#1
These kids ought to have their heads examined--they are a danger to themselves. However, I somehow doubt that this anything more than talk. It is much like all the Hollywood celebrities leaving the country if Trump got elected--none have so far.
[DeutscheWelle] Six yoots, aged 16-21, who allegedly tried to set a homeless man on fire in a Berlin subway station on Christmas have been charged at youth court with attempted murder. A 17-year-old was also accused of failure to provide assistance to the victim. If convicted, the six accused would face at least three years in jail, the mandatory minimum sentence for attempted murder in Germany.
The case provoked outrage in Germany after it was caught on security cameras. After police released photos of the suspected attackers, six of them later turned themselves over to the police, another was arrested. All seven have been in police custody since December 27. Their motives for the attack are still unknown.
Because all seven alleged perpetrators came to Germany as refugees - six from Syria, one from Libya - the attack sparked a debate over the integration of so-called "unaccompanied minors" seeking refugee status in Germany and stirred anti-migrant sentiments.
[Ynet] A Swedish court on Thursday sentenced a Syrian man to life imprisonment for participation in the 2012 mass execution of seven government troops in Syria. The Stockholm District Court ruled that 46-year-old refugee Haisam Omar Sakhanh joined the armed group Suleiman Company in early May 2012, and shot a person dead with an assault rifle. Judge Tomas Zander said the victim, who was not identified, was shot dead along with six others "under particularly cruel circumstances."
Sakhanh had confessed to the shooting but said he should not be prosecuted because the death sentences had been made by a legitimate court, something the Swedish court rejected. It also rejected his defense that he had been following orders.
[DailyMail] Every morning, just after sunrise, an army of charity workers descends on a grand, white building overlooking the Mediterranean in a suburb of Athens. They bring duvets to migrants.
Thousands in Barcelona Urge Spain to Take in More Migrants
18 Feb 2017
Thousands of protesters marched Saturday in Barcelona to demand that Spain’s conservative-led government increase its efforts to take in refugees from war-torn countries like Syria.
Poll: Merkel Eclipsed By Arch-Federalist Schulz in Race For Chancellor
17 Feb 2017
In a straight race between the two most popular candidates to fill Germany’s top political office, long-time member of the European Parliament and enthusiastic EU acolyte Martin Schulz would beat incumbent Angela Merkel, according to a new poll.
Cologne Carnival Issues Truck Ban For City Centre
17 Feb 2017
Ahead of the upcoming Cologne carnival, authorities have issued a ban on all trucks in the city centre to prevent a repeat of the Berlin Christmas market attack.
100 UK-Bound Migrants Brawl in France
16 Feb 2017
Around a hundred UK-bound Eritrean and Sudanese migrants have engaged in a territorial brawl near a service station in northern France.
Christians Are the Most Persecuted Religious Group in the World, Says Austrian Foreign Minister
16 Feb 2017
Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world, the Austrian foreign secretary has said.
Nigerian Migrant Arrested for Stabbing Female ‘Refugee Helper’ to Death
16 Feb 2017
A 27-year-old Nigerian migrant has been arrested in Switzerland after murdering a 22-year-old asylum home worker in Germany and then fleeing the country.
#1
Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world, the Austrian foreign secretary has said.
Muslims are, if you count the persecution of various Islamic groups by other Islamic groups.
In any case, Muslims are the most persecuting religious group in the world.
#1
Free social justice advert for Zuma and the ANC (funded by the American taxpayer). Doubt it will do much to solve the farm murder and urban crime epidemic however.
#3
Notice how swiftly he swept the Flynn firing and 'donk - they're in a state of dysfunction' meme off the porch and replaced it with an 'in progress review' of campaign issues ?
I understand his daughter's ladies line is skyrocketing on Amazon.
[TallahasseeDemocrat] Lt. Gen. Lawrence Snowden, Battle of Iwo Jima survivor, dies.
Marine Lt.Gen. Lawrence F. Snowden, who fought in the battle of Iwo Jima and led reconciliation reunions to the Pacific island in retirement, died early Saturday – a day before the 72nd anniversary of the famous fight’s opening salvos.
At age 95, the three-star general was the senior survivor of the five-week struggle for the volcanic island, where three airfields were captured in February of 1945 to provide a staging area for air raids on the Japanese mainland. More than 6,000 Americans died and 19,200 casualties were counted – including Snowden, who was wounded twice but persuaded commanders to let him return to the fighting after his first evacuation.
Bevis Funeral Home confirmed that Snowden, who was the Tallahassee Democrat's Person of the Year in 2016, died at Big Bend Hospice House.
Although he rose to three-star rank and was assistant commandant of the Marine Corps before his retirement in 1979, Snowden was best known for his participation in “Reunion of Honor” missions to meet with Japanese veterans on the island, starting in 1985. He was instrumental in setting up another reunion in 1995 to mark the 50th anniversary of the battle.
Snowden always emphasized that the reunions were not a celebration of the bitterly fought American victory, but a solemn recognition of the sacrifice by combatants on both sides – and a reaffirmation of the friendship between the countries.
“Gen. Snowden was a very highly respected leader and mentor,” said Claude Shipley, a retired Army colonel who heads the Tallahassee chapter of the Military Officers Association of America. “He was highly admired for his work post-World War II in helping to heal the wounds of Japan and the United States, and also for his service to our nation as a Marine Corps officer.”
Born in Charlottesville, Va., on April 14, 1921, Snowden joined the Marines shortly after Pearl Harbor and served in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. His many decorations include the Navy Distinguished Service Medal and Legion of Merit.
Posted by: Bov Flimbers ||
02/19/2017
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#1
Think dad may be last or near last survivor in TLH of Iwo.
#3
Shipman, thanks a thousand times to your Dad. I suspect this will have occurred to you, but I hope he's given an oral history to the National WW2 Museum. I think Churchill said this about Midway, but he could have said it about Iwo: "Long may the tale be told in the Great Republic."
We read a lot about the ignorance of our yutes about the country's history. I drive past the Museum once or twice a day, and during open hours there is always a stream of people headed toward the Museum, and sometimes a river. Frequently young parents with kids in tow. I'm not sure what the kids get out of it, but I suspect it more than offsets what they might hear in their college history classes. (The Navy gets shortchanged a bit, since as big as the Museum is it won't accommodate a destroyer-- but there's a Fletcher right up the rive in Baton Rouge.) As you probably know.
Posted by: Matt ||
02/19/2017 11:13
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#4
Can anyone explain to me why a Lt. Gen. (aka 3 stars) ranks higher than a Maj. Gen. (aka 2 stars) when a Major ranks higher than a Lieutenant?
Vagaries of the (literally) English language. See Admiral General Monk. They were making it up sometimes as they went along. Did you know the Army used to have ensigns? They carried the flags (national and regimental) circa 1812.
#7
AlanC it is a holdover from the old European system.
A lieutenant was the second in command of a unit or a major staffer. Hence you hear a warlord/king having a "trusted Lieutenant". The lieutenant was helping a captain or a general.
In the old rank format, you had a Marshal that was in charge of all forces. He commanded the Generals and the Lieutenant Generals were the XOs. You then had Sergent Major Generals and then Brigadier generals. The Sergent Major Generals did pretty much what our Sergent Majors do, but also were given the office of Quarter Master General. Brigadier generals commanded brigades.
Over time as units grew in size, the term Sergeant Major General fell out of use and became Major General as that rank came to command the divisions. Lieutenant Generals still work with Generals as a staff office at the Corps level just like majors do at division level so they kept their name.
So you have the Be My Little General (Brigadier, Major, Lieutenant, General) structure we see today.
#8
Matt - The WW II Museum (originally the D-Day Museum) may not have a big Navy ship but its original feature was the invaluable, largely ignored, and locally-built Higgins boat.
#13
They had amazing intelligence gathering that allowed them to destroy enemy troop formations very quickly. In one operation, 10,000 Japanese troops were totally wiped out in 20 minutes.
That is why our intelligence apparatus being put back into service of the people instead of a political party is crucial to the security of the people.
[Daily Caller] Speaking at the Boeing factory in North Charleston, South Carolina on Friday, President Donald Trump promised to level the playing field for American workers.
Trump noted that his administration will "continue to work on reducing regulations, cutting taxes -- including for the middle class, including for everyone and including for business -- and creating a level playing field for our workers."
"When there is a level playing field, and I’ve been saying this for a long time, American workers will always, always, always win," POTUS continued. "But we don’t have a level playing field."
#1
Got to agree with that. Jobs, jobs, jobs and a strong middle class. Shift from a centralized government economy deciding everything to a strong free-market economy.
[Free Beacon] The White House on Friday fired a senior National Security Council aide after learning that he severely criticized President Donald Trump and his top aides, including daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, at an event in Washington, D.C.
The aide, Craig Deare, was dismissed by the Trump administration after he castigated the administration's senior officials at an off-the-record roundtable hosted by the Woodrow Wilson Center, a think tank based in the nation's capital, Politico reported Saturday.
Deare served as the NSC's senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs and was previously the dean of administration at National Defense University.
At the roundtable, Deare lambasted President Trump, chief strategist Stephen Bannon, and problems of dysfunction plaguing the White House. Deare complained that senior national security aides have limited access to the president directly and that Trump had an embarrassing phone call with the president of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto.
Deare also reportedly took swipes at Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and his son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner.
#1
NDU office with a view, executive assistant, VIP dining room, covered parking? Sorry, this is your work station, here is your metro voucher. Just down the all is the break room and latrine. Have a nice day.
Posted by: Bov Flimbers ||
02/19/2017 5:15
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#5
His principal assignments included troop time with the 82nd Airborne Division, where he served for five years as a Battalion Intelligence Officer, Ground Surveillance Radar Platoon Leader, Assistant G3 Operations Officer (participating in Operation URGENT FURY in Grenada), and a Company Commander of an Intelligence Company Team.
#9
See the real leader of the victory at the critical battle of Saratoga in 1777. Gates sat in his tent, Arnold lead at the front, disobeying Gate's order to stay in quarters. Then sometime later both his ego and his hatred of the French, and the alliance, lead him to the 'other side'.
#10
Oldmilitary credentials carry you only so far. Posted by Procopius2k
Obviously true for Foreign Area Officers (FAO), career political officers, beltway orbiters, and military student libtards. Someone failed to vet this fellow thoroughly enough. Lucky for the administration, he broke silence.
#12
The person who attended the Wilson Center talk also noted that Deare made several remarks about how attractive Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, appeared, remarks that person described as "awkward."
[Free Beacon] The Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Rep. Mac Thornberry (R., Texas) revealed on Thursday that former Obama officials were "undermining" Trump administration efforts to "rebuild" military strength.
His comments came in the wake of a recent Committee hearing, where U.S. generals lamented the poor state of military readiness after former President Barack Obama imposed mandatory spending caps in 2011.
Thornberry told the press on Thursday that many of the personnel preparing the defense budget were the same people "fighting every step of the way against our efforts to fix these problems," according to the Daily Caller.
Obama holdovers "have been fighting against rebuilding & are still undermining agenda," Thornberry's office tweeted on Thursday.
#2
Sounds like time for one of those cyclic RIFTs among the middle and senior ranks. Given that we have an incredible unbalanced ratio of GOs to service members compared to WWII, that shouldn't be too hard to execute.
#3
Neither the military senior grades or men of the ranks control Pentagon outcomes. They are vastly outnumbered by the 'B-Company' civilian feather merchants.
'B-Company' - Be there when you get there, be there when you leave.
#5
HASC Chair Thornberry wants a report that clearly states "readiness crisis". It's reasonable to speculate he wants a bludgeon for congressional appropriations. Obama holdovers at DoD are a speedbump compared to the potential obstacles they face with the Congressional balanced budget types.
#6
Neither the military senior grades or men of the ranks control Pentagon outcomes.
GOs are politicians. A lot got installed in the last 8 years not because of assignment history, but trusted to carry out the wishes of the O administration.
[Free Beacon] Senior White House officials and members of the National Security Council are pushing former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton as a replacement for ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to multiple sources in and out of the White House who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon.
Among Bolton's most vocal supporters are senior administration officials loyal to Flynn and who are upset at the general's firing. Multiple sources described an effort by these Flynn loyalists to ensure that Bolton is selected as his replacement.
The selection of Bolton as the next national security adviser would empower Flynn's allies still in the White House and send a message that his national security vision is represented within the Trump administration. Bolton is also favored by White House staffers who are opposed to the selection of any candidate who criticized President Trump during the 2016 campaign.
President Donald Trump has not settled on a final selection yet and is also eyeing retired Army Gen. Keith Kellogg, who has been acting national security adviser since Flynn's departure, as well as other candidates.
"There's a strong inclination in the NSC towards the kind of experienced leadership Bolton would represent," said one current official, who requested anonymity to speak freely about the situation. "He knows the ins and outs of D.C. but he's not an establishment, Never Trump type. There's also a lot of respect for General Kellogg and KT McFarland, both of whom have really stepped up under challenging circumstances."
#2
I was pretty conflicted during the primaries: I felt that Scott walker or Cruz would have been a better candidate than Trump, but I liked Trump's Immigration stance to their limp-wristed positions. I naturally voted for him in the election.
I have been extremely pleased with his cabinet selections, and felt that Flynn acted with more honor than the upper five tiers of leadership of the Obama Administration.
Bolton for National Security Adviser? Best appointment ever. All enemies foreign would be trembling in their boots...
[Daily Caller] Former Naval Intelligence Official Malcom Nance had some very stern warnings for President Trump regarding his recent reported clashes with the intelligence community when he appeared on MSNBC’s "The Last Word" Thursday night.
"The things I’m hearing on the street from people in the former members of the intelligence community are not positive," Nance said of relations with the White House. "This brings them back to the period before he made his visit to the CIA, where he was spending every day insulting the intelligence community."
Nance suggested that attempts to tie the recent leaks regarding former National Security Adviser Micheal Flynn may backfire. "Now we have the tweet where he claims the FBI are involved in illegal activity, illegal leaks. This is not going to end well for him," he said.
#3
claims the FBI are involved in illegal activity, illegal leaks.
It certainly seems that someone in some agency was, and apparently several people in multiple agencies were; the leaks of Flynn's phone call(s) with Russia were almost certainly illegal (just the monitoring of them may have been, since at the time he was not a government official and I doubt a FISA warrant was obtained.)
#4
I'd bet they are. This is how they communicate.
There's nothing surprising about what they're saying. They're royally pissed and coiling to strike. This is the rattle to let us know they're dangerous.
Posted by: Herb McCoy7309 ||
02/19/2017 12:32
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#5
Lots of NKVD were executed during the Great Terror.
Think carefully, "former members of the intelligence community".
[Daily Caller] Cornell William Brooks, President and CEO of the NAACP, was at loss for words Thursday night as former Reagan adviser Jeffrey Lord injected a hypothetical Congressional White Caucus into a debate on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360.
The racially charged exchange began during a discussion of President Trump having asked an African-American reporter from a black-focused new radio outlet if she knew the leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus.
"Frankly I used to think the Congressional Black Caucus, when it was first formed, was a good thing," Lord began. "I changed my mind on this. I don’t think there should be any caucuses in the House of Representatives that are divided by race. I mean, heaven forbid, if David Duke got elected and wanted to form a Congressional White Caucus, that would be appalling," he said, explaining his change of heart.
"Sir, Jeffrey, that is...I’m looking for a word here. Beyond...it’s completely preposterous. To compare the Klan to the Congressional Black Caucus," Brooks smilingly replied, visibly upset by the analogy his fellow panelist drew.
"You would be okay with a Congressional White Caucus? Really?" Lord shot back, interrupting Brooks’ explanation of the Black Caucus’s purpose. "I didn’t say that," was Brook’s immediate reply.
Not content with a mere explanation of the differences between the CBC and this hypothetical White Caucus, Brooks demanded an apology for the comparison. "Frankly, sir, you should apologize for even putting the Klan and the Congressional Black Caucus in the same sentence," he told Lord.
#1
Whites caucusing? Shocking! Abhorrent!
A lack of respect and comportment!
You crackas need classes!
(As long as black masses
Keep voting for crooks Brooks, we're important.)
#6
Eh. The Klan killed fewer blacks than the constituents of the CBC have.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
02/19/2017 11:30
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#7
Leftoids have been fostering tribalism in America for decades because they thought that the biggest "tribe" in the country wouldn't eventually come to see itself as a tribe.
[Breitbart] TEL AVIV ‐ A Sudanese cleric and politician has called for his country to declare a truce with Israel, saying that Sharia law permits it
...Oboy -- a hudna: one day less than ten years max, to be ended without warning when the Muslim party is able to renew hostilities...
and prolonging the lack of relations only harms Sudan and not the Jewish state.
Yousuf Al-Koda, head of the Islamic Wasat Party, delivered a speech entitled "The Relations with Israel ‐ Religious Aspects" in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum earlier this month.
News website Sudanese Online, in an article translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), quoted Al-Koda as saying "the occupation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque does not prevent establishing relations with Israel."
"The fact that Jerusalem is in the hands of the Jews should not prevent us from maintaining ties with them," he said.
The cleric added that establishing diplomatic ties with Israel was "perfectly permissible according to the Muslim sharia" law. The prophet Muhammed’s own actions attest to this fact, because he signed agreements with infidels, Al-Koda said.
[Breitbart] Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, appeared on Breitbart News Saturday on SiriusXM Patriot Channel 125 this weekend to discuss President Donald Trump’s upcoming Saturday evening rally in Melbourne, Florida, and the vehement and vitriolic hatred that the fake news- perpetrating establishment media has for the president.
Spicer said on the show:
"I think the president, after almost a month in office has, done so many things to help move the country forward--create jobs, secure the nation--and I think so many times the filter of the mainstream media loses sight of both what he’s done, accomplished, and intended to do. And I think he wants to make sure that the people who are out there who supported him, that are fighting for him and that are praying for him, know that he can talk directly to them and he can get out there and have an unfiltered conversation with them. And this is going to be a great opportunity here in Melbourne, Florida, at 5 o’clock to have that conversation with the American people so he can talk to them about all of the things he’s already done in 30 days to move the country forward."
#1
i hope this isn't a sign of frustration or desperation, because it worked in the election campaign to build momentum does not mean it will work now to move the stumbling blocks laid by obama
we know our Trump is doing the best he can
maybe it is just too late to be able to fix this system and maybe we are not able to get where we need to be
he is my hero regardless of whether he succeeds i know he is trying and if he can't do it, nobody can
#2
Gosh, he goes out and meets the people he represents and he is immediately coined a failed president. I hope he does this monthly. I hope he comes to Phoenix. Its about time we have elected a president that does not forget about us. A president that does not think he is king and never leaves his castle...
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
02/19/2017 4:19
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#4
1 - see Fire Side Chats, FDR(tm)
With the MSM making this literally an all out assault, he goes around them to the people. Basically, you will not corrupt my message and connection to the people.
2 - 10 Donk Senate seats up for the next round of 'consent of the governed' in states Trump carried.
#6
#1 i hope this isn't a sign of frustration or desperation...
I seriously doubt it; Trump enjoys his rallies and connecting with the people, and rather than feeling frustration with the media I think he has utter contempt for them and relishes any opportunity to drive them crazy. For the crazier they get, the more difficult it's going to be for Democrats to win elections in 2008.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
02/19/2017 10:15
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The press is seething. The president is calling out the fake news again. They all say he has gone too far and that the press are a constitutionally protected entity. This is entirely true. I believe it. However when the one of our protected entities go off the rails with anger, hate, and try to drive their agendas to the into the public conscience someone has to call them out. If our congress will not call them then who? It falls on the president. They fawned over Obama, attacked anyone who opposed him, or even just questioned him- just ask Joe the plumber. Now they are on the attack. The press has an integrity problem. The president is calling them on it. I see no problem with it.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
02/19/2017 11:53
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#8
#7 The press is seething. The president is calling out the fake news again. They all say he has gone too far and that the press are a constitutionally protected entity.
They're constitutionally protected from censorship or punishment by the government; but they're not protected, constitutionally or otherwise, from criticism by the President or anyone else. Donald Trump has just as much right to call them a bunch of lying assholes as you or I do.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
02/19/2017 12:40
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#9
The First Amendment was ratified when there was no social institution known as the 'Press'. They were referring to the technology of information dissemination. Today that function and protection falls on the internet (why do you think they so desperately want to control that).
Just as the same a-holes conflate legal immigration with illegal immigration and natural/historical climate change with man made global warming, they also conflate their self identity with the technology.
#10
Inquisitors? Gone. And confessors.
And pity poor part-time professors.
The schwerpunkt: Some bumpkin
With bad hair debunking
Our near-defunct adjunct suppressors.
#12
Excelling at quelling the wellborn,
"Trump's Peasants Rebelling at Melbourne!"
Yell newshounds, like Luther,
"Uncouth, and a truther,"
Their chivalrous warnings so well-worn.
[DeutscheWelle] Turkish Prime Minister Yildirim told a crowd in Germany that Turkey will not be intimidated by the West. His speech came as Ankara rallies support for a controversial referendum on centralizing presidential power.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim spoke to a crowd of more than 10,000 Turks and Turkish Germans in the western city of Oberhausen on Saturday. He addressed the voters as Ankara vies to whip up support for April's constitutional referendum on expanding the powers of President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... "I want you to carry your passport for the Republic of Turkey and your identity with pride," he said.
Continued on Page 49
[IsraelTimes] A top member of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... in Sinai has been killed in an Egyptian army operation in the center of the peninsula, Sky News Arabia reported Saturday, quoting Egyptian security sources.
Hamad Salim Sulaiman, the news network reported, was a roadside kaboom specialist involved in numerous kabooms and armed assaults against Egyptian army and police forces in Sinai.
There were no details on the nature of the operation that killed Sulaiman.
[Viginia Pilot] WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- As he seeks to get his struggling administration back on track, President Donald Trump is interviewing at least four potential candidates to serve as his new national security adviser.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer says that Trump will interview his acting adviser, retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton; Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster; and the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen.
Trump, who is spending the weekend at his private Palm Beach club, could potentially talk to a few others, Spicer said Saturday. Trump is also planning to talk with several foreign leaders Sunday, and will have a health care strategy meeting.
Trump is working to replace ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn. Trump's first choice -- retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward -- turned down the offer. Biography
#3
As he seeks to get his struggling administration back on track... He's got to first beat down Obama and his OFA, lefty hold-overs from previous administrations efforts to derail him, put out lefty arsonists' brush fires, and neuter the MSM. It's only been four weeks. He's actually done pretty well (although a bit unartful) at time despite reports of his early demise.
The Flynn thing was handled badly and sent a bad message. Maybe he should reconsider Flynn and say "F*ck you" to everyone.
#4
Donald himself said Flynn didn't handle the briefing well enough. I assume that means Flynn either forgot something he should not have or gave it the wrong weight.
Mohamed Omar Hagafey, who served as a spokesman for former Himan and Heeb administration was killed in a drive-by-shooting in Mogadishu on Saturday morning.
Galmudug state spokesman Abdullahi Hashi has confirmed to Radio Shabelle the murder of the former spokesman Mohamed Omar Hagafey which occurred at Digfeer hospital. He said the official’s vehicle was sprayed with bullets by unknown gunmen driving in a speeding car near the Turkish-run Digfeer hospital in Hodon district.
Similarly, a senior NISA officer named Hassan Dheere was killed in another drive-by shooting on Saturday at El Gabta area in Mogadishu. The attack has left a bodyguard dead.
[AlAhram] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... on Friday began building a mosque on the iconic Taksim Square in Istanbul which the local authorities hope will create a major new Islamic landmark in the heart of the country's largest city.
Taksim Square is the bustling commercial heart of the city and has also been the focal point for decades of protests, including the 2013 demonstrations against the rule of President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... , then premier.
But it has long lacked a major place for Moslem worship, located in an area which in Ottoman times was the preserve of Europeans and home to several churches.
No need for a Christian foreigners quarter any longer, it seems, now that Europe is in the process of being conquered.
"It is pleasing that no one will have now to pray in the streets," Istanbul mayor Kadir Topbas said at the ceremony laying the foundation stone of the mosque, according to the Anadolu agency.
He noted that the two-minaret mosque would be adjacent to a historic Greek Orthodox church.
"Tourists who see the minarets of the mosque and the church will see how well we live together in this city."
The new mosque is expected to be finished in two years.
Turkey under Erdogan has in the last years gone on a spree of building mosques but the authorities say this is needed to satisfy the needs of its worshippers in the overwhelmingly Moslem country.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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#1
if the crusaders had joined forces with the jews and kicked the muslims out of the levant as well as jerusalem then the hagia sophia would still be the grandest cathedral in christendom
now it's a mosque
we should learn from this failure. we should join putin to crush islamism. perhaps we can kick the islamists out and reinstall the secular
[IsraelTimes] Turkish officials say 26 people have been detained following a car kaboom, which killed two people in the southeast of the country.
The boom-mobilewent kaboom! Friday near the lodgings of judges and prosecutors in the mainly Kurdish town of Viransehir in Sanliurfa province, bordering Syria. Footage from the scene showed a heavily damaged building and wrecked cars.
In a news conference at the town’s courthouse Saturday, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the kaboom killed the 11-year-old son of a court clerk and a 27-year-old neighborhood guard.
Eleven people remain hospitalized including the public prosecutor’s wife, stated the minister. Two are at death's door.
The governor’s office announced Saturday that 26 people who have been detained include the owner of the van, which was loaded with explosives and parked near the government housing.
Governor Gungor Azim Tuna told state-run Anadolu news agency that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, is responsible.
US Vice President Mike Pence met with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in Germany and expressed his condolences for the attack. "The Vice President reiterated the United States’ commitment to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... as a strategic partner and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... ally," a White House statement said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/19/2017
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[DAWN] IN a prescient statement to the UN Security Council on Feb 13, Pakistain’s permanent representative, after describing the actions taken to restrain terrorism in Pakistain, asserted: "What Pakistain continues to face today are externally supported terrorists." As if on cue, successive terrorist attacks occurred in Lahore, Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. and Sehwan over the next three days.
Immediately after the atrocity at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, the ISPR front man said: "Recent terrorist acts are being executed on directions from hostile powers and from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. We shall defend and respond." The army chief himself declared: "Each drop of the nation’s blood shall be Dire Revenged ... immediately. No more restraint for anyone."
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Posted by: Fred ||
02/19/2017
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#1
"Each drop of the nation’s blood shall be Dire Revenged ... immediately. No more restraint for anyone." Hah, no more Mr. Nice Guys?
#2
When the Paki-Wakis start talking like this about India I think about nuclear weapons and am concerned.
I love pop-corn but not when it glows in the dark. If it could be kept within certain confines maybe it's okay but I think about "War Games" and how every scenario led to mass destruction.
[al-Manar] The UN has condemned the killing of 12 Afghans, including eight children returning from school, by a roadside bomb in the country’s volatile east, the latest in a growing number of civilian casualties.
The blast occurred in Paktika province on Friday when their vehicle hit a pressure-plate improvised explosive device planted on a public road, the UN said, adding that four others were wounded.
“Children are once again the main victims of these indiscriminate and illegal weapons,” said Pernille Karde, the UN’s deputy special representative in Afghanistan.
“There is a simple message to the perpetrators: stop using these weapons if you are serious about safeguarding Afghanistan’s civilians and the country’s future generation,” Kardel said in a statement late Saturday.
There was no immediate reaction from officials in Paktika.
The bombing comes just days after the UN voiced alarm over the killing of 25 civilians in the escalating conflict in southern Helmand province, most of them in US air strikes.
An American bombardment in Helmand’s Sangin district last week killed 18 people, nearly all women and children, the UN said.
Afghan civilian casualties in 2016 were the highest recorded by the UN, with nearly 11,500 non-combatants killed or wounded.
More than 3,500 children were among the victims, a “disproportionate” increase of 24 percent in one year, the UN said in a report earlier this month.
Afghanistan last year also saw the highest recorded civilian casualties caused by pressure-plate IEDs in a single year, the world body said.
[TAKIMAG] The author wasn’t just having an off day such as we all have whenever we try to think. Here is what she wrote in the same journal just before Christmas last year:
There has been a lot of talk lately, at a national, local and personal level, about the importance of putting mental health front and centre. Therefore, as the Christmas season approaches, during this time of gift-giving, we have an opportunity to focus on what we can gift to ourselves, in order to impact in a positive way on our mental health.
And what is the gift we can give ourselves? “Living life authentically, getting in tune with our true sense of how we wish to be in this world.” And what if what we really, truly, and authentically wish to be is Caligula? Well, “research” (before which we must all bow down and worship) shows that “when we are authentic…even if it sets up to be different from others, it still correlates with increased levels of joy and wellbeing.” Oh, happy, happy Caligula!
When reading this kind of saccharine psychological bilge, I feel rather (though not exactly) as I do after having eaten too many chocolate truffles at a sitting. Alternatively, one might call the thoughts of the author of the articles psychological kitsch. Kitsch is hard to define but easy to recognize: It is a kind of sentimental garishness approximating or imitating, but not attaining, art. These articles are conspicuously sentimental, written with something approximating or imitating, but not attaining, thought.
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#1
solipsism cubed
Posted by: Bov Flimbers ||
02/19/2017 5:42
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Feeding your inner Caligula? Psycho-babble for kids? Most kids are egocentric without assistance.
[AA.TR] A North Korean man believed to be a prime suspect in the killing of Kim Jong-nam, leader Kim Pudge Jong-un ...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished... ’s half-brother, was placed in durance vile ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... , Malaysian police announced Saturday.
The country's Inspector-General of Police, Khalid Abu Bakar said the 47-year-old suspect was detained Friday night, at the man's hiding place.
"The suspect went into hiding immediately after knowing that the police is hunting for four primary male suspects," he said in a statement on Saturday.
He was detained in a condominium near capital Kuala Lumpur.
Bakar said the suspect was identified as Ri Jong Chol, based on his passport details and was born on May 6, 1970 in North Korea.
Three more male suspects are being hunted by the Malaysian police to assist in the probe into the liquidation.
Kim Jong-nam died on Monday after having apparently been poisoned as he waited for a flight in Kuala Lumpur.
Three suspects -- two women with foreign documents and a Malaysian man -- were arrested in connection with the death.
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The loyalists of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group suffered heavy casualties in latest operations conducted as part of the Shaheen-25 offensive.
The operations were conducted 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 where the offensive was launched nearly three weeks ago.
The provincial police commandment said at least 34 murderous Moslems were killed, 16 were maimed and around 7 others were placed in durance vile You have the right to remain silent... during the operations.
The operations were conducted with the support of the Air Force in Haska Mina district.
According to the provincial police commandment, the majority of those killed during the operations are foreigners but no further details were given regarding their identities.
The local officials had earlier said that the Pak, Chechen, Uzbek, Arab, and murderous Moslems from the other countries are forming the majority of the ISIS loyalists in Afghanistan.
The anti-government armed krazed killer groups have not commented regarding the report so far.
The Shaheen-25 offensive was launched in line with the approval of the national security council to suppress the growing activities of ISIS loyalists in eastern Nangarhar province.
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02/19/2017
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan cops rescued at least 26 civilians kidnapped by the loyalists 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 Syria (ISIS) terrorist group 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.
The provincial commandment in a police statement said the civilians were being kept in Haska Mina and Kot districts.
The statement further added that the civilians were kidnapped long ago by the bully boyz and were rescued during the Shaheen-25 operations.
At least four key members of the terror group were also nabbed You have the right to remain silent... during a separate operation conducted in Kot district, the statement said, adding that five bully boyz of the group were also killed during the air and ground operations.
The police commandment said a heavy machine gun, Dshk, was also destroyed during the operations.
According to the local security officials, the security forces and local residents did not suffer any casualties during the operations.
Nangarahr is among the relatively calm provinces in eastern Afghanistan but the anti-government armed Lion of Islam groups are actively operating in some of its remote districts.
The Afghan cops launched the Shaheen-25 clearance operation against ISIS loyalist nearly three weeks with the local officials saying the operations are being conducted with the support of the US forces who are providing air support to the ground forces.
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[AA.TR] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... will not recognize a "referendum on constitutional changes" in Upper Karabakh, a region which has been "under Armenian occupation for a quarter century," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Friday.
In a statement, the ministry said that Ankara condemns the "referendum, which will constitute a new violation of Azerbaijan’s illusory sovereignty and territorial integrity".
"This referendum and its results, which we consider illegitimate, will not be recognized by Turkey," the statement added.
The referendum is planned to be held on Feb. 20.
"This ’referendum’ is a clear breach of the principles of international law, UN Security Council resolutions, and the principles of the OSCE. This and other similar actions impair efforts to reach a peaceful and lasting solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," it added.
"The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict continues to be the most important impediment to peace, stability, and cooperation in the South Caucasus. The festivities along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and at some sections of the Azerbaijan-Armenia border in April 2016 clearly demonstrated that the status quo is not sustainable anymore and the conflict should immediately be resolved in a peaceful manner.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
the conflict should immediately be resolved in a peaceful manner
I expect things will be real peaceful once Russia resolves that conflict.
[AA.TR] At least 21 ISISbad boyz were potted in northern Syria in the last 24 hours as part of the ongoing Operation Euphrates Shield by Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... and Turkish forces, according to a Turkish General Staff statement Saturday.
The statement said 95 ISIS targets, including shelters and gun emplacements, had been hit by Turkish Land Forces.
In addition, Turkish fighter jets destroyed 9 targets including a building used as a hideout and two vehicles.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and the FSA have been focused on liberating al-Bab from ISIS since late November as part of Operation Euphrates Shield, launched in late August to clear the terror threat along Turkey’s southern border.
In addition, two PKK bad boyz were potted in an ongoing anti-terror operation in the southeastern Mardin province, the General Staff said in another statement.
The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its armed campaign in July 2015 and has since been responsible for the deaths of approximately 1,100 security personnel and civilians, including women and kiddies.
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[AA.TR] Gambia ... The Gambia is actually surrounded by Senegal on all sides but its west coast. It has a population of about 1.7 million. The difference between the two is that in colonial days Senegal was ruled by La Belle France and The Gambia (so-called because there's only one of it, unlike Guinea, of which there are the Republic of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, New Guinea, the English coin in circulation between 1663 and 1813, and Guyana, which sounds like it should be another one) was ruled by Britain... 's new president Adama Barrow has been inaugurated on home soil after his swearing-in at the Gambian embassy in Senegal ... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... in January.
The 52-year old Gambian leader told thousands of supporters at the country’s Independence Stadium who showed up for both his inauguration and independence celebration that the country has "changed forever".
"Gambia has changed forever... No government will ever be able to impose itself against the will of the Gambian people," Barrow said.
Barrow promised reforms including the reviewing of the "draconian" media laws and establishment of a human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... commission as well as economic reforms.
In December, Gambians went to polls and the former property developer Barrow who had no prior experience in holding public office won with a light margin against strongman Yahya Jammeh.
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Anbar (IraqiNews.com) A military source in the Army’s 8th brigade revealed that security forces discovered two rockets and tanks containing explosive materials, as well detonating a large number of improvised explosive devices in Ramadi.
The source said, “Forces from the army’s 8th brigade managed, today, to seize two Katyusha rockets, a rocket launcher and 11 tanks containing explosive materials in Ramadi District.”
“Iraqi forces also discovered 40 improvised explosive devices in Husaiba area (23 Km east of Ramadi), and detonated them on the spot,” the source added on condition of anonymity.
Noteworthy, security forces continue removing mines and improvised explosive devices, left by the Islamic State group, from the liberated areas in Anbar.
Posted by: badanov ||
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1 dead in bomb attack in Madain district Hate to admit it, but this district has been hit before
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A police source declared that one person was killed and three others were wounded in the explosion of an improvised explosive device, south of Baghdad, while pointed out to discovering a body of an unidentified man north of the province, Alsumaria News reported on Saturday.
The source said, “An improvised explosive device exploded near a popular market in Wardiyah area in Madain District, south of Baghdad, killing one person and wounding three others.”
“Security forces also pulled out a body of an unidentified man from the Tigris River, north of Baghdad,” the source added on condition of anonymity.
The capital, Baghdad, is witnessing several suicide attacks using booby-trapped vehicles and explosive vests, in addition to separate attacks against security forces and civilians, leaving dozens of casualties.
[DAWN] The Hindu community is set to have a personal law for the first time as the Senate on Friday unanimously passed ’The Hindu Marriage Bill 2017’.
The bill -- approved by the National Assembly on Sept 26, 2015 -- is likely to get presidential assent next week to become a law.
The bill will mainly help Hindu women get documentary proof of their marriage. It will be the first personal law for Pak Hindus, applicable in Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sindh has already formulated its own Hindu marriage law.
The bill presented in the Senate by Law Minister Zahid Hamid faced no opposition or objection. It was mainly due to the considerate and sympathetic views expressed by the senators and the MNAs of all political parties in the relevant standing committees.
The bill was approved by the Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights on Jan 2 with an overwhelming majority. However, Switzerland makes more than cheese... Senator Mufti Abdul Sattar of the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...the political wing of the Pak Taliban... -Fazl had opposed the bill, claiming that the Constitution was vast enough to cater for such needs.
While approving the bill, committee chairperson Senator Nasreen Jalil of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... had announced: "This was unfair -- not only against the principles of Islam but also a human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... violation -- that we have not been able to formulate a personal family law for the Hindus of Pakistain."
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[DAWN] Political administration of Khyber Agency ... the place to go if you've got an Indiana Jones hat and whip. Chock full of high adventure and treacherous Pathans. You should really train up to it, though... has directed the dwellers of Pak-Afghan border areas to migrate to safe places with immediate effect, said officials.
The directions were issued to the people living in Sheenphokh and Samsay areas of Khyber Agency.
"Exodus is underway as the security forces have already launched operation in the area," officials told DawnNews.
Earlier on Friday night, the army had reportedly targeted a training camp of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar -- the banned terror outfit which grabbed credit for the Feb 13 suicide kaboom in Lahore and the Feb 15 suicide kaboom on the headquarters of the Mohmand Agency ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... 's political administration.
The camp was located near the Pak-Afghan border in areas adjacent to Mohmand and Khyber Agency, and was reportedly overseen by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar's deputy commander, Adil Bacha.
Militant casualties were reported in the action but there was no confirmation of the actual number.
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[Hot Air] Bolton was a candidate for Secretary of State during the transition period, then a candidate to be a key undersecretary at the Department under Rex Tillerson, and then more recently ... nada. His name hadn’t been mentioned in connection lately with any major staffing positions, which is odd given that Trump reportedly came to admire him from his appearances on Fox News. (Also a key qualification for KT McFarland in landing her job as deputy NSA, apparently.) Bolton had two big problems in landing a job at State. One: Rex Tillerson allegedly had "misgivings" about him, whether because of Bolton’s ostentatious hawkishness or because a newbie diplomat at the head of the Department might fear being outmaneuvered by an ambitious, experienced old hand beneath him. And two, more importantly: Deputy positions at cabinet agencies require Senate confirmation, and Bolton has always been viewed as tough to confirm. The left despises him and might well be able to scare centrist Dems into voting lockstep against him; Rand Paul also despises Bolton for his hawkishness and has vowed to oppose him. That leaves a paper-thin majority of 51 votes to confirm him assuming zero other defections among the Senate GOP. And plenty of other Republicans, starting with Bob Corker, are said to have "misgivings" about Bolton. He might be unconfirmable.
But that’s the virtue of the NSA idea. The national security advisor isn’t subject to Senate confirmation. Because he’s merely an advisor, he can be on the job tomorrow if Trump merely says the word. And lo and behold:
Posted by: Herb McCoy7309 ||
02/19/2017 1:34
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Ambassador Bolton, to this day, maintains invading Iraq and sending Saddam to hell was morally just and strategically wise. President Trump, on the other hand, has repeatedly said the decision was "stupid" and even suggested Dubya "lied" about Iraqi WMD. Perhaps, a better fit for John in a DJT administration would be Rex's henchman over at Foggy Bottom.
#3
W "acted on the intelligence given him" and Bolton supported that objective but also knows full well the problems at Foggy Bottom and the UN. Who was responsible for that faulty intel, including the Five Eyes? I think Bolton would be an excellent advisor with a broad scope of vision. Anyone the vitriolic Left opposes, has automatic creds in my view.
[AA.TR] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... will not get directly involved in an operation to liberate Syria’s Raqqah from ISIS, but instead it will provide tactical support, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday.
"The United States, Turkey along with local forces, civilian forces, the FSA [Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... ] and other militias... they are at the forefront while we are at the back," Yildirim told news hounds in Munich where he is attending a security conference.
About the possibility of the U.S. not getting involving in the Raqqah operation, Yildirim said the U.S. had an operation plan in any case.
He also said ties between the two countries would breakdown if the U.S. decided to involve the PKK/PYD terror group in the Raqqah operation.
Turkey considers the PYD and its military wing, YPG, as Syrian branches of the terrorist PKK group. The PKK -- listed as a terror organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its armed campaign in July 2015 and since then has been responsible for the deaths of approximately 1,100 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including women and kiddies.
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#1
they are at the forefront while we are at the back"
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Salahuddin Province declared that four members of the Islamic State were either killed or wounded in an improvised explosive device blast near a cemetery in Sharqat, Alsumaria News reported on Saturday.
The source said, “An improvised explosive device near a local cemetery in Sharqat, north of Salahuddin, exploded while a detachment belonging to the Islamic State was passing in the area, killing a member of the group and wounding three others.”
“The Islamic State militants arrested a number of the nearby village’s residents, on charges of preparing the blast,” the source added on condition of anonymity.
Posted by: badanov ||
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[NYTimes] After eight years as a detainee in the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, he [Hedi Hammami] said he still suffers from headaches, depression, and anxiety attacks from the torture and other mistreatment he says he suffered there, even six years after his release.
Married with two children now and employed as a nighttime ambulance driver, Hammami, 47, seems to have rebuilt his life. Yet the pressures of living in Tunisia's faltering democracy, under harassment and enduring repeated raids by the police, have driven him to make an extreme request.
"It would be better for me to go back to that single cell and to be left alone,'' he said recently. "Two or three weeks ago I went to the Red Cross and asked them to connect me to the US foreign ministry to ask to go back to Guantanamo.''
#1
Honestly, from what I saw in a documentary about Guantanamo, they have it better than jails for US citizens. And yes, I have seen some of these jails.
I know locals don't give two shits about your religion or strict diet. It's either eat or dont eat
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[AA.TR] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's target after liberating al-Bab, Syria, from ISIS is the town of Manbij, and clearing the terrorist PKK's Syrian offshoot, PYD, from the region, Turkish President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... said Friday.
Erdogan’s remarks came in an interview with the satellite channel al-Arabiya that aired during his visit to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, as part of a Gulf tour that also took the Turkish leader to Bahrain and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... Erdogan linked the resolution of the Syrian crisis with confronting terrorism, especially the ISIS terror group inside Syria.
Turkey’s president reiterated that a terror-free safe zone should be established between Jarablus and al-Rai in northern Syria, decrying the "large human crisis represented by the refugees, 2.8 million of whom Turkey is hosting".
Turkey hosts more Syrian refugees than any other country in the world. It has spent approximately $25 billion to shelter and provide for refugees since the beginning of Syrian war in early 2011.
Erdogan stressed that to achieve stability in the region and Syria, serious support from Gulf states, led by 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... , is needed.
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[MY.EARTHLINK.NET] A huge Pacific storm parked itself over Southern Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, and unloaded, ravaging roads, opening sinkholes and leading to the deaths of at least two people.
The storm feeding on an atmospheric river of moisture stretching far out into the ocean was at its most fierce late Friday afternoon, dropping over 8 inches of rain in one area, and was expected to last until Saturday afternoon.
The region appeared to dodge any major disasters, but in the desert town of Victorville, several cars were washed down a flooded street, and one man was found dead in a submerged vehicle after others were rescued, San Bernardino County fire front man Eric Sherwin said.
And in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles, a man was electrocuted when a tree falling in heavy rain downed power lines that hit his car.
Later in the same neighborhood, a sinkhole swallowed two cars, the second on live TV as viewers watched it teeter on the edge before plunging in. Firefighters rescued one person from the first car, and the driver got out of the second before it fell. No one was injured.
Inland at the Cajon Pass, the shoulder of Interstate 15 crumbled and sent a parked firetruck spilling over the side, but no one was hurt.
There were several traffic deaths on slick and flooded roads also, but it was difficult to say which were a direct result of the storm.
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I thought global warming caused permanent drought?
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan National Army Chief of Staff General Qadam Shah Shaheem has said Pak has not taken any step regarding the evidences and documents submitted by Afghanistan so far.
Gen. Shaheem said Afghanistan will review the list of turbans submitted by Pakistain, alleging that 76 turbans are operating in their safe havens in Afghan soil.
He said further evidence and documents will be requested from Pakistain if needed, emphasizing that Pakistain has so far failed to respond to the evidence and documents submitted regarding the terror groups operating in Pak soil against Afghanistan.
Gen. Shaheem further added that Afghanistan welcomes to receive documents and evidences regarding any terrorist group and reiterated that the Afghan cops will never allow the terror groups to use the Afghan soil against the other countries.
This comes as the Pak military summoned a number of the Afghan embassy officials on Friday and handed over a list of at least 76 turbans which they claim are having sanctuaries in Afghanistan.
Earlier, the Pak military announced that the routes linking the two countries along the Durand Line have been closed after the attacks.
Gen. Ghafoor said "Pakistain-Afghanistan Border closed with immediate effects till further orders due to security reasons."
The steps by Pakistain were taken following a series of deadly attacks including a suicide kaboom on a shrine in Sindh province that left over 70 people dead and scores of others maimed.
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[AA.TR] Egypt’s Foreign Ministry on Friday denied recent speculation that a plan had been hatched to resettle Paleostinians in the Sinai Peninsula with a view to establishing a Paleostinian state in Sinai and Gazoo.
"Sinai is Egyptian territory," ministry front man Ahmed Abu Zeid said in televised comments.
The notion of resettling Paleostinians on the peninsula, he added, "has not at any stage been the subject of discussion between Egyptian and foreign officials".
Abu Zeid’s assertion follows recent statements by Ayoob Kara, a Druze-Israeli politician, in which he said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 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... had discussed a plan -- allegedly proposed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi -- to establish a Paleostinian state in Sinai and the Gazoo Strip.
"Egypt’s stance on the Paleostinian [national] cause is clear: Egypt supports a two-state solution [to the Israel-Paleostine dispute]," the front man said.
He went on to stress that Paleostinian aspirations for a state of their own could only be achieved through direct negotiations between Paleostinians and Israelis.
At a Wednesday joint presser with Netanyahu at the White House, Trump appeared to throw cold water on the notion of a two-state solution.
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#1
Translates to we haven't seen enough zeros yet.
[FOX] Four people were arrested in North Philadelphia Friday night after protests turned violent, resulting in three police officers being injured, according to local police.
About 100 people gathered across the street from City Hall to protest against police abuses. Protesters began blocking traffic, and a violent clash with officers broke out.
Police said the three officers suffered minor injuries after being hit with pepper spray and black spray paint.
Video footage shows the protesters burning an American flag. Those arrested are facing assault charges.
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke joined "Fox & Friends Weekend" Saturday morning to discuss these violent protests.
#1
protests turned violent, resulting in three police officers being injured
The previous administration had cultivated a climate of violence against the police and lawlessness in the streets. When property destruction and violence occurs, this is no longer free speech.
#3
This is going to get people killed. Try this on some CCW groups and the violent protesters will be laid out in spades. It will only get worse from there.
[AlAhram] Egypt’s Prime Minister Sherif Ismail issued a decree Saturday to ban cycle of violences from restive areas in Central and North Sinai for a year, al-Ahram Arabic website reported.
The decree outlines the following areas or cities: Rafah, Sheikh Zuweid, al-Arish, al-Midan, Maghara, al-Khatmiya, Sidr al-Hitan, Qalaat al-Gindi, and Taba, including Ras Sedr area.
Ismail added that cycle of violence spare parts are also barred, so far as this "does not contradict the demands of the national development plan of Sinai."
Egypt’s army and police forces have been waging a war over the past three years against an Islamist holy warrior insurgency in North Sinai. Hundreds have been killed in the violence.
Militants sometimes use motorcyles to attack army and police forces. However, some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go... exact statistics of such attacks are unavailable.
In July 2015, the Egyptian cabinet issued a decree banning 4x4 vehicles in the areas designated by the Egyptian armed forces as stages of military operations in North and South Sinai governorates, following an intensive military operation against Islamist Death Eaters at the time.
Islamist Death Eaters have reportedly used 4x4 vehicles in repeated attacks on security forces.
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi issued a decree establishing a state of emergency in parts of North Sinai in October 2014, renewed periodically since.
Under emergency law, Egypt's army and police have the authority to "take any action necessary to confront terrorism and protect public and private property in the areas under the state of emergency." A curfew in place lasts from 5pm to 7am.
[DAWN] Security forces on Saturday took into custody two brothers of Anwaarul Haq, the alleged controller of the Feb 13 suicide kaboom in Lahore, from their residence in Bajaur Agency, aka Turban Central ...Smallest of the agencies in FATA. The Agency administration is located in Khar. Bajaur is inhabited almost exclusively by Tarkani Pashtuns, which are divided into multiple bickering subtribes. Its 52 km border border with Afghanistan's Kunar Province makes it of strategic importance to Pakistain's strategic depth... of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), security sources said.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab... had announced Haq's arrest in a presser on Friday evening. The suspect's confessional statement was also aired during the briefing.
Acting on information provided by intelligence agencies, security personnel on Saturday raided Haq's house in Mamond tehsil of Bajaur Agency, security sources said.
Haq's two brothers Khalilullah and Hameedullah were taken into custody during the raid.
Several others were nabbed from the area during the operation and shifted to an unknown location for interrogation, the sources added.
In his presser, the Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... chief minister claimed to have eliminated the terrorist network involved in Monday’s suicide kaboom in Lahore in which 15 people were killed.
Shahbaz said the controller, Anwaarul Haq, had divulged that their network was operating from within Afghanistan.
The suspect in the confessional video said he hailed from a remote village in Bajaur Agency.
"I was associated with Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and they trained me," said the suspect, adding that he has visited Afghanistan around 15 to 20 times.
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The National Security Adviser of Afghanistan Mohammad Hanif Atmar has said all terror groups should be eliminated in the region without any distinction.
Atmar made the remarks during a telephone conversation with Pakistain’s foreign affairs adviser Sartaj PrunefaceAziz ...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in good jihadis and bad jihadis as a matter of national policy... Condemning the recent attacks in Pakistain, Atmar said 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 has grabbed credit behind the attack on Shahbaz Qaland shrine, similarly as the group grabbed credit for the attacks on mosques and shrines in Afghanistan.
Insisting that the two countries are facing a common enemy, Atmar called on Pak authorities to jointly work against the menace of terror the two nations are facing, emphasizing that Afghanistan is ready to collaborate with Pakistain and other international allies.
He also added that both countries must maintain a strong and transparent commitment to prevent the terrorist groups operate on their soil.
"There should be no distinction between terrorist groups who themselves show no distinction between countries or people and no regard for human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... ," he added.
He reiterated that the two countries must find and execute effective strategies to eliminate terrorist sanctuaries wherever they exist without any distinction.
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Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) A source in Nineveh Police revealed on Saturday, that 13 civilians were either killed or wounded in a shelling launched by the Islamic State, east of Mosul.
Captain Amir Wathiq said in a press statement, “The Islamic State group shelled houses in Hayy al-Jazair with three Katyusha rockets.”
“The shelling resulted in the killing of four civilians, and injury of 9 others,” Wathiq explained.
“Ambulances evacuated the wounded to hospitals and medical centers in Mosul, and the bodies to the forensic medicine department,” Wathiq further added.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) An officer of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service announced on Saturday, that a drone belonging to the Islamic State group shelled a popular market, east of Mosul, leaving a number of casualties.
Major Ali Mohsen said in a press statement, “The Islamic State attacked a popular market in Hayy al-Intsar, east of Mosul, using a drone, killing three women and wounding 10 other civilians.”
“Ambulances transferred the wounded to nearby hospitals, and the bodies to the forensic medicine department,” Mohsen further added.
In addition, Mohsen also revealed that security forces killed a suicide bomber, wearing an explosive vest, in Shoqaq al-Khodar area, after receiving information from residents of the area.
[ARA News] Hasakah – Radical group of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Saturday executed one of its own jihadists in northeastern Syria, after accusing him of spying for the US-led coalition.
Abu Muhammad, an ISIS security official in the town of Margada in Hasakah Governorate, was publicly executed on Saturday.
“The group accused Abu Muhammad of leaking security information about the group’s movements in Margada to the US-led coalition,” a local source told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The militant, who was responsible for an ISIS security office in Margada, had tried to desert the group and escape Syria. However, he was arrested by ISIS guards before fleeing Margada town.
Abu Muhammad was charged by the ISIS-led Sharia Court of ‘high treason’.
Margada is the Islamic State’s final stronghold in Hasakah Governorate. It’s located on the administrative borders between Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor governorates.
The group has recently executed several other militants for evacuating their posts without permission in Raqqa and Mosul.
[ArabNews] SULAIYMANIYA, Iraq: Militant Amar Hussein says he reads the Qur’an all day in his tiny jail cell to become a better person. He also says he raped more than 200 women from Iraqi minorities, and shows few regrets.
Kurdish intelligence authorities gave Reuters rare access to Hussein and another Daesh militant who were both captured during an assault on the city of Kirkuk in October that killed 99 civilians and members of the security forces. Sixty-three Daesh militants died.
Hussein said his emirs, or local Daesh commanders, gave him and others the green light to rape as many Yazidi and other women as they wanted.
“Young men need this,” Hussein told Reuters in an interview after a Kurdish counter-terrorism agent removed a black hood from his head. “This is normal.”
Hussein said he moved from house to house in several Iraqi cities raping women from the Yazidi sect and other minorities at a time when Daesh was grabbing more and more territory from Iraqi security forces.
Kurdish security officials say they have evidence of Hussein raping and killing but they do not know what the scale is.
Reuters could not independently verify Hussein’s account.
Witnesses and Iraqi officials say Daesh fighters raped many Yazidi women after the group rampaged through northern Iraq in 2014. It also abducted many Yazidi women as sex slaves and killed some of their male relatives, they said.
Hussein said he also killed about 500 people since joining Daesh in 2013. “We shot whoever we needed to shoot and beheaded whoever we needed to beheaded,” said Hussein.
He recalled how emirs trained him to kill, which was difficult at first when one person was brought for a practice kill. It became easier day by day. “Seven, eight, ten at a time. Thirty or 40 people. We would take them in the desert and kill them,” said Hussein, an imposing, well-built figure, who was wearing metal handcuffs.
Eventually, he became highly efficient, never hesitating to kill.
“I would sit them down, put a blindfold on them and fire a bullet into their heads,” he said. “It was normal.”
Counter-terrorism agents said Hussein was trouble when he first arrived. “He was so strong he snapped the plastic handcuffs off his wrists,” said one.
Hussein sees himself as a victim of hardship, a product of a broken home and poverty in his hometown of Mosul, where Iraqi forces have launched an offensive against Daesh to dislodge them from their last stronghold in Iraq.
“I had no money. No one to say ‘This is wrong, this is right.’ No jobs. I had friends but no one to give me advice,” said Hussein, who has been held in the cell with a barred window since his capture in October.
Religious slogans are scratched on its cement walls by previous militant prisoners. His only possessions are a thick blanket and a Qur’an. On the floor is a polystyrene plate with broth and some rice. Thick, metal handcuffs hang on a nearby wall.
Hussein, now 21, began his career as a militant when he was just 14, he said. He was drawn to the conflict by his local mosque preacher, then he joined Al-Qaeda and now awaits legal proceedings as a member of Daesh, the successor of Al-Qaeda’s Iraq branch.
Counter-terrorism agents described a second prisoner, Ghaffar Abdel Rahman, as less forthcoming, and said he had revealed little during questioning about his experiences as a checkpoint and logistics man for Daesh. Abdel Rahman, 31, with long hair and beard and a blank stare, gave little away in a separate interview with Reuters.
He admitted to opening fire on security forces in the raid on Kirkuk but says he never killed anyone. He said he and his brother joined Daesh because otherwise, as state employees, they would have been killed by the group.
His Kurdish captors did not comment on his story, but Iraqi authorities are generally skeptical of fighters who say they had no choice.
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[AA.TR] Islam is not the source of terrorism, and Islamic scholars and Moslem countries should speak up against fundamentalists to make this clear to the world, Chancellor Angela Merkel ...current chancellor of Germany and the impetus behind Germany's remarkably ill-starred immigration program. Merkel used to be referred to by Germans as Mom... has said.
In her address to the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Merkel underlined the importance of close cooperation with Moslem countries in defeating ISIS, Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... and international terrorism.
"I think, those countries, first and foremost have to give a contribution. Because only in this way we would be able to convince people that it is not Islam that is the source of terrorism. But a falsely understood Islam," she said.
"I expect from religious authorities of Islam to find strong language in order to delimitate peaceful Islam from terrorism committed in the name of Islam. We as non-Moslems cannot do this, it should be done by Islamic clergy and authorities," she added.
Merkel said she had discussed the fight against terrorism during her meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim this morning in Munich.
"I have just now addressed this issue with the Turkish prime minister. We know that particularly our NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... partner The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... is very much threatened through the challenge of international Islamist terrorism through ISIS, but also obviously the terrorism of PKK," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
And yet it has been nearly two decades since 9/11 and they haven't
and al Azhar university, foremost authority of Islam, has ruled Islamic State are NOT heretics, that they are extremist yes but they are able to justify all they do through Islamic teachings
#3
"I expect from religious authorities of Islam to find strong language in order to delimitate peaceful Islam from terrorism committed in the name of Islam."
I expect that in the same way that I expect Publisher's Clearinghouse to knock on my door and tell my I won their gazillions for life award (despite the pesky fact that I never registered for it).
Posted by: chris ||
02/19/2017 6:29
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#6
Was it over when stay-behind Stasi
Girl harbored her pets from Benghazi?
When all those around her
Watched Angela flounder
As Germany went kamikaze?
[An Nahar] Police in north Leblocked away Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! a Syrian national suspected of having links to a terror group, the National News Agency reported on Saturday.
The police patrol arrested, Sami Ahmed Salloum, a Syrian, in Akkar's town of al-Ayoun for having ties to terror groups, NNA said.
The detainee was referred to the related authorities.
NNA didn't specify which terror group the suspect belongs to.
Several suspected jihadist members have been arrested in recent months throughout Leb.
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No one would talk on Wednesday at the eight-story apartment in Macau's old quarter where Kim Jong-nam lived with his family and at a high-rise condominium in another part of the territory where he also had a unit. The condo is just five minutes from the international school once attended by his son Han-sol, now 23, and daughter Sol-hui, now 18.
Kim moved to the condominium around 2008 to make it easier for his children to attend the school but moved in 2011 because South Korean residents had found out where it was after Han-sol brought home a South Korean girlfriend.
There were no signs of the family anywhere. Han-sol last year said he was heading to Macau as he left France, where he studies. But South Korean expats there said they have not seen him recently. Sol-hui, who graduated from school last September, has also not been seen.
One friend of the family's said, "I tried to call Jong-nam's wife after learning about his assassination on the news last night, but her mobile phone was turned off. They probably had an action plan in case something bad happened to him."
When asked about the possibility of Jong-nam's family defecting to South Korea, the friend said. "North Korean agents can't do whatever they want in Macau, which is Chinese territory. Macau may have been safer than South Korea."
According to people who met Kim in Macau, he settled there around 2002, entering on a visitor visa and later gaining citizenship.
One person said Kim regularly frequented three or four Korean restaurants and went to the casinos. He did not smoke but drank one to two bottles of soju or 10 shots of boilermakers in one sitting. Another, who spotted him in a sauna, said he had a dragon tattoo on his stomach and chest.
Until his father Kim Jong-il died in December 2011, Jong-nam traveled widely throughout Southeast Asia and even to Europe. When Kim Jong-il suffered a massive stroke in August 2008, he flew to France and brought back neurologists to Pyongyang.
But after his younger half-brother Kim Jong-un executed their uncle Jang Song-taek in December 2013, he became more reclusive and limited his travels to Southeast Asia, apparently because his allowance from Jang had been cut off.
His first wife Shin Jong-hui and a daughter live in Beijing, and there are rumors that he has mistresses in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. He always flew alone but showed up with female companions when dining in restaurants across the region.
"Kim Jong-nam had a bright personality, but he grew depressed after Jang Song-taek was executed and often said 'life is so sad' and expressed dismay at how his uncle was killed," the family's friend said.
A North Korea source said Kim made a lot of money by running a trading business with North Korea with the help of Jang Song-taek. "The execution of his uncle and benefactor must have been a huge shock."
Meanwhile, Voice of America reported that Kim had a Facebook account under the name Kim Chol, which was linked to Han-sol's and had 164 friends.
Among around a dozen photos, some appear to have been taken in Macau in 2010.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/19/2017
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#1
Fredo
Posted by: Bov Flimbers ||
02/19/2017 5:22
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Foto of an F-4 Phantom II at the link. What Freedom looks like.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) A security source in Nineveh Province declared that 62 members of the Islamic State were killed by a coalition airstrike, west of Mosul, Alsumaria News reported on Monday.
The source said, “Today, US-led coalition warplanes bombarded the General Hospital building that was used by the Islamic State as a headquarters for foreign immigrants, west of Mosul.”
“The airstrike resulted in the killing of 62 members of the Islamic State, holding Russian, Chechen, French and German nationalities,” the source added on condition of anonymity.
“The airstrike was carried out based on accurate intelligence information and destructed the hospital completely,” the source explained.
“The Islamic State imposed a security cordon around the area of incident and prevented the residents from approaching it,” the source further added.
Iraqi military operations to retake Western Mosul from ISIS started late Friday, with the US-led coalition forces striking an ISIS command and control headquarters in Western Mosul.
“With the approval of the government of Iraq, Coalition forces struck an ISIS command and control headquarters and propaganda facility in Western Mosul on Feb. 17,” the US-led coalition said.
“The five-story Bab Sinjar administration facility was located in the Al Jumhuri medical community complex. ISIS continues to ignore the Law of Armed Conflict and uses protected sites such as hospitals, schools, and mosques to try and shield themselves from Coalition airstrikes,” the coalition said.
According to the US-led coalition they determined through intelligence that no civilians were in the area, and that the targeted facility was not used for medical purposes by ISIS.
“The intelligence showed that its sole function was as a military command and control facility for ISIS to oversee its operations against the people of Iraq,” the coalition said.
“Daesh still hold about 750,000 people in the west of Mosul and they must now be dealt with. Soon, and at a time of their choosing, the Iraqi Security Forces will move in to start the liberation of West Mosul,” Major General Rupert Jones, UK deputy commander said last week, predicting a tough fight.
“Be under no illusion: The fight will not be easy. The tight streets and alleyways of the old city will be tough to clear. But the Iraqi forces have adapted to ISIS’ tactics and they will drive back the enemy whose finite resources wane with each passing day,” he added.
“It’s worth reflecting on the extraordinary efforts of the Iraqi Security Forces to protect civilians during the tough battle for Mosul. This respect for civilian life is in stark contrast to the enemy’s brutality.
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There are unconfirmed reports that the nephew of armed forces commander-in-chief Khalifa Hafter has been kidnapped in Benghazi.
Belghasem Hafter is said to have gone missing yesterday. Army sources refused to discuss the story but it appears that an extensive search is under way.
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[An Nahar] Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... Information Minister Melhem Riachi emphasized on Saturday that contacts with Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... are merely limited to the party's ministers and politicians, the state-run National News Agency reported.
"We do not negotiate with Hizbullah. There are some contacts limited to Hizbullah ministers and deputies," said Riachi during a visit to the eastern city of Zahle where LF MP Toni Abi Khater received him at his residence in the presence of a number of LF politicians.
"There are a lot of differences between us provided these differences do not turn into major conflicts," added Riachi.
Early in January, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea ... Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005 ... dismissed any hostility in ties with Hizbullah, but stressed that dialogue with the party must be based on a clear road-map aimed at building the real state of Leb.
Separately, Riachi hailed ongoing efforts to agree on a new electoral law, he said: "There are genuine efforts to formulate an electoral law that rectifies the damaged Christian representation, lifts injustice without being unfair to others, and preserve everyone's right of everyone, including MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... ."
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[Guardian] A chilling warning that tens of millions of people could be killed by bio-terrorism was delivered at the Munich security conference by the world’s richest man, Bill Gates
Gates, who has spent much of the last 20 years funding a global health campaign, said: "We ignore the link between health security and international security at our peril."
Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft who has spent billions in a philanthropic drive to improve health worldwide, said: "The next epidemic could originate on the computer screen of a terrorist intent on using genetic engineering to create a synthetic version of the smallpox virus ... or a super contagious and deadly strain of the flu."
US and UK intelligence agencies have said that Islamic State has been trying to develop biological weapons at its bases in Syria and Iraq. However, they have played down the threat, saying that the terrorists would need people with the necessary skills, good laboratories and a relatively calm environment free from the confusion and chaos of conflict zones.
Yet other security specialists say the threat from bio-terrorism has become more realistic over the past decade, particularly the past five years, with changes in molecular biology that make development of biological weapons more accessible.
Gates, making his first appearance at the Munich security conference on Saturday, said: "Whether it occurs by a quirk of nature or at the hand of a terrorist, epidemiologists say a fast-moving airborne pathogen could kill more than 30 million people in less than a year. And they say there is a reasonable probability the world will experience such an outbreak in the next 10 to 15 years."
#1
all it would take is some ebola-infected blood in the zam zam well on day 1 of hajj
hundreds of millions would die as the pilgrims fly home. muslims would make up the bulk of the body count because their families wash the bodies of the dead
the speed of transmission would overwhelm innoculation supplies which would be rationed to health workers.
But even the United States own Center for Disease Control has lost focus BADLY on its own mission. A significant amount of their focus had been misdirected away from "Disease Control" and instead towards such bullshit partisan politics like guns, consumption of salt, etc.
#3
"towards such bullshit partisan politics like guns, consumption of salt, etc."
Isn't that the job of the Surgeon General?
Whatever became of the Surgeon General anyway? I haven't heard or read anything about or from the Surgeon General for quite a few years. All I know is that the current Surgeon General is Dr, Vivek Murthy and not much else.
#4
"We ignore the link between health security and international security Islamic terrorism at our peril." coz honestly, Bill, it's a Tom Clancy novel from 20 years ago - you just read it? But who else in the world is that crazy - well DPRK maybe
Posted by: Bov Flimbers ||
02/19/2017 4:31
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#5
Gates proposal to tax robots is seriously idiotic. Might as well tax steam engines which were probably the biggest destroyer of jobs in the modern age.
Ask a trucker how much tax he/she paid for on their rig, annual licensing, not to mention the ones on his fuel and income. Not to mention, point of entry (all commercial vehicles take the next right).
#8
"The next epidemic could originate on the computer screen of a terrorist intent on using genetic engineering to create a synthetic version of the smallpox virus ... This reads like a fictional account of such an epidemic by Terry Hayes entitled "I Am Pilgrim." Lengthy, but an exciting read.
#9
US and UK intelligence agencies have said that Islamic State has been trying to develop biological weapons at its bases in Syria and Iraq. However, they have played down the threat, saying that the terrorists would need people with the necessary skills, good laboratories and a relatively calm environment free from the confusion and chaos of conflict zones.
"Baby Milk Factory™"
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/19/2017 10:25
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#10
I suppose 'point-n-click' mouse electrocutions don't count.
[DAWN] LAHORE: The Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... government has included names of Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... (JuD) chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed ...who would be wearing a canvas jacket with very long sleeves anyplace but Pakistain... and one of his close aides, Qazi Kashif, in the fourth schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
Hafiz Saeed ...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat... ’s name has also been put on the exit control list.
A senior police officer privy to the development told Dawn on Friday that the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) had added their names to the list of the 1,450 ’fourth schedulers’ on an order of the federal interior ministry.
Three other men whose names were added to the list were Abdullah Obaid from Faisalabad ...formerly known as Lyallpur, the third largest metropolis in Pakistain, the second largest in Punjab after Lahore. It is named after some Arab because the Paks didn't have anybody notable of their own to name it after... , and Zafar Iqbal and Abdur Rehman Abid from the Markaz-e-Taiba, Muridke.
The five men were identified by the interior ministry as "active members of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniyat ...the current false nose and mustache of Jamaat ud-Dawa, which was the false nose and mustache of Lashkar e-Taiba... ". The ministry directed the CTD to "move and take necessary action" against them.
The names of three prisoners transferred to Pakistain from Guantanamo Bay had also been placed on the list, he said. However, there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly... he refused to share the identity of anyone other than the JuD leaders.
Hafiz Saeed was sent to his room on Jan 30 amid an angry uproar from his party and political allies. This was followed by an extraordinary development in which the army supported the step taken by the civilian government, and it was viewed by many as a sign of changing security priorities.
The Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 empowers the government to mark a person as "proscribed", and to place that person on the fourth schedule on an ex-parte basis.
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[Daily Excelsior] Police today busted a Hizbul Mujahideen murderous Moslem module and tossed in the slammer ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... its nine members from North Kashmire district of Baramulla who were luring local boys into militancy.
Deputy Inspector General of Police North Kashmire, Nitish Kumar, said that the module was busted with the arrest of a murderous Moslem Irshad Ahmad Shah of Seelu, Sopore in Baramulla district.
He said that the module was spearheading a huge network of murderous Moslem activities and recruitment of local boys in Baramulla and Sopore. "The murderous Moslem Irshad Shah has been active with Hizbul-Mujahideen murderous Moslem outfit for last more than 2 years", he said.
He said that Irshad Khawaja alias Tanveer along with two other absconders are involved in killing of one civilian Eid-ul-Amin Mir son of Abdul Ahad Mir of Maqboolabad Bahrampora and conspiracy was hatched in the house of one HM Over Ground Worker (OGW) Azhar Imtiyaz of Behrampora who stands arrested (case FIR No. 128/2016 dated: 25.12.2016).
DIG said that with the arrest of Irshad, police, Army and CRPF in Sopore has been able to lay hands on network of over ground activists of outfit who were aiding and abetting militancy besides luring young boys towards militancy.
"In a series of raids, Sopore police and security forces have arrested nine people who were influencing young and innocent boys to join militancy", he said. He identified the arrest people as Mudasir Ahmad Ganie?son of Ghulam-ud-Din Ganie of Ladoora, Abdul Majeed Dar son of Mohammad Munawar Ganie of Ladoora, Ajaz Ahmad Shah son of Mohammad Sultan of Bismillah Colony Shangergund Sopore, Azhar Imtiyaz son of Imtiyaz Ahmad Mir of Behrampora, Ghulam Mustafa Lone son of Mohammad Ashraf Lone of Thagund, Showkat Ahmad Mir son of Mohammad Zaffar Mir of Bomai, Aejaz Ahmad Bhat son of Mohammad Subhan Bhat of Bomai, Mohammad Yasin Tantray son of Ghulam Mohammad Tantray of Wadoora Payeen and Abdul Majid Shah son of Ghulam Ahmad Shah of Wadoora Payeen.
Kumar said that Azhar Khan of Trich, Kupwara who got killed along with other associate in encounter on February 4 was radical ideologue of the outfit who with other killed murderous Moslem had gone to Pakistain on passport and received terrorist training there.
"Both these forces of Evil were active in Sopore and Baramulla and with the help of this busted over ground superstructure were enticing young boys from Sopore and Baramulla for militancy", he said.
The DIG said that based on the information which was generated during the course of these investigations some boys who were being recruited for murderous Moslem activities were counseled and handed over to their families thus saving their lives.
Kumar appealed to the parents to watch over their children and not to let them to fall into the trap of murderous Moslem propaganda.
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[SCMP] Malaysia’s biggest Islamist party, long a whipping post for the country’s liberals, is finding itself newly popular with former rivals and estranged allies as it emerges as a potential kingmaker in upcoming general elections.
Due to its hardline brand of Islam, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) has traditionally had an uneasy relationship with the country’s non-Moslem communities, such as the ethnic Chinese and Indians, but the deep influence it has enjoyed with the majority Malay community since it was founded in 1951 could make it a deciding force in the national polls, widely expected this year.
Rural Malay seats are likely to be the key battleground in those polls, in which two coalition parties ‐ the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) and the Pakatan Harapan (Hope Coalition) ‐ will be the main contenders.
Why Malaysia is fighting Singapore over a rock
Leaders of both coalitions are working behind the scenes to curry favour with the PAS, as the Islamist party gears up for a rally this weekend in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, in a show of strength to convince the public it is still an influential political player.
The PAS left the Hope Coalition in 2015 and became independent after a fellow coalition member, the secular Democratic Action Party, protested against its campaign to introduce a Moslem penal code called hudud. A big shot of the Democratic Action Party ‐ which is popular with ethnic Chinese voters ‐ recently signalled a willingness to mend ties with the PAS, while former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, long known for his criticisms of the PAS’ ultra-conservatism, has also appeared to change tack.
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[SCMP] Tens of thousands of Malaysians rallied in the capital on Saturday to support the adoption of a strict Islamic penal code, a proposal religious minorities fear could infringe their rights.
Prime Minister Najib Razak has thrown his weight behind the contentious bill, which seeks to incorporate parts of the Islamic penal code, or "hudud", into Malaysia’s existing Islamic legal system.
Najib, who is currently embroiled in a corruption scandal, is hoping to burnish his Islamic credentials in order to boost his chances in national elections that must be held by August 2018.
Critics of the bill warn that it could pave the way for full implementation of hudud, which prescribes punishments such as amputations and stoning, and disrupt the fabric of Malaysia’s multicultural and multi-religious society.
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[Guardian] Zimbabwe’s 92-year-old president, Robert Mugabe, should run "as a corpse" in next year’s election if he dies before the vote, his wife has said.
Grace Mugabe accused some ruling Zanu-PF party officials of plotting to take over from her husband and said that if he dies supporters should put his name on the ballot to show their love for him.
"If God decides to take him, then we would rather field him as a corpse," she told thousands of supporters at a rally in Buhera, eastern Zimbabwe. She spoke in the local Shona language.
The president, who will be 93 on Tuesday, has scaled back his public engagements, while his wife, who is 51, has become increasingly visible in politics.
#1
thereby making zimbabwe the world's second necrocracy the first being North Korea where firstly Kim il Sung and then Kim Jong Il were granted eternal ruling posts upon their deaths
#6
...Sounds to me like 'ol Gracie knows something the rest of us don't.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/19/2017 11:57
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#7
According to a secret memo I found in a dumpster at the Houston Livestock Show, Gracie has contracted with Disney technologists to build an animatronic ZimBob. Sure, it's expensive, but it will keep the money rolling in after the Old Crocodile hisself is gone.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Pak Ambassador to Afghanistan was summoned over artillery shelling in eastern provinces of Afghanistan and safe havens of the bully boyz in Pakistain from where they launch attacks on Afghanistan.
Syed Abrar Hussain was summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to lodge a protest over the shelling
Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai conveyed Afghanistan’s condolences over the recent terrorist attacks in Pakistain and said the Afghan government wants the Pak authorities to take immediate steps against the bully boyz hiding in Pakistain.
Karzai further added that the recent artillery shelling in Lalpur district of 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.. and other eastern provinces has forced thousands of Afghans to flee their homes in a harsh winter season.
Asking the Pak authorities for explanation regarding the shelling, Karzai also expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... s regarding the arrest of nearly 150 Afghans in Islamabad and Rawalpindi cities of Pakistain and the closure of routes along the Durand Line.
The Pak ambassador promised to refer the issues shared by Afghanistan to the relevant authorities in Pakistain.
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#1
they should just have an Outlook reoccurring appointment for "Summoning" each other
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/19/2017 9:49
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Syria regime warplanes reportedly bombarded a besieged rebel-held district of Homs on Saturday, killing at least two people and raising the death toll to more than 20 in two weeks, an activist and monitoring group said.
Warplanes also hit rebel-controlled areas in Deraa in southern Syria during a series of heavy raids over the last day, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.
In Deraa, regime and Russian warplanes increased their bombardment of rebel-held areas, carrying out at least 70 air strikes on the city and towns in the eastern Deraa countryside on Friday and Saturday, the Observatory reported.
At least four people were killed by air strikes in the town of Umm al-Mayadhin, and one person in Busra al-Sham, it said.
For months, Al-Waer, the last rebel-held neighborhood in the western city of Homs, had been spared much of the intense violence raging elsewhere in the country, as the regime tried to conclude an agreement with Syrian opposition factions there.
Bombardment of the area resumed earlier this month, rescue workers and the British-based Observatory said.
The Observatory said three people were killed on Saturday, bringing the death toll since then to at least 30 people. An opposition media activist in al-Waer said two people had been killed and put February’s overall death toll at more than 20.
Damascus has tried to conclude a deal in al-Waer that would see rebel fighters and their families leave the district and regime forces take over.
The opposition says such accords are part of a regime strategy to forcibly displace populations from opposition-held areas after years of siege and bombardment.
In September, some 120 rebel fighters and their families left al-Waer in agreement with the government, but there have been no further reports of any rebels leaving. The Observatory estimates several thousand opposition units remain there.
Russia backs Damascus in its fight against insurgents, but has supported along with rebel-backer Turkey a ceasefire deal that was put in place on Dec. 30 and covers western Syria.
The warring sides have accused each other of violating the ceasefire and fighting has tarnished it almost since it began.
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[AA.TR] The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has finally ended the recruitment and use of children in the violent conflict plaguing southern Philippines, the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said Saturday.
In a statement, UNICEF Philippines said MILF has committed “to end the recruitment and use of children within their ranks" under an action plan it signed with UN concerned agencies in 2009 and 2013.
Representative Lotta Sylwander said the militant group released children who were associated with the revolutionary group's armed wing -- the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces and Bangsamoro Islamic Women's Auxiliary Brigade.
The first batch of around 1,858 children, who were identified and validated formally or informally associated with the MILF's armed wing, were reportedly released by the BIAF on Saturday in Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, where the MILF’s central headquarters is said to be located.
According to the statement, the release of child combatants will be until March 2017 and this step was part of a series of ceremonies that will eventually disengage children from being so-called MILF’s "child warriors".
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"Kill all the usual suspects, Sergeant Siddique, then round up the dead bodies. We don't have time for the usual order for such things."
Pakistani security forces killed dozens of suspected militants on Friday, a day after Islamic State claimed a suicide bombing that killed more than 80 worshippers at a Sufi shrine, the biggest in a spate of attacks this week across the country, Reuters reported.
The bombing at the famed Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in southern Sindh province was Pakistan's deadliest attack for two years, killing at least 83 people and highlighting the threat of militant groups such as the Pakistani Taliban and Islamic State.
"Over 100 terrorists have been killed since last night and sizeable apprehensions also made," the military said in an operations update on Friday evening.
"Terrorists will be targeted ruthlessly, indiscriminately, anywhere and everywhere. No let up," an armed forces spokesman added in a tweet.
With authorities facing angry criticism for failing to tighten security before the shrine bomber struck, analysts warned that the wave of violence pointed to a major escalation in Islamist militants' attempts to destabilize the region.
"This is a virtual declaration of war against the state of Pakistan," said Imtiaz Gul, head of the independent Center for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad.
With pressure growing for action, Pakistan demanded that neighboring Afghanistan hand over 76 "terrorists" it said were sheltering over the border.
The bombings over five days have hit all four of Pakistan's provinces and two major cities, shaking a nascent sense that the worst of the country's militant violence may be in the past.
A series of military operations against insurgent groups operating in Pakistan had encouraged hopes that their leaders were scattered.
"But this has led to a degree of complacency within our civil-military leadership that perhaps they have completely destroyed these elements, or broken their back," Gul said.
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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.
[TallahasseeDemocrat] Lt. Gen. Lawrence Snowden, Battle of Iwo Jima survivor, dies.
[Free Beacon] The White House on Friday fired a senior National Security Council aide after learning that he severely criticized President Donald Trump and his top aides, including daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, at an event in Washington, D.C.
[Daily Caller] Former Naval Intelligence Official Malcom Nance had some very stern warnings for President Trump regarding his recent reported clashes with the intelligence community when he appeared on MSNBC’s "The Last Word" Thursday night.
[Daily Caller] Cornell William Brooks, President and CEO of the NAACP, was at loss for words Thursday night as former Reagan adviser Jeffrey Lord injected a hypothetical Congressional White Caucus into a debate on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360.
[DeutscheWelle] Turkish Prime Minister Yildirim told a crowd in Germany that Turkey will not be intimidated by the West. His speech came as Ankara rallies support for a controversial referendum on centralizing presidential power.
Mohamed Omar Hagafey, who served as a spokesman for former Himan and Heeb administration was killed in a drive-by-shooting in Mogadishu on Saturday morning.
[DAWN] IN a prescient statement to the UN Security Council on Feb 13, Pakistain’s permanent representative, after describing the actions taken to restrain terrorism in Pakistain, asserted: "What Pakistain continues to face today are externally supported terrorists." As if on cue, successive terrorist attacks occurred in Lahore, 
[TAKIMAG] The author wasn’t just having an off day such as we all have whenever we try to think. Here is what she wrote in the same journal just before Christmas last year:
North Korea
The operations were conducted in eastern 
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The 
[AA.TR] 
[AA.TR] At least 21 
Mohmand Agency
[Hot Air] Bolton was a candidate for Secretary of State during the transition period, then a candidate to be a key undersecretary at the Department under Rex Tillerson, and then more recently ... nada. His name hadn’t been mentioned in connection lately with any major staffing positions, which is odd given that Trump reportedly came to admire him from his appearances on Fox News. (Also a key qualification for KT McFarland in landing her job as deputy NSA, apparently.) Bolton had two big problems in landing a job at State. One: Rex Tillerson allegedly had "misgivings" about him, whether because of Bolton’s ostentatious hawkishness or because a newbie diplomat at the head of the Department might fear being outmaneuvered by an ambitious, experienced old hand beneath him. And two, more importantly: Deputy positions at cabinet agencies require Senate confirmation, and Bolton has always been viewed as tough to confirm. The left despises him and might well be able to scare centrist Dems into voting lockstep against him; Rand Paul also despises Bolton for his hawkishness and has vowed to oppose him. That leaves a paper-thin majority of 51 votes to confirm him assuming zero other defections among the Senate GOP. And plenty of other Republicans, starting with Bob Corker, are said to have "misgivings" about Bolton. He might be unconfirmable.
[AA.TR] 
[MY.EARTHLINK.NET] A huge Pacific storm parked itself over Southern 
[FOX] Four people were arrested in North Philadelphia Friday night after protests turned violent, resulting in three police officers being injured, according to local police.
[AlAhram] Egypt’s Prime Minister Sherif Ismail issued a decree Saturday to ban 
...Smallest of the agencies in FATA. The Agency administration is located in Khar. Bajaur is inhabited almost exclusively by Tarkani Pashtuns, which are divided into multiple bickering subtribes. Its 52 km border border with Afghanistan's Kunar Province makes it of strategic importance to Pakistain's strategic depth...
...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in 
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) An officer of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service announced on Saturday, that a drone belonging to the Islamic State group shelled a popular market, east of Mosul, leaving a number of casualties.
[ArabNews] SULAIYMANIYA, Iraq: Militant Amar Hussein says he reads the Qur’an all day in his tiny jail cell to become a better person. He also says he raped more than 200 women from Iraqi minorities, and shows few regrets.
[AA.TR] Islam is not the source of terrorism, and Islamic scholars and 
Iraqi military operations to retake Western Mosul from ISIS started late Friday, with the US-led coalition forces striking an ISIS command and control headquarters in Western Mosul.
There are unconfirmed reports that the nephew of armed forces commander-in-chief Khalifa Hafter has been kidnapped in Benghazi.
Samir Geagea
Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
[Daily Excelsior] Police today busted a Hizbul Mujahideen
[SCMP] Malaysia’s biggest Islamist party, long a whipping post for the country’s liberals, is finding itself newly popular with former rivals and estranged allies as it emerges as a potential kingmaker in upcoming general elections.
[Guardian] Zimbabwe’s 92-year-old president, Robert Mugabe, should run "as a corpse" in next year’s election if he dies before the vote, his wife has said.
