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Maxine Waters, the quarter-century member of Congress who has new-found stardom as an attack dog for the left, suffered a brain freeze during an interview today when she was ranting about Donald Trump’s handling of the North Korea threat.
Speaking with Yahoo News, Waters was talking about China’s role in containing North Korea, and momentarily appeared confused about what she was discussing. Momentarily? The reporter must not have been observing her very long.
"Those in China have a great trading relationship, they sell an awful lot of stuff to North Korea," she said.
"And so (the Chinese) president is warning Trump, ’okay, don’t start talking about preemptive strikes. We want a diplomatic solution,'" Waters said, speculating about China’s conversations with Trump. "And we always do what our communist masters want us to do."
The 78-year-old continued, "’We do not want war in, uh, uh, uh, North Korea -- North, uh, um, um, Korea at all,'" struggling to complete her thought. To complete it. To start it. And everything in between. And during the breaks between thoughts, too.
It’s not the first time Waters has been stymied by Korea.
Speaking to reporters with other House Democrats in February, Waters attempted to build the case for why Democrats "may" push for impeachment.
"And the fact that he is wrapping his arms around Putin while Putin is continuing to advance into Korea." Who cares as long as it accomplishes the intended purpose.
She meant Crimea.
#3
But, but, but...they can sink our navy with one strike!
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04/27/2017 13:08
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#4
Intelligence gathering platform; built off a trawler design. Its chances against a livestock carrier were not good.
Locale is known for heavy and somewhat free-for-all marine traffic, fog, and poor visibility as a result. Wonder if the Russians decided not to use their marine-band radio...
#5
Note: the service members serving aboard a ship are generally know as sailors, not soldiers. Generally true in Russia as well as here.
(Now in China, the navy is referred to as PLAN, or the People's Revolutionary Army Navy. Which sounds like a football game...)
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04/27/2017 16:02
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#6
or Corpsemen
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04/27/2017 16:33
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#3
*sigh* I remember a video arguing that there are essentially two forms of government: Republics and Oligarchies. Either believe in the Rule of Law or end up in the Rule of the Few. Believing that laws are like a buffet where you can pick the ones you obey is only one step from anarchy and then tyranny.
#2
Sylvethtral the thene up at Dartmouth,
Where heathens all seethe at the heartless,
But the truffulas lean
(every color but green!)
To the sinister side irregardless.
#2
Police on Tuesday identified him as Derrell L. Mayes, 30, of the 1500 block of Varnum Drive in Dellwood. He has a criminal history that includes burglary, assault and gun charges was turning his life around when murdered in his prime.
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04/27/2017 10:06
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[WAPO] The top U.S. military officer in the Pacific said Wednesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is "clearly in a position to threaten Hawaii today" with a ballistic missile attack and that the Pentagon should consider adding new ballistic missile interceptors and defensive radar there to counter that possibility.
Navy Adm. Harry Harris, the chief of U.S. Pacific Command, told the House Armed Services Committee there are already "sufficient" ballistic missile interceptors protecting the United States at Fort Greely in Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. But he added there is a possibility that not every missile would be stopped in an attack. Hawaii, about 2,500 miles to California’s southwest, could benefit from having new equipment to protect itself, he said.
Follow Navy Adm. Harry Harris' recommendation and let the NORKS know (through discreet channels) that should any of their missiles or arty be fired at the US or it's allies, very, very bad things will immediately take place.
#3
Don't care where they are located as long as New Iberia is under the umbrella. Saving a few billion$ playing with the strategic pepper supply is a bad biz.
Delta Air Lines has come under fire for reportedly removing a passenger who went to the bathroom while the plane was delayed on the runway.
The Milwaukee-bound flight from Atlanta had been sat on the tarmac for about 30 minutes when Kima Hamilton, a 39-year-old 'DJ and poet', got up to ask the crew if he could go to the toilet.
"We weren't taking off. We were still. The plane isn't moving," he told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel as he recalled the April 18 incident.
The attendants refused and he returned to his seat. But as the delay continued, he rose and quickly went to the bathroom.
"The pilot came on and said, 'Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry for the inconvenience but we have to return to the gate and remove a passenger,' " Mr Hamilton said.
#2
I can see where an old guy with a prostate problem or someone with bladder problems might need to use the bathroom prior to take-off and frequently thereafter. Flying would not be his/her cup of tea. They do make discrete incontinence bags you can wear on your leg; one is called the "stadium pal." Flying has become a hassle and airline policies have become insufferable.
I have been in a plane where the brakes were cooked so bad everyone at backrest. Atlanta is a busy international airport, everything put on hold while a person uses the water cabinet?
39 YO DJ and poet, any guesses if alcohol is involved here? I'm not saying I don't have a bloody mary or three before flying, but an inebriated passenger not following multiple direct orders is a hazard. It is a hazard anyways.
Think this is bad, my vehicle rules are even more stringent. Most driving is what, 95% happily uneventful. That other 5% high plains squall or mud rain is not the time to learn riding discipline. Merging into the mousetrap during rush hour is no time to use the guard rail either, s'why I ask the kids well ahead of time to use the potty because it will be at least an hour before next chance.
#8
The Milwaukee-bound flight from Atlanta had been sat on the tarmac for about 30 minutes
Cause if they push off the gate, then they can claim departure time no matter how long they sit on the tarmac. Been some near revolts in the past with passengers literally sitting for hours.
Given the airlines and FAA don't want to invest in the means to efficiently handle traffic cause they want to push volume to the wall, there will be no solution. None of the players want to be told, no you can't have that many planes operating out of an airport at the same time.
#9
Spent the last 14 years of my carreer as a 40 or so a week traveler. Had this happen, I'm sorry but at my age I can't hold it for an indefinite time. Did this probably more than once without comment. Either we're not getting the whole story or Delta sucks bigly.
[Telegraph] A massive explosion struck near Damascus International Airport early on Thursday setting off large fires, in what was thought to be an Israeli air strike on an arms depot used by Hizbollah.
The blast was outside the airport itself. It was not immediately clear whether it was the result of an air strike or a ground attack, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Israeli warplanes have hit the airport and other bases around the capital in the past, targeting what it said were weapons stockpiles of its Lebanese foe Hezbollah, which is allied with the Syrian government.
"The blast was huge," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. "It's unclear what caused the explosion but there are fires raging at the site."
[Right Scoop] Wow. That’s really a big deal and Trump gets major kudos for making this happen.
But Trump wasn’t there to take all the credit. In fact he singled out Mike Lee in a lengthy exchange for continuing to press this issue over and over in order to make this happen. It was a great moment for Lee.
I’ve included the entire executive order signing with Trump’s speech below for you to watch:
#2
Probably g(r)omgoru but it would seem Trump is within his authority. Obama was horrible for individual property rights and State's rights. I should say he was just plain horrible.
"Wielding the Antiquities Act of 1906, Obama has seized vast swaths of land and water for the federal government a total of 29 times, claiming more than 260 million acres as federally-protected spaces in 2016 alone (including a more than 100-million-acre plot in Alaska that amounts to the size of New Mexico).
In fact, of the 154 times the Antiquities Act has been used by a president to seize land over the past 110 years, President Obama’s executive land grabs together make up about 20 percent." Obama's land grab.
#3
Trump was within his rights (or, more precisely, duties of his office) to restrict Islamic in-migration. Ditto, for denying federal funds to rebellious "sanctuary" cities.
BLUF: [Hot Air] For the record, Napolitano has denied the claims made in the audit. She says the reserve fund was only $38 million which was set aside as a reserve in case of emergency. But needless to say, all of this stinks to high heaven. Howle, the auditor, told the SF Chronicle, "I’ve never had a situation like that in my 17 years as state auditor." Lawmakers plan to hold a hearing on the results of the audit next week.
[Legal Insurrection] As the GOP and President Trump kick the border wall funding can down the road, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has proposed the Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order (EL CHAPO) Act. The proposal includes using the expected $14 billion to be seized from El Chapo should he be convicted to pay for the big, beautiful border wall. UPI, same story.
#5
Every time they find drugs in a car, truck, airplane or boat coming into this country they confiscate it. When they catch people attempting to smuggle large amounts of cash into Mexico they confiscate it. When they catch coyotes smuggling people into the country they confiscate any vehicles or cash they find. It may not pay for the entire wall but it's gotta help.
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04/27/2017 12:48
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[Wash Times] It’s the terrorist marriage made in hell.
The Islamic State group and al Qaeda, long rivals for supremacy in the jihadi struggle, are feeling more pressure to combine as the Islamic State loses its territorial base in Syria and Iraq and the still-potent terrorist network founded by Osama bin Laden prepares to welcome legions of foreign fighters fleeing the advancing U.S.-backed coalition, analysts and officials in the region say.
"The discussion [on combining forces] has started now," Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi warned this month in an interview with the Reuters news agency.
Born out of al Qaeda’s Iraqi faction that battled U.S. and coalition forces during the bloody years of the American combat mission, the jihadis famously broke with the Pakistani-based terrorist group in 2012 to form the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.
Two years later, the group would declare a "caliphate," rename itself the Islamic State and rule a wide swath of the Middle East stretching from its self-styled capital of Raqqa, Syria, to the outskirts of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.
[BBC] A student has admitted building a bomb and leaving it on a Tube train but said it was for a prank, a court heard.
Rantburg's report of the gentleman's arrest can be found here.
Damon Smith denies making or possessing an explosive substance with intent to endanger life but at the Old Bailey he admitted perpetrating a bomb hoax.
The prosecution said Mr Smith intended the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) to explode and endanger the lives of people on the Jubilee Line train.
Prosecutors said the IED contained ball bearings to act as shrapnel.
Jonathan Rees QC, for the prosecution, said this was to "increase the destructive effect of the device".
'Lost property'
At the start of the trial, Mr Rees said the defendant told police he had built a device which when activated was intended only to produce smoke.
However, nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits... the defendant added the ball bearings because he wanted to make it look like a real bomb so the train would be stopped and it would be reported on the news, Mr Rees added.
The court heard the device was found by two passengers when Mr Smith got off the train at London Bridge station last October.
They handed it to a driver, Adrian Clarke, who initially thought it was for lost property but then, as he drove to North Greenwich, realised it contained two wires coming out of the back of a clock, the court heard.
The court heard the student had moved to Rotherhithe in south-east London with his mother from Newton Abbot, Devon, when he started a computer forensics degree at London Metropolitan University.
The defendant has Asperger's syndrome, or Autism Spectrum Disorder
*sigh* Yes, another one.
as it was known, and has a keen interest in guns and other weapons that may have been a function of the condition, the court heard.
The prosecution said officers had found:
A blank self-loading pistol purchased in September 2016
A carbon-dioxide powered revolver designed to fire ball-bearings, a knife in a sheath and a knuckleduster
An examination of an iPad contained an image of the defendant standing in front of a TV screen showing a photograph of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, alleged to have criminal masterminded the attacks in Gay Paree in November 2015
This also contained images of him posing with guns and a shopping list for "pressure cooker bomb materials"
Shredded paper which when reconstructed was identified as being an article from an al-Qaeda online publication called Inspire first which gave details on how to build a pipe bomb
The court heard Mr Smith told police he had been brought up a Christian but was interested in Islam which he thought was "more true".
He did not really practise Islam, although he read the Koran and sometimes prayed in the morning when it was convenient but did not hold extreme views, the court heard.
Mr Rees said that on the day of the incident the defendant had started a timing mechanism on the device while he was at Southwark station, changing trains.
Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Slats grabbed for his rosco... Mr Smith went to his university campus at Holloway and searched for news articles on the incident when he got home later, the court heard.
[Ynet] The Russian counterintelligence agency has announced the arrest of two suspected supporters 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.... group who it says were planning a terror attack.
The FSB said Wednesday the two men were tossed in the clink Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! in an apartment in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, a city on the Pacific island of Sakhalin.
It said one was a citizen of Russia and the other of one of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia. They were not identified.
The agency said a search of where they were living turned up a homemade bomb and ISIS propaganda literature.
[Ynet] Up to 4,500 Russian and ex-Soviet nationals were fighting for ISIS in early 2015, the RIA news agency quoted Russian army official Sergei Rudskoy as saying on Wednesday.
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[SHABELLENEWS] Sixteen Somali piratestossed in the calaboose Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! during anti-piracy operations in 2011 today told a sessions court that they committed a crime but want to go home now and meet their families.
The court recorded the statements of the pirates who were arrested by the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard in 2011.
"The court recorded their plea under the provisions of section 313 of Criminal Procedure Code," said special public prosecutor Ranjeet Sangle.
Under the section 313, an accused is given an opportunity to personally explain any circumstances appearing in the evidence against him.
During recording of their statements, they said that they wanted to go home and meet their families. Some of them said that they have to be near their old parents as they need them now.
Two of the accused told the court that they took to the crime as the administration had collapsed in Somalia.
"I committed the mistake as there was no government in my country and I have realised it now. My wife is waiting for me there (in Somalia)," said Ali Afrah.
Echoing Afrah, another accused Mussa Rehman said that he took to the crime because of the collapse of government in his country.
"It (taking to crime) was because of the situation prevalent there (in Somalia) at that time. I wanted to meet my children now," he added.
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[An Nahar] A report by French intelligence services blames Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... 's regime for a suspected chemical attack in rebel-held Syria that killed 87 people, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Wednesday.
He said the analysis of samples taken at the scene of the April 4 attack in Khan Sheikhun showed "there is no doubt that sarin gas was used".
"There is also no doubt about the responsibility of the Syrian regime given the way that the sarin used was produced," Ayrault told journalists after presenting a report compiled by French intelligence services.
"This (production) method bears the regime's hallmarks and allows us to determine its responsibility for this attack," he said.
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[An Nahar] A recent Saudi government and security shake-up aims to strengthen King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Cutodian of the Two Holy Mosquesand Lord of Most of the Arabians.... 's increasingly powerful son against a royal rival and to bolster ties with Washington, analysts and diplomats say.
Royal decrees at the weekend saw a number of allies of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman moved into key positions and another son of the king named as ambassador to Washington.
The goal, a foreign diplomat told AFP, is "to strengthen MBS (Mohammed bin Salman) and the Salman branch" of the al-Saud family which has ruled 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... since the country's founding.
Mohammed bin Salman, 31, has risen to prominence since he was named deputy crown prince two years ago, a few months after his father took the throne following the death of King Abdullah.
The king's nephew Mohammed bin Nayef, now 57, was at the same time named crown prince and is the heir apparent.
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[An Nahar] A UAE court on Wednesday sentenced an Iranian to 10 years in prison followed by deportation for attempting to ship a generator to his home country in breach of international sanctions.
The appeals court in Abu Dhabi found the unnamed man guilty of "attempting to export a power generator to Iran for its nuclear program, in breach of international sanctions," state news agency WAM reported.
It did not say when the offense was committed. Nuclear-related international sanctions on Iran were lifted following a landmark deal between Tehran and major powers in 2015.
The influence of Shiite-dominated Iran in the Middle East remains a major concern for Gulf countries, including the UAE.
Tehran is a staunch ally of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... , Yemen's Houthis and Shiite gangs in Iraq and Leb.
Authorities in Bahrain, where a crackdown on mainly Shiite protesters has seen hundreds tossed in the clink Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! , have also accused Iran of backing opposition groups.
In a separate case, WAM reported that two men were sentenced to three years in prison and fined 500,000 dirhams ($136,000) each for "posting online information and ideas that aim to incite sedition, hatred and confessionalism."
Local daily al-Ittihad cited judicial sources as saying the two men were citizens of Bahrain.
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[Iraq News] al-Hashd al-Shaabi militia announced, on Wednesday, cutting off the main road between the districts of al-Hadher and Rawa.
The majority-Shiite forces said in a statement that its 11th brigade managed, today, to cut off the main road between al-Hadher and Rawa Districts completely.
The number of displaced persons that were received by al-Hashd al-Shaabi troops in al-Hadher District reached 3000 IDPs, the statement added.
Noteworthy, al-Hashd al-Shaabi forces announced launching an offensive, yesterday, to liberate al-Hadher District, and the surrounding areas, south of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , while Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada militia cut off 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.... ’s supply line between al-Baa’j and al-Hadher Districts.
Later yesterday, troops of al-Hashd al-Shaabi, backed by Army Aviation, managed to liberate 12 villages in al-Hadher district, followed by the liberation of three more villages today.
Earlier today, al-Hashd al-Shaabi media directorate announced that that the security forces also managed to liberate the archaeological area in al-Hadher District, in Nineveh Province.
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[Daily Signal] Since 2002, billions of U.S. tax dollars have been spent rebuilding Afghanistan after decades of war. A big chunk of that money pays Afghan soldiers and police.
But it turns out a lot of those troops may not, in fact, exist. On "Full Measure," we investigate how your tax money is being wasted on "ghost soldiers."
Here’s my interview with John Sopko, who is the inspector general watching over the U.S. taxpayer billions spent to rebuild Afghanistan.
#3
But it turns out a lot of those troops may not, in fact, exist. On "Full Measure," we investigate how your tax money is being wasted on "ghost soldiers."
Been going on literally for ages. One of the reasons the office of Inspector General was created by monarchs who couldn't print money on paper and in effect ignore the problem (cause something would need to be done about it).
[VictoryGirlsBlog] The United Nations has contacted the Trump administration as part of an investigation into whether repealing the Affordable Care Act without an adequate substitute for the millions who would lose health coverage would be a violation of several international conventions that bind the United States. It turns out that the notion that "health care is a right" is more than just a Democratic talking point.
A confidential, five-page "urgent appeal" from the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights in Geneva, sent to the Trump administration, cautions that the repeal of the Affordable Care Act could put the United States at odds with its international obligations. The Feb. 2 memo, which I obtained Tuesday, was sent to the State Department and expresses 'serious concern" about the prospective loss of health coverage for almost 30 million people, which could violate "the right to social security of the people in the United States.'
The letter urges that "all necessary interim measures be taken to prevent the alleged violations" and asks that, if the 'allegations" proved correct, there be "adequate measure to prevent their occurrence as well as to guarantee the accountability of any person responsible.'" Awaiting Permanent Representative Haley's response.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/27/2017 10:21
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#8
Haley should announce that the United Nations has 24 hours to issue a formal apology for meddling in the internal politics of the United States, and that should the apology be even 5 minutes late in arriving that ALL US funding of the United Nations would be immediately withdrawn.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Fifteen Islamic State members were killed as Iraqi security forces, backed by paramilitary troops, launched Wednesday an operation to clear a border area between Diyala and Salahuddin provinces from Islamic State militants, military media reported.
The Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said a military offensive was launched early Wednesday to clear Mutaibija region and surrounding areas. The statement said forces partaking in the onslaught included army and police troops from both provinces, as well as al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) and army air forces.
Shafaaq News quoted Jassem Jabbara, head of the security committee in Salahuddin province council, saying that 15 militants were killed while six vehicles belonging to the group were destroyed in the offensive.
Mutaibija has witnessed occasional attacks by Islamic State against government and paramilitary troops deployments since Iraqi forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and PMus, launched a major offensive to retake areas occupied by IS since 2014, most notably the city of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and the group’s most important stronghold in the country.
Observers have said Islamic State’s occasional attacks against security and civilians outside Mosul aimed at distracting security attention from the Mosul front. IS still holds a few areas in Salahuddin, Diyala, Anbar and Kirkuk, but the Iraqi government, employing most of its military power in the Mosul campaign, is expected to aim at those strongholds once the battle in Mosul realizes victory.
Iraqi generals say IS militants currently control less than seven percent of Iraqi territory.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq says violence in Iraq left 1115 people dead and wounded in March. Google Map at the link
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[AlAhram] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... on Wednesday detained more than 1,000 people in a huge new crackdown against alleged supporters of a holy man accused of orchestrating the coup bid against President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... The dawn raids across the country -- seeking more than 3,000 suspects -- come just over a week after Erdogan narrowly won a controversial referendum on ramping up his powers.
They are the latest indication Turkey intends no let-up in the fight against its perceived enemies after the vote, with fighter jets Tuesday pounding Kurdish turban targets in Iraq and northern Syria.
A total of 1,120 suspects have so far been detained, the official Anadolu news agency said.
Anadolu said 4,672 suspects were sought -- of whom 1,448 are already in jail -- meaning that a total of 3,224 arrest warrants were issued.
About 8,500 coppers were involved in the nationwide operation, Anadolu reported, adding that arrest warrants had been issued for 390 suspects in Istanbul alone.
After the latest sweep, German foreign ministry front man Sebastian Fischer said Berlin "has taken note of the mass detentions with concern", urging respect for rule of law.
The Hurriyet newspaper reported that arrest warrants had been issued against a total of 7,000 suspects across Turkey, citing unidentified sources.
The suspects are so-called "secret imams" of Gulen suspected of infiltrating themselves into the police or other state institutions, it reported.
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"The U.S. Air Force test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile which traveled over 4,000 miles before splashing down in the South Pacific after launching early Wednesday from a base in California.
The nuclear-capable missile was unarmed, according to the Air Force, and comes amid increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The Minuteman III missile blasted off at 12:03 a.m. Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
The test was long-planned, according to defense officials. When asked about the timing of the test amid the threats surrounding North Korea, one official told Fox News, "If we had canceled the launch, that would be a story too."
The U.S. Air Force has 450 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles in underground silos across three bases in Wyoming, North Dakota and Montana. This number will be reduced to 400 in the coming years, according to a senior U.S. military official.
The U.S. military also maintains a fleet of long range B-2 and B-52 bombers capable of delivering nuclear weapons as well as a fleet of ballistic missile submarines. Air Force fighter jets can carry smaller tactical nuclear weapons as well.
The mission was part of a program to test the effectiveness, readiness, and accuracy of the weapon system, Air Force officials said.
The 30th Space Wing commander, Col. John Moss, said Minuteman launches have been essential to verify the status of the U.S. nuclear force and to demonstrate the national nuclear capabilities.
In a Minuteman test, a so-called re-entry vehicle travels more than 4,000 miles downrange to a target at Kwajalein Atoll near the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
"Team V is once again ready to work with Air Force Global Strike Command to successfully launch another Minuteman III missile," Moss said. "These Minuteman launches are essential to verify the status of our national nuclear force and to demonstrate our national nuclear capabilities. We are proud of our long history in partnering with the men and women of the 576th Flight Test Squadron to execute these missions for the nation."
The 576th Flight Test Squadron will be responsible for installed tracking, telemetry, and command destruct systems on the missile.
#3
How would the Russians and Chinese know the difference between test firing and real thing? Obviously we warn them ahead of time but how would they know we weren't pulling trickery? Inquiring minds want to know...
#4
Well the fact that we aren't firing 50 or more of them at once would be kind of a hint. Who do do a first strike with only one (besides North Korea)?
[IsraelTimes] Alleged arms trafficker Claude Hermant one suspect in probe of how jihadist Amedy Coulibaly obtained firearms with which he killed four in the Jewish supermarket.
French police have detained 10 people in the investigation of the deadly 2015 attack on a Jewish supermarket in Gay Paree, sources close to the probe told Agence La Belle France Presse on Wednesday.
The suspects include a suspected arms trafficker, Claude Hermant.
Investigators are seeking to ascertain how the assailant, La Belle France-based jihadist Amedy Coulibaly, obtained the weapons used in the Jan. 9, 2015, attack on the Hyper Cacher market.
Coulibaly was killed by police after murdering four in a hostage siege that began on the same day that jihadists killed 12 at the offices of the Charlie Hebdo ...A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority if the active testicles left in Europe... satirical magazine.
Prosecutors say Hermant, who is awaiting trial in a separate arms trafficking case, has links with far-right groups in northern La Belle France
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[IsraelTimes] Egyptian security officials say that members of a prominent local tribe in northern Sinai have burned alive a suspected Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... Death Eater.
Officials say the man’s charred body was found earlier today south the town of Rafah in the Sinai Peninsula.
They say the killing comes hours after an Islamic State jacket wallah attacked a checkpoint in northern Sinai and killed four Bedouin guards who were members of the Tarabeen tribe.
The incident is the latest escalation in the conflict in the peninsula, where Egyptian forces have been battling a growing insurgency with local tribes mostly remaining on the sidelines
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#1
And since damn near everyone in a Bedouin tribe is a cousin you get instant blood feud. Then there are relations in other tribes, so it could interesting since they have only burned one when they lost four. The ISIL could be getting staked out with their eyelids removed for years.
[FoxNews] Two Afghan migrants who raped a woman for three hours while their mate filmed it on Facebook Live have been jailed for just two years.
The three were arrested after cops stormed the room from which the vile attack was being broadcast live to a closed Facebook group with 60,000 members.
Horrified members had alerted cops after seeing the woman who was “close to unconscious” being assaulted in the town of Uppsala northwest of Stockholm on January 22.
The film was removed from Facebook but not before it had been circulated on the internet.
Today a Swedish court sentenced Reza Mohammed Ahmadi, 21, to two years and four months in prison for rape and accessory to rape, while Maysam Afshar, 18, was sentenced to one year in prison for rape – a reduced sentence due to his age.
Both are Afghan citizens who have been granted residency in Sweden.
Emil Khodagholi, a 21-year-old Swedish citizen, was sentenced to six months in prison for posting the recording to Facebook.
Taliban vs. ISIS cage match. Here's hoping they both lose.
[Khaama] At least 91 insurgents have been killed as deadly clashes erupted among the Taliban insurgents and the loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group.
According to the local government officials, the majority of the casualties were inflicted to the Taliban insurgents.
Provincial governor’s spokesman Mohammad Reza Ghafoori said the clashes started in Darzab district on Tuesday and still continue between the two sides.
He said at least 76 Taliban insurgents and 15 ISIS militants have been killed so far, citing the preliminary information received by the government.
Ghafoori further added that 56 Taliban insurgents have also been wounded alongn 12 ISIS fighters.
The anti-government armed militant groups have not commented regarding the report so far.
Jawzjan is among the relatively volatile provinces in North of Afghanistan where the anti-government armed militant groups are actively operating in some of its districts.
The province has also witnessed growing activities by the loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group who are mainly operating in Darzab district.
The group has carried out numerous attacks against the government and other institutions including the kidnapping of several ICRC workers in this province.
#2
Potentially there's three factors: Taliban supported by ISI, 'feral' Taliban based in Afghanistan who attack Pak assets, and IS (who may or may not be supported by ISI or other official Pak entities).
At least twenty eight militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were killed during the clearance operations in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.
The provincial government office in a statement said the operations were conducted in the restive Achin district.
The statement further added that the militants were targeted in the vicinity of Asad Khel and Ragha areas of Achin as the Afghan forces are busy conducting counter-terrorism operations under the name of Hamza operations.
Several weapons belonging to the insurgents were also destroyed during the operations, the statement said, adding that the local residents and security forces did not suffer any casualties in the operations.
Nangarhar has been witnessing persistent counter-terrorism operations since last year and currently the Afghan forces are conducting the operations under the name of Hamza operations to eliminate the presence of ISIS-K militants from its restive districts.
This comes as local officials said Monday at least 37 militants of ISIS terror group were killed during the clearance operations since Sunday.
According to the officials, at least 22 of the militants were killed in Asad Khel area, 8 others were killed in Akhundzadas village, and 7 others were killed in the vicinity of Ango Jamat area of Achin.
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An outbreak of violence between rival groups of inmates at a prison in eastern Venezuela has left 12 dead and 11 injured, the government said Wednesday.
A spokesman for the ministry of penitentiary affairs, who gave the toll of dead and wounded, said nine of those killed died of gunshot wounds.
The deadly clashes erupted early Tuesday in the eastern city of Barcelona at the Jose Antonio Anzoategui prison, considered one of the country’s most violent.
The prison had been undergoing reforms aimed in part at disarming inmates, but “there are still arms there and there are prisoners who rebelled,” the ministry spokesman said.
“At this moment, an investigation is still underway, and this Wednesday those responsible will be brought before the courts.”
He declined to detail what caused the fighting.
A prisoner rights group said a power struggle took place within the gang that has de facto control over the prison.
“It was like a coup d’etat” against the gang’s boss, who was killed in the fighting, said Carlos Nieto of the group Window on Freedom.
“The group that wanted to seize power were inmates who had been transferred from the General Penitentiary of Venezuela,” some 350 kilometers (220 miles) to the west, he said.
The Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons, a non-governmental monitoring group, said 14 inmates were killed at the prison last year.
Estimates of the country’s prison population range from nearly 55,000 to 88,000, many of them in overcrowded jails awaiting prosecution. The government provides no official figures on inmate populations.
The prison system has an official capacity of around 35,000 inmates.
More steel lining for the bottom of the Pacific Ocean
China has launched its first domestically designed and built aircraft carrier, state media said Wednesday, as the country seeks to transform its navy into a force capable of projecting power onto the high seas.
Beijing has embarked on an extensive project to build a “blue water” navy and modernize its two million-strong military, the world’s largest.
The country’s rapidly expanding military might includes a range of maritime defense capabilities, a fleet of attack submarines, and highly sophisticated anti-aircraft systems that prevent enemy vessels from nearing its coast.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that “all must be done” to improve the country’s battle capacities so it can “fight and win wars.”
Adorned with colorful ribbons, the Type 001A ship “transferred from dry dock into the water at a launch ceremony” in the northeastern port city of Dalian, according to official broadcaster CCTV.
The ribbon-cutting was followed by the traditional breaking of a champagne bottle on the ship’s bow.
China’s defense ministry has previously said the new carrier would displace 50,000 tons and use conventional rather than nuclear propulsion.
It is expected to carry China’s indigenous J-15 aircraft, along with other planes.
#2
That thing is going to be shadowed by a US submarine during the whole of its operational life. One false move and it receives several torpedoes in the hull.
Moreover it's gratifying to see the Chinese wasting their resources on white elephants like aircraft carriers when the future of naval warfare is in robot submarines and intelligent sea mines.
Posted by: Herb McCoy7309 ||
04/27/2017 4:28
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Rutba (IraqiNews.com) Two Iraqi soldiers were killed and five others were wounded in an ambush set by Islamic State militants west of Anbar, while 15 militants died in an airstrike, military commanders said Wednesday.
IS militants ambushed the soldiers in al-Sakkar, east of the western Anbar city of Rutba, Anadolu Agency reported, quoting Anbar police captain Ahmed al-Deleimi. The ambush targeted a convoy of off-duty border guards, according to the officer, leaving two dead and five injured.
Meanwhile, Qassem al-Mohammadi, commander of the army’s al-Jazeera Operations in Anbar, said fighter jets from the U.S.-led coalition pounded an Islamic State rest house in the town of Annah, leaving 15 members dead. A suicide bomber was also killed in another airstrike when jets targeted his booby-trapped vehicle.
Mohammadi said the strikes come as part of preparations to invade Islamic State strongholds in Annah, Rawa and Qaim, west of Anbar, which militants have held since 2014.
Thousands of civilians are thought to be held in Islamic State captivity at those locations. It is widely expected that the Iraqi government will launch a major security offensive in Anbar once it is done with the campaign to drive out IS from Mosul, the group’s principal stronghold in Iraq.
Islamic State members reportedly killed and wounded 30 Iraqi security members in an ambush near al-Rutba on Sunday. Google Map at the link
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A number of the ISIL terrorists were killed and others were injured in intensive operations carried out by the Syrian Army and Armed Forces units against their gatherings and infiltration axes in the surroundings of Deir Ezzor City.
SANA’s reporter in Deir Ezzor said that an army unit on Wednesday morning engaged in fierce clashes with ISIL-affiliated terrorist groups in the area of al-Maqaber (cemeteries) at the outskirts of Deir Ezzor city, killing 5 terrorists and injuring others.
The reporter added that army units carried out concentrated bombardments against gatherings of the ISIL terrorists in the surroundings of Deir Ezzor Military Airport, in the area of al-Tharda, in al-Maqaber, and in the surroundings of Regiment 137, destroying their vehicles and killing a number of them.
The reporter quoted civil sources as saying that fierce clashes erupted among ISIL terrorists in the surroundings of the Sciences Faculty and a number of Deir Ezzor neighborhoods, as scores of terrorists were killed and others were injured.
The source indicated that the self-proclaimed leaders of the ISIL terrorist organization kidnapped a number of the locals in Khsham town as a group of the ISIL fighters were killed in clashes with the locals in the area of the factories to the north of Deir Ezzor.
Hama
Army strengthened its positions in the northern countryside of Hama, killing or injuring hundreds of terrorists and destroying 29 vehicles, 3 ammunition depots and 3 tanks.
Source: SANA
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Beirut – The Lebanese Army Command announced on Tuesday that it was intensifying its “preemptive” attacks against extremist bases and locations on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal.
The offensive coincided with the arrival of a new batch of American weapons to the army. The cargo was unloaded at the Riyaq airport.
The operations, which have been upped for a week, indicate that the Lebanese military has taken the decision to decisively end the presence of extremists on the outskirts of Arsal. The militants from groups, such as ISIS and al-Nusra Front, have taken up the mountainous border area as a safe haven.
Lebanese political forces informed on the operations told Asharq Al-Awsat that the preemptive measures “target the militant fortifications to prevent their expansion” into other areas and to “thwart their mobility.”
President Michel Aoun had highlighted to Army Commander Joseph Aoun and members of the Military Council last week the importance of the preemptive operations in order to prevent terrorist attacks in Lebanon, revealed the sources.
The army had carried out at dawn on Tuesday a wide military operation against ISIS positions in Lebanon’s eastern mountain range. The National News Agency said that 20 ISIS members were killed and wounded in the operation in the outskirts of Ras Baalbek.
An informed source revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the army kicked off the operations with airstrikes against the militants. This was followed by drones that gathered information. Airstrikes were again carried out as ISIS was collecting its wounded.
The operations will continue as part of the preemptive army mission in the area, it stressed.
The army had carried out on Saturday a “complex” operation that saw the arrest of dozens of terrorists and the death of the religious judge of ISIS in al-Qalamoun.
In a related development, Fatah al-Sham booby-trapping official Abou Qassem al-Talleh was killed and his aide Ahmed Abou Daoud was wounded in a car bombing on the outskirts of Arsal. NNA said that Abou Daoud’s condition was critical.
The Internal Security Forces – Intelligence Bureau also announced the arrest in March of two Lebanese nationals, who confessed to belonging to ISIS and contacting the terror group’s leaders in Lebanon and Syria.
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Nancy Pelosi's mission on Tuesday was to give a brief speech and not renew questions about her health. Or her blood sugar level.
She couldn't do it. Congestive heart failure and AFib? Just a suggestion.
During Pelosi's brief 7-minute speech to Refugees International, the House Democratic Leader garbled names, other words and even mispronounced countries.
She congratulated honorees for their well-deserved "resc -- recognition."
Pelosi complimented Refugees International's "strong moral varce -- voice."
She said America "degrades our values and our security when we slam the door in the face of children freeing -- fleeing atrocities."
She botched country names as she read them from her notes.
"With the specter of famine looming in, over northeast Nigeria, Somalia, south "Sudon," and "Yuma -- Yamen," she said, flubbing "Yemen."
Pelosi asserted cutting the foreign aid budget would "only deepen the crisis fighting -- facing the children."
"Children, America, children need America to be their champion," she said moments later.
Pelosi thanked Refugees International for "channeling -- challenging us to honor our values."
Just over 7 minutes after she started, Pelosi thanked the group for the invitation, stood and stared awkwardly, then made her way off the stage. Horse. Pasture. Some assembly required.
I've heard that Botox is known to migrate from the injection site. Perhaps some got to her mouth...
#4
Long-term dietary habits, alcohol, and job stress are likely not to blame. I recommend she stay away from fruits, vegetables whole grains and the so-called Mediterranean diets. She must show her body who is boss.
[AlAhram] Spanish authorities said Wednesday that they had jugged Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! an Egyptian suspected of facilitating the return of Islamist turbans from Iraq and Syria and a Spaniard who allegedly recruited people for the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group.
The arrests in the southeastern city of Teulada and the enclave of Ceuta in northern Morocco came a day after Spanish police detained four men with alleged links to people involved in the Brussels airport and metro attacks last year.
The 46-year-old Egyptian man arrested in Teulada is suspected of having "facilitated the return of holy warriors belonging to ISIS (IS) who had decided to return from Syria and Iraq," the interior ministry said in a statement.
He is suspected of providing them with a place to stay and helping with administrative procedures.
He also distributed "documents justifying attacks committed by ISIS" among the Moslem community in his area and on social media networks, the statement said.
Separately, the police said they had arrested a 29-year-old Spaniard in the poor district of El Principe in Ceuta.
Police described him as "a key element in ISIS's recruitment and indoctrination machine."
They said "he recruited vulnerable young people to progressively radicalise them", and was suspected of wanting to go to conflict zones himself.
His wife had previously been detained on suspicion of similar propaganda and recruitment activities.
According to the interior ministry, 69 suspected jihadists were arrested in 2016 and another 29 have been held so far this year.
But Spain has seen far fewer citizens travelling abroad to join the ranks of IS than other European countries.
According to the Real Instituto Elcano, a prominent Spanish think tank, about 160 Spain-based "fighters" have left the country for conflict zones, compared with more than a thousand in neighbouring La Belle France.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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[DAWN] Several suspected snuffies were reportedly killed in air strikes in the Rajgal valley area 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... , the military’s media wing said on Wednesday.
Inter-Services Public Relations said the suspected snuffies were trying to enter Khyber Agency where they were spotted and engaged, DawnNews reported.
"Several suspects were killed while many others were maimed," claimed ISPR, adding that the injured suspects managed to escape towards the Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province of Afghanistan.
The report could not be independently verified.
Two banned bully boy organizations, Tehrik-e-Taliban ...the Pashtun equiovalent of men... Pakistain and Lashkar-e-Islam ...a group of Islamic bandidos infesting Khyber Agency. It's headed by a former bus driver.... , had reportedly established their hideouts and training camps in Rajgal and adjoining mountainous regions bordering Afghanistan after they were driven out from Bara.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[An Nahar] Protesters in Venezuela plan a high-risk march against President Nicolas Maduro Wednesday, sparking fears of fresh violence after demonstrations that have left 26 dead in the crisis-wracked country.
The opposition urged protesters to march on central Caracas, a pro-Maduro bastion where the seat of government is located.
Previous attempts to reach the city center have degenerated into festivities between riot police and stone-throwing protesters.
The center-right opposition blames Maduro for severe shortages of food, medicine and other essentials in the oil-rich country.
Twenty-six people have died so far this month in violence around the protests, including four minors, according to Attorney General Luisa Ortega.
Maduro put the figure at 29 deaths in a speech Tuesday evening, without giving details.
"Twenty-nine of our countrymen have been murdered, and the right-wingers are to blame. The people are demanding justice," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[DAWN] The Army on Wednesday released the confessional statement of Liaquat Ali, infamously known as Ehsanullah Ehsan ...formerly the front man for the Pak Taliban, now the lips and tongue of the Jamaatul Ahrar splinter group in Mohmand Agency... , a former spokesperson of the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) and Tehrik-e-Taliban ...the Pashtun equiovalent of men... Pakistain (TTP).
The video brought forth some startling revelations, including the claim that the TTP and JuA have been coordinating with Indian and Afghan security agencies to move freely in Afghanistan and have been guided by the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW ... India's Research and Analysis Wing, Pakistain's equivalent of the Boogie Man... ), India's apex spy agency, in infiltrating into Pakistain.
Ehsan, who seemed disgruntled by what he termed the self-serving agenda of big shots of the TTP and JuA, also said that these organizations have twisted Islam to suit their own ends and are actively looking to recruit young men and women through propaganda and false interpretations of Islam spread through social media.
The Army's front man, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, tweeted the following soon after the video was made public:
"RuF [Raddul Fasaad]. Ehsan Ullah Ehsan exposes hostile foreign agenda & their designs to destabilise Pak. Our youth is our strength, shall never fall prey."
Posted by: Fred ||
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[SHABELLENEWS] A heavy fighting between Al shabaab forces of Evil and Æthiopian forces has erupted near Beledweyne city, the regional capital of Hiiraan proven on Tuesday night, residents said.
The fighting broke out at Burdar, located around 40Km east of Beledweyne after Al shabaab forces of Evil ambushed a military convoy ferrying Æthiopian troops of AMISOM contingent.
In a statement posted on its affiliated websites, the forces of Evil said they killed at least two soldiers in the ambush attack on AMISOM convoy in Hiiraan, and injured several others.
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[An Nahar] The Internal Security Forces on Tuesday announced the arrest of two Lebanese men who had formed a cell linked to the terrorist Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group.
An ISF statement identified the two men as 53-year-old R. S. and 43-year-old A. K., saying they were locked away Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! by the ISF Intelligence Branch on Thursday.
During interrogation, R. S. confessed to endorsing and promoting IS' ideology and that he had tried to convince several young men to join the group.
"Around two years ago, he left for Syria's Raqa where he joined the IS group and underwent religious and military courses. He also confessed to working with the group in several fields, especially logistics," the ISF said.
"He had close ties with several prominent leaders of the group in Syria and Leb and he accompanied the five-member family of one of the most prominent leaders of the group in Leb to Raqa via The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ," the statement added.
The other bully boy meanwhile confessed to "operating in a very professional manner to fend off suspicions seeing as his activities involved meeting the logistical needs of the Lebanese IS gunnies who are present in Syria."
"He was in contact with the most prominent Syria-based Lebanese leaders of the group. He also coordinated with IS leaders in Raqa and linked them to the aforementioned detained bully boy, R. S.," the ISF said.
He also facilitated the travel of R.S. and the family of an IS leader to Raqa, the ISF added.
The two detainees have been referred to the Military Court.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[DAWN] KARACHI: The Monday evening raid by Rangers on a residential building in the Urdu Bazaar area, which turned into a deadly shootout and came to an end by midnight, left four suspected bad boys, including a couple, dead. The crossfire also killed an infant believed to be the couple’s daughter, officials said on Tuesday.
Described by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan ...Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz Uncle Fester Sharif. He is noted for his vocal anti-American railing in the National Assembly. However (comma) Khan told the U.S. ambassador that he was in fact pro-American but he and the PML-N would have to be critical of US actions in order to remain publicly credible. Khan cited his wife and children's US citizenship as proof, which means he's lying to one side or the other and probably both. He wears a wig, but you probably guessed that. since hair doesn't grow naturally in that shape or texture... as one of the "major successes" of the paramilitary force, the raid on the building situated on the congested Muqaddas Street turned into one of the longest shootouts in recent history between Rangers and the bad boys. It started at around 8pm on Monday and continued till 3am.
The faceoff was triggered by an attack on the paramilitary soldiers by the holy warriors from the apartment when the former were taking position, the officials said.
"The Rangers raided the apartment building after receiving information about the presence there of suspected holy warriors belonging to a banned outfit," said a statement issued by Rangers on Monday night, adding: "The holy warriors hurled two grenades and started firing as soon as they saw Rangers. Four Rangers personnel and two passers-by suffered injuries in the kabooms."
The otherwise peaceful neighbourhood in the evening after business hours reverberated with gunfire that continued non-stop from both sides, indicating how well armed the holy warriors were to keep the paramilitary soldiers engaged for about seven hours.
After a couple of hours of the encounter, a security official said, one of the holy warriors went kaboom! while the other four were killed in the encounter with Rangers.
After clearing the area and the building, the bodies were shifted to the Civil Hospital Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... for medico-legal formalities and their identity.
"We have received five bodies. Among them are three men aged between 30 and 45 years. There was also an around 35-year-old woman and a girl aged four to five months," said an official at the health facility.
On Tuesday evening, a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) came up with details of the dear departedholy warriors killed as part of the ongoing Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad.
"Pakistain Rangers, Sindh, targeted raid last night killed four turbans of banned outfit Jandullah. The turbans killed include Zahid Afridi alias Faheem alias Hameed, Muhammad Hafeezullah Quettawal, Mama and lady controller Afshan," it said.
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You also can place this at the feet of the sports leagues and conferences. When you try to pander to that segment of the population who instinctively hate sports, you drive away your traditional customers and change your product to please your new customers. It's unworkable...
FTFA:
[Federalist] ESPN, the self-proclaimed worldwide leader in sports, became the worldwide leader in sports layoffs on Wednesday morning after news leaked that the cable network was in the process of laying off 100 staffers, most of whom are reported to be on-air talent.
The layoff reports came as no surprise to those who have followed ESPN and its on- and off-air struggles to profitably provide the kind of content that most sports fans want to watch. Shortly after the mass layoff reports were confirmed, the Internet hot takes began. ESPN is failing because of cord-cutting, because it has too much politics, because it has too little politics, because sports fans are racists, you name it.
So what’s the real reason the network felt forced to slash its payroll overnight? There is no one reason. There are a number of factors, each of which has been multiplied by poor strategic decisions. ESPN would have you believe that the network is a victim of circumstances, caught up in an industry whirlwind over which it has no control. Maybe, but that’s hardly the whole story. The real reasons aren’t all that complicated, but they’re not as simple as much of the social media hand-wringing would have you believe.
ESPN isn’t struggling because of one thing. It’s struggling because of a bunch of different things happening simultaneously. Some are outside of its control, and some are not. Here are the big reasons for these mass layoffs.
1) ESPN Overpaid for Broadcast Rights
In a nutshell, ESPN committed to paying massive long-term fixed costs for the right to air professional sports events, namely NFL and NBA games. Sports reporter Clay Travis of Outkick has been banging the drum on this score for quite some time, much to ESPN’s chagrin (Just last month Travis predicted Wednesday’s mass layoffs only to have ESPN sic its PR hounds on him and accuse him of making it all up).
In accounting terms, the network committed to high long-term fixed costs (broadcast rights) in exchange for declining variable revenues (cable subscription fees and advertising dollars). You don’t have to be a mathematician to see the problems with this formula for success. Even if ESPN is making decent money right now, the music is eventually going to stop, people are going to stop dancing, and somebody’s going to be stuck without a chair. More at the link
#2
....another example of why the Sherman Anti-Trust Act should have been actively enforced. Never allow such concentration of power. Fortunately, it appears ESPN is significantly financially obligated in long term contracts with the sports leagues now facing declining revenue and fans. The leagues are unlikely to renegotiate the terms and costs of those contracts which means senior management, Disney, is going to have to cover the losses.
#3
The pressure on the costs of broadcasts rights will have an interesting impact on team finances and player comp. We're already seeing it in the NFL -- moving teams, more primetime/night games, color rush unis, paid sponsorship of every aspect (USAF Fly Over Courtesy of Sprint), expanded coverage of Draft Day, Fantasy gambling.
Posted by: regular joe ||
04/27/2017 11:57
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#4
Is there a link anywhere to who was let go? The most recognizable name I heard mentioned yesterday was Ed Werder.
#6
...when a diehard sports fan finally decides that ESPN’s just not worth the cost of cable anymore. This brings us to the next cause of these revenue problems. Yeah, I'm one of those. Cable companies gouge you and you still have to put off with a plethora of commercials.
ESPN has a near monopoly on many sports events, e.g. college football. If they can't make money under those circumstances, they must have a bunch of morons running things. Moreover, they are not paying their bills as I understand it.
The targets appear to be mostly working sports announcers and analysts rather than that the JV SWJ debate team...
Ed Werder; longtime columnist Johnette Howard; espnW staffer Jane McManus; college football and ESPN Radio analyst Danny Kanell; NHL reporters Scott Burnside, Pierre LeBrun and Joe McDonald and a mass of college sports reporters including C.L. Brown, Eamonn Brennan, Jeremy Crabtree, Brett McMurphy, Max Olson, Dana O’Neil, Jesse Temple, Derek Tyson, Austin Ward, Ted Miller, David Ching, Chantel Jennings, Dr. Jerry Punch and Brian Bennett.
MLB reporter Doug Padilla, ESPN Dallas columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor, soccer reporter Mike Goodman, ESPNU anchor Brendan Fitzgerald, NFL analyst Trent Dilfer, SportsCenter anchors Jay Crawford, Darren M. Haynes and Jade McCarthy, correspondent Reese Waters, contributor Jarrett Bell, legal analyst Roger Cossack, golf broadcaster Dottie Pepper, NBA writers Ethan Strauss, Justin Verrier and Calvin Watkins, NFL reporter Ashley Fox, Len Elmore and longtime MLB reporter Jayson Stark.
Posted by: regular joe ||
04/27/2017 16:01
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#8
Yet Jemele Miller and Michael Smith are oh so popular with their SJW management with their Black Sports Center @ 6PM. Covering all the achievements each day by Black athletes only
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/27/2017 16:32
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[Dhaka Tribune] The Bangladesh-born jihadist, identified as Tariq alias Sohel by al-Qaeda, was killed in a battle in Kandahar, Afganistan
The leadership structure of Ansar al-Islam, al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent’s local proxy, remains hazy as AQIS Wednesday claimed its Bangladesh unit chief died in a suicide operation in Afghanistan.
The Bangladesh-born jihadist, identified as Tariq alias Sohel, was killed in a battle in Kandahar, according to a statement issued by AQIS chief Asim Umar ...chief of al-Qaeda's Sharia Committee for Pakistain, named head of al-Qaeda in India. His video appearances are frequently accompanied by clips of al Qaeda's senior propagandist in Pakistan, Ahmad Farooq. Umar the author of The Army of Anti-Christ: Blackwater, Documentation of the Dreadful Terrorist Activities of America's Blackwater in Islamic Countries... The original audio message titled "Verily, the help of Allah is near" was released in different formats on Telegram early Wednesday. It does not mention the date of the incident when Sohel carried out the suicide kaboom.
"Our beloved brother who made hijrah to Wazoo, after bidding farewell to the sparkles of Dhaka, Tariq Bhai (Sohel), head of Bangladesh Affairs, passed away irrigating the desert of Qandahar [Kandahar] in hopes that the spring of Islamic system [of governance] shall come back to the land of Bangladesh," Asim Umar said.
Al-Qaeda supremo Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area assuming he's not dead like Mullah Omar. He lost major face when he ordered the nascent Islamic State to cease and desist and merge with the orthodx al-Qaeda spring, al-Nusra... issued a separate statement Tuesday.
Sohel’s aides who had "embraced martyrdom" with him were Qari Abdul Aziz alias Abdul Halim, Yaqub alias Saddam Hossain, Asadullah alias Nazimuddin Maimoon, Abu Ibrahim alias Saiful Islam Hasan and Abu Bakr alias Anuj Hasib, the statement said.
The Dhaka Tribune could not independently verify their identities.
News of Sohel’s death was first aired in a video released by al-Qaeda’s As-Sahab Media last month, as mentioned by Ansar al-Islam members in the Dawahilallah online forum.
Swedish-Bangladeshi journalist Tasneem Khalil told the Dhaka Tribune he believed Sohel was the handler of Bangladeshi affairs in Afghanistan, not the Bangladesh chief of AQIS. He said it was likely that the others killed during the same operation were also Bangladeshis.
Ashiqur Rahman Sulaiman, who also supported Hefajat-e-Islam ...a madrassa-based false nose and mustache of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, formed in 2010 to protest against secular education. In 2011 demonstrated violentyly against women's rights and in 2013 held large rallies demanding capital punishment of Shahbag Square protesters and banning women working outside the home... , was the first Bangladeshi to have been killed in Afghanistan fighting for al-Qaeda in recent years. An al-Qaeda video from March 2015 described him as a martyr.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2017
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[DAWN] United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... and Russian officials warned on Tuesday against any attack by Saudi-led coalition forces on the Houthi-held Yemeni port of Hodeidah, the aid lifeline for a country where millions of people are in desperate need of food.
The warring factions must ensure deliveries of food and medical aid to starving people, senior UN officials said at a donor conference in Geneva.
Nearly $1.1 billion has now been pledged towards a United Nations appeal of $2.1 billion for Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... this year, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced, calling it a "remarkable success".
"Across Yemen, hunger and malnutrition have reached unprecedented levels and the threat of famine looms large. The country is on the brink of catastrophe," said David Beasley, executive director of the UN’s World Food Programme.
The government, backed 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... and the West, have been fighting the Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... movement aligned with Iran for over two years in a war that has killed at least 10,000 people.
A Saudi-led military coalition is preparing an assault on Hodeidah, which lies on the Red Sea and is the point of entry for nearly 80 per cent of Yemen’s food imports. "The Hodeidah port is a critical lifeline," Beasley told the conference. "Any disruption to the port would gravely hamper efforts to prevent famine." Yemeni officials said earlier this month the government and its allies had positioned two brigades for a possible attack, one of them 230 km north of Hodeidah and the other 130 km to the south.
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04/27/2017
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#1
The warring factions must ensure deliveries of food and medical aid arms and military supplies to starving people their Houthi puppets, senior UN officials said at a donor conference in Geneva.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/27/2017 12:18
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[An Nahar] A suspected 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.... group has confessed to plotting attacks on targets in Kuwait including the U.S. military and a Shiite religious hall, local media reported Wednesday.
Judicial sources said Hussein al-Dhafiri, incarcerated Book 'im, Mahmoud! with his wife in the Philippines last month, confessed to planning suicide kabooms on a U.S. military convoy and a Shiite prayer hall, the al-Rai daily reported.
Kuwait's Arifjan Base houses several thousand U.S. troops and serves as a military transit point to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Home to a small Shiite minority, Kuwait was the site of a suicide attack linked to the Islamic State (IS) group back in June 2015.
A Saudi jacket wallah killed 26 worshipers in a Shiite mosque, the worst such attack in the Gulf state's history.
Dhafiri was deported earlier in April to Kuwait where he is now set to stand trial on charges of belonging to a banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all...
organization and plotting attacks, al-Rai said.
He had been arrested in Manila along with his wife, whom he married after her high-ranking IS commander husband was killed in Syria.
Authorities in Kuwait have also arrested four of Dhafiri's relatives, including his brother and nephew, in connection with the planned attacks, al-Rai said.
The five suspects told public prosecutors that suicide bombers had been recruited from outside of Kuwait to carry out the attacks, according to al-Rai.
They also said there had been tentative plans to target a church in Kuwait during a visit this week by Coptic Pope Tawadros II.
Kuwaiti courts have handed down multiple convictions on charges of IS membership or financing.
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04/27/2017
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[ARA News] Artillery of the Turkish army on Wednesday hit the Kurdish town of Derbassiye in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah province, shutting down the road between Derbassiye and Serikaniye. Furthermore, clashes broke out between Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Turkish military near the town of Afrin.
“The Turkish army is targeted the positions of the YPG in Derbassiye and our units responded to the sources of fire intensively,” said Abdulkarim Omer, head of the foreign relations office at the Cezire (Hasakah) canton.
“An armed Turkish soldier was killed and three others wounded when the YPG confronted the attack by the Turkish occupation army on Derbassiye,” he added.
“Continuing their aggression, the Turkish army and allied gangs shelled town of Till Rifaat and the village of Til Cibrîn in Shahba region,” the YPG said in a statement.
“The MMC [Manbij Military Council] declared its full support for YPG/YPJ forces against Turkish attacks, noting that Turkey aims to obstruct the fight against Daesh [ISIS,” the YPG added.
This comes a day after the Turkish jets killed over 25 Kurdish fighters in Iraq and Syria on Tuesday.
“Clashes between the People’s Protection Units [YPG] and the Turkish army in Derbassiye continue,” reported Jesper Söder, a Western volunteer with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
In order to protect the safety of the citizens, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) cut off roads in the area of clashes between Derbassiye and Serekaniye.
“The YPG forces targeted a tank belonging to the Turkish army that was trying to enter the territory of Rojava,” he added.
Moreover, clashes took place close to the town of Efrin, but no Turkish air strikes were reported.
“We call on all forces to remain focused on the fight to defeat ISIS, which is the greatest threat to regional and worldwide peace, security,” said Air Force Col John L. Dorrian, Spokesman for the US-led coalition against ISIS.
“Turkish strikes were conducted without proper coordination with the Coalition or the Government of Iraq,” he said.
“We believe that our partner forces were struck in northern #Syria, and our Peshmerga partner forces were struck Sinjar Iraq,” Col Dorrian added.
“Our partner forces have been killed by Turkey strike, they have made many sacrifices to defeat ISIS,” the American Colonel said.
“We are troubled by Turkey airstrikes on SDF and Kurdish forces,” he added.
On Tuesday, the Syrian Democratic Forces called on the international community to intervene to stop the Turkish attacks. “The regime in Turkey has consistently harmed the good neighborly relations through countless violations against our citizens and fighters in northern Syria,” the SDF said. “This was the most blatant attack of these crimes committed by the Turkish regime.”
“Therefore, we demand and appeal to the international community to intervene to put an end to this aggression and the ongoing violations on our territory,” the SDF concluded.
Posted by: badanov ||
04/27/2017
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[THEGUARDIAN] Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro has failed his country. Picked by Hugo Chavez as successor just before his death in 2013, President Maduro has been an incompetent leader in hard times. He has failed to address the economic crisis triggered when the fall in the price of oil exposed the weaknesses of Chavismo, his predecessor’s ambitious experiment in poverty alleviation and social ownership. Now, in what was once South America’s richest country, more than four households in five are in poverty, twice the level of when he came to power. Babies and children die for lack of access to commonplace medicines. Murder and kidnapping for ransom are rife. Inflation is running above 800%; the economy is contracting sharply. Democracy itself is being eroded as the president defends his faltering grip on power. Weeks of protests have been met by state violence, semi-official vigilantes and, increasingly, counterattack from some opposition groupings. There is a wretched stalemate; and there is a real fear that violence could soon escalate out of control.
Like many of its neighbours, Venezuela’s democrats have to overcome a troubled history of rule by elites with little concern for lifting people out of poverty or shared economic growth. For more than a decade, Chavez seemed to offer a better prospectus: decent housing, proper wages and a fairer future. But after his premature death, the fall in oil prices laid bare the old divisions. His detractors point to a mixture of corruption and his failure to set up a Norwegian-style wealth fund to invest some of an oil income that approached $1tn as causes of the crisis. His defenders accuse the old ruling elite and its supporters of sabotaging the revolution.
But in the past few days, there is a sense that a bridge has been crossed. For the first time, demonstrators have included people from the poorer parts of Caracas, the people who were at the heart of the Chavismo project. Mr Maduro is talking about resuming talks with the opposition, brokered by the Vatican. But there is deep cynicism about these overtures. The opposition suspect him of playing for time, and remember bitterly that the last time they placed their trust in the Vatican’s involvement the talks soon foundered on the president’s obduracy.
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04/27/2017
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#5
Venezuela’s democrats have to overcome a troubled history of rule by elites with little concern for lifting people out of poverty or shared economic growth.
And many Republicans, too.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/27/2017 7:54
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#6
Hugo Chávez, Nicolás Maduro and the failed system of socialism. A caution for the U.S. whenever it gets the collective insane notion of putting another Obama in office.
#8
There's no need to wait on a Socialist to become the US President, we already have our own version of Venezuela right here and now--we call it "Obamacare".
That which can't continue forever, won't. Its as true for political systems as it is for faux insurance schemes.
#9
If you can't be a good example at least be a horrible lesson
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/27/2017 12:48
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#10
Socialist have no history, so there is no lesson to be learned.
They'll lie to themselves about the old adage that the 'right people' weren't in charge, ignoring that when you concentrate that much power, there are no 'right people'.
[Iraq News] Airstrikes by Iraqi army forces left 40 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.... members dead in western djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... on Wednesday, Iraqi military media said as operations press on to drive the group out of the region.
In a statement quoted by Alghad Press, the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said one of the strikes killed five snuffies in Zanjili district.
Another strike killed 13 and destroyed two of their vehicles near al-Baaj region. Eleven others were also killed by an Arclight airstrike in Fawaz Hezam village, while ten were killed in Tal Afar when strikes targeted a trench and a communication center.
Iraqi government troops, backed by a U.S.-led international military coalition and paramilitary units, recaptured eastern Mosul in January, and launched another campaign in February to retake the western region. Iraqi commanders recently claimed the recapture of 70 percent of the western region, saying IS was only controlling less than seven percent of Iraqi territory.
[Iraq News] Commander of Tigris Operations, Lieutenant General Mazhar al-Ezzawi, on Wednesday, announced that an air strike killed four members 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.... group in al-Mutaibaija, while pointed out to discovering a boat and dismantling five IEDs.
Ezzawi said that joint security forces, backed by al-Hashd al-Shaabi, significantly advanced in the liberation battle of al-Mutaibaija and the surrounding areas.
Furthermore, four members of the Islamic State were killed by an air strike that targeted a vehicle carrying weapons and equipment, while security forces discovered a boat belonging to the terrorist group and dismantled five improvised bombs in the area, Ezzawi added.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pound, the little lost dog had finished eating the rat terrier... a local source informed that a soldier was killed and another one was injured by the kaboom of an improvised bomb that targeted their patrol, in the outskirts of al-Mutaibaija.
Security forces cordoned off the area of kaboom, while transferred the maimed to a nearby hospital and the body to the forensic medicine department, the source told Alsumaria News.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi Federal Police forces killed an Islamic State suicide bomber on Wednesday before carrying out an attack in southern Mosul, according to an officer.
Shafaaq news website quoted the officer saying the militant, wearing an explosive belt, tried to sneak into Hammam al-Alil region, coming from Qabr al-Abd village.
He revealed that police members went on a search for four other suicide bombers who made it into the area late Tuesday.
Iraqi government forces launched an offensive to retake western Mosul in February, having recaptured the eastern side of the city earlier in January after three months of battles.
Iraqi commanders said earlier this month that Islamic State members were only in control over less than seven percent of territory in Iraq. A U.S.-led coalition backing the Iraqi campaign said there were less than 1000 fighters in the city as the extremist group kept losing several leaders.
Though facing nearly 100.000 government and coalition troops, IS militants proved to be a hard catch due to their deployment in the middle of civilians, a tactic which Iraqi and coalition generals say caused a slowdown in ground progress due to their anxiousness to preserve the safety of citizens who are believed to be used as human shields. Google Map at the link
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Pro-Iraqi government paramilitary forces said Wednesday they recaptured three more villages in the western flank
of Mosul as part of an operation that launched Tuesday to retake a strategic area from Islamic State militants.
The media service dof Al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) said troops recaptured the villages of Im Kreiz, Ghanem al-Awwad and Harraj in al-Hadar, a region which Iraqi government forces and PMUs launched synchronized offensives Tuesday that resulted in retaking nearly 12 villages.
Al-Hashd media said earlier on Wednesday mobilization forces reached al-Hadar’s archaeological area.
Iraqi government troops, backed by a U.S.-led international military coalition, recaptured eastern Mosul in January, and launched another campaign in February to retake the western region. Iraqi commanders recently claimed the recapture of 70 percent of the western region, saying IS was only controlling less than seven percent of Iraqi territory.
Coalition commanders estimate the number of remaining IS members in Mosul by less than 1000.
The most important battles Government troops are currently concentrated around western Mosul’s ancient Old City, the area which homes the Grand Nuri Mosque where the Islamic State’s supreme leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared the inception of an “Islamic Caliphate” on large parts of Iraq and Syria. Google Map at the link
[An Nahar] Iraqi forces on Tuesday launched a fresh push southwest of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... to retake the Hatra area, which includes a U.N.-listed World Heritage site, a statement said.
The operation marks the latest phase of an offensive launched by the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) paramilitary forces in parallel to the main assault on Mosul begun six months ago.
The Hashed forces, dominated by Iran-backed militias, have focused their efforts on a front southwest of Mosul which aims at retaking the town of Tal Afar as well as desert areas stretching to the border with Syria.
"Hashed al-Shaabi forces launched Operation Mohammed Rasool Allah aimed at liberating Hatra and neighboring areas," the organization said in a statement.
It said that five villages had already been retaken from the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group on Tuesday and that Hashed engineering units were clearing the road to Hatra of bombs.
Hatra, known as al-Hadhr in Arabic, was established in the 3rd or 2nd century BC and became a religious and trading center under the Parthian empire.
Its imposing fortifications helped it withstand sieges by the forces of two Roman emperors: Trajan in 166 AD and Septimus Severus in 198.
Hatra finally succumbed to Ardashir I, the founder of the Sassanid dynasty, a few decades later, but the city remained well-preserved over the centuries that followed.
Hatra left its mark on pop culture as the location for the opening of horror film "The Exorcist", which was shot there in 1973.
The jihadists damaged parts of Hatra after taking over a third of Iraq in 2014, as part of a heritage destruction campaign that also saw them vandalize Mosul museum, blow up shrines and damage the ruins of the ancient city of Nimrud.
The jihadists see such destruction as a religiously mandated elimination of idols -- but they also have no qualms about selling smaller artifacts to fund their operations.
The full extent of the harm to Hatra remains unclear, but the site risks further damage during the military operation to retake it.
HATRA: Iraqi forces seized the UNESCO-listed ancient site of Hatra from Daesh Wednesday, the latest archaeological jewel to be wrested from the terrorists’ grip.
Hashed Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) paramilitary forces fighting Daesh around Iraq’s second city Mosul said they had “liberated the ancient city of Hatra... after fierce clashes with the enemy.”
The Hashed forces launched their offensive at dawn on Tuesday and swiftly retook villages in nearby desert areas and the Hatra archaeological site.
Nearby modern Hatra was not yet fully retaken but the Hashed said its forces had “broken into the town after Daesh defenses collapsed.”
It said in a statement that it killed 61 Daesh fighters in the two-day-old operation, including 19 suicide bombers, and evacuated around 2,500 civilians who fled their homes.
An AFP reporter with the forces said the advance was quick and supported by army helicopters. The Hashed Al-Shaabi said they retook an area covering 800 sq. km.
Lying 120 km southwest of Mosul, the militants’ last urban Iraqi stronghold, Hatra is one of a string of archaeological sites recaptured from Daesh in recent months.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2017
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At least four insurgents were killed and six others injured in clashes with security forces in northern Kunduz province on Tuesday night, local officials said on Wednesday.
The attack took place at about 9pm local time after a group of insurgents attacked a police check post and clashed with security forces, a spokesman for the provincial police chief, Enamuddin Rahmani said.
However, he did not provide more details on either military or civilian casualties.
[DAWN] The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Sindh police on Wednesday recommended that the murder case of famed qawwal Amjad Sabri be presented before a military court for trial, Sindh CTD Additional Inspector General (AIG) Dr Sanaullah Abbasi said.
Amjad Sabri was bumped off in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... on June 22, 2016, after unknown assailants fired at his vehicle in the city's Liaquatabad area, critically injuring him. He was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed hospital immediately, where the renowned singer departed this vale of tears.
Following murder investigations, CTD officials in November 2016 locked away Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! two suspects, Ishaq alias Bobby and Asim alias Capri, from the same neighbourhood. Both the accused were affiliated with the proscribed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ... 's Naeem Bukhari group, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had told the media at the time the arrests were made. Asim alias Capri was also found to be Sabri's neighbour.
The CTD AIG further told Dawn that eight additional cases involving murders of army soldiers, Rangers personnel and police officials were also recommended for trial before military courts.
The accused in all of the eight cases, as well as the suspects in Sabri's murder, admitted to the joint investigation teams that they were affiliated with the banned holy warrior Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2017
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[DailyMail] - Theprit Palee, 25, was performing a traditional Thai dance in front of spectators
- Ritual meant to make him look superhuman by pressing sword against his chest
- Usually the blade snaps, but this time it plunged deep into his chest, killing him
- Gathered crowds swarmed around him in an desperate attempt to save his life Guess he didn't see that coming...
#13
A séance. Stone silence. A cough.
The sceptic was tempted to scoff.
Then, thump on the flooring!
A session so boring
The spirit had knocked himself off.
[IsraelTimes] Two men were maimed by an kaboom in the Gazoo Strip on Monday, the Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,-run health ministry said, in what appeared to be an accident at one of the terror group’s military sites.
Paleostinian media in the Strip said the kaboom occurred in a site belonging to Hamas’s military wing, but gave no further details.
Gazoo Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidre said in a statement that the "two men sustained injuries, one critically and the other moderately, resulting from an accident in Gazoo."
In a break from past statements about others accidental kabooms in the territory, Qidre did not give an approximate location for the site of the incident.
On April 3, an accidental kaboom in a reported Hamas military site west of Rafah injured three men.
[CSCMEDIAGROUPUS] AntiFa scare tactics seem to be working in Portland Oregon.
The Multnomah County GOP released a statement on Tuesday announcing that they have been directly threatened by AntiFa.
They were sent an email (which you can see below) that stated if they actually participate in the parade, AntiFa will have 200 or more people rush the parade and forcibly remove the GOP and Trump supporters from the parade.
The group known as Direct Action Alliance, as well as smaller offshoots, have even created Facebook event specifically for this violence!
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2017
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So remember to pay your tax dollars like good citizens.
How else can we pay for vital services such as cops standing around while you get beaten, and judges who don't think we have a right to control our borders?
#12
We're returning to Berkeley today, 2:00 pm. Following the parade fiasco, Portland is next. Antifa is being given free reign to act as terrorists. When they silence our voices, all we have left are our fists. So be it.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
04/27/2017 9:57
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#13
Wish I could be there Rex. Stay safe, keep you head on a swivel and get some good pics for us!
[CRIMERESEARCH.ORG] The United States can really be divided up into three types of places. Places where there are no murders, places where there are a few murders, and places where murders are very common.
In 2014, the most recent year that a county level breakdown is available, 54% of counties (with 11% of the population) have no murders. 69% of counties have no more than one murder, and about 20% of the population. These counties account for only 4% of all murders in the country.
The worst 1% of counties have 19% of the population and 37% of the murders. The worst 5% of counties contain 47% of the population and account for 68% of murders. As shown in figure 2, over half of murders occurred in only 2% of counties.
Murders actually used to be even more concentrated. From 1977 to 2000, on average 73 percent of counties in any give year had zero murders. Possibly, this change is a result of the opioid epidemic’s spread to more rural areas. But that question is beyond the scope of this study. Lott’s book “More Guns, Less Crime” showed how dramatically counties within states vary dramatically with respect to murder and other violent crime rates.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2017
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#3
Murder follows a Pareto distribution; a few of the worst inner city population areas account for most of the murders. Take out certain areas of L.A., Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Philadelphia, DC, etc. and you reduce the overall murder rate of the country bigly. I'd bet these crime sanctuaries have something in common--Donk mayoralty rule.
#7
Seems the Beverly Hillbillies had it all wrong - Californiee ain't the place ya oughta be!
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/27/2017 14:02
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#8
About 20 years ago, a University of Houston demographics professor published a paper that showed that if you discounted the excess illegal alien population in Texas, the crime rate more resembled the rate in Kansas or the Dakotas.
What happened? Persona non grata, he essentially became a non person, ended up at a community college.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
04/27/2017 15:13
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Trailers carrying US THAAD missile defense equipment entered a deployment site in South Korea early Wednesday with tensions high over North Korea’s intentions, Yonhap news agency reported.
Arrival of the six trailers at the golf course location sparked clashes between locals and police, the agency said.
Washington and Seoul say they are deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to counter the threat from North Korea, which is pushing ahead with its ballistic missile program.
The THAAD system is meant to intercept and destroy short and medium-range ballistic missiles during their final phase of flight.
Washington and Seoul agreed to early deployment of the missile defense system after talks earlier this month between the South’s acting president and visiting US Vice President Mike Pence.
China however is strongly opposed to deployment of the THAAD system.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have soared in recent months as North Korea’s missile tests have brought ever-more bellicose warnings from US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The United States has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Carl Vinson to the western Pacific.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called Monday for “restraint” regarding North Korea in a telephone conversation with Trump.
US defense leaders and other top officials are to give a classified briefing on North Korea to all senators in an unusual meeting at the White House later Wednesday.
#2
Why don't administrators and mayors leash in 'Antifa' - same reason the Chinese leadership won't leash the Norks. They may tyrannical bastards, but they're our bastards!
#3
Does anybody have an idea how much of the diplomatic talk is being choreographed? E.g. China asking the US for restraint as a signal to NK that "Yes, you can still trust us, but put away the matches."
Posted by: james ||
04/27/2017 21:16
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[DAWN] At least eight Iranian border guards were killed in festivities with armed rebels Wednesday on the frontier with Pakistain, Iranian state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
IRIB said on its website.
It said the festivities broke out in the Mirjaveh region of Sistan-Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... province, without giving details.
Four border guards were killed in July 2016 in the border region with Pakistain.
Iranian media reports that the Jaish al-Adl hard boy group, accused by Tehran of links to Al Qaeda, carries out regular attacks in Sistan-Balochistan.
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#1
Iranian media reports that the Jaish al-Adl hard boy group, accused by Tehran of links to Al Qaeda, carries out regular attacks in Sistan-Balochistan.
[IsraelTimes] Army says assailant attempted to attack troops in the northern West Bank in 2nd incident in 24 hours; no Israelis injured.
A Paleostinian man was shot by IDF soldiers when he attempted to stab them on Wednesday afternoon, outside the same northern West Bank army base where a similar incident took place the day before, the army said.
No Israelis were reported injured.
A military spokesperson said the assailant tried to attack the troops, who "responded with gunfire."
According to the official Paleostinian Wafa news agency, the assailant was shot in the stomach.
He was taken to Petah Tikva’s Beilinson Hospital for treatment. He was in "serious condition, unconscious and on a ventilator," a spokesperson for the medical center said.
He was identified by Paleostinian media as Saleh Omar Abd al-Rahim Sah, of the Balata refugee camp near Nablus.
The incident occurred at a bus stop outside the IDF’s Samaria Regional Brigade headquarters, near the Nablus suburb of Hawara, the army said.
On Tuesday, a Paleostinian, later identified as 17-year-old Amjad Maher Jaafar, attempted to stab soldiers in the same location, but was shot and critically maimed.
According to the Paleostinian Maan news agency, the two assailants were related to one another.
...The recent student demonstrations at Auburn against Spencer's visit ‐ as well as protests on other campuses against Charles Murray, Milo Yiannopoulos and others ‐ should be understood as an attempt to ensure the conditions of free speech for a greater group of people, rather than censorship. Liberal free-speech advocates rush to point out that the views of these individuals must be heard first to be rejected. But this is not the case. Universities invite speakers not chiefly to present otherwise unavailable discoveries, but to present to the public views they have presented elsewhere. When those views invalidate the humanity of some people, they restrict speech as a public good....
Posted by: lord garth ||
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I feel like Alice in Wonderland after going down the rabbit hole; up is down, black is white, big is small, in is out, restricting speech is really free speech.
Once this is understood and taken to heart, everything else they do becomes easier to understand.
Why do the Dems claim to care about women's rights and LBGT rights, yet love them some Islam, which is incompatible with those rights? Because the left wants only power.
Why do the Dems advocate for open borders when doing so puts the safety of us all at risk? Because the left wants only power.
Why do the college-educated left advocate for "free" stuff, when they surely understand that such policies are economically unsustainable? Because the left wants only power.
#6
I went to the link and read the first half dozen or so paragraphs before I gave up. It seems the writer doesn't believe people should be able to talk about their personal experiences...or something to that effect. But he rambles so much and uses so many words to get to the point that I couldn't really tell. Such drivel.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/27/2017 12:40
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] 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’s offshoot snuffies in Afghanistan suffered heavy casualties during an operation in southern Zabul province.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) front man Gen. Dawlat Waziri said the snuffies were targeted during a night operation in Khak-e-Afghan district of Zabul.
He said several ISIS snuffies including foreign turbans had gathered in the house of the ISIS leader Khalid Akhundzada when they were targeted by the Special Forces.
Gen. Waziri further added that the ISIS leader Akhundzada was tossed in the slammer Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! with his nephew and three snuffies Uzbekistan.
According to Waziri, the other nephew of Akhundzada was killed along with ISIS commanders and four holy warriors.
He said several weapons and ammunition belonging to the terror group were also destroyed during the operation.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[NAIJ] 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... bombers have attacked Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, in early morning kabooms on Wednesday, April 26. According to Sahara Reporters, the gunnies again hit Muna garage in the capital city of the northeastern state. Premium Times reports that at least five people were killed after the bombers detonated their bombs at Muna Usmanti, Muna Garage and Muna Ethopia at around 4.00am.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[SHABELLENEWS] Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... state security forces have on Tuesday paraded bombs and alleged Al shabaab suspects seized in an operation conducted in Bosaso, Puntland’s commercial hub.
The Police Commissioner of Bari region, Col. Abdihakim Yusuf Hussein, said the region’s troops captured five men believed to be Al shabaab members carrying explosives after a tip-off.
Speaking to news hounds in Bosaso, Mr Hussein said that detained suspects have been planning to conduct terror attacks on Puntland buildings and public places in the town.
"The police seized the explosives with its five men who are believed to have links with Somalia-based murderous Moslems of al-shabaab following an operation in the city," he added.
The police chief said that further operations are under way to identify the group’s targets, saying this was a significant operation against the terror cells in the region.
The capture of the 5 men and the IEDs comes just days after 9 Puntland soldiers were killed, and several hurt in a landmine blast targeted their vehicle near Galgala’s ragged mountains.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/27/2017
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[SHABELLENEWS] Al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... fighters have launched an attack against a KDF military base in Bardere city located in Somalia’s southern Lower Shabelle region on Tuesday night.
Confirming the incident, Col Tima-jillac, a top Somali military commander in the region told Radio Shabelle that heavily armed Death Eaters engaged a brief shootout with the KDF soldiers.
He added that the Death Eaters were overpowered and repulsed during the battle. The situation has returned to normal, after the battle has ceased.
Al shabaab has claimed killing three Kenyan soldiers during the overnight assault.
Posted by: Fred ||
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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.
Maxine Waters, the quarter-century member of Congress who has new-found stardom as an attack dog for the left, suffered a brain freeze during an interview today when she was ranting about Donald Trump’s handling of the North Korea threat.
Somali pirates
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority if the active testicles left in Europe...
[FoxNews] Two Afghan migrants who raped a woman for three hours while their mate filmed it on Facebook Live have been jailed for just two years.
Nancy Pelosi's mission on Tuesday was to give a brief speech and not renew questions about her health.
Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz 
Zawahiri
[THEGUARDIAN] Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro has failed his country. Picked by Hugo Chavez as successor just before his death in 2013, President Maduro has been an incompetent leader in hard times. He has failed to address the economic crisis triggered when the fall in the price of oil exposed the weaknesses of Chavismo, his predecessor’s ambitious experiment in poverty alleviation and social ownership. Now, in what was once South America’s richest country, more than four households in five are in poverty, twice the level of when he came to power. Babies and children die for lack of access to commonplace medicines. Murder and kidnapping for ransom are rife. Inflation is running above 800%; the economy is contracting sharply. Democracy itself is being eroded as the president defends his faltering grip on power. Weeks of protests have been met by state violence, semi-official vigilantes and, increasingly, counterattack from some opposition groupings. There is a wretched stalemate; and there is a real fear that violence could soon escalate out of control.
[CSCMEDIAGROUPUS] AntiFa scare tactics seem to be working in Portland Oregon.
The United States can really be divided up into three types of places. Places where there are no murders, places where there are a few murders, and places where murders are very common.
[SHABELLENEWS] 
Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
