), maritime interdictions, security operations, medical support and aerial refueling," Davis said.
The U.S. withdrew the remaining 1,000 Special Forces from Yemen amid security concerns following a Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... uprising last year.
Responding to a question about whether the Pentagon has ensured the security of the forces on the ground against the Houthis, Davis said that they are far away from the areas where Houthis are fighting.
According to the front man, the U.S. also has one amphibious ship and two destroyers off the Makalla coast as well as several aircraft, including ISR and drones.
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Pro tip: If the UN doesn't do anything but order the veal with the house red, it is engaging in "action"
KUWAIT: The head of the Yemeni government delegation at troubled peace talks in Kuwait demanded action from UN mediators on Thursday over rebel shelling of besieged third city Taiz.
Foreign Minister Abdulmalek Al-Mikhlafi said the artillery fire by rebels was in contravention of undertakings they had given when face-to-face negotiations resumed on Wednesday following a three-day walkout by his team.
Mikhlafi said his negotiators had submitted proposals to UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed for implementing an April 11 cease-fire in Taiz, where loyalist troops have been under rebel siege for months, trapping tens of thousands of civilians.
“We received a racist response” from the rebels, the minister said on Twitter, demanding action from the UN envoy.
He accused the rebels and their allies in renegade army units still loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh of “attacks on civilians in Taiz.”
Taiz lies on one of the fault lines of the conflict that has raged since March last year between the rebels and the government and its allies in a Saudi-led military coalition.
The city was part of north Yemen before the unification of the country in 1990 but, unlike the capital and the northern mountains where the Houthi Shiite rebels have their main support base, it is overwhelmingly Sunni.
Mikhlafi warned that rebel shelling of Taiz would “have serious consequences on the peace process,” unless the international community honors its undertakings to shore up the fragile cease-fire.
The warring parties have traded repeated allegations of truce violations.
The government delegation pulled out of the talks on Sunday in protest at the rebels’ overrunning of one of the few loyalist bases in the northern mountains in what it said was a clear breach.
There has been mounting international pressure to end the conflict that has killed more than 6,400 people and displaced 2.8 million since March last year.
The hard-won talks opened in Kuwait on April 21 but the first round of face-to-face negotiations was held only on Saturday.
The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) recently declared Mehmet Görmez, the head of Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs – the “Diyanet” as it is often referred to – an apostate. The Diyanet is in charge of Turkey’s nation-wide network of mosques, making this an attack on mainstream Sunni Islam in Turkey. The third issue of ISIL’s Turkish-language magazine argued that the Diyanet was Turkey’s tool of “adjusting the religion of Islam to the new religion of secularism.” The article featured photos of Görmez with the Pope and the Bishop of the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as photos of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the secularizing leader of modern Turkey, all of which, to ISIL, is akin to shaking hands with the devil. “The mosques of Diyanet are these people’s schools of jahiliya [the time of ignorance before the prophet],” the article says, “and its teachers are the regime’s imams who have sold their religion for a pittance.”
ISIL has never been shy about expressing its opinions about Turkey’s government, but it did not start this particular fight. The Diyanet did.
Interesting read for a Saturday about the religious tensions in Turkey, and how this means that the Turks oppose ISIL and yet yearn at the same time to wear the curly-toed slippers.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Israeli aircraft hit a Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, facility in the southern Gazoo Strip on Friday morning in response to cross-border mortar fire, the army said.
"In response to the ongoing attacks against Israeli forces, Israel Air Force aircraft targeted a Hamas terror infrastructure," an army statement said.
It was the fourth air raid on Gazoo since Wednesday, when direct festivities between Hamas and Israeli forces broke out for the first time since 2014.
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Commanders in Libya's third city Misrata rushed militiamen to a key crossroads on Friday after it was overrun by ISIS in an assault in which a suicide bomber killed two police.
The Abu Grein crossroads lies 120 kilometres south of Misrata where the highway along Libya's Mediterranean coast meets the main road south into the desert interior. It was captured by ISIS on Thursday in an advance from their stronghold in the city of Sirte 140 kilometres to the east.
The head of the Misrata military council, Colonel Ibrahim Bel-Rajab, said he had ordered all brigades under his command to head to Abu Grein without delay, Libya's LANA news agency reported.
"Numerous armed vehicles of IS have been spotted in this area," he said.
Misrata's two main television channels broadcast appeals to militiamen on leave to return to their barracks.
In a statement, ISIS said a Tunisian fighter had blown up a vehicle at the crossroads allowing other fighters to advance and take control of it and five other villages in the area, the SITE Intelligence Group reported.
ISIS captured Sirte in June last year and has since transformed it into a training camp for Libyan and foreign militants. With its port and airport, there are fears the militants could use the city as a staging post for attacks on European soil.
Western powers including the United States, Britain and France have openly considered international military intervention in Libya against ISIS.
We're pondering. And pondering. And pondering...
Experts have said that any future foreign strikes could target Sirte as well as the region around it.
We might drop as many as a dozen bombs around the place...
The militants group is estimated to have around 5,000 fighters in Libya, and is trying to attract hundreds more.
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(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – A source in Nineveh Operations Command said on Friday, that 20 ISIS elements had been killed in an aerial bombing by the international coalition south of Mosul.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The international coalition aviation conducted an aerial strike on a gathering for ISIS elements in the the village of al-Ju’wana in the district of Makhmour (80 km south of Mosul), resulting in the death of 20 ISIS elements,” adding that, “The aerial bombing resulted also in the destruction of a cache of gear and weaponry.”
Posted by: badanov ||
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[ARA News] ERBIL – U.S. fighter jets hit several strongholds for the radical group of Islamic State (ISIS) in the vicinity of Mosul city in Iraq’s northern province of Nineveh, killing a prominent jihadi official, informed local sources reported on Friday.
Local activists confirmed that at least one prominent leader was killed along with several escorts in Friday’s attack.
Speaking to ARA News in Mosul, media activist Muhammad Allo said that the so-called ISIS governor of Hawija, Abu Anwar, was killed on Friday in an airstrike conducted by the US-led coalition forces near Jawana bridge in the vicinity of Qayyarah subdistrict [in southern Nineveh Governorate on the west bank of Tigris river].
The source explained that Abu Anwar, who holds the Iraqi citizenship, was from the people of Baiji city [130 miles north of Baghdad].
In another development, head of the Nineveh media center Raafat al-Zarari confirmed that the city of Mosul is suffering a long-term blockade imposed by the US-led coalition forces which target ISIS’s headquarters, shipment trucks, and supply lines on a daily basis.
Al-Zarari reported that ISIS has been transporting food by boats to the civilians [mostly ISIS supporters] stranded in the village of Kabruk south of Mosul since the Qayyarah Bridge had been destroyed by the US-led coalition forces a few weeks earlier.
On Saturday, Jassim Salim al-Matyouti, ISIS governor of al-Jazeera area, and Ahmed Ghanem al-Hadidi, Emir of the so-called ‘Cubs of the Caliphate’, were killed in an airstrike by the US-led coalition forces on the group’s strongholds in the city of Mosul, according to local sources.
Al-Zarari told ARA News on Saturday that the US-led warplanes targeted the main headquarters of the ‘Bank of Mosul’ in the western part of the city, killing a number of jihadis.
“At least four ISIS jihadis were killed and around US $1,000,000 was burned in the bombing of the bank,” he reported, pointing out “the strike also caused a considerable material damage to the nearby buildings, shops, and parked cars.”
The city of Mosul was controlled by ISIS in June 2014. The presence of a social incubator of Sunni tribes – who had been strained by the former Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s policy– has facilitated the radical group’s control over the city, according to military experts.
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Guardian] Margot Honecker, politician and widow of former East German leader Erich Honecker, has died in Chile at the age of 89, her family said.
[Daily Caller] An ex-District of Columbia government parking official gave towing jobs to a company in exchange for more than $35,000 in bribes, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Rima Fakih is believed to be the first Muslim to win the title of Miss USA when she was crowned the winner in 2010.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A source in the Iraqi police said on Friday, that nine people had been either killed or injured in a bomb blast west of Baghdad.
North Korea
...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in 
Each day, millions of gallons of raw sewage pour into the Gaza Strip's Mediterranean beachfront, spewing out of a metal pipe and turning miles of once-scenic coastline into a stagnant dead zone. The sewage has damaged Gaza's limited fresh water supplies, decimated fishing zones, and after years of neglect, is now floating northward and affecting Israel as well, where a nearby desalination plant was forced to shut down, apparently due to pollution.
International Criminal Court
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
North Korea holds its first Workers Party congress in 36 years on Friday amid unprecedented international isolation and crippling sanctions. 
