Sarah Hoyt makes the case that Progressivism is a cult
...the behavior of the left, since November, has me breathless.
...If you posit they’re a cult, it all falls in place. They’re just a very large cult who has done what cults have done throughout history and got control of the structures of power. (I said that Heinlein was right about the First Prophet, he just didn’t realize what the "religion" would be.)
Having control of the structures of power, they could at least force people to PRETEND to believe in their nonsense. They’ve managed this rather effectively across the media, entertainment, education, and a lot of other professions.
...My younger son, shortly after the election, told me his colleagues were losing their minds. I asked -- sarcastically. I am STILL me -- why the election of the most socially liberal Republican in decades was scaring them so much, and why they thought immigrants, women or gays would be sent to camps, and he said it wasn’t even that "they were taught, and believed it, that no Republican, ever would win again." Explains "not my president" rather neatly
Side note - I now routinely troll half of their staff via e-mail. I sent one to Ashley last night (professional tone, naturally) saying she could have responded with some class.
Then Deadspin's editor stepped in and basically said - 'I'll fight anybody who sends Ashley an e-mail', so I forwarded that e-mail and sent another one asking if he could accommodate me and do something after April 15th. Funny how I didn't get a response from either of these douchebags.
Ashley is also the idiot that fabricated that story about Donald Trump shitcanning two political appointees at one agency would lead to nobody being in control of the nuclear arsenal. She's a hack's hack if there ever was one.
Univision-owned and far-left sports site Deadspin took a dive into the gutter on Tuesday night, telling Republican Senator Ted Cruz (Tex.) to "go eat shit" on Twitter following a post about Cruz playing pick-up basketball games with Senate colleagues.
The classless spat began when writer Ashley Feinberg wrote a post entitled "Send Us Proof Of Ted Cruz Playing Basketball" that merged sports with Deadspin’s liberal tilt:
Ralph Peters at the New York Post lays out the facts as he sees them. I don't agree completely but he makes an interesting argument. Of particular note is his thought that Syria is a Russian graveyard, and we should do everything in our power to make sure it stays one. He sees Syria as not worth our time, Afghanistan and Iraq as lost, and Turkey as a near-enemy.
Thought-provoking and thus recommended.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/25/2017
07:56 ||
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#1
Brillian thinker, profound insights. Some of the reasons he never made into the Army senior grades.
[Breitbart] People trying to live as transgender members of the other sex complained that the Women’s March on Washington unfairly excluded them by declaring that a person’s sex is decided by their male or female biology.
"The main reason I decided not to go was because of the pussy hats," said 28-year-old Jade Lejeck, who is a man trying to live as a transgender woman. "I get that they’re a response to the ’Grab them by the pussy’ thing, but I think some people fixated on [biology] the wrong way," Lejeck said in an interview with Mic.com Sunday night
Lejeck said "trans-exclusionary radical feminists" unfairly equate womanhood with having a vagina, and sometimes argue that transgender men are improperly trying to encroach upon female communities.
Sam Forrey, a 20-year-old "nonbinary" student from Ohio, and his transgender girlfriend Lilian McDaniel, were afraid that the march would be dangerous for them. "Non-binary" refers to people who view themselves as embracing a blend of male and female characteristics.
The transgender girlfriend is biologically male, and worried that he would be placed in a men’s jail if arrested at the protest. He planned on going to the march until he saw people using the march to promote "genital-based" womanhood, he complained.
#4
Where is the compassion? Feeding their delusion deepens it, it doesn't make them biologically any different. At some point the truth is inescapable, and those who have been "compassionately" aided in their delusion have a much, much harder time squaring with reality. Better to help them get over whatever is driving the delusion, to help them accept the truth, before they believe the only choices are their fantasy or suicide.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/25/2017 8:17
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#5
My psychotherapist wife is tearing her hair out about all of this transgenderism.
Everyone here is correct. It is a dangerous illusion and the end game is self destruction. Much as Buffalo Bob in "Silence of the Lambs" was a self destructive transsexual who killed to gain a female identity, these poor mental health wrecks are on their way to suicide or mass murder.
I cannot believe this crap. Typical liberal BS feel good stuff with no concern for the consequences of pandering to it. The facts are there, every DSM ever written has warnings about this state of mental affairs.
#8
I have a prostate that put me through six months of chemotherapy and other fun medications.
I sometimes think this is some kind of lefty inside the ivy covered walls fad and it will blow over and we'll have a bunch of guys with partial conversion surgeries wondering what they were thinking.
Authorities in Washington D.C. should drop rioting charges against at least three journalists tossed in the clink Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! while covering protests on the day of the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... , the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Police arrested Evan Engel, a senior producer at the news website Vocativ, and Alex Rubinstein, a news hound with the Russian state-funded broadcaster RT America, near 12th and L streets in downtown Washington the morning of January 20, according to London's Guardian newspaper. Police also arrested Aaron Cantu, a freelance journalist who has written for The Baffler, the website Truthout, and al-Jazeera, according to police reports reviewed by CPJ.
The news hounds were among more than 230 people arrested in Washington on Inauguration Day after individuals set fire to a car and broke windows of downtown businesses, according to reports and police documents.
"These charges are clearly inappropriate, and we are concerned that they could send a chilling message to journalists covering future protests," said Carlos Lauría, senior Americas program coordinator. "We call on authorities in Washington to drop these charges immediately."
#4
Hopefully the police in question had body cameras so we can see if the journalists were simply caught up with bad elements or if they were making news as part of the rioting and are now hiding behind their credentials.
[MIL.COM] "He’s a leader by example," retired Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Carlton Kent told Business Insider in December. "He’s not the type that’s 'do as I say, not as I do.' He's out there doing it."
Mattis kept his message short and sweet, praising the people who make up the DoD, calling America a "beacon of hope," and pledging that he would do his best as Defense Secretary.
Here's the full letter:
'It’s good to be back and I’m grateful to serve alongside you as Secretary of Defense.
Together with the Intelligence Community we are the sentinels and guardians of our nation. We need only look to you, the uniformed and civilian members of the Department and your families, to see the fundamental unity of our country. You represent an America committed to the common good; an America that is never complacent about defending its freedoms; and an America that remains a steady beacon of hope for all mankind.
Every action we take will be designed to ensure our military is ready to fight today and in the future. Recognizing that no nation is secure without friends, we will work with the State Department to strengthen our alliances. Further, we are devoted to gaining full value from every taxpayer dollar spent on defense, thereby earning the trust of Congress and the American people.
I am confident you will do your part. I pledge to you I’ll do my best as your Secretary.'
#2
Saint Mattis of Quantico is going to be the best thing that ever happened for the American people and the military.
It will be interesting to see how all of these perfumed warriors that the empty suit put into the flag ranks are going to last. And I wonder if all of those fine soldiers that the empty suit forced out will be invited back in...we need them now more than ever.
I hope this is the end of the social engineering of the military.
[LA Times] Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, a highly regarded conservative jurist best known for upholding religious liberty rights in the legal battles over Obamacare, has emerged as a leading contender for President Trump’s first Supreme Court nomination.
Gorsuch, 49, was among 21 potential high court candidates circulated by Trump’s team during the campaign, but his stock has been rising lately as several admirers and supporters have been named to positions in the Trump administration.
He currently serves on the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. A former clerk for Justice Byron White, also a Colorado native, and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, he served in the George W. Bush administration’s Justice Department.
In Gorsuch, supporters see a jurist who has strong academic credentials, a gift for clear writing and a devotion to deciding cases based on the original meaning of the Constitution and the text of statutes, as did the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
Just as importantly, Gorsuch is seen as someone who might be more easily confirmed in the Senate. Unlike other appointees of President George W. Bush, Gorsuch won an easy Senate confirmation on a voice vote in 2006.
"He is very bright, well-respected and quite personable," said John Malcolm, a lawyer at the Heritage Foundation. "And there's no question he would not be as contentious as some others."
[New York Post] Listening to President Trump on Friday, I was reminded of Barry Goldwater’s 1964 Cow Palace speech when he accepted the Republican nomination. "My God," someone said. "He’s going to run as Goldwater!" And so it was last Friday. Unlike Goldwater, Trump won the election, but apart from that he’s going to govern as Trump.
And he didn’t waste any time. After his speech, and before the customary lunch with members of Congress, Trump sat down and signed some executive orders to undo some of President Barack Obama’s executive orders. One executive order gives the Health and Human Services Department the power to waive ObamaCare’s individual mandate requiring everyone to buy insurance.
Obama boasted that he had a pen, but Trump has an eraser.
In his speeches, Trump has taken advice from a variety of people, but this one was pure Trump, a distillation of all the things he’s been saying throughout the campaign, in formal speeches and unrehearsed moments. It was the man, himself, and the speech is about the country we’ll be living in the next four years. Or maybe eight.
When an outsider comes to Washington, as a president or congressman, the mainstream media waits expectantly for him to "grow on the job." Which means going native, adopting all the values of DC and its insiders. What Trump told us is that that’s not going to happen with him. So no surprise outgoing CIA Director John Brennan took a parting shot at Trump by calling the president "despicable" -- when in reality, of course, the despicable ones are those who claim to be "resisting" the duly elected president.
[Hot Air] Today, Live Action released a new investigative video debunking Planned Parenthood’s claim that it provides critical prenatal care to pregnant women. The abortion giant has insisted that prenatal care is one of its core services that women will lose if its taxpayer funding is cut off. But Live Action’s investigation proves those services are virtually nonexistent at the abortion chain.
"The Prenatal Care Deception" is the first in Live Action’s "Abortion Corporation" series of investigative videos highlighting Planned Parenthood’s own employees saying its focus is providing abortions, not women’s health care. Live Action is releasing the investigative series as Congress plans to redirect Medicaid dollars away from Planned Parenthood to local health clinics and also vote on the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.
Although Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards told the media in 2011 that "Prenatal care ‐ these are the kinds of services that folks depend on Planned Parenthood for," Live Action investigators searching for such services at Planned Parenthood were turned away by 92 of the 97 centers they contacted. They received responses like:
"Planned Parenthood offers abortions, so they don’t offer prenatal care."
‐ Tempe, AZ, Planned Parenthood
"No, we don’t do prenatal services. I mean, it’s called Planned Parenthood, I know it’s kind of deceiving."
[Wash Times] The Republican-controlled House on Tuesday passed legislation prohibiting taxpayer dollars from financing abortions or health care plans covering them.
The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2017, sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith, New Jersey Republican, essentially codifies the Hyde Amendment, a rider that prohibits federal funds from being used to pay for abortions that has been approved by Congress every year since 1976.
Speaker Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, said the bill "protects the conscience of American taxpayers by ensuring that not a single dollar of their hard-earned money goes to fund abortions,"
He said the legislation is a reminder that "defending all of our people--especially the defenseless--must be our top priority if we want to be a good and moral nation."
[The Hill] President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he will "send in the Feds" if Chicago does not address its crime problem.
Trump made the comment on Twitter while sharing some statistics about the ongoing "carnage" in the city.
"If Chicago doesn't fix the horrible 'carnage' going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds!" the president tweeted.
#7
The Mayor is already trying to flip the offer by claiming the help of the Feds in GUN CONTROL from Indiana is the major problem. Not gonna work Rahm but it shows you still think you are clever.
[The Hill] Democrats are voicing strong misgivings about President Trump’s reported decision to keep James Comey atop the FBI.
Comey infuriated Democrats in October when he announced an extended investigation into presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server days before the election.
Many Democrats now view Comey as more of a partisan operative than a straight shooter, and they doubt his willingness to lead any investigation into possible links between Russia and Trump’s presidential campaign.
"I can’t speak for Democrats, but I can speak for myself, and I think that James Comey needs to fade away into oblivion," said Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), former head of the Congressional Black Caucus. "He embarrassed this nation, he possibly influenced the outcome of a presidential election, and he should not hold any position of trust, whatsoever, in our government."
The Democrats are particularly indignant because, in contrast to the Clinton case, Comey has refused to say publicly if the FBI is examining potential ties between Trump and the Kremlin. They have called that a politically motivated double standard, a charge the FBI director has rejected outright.
[Free Beacon] One of Washington’s most influential magazines published several updates to an error-filled article attacking ultrasound technology, without acknowledging the extent of those corrections.
The Atlantic published "How the Ultrasound Pushed the Idea That a Fetus Is a Person" on Tuesday. The 2,500-word article argued that ultrasound technology "has been used to create an imaginary ’heartbeat’ and sped-up videos that falsely depict a response to stimulus." The article by Moira Weigel, a Yale doctoral candidate in comparative literature,
Notably not a scientist, physician, or ultrasound expert...
included at least three major errors that the publication corrected.
The article originally claimed that fetal heartbeats depicted in ultrasound are "imaginary" because there is no heart in the body during early stages of development.
"It is dubious to call this movement a ’heartbeat’; there is no heart to speak of [at six weeks]," the article said.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/25/2017 11:22
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I thought all these people were big science Believers, not science Deniers?
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/25/2017 13:02
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#7
Not that I had really thought about subscribing to the Atlantic anyway...but this certainly removes any thoughts of buying their product now and in the future.
Posted by: Tom ||
01/25/2017 13:36
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scientist make whopping mistakes too
for example, this link, goes to a retraction from Hematological Ontology which retracts a recommended therapeutic procedure which, if followed, would be uniformly fatal.
Posted by: lord garth ||
01/25/2017 14:19
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Mods, I'm terribly about the size of that picture. I'm sure I put a limit on the width and I even previewed it before I hit the submit button.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/25/2017 15:52
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Apology appreciated, dear Abu Uluque, though I had nothing to do with fixing it. When I took a look width was set to 450. Perhaps preview the thing before posting?
#13
I dunno just about any plumber or roto rooter operator could probably write better poetry than that woman...why anyone thinks she is a literary giant never bothered to read any of the classics...no wait...its just this politically correct stuff...anything a black woman can write has to be considered on the same level as Hemingway or George Sand (who was a woman with a nomme d'plume)
[Breitbart] In order to "break the vicious circle of anxiety" threatening the world, Pope Francis is calling on the media to shift their focus away from bad news toward "constructive forms of communication."
While praising the media for making it possible for countless people to "share news instantly and spread it widely," on Monday the Pope said it is necessary to "break the vicious circle of anxiety and stem the spiral of fear resulting from a constant focus on ’bad news’ (wars, terrorism, scandals and all sorts of human failure)."
What is needed, Francis proposed in his yearly message to the communications media, is "an open and creative style of communication that never seeks to glamourize evil but instead to concentrate on solutions and to inspire a positive and responsible approach on the part of its recipients."
"I ask everyone to offer the people of our time storylines that are at heart ’good news,’" he said.
[Breitbart] Bureaucrats at the State Department brought 500 refugees into the country on Tuesday, one day before President Trump "is expected to order a multi-month ban on allowing refugees into the United States except for religious minorities escaping persecution, until more aggressive vetting is in place," according to Reuters.
The temporary ban on refugees will be one of several executive orders on immigration President Trump will sign on Wednesday, Reuters reports. "Another order will block visas being issued to anyone from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, said the aides and experts, who asked not to be identified."
Two hundred and twenty-six of the 500 refugees resettled in the United States on Tuesday, or 44 percent, came from six of those seven countries, according to the State Department’s interactive website, as reported at 11:00 p.m. eastern on Tuesday: Syria (81), Iran (51), Iraq (46), Somalia (43), Sudan (4), and Yemen (1). No refugees from Libya were resettled in the United States on Tuesday.
#1
This is clearly an act of subterfuge and treason which should NOT go unpunished. Those responsible should be fired immediately and banned from further gov't service.
#6
The 500 refugees were no doubt brought in under President Obama's standing orders, which they will argue were in effect until President Trump changed them. One hopes the next order after stopping the importation will be to find all those recently brought in, to subject them to additional processing or something.
[AnNahar] Germany deported a second batch of would-be Afghan refugees to Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... Tuesday under a disputed Afghan-EU deal signed last October and aimed at curbing the influx of migrants colonists.
The 26 men, escorted by 80 German coppers, landed shortly after 7.30 am (0300 GMT) in Kabul, airport police front man Mohammad Adjmal Fawzi told AFP.
He said at least one of the 26 was "suffering" and showing signs of psychological distress, adding: "He could be brought back to Germany."
Several of the refugees told AFP they had been locked away You have the right to remain silent... Monday morning at dawn and sent to Kabul with just a small piece of luggage or a backpack containing their belongings.
The men were the second batch of would-be refugees denied asylum by German authorities and deported, despite growing insecurity in Afghanistan.
The conflict caused some 9,000 deaths or injuries among civilians in the first nine months of 2016, according to the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... , which is to publish its annual report by the end of the month.
In 2015 the number of civilians killed or maimed was more than 11,000, the highest recorded since 2009, with children paying a particularly heavy price, according to UN figures.
A first flight carrying 34 men arrived in Kabul in December, a third of whom were convicted of crimes ranging from theft to homicide, according to the German authorities.
That did not appear to be the case on Tuesday, when the passengers were able to leave the airport freely.
They will be sheltered by the government for at least two weeks after which they face an uncertain future, with Afghanistan already so overwhelmed by people fleeing fighting that officials have warned of a humanitarian crisis.
#1
He said at least one of the 26 was "suffering" and showing signs of psychological distress, adding: "He could be brought back to Germany."
1) 26 isn't going to make much of a dent when they're invading by the hundreds of thousands.
2) So what's the point of deporting these guys if you might bring one of them back?
[IsraelTimes] ’We’re building -- and will continue to build,’ Netanyahu says; Liberman also seeks green light for Paleostinian industrial zone.
Israel approved the construction of approximately 2,500 homes in the West Bank, most of them in existing settlement blocs, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman announced on Tuesday.
The decision came two days after a Jerusalem planning committee approved the construction of 566 housing units in East Jerusalem, and on the heels of a phone conversation on Sunday between Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... , in which the two discussed their plans for the region.
Most of the housing units will be built in the large settlement areas, notably in the city of Ariel and in Givat Ze’ev, outside Jerusalem. But some will also go up in settlements outside the larger blocs, due to prior agreements and court decisions.
"We’re building -- and will continue to build," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, following the approval.
Paleostinians quickly condemned the announcement, calling it "land theft and colonialism."
"Such a deliberate escalation of Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise constitutes a war crime and the flagrant violation of international law and conventions, in particular UN Security Council resolution 2334," said PLO Executive Committee Member Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, referring to an anti-settlements UN decision passed last month.
Liberman also said he would request permission from the cabinet for the construction of a Paleostinian industrial park in Tarkumiya, northwest of Hebron.
"It will be one of the largest industrial zones in the West Bank, in which we are planning to set up warehouse and fuel storage infrastructure, along with other elements," Liberman’s office said in a statement.
According to the defense minister, the decision to approve the settlement construction was made in order to "provide a response to the housing needs."
[IsraelTimes] White House front man Sean Spicer today declined to condemn or offer support for Israel’s announcement of 2,500 new West Bank homes. Asked at today’s briefing about Israel’s announcement, Spicer says: "Israel continues to be a huge ally of the United States, he wants to grow closer with Israel, to make sure that it gets the full respect that it deserves in the Middle East."
"We’re going to have a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and we’ll continue to discuss that."
[DAILYCALLER] Richard Cordray, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), used a private device for government communications, and didn’t create appropriate records of those messages with the bureau, according to documents obtained exclusively by The Daily Caller.
A longtime Democrat from Ohio, Cordray has served as head of the CFPB since January 2012, a position he is scheduled to hold through July 2018.
A source told TheDC that he submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in August 2016 for more than a year’s worth of text messages on official devices to and from various CFPB staffers.
The bureau responded that there were no records on any "CFPB issued or CFPB reimbursed devices" for any text messages sent or received associated with Cordray.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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#1
As was often suggested here, HRC wasn't the only one using a non-Gov computer system.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/25/2017 10:10
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#3
Hang the bastards.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
01/25/2017 10:38
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Get rid of this hack agency - there's zero congressional oversight, some of it has been ruled unconstitutional and it would be a big 'fuck you' to the Fake Indian from Massachusetts.
I was arguing with a lefty on Facebook about that last point. He says: 'She grew up in Oklahoma, so her claim to be part Cherokee is plausible.' I respond: 'My buddy Don and I grew up in New Hampshire - does that make us part Algonquin?
#6
I've got Indian DNA from both sides of my family, but since I practice none of the customs, don't speak any of the languages, I don't claim to be an Indian. Many of those claiming to be Indians in Oklahoma were just trying to get head right money and had even less Indian than I do. I've also have Irish DNA but we don't like to talk about that.
Russia and regional powers Turkey and Iran backed a shaky truce between Syria's warring parties on Tuesday and agreed to monitor its compliance, but on the ground rebels faced continued fighting on two fronts which could undermine the deal.
After two days of deliberations in Astana, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said the powers had a agreed in a final communique to establish a system "to observe and ensure full compliance with the ceasefire, prevent any provocations and determine all modalities of the ceasefire."
While welcoming the text, the Syrian government's chief negotiator Bashar Ja'afari said an offensive against rebels west of Damascus would carry on. Rebels say it is a major violation of the ceasefire agreed on Dec. 30.
The ceasefire didn't fail, it just became more selective...
Opposition negotiator Mohammad Alloush in turn said he had reservations about the text which he said legitimized Iran's "bloodletting" in Syria and did not address the role of Shi'ite militias fighting rebels.
In northwest Syria, heavy fighting erupted between the jihadist group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and Free Syrian Army factions who were represented at the Astana talks. FSA groups are still reeling after being driven from Aleppo city last month by government forces and their allies. Any further loss of territory in their main northern stronghold - this time at the of jihadist insurgents - could leave them too weak to achieve any meaningful gains from peace negotiation.
In Astana, rebel and government delegates held indirect talks for the first time in nine months at a time when Turkey, which backs the rebels, and Russia, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, each want to disentangle themselves from the fighting.
That has led them into an ad-hoc alliance that also appears to enshrine Iran in a process that could lead to some form of political settlement - leaving the United Nations role unclear especially with the United States distracted by domestic issues.
The talks represent a coup for Moscow, which has evolved into the main powerbroker since its military intervention in September 2015 to shore up Assad. "We have managed ... to give birth to the Astana process," the head of the Russian delegation, Alexander Lavrentyev told reporters.
The final text did not go into any details beyond reaffirming the Turkish-Russian December 30 ceasefire.
Since the ceasefire announcement government-backed forces have launched an offensive northwest of Damascus in the Wadi Barada area, where fighting intensified on Tuesday. The government and its allies including Lebanese group Hezbollah were trying to push forward in Ain al-Fija, where springs and a pumping station that supply most of the capital's water are located.
Rebels had come to the meeting hoping that Moscow would put pressure on the Iranians to curb military offensives.
"The Russians have moved from a stage of being a party in the fighting and are now exerting efforts to become a guarantor. They are finding a lot of obstacles from (Lebanon's Shi'ite) Hezbollah forces, Iran and the regime," Alloush told reporters after the talks.
He said he expected Russia to respond within a week on a rebel ceasefire proposal and that rebels would never allow Iran, which they accuse of trying to change the demographic make-up of certain Sunni Muslim areas, to have a say in Syria's future.
Government envoy Ja'afari said it was "pitiful" that some "armed terrorist groups in Astana" were criticizing Iran, one of the three guarantors.
Western diplomats attending the talks informally said despite a lack of detail about the ceasefire, it was positive that the final communique mentioned reviving the U.N. political talks in Geneva under U.N. resolution 2254 and that the three powers agreed to jointly fight Islamic State and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham - which changed its name from Nusra Front last year, and to separate them from armed opposition groups.
However, Assad's foreign backers and opponents have rarely agreed on exactly which fighters represent moderate rebel forces and which ones are jihadists.
Perhaps because there's no way to tell the difference?
U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, who was attending the Astana talks, said he now hoped to reconvene peace talks in Geneva next month.
"We (the UN) are the main player in regards to the political process," de Mistura said. "The political process should continue in Geneva... We cannot allow another ceasefire to be, in a way, wasted, because of a lack of a political process."
We're relevant! Us! Me! Let us in!
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/25/2017
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[Hurriyet Daily News] An Istanbul court trying 62 soldiers on allegations that they raided Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen Airport on the night of the July 15, 2016, coup conducted its first trial on Jan. 23 in the absence of 34 on-duty soldiers who are currently participating in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s Euphrates Shield operation in northern Syria.
The head of the court, Ali Özturk, said they sent notification about the case to the 34 soldiers but were notified in response that some of the soldiers were abroad, participating in the al-Bab operation in northern Syria.
The operation began as part of Turkey’s Euphrates Shield offensive launched in August 2016, to clear its border of 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) Death Eaters.
"Because there cannot be a court notice sent abroad, we could not issue a second notice," said Özturk.
The suspects are charged with "attempting to abolish" the Turkish parliament and the Turkish Republic through force. Some of the suspects are also accused of being members of an "armed terror organization," while others are accused of "aiding an armed terror organization without being a member."
The organization in question is the Gulenist network of U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen ... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world... , who is widely believed to have orchestrated the coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.
The suspects face three aggravated life term each, as well as jail terms extending from five to 10 years.
In the trial, one of the soldiers, Specialized Sgt. Yusuf Yaylaz, said they were dispatched to Sabiha Gökcen Airport after a higher-ranking soldier told them that intelligence had been received regarding an imminent terror attack.
"The people stopped us at the security gate. In the meantime, my wife texted me. She said the bridges were closed. Later a citizen climbed up onto the [military] vehicles. He said a coup d’état was taking place. This person called a police officer he knew. Until the police came, we secured the weapons and then surrendered. I did not use any weapons," said Yaylaz in his court testimony.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The attorney general of Afghanistan has ordered to arrest at least 9 security guards of Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum ...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier... in connection to alleged abduction and sexual abuse of the political rival Ahmad Ischi, it has been reported.
The arrest warrants were issued on Monday after the men refused to appear before the Attorney General to respond regarding the alleged accusations.
The Vice President and his security guards have been summoned for at least three times by the Attorney General but neither of them has responded to the summonses.
According to Afghan law he could be suspended from his position and put under house arrest for his refusal to cooperate with the investigation, Attorney General Farid Hamidi told The Wall Street Journal.
However, some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... the Office of the Vice President has said it would cooperate with a government investigation, saying the accusations by the rivals are baseless efforts to defame Gen. Dostum.
Ishchi claimed that the vice president detained him and forced him to strip naked besides he was beaten by the bodyguards of Gen. Dostum and was sodomized with a rifle.
This comes as a detailed report was presented to a meeting of the National Security Council chaired by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. late in December last year.
The Office of the President, ARG Palace, said the report presented by Attorney General focused on circumstances to launch an investigation regarding the claims made by Mr. Ischi.
The Palace said the report was reviewed and necessary decisions were taken but no further details were given regarding the decisions taken during the meeting.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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#1
Attorney General hasn't really thought this through
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2017 15:23
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Adding djinns to the physics and chemistry problems? That's what you get when you shut down the Gulen schools.
[Hurriyet Daily News] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s Education Ministry is planning to include renowned Turkish and Moslem scientists in its new draft curriculum.
Works by Moslem scientists will be taught in physics classes in addition to the works of scientists such as Newton, Einstein and Maxwell, daily Haberturk reported on Jan. 24.
In the ninth grade, as part of a course on matter and its features, students will be taught the works of al-Khazini and al-Biruni on density. In a force and motion course, Newton’s laws of motion will be taught, while the inertia of matter will be explained with examples. Avicenna’s
... a.k.a. Ibn Sina (980 – 1037)...
works on the concept of inertia will also be imparted in the same course.
In grade 10, students will be informed about the works of Ismail al-Jazari on hydrostatic balance. In the same class, al-Farabi’s
... a.k.a. Alpharabius (872 – 950)...
works on sound waves will be handled. Moreover, the acoustic features in Mimar Sinan’s pieces will be examined. Ibn al-Haytham
...a.k.a. Alhazen (965 – 1040)...
and Averroës’
... a.k.a. Ibn Rushd (1126 – 1198)...
works on optical systems will also be included.
In grade 11, students will learn about the scientific aspects of the cannon developed by Mehmed the Conqueror. In a class on the concept of momentum, teachers will explain Avicenna’s thoughts on momentum. The works of Ismail al-Jazari and the Banu Musa brothers on mechanical systems, such as levers, will also be taught.
Grade 12 will feature Ali Qushji and Ulugh Beg’s works on space material and their movements.
The ministry shared its renewed draft work for the curriculum that is expected to be implemented by the upcoming school year to begin in September 2017.
An online platform allowing citizens to make suggestions about all parts of the curriculum except religion and morality classes will remain open until Feb. 10. After soliciting comments that are expected to come from students, teachers, parents and education experts, a corresponding commission in the Education Ministry will re-evaluate the draft and finalize its work by Feb. 20. The process will then be followed by the writing of new textbooks.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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#1
Muslim scientists : an oxymoron up there with honest Democrat.
[Hurriyet Daily News] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... will not hand over control of al-Bab to the Bashir al-Assad regime after it clears the town of 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) jihadists, Deputy Prime Minister Kurtulmus has stated.
"Al-Bab belongs to the people of Al -Bab," Kurtulmus told state-run Anadolu Agency, stressing that local people must be in charge of running the town, as in Jarablus.
He denied claims that Turkey will conduct its military offensive on al-Bab and then leave it in the hands of regime forces.
"The Euphrates Shield Operation to al-Bab is not an operation that aims to clear the area and then hand it over to the regime," Kurtulmus said, adding that the offensive is about "Turkey’s national security."
"It is an operation to protect the borders of Turkey and to immediately eliminate the threats to Turkey south of the border," he said.
The deputy prime minister recalled mortar shells fired by ISIS into the southern Turkish province of Kilis and noted that YPG elements, which Turkey sees as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), were leaking into Turkey through the border.
"The main purpose of this operation is to clear the cities there and to hand over those cities to the local people. Jarablus is a successful example of that," he noted, also reiterating that the anti-ISIS coalition forces have failed to support Turkey’s Euphrates Shield Operation.
"The problem is not only about al-Bab. From the very beginning the B.O. regime has not had a plan for resolving the Syrian crisis," Kurtulmus said, while expressing hope that the new Trump administration in Washington will make efforts in favor of the people of the region.
It has been speculated that the Russia and Turkey have been discussing the possibility of a Syrian regime offensive into al-Bab, which Turkish army-backed forces have been besieging for weeks against stubborn ISIS resistance.
More than 40 Turkish soldiers have been killed in the offensive on al-Bab, where Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) fighters backed by the Turkish army have reached the town’s western and northern outskirts.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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#1
so turn it over to the locals who will then be slaughtered by ISIS or Nusra
Posted by: lord garth ||
01/25/2017 9:15
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#2
The locals are Turkmen; they'll have covert and not-so-covert Turkish support.
(Reuters/IraqiNews.com) Iraqi forces have started preparing an offensive to capture the western side of Mosul from Islamic State, campaign commander Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Rasheed Yarallah said.
Popular Mobilization “is preparing an operation in the next two, three days, to back up the operation to retake the right bank” of the city, on the western side of the Tigris river, Mosuliya TV cited him as saying on Tuesday.
Popular Mobilization is a coalition of predominantly Iranian-trained Shi’ite groups, formed in 2014 to take part in the war on Islamic State. It became officially part of the Iraqi armed forces last year.
Iraqi officials on Monday announced that the eastern side of the northern Iraqi city has been taken from Islamic State, after nearly 100 days of fighting. A statement by the Defense Ministry said the whole region had been retaken. Though the announcement was disputed by a spokesperson of the Joint Operations Command, Yahia Rasoul, who said a few areas were awaiting incursion, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi confirmed final victory over IS in the eastern region.
Military officials and observers are predicting a tougher battle in the west, where IS has already, according to reports, begun clearing residential areas from civilians, erecting roadblocks and deploying snipers.
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Al-Hashd a-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) launched on Tuesday a military operation to secure the roads linking Baghdad and Salahuddin with Mosul.
A reporter for the PMU’s media service said three brigades from the units, backed by Federal Police personnel, launched an operation on Tuesday morning to secure 7 kilometers of the road between Baghdad and Mosul, which passes at the north and northeast of Salahuddin’s town of Shirqat.
The report said the move is designed to clear villages along that road which had previously been infiltrated by Islamic State militants sneaking from Hawija, Kirkuk. It added that the units recaptured the villages of jaber Huweidi, Hindi, Admana and Fayyad al-Thalj on the Tikrit-Mosul road.
Iraqi joint forces recaptured the whole of the eastern side of Mosul on Monday, and plan to move to the western side to battle IS militants out. The extremist group has stepped up bloody attacks in Salahuddin and Baghdad in recent weeks, a development which observers believe is aimed at making up for losses in Mosul and to distract security authorities.
Al-Hashd was formed from a coalition of Shia militias in 2014, and has been fighting Islamic State militants on the side of the Iraqi government since then. It gained government recognition as a national armed force late last year.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Federal Police Command announced on Tuesday discovering a warehouse containing rockets and missiles in Hamam al-Alil area, south of Mosul.
The Command said in a press statement, “Today, Federal Police’s 3rd brigade discovered a warehouse containing rockets and missiles in Hamam al-Alil area.”
“The warehouse contains 100 Katyusha rockets, 7 120mm mortar shells, 40 60mm mortar missiles and 100 120mm mortar rockets,” the source added.
Nineveh Province is witnessing, since October 2016, extensive military operations to retake the city of Mosul that was captured by the Islamic State in June 2014.
Posted by: badanov ||
01/25/2017
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[AA.TR] A PKK leader was tossed in the calaboose Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! for three years by a German court on Tuesday, the court said in a statement.
The Higher Court of Dusseldorf said Ahmet C., 52, had organized PKK propaganda and "militants’ affairs" in North Rhine-Westphalia state, which includes the cities of Cologne ...a lovely city in Germany. They invented perfume there... and Dortmund, between June 2013 and July 2014.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , the U.S. and EU. It has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years during which more than 40,000 people have been killed.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[ZEROHEDGE] The plan includes $180 billion to rail and bus systems, $65 billion to ports, airports and waterways, $110 billion for water and sewer systems, $100 billion for energy infrastructure, and $20 billion for public and tribal lands.
Cited by the Times, Chuck Schumer said “our urban and rural communities have their own unique set of infrastructure priorities, and this proposal would provide funding to address those needed upgrades that go beyond the traditional road and bridge repair." The Senate Democrat leader adds that “We’re asking President Trump to work with us to make it a reality/"
As part of his agenda, Trump has promised to unveil an ambitious infrastructure package during the first 100 days of his presidency. “We will build new roads, and highways, and bridges, and airports, and tunnels, and railways all across our wonderful nation,” he vowed in his Inaugural Address.
One of Trump’s top advisers said Monday, however, that the president’s plan may run into roadblocks in the Republican-led Congress.
“He has to come up with a financing plan, and I think there’s going to be a little bit of a tug of war between the conservatives in the Republican party who are concerned about deficits and the president who’s concerned about jobs,” Richard LeFrak said on CNBC’s "Squawk Box." “I think he will prevail, ultimately, because he wants to put people to work.”
Republicans resisted President Barack Obama’s push for an infrastructure “surge” for eight years, arguing that the federal government couldn’t afford it and that state and local governments should shoulder more responsibility for improvements. However, now that Trump "has taken up the Democratic cause", they may find it more problematic.
Meanwhile, as the NYT adds, the first major test of Mr. Trump and his sway over congressional Republicans will come Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. That is when the Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan Capitol Hill scorekeeper, will update its budget outlook. The office is expected to say that the federal deficit, after years of decline, will start swelling again this year and will pick up steam over the next decade if policies aren’t changed to curb the growth of health care programs and of Social Security in an aging populace.
The annual report could be a major brake on Mr. Trump’s agenda, which includes large increases in spending on infrastructure and defense, as well as deep tax cuts. Those plans could collide with Republican promises to balance the budget — if Republicans care about such niceties in the Trump era.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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Top|| File under:
#1
Spending money on rail and bus systems is pointless as self driving vehicles and on demand scheduling will obsolete most of the current public transit system.
In a few years, timetables will seem a quaint anachronism.
#5
Thatis when the Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan Capitol Hill scorekeeper, will update its budget outlook. The office is expected to say that the federal deficit, after years of decline, will start swelling again this year
...Just now? Hmm. Given the numbers that the Obama Administration was willing to release, this seems like it should have been obvious (and indeed was) to anyone with a minimally active central nervous system.
Seems to me like CBO didn't want to officially bring up this little detail while the Lightbringer was still in office, but was happy to do so now that the Other Guy won.
Another agency that needs to be burned to the ground and started from scratch.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/25/2017 5:16
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#6
Subsidies to infrastructure spending tend to bump up prices of nearby land, of which is bought using loans, of which the banking sector tend to gain from the increased amount of interest payment.
#8
As Obama showed, let the WH control the project selection (just like those green projects). That way instead of the union bosses going to Schumer and anyone else's office, they'll sign in at the WH. They'll know who keeps their members employed.
#11
Interest rates are so low, why not load up on debt? Besides, this is an investment, not an expenditure. This money's coming back to us.
Unions? Of course Trump is going to unions. He's a New York Democrat. In his new guise as the leader of the Trumpist Party, he's going to steal the unions right out from under the Democrats and staple them to himself. The Dems are going to be ruined. If Trump can do something for the blacks in the inner city, the Democratic Party as we know it is history and has contested its last U.S. presidential election.
Late in the 2016 election cycle, billionaire political activist George Soros made a series of unexpected yet creative moves with his money that paid high dividends. While continuing to donate to high-profile races like those for president and the Senate, he also poured millions of dollars into smaller races for district attorney in places like Illinois, Georgia, Texas and Colorado.
From Soros' perspective, the effort would probably be deemed a success, as 10 of the 12 candidates he backed won their races. More proof we need to pry his dead little fingers from his funds, along with all his hell spawn...
Yet one of the races that eluded Soros as a "win" was the district attorney's race in Jefferson County, Colo., often considered one of the most important swing counties in the purple state.
If you buy into the maxim that you learn more from defeat than victory, then the Colorado race provides valuable insight: How does a candidate beat back a surprise attack from George Soros? And how is Soros likely to improve upon his strategy that has had one trial run?
For Pete Weir, the incumbent district attorney and lifelong Republican who outlasted the $1.3 million aimed against him, a long and bipartisan track record in criminal justice certainly helped. But the race likely became a referendum on Soros and his tactics the minute the billionaire cut the first check to his independent expenditure committee.
Colorado political analyst Eric Sondermann says once the donations to Weir's challenger became known, "the magnitude of Soros' engagement was exposed and became an issue, perhaps the issue, in the contest." Even with all the influx of people, Coloradoans still don't like outsiders messing with their business.
Weir got a bipartisan boost when former Gov. Bill Ritter, a lifelong Democrat and a former prosecutor, penned an op-ed slamming the Soros machine. Only because he got burned by it with the gun control fiasco
The editorial was published just as mail-in ballots were being delivered to voters' homes. Two more Democrat prosecutors later vouched for Weir, authoring another op-ed in the paper of record, titled, "George Soros' unwelcome intrusion into a Colorado district attorney race."
Two weeks later, Weir was the beneficiary of a house editorial from the Post, which called the campaign "misleading," and which was also was stuffed with adjectives like "subterfuge" and "unfair."
"Those strongly worded editorials, coming in a race in which the Post might well have not weighed in at all under normal circumstances, added to the public dialogue, and by their very existence were evidence of the fact that this issue had taken root," Sondermann said.
"I guess you also have to give [Soros] credit in that there is some transparency here, that they don't hide that the source of funds are coming from George Soros," Weir said. "But I believe what he's doing is dangerous." What he is doing is trying to buy a country he can control and overturn the constitution. So basically a traitor and a domestic enemy
While acknowledging that prosecutorial discretion is a part of the job, Weir says Soros' ultimate intent is to have his candidates promote a vision of social justice that bypasses years of hard-won consensus. "He is trying to identify candidates that will follow Soros' view of social justice and [his] political agenda. And he does this by bypassing the legislative process." Lenin would be so proud.
The monetary limits on donating to a declared candidate in a district attorney's race are $400 in Colorado. By creating an independent expenditure committee, Soros legally gave roughly 300 times beyond that while maintaining total control of the message. In the Colorado race, Soros waited to uncork his strategy until late September, a point so late in the contest that it made counter-fundraising nearly impossible.
Given Soros' history as an investor thief and con-man, it's fair to analyze his moves in terms of return on investment. His best ROI appeared to come in Illinois and Georgia. In Chicago, his independent campaign essentially determined the primary winner in heavily Democratic Cook County. Early contributions in February and March of the election cycle came as even more of a surprise. In Georgia, a mere $100,000 donation caused the Republican candidate to drop out.
In those two instances, Soros kept his investment under $500,000, compared to the millions he sunk into general election contests later in the year.
Taking the longer view, Weir noted that one of the only potential checks on this new strategy in the future would require a consortium of political donors to have a war chest set aside, but ready to be activated in any state within days of noticing the opening moves made by Soros.
"I think it's important to level that playing field," Weir said. "I wouldn't necessarily like to see the PACs come in in support of a candidate where Soros' money is not involved, but, it would also be very, very beneficial that you could not have an individual such as George Soros come in and buy justice. And that was how we tried to refute his claim. Justice was not for sale in Jefferson County." Fortunately, Soros doesn't have much time left. Hopefully his kids are inept at continuing his legacy.
Usage note: presently. In both British English and North American English, presently can mean ‘soon’ or ‘after a short time’: I’ll be with you presently. In North American English the usual meaning of presently is ‘at the present time’ or ‘now’: She is presently living in Milan. ◇ There is presently no cure for the disease. This use is becoming more accepted in British English, but at present or currently are usually used.
[DAWN] Continuing his arguments before the larger bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... (JI) counsel Taufiq Asif earned the ire of the presiding judges after he made repeated references to a past case which had validated the Oct 12, 1999 military takeover of the PML-N government at the time.
It was the second instance the advocate had referred to the Zafar Ali Shah case while presenting his arguments before the five-member bench of the Supreme Court.
What followed was a repeat of what happened when Asif first brought it up: the bench had to remind the lawyer that the decision reached in the Zafar Ali Shah case did not, in fact, acknowledge Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... 's ownership of the London flats.
The bench also expressed anger at the counsel for bringing the argument up again, noting that he seemed insistent on referring to the case seemingly without having even read its decision.
Justice Ijaz-ul-Hassan admonished the lawyer saying he had "made a mockery of the case."
"You have caused as much damage to your client as you possibly could," Justice Azmat Saeed added.
The court also told the lawyer that he had not been able to establish any relationship between the references he was making and the ownership of the London flats.
As he concluded his arguments, Advocate Asif turned the court's attention back to the Gulf Steel Mills set up in Dubai in 1974, saying he suspects the London flats were bought by selling the mills
"All the petitioners should be given the chance to cross-examine Nawaz Sharif [in this regard]," he said.
Justice Khosa told the advocate that the bench would decide on the matter after hearing the arguments of all the petitioners.
"We will call Nawaz Sharif [to present himself in court] if there is a need for it," he assured.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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There is no room under the current configuration for more strikes against the Islamic State group without endangering civilians, a top Air Force official who just stepped down says, despite repeated claims from President Donald Trump he will ramp up the air war, and a spike since his inauguration of strikes in Iraq and Syria.
Perhaps this is why, Ms. James, you're no longer the Air Force Secretary.
"We're not failing to hit targets when appropriate targets make themselves known," Deborah James, who served as Air Force secretary until Friday, told U.S. News in an interview days before stepping down. "What we have been very careful about is making sure we know what we're hitting, and taking care to hit what we intend to hit."
"There are not a whole series of targets we have simply not hit. That's not the case," James harfed says.
[Ynet] So far, the new American president has made no effort to prove that he has a vision. He is a businessman who is out to sell the headline ’America First.’ Whoever wants to make him offers on issues unrelated to the homeland should take a number, get in line and be ready to pull out their wallet.
If I were a chief strategic advisor to one of the 22 leaders of the Arab world ‐ and it really doesn’t matter who the leader is ‐ I would write a dual recommendation:
First, go out of your way to congratulate US President Donald Trump
Continued on Page 49
#1
The kings and presidents of the Arab world should pay attention to the fact that he did it the other way around: First business and millions, and only then rulership. He already knows that they do it from the other direction: Only after entering the palace, they learn how to rake in the money.
Usually I don't pay attention to Yediot Ahronot (latest news) - besides carrying the usual journo prog agency, their publisher been conducting a personal vendetta against Bibi for the last 20 year. But, LOL!
#3
Four former presidents – Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama – showed up for the inauguration ceremony at the White House. You won’t see such an image in any of the Arab world’s countries.
#5
Well they'll have less to worry about from Iran with Trump President. Perhaps if the Arab leaders stopped funding ISIS a Sunni block might be formed and proper lines in the sand drawn between Sunni and Shia.
#6
If moving the US embassy to Jerusalem is explosive, the explosion will occur in the Arab world. If Iran tries to take advantage, then it all goes up in flames.
[Bus Insider] Sebastian Gorka, the Breitbart national security editor and a Fox News contributor, is expected to join President Donald Trump's White House, a source familiar with the matter told Business Insider.
The source said that the position is likely in the National Security Council. A Fox News spokesperson said the network terminated Gorka's contributor agreement when he informed executives of his new position.
Gorka, who has written stories for Breitbart since early 2014, was a founding member of the Council for Emerging National Security Affairs and has been awarded the Joint Civilian Service Commendation, according to a bio on his website. (He recently made his website private.) The national-security analyst is the author of "Defeating Jihad," a New York Times best-seller.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least 31 turbans including members of the al-Qaeda terrorist network were killed in a series of Arclight airstrikes in southern Zabul province of Afghanistan.
Local officials said Tuesday that the Arclight airstrikes were carried out in Khak-e-Afghan district targeting the hideouts of the turbans.
Provincial governor’s front man Gul Islam said the Arclight airstrikes were carried out by the US forces based in Afghanistan.
He said at least 19 turbans were also maimed in the Arclight airstrikes.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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WALTON COUNTY, Fla. – A Rhode Island native walking barefoot across the U.S. to raise awareness about climate change has been struck and killed on a Florida highway.
Police say 33-year-old Mark Baumer was walking along the shoulder of U.S. Highway 90 in Walton County on Sunday when a driver lost control and hit him. Baumer was pronounced dead at the scene. Baumer was also raising money for a nonprofit group called the FANG Collective that opposes the natural gas industry. FANG stands for Fighting Against Natural Gas.
The group wrote on Facebook that Baumer was a "talented poet and artist with an ability to tap into the human experience with his work."
Baumer had raised more than $14,000 since starting Oct. 13.
[Washington Examiner] A senior U.S. Secret Service agent posted Facebook condemnations of President Trump during the past seven months,
In other words, back when everybody knew Hillary! was going to win. Virtue signalling, true believer, or deliberate sucking up to the presumed new boss?
including one in which she said she wouldn't want to "take a bullet" for him.
She explained herself saying she viewed his presidential candidacy as a "disaster" for the country, and especially for women and minorities.
Kerry O'Grady, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Denver district, oversees coordination with Washington-based advance teams for all presidential candidate and presidential trips to the area, including all upcoming or future trips by the president, vice president or Trump administration officials.
#4
This may be a disgruntled Praetorian 'wake up call' requiring an examination of the attitudes and loyalties of the entire service. Not certain how it might be accomplished, but if there is one, the existence of others is likely.
#6
...The Secret Service was thoroughly and utterly politicized under the Obama administration, and competence took a back seat to diversity and political reliability. (Brains went out the window too; seeing as how they wanted to build a replica White House to practice in.)
If a senior agent is saying things like this publicly, it's bad, friends. Decapitate the agency and start all over again. The survivors will get the message.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/25/2017 5:09
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#8
Regardless of what she's saying, what is a "secret" service agent doing posting about her job on Facebook?
Posted by: Matt ||
01/25/2017 9:43
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#9
From what I heard, routine punishment for unruly agents was to have them serve on Rosalyn Carter's detail for a few weeks. When they came back, their attitude was much better.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/25/2017 10:24
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#10
Mall cops are better qualified to protect the President than she is.
"President Donald Trump’s legal team has already moved to trademark the slogan "Keep America Great!" -- a phrase he recently said would be part of his 2020 re-election campaign.
The trademark application was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Jan. 18 -- two days before Mr. Trump was officially sworn in as president.
The application indicates the phrase could be used for T-shirts, tank tops, "baby clothing, namely, one piece garments," and "printed publications, namely, pamphlets providing information regarding Donald J. Trump as a political candidate."
Mr. Trump’s chief 2016 campaign slogan was "Make America Great Again."
He recently told The Washington Post that his re-election slogan would be "’Keep America Great,’ exclamation point," and reportedly asked a lawyer to trademark and register the phrase with and without an exclamation point.
Mr. Trump moved to trademark "Make America Great Again" soon after the 2012 election." It appears our President has plans - gonna print out this article and give it to my fave Prog.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ||
01/25/2017
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#1
I’d make a very bad politician because “Are you out of your frickin’ minds” is a terrible campaign slogan. -- Sarah A. Hoyt
Once you're a jet, you're a jet all the way...
[ARA News] Hasakah – At least 15 foreign jihadists have defected from the Islamic State (ISIS) group in the town of Margada in northeastern Syria, local sources said on Wednesday.
Activists reported a state of alert in ISIS ranks in the town of Margada, south of Hasakah Governorate, after a group of jihadists evacuated their posts and fled Syria.
“The defectors were Western members of the group who have been recently transferred from Iraq’s Mosul to Margada in Syria’s Hasakah,” media activist Ghassan al-Omari told ARA News.
“The ISIS-led Hisba Police was unable to find them in the area. The defectors have most likely crossed the border into Turkey,” another local source said, citing an ISIS member.
“They have apparently lost their hope in winning the fight against the US-backed Iraqi and Syrian forces, which led them to abandon the ISIS ranks and escape,” al-Omari told ARA News.
ISIS installed new security checkpoints and deployed dozens of guards in the vicinity of Margada town in the wake of the incident.
Margada is the Islamic State’s last stronghold in Hasakah Governorate. It is located on the administrative border between Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor Governorates.
Dozens of militants have recently deserted ISIS ranks amidst growing internal rifts over power and money, according to local monitors.
Posted by: badanov ||
01/25/2017
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The Libyan national army announced yesterday that it had achieved another victory yesterday against the remaining terrorist groups and extremists on fronts where there has been fighting, particularly in western Benghazi in the east of the country.
According to what a military official told Asharq Al-Awsat, the army’s forces led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar are still engaged in fierce battles against remaining terrorists that are holed up in the western region of the city of Benghazi. He also pointed out that “only a little time” was needed until they took full control of Benghazi and liberated it. However, he did not give a specific date.
The army’s media office said that Haftar held a meeting with staff from the operations room responsible for Operation Al-Karamah and a number of officers, non-commissioned officers and commanders. He oversaw what he called “the final arrangements for salvation from the grip of terrorist militias that have wreaked havoc and have wiped out crops and cattle”.
The office said in a statement that Haftar has made a plan for the final advance to liberate the area of Qunfudah from the remaining ISIS terrorists and the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries. The army also continues to control the resort Tira and has freed a number of prisoners and families that were being held in Qunfudah, west Benghazi.
The army’s special forces said that the resort of Tira had been liberated from defectors so that all of the west Benghazi coast is now under the control of the army’s forces.
[GEO.TV] KARACHI: At least three bodies were found from different areas of the metropolis, informed police authorities on Wednesday.
In Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block 14, unidentified suspects flee from the spot after throwing a body near a roadside superstore. The dear departed has been identified as Kazim. Police informed that four bullet wounds were found in his body.
In Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block 19, a plastic-wrapped body of Rizwan was found by his sister. Police claimed that the dear departed`s wife is missing along with four children. Police have registered the case and started investigations on both the cases.
A body of a woman was found in Clifton; the details of the case has not yet been provided by the authorities.
Two alleged dacoits were apprehended by the people in Model Colony, the suspects were given into police custody.
In raids at Shah Lateef Town, Landhi Jauharabad and Pak Colony, at least 11 suspects were detained by the police authorities.
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01/25/2017
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[Iran Press TV] Iraq's prominent Shia holy man, Moqtada Tater al-Sadr ... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah... , has slammed the potential relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds as a "declaration of war on Islam."
"Transferring the US embassy to Jerusalem [al-Quds] would be a public and more-explicit-than-ever declaration of war against Islam," Sadr said in a Tuesday statement.
Touching on US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... ’s pledges to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of the occupied territories, Sadr called for the "formation of a special division to liberate Jerusalem [al-Quds]."
Sadr urged the Cairo-based Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... as well as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to either take a decisive stand on the issue or be dissolved.
The Shia holy man also called "for the immediate closure of the US embassy in Iraq" if Washington goes ahead with the plan to move its embassy to Jerusalem al-Quds.
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01/25/2017
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#1
These days is he still in Iran or back in Iraq.
If Iraq ... reprogram a cruise missile?
#3
Well, Tater, think of this as follows. So far only Israel was fighting you seriously: while USA was playing 'Nation Building', and Russia was pursuing limited strategic objectives. But Israel is not that strong - so, eventually, we'd have to exterminate you. USA, however, can afford 'whipping you back to your kennels'. So, with Trump, you get to live.
[DAWN] Indian police and troops have killed three suspected separatists in two separate shootouts in India-held Kashmire (IHK) on Tuesday, one of them near the de facto border with Pakistain, officers claimed.
Soldiers and members of the police's special operations group surrounded Hadoora, some 25 kilometres north of the main city of Srinagar, after a tip-off about suspected separatists inside a house in the village.
"In the ensuing shootout two Lions of Islam were killed. Both are foreigners," claimed police Superintendent Imtiyaz Ismael while talking with AFP.
In a separate incident a group of separatists reportedly attempted to cross the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmire between India and Pakistain in the Sundabani sector, but were intercepted by Indian soldiers.
"One terrorist was eliminated in the operation while the others fled towards Pakistain's portion of Kashmire," an army statement claimed.
Several separatist groups have spent decades fighting Indian forces deployed in the disputed territory, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistain which also claims the Himalayan region in its entirety.
Tens of thousands, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting.
Dozens of local youths joined the separatist ranks following the killing of a popular separatists leader Burhan Muzzafar Wani by Indian forces in July last year. The incident sparked months of anti-India unrest which left more than 90 civilians dead.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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[AA.TR] Jerusalem’s Authority for Islamic Endowments on Tuesday condemned increasingly frequent visits to the al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli settlers who often perform religious rituals at the site.
Almost daily visits to al-Aqsa by Jewish settlers, the authority said in a statement, constituted "violations of the sanctity" of the al-Aqsa Mosque, which is regarded by Moslems as the world’s third holiest site.
According to the authority, settlers frequently perform "religious rituals" in the mosque complex, praying and conducting marriages and coming-of age ceremonies.
Such rituals generally enjoy the protection of Israeli police, the authority noted.
"We consider these escalations by Jewish bad boys... a threat to the historical status quo at the mosque," read the statement.
In recent years, bad boy Jewish settlers -- usually accompanied by Israeli police -- have forced their way into the al-Aqsa Mosque complex with increasing frequency and in increasing numbers.
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01/25/2017
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Two Afghan coppers have broken a Taliban cell in northern Baghlan province of Afghanistan, leaving at least 5 hard boyz dead.
According to the local government officials, the coppers were kept in a cell in Barak district.
Provincial police front man Zabiullah Shuja said the two coppers managed to break the Taliban jail after snatching the weapon of them and opening fire on the others.
He said at least five hard boyz were killed and a clash a broke out after the other coppers arrived to support the two captives.
According to Shuja, the clash between the two sides continued for at least three hours.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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[NYPOST] President Trump on Tuesday imposed a media blackout at the Environmental Protection Agency and barred staff from awarding new contracts or grants.
Emails sent to EPA staff since his inauguration on Friday and reviewed by the News Agency that Dare Not be Named detailed the specific prohibitions banning blurbs, blog updates or posts to the agency’s social media accounts.
Trump -- who at a meeting with automakers Tuesday insisted he was "an environmentalist" -- also ordered a "temporary suspension" of all new business activities at the department, including issuing task orders or work assignments to EPA contractors.
The orders are expected to have a significant and immediate impact on EPA activities nationwide.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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#1
STFU!
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/25/2017 11:07
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#2
"The orders are expected to have a significant and immediate impact on EPA activities nationwide."
Well it's about time. It took him DAYS to do this.
/sarc
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
01/25/2017 15:50
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[Bangla Daily Star] A leader of the Nizampur College unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League ... the student wing of the Bangla Awami League ... (BCL) was allegedly beaten to death by rivals on college campus at Mirsarai upazila of Chittagong Monday afternoon.
The dear departed was identified as Nurul Amin, an HSC student of the college, from Janu Muhurir Bari of Hadi Fakir Hat in Gachhbaria of the upazila.
Amin was the information technology secretary of the BCL unit.
Sources said earlier on Sunday two rival factions of BCL at the college locked in a clash and a negotiation was settled between both groups by Russell Iqbal Chowdhury, president of Mirsarai upazila unit BCL on the day.
On Monday Amin and his friends were again attacked and beaten by the rival group when they went to the campus at around 11.30 am, sources said.
About half an hour later, by when Amin had managed to get away from the scuffle and reached Hadi Fakir Hat, he began to complain of chest pain.
His friends first rushed him to a local hospital where his condition deteriorated and then took him to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH). The on-duty physician there declared him dead at around 1.30 pm.
When contacted, Russell said he negotiated a settlement between the two groups on Sunday.
"I heard a similar scuffle occurred between the groups on Monday but I am not sure whether Amin's death was caused by this incident," he said, adding, "I have heard Amin came to Hadi Fakir Hat by himself after the incident."
Nurul Hadi Sujan, Amin's elder brother, claimed Amin died after being beaten by the rival group.
Sairul Islam, officer-in-charge of Mirsarai Police Station, when contacted said he had not received any formal complaints about the death.
"The body has been sent to CMCH for his appointment with Doctor Quincy," he said stating that the reason behind the death could only be known after getting the autopsy report.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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#1
He settled, all right. Room temp
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2017 14:39
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[Libya Observer] The criminal masterminds of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... boom-mobilekaboom near the Italian embassy on Saturday have been identified, the Special Deterrence Force has reported.
"The aim of the kaboom was political in order to undermine security in the capital," the SDF said today, without providing further information.
The force added that investigations are still ongoing, and promised to unveil all the details of the terrorist attack soon after they finish.
A boom-mobilewent kaboom! nearby Libya Palace Hotel, an area very close to the Italian embassy in al-Dahra district, killing the two attackers.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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[Saudi Gazette] Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... will work with the Trump administration to contain Iran, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said here on Tuesday at a joint presser with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault.
US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... has "spoken about containing Iran and its ability to cause mischief, and making sure that Iran abides by the agreement that was signed," Jubeir said, adding, "This is exactly our position."
Trump "has made it his objective to rebuild traditional alliances or alliances with traditional American allies, and this is something that we also welcome," Jubeir said.
"We look forward to working with the Trump administration and we are very positive about the future of the US-Saudi relationship."
The minister said Saudi-US relations are strong in all areas and that his country would respect the decision of the American people.
He also said he looks forward to cooperating with the Trump Cabinet, and that he is "optimistic."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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Kuwait's foreign minister will make a rare visit to Tehran on Wednesday to deliver a message to President Hassan Rouhani on a "basis of dialogue" between Gulf Arab states and arch-rival Iran, Kuwait's state news agency reported.
The visit comes days after Rouhani said countries including Kuwait had offered to mediate in the escalating feud between Shi'ite Muslim Iran and Sunni power Saudi Arabia.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Jabhat Fateh al-Sham ...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant... (formerly Nusra Front) released a statement expelling the al Qaeda-linked Jund al-Aqsa terrorist group from its ranks following increased tensions between the latter and other rebel groups in Idlib and Hama countrysides.
The Emir of Jund al-Aqsa had pledged allegiance to JFS several months ago when an intra-jihadist civil war almost blew up due to Aqsa's unrelenting harassment of other factions most dominantly the powerful Turkish-backed Ahrar al-Sham ...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014... rebel group.
With Jund al-Aqsa's violations unwavering and the prospects of a jihadist civil war increasingly becoming likely with infighting breaking all over Idlib's Jabal al-Zawiyah region, Nusra decided to expel Aqsa citing their lack of commitment to the agreement hoping to avoid a bloodbath that could take rebel-dominated Idlib by storm.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) continued their large-scale advance in the eastern countryside of Aleppo on Monday, liberating several villages 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.... forces in southern al-Bab.
Led by the Tiger Forces, the Syrian Arab Army began the day by storming the southern flank of al-Bab, inflicting heavy damage on the Islamic State's defenses.
The Tiger Forces managed to liberate 3 villages, including Umm al-Imad and Tal Rahal, and one hilltop before reaching the key village of Khashbah on Monday afternoon.
Not long after reaching Khashbah, the Syrian Arab Army overran the Islamic State's defenses, imposing full-control over the village as the terrorist group's defenses continued to collapse during the day.
With several sites liberated from the Islamic State in the last 24 hours, the Syrian Arab Army is setting themselves up for their upcoming al-Bab and Deir Hafer attacks to expel the terrorist forces from east Aleppo.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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[AA.TR] Syrian Kurdish Peshmerga fighters will return to Syria after receiving training in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, a Kurdish politician said Tuesday.
"Syrian Peshmerga will return [to Syria] over the next six months under the protection of the international U.S.-led coalition," Nawaf Rashid, a representative of Syria’s Kurdistan Democratic Party, told Anadolu Agency.
U.S.-led coalition forces, he said, were ready to confront any obstacles put up in this regard by the PKK terrorist group.
According to Rashid, Syrian Peshmerga forces hope to eventually increase their numbers to a total of 10,000 fighters.
To this end, he said, Peshmerga officials had already opened a recruitment agency with a view to enlisting fresh recruits.
Drawn up largely of forces affiliated with the Syrian National Council, Syrian Peshmerga forces operate under the umbrella of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.
Syrian Peshmerga forces consist largely of Syrian Kurds who have fled their war-battered country in recent years to northern Iraq’s Kurdish region.
For the past four years, however, Syrian Peshmerga have been prevented from returning to their home country by the PKK terrorist group.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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[Ynet] Belgian-led investigation indicates snuffies pursued Haredi Jews, scouted for Israelis, ahead of the kaboom; source says 'The attacker seemed to rush towards two Orthodox Jews...He really, clearly wanted to kill a Jew.'
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.... jacket wallahs who attacked Brussels airport last year targeted passengers travelling to the United States and also Jewish people, several sources told AFP.
The Belgian-led investigation believes a check-in counter for an American carrier was one of the targets in the March 22, 2016 attacks, the sources said on condition of anonymity. They also suspect that travellers to Israel may have been in the cross-hairs, and that airport security camera footage shows one bomber apparently pursuing Hasidic Jews seconds before one of the blasts.
Islamic State (IS) bombers Najim Laachraoui and Ibrahim El Bakraoui killed 16 people at Zaventem airport. Around an hour later Bakraoui’s brother Khalid attacked a metro station near EU headquarters, killing another 16.
One source close to the investigation told AFP, which contacted Sherlocks in several countries, that one of the airport bombers "attacked the Delta Airlines check-in".
"We know they wanted to target Americans," said the source, who asked not to be named. "It’s clear they had quite specific targets." Asked if these targets included the check-in counter for a flight to Israel, he replied: "We know they were obsessed with the Israelis too." The possibility that they targeted Russian travellers was an "option" that had to be clarified, he said.
’Wanted to kill a Jew’
There were casualties from at least 40 nationalities in the Brussels attacks, but Sherlocks and sources believe the Zaventem bombers had specific targets.
"Even early on (in the investigation) there were indications that they targeted US, Russian and Israeli check-in counters," a US law enforcement source told AFP on condition of anonymity. "That understanding has held up with later investigations, including with Abrini’s alleged confession," the source said.
Mohammed Abrini is the so-called "man in the hat" who fled the airport without detonating his suitcase bomb after his accomplices set off theirs. He was captured a month later. Four Americans were killed at the airport and several injured, while two Israelis aged 23 and 28 were treated in Jerusalem after the attacks. Israeli media identified the pair as members of the Belz Hassid ultra-Orthodox religious sect, who had been scheduled to fly from Brussels airport to Ben Gurion.
Sources close to the investigation added that camera footage never released to the public showed that Laachraoui had been standing among some 60 high school students before deciding to pursue two Orthodox Jews. "The attacker seemed to rush towards two Orthodox Jews," one of the sources said. "He really, clearly wanted to kill a Jew."
A US government source said separately that Lachraoui was targeting a Hasidic Jew. Hasidic men are easily recognisable because they wear dark suits over white shirts, have long beards, hats and curly sidelocks.
Investigators "are very confident they (bombers) were targeting US, Russia and Israel," the US government source said. Israeli security measures have dramatically increased since the attacks, an airport source added.
A Belgian press report said Sherlocks had found an electronic message from Khalid El Bakraoui saying flights departed every Tuesday from Brussels to the United States, Russia and Israel, but Sherlocks would not confirm that.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/25/2017
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A resident of the southern Kandahar province was placed in durance vile Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! for having links with 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.
According to the local security officials in Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. , the suspect was arrested from the vicinity of Achin district.
The officials further added that the suspect has been identified as Abdul Satar and is in jug of the police forces for further investigation.
No further details were given by the security officials regarding the apprehension of the suspect.
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01/25/2017
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(Reuters) Schools in the east of the Iraqi city of Mosul are seeking to return to a semblance of normality after two years under Islamic State rule when they were either shuttered or forced to teach a martial curriculum that included lessons in bombmaking.
Around 40,000 students – most of whom have been kept at home by their parents since the militants captured Mosul in 2014 – will attend around 70 schools in the coming weeks after the buildings have been checked for unexploded bombs.
U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have retaken most eastern districts of the city and are preparing to push into the western part of Mosul, the largest city held by Islamic State across its self-proclaimed caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
Teachers and parents told Reuters about the jihadists’ brand of education received by those children who have attended school over the past two years, including many children of militants. This included chemistry lessons on bombmaking and maths classes devoted to tallying up weapons caches, they said.
“In math, my six-year-old son was counting rifles. In other classes, he was being taught about suicide bombing,” said Mishwan Yunis, a 41-year-old water ministry worker whose son attends Kufa Boys’ School.
“He lost two very important years of his life. He should have been in the third grade; now he goes back to first.”
The northern city is coming back to life with markets and shops reopening and people selling once-prohibited goods such as cigarettes openly on the streets yet the damage of battle is everywhere – and fighting rages just a few kilometers away.
At Kufa Boys’ School, children run around the concrete yard wearing new bright blue school bags provided by UNICEF, in the shadow of neighboring buildings reduced to rubble.
One schoolyard in the area has been turned into a cemetery covered with dozens of freshly dug graves.
Yet a return to normality will not be easy for children, who bears the scars of living in the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Iraq and the bitter battle for the city since late last year when Iraqi forces launched the biggest ground operation in the country since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.
They could face psychological hurdles, as might their teachers, many of who told Reuters they had been threatened with being hung from their schools’ walls if they did not continue teaching under Islamic State.
“Our role is bigger now than it was two or three years ago because you need to deal with the children’s psychological state before you can teach them,” said Omar Khudor Ali, headteacher of nearby Badayel Boys’ School.
“For us to do this we need better coordination between the teachers themselves and the entire education system.”
“I need to make them forget Islamic State and be free again,” said a teacher at the adjacent Badayel Girls’ School who asked that her name not be revealed for fear of retaliation by Islamic State, fighting Iraqi forces across a nearby river.
Posted by: badanov ||
01/25/2017
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Six Tupolev-22M3 bombers have dealt strikes against arms and ammunition depots 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.... (outlawed in Russia) in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor province to wipe out all targets, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday in a statement obtained by TASS.
"On January 24 six Tupolev-22M3 bombers took off from an airdrome in Russia to fly over the territories of Iraq and Iran to eventually deal a massive air strike against an ammunition and explosives production facility and weapons and ammunition depots of the Islamic State, as well as groups of IS military vehicles and equipment in Deir ez-Zor province," the report runs.
The Defense Ministry said objective monitoring means confirmed all attacked targets had been wiped out.
All bombers have returned to base. Sukhoi-30SM and Sukhoi-35S fighters provided protection for their mission from the Hmeymim base.
Earlier, the chief of the Russian General Staff’s Main Operations Directorate, Lieutenant-General Sergey Rudskoy described as complicated the situation near Deir ez-Zor, whose defendants had to confront continued attacks by outnumbering enemy forces. Rudskoy said should the city fall, the local population would face the risk of genocide.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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Days into Donald Trump’s administration, heads are finally beginning to roll at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Two notoriously corrupt employees in Puerto Rico were fired this week, indicating that more may be on the way.
One is the hospital’s CEO, DeWayne Hamlin, who offered an employee $305,000 to quit after she played a role in exposing his drug arrest.
"Mr. DeWayne Hamlin was removed from federal service effective January 20, 2017"‐inauguration day‐the VA said.
Under former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Bob McDonald, the agency ignored years of evidence about shoddy work ethic, theft and whistleblower retaliation. The VA finally began a months-long investigative proceeding last year, after an outside agency, the Office of Special Counsel, prodded VA leadership.
#2
I love the sound of undeserved rice bowls smashing in the morning.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
01/25/2017 6:09
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#3
So where did Hamlin expect to get $305k? Either he had it in his pocket, which would be interesting, or he figured it would pass in his budget, which would mean somebody higher wouldn't have a problem with it.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
01/25/2017 6:15
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#4
Weird how Obama never did anything.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/25/2017 6:24
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#5
Golf, eat, play golf, sleep 12-18 hours per day, golf, have a beer, golf, ice cream, more golf, take nap, fly to Hawaii for vaca, golf.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Fourteen civilians were killed and 13 others were injured on Tuesday when Islamic State militants bombarded residential areas in eastern Mosul recently recaptured by government forces.
DPA quoted Dureid Saeed, a colonel from the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Forces, as saying that five Katyusha rocket fired by the extremist group had landed von the districts of al-Zerai and Mohandessin in the northeast of the city.
The development comes as Iraqi forces continue to clear a handful of areas witnessing a presence by militants in the east, amid conflicting statements regarding the full recapture of that region.
A statement by the Defense Ministry’s media service, the War Media Cell, said brigades from the 15th and 9th division had invaded and recaptured the villages of Baawiza, Shreikhan, Baisan and a so-called “Nineveh dairy plant”.
The latest military advancement comes hours after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and the defense ministry said Monday that the eastern region of Mosul had become totally free from IS extremists, an announcement that was dismissed by a spokesperson of the Joint Operations Command who said troops were still fighting the militants at a few regions.
Military commanders are reportedly making preparations to move onwards to western Mosul, a region that is predominantly under IS control and a home to nearly 750.000 civilians.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Nineveh Province revealed that the Islamic State group evacuated its headquarters, and burnt tons of its archives in Tal Afar District, west of Mosul, Alsumaria News reported on Tuesday.
The source said, “The Islamic State group evacuated its alternative headquarters that substituted its main ones after the launch of the battles to liberate the city of Mosul three months ago.”
“The group also burnt tons of its archives amid strict procedures,” the source explained.
Noteworthy, al-Hashd al-Shaabi forces were assigned to liberate the western part of Mosul, after liberating many areas and villages, including Tal Afar, west of Mosul.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State vigilantes in the western side of Mosul are obscuring any signs identifying them, fearing that they might make them obvious targets for security forces.
A local source in Nineveh told Alsumaria News on Tuesday that members of the extremist group’s Hisbah (vigilantism) bodies began to remove the service’s logos from their vehicles, fearing that they could make them easy targets for security forces-guided drones that have killed many members recently.
Hisbah committees are Islamic State’s religious law enforcement arm, which arrests violators of the group’s rules and carries out sentences issued against them.
IS militants have occupied Mosul since they emerged in 2014 to proclaim an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq. A three-month-old military campaign by Iraqi joint government forces, backed by troops and advisers from a U.S.-led coalition, has managed to recapture the eastern section of the city, and is preparing to cross the Tigris River, which bisects the city, to recapture the western region, where militants still maintain a majority of districts inhabited by nearly 750.000 civilians.
The extremist group has lost many of its senior leaders and personnel over the past three months, and reports of infighting and division within its ranks have been recurrent.
Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Kirkuk Province revealed that the Islamic State imposed a curfew in Hawija after the abduction of one of its leaders, Alsumaria News reported on Tuesday.
The source said, “An unidentified armed group abducted one of the Islamic State’s prominent leaders in Hawija.”
“The abducted leader is the execution official of the areas southwest of Kirkuk,” the source added on condition of anonymity.
“The group imposed a curfew in the district after the abduction of its leader,” the source further added.
Noteworthy, Hawija District and the areas of Rashad, Zab, Riyad and Abbasi, southwest of Kirkuk were captured by the Islamic State in June 2014.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Nineveh revealed that the Islamic State group recovered the bodies of 30 members belonging to the group, who were killed by a coalition air strike few days ago, from the Tigris River in western Mosul, Alsumaria reported on Tuesday.
The source said, “The Islamic State group recovered the bodies of 30 members from the Tigris River in western Mosul.”
“Those members were killed by a coalition air strike that also destroyed dozens of boats that were carrying the Islamic State’s members,” the source added on condition of anonymity.
Yesterday, member of Nineveh Provincial Council Hossam al-Din Abbar announced that dozens of the Islamic State’s leaders fled from the city of Mosul toward Syria.
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[IsraelTimes] Soldiers nabs 2 suspected of breaking through barrier, firing shots; overnight, 5 suspected Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", members tossed in the calaboose.
Israeli troops incarcerated Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! a pair of Paleostinians who are suspected of firing a homemade gun into the air after breaking through a checkpoint in the West Bank on Tuesday, the army said.
Earlier, a car burst through a checkpoint set up outside the Ofra settlement, northeast of Ramallah, while one of its occupants shot into the air.
No one was injured, and no damage was caused, the army said.
"An IDF force gave chase after the car and caught two suspects inside it, who were in possession of a makeshift weapon," the army said.
A picture of the gun, provided by the military, shows a slapdash device, apparently constructed from water pipes and held together with duct tape.
The two were handed over to the Shin Bet security service for questioning.
Overnight, IDF troops arrested eight Paleostinian suspects across the West Bank, the army said. Five of them were suspected members of the Hamas terrorist group, picked up in Hebron, Tulkarem and the Jalazoun refugee camp. The rest are believed to have taken part in so-called "popular terrorism," a catch-all term used by the military that generally refers to rock throwing or participating in violent protests.
[IsraelTimes] An IDF tank destroyed a Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", position in the southern Gazoo Strip on Tuesday night after Israeli troops came under fire near the border, the army said No Israeli troops were maimed in the exchange.
The soldiers were involved in "routine activities" near the security fence when the shots were fired at them, the army said. In response, an Israeli tank shelled the Hamas post, the IDF said.
No group immediately grabbed credit for the gunfire.
This was the second such incident in as many week. On Sunday, an Israeli tank also shelled a Hamas post in the southern Gazoo Strip, after a military bulldozer was attacked near the security fence.
According to Hamas’s interior ministry, the shelled post, which was destroyed, was located in the town of al-Fukhari, east of Rafah, in the southern Gazoo Strip..
A man was gunned down on Tuesday night in suspected sectarian attack in Gulistan-i-Jauhar area of Karachi, police said.
Mohammed Kazim Raza, 39, was riding a motorcycle when unknown pillion riders targeted him from behind near Mir Munawar Chowrangi, said a police official, adding that he sustained critical bullet injuries and died on the spot.
“It appeared to be a targeted killing incident linked with sectarianism,” opined Superintendent Police Dr. Fahad Ahmed.
Meanwhile, Majlis-i-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) condemned the incident and demanded of the law enforcement agencies to take notice of the rising "sectarian killings" in the city.
[GEO.TV] Authorities on Tuesday suspended a police sub-inspector for subjecting a poor rickshaw driver to brutal torture in Gujranwala.
According to eyewitness accounts, a cycle of violence rickshaw slightly hit the car of Sub-inspector Samiullah, which raged the off-duty cop who started thrashing the rickshaw driver.
The plain-clothed official, in the video available with Geo News, can be seen beating the hell out of the poor driver with a baton, fists and kicks.
The driver got fainted due to the savage treatment meted out to him.
Amid all this, the locals kept telling the off-duty cop to let go off, but he appeared to be high on powers, the cops usually get through uniform.
Taking notice of the incident after it flashed on media, CPO Waqas Nazeer appointed SP Saddar as inquiry officer.
The SP held Samiullah responsible in his report, after which he was suspended.
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[Hurriyet Daily News] Istanbul police are searching for a third myrmidon in the deadly December 2016 terror attack outside Besiktas football club’s Vodafone Arena.
The myrmidon, images of whom suggest is female, is suspected of acting together with and supervising the two forces of Evil who carried out the kabooms at two sites in downtown Istanbul, claiming at least 45 lives.
Police suspect that the third myrmidon carried out reconnaissance tours earlier in the day of the attack with the two forces of Evil who performed the acts, while also directing and coordinating the plot.
According to information acquired by prosecutors, Kadri Kilinc, who was driving the bomb-laden vehicle, was moving according to a designated route as the three forces of Evil carried out reconnaissance from 2:56 p.m. to 8.10 p.m. During this reconnaissance, the third female myrmidon allegedly pointed out the roads, stadium and other key spots to the other two myrmidons.
Prosecutors have also found that at 8.10 p.m., an hour and 20 minutes before the attacks took place, the assailants stopped the vehicle in front of a fast food restaurant on Istanbul’s Taskisla Street and the woman myrmidon exited the vehicle before it started advancing toward the scene. The woman allegedly walked in the opposite direction from the stadium before entering the nearby Macka Park and then disappearing.
The attack came as the bomb-laden vehicle ran into riot cop shoppeed outside the Vodafone Arena following a Besiktas match. Some 45 seconds later, the second assailant went kaboom! at Macka Park near the stadium.
The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), an offshoot linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), grabbed credit for the attack.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pie fight, Bella opened her mouth at precisely the wrong moment... the assailant of the Jan. 1 attack who killed 39 people in gunfire after raiding Reina nightclub by the Bosporus in Istanbul underwent a health check early on Jan. 24 under intense security.
Police in Istanbul had late on Jan. 16 apprehended the Uzbek-origin gunman, Abdulkadir Masharipov, 16 days after the attack took place, in an apartment in the Esenyurt district of Istanbul. 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) has claimed the attack.
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Al shabaab militants recaptured the coast town of Badhadhe in Lower Jubba region, hours after it was seized by Jubbaland troops, with the support of African Union soldiers (AMISOM).
The Al shabaab fighters launched a counter-offensive to retake Badhadhe from the allied troops on Tuesday afternoon, before seizing the town with out encountering stiff resistance.
Badhadhe – a key coastal town in Southern Somalia’s Lower Jubba region, 200Km south of Kismayo fell to Al shabaab after KDF forces withdrew from the town in January, 2016.
Residents in Badhadhe reported situation is back to normal, and Al shabaab seized the while town, and hoisted it black banner on the top of police and administrative headquarters.
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01/25/2017
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Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Three people killed and 13 others were wounded when two explosions hit areas in central and western Baghdad, while a mortar missile wounded others in the west, security sources said Tuesday.
The sources told Alsumaria News that an explosion in al-Nahda region in central Baghdad killed two people, wounded six others and burned several vehicles. Other news sources said the blast was caused by a booby-trapped car.
Another police source told Alsumaria News that an IED planted on the side of a road in al-Iskan, west of Baghdad, killed a civilian and wounded seven others.
The sources also added that a mortar missile landed on a house in Radwaniya, west of the capital, wounding two persons.
Violence surged in Iraq with the emergence of Islamic State militants who took over large areas of the country in 2014. Baghdad has been witnessing almost daily bombings targeting civilians and security personnel. Nobody has claimed responsibility yet for the Tuesday bombings, but IS militants have said they were responsible for several bloody explosions that hit the capital in the past weeks, bringing the governorate municipal and security officials under critics’ fire.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said violence in the country left 19000 casualties in nine months of 2016.
Observers believe Islamic State have begun to escalate attacks outside the city of Mosul, where the group has been losing ground and personnel since October, so as to relieve pressure by government forces on that front and to divert attention from group losses.
While losing Mosul could be the severest blow to the group’s existence in Iraq, some observers believe attacks outside the province prove that the extremist group can still pose a security threat.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A police source revealed that a person was killed and six others were wounded in the explosion of a booby-trapped vehicle, east of Baghdad, Alsumaria News reported on Monday.
The source said, “A booby-trapped vehicle, parked on the roadside in Talibiyah area exploded, today, killing one person and wounding six others.”
“Security force imposed strict procedures in the area to prevent any further violations,” the source added on condition of anonymity.
Earlier today, Federal Police arrested two members of the Islamic State while attempting to place an adhesive explosive device under the vehicle of a police officer in the area of Abu Gharib.
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[MIDDLEEASTEYE.NET] Syria's former al-Qaeda affiliate on Tuesday launched major co-ordinated assaults on Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... groups in northwestern Syria as FSA representatives attended peace talks in Kazakhstan.
Reports suggest mass assaults by members of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham ...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant... (JFS) on FSA factions around Idlib and Aleppo province. Heavy artillery, suicide bombs and even attacks on internet access in Idlib were reported on Twitter, suggesting JFS was executing a planned strategy across a wide front.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor, said the festivities began early in the day with an attack by JFS on a base belonging to the Jaish al-Mujahideen faction of the FSA. That attack prompted further festivities along the border between Idlib province and northern Aleppo province.
Officials from JFS, previously known as the Nusra Front and the Syrian arm of al-Qaeda, could not immediately be reached for comment. Ahrar al-Sham ...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014... , an ally of the FSA which has already fought battles with JFS this week in Idlib, released a statement apparently warning its rival to cease fire or face further resistance.
The statement said the JFS assault was "without justification or legitimate reason", an aid to the rebels' enemies, and that Ahrar would join its "brothers" to contain JFS.
Tensions have been building between JFS and more moderate rebel groups since the opposition was defeated in Aleppo last month. JFS is not covered by a shaky truce between government forces and rebels who are meeting in the Kazakh capital Astana.
The aim of the meeting, organised by Russia, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and Iran, is to shore up the ceasefire.
The JFS assault focused on rebel-held areas to the west of Aleppo, and adjoining areas of Idlib province, which is almost entirely in rebel hands.
An official in one of the rebel groups, Jabha Shamiya, told Rooters the attack began overnight, describing it as a large assault in several areas. The official said it was the first time JFS had attacked the FSA groups in that area.
"What they are doing serves Iran and the regime - so there is no FSA left in the north - particularly with the factions' delegation now in Astana where the regime offered nothing with regards to the ceasefire," said the Jabha Shamiya official.
The FSA groups now needed to coordinate their efforts to repel the attack, he said.
The commander of a second FSA rebel group, Jaish al-Mujahideen, told Rooters the "extremely fierce" JFS attack aimed to "eliminate the revolution and turn it black", a reference to the black flag flown by the Lions of Islam in Syria.
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[FOXNEWS] Gazoo's Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, rulers are warning the U.S. not to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, saying such a step could unleash new violence.
In a statement Tuesday, the Islamic Death Eater group said a move would "open a new chapter of conflict" and "add fuel to the fire."
Hamas is sworn to Israel's destruction. It has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide kabooms, and fought three wars with Israel since seizing control of Gazoo 10 years ago.
The rival Paleostinian Authority has also urged President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... not to follow through on his campaign promise to move the embassy. The Paleostinians seek east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967, as their hoped-for capital.
In southern Gazoo, dozens of Paleostinians demonstrated against the move. Some burned a caricature of Trump.
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#1
So, what do they have to offer in exchange? They will be our Friends ?
They will love the Jews? What do we have to gain from Hamas by giving Hamas anything?
Nothing? Well then , they seem to be sh*t out of luck then, don't they ?
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] New reports have emerged regarding the growing activities of the foreign bandidos murderous Moslems in Afghanistan amid concerns that 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 are attempting to expand foothold in the country along with the other terrorist networks.
Local officials 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 first reported regarding the growing activities of the foreign bandidos murderous Moslems who are mainly operating under the flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group, with the officials saying the majority of the fighters are hailing from Orakzai Agency ... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers... The officials also added that foreign bandidos murderous Moslems from the Central Asian countries as well as Arab fighters are also fighting the Afghan government and security forces.
In the latest development, the Afghan copsplaced in durance vile Please don't kill me! two foreign bandidos murderous Moslems in northern Sar-e-Pul ...a city and eponymous province in northern Afghanistan, population about 500,000. Demographically it is majority Tadjik and Uzbek. There are small Pashtun, Arab, and Hazara communities, of which the Hazaras mostly don't bother anyone... province who are hailing from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
The two men were arrested during a night operation conducted in Qaflatoon area of Sayad district late on Friday.
Mohammad Zahir Wahdat appeared in a presser along with the detained myrmidons, saying four Afghan Taliban bandidos murderous Moslems were also killed during the operation.
He said the Death Eaters have been identified as Demir Zenliyov and Abdul Mateen who have confessed that they came from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
Wahdat further added that another myrmidon hailing from Afghanistan was also maimed during the operation and is in jug of the police forces.
According to the provincial governor, the mean have also confessed that they visited Afghanistan to assist the Afghan fighters and train them in conducting insurgency.
The men have also added that they are experts and were trained on suicide kabooms, creating landmines, and other terrorist activities.
Wahdat said he is hopeful that the government will take immediate steps to conduct operations in Sar-e-Pul province, insisting that he has long been raising concerns regarding the presence of imported muscle in this province.
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[Saudi Gazette] The ISIS (the so-called IS) terror group recruited 12 jacket wallahs to carry out its criminal agenda, including blasts at seven mosques in three regions.
Through its preemptive raids, the anti-terror security forces have uncovered seven laboratories to making boom belts in Riyadh, Qasim and Jeddah.
The first operation in which an boom belt was used took place in May 2015 and the last was the one that happened at a rest house in al-Harazat district in Jeddah on Saturday.
Out of the 12 suicide bombers, ISIS used nine to carry out kabooms in mosques in the Eastern Province, Najran and Asir.
The 10th suicide bomber went kaboom! when he detonated his boom belt near Solaiman Fakeeh Hospital near the US consulate in Jeddah.
The first terrorist operation in which an boom belt was used took place on May 22, 2015, when 22-year old terrorist Saleh Bin Abdul Rahman al-Ashqami targeted the worshippers at Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib mosque in al-Qadeeh town in Qatif region killing 22 people and inuring about 102 others.
Next Friday on May 29, 2015, Khaled Abid al-Shammari, a 20 -year-old terrorist went kaboom! when four citizens prevented him from entering into al-Hossain mosque in Dammam. The terrorist and the four citizens died in the kaboom.
The third terrorist operation in which an boom belt was used took place on Aug. 6, 2015. A suicide bomber named Youssef Solaiman al-Solaiman went kaboom! at the mosque of the emergency forces in Asir killing 15 people and injuring 22 others.
The fourth boom belt operation was carried out by Saad Saeed al-Harithy in al-Mashha mosque in Najran during the Magreb prayer.
The fifth operation which was to take place on Jan. 26, 2016 was foiled by a number of citizens who prevented two bandidosbully boyz from entering al-Rida mosque in al-Ahsa. One of the terrorists, Abdul Rahman Bin Abdullah al-Tuwaijri was killed when he detonated his boom belt but the second, Talha Hisham Mohammed Abdo, an Egyptian was caught by the police. Four people were killed in the operation and 36 others, including three coppers, were maimed.
The sixth suicide kaboom operation happened on July 4, 2016, when three terrorist operations took place simultaneously in Jeddah, Qatif and Madinah.
The terrorist, Nair Moslem Hamma al-Nijaidi al-Balawi, tried to carry out blast at the seventh mosque which was the Prophet’s Mosque after sunset during the Iftar time. The coppers guarding the Holy Mosque tried to stop him but he went kaboom!, killing four coppers.
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[Bangla Daily Star] Swaziland's schools opened for the new academic year yesterday under new government orders to teach only Christianity, a move criticised by opponents as fuelling intolerance of Moslems.
Officials said that old text books were being replaced with new ones that mention only the Bible, and that schools were required to submit a list of qualified religious studies teachers ahead of the start of term.
"Other religions will not be offered at primary and high school level," said Pat Muir, a top education ministry official, adding that the policy sought to avoid confusing pupils.
"At tertiary level they will be able to make a decision to learn about other religions," he said.
Some surveys put Swaziland's Moslem population as high as 10 percent, but the US Department of State in 2015 put the figure at about two percent.
Many Swazis combine Christianity with indigenous beliefs, and religious freedoms are written into the country's 2005 constitution.
The education ministry last week instructed all head teachers to ensure that the syllabus would not mention any religion other than Christianity, including Islam and Judaism.
Sahid Matsebula, a Swazi-born Moslem who works for a mosque near the capital Mbabane, said the government's policy could worsen religious friction in the southern African nation.
"What plan does the government have in place for our children who are not Christian?" he told AFP.
"They will be taught one thing at home and taught something else at school."
The US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report said some schools have long sought to prevent Moslem pupils from leaving early for Friday prayers.
It also said some Christian groups "discriminated against non-Christian religious groups, especially in rural areas where people generally held negative views on Islam."
The new education policy comes after public complaints over Asian and Moslem migration into the country led parliament to set up a commission of enquiry last year.
Some illegal migrants colonists have since been deported, and Minister of Commerce and Trade Jabulani Mabuza told parliament that a law making it harder for foreigners to set up businesses in Swaziland was in the pipeline.
Church leaders in Swaziland welcomed the Christianity-only syllabus.
"Christianity is the bedrock religion on which this country was built," said Stephen Masilela, president of the Swaziland Conference of Churches.
Swaziland, with a population of about 1.2 million, has been ruled by King Mswati III, Africa's last absolute monarch, since 1986.
The country suffers dire poverty and has struggled to lift its economy, and has faced international criticism that the government stifles dissent, jails its opponents and denies workers' rights.
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Top|| File under:
#1
What plan does the government have in place for our children who are not Christian?
"Well, we have a stabbing course, an explosive vest and 'why Jews must die' workshops, for Muslims."
#2
The country suffers dire poverty and has struggled to lift its economy, and has faced international criticism that the government stifles dissent, jails its opponents and denies workers' rights.
#3
They've been at it for quite a while. Let them sort it out on their own.
Artifacts indicating human activity dating back to the early Stone Age, around 200,000 years ago, have been found in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Prehistoric rock art paintings date from c. 25,000 BC and continuing up to the 19th century can be found in various places around the country. Wiki
#5
Funny how religion is a "fact" that must be taught forced down kids' throats in school when it's muzzism, but it's a backwards superstition otherwise. Funny. Yeah...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/25/2017 19:31
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U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign several executive orders on Wednesday restricting immigration from Syria and six other Middle Eastern or African countries, according to several congressional aides and immigration experts briefed on the matter.
In addition to Syria, Trump's orders are expected to temporarily restrict access to the United States for most refugees. Another order will block visas from being issued to those from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, said the aides and experts, who asked not to be identified. Continues.
[MIDDLEEASTEYE.NET] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , Russia and Iran have reached agreement on forming a three-party mechanism to monitor ceasefire violations in Syria, the states said on Tuesday as talks came to a close in Astana, Kazakhstan.
In a joint statement, the states said the agreement would prevent any provocations and determine exactly how the ceasefire will work.
Concluding the Syria talks in Astana, Tehran, Moscow and Ankara also said they supported the willingness of the armed opposition groups to participate in the next round of negotiations to be held in Geneva on 8 February and the implementation of "roadmap for peace" outlined in UN Security Council resolution 2254.
UN Special Representative for Syria Staffan de Mistura said that the Syrian grinding of the peace processor should remain guided by the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... and continue in Geneva.
"We (the UN) are the main player in regards to the political process," he said, praising the Astana talks' role in reaching an agreement to consolidate a ceasefire.
'Birth' of Astana process
The head of the Russian delegation at the Astana talks said the negotiations had been positive and that he believed a new process had been born to kickstart negotiations between warring Syrian parties.
"Despite a lot of time spent on agreeing the communique, we have managed to give birth to the Astana process," Alexander Lavrentyev told news hounds.
He said Russia, Turkey and Iran, as guarantors, of the agreement to set up a ceasefire mechanism, would now work closely to implement it. However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... he sought to play down the impact the talks would have on a U.N. led political process.
"There will be some speculation that Astana is considered as a substitute of the Geneva process. That's not true - Astana (talks) is a complement to Geneva," he said, adding though that other groups could join the Astana process.
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[Saudi Gazette] The Ministry of Interior on Tuesday announced the arrest of three Saudis and 13 Paks for terror activities.
The ministry also identified the two Saudis jacket wallahs who blew themselves up in a rest house in al-Harazat District of Jeddah on Saturday. In other simultaneous security operation, one Saudi man and a Pak woman were tossed in the calaboose Please don't kill me! in a residential apartment in al-Naseem District of the city.
The two Saudis blew themselves up after security forces laid siege on the rest house they were staying in and planning terror activities.
The dead Saudis have been identified as Khalid Ghazi Hussain al-Sarwani and Nadi Marzooq Khalaf al-Mudhyani Enizi, the ministry’s security front man said in a statement.
Laboratory tests on the remains of the dead Saudis revealed their identities, the statement said.
Al-Sarwani is thought to be among the most wanted and dangerous terror suspect due to his various roles and numerous links with terror activities. The activities of al-Sarwani and al-Mudhyani Enizi include promoting deviant thoughts on the social media, inciting others to travel to conflict areas in response to the dictates of ISIS (the so-called IS) terrorist group.
In addition, al-Sarwani was also found guilty of supporting terror attacks on worshipers in the Special Forces mosque in 2015 and eulogizing the suicide kabooms in a Najran mosque a year ago. He was also involved in the murder of security bigshot Brig. Gen. Kattab Majid al-Hammadi. al-Sarwani was also thought to be involved in manufacturing explosive vests and devices at his abode in al-Hazarat District.
Al-Mudhyani Enizi traveled outside the Kingdom to fight in areas of conflict flouting the Kingdom’s laws. After his return to the Kingdom he was put behind bars and went back to his deviant way after completing his prison term. He was in direct contact with the detained terrorist Oqab Mujab al-Otaibi and Suwailim al-Hadi al-Ruwaili and several others.
Security forces seized 3 hand grenades, 8 blocks of explosives, 48 bags of chemicals believed to be used in manufacturing explosives, 2 iron cylinders, ten bombs, two adhesive bombs, six bags containing huge quantity of iron splinters and several tools and electrical equipment, the ministry statement said.
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[CNBC] President Donald Trump on Tuesday took steps to advance construction of two oil pipeline projects that have been fiercely disputed and were delayed under his predecessor.
Trump signed executive orders that will make it easier for TransCanada to construct the Keystone XL pipeline and for Energy Transfer Partners to build the final uncompleted portion of the Dakota Access pipeline.
The president said both executive actions were subject to terms and conditions to be negotiated by the United States. He also signed three additional executive orders to expedite environmental reviews for "high priority infrastructure projects," streamline the permitting process for domestic manufacturing and to insist pipeline companies buy materials from U.S. companies.
Shares of Energy Transfer Partners and TransCanada both rose more than 3.5 percent on Tuesday.
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#1
He also signed three additional executive orders to expedite environmental reviews for "high priority infrastructure projects," streamline the permitting process
#2
Infrastructure jobs don't have to be government-financed.
It is so sad to see people working so hard to block projects like these because they believe they are protecting the environment - new pipelines are significantly safer for the environment than alternative existing transportation systems like old pipelines and railroads: is your new car more likely to get you where you are going safely and efficiently than your 1946 Buick? Do you spill more water carrying it in buckets to water your plants or using the hose? Etc. Fools.
#4
But this might lower the cost of gasoline, which is bad. On the other hand, Progressives, it might make said gas cheaper for the poor folks, which is good. And it might lessen their dependence on Federal assistance.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/25/2017 12:37
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#5
its not about safety, its about boosting oil prices.
Why do you think qatar and saudi own the MSM?
#7
said gas cheaper for the poor folks, which is good. And it might lessen their dependence on Federal assistance.
Bobby, do you really think Proggies and Greenies that that those are good things? They want poor folk living in hovels begging for crumbs to enhance control.
[Gulf News] Continuing his vocal opposition to any accommodation with Hezbollah, Ashraf Rifi -- Leb’s former head of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) and former Minister of Justice -- told Kuwait’s Al Qabas daily that his former allies in the Future Movement and the moribund March 14 coalition "bowed to Hezbollah."
In what was a dramatic accusation, Rifi declared "the party has 17 [out of 30] ministers in this government [led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. ] and this is a major national crime against the cause," which implied that except for Future (7), Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... (3), Progressive Socialist Party (2) and a sole independent minister, all of the others -- those that belonged to the Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... (8), Amal (3), Hezbollah (2), and one each for the Tashnag Party Socialist party representing the Armenian diaspora in Leb. They're Christians, but they try to remain neutral, which means they get shot at without shooting back... , the Marada Movement the personal militia of Suleiman Franjieh, president of Lebanon at the outbreak of the civil war, currently Syrian toadies, but you never know when that could change... , the Lebanese Democratic Party and the Syrian National Socialist Party -- were beholden to Hezbollah.
Rifi accused his erstwhile Future allies, declaring: "Corrupts cannot build a state and those who surrender cannot build a state. We are against corruption and surrender," adding that it was better to remain principled than to kowtow to pragmatism.
In what was a direct attack against Hariri, a potential rival in the upcoming parliamentary elections, Rifi stated that pragmatists "might cooperate with the occupier in a certain period while principled individuals shun any post or personal gains," concluding with an open declaration of war: "the approach of pragmatism sometimes leads to high treason."
The increasingly popular Rifi announced that he would be a candidate in the next elections as he anticipated to field candidates in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , Minieh, Dinniyeh, Akkar, central and western Bekaa, Iqlim Al Kharroub and Beirut’s second and third electoral regions. These are all Future strongholds where Sunni constituents lead.
"We will not engage in Sidon’s electoral battle out of respect for Bahia Hariri and Fouad Saniora," two leading Sunni parliamentarians, Rifi added, but vowed to fight for all other seats.
Unabashed, he affirmed that his contenders "will not allow a win for any of Hezbollah’s candidates in [these] electoral strongholds," underscoring that the party’s military might did not scare him. "Hezbollah cannot overlook or eliminate me, even if it possesses 200,000 rockets," he hammered, because he insisted that he was "not engaged in a military confrontation."
Far more important, and perhaps for the first time uttered by a leading Sunni figure, Rifi clarified that Sunnis and Shiites "are equal demographically and ... present on the same land."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2017
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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.