h/t Instapundit
Venture capitalist Peter Thiel successfully pushed to give commercial space companies a stronger voice within President-elect Donald Trump’s NASA transition team, the result of an internal tug of war over policy directions and future decision makers at the agency.
[Illinois Policy] The door to Illinois continues to swing outward more often than it does inward. Dated articles, but instructive nonetheless. I doubt 2016 will have seen much improvement.
New data released by the U.S. Census bureau showed that in terms of domestic migration -- people moving about within the United States -- Illinois saw roughly 105,200 more people leave than arrive.
Even when offset by a gain of more than 37,600 by way of international migration, Illinois still ended up about 67,500 in the negative column.
With natural growth (births minus deaths) counted, Illinois showed a net population loss of nearly 22,200 people, or about 0.17 percent of its population.
Of the 50 states, Illinois was the top population loser. Other states showing a net loss of population were Connecticut (-3,876); Maine (-928); Mississippi (-1,110); New Mexico, (-458); Vermont, (-725) and West Virginia (-4,623).
In terms of domestic migration, the only state besides Illinois to show a six-figure loss was New York at nearly 158,000. The Empire State, however, showed a net population increase thanks to natural growth and international migration.
#2
Retirees moving south, understandable. Flatlanders moving north for lower taxes, understandable. But there has also been a steady immgration out of Chicago by undesirables being encouraged to move to Wisconsin or Minnesota
#7
Connecticut and New York have had a noticeable exodus of Wall Street traders and brokers, notably to Florida. One can thank Al Gore's internet, among other factors.
[The Week] Louis Marinelli of San Diego is a leader of Yes California, which wants the state to split off from the United States and form its own nation. Marinelli, in Russia to work on immigration issues related to his wife, told the Los Angeles Times the "embassy" was opened last weekend in order to "start laying the groundwork for a dialogue about an independent California joining the United Nations now."
Yes California argues that the state, which has the sixth largest economy in the world, could "do more good as an independent country than it is able to do as just a U.S. state." The group also says it feels the United States "represents so many things that conflict with Californian values," and continued statehood "means California will continue subsidizing the other states to our own detriment, and to the detriment of our children." The effort must first be approved by voters in 2018, then also win a special election in 2019. Should it get that far, it would face an immense legal battle, but Marinelli is shrugging off the long odds, telling the Times, "All major social and political movements in this country take time and inevitably have to overcome failures and setbacks before they are ultimately successful."
#3
Elmavish Panda1401, they like giving money and other "help" to socialist and communist countries and organizations. That doesn't include the rest of the United States, you know, us Deplorables and Un-redeamables.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/21/2016 7:17
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#4
Hypocrites. They need to look in the mirror and allow the state of Jefferson to be formed which they have blocked since the 40's. Bastard democritters in LA need northern water.
Again, I'd advise Trump to renegotiate the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to sweeten Mexico City on the wall, by giving the California coasties back. Since its a Treaty (re)negotiation, it only requires 2/3rds of the Senate to approve. Just think Mexico City, all the $$$$$ to be had in graft and corruption. You simply absorb the Donks as members of PRI, it will be seamless.
#16
Let them go. 5 minutes after it's official, declare war, invade and wipe the place clean. Then repopulate the state. Then ask New York how they feel about being their own nation.
[Independent] Bill O’Reilly lashed out at efforts to do away with the Electoral College as a racialised effort to quash the "white establishment" in US politics.
The Fox News pundit made his remarks following Donald Trump’s election win was finalised by electors across the country. Mr Trump, who lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by more than 2.8 million votes, achieved a narrow victory through the Electoral College.
Mr Trump continues to claim that he won in an historic landslide, but his 306 to 232 electoral win ranks 48th of the 58 votes in US history.
The unexpected win prompted significant criticism from progressives, as the results are not necessarily representative of the voters’ actual choice ‐ especially due to harsh voter ID laws in states like North Carolina that essentially disenfranchised voters of colour.
But Mr O’Reilly believes efforts to change the system are an attempt to remove white people from political power.
"If the Electoral College were abolished," he said, "presidential candidates could simply campaign in the nation’s largest cities ‐ New York, LA, Chicago, Houston ‐ and rack up enough votes to pretty much win any election."
He claimed the "hidden reason" behind calls to retire the Electoral College are intended to neutralise the "largely white rural areas in the Midwest and South". "Hidden reason ".....?
"The left sees white privilege in America as an oppressive force that must be done away with," Mr O’Reilly added, without acknowledging the spectre of America’s racist past.
#1
The Left wants the Peoples Democratic Republic of America not the United States of America. They want the vitality, wealth and power created by the union of states to squander as they have done in all other socialists failures.
#3
The left may want to take power from the "white establishment", but as we see under President Obama, the establishment is not based on race. Nor is the non-establishment.
[The Hill] Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh says President Obama will create "unrest and disunity" often after President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
"Obama is going to call [NBC's] Chuck Todd -- take his pick -- [CNN's] John King, [CNN's] Wolf Blitzer ... and they will not be able to wait," Limbaugh said on his Tuesday program. "They'll give Obama as much time as he wants to rip into Trump and to warn the American people.
"He's going to try to create all kinds of unrest and disunity and so forth."
Obama has said that he would speak out after leaving office if he believes it is warranted.
"As an American citizen who cares deeply about our country, if there are issues that have less to do with the specifics of some legislative proposal or battle, but go to core questions about our values and our ideals, and if I think that it's necessary or helpful for me to defend those ideals, then I'll examine it when it comes," Obama said during a press conference in Peru on Nov. 21.
Traditionally, former presidents have refrained from publicly commenting on their successors' job performance. Obama and Trump have also been publicly civil to each other during the transition despite their stark differences. During a press conference Friday, Obama said the two have had "cordial" talks.
"Obama is going to do it [criticize Trump] from Washington," Limbaugh predicted. "And he's going to do it within hours of whatever Trump does. And he's going to do it on major cable news.
"And the media is going to be 100 -- 1,000 percent behind Obama."
The Obamas plan to live in Washington when his presidency while their younger daughter finishes school.
Limbaugh has been a strong supporter of Trump since the billionaire announced his candidacy in June 2015.
#5
I dunno. Anyone heard much about The Elders™ lately?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/21/2016 10:32
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#6
Well said P2K.
Disclaimer - I do not listen to Rush or really anyone as part of my daily schedule. The snippits I heard from Rush were more explanatory than booster. My schedule usually had snippits from Glennlivit and howdy. Hope he has a swim buddy.
#7
"Obama is going to do it [criticize Trump] from Washington," Limbaugh predicted. "And he's going to do it within hours of whatever Trump does. And he's going to do it on major cable news.
I suspect Limbaugh's prediction will be proven correct.
I also suspect that the era in which ex-presidents honored the tradition of keeping their mouths shut once out of office is over. That perennial pest Jimmy Carter led the way, and Bill Clinton has run his mouth, too, from time to time.
The Democrats just LUVS them a good bullshit artist, and I figure they'll use Obama on a weekly-- or even daily-- basis to comment on nearly every move Trump makes.
One might wish the guy would just fade away quietly and STFU after January 20th, but I don't think it's going to happen.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
12/21/2016 13:12
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#8
The way the Marxists and Muslims see it somebosy's got to try to keep those cop killing and Trump supporter assaults fires burning. That's why the most important person domestically will be a jack boot Attorney General. After you drain the swamp, you gotta deal with the snakes.
#9
The Democrats just LUVS them a good bullshit artist, and I figure they'll use Obama on a weekly-- or even daily-- basis to comment on nearly every move Trump makes.
Yeah, like ESPN has Herm Edwards as an expert commentator.
#10
CNN? CNN has something like 750,000 viewers out of 350 million Americans. NBC News is in the lead at the moment, but many of those viewers voted against Mrs. Clinton despite NBC's hard sell, so the former president's pontifications will have less impact than anticipated, I suspect. And if inner city African-Americans see solid gains in jobs and quality of education on President Trump's watch, they'll pay less attention to the Lightbringer, too.
It all depends on President Trump being able to deliver, which is what we are all hoping for.
#13
I think they will try. 'Round the campfire out here was, even if you don't like Trump, him being elected could see a bipartisan support for vigorous reinstatement of checks and balances. That was about four months ago, and does not take into effect the current Missourian 'Show Me' proposed position appointments.
The detractors are currently in their smear the reputation phase. I'm thinking they will do one hundred little poos which the media will whip up into a hundred slurry pies in an overwhelm effort, where no matter what the Trump administration does, it will be so, so wrong, with lit'l Barry there to lecture us from his bunker on hole three.
The fake news bs is just setting the table, and there is the inauguration day pity party, tested and previewed by the electors' day events. What sold, what didn't sell, how it could be sold, sort of like a movie marketing preview. Cabal of the deep thinkers could cross-reference their opinions with massive social media data mining, such as how many people, and where, shit the bed during the airing of the Wisconsin elector protest.
Personally, I think this is all part of a greater wave - Duturte, Modi, Brexit, now Trump. The international collectivists are going to have to do something or else Merkel goes the way of the sand castle at incoming tide, and if Germany flips, the EU will melt.
It was noted that the fake news chaff is being spread in Europe, and I would guess a lot of incoming police are cracking down on suspected terrorists pieces while shadowing actual immigrant on locals crime. I'd go big on Dutch Roses and German Votive Candles.
#14
Time for an alternative media to counter what we currently have. I pay no attention to them anyway. They are failing to reach America. The only reason O appears effective is he gets airtime and all media talks about him. This is fake news propaganda at its best.
[Free Beacon] Retired Lt. Col. Ralph Peters told Fox Business’ Trish Regan on Tuesday that German police "really screwed up" anticipating and preventing the Berlin terrorist attack on a Christmas market.
German authorities are still looking for the person who drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday night, killing 12 people and injuring 48 others. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack the following day, calling the truck driver a "soldier."
German police had arrested a suspect but had to release him, citing insufficient evidence. Regan expressed concern on her show that the suspect who German police had in custody Tuesday morning was not the same person who carried out the attack Monday night.
"It sounds as though there’s still concern they haven’t gotten the right guy," she said.
Peters responded that Germany did not have the right person and would not charge him.
"The German police really screwed this one up, Trish," Peters said. "They actually had very specific warnings about a Christmas market in Berlin being attacked, possibly with a truck."
He continued to explain that this attack was "absolutely an act of Islamist terror."
"It was not a lone wolf attack," he said. "There was planning behind it, a cell probably. Maybe a large cell because this guy, I mean, they didn’t go after a Christmas market in the old, medieval center of Nuremberg or Munich, where it’s hard to the get a truck in. They picked the Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, where broad avenues and wide feeder streets come together, and you can maneuver a truck. Even somebody who doesn’t know how to drive it can maneuver a truck into that Christmas market."
Regan then asked how this attack was missed and what German Chancellor Angela Merkel was doing during the time of the attack.
"So, how did they miss it, is that what you’re getting at?" she asked. "I mean, what’s going on with Angela Merkel? She obviously missed one big thing, in that she welcomed her refugees into the country, more than a million of them, and now they find themselves with real security threats."
Peters said that where Merkel was at the time of the attack was "ironic."
"Trish, last night when this went down, Angela Merkel got word of the attack while she was at a celebration dinner or event for the integration of refugees, so it was very ironic," he said.
#3
Peter lost all credibility when he loudly announced he was voting for Hillary.
If I were to shun all those who chose Mrs. Clinton over Mr. Trump, or for that matter chose anyone or no one over voting for Mr. Trump, I would have to divorce Mr. Wife. As happens at least half the time, we made different choices. But he's a good man who made the best decision he could based on the information he had. I can't fault him for that. After all, he voted for George W. Bush in 2000, though he strongly dislikes the man, while I fell for Al Gore -- and have been grateful ever since that I lost. Here's hoping that Mr. Wife and Col. Peters both come to be grateful their candidate lost this time.
[ARA News] Deir Ezzor – Extremists of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Tuesday burned four civilians to death in Syria’s eastern city of Deir ez-Zor, after accusing them of supporting Kurdish forces, activists and eyewitnesses reported.
The ISIS-led Islamic Police, also known as Diwan al-Hisba, arrested the four men three months ago. They were eventually charged with supporting Kurdish YPG forces in Syria.
ISIS also accused the four men of leaking security information about the group’s movements in Deir ez-Zor to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).
The YPG is a leading member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), that are in fight with ISIS at different fronts in northern Syria, including Raqqa–the ISIS de facto capital.
The Sharia Court of Deir ez-Zor said in a statement that after “interrogations” the suspects “confessed” to have been supporting and cooperating with the YPG against the so-called Caliphate.
“The Sharia Court called for the most brutal punishment for those four men. ISIS radicals burned them to death in public on Tuesday evening,” Ahmed Ramadan, spokesman of the campaign ‘Deir ez-Zor Is Being Slaughtered Silently’ (DBSS), told ARA News.
The victims were charged with treason and apostasy, according to the source.
“Hundreds of people witnessed the execution, including the victims’ families who were forced to watch their sons being burned to death,” an eyewitness told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity.
After burning them, ISIS reportedly threw the victims’ bodies into the Euphrates River.
Posted by: badanov ||
12/21/2016
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[Al Jazeera] Aid organizations say an airtight blockade, ongoing violence, and a rapidly declining humanitarian situation are putting the lives of more than 6,000 Paleostinian refugees at risk in Syria's Yarmouk camp.
The UK-based Action Group for Paleostinians in Syria warned that Yarmouk's "humanitarian situation is going from bad to worse" in a statement published on Tuesday.
Yarmouk was once home to nearly 200,000 Paleostinian refugees and Syrians, and most of its former residents have been displaced to other parts of Syria or outside the country.
Stuck between a brutal blockade and armed festivities, a mere 6,250 civilians are believed to be in Yarmouk, according to UNRWA, the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... agency for Paleostinian refugees.
"Health facilities are limited and the humanitarian situation can change rapidly given levels of vulnerability," front man Chris Gunness told Al Jazeera.
Gunness added that UNRWA has been unable to access the refugees from the camp since its last aid convoy went in May 2016.
'Siege within a siege'
Syrian government forces and militias loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... have imposed a blockade on the camp since December 2012, restricting the flow of food, medicine and other humanitarian goods to civilians.
The Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS, also known as ISIS) invaded Yarmouk in March 2015.
ISIS controls of most of the camp's territory, while a handful of neighbourhoods are still held by Jabhat Fateh al-Sham ...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant... (formerly al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front) and other fighters.
Wesam Sabaaneh, director of the Jafra Foundation, a humanitarian group that works in Syria's Paleostinian camps, said Yarmouk is often rocked by "sporadic festivities" between government forces and gangs, as well as festivities between ISIS and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham.
"The situation for civilians is very bad," Sabaaneh told Al Jazeera, describing life in the camp as "a siege within a siege" for the remaining residents.
"ISIS is imposing strict laws, such as requiring niqab [a full face veil], as well as taking over the schools. It has also carried out executions of civilians in the streets," he added.
"There are water shortages and no electricity, and it's getting worse now that winter is setting in. There's no clean water or medicine, so there's a lot of fear that illnesses will spread very fast in the camp," Sabaaneh said, explaining that medical care is available only in a few makeshift clinics.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/21/2016
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[al-Manar] Fierce clashes erupted Tuesday between the security forces and a group of terrorists in Wasiya area in Karak province in southern Jordan as media reports indicated that four policemen were killed in fire exchange during raids aimed to arrest wanted people in the area.
On Sunday gunmen killed 10 people, including policemen and a Canadian tourist, and wounded 34 other people, in a shooting spree in Karak, home to one of the region’s biggest Crusader-castle.
Four assailants were killed by the Jordanian security forces.
The ISIL group on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was carried out by four “soldiers of the caliphate”, in revenge for U.S.-led coalition air strikes targeting ‘jihadists’ in Syria and Iraq.
[Al Ahram] Three men set up a fence and a ribbon of yellow and black scene of the crime tape around a site south of Iraq's djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , marking a mass grave of jihadists' victims.
It is one of dozens of such sites discovered in areas around Iraq that have been recaptured from the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group, whose rule has been defined by extreme brutality.
Now Sherlocks face the enormous task of piecing together details of what happened to IS's many victims, and determining who they were.
"It really is a scene of the crime," Fawaz Abdulabbas, deputy head of the International Committee on Missing Persons in Iraq, said of the site near Hamam al-Alil discovered after Iraqi forces recaptured the town last month.
"Between 80 and 100 bodies are here, including those of women and kiddies," Abdulabbas said.
Among the bodies may be that of Imed Dhaer, a policeman who was kidnapped by IS group, leaving 10 children without their father and two wives without their husband, his brother Fuad said.
When Iraqi forces launched an offensive in mid-October to recapture Mosul, the last IS-held city in the country, the holy warriors "came to search for all members of the security forces", including 33-year-old Imed, his brother said.
The IS holy warriors "were locals; they knew the houses and professions of all those they took", Fuad said.
Since then, he has had no news of his brother, but residents of Hamam al-Alil said they heard shooting at the grave site, a former Iraqi firing range near the town.
"For three days, from 7:00 to 11:00 pm, they executed" the people they had seized and then "dumped the bodies before partially covering them with dirt mixed with garbage" in what they termed "burials of dishonour", said Dargham Kamil, an official from the Martyrs' Foundation.
The organization, which is under the authority of the Iraqi premier's office, has been working for over a month to trace how the killings unfolded, and has already collected many accounts from local residents.
Fuad can imagine what happened and now wants only one thing: to see the body of his brother, to know for sure.
"Only that can soothe our hearts," Fuad said.
But before that can happen, Iraqi and international teams will have to identify the remains, carrying out DNA tests once relatives have been found.
Additional investigation of the site is also needed "to see if there are any deeper layers, and therefore more bodies", said Dhia Karim, the Martyrs' Foundation official responsible for mass graves.
More bodies would add to hundreds already discovered in other mass graves left by IS jihadists, who overran swathes of territory north and west of Baghdad in 2014 but have since been pushed back by Iraqi forces.
Twenty-nine mass graves containing at least 1,600 bodies have been found in Sinjar, west of Mosul, since Iraqi Kurdish forces recaptured it last year, according to Mahma Khalil, the local official responsible for the area.
"A number of graves have not been discovered or searched yet," Abdulabbas said.
Amid the tumult of the IS assault, fighting with Iraqi forces, summary executions and other abuses carried out by the jihadists, it "is very difficult to establish" the number of people who are missing", said Karim.
Karim and his teams have been working to collect testimony from witnesses and relatives of missing persons around the country.
"We will have to gather all this in a single database; it is a very long-term job," Abdulabbas said.
After which the evidence will have to be put in files and presented to the judicial system, which is already overwhelmed with similar cases from past years of violence in Iraq.
The legal process is of utmost importance "for national reconciliation", Abdulabbas said.
"Many of the people in (IS) are people from here," he said, and their brutality "could lead to Dire Revenge or vendettas between families".
Posted by: Fred ||
12/21/2016
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[RUDAW.NET] Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have clashed with ISIS faceless myrmidons on the road to Jabaar Castle on the Euphrates River, killing nine of the bully boy fighters, they announced Tuesday.
The festivities come on the tenth day of the SDF’s second stage of their Wrath of Euphrates operation to liberate ISIS’ stronghold of Raqqa. Their forces have reached the Euphrates and retaken a large area northwest of Raqqa, they announced on Tuesday.
"Our fighters have reached the Euphrates after liberating a large area from ISIS groups," reads a statement from the SDF.
"During the first 10 days in the second stage in the Operation Wrath of Euphrates, which was launched from the directions of Qadiriyê and Kerdosan villages with the goal of liberating western Raqqa, fighters have liberated 97 villages, dozens of hamlets and strategic hills in a total area of 1300 square kilometers," said spokesperson Jihan Sheikh Ahmad in a press briefing.
Ahmed added that "96 ISIS members were killed in festivities and 7 others were captured and taken captive, including one gang member who surrendered together with his family."
The SDF have also suffered casualties during the offensive ‐ 9 fighters were killed and 12 were maimed, Ahmad stated.
The Kurdish-led coalition of forces with a strong contingent from Raqqa itself is carrying out the offensive with backing from the US-led coalition.
In the ten days of fighting, they have defused as many as 550 mines planted by ISIS and seized a large quantity of arms.
The SDF warned civilians eager to return to their homes that some locations have yet to be cleared and advised them "to stay away from areas occupied by ISIS gangs."
In the first phase of the campaign, the SDF had liberated 50 villages and 50 farms, "plus they liberated 150 families and killed 150 ISIS gangsters, and liberated 550 square kilometres of territory."
The military operation to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa from ISIS, ousting the bully boy group from their de facto capital, was launched in early November on two fronts north of the city, from the towns of Saluq and Ayn Issa, by a coalition of forces fighting under the SDF flag.
The offensive began with 9 brigades, including Kurdish forces, Christians, Turkmens, and many Arab brigades from the Raqqa area, but has since grown as more recruits have completed training and joined the force.
Raqqa – The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) made new gains in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) in western Raqqa. The SDF on Tuesday announced that they have captured 97 villages in an area measuring approximately 1300 square kilometres since the launch of the Euphrates Wrath Operation’s second phase earlier in December.
According to the Kurdish-led SDF, the operation will continue until its goals are reached by isolating ISIS in Raqqa and eventually liberating the city, which has been taken by the group as a de facto capital for its self-proclaimed Caliphate.
In a press conference in the Jahisha town, west of Raqqa, the SDF leadership announced the outcomes of the first 10 days of the operation. “Our forces advanced towards Raqqa from two axis, al-Qadiriyah and Kerdoshan,” the SDF said. “We have dismantled more than 550 landmines that had been planted by ISIS in western Raqqa. The dismantling operations continue in the area.”
The SDF launched the second phase of the Euphrates Wrath Operation on the 10th of December, with the objective of liberating the western countryside of Raqqa and the strategic Tabqa Dam.
Chin Sheikh Ahmed, the Official Spokesperson of the Euphrates Wrath Operation, told ARA News: “At least 96 ISIS militants have been killed so far and seven militants arrested in this phase of the operation. Also, one ISIS militant surrendered with his family to the Syrian Democratic Forces.”
“The clashes are now centred in the vicinity of the Jaabar Citadel,” she said. “The operation will continue until liberating western Raqqa, which is the main goal of this phase of the Euphrates Wrath Operation.”
According to Abdulqadir Fadel, a member of the Euphrates Wrath Operation’s Chamber, American military experts played a key role in preparing the SDF forces for this operation.
“The US-led coalition continues to provide support to our forces in the campaign. There are also Western military experts participating in this operation,” Fadel told ARA News, adding: “In the framework of this operation, various factions have joined the SDF ranks. This came at the request of the local Arab tribes in the liberated areas.”
During the first phase of Euphrates Wrath, SDF soldiers captured an area measuring approximately 560 km2.
The long-term objective of Euphrates Wrath is the elimination of the Islamic State in its de facto capital, Raqqa city. Video report at the link
Posted by: Fred ||
12/21/2016
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[RUDAW.NET] As the evacuation of thousands of people and fighters continued from the rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo on Tuesday following a Russian-Turkish brokered deal, the rebel fighters in other areas struggle with tens of thousands of internally displaced people.
In a camp in Sarmada, west of Aleppo, a rebel fighter told news hounds defiantly but rather unrealistically that they have come here only for a short time, vowing to reclaim the ancient city from the Syrian regime, after they lost almost all parts of the city in recent weeks.
"Those families who have come to this place are here only for a short time," the fighter from the so-called Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) told Rudaw, "God willing we will control Aleppo. We will not leave Aleppo for Iran, Russia, or any other party."
The rebel fighter is apparently out of touch with the reality, not because their main backer, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , has agreed to the fall of Aleppo in a deal with Russia, but back in the camp, children are crying out of cold and hunger.
If they cannot feed people in areas they already control, getting back to Aleppo is not only a wishful thinking, it may also be a matter of time before this camp becomes the next target for an eventual regime offensive.
Others in their early teens who grew up in the civil war are repeating a chant that caused the war six years ago: The people want the fall of the regime.
The war has forced half the Syrian population from home, scattered around the country, or fled abroad.
For some who felt the civil war has no ending, swapped their tents for concrete homes, but even that is no guarantee against another possible displacement.
"It has been one year and half since I came to this camp," Mohammed, not his real name, told Rudaw, "I got only a tent at the beginning, now I have built a room and a kitchen for myself and my children, and now they [the rebels] have come telling me that I have to get out and head to another camp.
"It is cold. I do not have heater. I am sick, and I am hungry," an old woman tired of life in the camps said. She points out people like Mohammed are luckier because he has got a roof, for now.
"We do not have a tent, neither a roof, like everyone else. There is no school, how can you call this a life?" the old woman rhetorically asked, "If it were not for the aid we receive, we would have died from hunger."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/21/2016
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#1
"Tis but a flesh wound!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/21/2016 8:29
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ID belonging to Anis Amri, 23, who was born in Tataouine, Tunisia,
...an ISIS stronghold near the Libyan border...
in 1992, found in killer truck's footwell
Officers have been to all hospitals because they believe Amri could be badly injured after massacre
Suspect has links to Tunisian radical group Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... and salafist imams in Germany connected to ISIS
Yet another one connected to multiple organizations, all aimed at helping him commit jihad.
Amri allegedly arrested for GBH and having fake passport but vanished in December before being charged
Driver steered at crowds - including children - along 80 metre stretch of pavement packed with stalls
Naved Baluch, 23, was blamed for carnage all because witnesses saw him commit a traffic offense
He had no blood on his clothes, no injuries, there was no DNA match to lorry and he denied being involved
A Tunisian asylum seeker suspected of carrying out the Berlin massacre was jugged Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! three times this year amid fears he was planning a terror plot - but they let him go.
Despite being an ISIS supporter known to have received weapons training, German authorities allowed Anis Amri to slip through their clutches time after time.
The 23-year-old even tried to recruit an accomplice for a terror plot ‐ and again the authorities knew about it ‐ but still he remained on the lam, it has emerged.
Police today revealed they have launched a Europe-wide hunt for the refugee, who came to Germany earlier this year and to Italia in 2012. He is probably armed, 'highly dangerous' and a member of a 'large' Islamic organization and has weapons training abroad, security sources say.
This afternoon it emerged that he had already been under investigation for planning a 'serious act of violence against the state' and counter-terrorism officials last exchanged information about him in November.
The wanted notice issued this afternoon, a European arrest warrant from Germany, indicates he has at times used six different aliases and three different nationalities.
He arrived in Germany in July 2015 and was given a hearing by immigration authorities in April this year. According to media reports, he was denied the right to asylum and due to be deported this year. But under a peculiarity of the German asylum system he was granted a 'Duldung' or toleration papers allowing him to stay for unknown reasons. He was due to be deported before year's end.
According to BILD newspaper the German authorities were in touch with their Tunisian counterparts to get him a passport so he could be kicked out. But Tunis said it had no record of him being a citzen. The wanted notice issued this afternoon, a European arrest warrant from Germany, indicates he has at times used six different aliases and three different nationalities.
He was put on a danger list shortly after arriving - a move which meant authorities considered him prone to extreme violence. Yet just how much surveillance he was under remains unclear.
In July this year he got into a knife fight over drugs and was charged with GBH. But he went underground before getting to court.
Yet he surfaced again in August in Ludwigsburg when he was arrested for possessing a fake Italian document. Again, why he was allowed to slip through the fingers of the security services, given his known affiliation to hate preachers, is unclear.
Before his vanishing act he had contact with Salafist preachers who promoted Jihad among German young men who converted to Islam.
Much more at the link, including photos of the gentleman in question without bars over his eyes -- which will be of interest to European Conservative, as apparently German news sources now blur or place a bar over the eyes of images of suspects in addition to giving only their first name and last initials to protect their privacy. And as this is the Daily Mail, check the link peridodically for updates, dear Reader.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/21/2016
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#1
who conveniently left his ID in the truck....uh-huh
#2
The Berlin truck attack suspect had been arrested in August with forged documents on his way to Italy but was released by a judge, a German security official tells CNN.
The suspect's identity papers were found inside the truck used in Monday's attack on a Christmas market, which left 12 people dead, German security officials said.
The suspect was known to German security services as someone in contact with radical Islamist groups, and had been assessed as posing a risk, Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Ralf Jaeger told reporters.
The suspect was believed to have entered Germany in July 2015, Jaeger said. His asylum request was refused in June, and Tunisian authorities were informed when the deportation process started.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/21/2016 14:22
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#3
Clem, he probably left it in the truck because he knew police throughout the EU would need all the help they could get.
#6
Why asylum from Tunisia? The Govt there hounding him for being an Islamist?
Posted by: Jack Salami ||
12/21/2016 20:22
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#7
Tunisians often go to Italy, and when they are running out of options there they try the asylum spiel. Usually they arrive by train, shred their documents and claim they are from Libya.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/21/2016 20:38
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#8
He is really, really good at evading capture without assistance, eh?
[AA.TR] The U.S. on Tuesday roundly dismissed claims it was in any way involved in the liquidation of Russia's envoy to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... "It's a ludicrous claim, absolutely false, there's no basis of truth in it whatsoever," State Department front man John Kirby told news hounds.
Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, unsuccessful presidential candidate, and utterly failed Secretary of State... conveyed the sentiment Tuesday during a telephone call with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, Kirby added.
"The secretary in his conversation with the foreign minister did raise his concerns about some of the rhetoric coming out of Turkey with respect to American involvement/support, tacit or otherwise, for this unspeakable liquidation yesterday because of the presence of Mr. [Fetullah] Gulen here in the United States," Kirby said.
[AA.TR] Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag has said late Tuesday that it is a great disrespect and defamation for the Turkish police to be presented as the perpetrator of Russian envoy Karlov's liquidation.
"It is a terror attack, it is very clear. The connections behind this attack will also come to light," Bozdag said during a speech in the Turkish Parliament in the capital Ankara.
The minister said that the dark and dirty connections behind the murder cannot be hidden by using police uniform or title. "I am sure that the investigations will reveal all the ties of the attacker. Don't doubt that," Bozdag said.
[AA.TR] Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has told U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, unsuccessful presidential candidate, and utterly failed Secretary of State... on Tuesday that Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) was behind Russian envoy Karlov's liquidation.
According to Turkish diplomatic sources, Cavusoglu and Kerry had a phone conversation, during which the Turkish foreign minister informed his U.S. counterpart on Andrey Karlov's liquidation and the assailant Mevlut Mert Altintas.
Cavusoglu informed Kerry that terrorist group FETO was behind the liquidation of Russian envoy to Ankara, according to the sources.
The sources added that Kerry offered condolences to Cavusoglu and expressed sorrow about the incident.
Andrey Karlov died after being shot multiple times at an art exhibition in Ankara on Monday evening.
Karlov was delivering a speech when the assailant, 22-year-old policeman Altintas, opened fire on him.
[AA.TR] The liquidation of Moscow’s ambassador to Ankara, Andrey Karlov, was a "provocation" against "Turkish-Russian relations", President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of Istanbul's Eurasia Tunnel, Erdogan said The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... would not "let terror hitch us to its own agenda".
The Russian envoy was rubbed out on Monday evening as he attended the opening ceremony of an art gallery in capital Ankara.
Erdogan also said terror attacks will not harm the nation’s unity.
He also confirmed that a joint commission with Russia was set to start investigating the incident and those responsible.
[DAWN] A team of Russian Sherlocks arrived in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... on Tuesday to probe the liquidation of Moscow's ambassador in an Ankara art gallery, as both sides pledged the murder would not damage improving relations.
Veteran diplomat Andrei Karlov was shot nine times in the back by off-duty Turkish policeman Mevlut Mert Altintas at the opening of an exhibition of Russian photography on Monday.
The brazen killing stunned Ankara and Moscow, which have rowed repeatedly over the Syria conflict but in recent weeks have begun cooperating closely on the evacuations from war-wrecked Aleppo.
An unprecedented three-way meeting on Syria between the foreign ministers of Turkey, Russia and Iran went ahead in Moscow Tuesday despite the liquidation, with the diplomats backing a widening of a truce.
Six people have been detained over the Karlov liquidation, including the sister, mother, father and uncle of the 22-year-old Altintas, Turkish media said.
Adding to the jitters, with Turkey already on high alert after a string of deadly attacks, an individual also fired outside the US embassy in Ankara overnight.
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Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/21/2016 10:23
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#5
From the fireplace:
Russians had something to do with Benghazi, post-election payback, dust up for Trump, "See, Trump would start a war with Russia!"
/tinfoil
The U.S. on Tuesday roundly dismissed claims it was in any way involved in the liquidation of Russia's envoy to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
Shit.
Still, I'm still in the local jihad campsite. And still, good shot and collective afterwards; would be a bit embarrassing, if that is the right word, to find out the assassin was US trained.
[ALMASDARNEWS] On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he has ordered his government to "find ways" to bring injured civilians from Aleppo, Syria, to Israeli hospitals. That could clear the way for hundreds of Syrians, a country still technically at war with Israel, to cross into the country at the express invitation of a prime minister normally known for his hard-line positions on Iran, the Paleostinians, and other issues, according to Vox.
"We see the tragedy of terrible suffering of civilians and I’ve asked the Foreign Ministry to seek ways to expand our medical assistance to the civilian casualties of the Syrian tragedy, specifically in Aleppo," Netanyahu said during a reception for foreign correspondents based in Israel.
"It’s being explored as we speak," he confirmed.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Wash Examiner] President Obama took the "historic step" to ban offshore oil drilling in the Arctic and off the Atlantic coastline, the White House announced Tuesday afternoon.
The action represents a partnership between the United States and Canada "to build a strong Arctic economy, preserve a healthy Arctic ecosystem and protect our fragile Arctic waters, including designating the bulk of our Arctic water and certain areas in the Atlantic Ocean as indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing," the White House said.
I heard on NPR yesterday the claim that this action could never, ever be reversed in the future. No basis was given for this claim, which a cynical mind would find suspicious.
The actions, and Canada's parallel actions, reflect the scientific assessment that, "even with the high safety standards that both our countries have put in place, the risks of an oil spill in this region are significant and our ability to clean up from a spill in the region's harsh conditions is limited," the White House said.
"By contrast, it would take decades to fully develop the production infrastructure necessary for any large-scale oil and gas leasing production in the region -- at a time when we need to continue to move decisively away from fossil fuels," according to the statement.
#7
Supposedly under a 1953 law he can withdraw the leases and there is no way in the law to restore them. But the law, much like Obamacare it can simply be repealed
#9
Supposedly under a 1953 law he can withdraw the leases and there is no way in the law to restore them. But the law, much like Obamacare it can simply be repealed.
#11
#7 Supposedly under a 1953 law he can withdraw the leases and there is no way in the law to restore them. --Silentbrick
FOIA will be interesting on this if the new Trump administration keeps them from stonewalling.
#12
Building on what Darth said, many are now speaking of 'peak demand' for oil (not peak supply, which has been totally debunked) hitting in the next 10-15 years due to the worldwide move to renewables, higher fuel mileage standards, etc. eroding the demand for fossil fuels. Faced with a future of overall lower oil prices, energy companies will only invest in wells that pay off in shorter timeframes at lower price levels. Arctic/deepwater drilling is very high cost and therefore a high risk at low oil prices. Fracking is less expensive than Arctic drilling, but requires a certain oil price to make sense. With oil prices rising again thanks to our friends at OPEC, fracking has cranked back up. There's ample evidence that oil companies see the writing on the wall with regard to 'peak demand', with some scrambling to secure options in 'easy' (low cost) oil fields in Qatar and/or nixing big Arctic projects altogether (TOTAL, French oil company).
Frankly, I'm rooting for peak demand, because oil drilling is a dirty business and I'd rather not see a Deepwater Horizon incident (I live in Pensacola, FL) in that pristine Arctic environment or anywhere else for that matter.
#15
I doubt anyone reading this will live long enough to see peak demand. In most of the world petroleum is primarily an industrial feedstock, not a motor fuel. There are more than enough un- and under-developed areas to take up the slack should the developed world successfully wean itself off liquid hydrocarbons utilized as motor fuels. If oil stays cheap for a long period of time global demand will explode.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] According to the security officials, the gunnies stopped the vehicles of ICRC carrying at least 4 staff members but they took away one of them and released the three others.
There are no details available regarding the identity of the kidnapped staff member.
No group including the Taliban forces of Evil has so far grabbed credit behind the incident.
The high between Kunduz and Balkh province has been witnessing instability during the recent months as the anti-government armed Lion of Islam groups have stepped up insurgency in key Northern provinces.
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[DAWN] THE interior minister appeared in a combative mood while responding to the damning indictment of him and his ministry by the inquiry commission report at the presser last week on the Aug 8 terrorist attack in Quetta. But he had nothing substantive to say in his defence. Instead, he himself has raised questions over the impartiality of the judicial investigation.
He certainly has no intention of accepting any responsibility let alone stepping down -- of course, there is no such tradition in our political culture. It is quite apparent that like numerous other commission reports, this one too will perhaps be consigned to the backroom.
Neither will heads roll nor will there be any corrective measure taken to rectify the fault lines in our counterterrorism policy as highlighted by Justice Qazi Faez Isa in his landmark report. The one-man judicial commission was formed by the Supreme Court to investigate the tragedy that had almost completely wiped out an entire generation of senior lawyers in Quetta.
Continued on Page 49
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Former Death Eaters from the city of al-Muadamia in the Damascus countryside acknowledged to Russian journalists that they made a mistake and vowed to help rebuild homes and other structures that have been destroyed as a result of this war.
Ahmed Alamshari, a local of al-Muadamia but a fighter for ISIS, explained the pressure the terrorist group put on the fighters which even resulted in him killing his own relatives.
"It’s hard for you to imagine what strong pressure the forces of Evil exerted on us. They had many foreign mercenaries among them who, as we grasped later, came to destroy our society. I support the government and defend my city. I am restoring the buildings along with other people," the ex-militant said.
"We regret our actions, which burdened people’s lives in this town," Alamshari went on to say.
Meanwhile a mother in the area went onto explain the difficulties the Death Eaters put on al-Muadamia.
"Our city was destroyed, so now we have moved into our relatives’ place," Om Husam, the mother of eight, said.
"We were very much afraid when military hostilities were underway. We hid in the basement during the entire shelling. Now it’s safe. Our children are playing in the street again. They are going to school," she elaborated.
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[DAWN] Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch on Tuesday said that Musharraf crossed all limits by making claims against former chief of army staff Gen (retd) Raheel Sharif ..Pak chief of army staff, meaning he pulls the strings on the Nawaz Sharif puppet to make it dance and sing and not do much at all.... Musharraf had claimed that ex-army chief Gen Raheel Sharif helped him leave the country by keeping the government from pressuring the courts.
"Musharraf should not have talked in such a blatant manner, even if Raheel had played a role in this issue. Musharaff should have realised the implications of this statement," said the minister while speaking in a Geo News talk show.
He added that the Supreme Court should now come forward and every individual concerned should submit their clarification in this regard before the apex court.
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[AA.TR] The suspect in a string of bombings across New York and New Jersey earlier this year pleaded not guilty "Wudn't me." Tuesday to five counts of attempted murder of coppers.
Amhad Khan Rahimi
...also spelt Ahmad Khan Rahmani and Ahmad Khan Rahami, which is a good thing, as the new version does not appear in the Rantburg archives. He was probably trained by the Taliban...
did not speak during the proceedings -- his first court appearance since he was taken into custody following a shootout with police.
He is accused of setting off of bombs in New Jersey and New York that injured more than 30 victims.
Rahimi has been held without bail since his Sept. 19 arrest.
He pulled a weapon on officers after he was found sleeping in the alcove of a bar, authorities say, prompting the exchange of gunfire that left him with seven bullet wounds. One officer was shot but his bulletproof vest stopped the bullet, and another was grazed by a bullet.
In addition to the five counts of attempted murder, Rahimi faces other weapons-related charges.
He has also pleaded not guilty to federal charges related to the bombing of a Manhattan neighborhood that injured 31 victims.
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#4
That certainly is, g(r)omgoru -- you are already on your way to your room, I assume. ;-)
Non-artistically speaking, would he not carry his lance on the right side? I can't imagine it would do any good on the left, that hand already being occupied by the shield.
China has handed back an American underwater drone it seized from international waters in the contentious South China Sea.
Beijing’s defence ministry said it returned the unmanned vehicle after “friendly consultations”.
The drone was given back close to where it was taken, around 92km north-west of Subic Bay in the Philippines, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said. Civilian contractors were using the drone to collect unclassified scientific data in international waters, according to the US.
Officials say a non-combat ship was recovering two drones when a Chinese boat approached, launched a small boat and picked up one of them.
Mr Cook said the US would continue to investigate the event, which happened on Thursday near the Philippines. The incident took place inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, and the country described the incident as “very troubling” and increased the likelihood of “miscalculations that could lead to open confrontation.”
The incident was one of the most serious confrontations between the superpowers in decades and further escalated tensions between the countries.
Beijing had been angered by President-elect Donald Trump’s public questioning of the One China Policy and by the future leader’s willingness to take a phone call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen earlier in December.
The seizure has added to US concerns about China's growing military presence and aggressive posture in the disputed South China Sea, including its militarisation of maritime outposts.
In a brief statement, China's Defence Ministry said the drone had been given back to the United States.
"After friendly consultations between the Chinese and US sides, the handover work for the US underwater drone was smoothly completed in relevant waters in the South China Sea at midday on 20 December," the ministry said in a short statement.
The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for more details about the handover.
[Iraq Sun] Before IS took over his village of Bashmana, there were neither military forces nor minority citizens of any kind in the tiny Sunni enclave, so the villagers had no reason to doubt the IS warnings. "But we told them, we would stay in our home or die," Mohammad said.
Some families retreated with the Death Eaters, but most remained as IS fled to another, more militarized village, he added.
"The first day we were liberated, the Iraqi Army brought biscuits and water to the children," Mohammad continued, describing the re-capture of his village by Iraqi forces nearly two months ago. "The next day the Hashd Shaabi came in with food and cooking oil."
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Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Intelligence Officer of al-Hashd al-Ashaeri in Haditha, Captain Nazim al-Jaghifi, announced on Tuesday, that the Islamic state was intending to attack the district.
Jaghifi said in a press statement, “Today, Iraqi Army Aviation bombarded a convoy of the Islamic State in al-Sakra area, west of the city of Haditha.”
“The bombardment resulted in the killing of 12 members of the Islamic State, as well as destroying four vehicles,” he added.
“The Army Aviation also hit another convoy of three vehicles belonging to the Islamic State, destructing them completely and killing all terrorists inside them,” Jaghifi further added.
“Furthermore, the Army Aviation bombed a number of vehicles in al-Raihana area in Anah district, totally destroying them,” Jaghifi explained.
Jaghifi also revealed that the Islamic State group was mobilizing its members west of Haditha, in order to launch an attack on the district, but their plans were foiled by the Army’s air strike.
Posted by: badanov ||
12/21/2016
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The military operation was launched two days ago and security forces have managed to clear a number of areas on the outskirts of the city.
Security forces have advanced at least six kilometers in their military operation against the Taliban on the outskirts of Lashkargah city, Helmand local officials said on Tuesday.
The military operation was launched two days ago and security forces have managed to clear a number of areas on the outskirts of the city.
“Security forces including the Afghan National Army, the Afghan National Police and the National Directorate of Security operatives have started a military operation to clear Lashkargah city of insurgents. We have ordered our forces to prevent civilian casualties during their mission,” said Brigadier General Ghani Abrar, an army chief in 2015 Maiwand Corps.
Meanwhile, Bost Zone Police Chief Major Gen. Mohammad Hakim Angar said: “Our forces have advanced by six kilometers in their operation which started two days ago. They have cleared many villages as well. We will launch other military operations in Helmand’s districts after clearing Lashkargah city.”
He added that the military operation is targeting insurgents from the air and ground and no casualties have been inflicted on the security forces or on civilians so far.
“Taliban’s casualty toll is high in this operation, but due to a heavy clash, we could not get exact information in this respect. No casualties were imposed on security forces or civilians in this operation,” Angar stated.
The military operation comes four months after the Taliban attacked the outskirts of Lashkargah city and took control of some areas.
[DAWN] OVER the weekend, The Washington Post published a story titled ’In Pakistain, five girls were killed for having fun. Then the story took an even darker twist’. Written by Pamela Constable, the story was a follow-up of a gruesome case of five women from Kohistan ...a backwoods district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa distinguished by being even more rustic than is the norm among the local Pashtuns.... whose lives, it is very strongly suspected, came to an untoward and cruel end four years ago. All of them are said to have been killed on the orders of a jirga, after a grainy video was shared, showing them clapping and singing at a wedding ceremony.
The past few months have seen some new but unsurprising developments in the case. The first of these, reported some weeks ago by the Pak media, relates to a fact-finding mission that told the Supreme Court that the women were, in fact, dead or missing; that the assertions of the elders who maintained they were alive did not appear to be true.
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#1
Holding your breath, are ya?
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
12/21/2016 8:27
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#2
'Honor Killings' has a respectable sound to it. It should be called 'Murder of Innocents' or 'Dumb F#cks Killing Their Own Family' or ... unbelievable ...
ADEN: At least 22 people were killed in clashes between government forces and rebels on the outskirts of the flashpoint city of Taiz in southwest Yemen, military sources said Tuesday.
The fighting late Monday north of Taiz, held by loyalists but partly surrounded by Shiite Houthis and their rebel allies, left at least 14 rebels and eight soldiers dead, they said.
Residents said relative calm was restored on Tuesday.
In the north, two loyalist officers were killed in clashes around the Red Sea port town of Midi, the sources said, while a rights activist said a 13-year-old girl died when a shell fired by rebels crashed into her home in the southern province of Dhaleh.
Yemen’s 20-month-old conflict has killed more than 7,000 people and wounded nearly 37,000, the United Nations says.
The Houthis overran the capital Sanaa and other parts of the impoverished country in September 2014, prompting a Saudi-led Arab military coalition to intervene six months later in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] Israeli occupation army is preparing for a possible incursion by Hezbollah, with its efforts are focusing on improving its ground capabilities, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.
In an article titled "Israeli Army Digging in Against Possible Hezbollah Incursion," the Israeli writer Amos Harel said that Israeli occupation forces have gradually changed their approach to Hezbollah in recent years.
"When the organization’s head, (Sayyed) Hassan Nasrallah, said he’d invade the Galilee in the next war, the IDF (IOF) chiefs realized he wasn’t making empty threats," Harel wrote in his article published on Saturday.
"Hezbollah intends to make a swift incursion into Israel in the hope of taking control of a town or military base for a short time. With the experience Hezbollah has gained in the Syrian civil war, it’s now regarded by the IDF (IOF) as an army in every respect, no longer a guerrilla organization."
The writer said that Hezbollah at this moment is not interested in a new war with the Zionist entity. However, a hangover is the wrath of grapes... the IOF "doesn’t think Hezbollah will suffice with a defensive stance in the next war."
"Along with massive rocket fire onto the Israeli home front ‐ all of which is now within Hezbollah’s rocket range ‐ the group might launch an attack or counterattack along the border."
Harel added that Hezbollah can deploy its Radwan special forces and focus its firepower on Israeli communities near the border, noting that alongside its short-range Katyusha rockets and mortar shells, the Lebanese resistance organization has acquired hundreds of Burkan rockets with heavy warheads (up to half a ton) that can travel several kilometers.
In this context, the Israeli writer reported that the Zionist authorities have been for two years improving the defense on the border against Hezbollah.
"The IDF (IOF) has dug obstacles while fortifying communities against fire by snipers, antitank guns, rocket launchers and mortars. And local civilian forces are being trained to defend the towns, kibbutzim and moshavim."
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#1
Assad needs Hezbollah to be in Syria, next year and probably for a few more after that. By then the cumulative casualties may have taken more of a toll then Nasrallah can stomach. This is because they have to keep enough force in Lebanon to sufficiently intimidate the population there.
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/21/2016 3:47
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[Al Ahram] Indonesian police said on Tuesday that three people had been tossed in the clink Please don't kill me! over a suspected plot to carry out a suicide kaboom in some holy man's guesthouse an undisclosed location outside the most populous island of Java.
Two men were arrested in the Central Java city of Solo on Sunday on suspicion they made explosives to be carried by a female accomplice, said Martinus Sitompul, a front man for the national police.
A suspectedjacket wallah'> exploding trollop female suicide bomber had been arrested in Purworejo, also in Central Java, last Thursday, he said.
"The group was planning to carry out an attack outside Java," Sitompul said. He declined to elaborate and said police would hold a news briefing later this week.
The three were linked to a group police arrested earlier this month for planning an attack at the changing of the guard at Jakarta's presidential palace, he added.
In both cases, police suspect the groups planned to use aexploding trollop female suicide bomber, a new tactic for attacks in Indonesia.
The suspects held over the planned Jakarta attack had been communicating with and received money from Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian bully boy known to be fighting with Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... in Syria, police have said.
Indonesian police are currently interrogating 14 suspects related to the planned Jakarta bombing and the plot outside Java, Sitompul said.
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[Al Ahram] The Syrian government and other parties on the ground have agreed to allow 20 observers to be sent to east Aleppo to monitor evacuations, the UN front man said Tuesday.
The United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... is however waiting for all sides to grant access for deliveries of humanitarian aid to Aleppo, where civilians have been living under siege since July.
The green light came a day after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on deploying the monitors to oversee the evacuation and report on the protection of civilians who remain in the besieged city.
"We have received authorization to send 20 international and national staff to Aleppo to play a critical role in the monitoring and response in Aleppo city," said UN front man Stephane Dujarric.
"Access to people in need to provide them with life-saving humanitarian assistance is also urgently needed," he added.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Colonel John Dorian front man for the international coalition stated on Tuesday, that the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... developed a mobile application targeting children, and asking them to destroy western landmarks such as Eiffel Tower, Big Ben and the Statue of Liberty, IraqiNews reported.
Dorian said in a press statement, "The Islamic State is willing to use children to carry out suicide kabooms: their apocalyptic vision is of damaging society everywhere they have gained control. What they are trying to do is create a generational problem with their poisonous ideology."
"They have even devised an app which is used to indoctrinate children. It is supposed to teach them Arabic. But the words they learn are related to violence and extremism such as tanks and grenades," he explained.
"The children are rewarded if they say they are prepared to carry out attacks on the West, the targets are places like the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower," Dorian further added.
The Islamic State is providing children in the territories it controls with apps to access violent jihadi websites, as it makes increasing use of child fighters (Cubs of the Caliphate section) in its battles in Iraq and Syria, the report continued.
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12/21/2016
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[RUDAW.NET] The Syrian ambassador to the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... says only existing UN observers who are currently based in the country will have the permission to enter the embattled city of Aleppo to monitor the ongoing evacuation of local civilians and the rebels after a conjectural deal was reached late last week.
Bashar Jaafari told Rudaw his government will offer safe passage only to the existing UN monitors in Syria into the besieged city but "no other group except for them" will have access to Aleppo.
"We are talking about those observers who are already in that region... the deal is clear on that point. The monitors form the international and Syrian Red Thingy and the UN observers are already there. No one else, except for those who are there, will come from abroad," Jaafari said in response to a Rudaw question at a UN presser Monday.
"We are not talking about a new constituency coming from the outside replacing these people who are already there," he added.
Jaafari's latest statement runs counter to UN's earlier announcement about foreign observers' lack of access to southeastern parts of Aleppo where the rebels have been based.
Several UN diplomats told Rudaw Monday that no international monitoring group has been permitted to visit the southeastern pockets of the city despite persistent appeals.
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[RUDAW.NET] ISIS Death Eaters launched two separate counterattacks on the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi west of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... and the Iraqi army in southern Mosul as the Iraqi forces have tightened the noose around the Death Eaters on all fronts in the embattled city.
"The Hashd al-Shaabi forces repelled an ISIS attack around Tal Afar airport, killing 10 Death Eaters and destroying three military vehicles," a Shiite official, told Rudaw.
The source said the groups’ counterattack was to minimize Hashd advances on the bad boy-held town of Tal Afar as "their morale has collapsed and are now putting up weak resistance."
He added that "Tal Afar is surrounded on all directions. ISIS Death Eaters are in a terrible situation as they dig trenches and make wooden-statues to confuse Hashd al-Shaabi and coalition warplanes."
ISIS has reportedly built fake military installations such as tanks out of wood as decoy targets to fool Iraqi and coalition forces.
The group also launched an attack on the advancing Iraqi troops in the village of Azba in southern Mosul.
A source from the Iraqi federal police told Rudaw that the ISIS attackers were "intensely bombed in the Ghazlani military base," near the village.
The Iraqi government alongside Shiite and Kurdish forces launched an offensive to retake Mosul, still largely under the control of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... , just over two months ago. They have retaken nearly 40 neighborhoods in eastern Mosul and large areas around the city.
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[RUDAW.NET] The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), have grabbed credit for Saturday’s boom-mobileing targeting Turkish soldiers in Kayseri.
At least 13 Turkish soldiers were killed and more than 50 maimed in a boom-mobile which targeted a bus transporting the soldiers in the central city.
This was TAK’s second deadly attack within one week. They also grabbed credit for bombings in Istanbul the Saturday before that killed 35 and maimed 166.
TAK have stated that they are engaged in a "War of Taking Revenge" against Turkish forces who have been fighting a renewed conflict with the PKK for the past year and a half. They state that the Turkish people are not their direct targets.
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[RUDAW.NET] Words are not enough, action is needed, Yezidi survivor and activist Nadia Murad told the UN Security Council on Tuesday, one year after she gave emotional testimony to the body of the abuse she had suffered at the hands of ISIS.
"I don’t know what more it will take to move you," she told the council, bemoaning the slow progress being made to end the genocide of the Yezidi people and bring the perpetrators to justice.
"I don’t understand why the corpses of my murdered mother, and brothers, still lie in mass graves, unprotected and unexamined," she said. "I don’t understand how ISIS turbans can publish evidence of their crimes online, and not be jugged Please don't kill me! for them. I don’t know why, when ISIS has no friends on the Council, you still do not move forward."
Murad spoke at a special session of the council to discuss trafficking in persons in conflict situations. In September, she was appointed a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking.
Over 3,000 Yezidi women, children, and men remain in captivity, and more than 350,000 are displaced from their homes in the Kurdistan Region, she detailed to the council.
Members of her own family also remain under ISIS captivity. She told the council the story of her 13-year old nephew Malik who has been indoctrinated and trained as a child soldier after years of ISIS captivity. After a desperate search, her family found Malik and arranged for him to escape. But he refused, "saying that Yezidis are infidels who should convert and join ISIS."
"I am worried sick that he will soon be on the frontlines," said Murad.
Murad commended some progress that has been made to establish a mechanism to gather evidence of ISIS crimes, "But," she said, "time is running out. And words of support are not enough. Action is needed."
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12/21/2016
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The loyalists of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group suffered casualties in US Arclight airstrike in eastern Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province of Afghanistan.
According to the local security officials in Nangarhar, the Arclight airstrike was conducted in Haska Mina district, targeting the bandidosbandidos krazed killers of the terror group in Nari Oba area.
The officials further added that 8 loyalists of the terror group were killed and at least two others were maimed.
According to the officials, the US forces used unmanned aerial vehicle to carry out the Arclight airstrike which did not incur any casualties to the local residents.
The loyalists of the terror group have not commented regarding the report so far.
This comes a local leader of the Taliban group was killed along with another myrmidon accompanying him in Chaparhar district.
Both the Afghan and US forces conducted regular strikes against the loyalists of the terror group in this province.
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12/21/2016
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[Dhaka Tribune] Some 20-25% districts in Bangladesh are at risk of bully boy activities and the tendency is significant among students of village and rural level educational institutes where some 26% students have received offers to join bully boy activities, a new study has revealed.
Non-government organization Shopner Desh, who conducted a preliminary research on impact of militancy, has also found that 87% of the rural students who got offers think that bully boy activities are justified.
Among them, 89% female students and 86% boys of rural institution believe the bully boy propaganda.
On the other hand, 49% students from urban level educational institutes received direct proposals from turbans and over social media. Some 24% respondents (both male and female) said they believed what the Death Eater groups propagate.
The findings came up in a test survey on the impacts of militancy among students of two institutions with reported history of radical activities ‐ Bohorpur Degree College, Rajbari and North South University, Dhaka.
The paper was presented before media at Sagar-Runi auditorium of Dhaka Reporters Unity yesterday in presence of former national team cricketer Javed Omar Belim Golla, legendary rock star Shafin Ahmed and prominent actress Tazin Ahmed.
Launched in September last year by public figure and academic Bobby Hajjaj, Shopner Desh is dedicated to building a better nation through creating a more empowered and enlightened polity.
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12/21/2016
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China has offered to provide $14 million worth of small arms and fast boats to the Philippines for free, aiding President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs and fighting terrorism, Manila's defense minister said on Tuesday.
The offer was made by China's ambassador Zhao Jianhua during a meeting with Duterte late on Monday night at the presidential palace, Delfin Lorenzana said, adding Beijing has also made available $500 million long-term soft loan for other equipment.
"China has given us a list of military equipment and we will go through it to find out what we really need," Lorenzana told reporters after giving out Christmas gifts to wounded soldiers at an army hospital in Manila.
"We might get some small arms, fast boats and night vision goggles because $14.4 million is not that much. We will finalize the deal before the end of the year and a technical working team will soon go there to look at the equipment."
Lorenzana said they hope to get the Chinese armaments by the second quarter next year. "The Chinese ambassador last night told the president, I know your problem in drugs so we would like to help you," he added.
"And those islands in the South China Sea aren't worth anything to you anyway," the ambassador continued...
Just six months ago, Manila and Beijing's relations were very frosty after the Philippines filed an arbitration case in The Hague, questioning China's extensive nine-dash line claims on the South China Sea.
But, Duterte, who came into power on July 1, reversed the country's foreign policy, distancing from Washington to pivot to Beijing and winning about $24 billion in trade and investment pledges after an October visit to China.
China's arms offer came after a U.S. senator has said he would block the sale of 26,000 M4 rifles to the Philippine police due to human rights concern.
China clearly doesn't worry about human rights concerns...
Early this month, executives from China's arms maker, Norinco, also met with Duterte.
Washington, the former colonial master and security partner, has been providing second-hand weapon systems to the Manila for nearly two decades since the return of U.S. forces for training and exercises.
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12/21/2016
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Military correspondents embedded with Syrian Arab Army's (SAA) Qalamoun Shield Brigade published a new video footage showing soldiers of the brigade engaged in heavy firefights with holy warriors of the so-called "Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) in the surroundings of T-4 Military Airport in the eastern part of Homs province. Government forces are supported by Russian attack helicopters and Syrian fighter jets.
Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, the congregants were being herded into the paddy wagon... on Tuesday, government forces foiled another attack by the aforementioned terror group in Abou Kalleh Dam area which is located approximately 20 kilometers southeast of T-4 Airbase.
According to a military source at T-4 Military Airport, Syrian Armed Forces were able to destroy at least 2 enemy's technical vehicles, while also killing no less than 10 ISIS gunnies in the process.
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
this is another round in the ISIS counter offensive that was begun earlier in Dec (about the 10th or so)
Assad's forces had taken the city and the airbase from ISIS back in March 2016.
ISIS captured Palmyra from Assad's forces in May 2015.
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/21/2016 9:49
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#2
Hmm, Battle of Verdun? Palmyra does not seem to be vital to Assad other than as a Roach Motel. As long as Assad avoids a "Baby Stalingrad" this could be useful in killing ISIS troops on the cheap.
[Al Ahram] Sustained gunfire erupted Tuesday in Lubumbashi, DR Congo's second-largest city, where large numbers of police have been deployed on the last day of President Joseph Kabila's mandate, an AFP correspondent said.
The firing started at 9:15am (0715 GMT) in the Matuba neighbourhood in the south of the city where demonstrators and police have clashed, with streets strewn with rocks and burned tyres, the correspondent said.
The gunfire was intense for about 20 minutes, and then became more intermittent, he said.
Earlier in Matuba, a policeman told AFP that his men were facing hostile groups of demonstrators.
Three of the demonstrators were armed, added Jean-Claude Kazembe, governor of the Upper Katanga district which includes Lubumbashi.
"This is what justifies police shooting live rounds in the air to disperse civilians," he said.
Lubumbashi is a stronghold of Moise Katumbi, an opposition leader who had been hoping to run in the presidential election which has, however, been postponed indefinitely.
Kabila has been in power since 2001 and the constitution bans him from running again.
But since he appears set to be hanging on to power, tensions in DR Congo have been running high, with police massing in the cities and many people staying home to avoid violence.
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12/21/2016
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[Al Jazeera] A Jordanian judge has sentenced to death by hanging the man accused of killing Nahed Hattar, a Christian writer,
...Christian by birth, atheist by conviction, inveterate poker of bears by inclination, the combination of which finally got him klled...
on the steps of a court earlier this year.
Riyad Ismail
...a former imam fired by the Jordanian government, probably for being a Salafist..
.was handed the death penalty on Tuesday, state news agency Petra said.
Ismail shot Hattar at close range on September 25 as the writer was about to to enter a court in the Jordanian capital Amman. He was hit by three bullets.
Hattar, 56, had been on trial for blasphemy for sharing a cartoon on social media that was deemed offensive to Islam by many Jordanian Moslems.
Ismail, a 49-year-old computer engineer, worked for the education ministry.
He was incarcerated Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! at the scene and charged with premeditated murder, terrorism and possession of an illegal firearm.
Ismail appeared on Tuesday before the military court bearded, handcuffed and wearing a brown prison uniform.
Judge Ziad al-Edwan said Ismail was sentenced "for having carried out deadly terrorist act".
The court also sentenced the man who sold Ismail the gun and the man who introduced him to the weapons merchant, each to one year in jail.
Hattar, a leftist, had been arrested on August 13 after posting a cartoon on Facebook under the title "God of ISIS", which uses the Arabic abbreviation for the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).
He was later released on bail.
He explained on Facebook that the cartoon made fun of "bully boyz and how they imagine God and heaven, and does not insult God in anyway".
His murder, which King Abdullah II branded a "heinous crime", prompted protests in Jordan, with demonstrators calling on the government to resign.
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[Iran Press TV] The Egyptian Interior Ministry has tossed in the slammer Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! a group of five people caught producing fake pictures of people suffering in Syria’s Aleppo.
On Tuesday, the ministry said that the five residents of Port Said, on the Suez Canal, were apprehended while a 12-year-old girl named Ragd was posing for 21-year-old Mustafa, who said that he "normally photographed weddings and ceremonies, but had an idea for something else."
"In a conversation with them, the suspects revealed that they had shot a series of scenes to be spread on social media, as actual pictures from Aleppo," said the ministry.
It added that the house in the pictures had been slated for demolition by the authorities and that the blood was actually red paint smeared on the girl, her fake bandages, and her toy.
This is not the first time hoax pictures have been used to shape public opinion on the situation in Aleppo, which until recently was divided between turbans and Syrian government forces.
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[Iraq Sun] Since the initiation of the djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... offensive in October, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said that over 104,424 people have been forced to flee the troubled Iraqi city.
The Mosul offensive, aimed at driving out the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... Death Eater group (ISIS) from the city, has also left hundreds of thousands of people in distress.
People in the city are reportedly struggling to find the basic necessities of life, like food and safe drinking water.
Authorities fear that the battle that began seven weeks back, on October 17, 2016, might lead to an exodus that would overwhelm already crowded camps.
In an official statement, the IOM said, "17,404 families (104,424 individuals) currently displaced as a result of the on-going Mosul operations,"
The body said that about 103,212 of the displaced people were residents of the Nineveh province and about 32,640 people were left in the city now.
Iraq's deputy minister for migration and displacement, Jassim al-Attiyah has reportedly estimated that more than 150,000 have been displaced within the city. He further added that hundreds of thousands of others remain in their homes but still need aid.
Even though residents followed the advice of security forces and remained at home, after the government airdropped leaflets over the city telling civilians to stay put - authorities have said that several thousands of people are suffering because of service outage. Water supplies have been cut off and UN and government aid has been unable to reach all of those that are in need.
Further, the siege by security forces in ISIS controlled areas has sent food prices shooting through the roof, leading to shortage.
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12/21/2016
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[RUDAW.NET] Iraq’s former Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari has lost an appeal at the country's federal court against his removal as minister by the parliament which he called unconstitutional.
The former minister lost his appeal 6 to 3 votes on Tuesday.
The Iraqi parliament withdrew confidence from Zebari in September.
"Unfortunately lost our appeal to Iraqi Federal Court 6 by 3 votes." Zebari reacted on his Twitter account. "Now I’m a private citizen after 13 years working for the new Iraq," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/21/2016
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There are confused reports that IS terrorists have seized a remote pumping station on the Man-Made River, taking hostages and sacking the place before withdrawing.
The attack appears to have been mounted early today on the location some 60 kilometres north of Ash Shwayrif, along an unmetalled road.
A Google Earth image shows what appears to be a large rambling building on the site. A short distance away is a more substantial square structure which might be an engine house or storage tank.
It is not known how many workers and guards are normally at the pumping station.
Petty criminals have in the past broken into remote MMR installations and stolen valuable metal and high technology equipment.
Posted by: badanov ||
12/21/2016
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) officially entered the eastern Aleppo neighborhoods that were under the control of the jihadist rebels for the last four years, a military source told al-Masdar News on Tuesday.
Several hundred Syrian Arab Army soldiers reportedly entered al-Sukkari after a large number of jihadist rebels exited this district over the last 48 hours.
While all of the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo have still not been cleared of jihadist rebels, the Syrian Armed Forces do have access to several sites that were originally under Fatah Halab's control last week.
With the eastern Aleppo operations wrapping up, the Syrian Arab Army will now shift their attention to the southwestern and northwestern suburbs of Aleppo City, where they look to clear the 'Abadan Plains and Rashiddeen 4 area.
In the coming weeks, the Syrian Armed Forces will likely begin their new military operations in Aleppo, as they look to secure the entire province by the end of 2017.
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[ARA News] Erbil – At least seven people were killed in a twin bomb attack that targeted the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan’s (PDK-I) office in Erbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, late Tuesday evening.
The PDK-I confirmed in a statement that seven were killed and four injured in a twin bombing that was allegedly carried out by the Iranian state.
According to officials, two Peshmerga fighters and two members of the security police were injured in the attack.
Ali Qoytasi, a senior member of the PDK-I, was among the dead in the attack.
The explosions took place during the Yalda celebration, a celebration of winter solstice on December 21–the last night of fall and the longest night of the year.
Hosyar Zebari, the former Iraqi Minister of Finance, blamed the Iranian intelligence for the attack.
“Most likely Iranian IRGs MOIS carried the terrorist attack against KDP-I headquarters in Koi Senjak E of Erbil,” Zebari said.
This is not the first time that Iran allegedly targeted Kurdish parties.
On 9 August 2015, the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan reported that an Iranian agent planted four improvised explosives at Komala’s Zrgwez camp, which were defused by the Kurdish security forces.
“I strongly condemn the terrorist attack against the PDK-I in Koya, urge the authorities to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” said Dr Mahmoud Othman, the former chairman of the Kurdistan Socialist Party and a member of the Iraqi governing council.
Tensions have increased between the Iranian Kurdish parties and the Iranian regime since the former decided to resume their armed struggle last summer. The parties are principally seeking an autonomous Kurdish government in Iran, analogous to the KRG in Iraq.
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12/21/2016
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani revealed on Tuesday that Iran has established joint military headquarters with Russia in Syria, without specifying its location.
Regarding the visit of the representative of the Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... to Tehran and his meeting with some Iranian officials, Shamkhani said: "We have initiated a joint work plan in cooperation with some countries in the region to fight terrorism. It is a field and diplomatic work; it needs counseling to overcome some of the obstacles."
According to ISNA, Shamkhani added: "the visit of Putin’s representative was in this framework. We have established a joint military headquarter with Russia in Syria with the help of the Syrian army and the resistance forces and we have provided counseling services too."
The Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council talked about the military cooperation between his country, Russia and Iraq saying: "We are undertaking a joint military action in the axis formed by Iraq, Syria, Iran and Russia to combat terrorism. What we saw recently regarding the use of Russian aircrafts within the Iranian air space falls in this context."
Regarding the meetings of Putin’s representative with Iranian officials, Shamkhani said: "The Russian President’s representative has made several proposals due to the new circumstances in the region. His proposals were both on the military and political levels for the joint action plan. He stressed that they are working hard to keep Syria a united country. "We talked about the proposals and we reached a work agreement in this framework", he added.
It is worth mentioning that Russia and Iran have played an influential role in defending the Assad regime, ever since the eruption of the Syrian revolution. The Iranian regime started to support the Assad regime on the intelligence level, and it sent its militias into Syria after the progress made by the opposition forces.
However, it's easy to be generous with someone else's money... despite all the provided Iranian support for the Syrian regime, the Syrian opposition was able to achieve massive victories in 2014, thus urging Russia to intervene and save the Assad regime from falling again.
The Russian-Iranian cooperation in Aleppo reached its peak when the Iranian militias and Russian aircrafts attacked the besieged areas controlled by the opposition in the east of the city. The brutality of the attack, the huge number of attackers and the massive corpse count of civilians, pushed the opposition to back off.
The Russian interference in Syria had started under the pretext of fighting terrorist groups, namely ISIS and Nusra. However, it's easy to be generous with someone else's money... Russian aircrafts have mainly bombed moderate opposition sites, including the Western-backed groups.
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[Al Ahram] The Polish truck driver whose vehicle was used in an attack on a Berlin Christmas market on Monday had arrived hours earlier in the German capital and spoken to his wife about 3 p.m., according to his cousin.
When she called again an hour later, there was no answer.
"The phone was just silent, silent. He should have picked up if he was on a break, particularly if his wife was calling," said the cousin, Ariel Zurawski, who was also the boss of the trucking company.
"At 3.45 p.m. you can see the movement on the GPS (Global Positioning System). The car moved forward and back. As if someone was learning to drive it," Zurawski told Polish public broadcaster TVP Info on Tuesday. "I knew something was wrong."
About 8 p.m. local time, the lorry slammed into a crowd of people thronging the wooden stalls of the Christmas market next to the Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church at the heart of west Berlin.
Twelve people were killed and 48 injured. German authorities say the body of the Polish driver was found in the truck, but he was not at the controls. Police have placed in durance vile Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! a Pak suspect but are not sure if he was the man who ploughed through the crowd.
Zurawski said he had identified his cousin Lukasz, whose last name has been withheld, from police photographs that showed him with a swollen, bloodied face.
"The police told me he had been not only stabbed but also shot," Zurawski said.
He said that after reaching his destination, Lukasz, 37, had parked and gone to get a kebab sandwich, planning to unload his cargo of 24 tonnes of steel parts the next morning.
Around noon, the two cousins spoke. Lukasz said he was hungry and that there were few Germans in the neighbourhood where he parked, mostly Moslems.
"We made a few jokes, we laughed," Zurawski said.
Lukasz, father of a teenaged boy, had been a truck driver for some 15 years, working for his cousin's company based in Sobiemysl near the Polish-German border.
After over a week on the road, he was eager to get home, Zurawski said.
Another colleague at the trucking firm, Lukasz Wasik, told TVP Info: "He was a good, quiet and honest man. He was hard-working and took care of the truck as if it was his own. He wouldn't just give up the car."
[DeutscheWelle] The so-called "Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... " (IS) on Tuesday said the driver of the truck that plowed into a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday evening was "targeting citizens of the Crusader coalition," according to the group's news agency Amaq.
Earlier, German prosecutors announced the release of a 23-year-old Pak detained in connection with the truck attack, citing a lack of evidence.
On Tuesday night, following the announcement that the suspect had been released, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told broadcaster ZDF that "it is true that one cannot rule out that the perpetrator is still on the lam." He also warned that it was too early to draw political conclusions from the incident.
Authorities had tossed in the slammer Please don't kill me! the asylum seeker on suspicion of driving the truck, which killed 12 and injured at least 48.
A police spokesperson reportedly told the paper: "We have the wrong man, and therefore a new situation. The true perpetrator is still armed, on the lam and can cause fresh damage."
Speaking to German news agency dpa following the presser, Kandt said Sherlocks were continuing to inspect the truck used in the attack, searching for fingerprints, blood and smudge marks. "I estimate that the current investigation will take somewhat longer," he said, adding that it could take a few days before new evidence comes to light.
'An act of terrorism'
Germany's two top prosecutors confirmed Tuesday that Sherlocks are indeed treating the incident as an act of terrorism. Prosecutor Peter Frank said that, given the target and nature of the attack, the incident pointed towards Islamist myrmidon motives.
Frank said the attack was reminiscent of July's terrorist attack in Nice, La Belle France, and of the "modus operandi" deployed by Islamist terror groups.
However, Switzerland makes more than cheese... echoing Berlin's police officials, Frank also acknowledged that the detained suspect "may not have been the perpetrator or belong to the group of perpetrators."
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... , who visited the scene of the attack on Tuesday afternoon, also referred to the incident as a "terrorist act." Speaking before the police made their admission about the detained suspect, Merkel acknowledged that the crime might have been committed by an asylum seeker.
Risk remains high
The head of Germany's Criminal Police Agency, Holger Munch, said he could not rule out if further suspects were still on the lam, and therefore warned of further attacks on the back of Monday's incident. In the aftermath of such an event, "there's always a heightened risk of significant further attacks," he said.
"We are naturally on high alert and are investigating in all directions," Munch added.
He also revealed that six of the 12 people killed have been identified as Germans. He could not, however, identify the nationalities of the other six.
New Year's celebrations to go ahead
Also speaking Tuesday, Berlin's State Interior Minister Andreas Geisel confirmed that the city's New Year's Eve celebrations will go ahead under an increased security presence. Every year, hundreds of thousands of revelers ring in the New Year in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
He said the city will review all of its security measures before the celebrations on December 31.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/21/2016
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[The Week] Louis Marinelli of San Diego is a leader of Yes California, which wants the state to split off from the United States and form its own nation. Marinelli, in Russia to work on immigration issues related to his wife, told the Los Angeles Times the "embassy" was opened last weekend in order to "start laying the groundwork for a dialogue about an independent California joining the United Nations now."
[Independent] Bill O’Reilly lashed out at efforts to do away with the Electoral College as a racialised effort to quash the "white establishment" in US politics. 
[The Hill] Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh says President Obama will create "unrest and disunity" often after President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[DAWN] THE interior minister appeared in a combative mood while responding to the damning indictment of him and his ministry by the inquiry commission report at the presser last week on the Aug 8 terrorist attack in Quetta. But he had nothing substantive to say in his defence. Instead, he himself has raised questions over the impartiality of the judicial investigation.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Colonel John Dorian 
[Iran Press TV] The Egyptian Interior Ministry has 
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
