North Korea on Friday called itself the "biggest victim" in the death of an American student who was detained for more than a year and died days after being released in a coma.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency denied that North Korea cruelly treated or tortured Otto Warmbier and accused the United States and South Korea of a smear campaign that insulted what it called its "humanitarian" treatment of him. I'm sure North Korea's citizens will be happy to testify how well they are treated by the state.
The comments published by KCNA were North Korea's first reaction to Otto Warmbier's death in a U.S. hospital Monday after it released him for what it called humanitarian reasons. In other words, they were afraid he would die on their watch.
Doctors at the hospital said Warmbier had suffered a severe neurological injury from an unknown cause. Relatives say they were told the 22-year-old University of Virginia student had been in a coma since shortly after he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea in March 2016.
His family and others have blamed North Korea for his condition.
Warmbier was accused of stealing a propaganda poster. Through statements on KCNA, North Korea said it dealt with him according to its domestic laws and international standards.
"Although we had no reason at all to show mercy to such a criminal of the enemy state, Obviously, there is no worse kind of criminal.
we provided him with medical treatments and care with all sincerity on humanitarian basis until his return to the U.S., considering that his health got worse," the agency quoted an unidentified Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying.
The spokesman said "groundless" speculation of torture and beatings could be refuted by American doctors who came to North Korea at the time of Warmbier's repatriation and "recognized that his health indicators like pulse, temperature, respiration and the examination result of the heart and lung were all normal." The report did not mention Warmbier's neurological status.
"The fact that Warmbier died suddenly in less than a week just after his return to the U.S. in his normal state of health indicators is a mystery to us as well," the spokesman said. That's what happens when you pull the plug on someone in a permanent vegetative state.
"To make it clear, we are the biggest victim of this incident and there would be no more foolish judgment than to think we do not know how to calculate gains and losses," he said. Should I send the sympathy card to North Korea, or to Kim Jong Nom himself?
"The smear campaign against (North Korea) staged in the U.S. compels us to make firm determination that humanitarianism and benevolence for the enemy are a taboo and we should further sharpen the blade of law," the spokesman added. Ah. So in Norkland, the law is used like a weapon?
A separate KCNA article published hours earlier criticized South Korea for using Warmbier's case to seek the release of other detainees, including six South Korean citizens. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in an interview with CBS television earlier this week that it was clear North Korea bears a heavy responsibility for Warmbier's death. Obviously no need to worry. All those have stable vitals as well.
The article said South Korea was tarnishing North Korea's image with "slanderous talk about cruel treatment and torture." Actually, the fact that you returned his body while his heart was still beating is more than I expected.
It demanded that South Korea return 12 restaurant workers who defected to the South last year. South Korea said the women defected on their own, while North Korea claimed they were deceived and abducted to the South. Sorry, they wanted to live in a country where they could get a job in their profession.
The United States, South Korea and others often accuse North Korea of using foreign detainees to wrest diplomatic concessions. Three Americans remain in custody in the North. They were brain-dead before they went there, so I'm not so worried about them, either.
[Frontpage] Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical left and Islamic terrorism.
"It’s a bellwether for what the Democratic Party is going to be about," Democratic National Committee boss Tom Perez boasted.
That was back in March and the Dems had just begun their frantic spending spree in Georgia’s Sixth. By the time it was over, Jon Ossoff, an awkward immature hipster who didn’t even live in the district, had raised $23.6 million and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had burned through another $5 million. Other groups threw in around $2.6 million to achieve absolutely nothing.
$31 million had been spent and wasted on history’s most expensive congressional election. And the Dem experts congratulated themselves that they had lost by a smaller margin than in the past.
They had spent $30 million more than in their first special election in Kansas to gain a whole 1%.
Just as after their previous special election defeats, the charts and graphs came out comparing their performance to those of previous elections. Never mind that turnout differs dramatically during presidential and special elections. Or that spending $31 million to lose by 6 percent is a disaster.
What the Democrat Party really was going to be about was setting piles of money on fire.
In Montana, a quixotic bid by Rob Quist had garnered $5 million in donations and another $1 million in outside spending. Even after a stunt by a Guardian reporter caused the Republican candidate to lose many of his newspaper endorsements, Quist barely ended up with 44 percent.
The special election frenzy began in Kansas when the left decided that Rep. Mike Pompeo’s open seat might be winnable. After Trump’s victory, angry Dems decided to pour money into the campaign. Democrat James Thompson raised around $832,000, but Republican Ron Estes won by 7 percent.
#1
In the Georgia House race the Dems spent all that money and didn't gain a vote over the Dem vote in the previous election. At first people (Repubs) might have just stayed home in disgust at the whole thing, but at some point they got irritated enough to come out and vote against Mr. Moneybags.
[Free Beacon] The deadly collision between a U.S. destroyer and a container ship June 17 took place while the freighter was on autopilot, according to Navy officials.
The Philippines-flagged cargo ship ACX Crystal was under control of a computerized navigation system that was steering and guiding the container vessel, according to officials familiar with preliminary results of an ongoing Navy investigation.
Investigators so far found no evidence the collision was deliberate.
#1
there are multiple and redundant collision avoidance systems on both the Navy ship (which was not a destroyer) and the container ship - somehow all failed or had been turned off or were ignored
also multiple accident alert systems - all of which failed or had been turned off
investigation reports will be brutal
Posted by: lord garth ||
06/23/2017 14:30
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#2
Navy ship (which was not a destroyer)
The USS Fitzgerald is classed as a DDG - Guided Missile Destroyer.
As for the rest, it'll have to wait until the investigation is completed. And yes, it'll likely be brutal.
#4
The guy over at GCaptain has set off a freakin firestorm over his editorial "The USS Fitzgerald Is At Fault. This Is Why."
Basically, both parties are responsible for collision unless one of them is tied up to a pier.
The commenting public is not interested in that part, however.
The analyst over at Jane's Ships said two days ago that the Crystal was evidently on autopilot based on the way it returned to course track after collision; no human pilot would do that (the likely reaction would some variation of WTF!)
Posted by: ed in texas ||
06/23/2017 18:47
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[Anti-idiotarianRottweiler] While noting in passing that the whole Narrative regarding the “Finsbury Mosque Attack” is beginning to look a bit fishy according to some and while trying to avoid jumping to conclusions (unlike the MFM), it’s hard for us to even pretend that we didn’t expect something like this to happen if, indeed, it is what the MFM is furiously trying to peddle.
After wave after wave of pisslamic “lone wolves” murdering innocents all over the planet, you’d have to be a particularly dense kind of knob to think that nothing would ever happen in response.
#2
Deport them first and all of that can be avoided.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/23/2017 9:41
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#3
Is it really all that difficult to learn the lessons of history?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/23/2017 9:41
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#4
Is it really all that difficult to learn the lessons of history?
It is if you don't teach it. It is if you only teach a white-washed version because the darker parts are 'icky' or unflattering. It is if you make shit up in order to make certain groups appear more enlightened.
However, aren't the schools and Universities teaching how horrible whitey is? If the students believed what they were being taught they'd be terrified to pull off the nonsense we see on a daily basis. Just as if they really thought Trump was a fascist they wouldn't risk publicly announcing their resistance.
[Right Scoop] What is with this administration that there’s something new every day? Here’s the latest ‐ Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager is scheduled to testify before Congress.
The House intelligence committee next week plans to interview John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign chairman whose hacked email account became central to Russian meddling in the US election last year, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Podesta will be one of the committee’s first major witnesses to meet with the panel behind closed doors as it tries to determine the extent of the Russian involvement in last year’s campaign and whether any of President Donald Trump’s associates coordinated with the Russians.
The committee sent out requests to interview six witnesses this week, sources said, with Podesta expected to be interviewed next week in a classified session. The committee is expected to question Podesta about the leak of thousands of his emails, which became a political headache and embarrassment for Clinton in the heat of the campaign season.
#1
Too bad it's a closed session. I'd hope Podesta is asked about his $35 million dollar Russian energy deal. A starting point might be with: This government accountability report. Also see the section "Money to the Clintons." Follow-up questions might also be asked about material in his emails exposed by WikiLeaks. Questions regarding Seth Rich? But the hearings tend to be Kabuki Theater where everyone plays their part and truth is the first casualty and last casualty and there are no penalties to pay.
#3
On about page 39 of the Money to the Clintons, it talks about how the Hilly/State Department tech transfer was used for cyberwarfare against the Ukrainians.
Maybe we can link Hillary to the 'Russian Hacking'? Did the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) arrange for hacking to lay the blame on the Trumpster?
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/23/2017 9:35
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BLUF: [Politico] On January 10, 2016, in the midst of Sanders’ sudden stardom--just weeks before the votes in Iowa and New Hampshire--the U.S. attorney for Vermont was sent a "Request for an Investigation into Apparent Federal Bank Fraud."
Backed by six exhibits and a dozen documents, the four-page letter described how Jane Sanders had "orchestrated" the purchase of 33 acres along Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont’s largest city, where her husband had minted his populist political brand as mayor. The deal closed in 2010, when the senator’s wife was president of Burlington College, a tiny, obscure, nontraditional school that always seemed to be struggling for students and funds. The letter alleged that to secure a $10 million loan and execute her grand plan to expand the college, Jane Sanders had falsified and inflated nearly $2 million that she’d claimed donors had pledged to repay the loans.
#1
The request for investigation was proffered by the firm diGenova & Toensing. attorneys at law. Washington, DC. After a quick read of the request, I can see why Sanders lawyered up.
[Sacramento Bee] California is restricting publicly funded travel to four more states because of recent laws that leaders here view as discriminatory against gay and transgender people.
All totaled, California now bans most state-funded travel to eight states.
The new additions to California’s restricted travel list are Texas, Alabama, Kentucky and South Dakota.
They join Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee as states already subjected to the ban.
California Attorney Xavier Becerra announced the new states at a Thursday press conference, where he was joined by representatives from ACLU Northern California and Equality California.
"We will not spend taxpayer dollars in states that discriminate," Becerra said.
California’s Legislature last year voted to restrict state-funded travel to states with laws that allow businesses to deny services to gay and transgender people.
California’s law gained attention after North Carolina enacted its so-called "bathroom bill," which prevented local governments from adopting anti-discrimination ordinances and required that people using bathrooms in public buildings choose the restroom that corresponds to their gender at birth.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott this month signed a law that allows child welfare providers to deny services because of "sincerely held religious beliefs," a provision that critics interpreted as permitting adoption agencies to deny services to gay families.
Alabama and South Dakota were added to California’s listed of banned states because of similar adoption-related laws. The California Department of Justice said Kentucky’s Senate Bill 17 allows student-run organizations in schools to discriminate against classmates.
The California law includes exemptions for law enforcement officers, tax auditors and training events that are required for grants. California’s tax-collecting Board of Equalization has an office in Houston.
#1
Travel budgets usually take a hit when the belt starts to tighten. Quick Johnson, we need to come up with an excuse to cover the deficit, something virtuous that won't alarm the rubes of becoming another Illinois.
#3
reading their press release, it is OK to travel to one of these icky states if grant money can be gained. official recognition that californication is full of whores.
#5
Our state is one that is banned. No one would know unless this article was published. No one cares. Now, if California slid into the ocean, that would be noteworthy. No offence to Frank G.
#12
Maybe they're afraid that people will travel to those states and seek asylum.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
06/23/2017 12:36
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#13
Most government travel is a bullshit waste of money to begin with. This is the year 2017, the internet and video-conferencing are a wonderful thing. Is somebody wants to sell a system to the state of Kaliphornia, let that company travel to Kaliphornia.
#15
Texas should ban California government employees from travelling there grant money or not.
Perhaps make a law that requires one to be a resident for significantly longer in order to be a Texas citizen in order to prevent California migrants from recreating CA problems in Texas.
[IraqiNews] Food aid has reached Syria’s Kurdish-dominated city of Qamishli by road for the first time in two years in a "humanitarian breakthrough" that will increase support for tens of thousands of families, the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... said on Thursday.
Although Qamishli lies on the Turkish border, the crossing is closed and the U.N. aid effort in northeastern Syria has relied on airlifts from Damascus to Qamishli since July 2016.
Last week, Syria gave the U.N. permission to get aid to Qamishli by truck, relieving the strain on a base that is supporting thousands of people who have been displaced by the war with Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... A convoy of three lorries from Homs has since arrived in the city in the northeastern Hasakeh region, passing by Aleppo and bringing a month’s supply of food for 15,000 people, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said.
"This humanitarian breakthrough will allow us to increase regular support for all 250,000 people in need in Hasakeh," WFP’s Syria country director Jakob Kern said in a statement.
The agency said it could previously assist only 190,000 people by airlifts, due to higher costs and limited capacity.
"Once regular land access to Hasakeh is established, WFP will gradually phase out of its current airlift operation," Kern said.
That could save the agency some $19 million annually ‐ enough to provide a year’s food aid to 100,000 people, WFP said.
WFP flights had been running at full capacity, twice a day, six days a week for almost a year.
Roads became inaccessible in December 2015, and restoration of deliveries was only made possible by improved security, the agency said.
The development came as U.S. backed Syrian militias were closing in on Islamic State’s Syrian stronghold of Raqqa.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which include Arab and Kurdish fighters and are supported with air strikes by a U.S.-led coalition, began an offensive two weeks ago to seize the northern city from Islamic State, which overran it in 2014.
Earlier in June, the U.N. said it estimated that 440,000 people might need humanitarian aid as a result of the offensive.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/23/2017
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(IraqiNews) Turkish and Russian personnel will be deployed in Syria’s northern Idlib region as part of a de-escalation agreement brokered by Russia last month, Turkish broadcasters quoted President Tayyip Erdogan’s front man as saying on Thursday.
Ibrahim Kalin said the de-escalation zones, agreed by The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , Russia and Iran, would be further discussed during talks in the Kazakh capital Astana in early July, Haberturk television channel said.
"We will probably be most prominent in the Idlib region with the Russians; mostly Russia and Iran around Damascus, and a mechanism involving the Americans and Jordan in the south in the Deraa region is being worked on," Kalin was quoted as saying.
Vladimir Shamanov, head of the Russian Duma defense committee, told RIA news agency Moscow was discussing proposals to send Kazakh and Kyrgyz troops to Syria with representatives of those countries.
"The negotiation process has begun, there is no decision yet," he was quoted as saying
Under their May 4 accord, Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed to establish four separate de-escalation zones in Syria for at least six months.
The largest of the planned zones includes Idlib province, which neighbors Turkey, and adjoining districts of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia provinces.
The other three zones are in northern Homs province, the Eastern Ghouta region east of the capital Damascus and along the Jordanian border in southern Syria.
The three countries had been due to finalize maps of the de-escalation zones by June 4, but have not said whether agreement has been reached.
Political and armed opposition groups in Syria rejected the proposal when it was announced last month, saying Russia has been unwilling or unable to get Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... and his Iranian-backed militia allies to respect past ceasefires.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/23/2017
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Mosul (IraqiNews.com) A senior Iraqi army commander said Thursday that a historic minaret which exploded during battles between the Islamic State and government troops on Wednesday had already been booby-trapped, indirectly refuting the blame the group laid on U.S. warplanes.
Abdul-Ghani al-Assadi, commander of the army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service, said in a press statement that the medieval Grand Nuri al-Kabir Mosque and its famous Hadbaa (leaning) Minaret had already been prepared for detonation once the group reached “total bankruptcy” as he put it.
Assadi said it had been Islamic State’s habit to detonate historic sites in Mosul, reminding that the militants had previously blown up the Nabi Yunis shrine in Mosul.
Assadi’s remarks come as Islamic State and the U.S.-led coalition backing Iraqi forces traded blame Wednesday for the explosion that brought down the historic structure which stands at the mosque where IS first declared the establishment of its rule in Iraq in 2014.
The minaret’s collapse came as CTS forces were 50 meters away from the mosque, partaking in an invasion by U.S.-backed Iraqi joint forces of the Old City, the ancient neighborhood where a few hundreds of IS members are entrenched as a last refuge in Mosul.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement by his office that Islamic State militants, by resorting to blowing up the historic site, were officially declaring their defeat.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi government forces killed on Thursday an Islamic State explosives official while moving inside a district adjacent to Mosul’s Old City, the group’s last bastion.
Shafaq News quoted security sources saying that troops killed Abu Furqan al-Maswseli along with 15 others at a house in al-Shifa district.
The Iraqi command said earlier this week its forces had consummated the recapture of al-Shifa, a home to major health and medical facilities, thus putting the medieval Old City under full siege.
Also on Thursday, Federal Police chief Shaker Jawdat said his forces killed 43 Islamic State members in Ras al-Jada and Bab al-Beed in the old city, and destroyed five booby-trapped vehicles.
Iraqi troops have advanced on Wednesday closer to the Grand Nuri al-Kabir Mosque, where Islamic State’s supreme leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the establishment of the group’s rule in 2014. IS members blew up the mosque’s ancient minaret on Wednesday as troops advanced, a move which the Iraqi command said signalled an imminent defeat to the extremist group.
A few hundred militants are thought to remain inside the Old City, but are holding at least 100.000 civilians who are shot dead or caught and executed while trying to flee the neighborhood.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/23/2017
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#1
I'm curious what, if any, effect ISIS' losses in Mosul has had on its overall combat effectiveness.
#3
But it seems they are not letting the junior leaders get out alive, so ISIS is not gaining the benefit of experience in developing its next generation of leaders.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A blast occurred on Thursday at one of the main exits between the capital city of Baghdad and Anbar province, a police source said.
Speaking to Shafaq News, the source said two persons were killed, while four others were maimed as a booby-trapped vehicle went kaboom! in west of Baghdad.
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) The paramilitary troops have announced launching an offensive in Naft Khana, northeast of Diyala, the media service said on Thursday.
“The operation is carried out from six main axes with support from the army jets, the statement said. “It targets eliminating Islamic State pockets as well as boosting security in the strategic region.”
Naft Khana is considered a pivotal region in Diyala for its strategic location, being near to main roads, in addition to being geographically-connected to Hamrin basin.
Attacks launched by Islamic State militants against security troops, the pro-government forces and civilians surged over the past few weeks in northeast of Diyala, which urge the Iraqi forces to prevent the militants infiltration between Salahuddin and Kirkuk provinces, especially the regions stretching along Hamreen mountains and Al-Azeem town.
IS holds pivotal regions that link between each of Diyala, Salahuddin and Kirkuk, posing threats to the liberated regions.
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) The mastermind of the so-called “Ramadan invasion” has been killed in an airstrike in Hawija, the security committee in Diyala provincial council said on Thursday.
“Confirmed information showed the death of the mastermind of ‘Ramadan invasion’ in Diyala in an airstrike near Hawija,” Sadeq al-Husseini, head of the committee, told AlSumaria News.
“IS attempted through the ‘Ramadan invasion’ to destabilize security in some of Diyala cities including Baqubah through sending eleven suicide bombers who infiltrated from Hawija toward Mutaibija then toward the province to carry out crimes and kill the innocent.”
The ‘invasion’, according to Husseini, “ failed in Diyala, thanks to security efforts.”
In late May, Rafidain Operations Command said IS entitled several attacks, that it was going to carry out in four provinces during the month of Ramadan, as “Ramadan invasion”. These provinces included Wasit, Muthanna, Dhi Qar and Maysan.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/23/2017
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Another terror-loving Muslim idiot hands himself to the authorities on a silver platter. We seem to have more than our fair share of them here.
[DailyMail] U.S. prosecutors on Thursday charged a Bronx, New York, man with attempting to travel to Syria in order to fight for 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.... Saddam Mohammed Raishani, 30, was jugged Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! at New York´s John F. Kennedy International Airport after trying to board a flight to Istanbul via Lisbon, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said.
Raishani is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. He appeared in Manhattan federal court Thursday afternoon and is being held without bail.
In January, Raishani told a person who was working as an informant for law enforcement officials that he had previously helped a friend leave New York to join Islamic State, according to a criminal complaint. He said he helped his friend buy supplies, and drove him to the airport, according to prosecutors.
Raishani later told the informant that he regretted not going himself, prosecutors said.
At one point, Raishani told the informant that he had asked his wife whether she would come with him to join Islamic State, but that based on her reaction he decided not to raise the subject again because he feared she might report him to law enforcement, according to the complaint.
He later said that while it was difficult leaving his wife and child behind in the United States, he believed it was the right decision, the complaint said.
Betcha he won't be getting any family visits over the next twenty years. And she won't mortgage the house to get him a good lawyer, either.
The informant put Raishani in contact with an undercover New York City Police Department detective posing as a person who wanted to travel abroad and fight for Islamic State, according to prosecutors.
Raishani then began making plans for the two to travel together, telling the undercover officer that he could pose as a refugee aid worker while Raishani, a home health aid, could pose as a nurse, according to the complaint.
In May, prosecutors said, the informant put Raishani in contact with another person who the informant said would help arrange Raishani's travel. That other person was actually an undercover FBI employee.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/23/2017
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#2
My understand is that the 'cladding' was an attempt to make the structure appear more modern, lipstick on pig as it were. It was also a previous code concern and possible violation.
Appears the gov't is moving in to pay everyone off with free assistance loans, relocation assistance, with a blind eye turned toward citizenship. Something in common with former residents of Chernobyl it might appear.
#3
There are a lot of older buildings that get 'dressed up' with a new outer finishing. Materials used as 'cladding' (mounted to the existing exterior walls) here in the states must pass flammability tests. Not sure about GB or Europe.
The Grenfell 'exterior upgrade' (completed last year) used what is called an Aluminum Composite or 'Sandwich Panel'. Its flammability is determined by the core materials.
Apparently the new Grenfell cladding used a 100% rigid polyisocyanurate foam attached directly to the building for 'Energy Savings' and then covered by Aluminum/Polyethylene-core outer Sandwich Panels.
All that money spent on a 40 year old building and still no sprinklers.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
06/23/2017 8:34
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#4
Seems like ripe targets for terrorism. Fortunately the UK doesn't have a problem with mooselimb extremists...
#5
I'm thinking that composite is similar to what covered the outside of The Address hotel in Dubai that went up like a roman candle during a NYE fireworks display in 2016.
#5
Hmm. Perhaps an enterprising/bored lawyer intent on a little legal monkeywrenching might bring a Commerce Clause suit against Cali for restraint of interstate trade.
#6
So Texas now has justification for cutting the gas pipeline to CA, to restrict the gasoline distribution from Houston, and all the oil drilled in their state from benefiting Cali...
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
06/23/2017 17:45
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[IsraelTimes] UN envoy Danon, IDF intelligence chief demand action against Lebanese terror group’s violations along border.
Israel told the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Security Council on Thursday that Hezbollah is establishing observation posts along the Israeli-Lebanese border under cover of a purported environmental NGO.
Israel’s military intelligence chief on Thursday released film and photographs of the Hezbollah positions at the border fence.
In a letter, Israel’s envoy to the UN, Danny Danon, pointed to an incident in April, in which a patrol of the UN Interim Force in Leb (UNIFIL) was denied access to an observation post flying the flag of the NGO "Green Without Borders," by a group of locals.
Hezbollah’s purported use of such facilities under cover of the NGO is a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, passed at the end of the Second Leb War in August 2006.
In the letter, Danon called on the council to demand the Lebanese government dismantle the Hezbollah outposts, as required by the resolution.
The letter came on the same day that IDF intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Hertzl Halevi released video and photographs the IDF said showed the installations in question.
"Hezbollah is using an environmental organization as a cover for activities along the border with Israel," Halevi said.
Speaking at the Herzliya Conference, Halevi warned that "Hezbollah blatantly violates UN Security Council Resolution 1701. We call on UNIFIL to undertake its responsibilities -- not only in keeping the peace, but in removing the possibility of war."
Israel has long criticized what it considers UNIFIL’s failure to disarm or meaningfully challenge Hezbollah, as required by the force’s mandate.
On a tour of the Israeli-Lebanese border earlier this month, US envoy to the UN Nikki Haley ...first woman to serve as Governor of South Carolina, and the second Indian-American governor in the country, after Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. At the age of 39, Haley is the youngest current governor in the U.S., a distinction formerly held by Jindal. She is a Republican, which really grates on the Dems... reportedly witnessed a heated exchange between IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi and UNIFIL commander Maj. Gen. Michael Beary.
After Beary reportedly told Haley the situation on the border was stable and did not require further intervention, he was interrupted by Kochavi, who argued that UNIFIL was not doing its job properly and was frightened to enter villages and cities in southern Leb and confront Hezbollah.
Kochavi called on Haley to help change the mandate of the international force to give it the capacity to disarm Hezbollah, said the report, which was carried by Israeli media.
An Israeli diplomat later apologized to Haley for Kochavi’s outburst, but she reportedly said she was glad she had heard the Israeli position, and that it would influence her work at the world body. Haley is considered a staunch supporter of Israel.
UNIFIL is an international force created by the Security Council in March 1978, to maintain quiet along the border between Israel and Leb. Since the 2006 Second Leb War, the force has also been charged with monitoring the cessation of hostilities between the two countries, supporting Lebanese troops deployed in the south of the country, and ensuring humanitarian access to civilians in the region.
The 15,000-strong UN force is also charged with ensuring "the immediate cessation" of attacks by Hezbollah, and of ensuring "the immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations."
Hezbollah has significantly built up its weapons stockpile since the 2006 war and has upgraded its arsenal to about 150,000 missiles, Israeli officials say. Israel also fears that some advanced surface-to-sea and anti-aircraft weapons systems have reached Hezbollah from Iran.
[The Hill] Now that President Trump has tweeted that he didn’t tape James Comey, the anti-Trump zealots are accusing him of witness intimidation.
This is most the absurd of the many absurd charges leveled against Trump by those out to get him without regard to the law.
Trump’s bluff was calculated to get Comey to tell the truth. How can that be witness intimidation? If it were, Abraham Lincoln would have gone to prison rather than the White House. As a young lawyer, he, too, bluffed a witness into telling the truth. In one of his most famous murder cases, a witness testified that he saw Lincoln’s client kill the victim. The time it occurred was at night, so the witness testified that he was able to see the crime because there was a full moon. Lincoln then handed the witness an almanac and asked him to turn to the date in question. The almanac showed that there was no moon on that night, and the witness broke down and admitted that he had not seen the crime. The defendant was acquitted. Lincoln later acknowledged that he had deliberately fooled the witness into telling the truth by handing him an almanac for the wrong year. The correct year’s almanac indeed showed a full moon.
I don’t want to compare myself to Lincoln, but I, too, used a similar bluff involving tapes when I was a young lawyer back in the 1970s. I was cross-examining a police officer who was lying through his teeth about what he had said to my client. Pretending that my client had recorded the crucial conversation, I read him what appeared to him to be a transcript of the tape. In fact it was only a transcript of my client’s best recollection about what he had been told. Believing there was a tape the witness changed his testimony and admitted making the crucial statement to my client. As a result we won the case.
Prosecutors frequently bluff about the quality and quantity of the evidence they have against a defendant in order to get him to plead guilty or to become a cooperating witness.
#3
Doesn't matter - it gets the rubes rialed up and violent which is what matters. Their goal is to de-legitimize the president and, if they are lucky (in their eyes), get someone to take a shot at him or his family
#7
It's suddenly dawned on me that the entire frantic effort to find some reason to find some shred of legitimacy of dubious/criminal conduct by the President, and to gain control of the Congress is to impeach Trump and the motive behind impeaching Trump is simple. The Supreme Court , they are terrified of the changes the court will see after four or eight years of a Trump presidency. It would be more transformative than any other executive/legislative act, since the right, not the left, could use lawfare across the land to stop the march to socialism and cultural suicide.
#10
What #7) NoMoreBS said.
Any believer in Civil Liberty should be suspicious of power concentrated in any form of government. The Left is looking at a Frankenstein that they have spent decades constructing and are terrified that it can be turned against them...
#11
Trump's tweets denying the tapes were interestingly worded. There's room there for the tapes to exist, he merely said he did not make them and that he does not have them.
I believe he also used the word "tapes" exclusively which does not necessarily preclude the existence of other types of recordings.
Keep in mind that whatever immunity deal Mueller gave his buddy Comey almost certainly requires Comey to testify truthfully. Trump may still be baiting the pair of them.
Posted by: Throluth Lover of the Sith4976 ||
06/23/2017 13:48
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#12
almost certainly requires Comey to testify truthfully
That would be logical.
However, I'm remembering how Comey didn't require testimony, records, or deals when it came to protecting Dem operatives over the course of his tenure . . . .
#14
The Supreme Court, yes -- many of the judges have gotten a bit long in the tooth. But there are an awful lot of empty federal judgeships and appellate court appointments needed as well -- that effort has lagged for years. And if the 9th circuit is split, as it apparently needs to be, the entire national character of the judiciary could change, leaving no haven where liberal cases could get their start toward setting precedents.
As for poor Mr. Comey, his actions during the past eight years were notable for being taken under a progressive Democratic president. Mr. Mueller is answerable to President Trump, who expects proper behaviour and knows what he did and did not do. Then there is the fact that the Democrats have not improved their position in the House, despite all the posturing and the river of money, so he cannot hope for succor there.
#15
Won't be many judgeships confirmed in the next 18 months, as the Dems stall and block hoping for a change in Senate control, which is not unlikely.
[Free Beacon] Al Qaeda remains a number one terrorism concern to the U.S. intelligence community despite overwhelming media attention focused on the Islamic State, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center said Thursday.
"The fact that you see ISIS on the headlines every day and you read about ISIS being at the forefront of this global terrorism problem, it shouldn't detract from the idea that the government, we as an intelligence community, is still focused--I would argue as a matter of first priority--on al Qaeda as a threat to the U.S interests," Nick Rasmussen, the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center director, said at a national security forum on Capitol Hill.
Rasmussen said affiliates of the terrorist group operating in ungoverned territories such as Syria and Yemen represent the most immediate threat to the United States, particularly al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
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#2
Let's play the SPLC game against them, The Left is the No.1 Terrorist concern to the US, given the behavioral display that they are seeking another American Civil War.
[Breitbart] Thursday when asked about criticisms that her leadership contributed to the recent special election losses for the Democratic Party, House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she was a "target" because she is "a master legislator."
Pelosi said, "We believe there’s a real opportunity. Now, it’s not a slam dunk. History is on our side, but it takes strategic, unified and disciplined -- to have harmony. It doesn’t mean we have anonymity, but we have unity when it comes to that fight. Should I sing my praises? Well, I am a master legislator. I am a strategic politically astute leader. My leadership is recognized by many around the country, and that is why I am able to attract the support that I do which is essential to our election, sad to say. Well beyond chutzpah.
"I am very pleased that the cooperation that we’re doing working with all the social media and small donor community to change how we communicate but also how we attract resources, intellectual and financial to the party," she continued. "I have experience in winning the Congress. When people said to us in 2005, you don’t have a chance, be prepared for a Republican permanent majority, I said -- Harry Reid and I said we don’t accept that. We proceeded. We took the president from 58 to 38. President Bush won the election. The fact is they will always make a target. Senator Reid was a target. Senator Daschle was a target. Tip O’Neill is a target. I am a target. They always want to choose our leaders and usually, they go after the most effective leaders because they want to take us, diminish the opportunity that we have."
#1
And I am Marie of Romania. Not to imply that Nancy is a senile old bag, but there is something to be said for going out on top - while you can still form coherent sentences.
#3
She got along for a long time because she had a Rolodex of Californicators who would finance Dims launder money and etc. If they ever start cutting her tribe of cunts off then she'll shown the door.
#9
Her statement literally disproves what she claims.
To which Nancy might reply "I made hundreds of millions in this business: who are you - you little sh*t, who probably has to work for a living, to criticize me?"
#10
I'm still in the "Weekend at Bernie's" camp. It's her staff that doesn't want to give up the power and perks. She may have her lucid moments, but the read head is skipping on the disk drive.
#13
Taxidermy Hotline- if you or a family member has been affected by botched taxidermy, there is relief. Billions have been set aside and you can benefit. Call 1-800-unastute.
Posted by: Jack Salami ||
06/23/2017 9:29
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#14
Pour a bucket of water on her.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/23/2017 9:32
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#15
Pelosi holds a high opinion of herself. Out here in fly-over land, the land of the despicables, it is not shared.
#17
Political rumors and Washington are often driven by hidden indicators. Take for example the pizza index of the Pentagon where you can tell how serious planning is for some events by order out for pizza. In the case of political players one of the key inside indicators not seen by the public which provesthat something is afoot to their media friends is the sudden interest in sending out resumes and calls about new positions by the staff of a key leader when they sense the end is coming and that is what substantiates this rumor I suspect.
#18
I suspect the teets she have been tuggin' on all these years have gone dry after GA6 and that will mean the end for her. Staff needs to take cover when she finally realizes the gig is up because that upper dental plate could knok your head off when it comes flying out of her mouth.
[Breitbart] James Comey may have misled senators on May 3, when he testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had never been an anonymous source in news reports related to the Russia investigation.
By that time, he had already leaked several private conversations he had with President Trump to his friend Benjamin Wittes, editor-in-chief of the blog Lawfare and former editorial writer for the Washington Post.
Wittes wrote in a piece on May 18, only nine days after Comey was fired, that the former FBI director had shared those conversations "over the previous few months." He wrote:
Comey never told me the details of the dinner meeting; I don’t think I even knew that there had been a meeting over dinner until I learned it from the Times story. But he did tell me in general terms that early on, Trump had ’asked for loyalty’ and that Comey had promised him only honesty. He also told me that Trump was perceptibly uncomfortable with this answer.
Wittes also wrote that he had lunch with Comey on March 27, and that they discussed a phone call that Trump had made to him earlier in the day.
Wittes denied those conversations were leaks but were "just conversations between friends, the contents of which one friend is now disclosing."
However, a leak is the release of unauthorized information, according to a definition by George Washington University professor and legal scholar Jonathan Turley. Incidentally, there is no condition that the information may be published or distributed via physical memo.
#2
Comey had promised him only honesty. He also told me that Trump was perceptibly uncomfortable with this answer.
Perhaps Trump suspected (knew) he was lying about his honesty?
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/23/2017 12:50
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#3
Odd that Mr. Comey would not think honesty to the boss is a loyal behaviour. Perhaps that realization was what made President Trump uncomfortable... assuming it happened the way it was told.
[DAWN] Indian forces killed three suspected turbans during a fierce overnight shootout in India-held Kashmire, the Indian army said Thursday.
Soldiers and special police counter-insurgency forces surrounded a residential area where they suspected armed 'militants' were hiding out, triggering a fierce exchange of fire.
One police officer said scores of residents came out of their houses shouting slogans demanding freedom from Indian rule and throwing stones at the soldiers to try to help the suspected turbans escape.
"Three bad boyz were potted and three weapons recovered from the site," army front man, Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.
Witnesses said the army blew up the house where the suspected turbans were hiding in Kakapora, around 30 kilometres south of the main city of Srinagar.
On Wednesday morning soldiers killed two suspected turbans during a firefight in the northern Sopore area. Police said they were members of Kashmire's largest rebel group Hizbul Mujahideen.
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#1
scores of residents came out of their houses shouting slogans demanding freedom from Indian rule and throwing stones at the soldiers to try to help the suspected turbans escape
sounds like Kakapora needs urban renewal/demolition
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/23/2017 8:36
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[ALMASDARNEWS] US allies have sustained heavy casualties in Raqqa city this week. According to Amaq Agency, upwards of 53 casualties were inflicted on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) over the past 24 hours alone.
With ISIS luring the largely Kurdish SDF into an attritional battle for Raqqa, jihadist militants managed to retake parts of the Al-Bitani and Al-Sinaa neighborhoods in eastern Raqqa along with the southern sector of the Division 17 Army Base on Wednesday. Two suicide bombings were reported amid the large-scale ISIS counter-attack.
Subsequently, ISIS dragged the corpses of Kurdish combattants through downtown Raqqa, likely to install fear in locals and deter them from cooperating with the US-led coalition.
[ALMASDARNEWS] On Thursday, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) cemented their siege of ISIS-held Raqqa after taking control of the last village on the southern Euphrates River bank of the city.
In an advance that seems to have sealed the fate of ISIS insurgents bogged down within their own capital, the US-backed SDF imposed full control over Al-Kamb after wrestling control of the neighboring villages of Sheikh al-Jimal and Kasrat Al-Faraj earlier this week.
Effectively, Kurdish troops have fully ringed Raqqa city, leaving them no escape route to the Islamic State mainland elsewhere in Syria and Iraq.
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[RFE/RL] Authorities in Tajikistan have prohibited citizens under the age of 40 from performing this year's annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
Tajikistan's Committee on Religious Affairs said that the decision was made to give older Tajik Muslims a better chance to undertake the pilgrimage, as Saudi officials have established stricter quotas. But others believe the ban is an attempt to prevent radicalization among younger generations.
In the past years, the Tajik government has routinely imposed age restrictions for devout Muslims to perform hajj. In 2015, the minimum age was 35.
President Emomali Rahmon's government has repeatedly called for the strengthening of secular standards in the nation. Tajikistan has banned head scarves for schoolgirls, barred minors from mosques, and forced thousands of students to return home from Islamic schools abroad in recent years amid reports that many Tajiks have joined Islamist extremists in Iraq and Syria.
[DAWN] Raheem Swati, the prime accused in the murder case of renowned social worker Perween Rahman, was on Wednesday acquitted by an antiterrorism court in three connecting cases that pertained to possession of illegal weapons and explosive materials and shoot-out with a police party.
The ATC exonerated the accused from charges in three cases as the prosecution failed to bring on record any incriminating evidence against him.
Meanwhile, the ATC put off the hearing of the murder case against Swati after his counsel produced a memory card of the mobile that contained a video of accused Swati.
The counsel claimed that the video was proof that his client was not even present at the scene of the crime.
According to police, Raheem Swati was arrested on May 7 last year after a shoot-out in the Sultanabad area of Manghopir. The police claimed to have found illicit weapons and explosives in his possession.
The police also claimed that Raheem was the prime suspect in Perween Rahman murder case. Later, his remand was obtained in attempted murder, unlicensed weapons and explosive material cases.
Perween Rahman, director of the Orangi Pilot Project, was gunned down on Manghopir Road in March 2013.
The case is pending trial before an ATC against detained suspects Ahmed Khan, alias Ahmed Ali, alias Pappu Kashmiri and Mohammad Imran Swati while Raheem
Swati, Ayaz Swati, Amjad Afridi and Shaldar Khan were shown absconders in the last charge-sheet filed in October, 2015.
The charge sheet said that during questioning detained suspect Imran disclosed that Raheem of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, with his brother-in-law Shaldar and others, carried out the killing.
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[ABS-CBN] One of the Maute brothers is likely dead, said Philippine military chief of staff Eduardo Año on Thursday. He said Omarkhayam Maute was most likely killed in the siege of Marawi City but his brother, Abdullah, is still alive and is still in Marawi along with Isnilon Hapilon, the alleged regional Islamic State leader.
He did not say when Omar was killed or provide proof.
Philippine Army 1st Infantry Division spokesperson Jo-Ar Herrera earlier said the military was confirming reports that Omar and his brother Madie were killed in the Marawi clashes. He said, "There are reports that Omar and Madie were killed in the operations. We are still validating this report but there are strong indications that they [were] killed."
The reported death of the two militants came after the arrest of their parents. The Maute patriarch was arrested on June 6 at a checkpoint in Sirawan, Toril, Davao City. Farhana Maute was apprehended on June 10 in Masiu, Lanao del Sur while trying to leave the province.
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[AlAhram] The US-led coalition battling the Islamic State group is building a database of foreign fighters to track jihadists returning from Iraq and Syria at home, a senior US official said Thursday.
Brett McGurk, the White House envoy to the anti-IS coalition, told an Israeli security conference the effort aimed to help prevent attacks like those recently carried out in Europe.
"Our coalition is building a global database of foreign fighters, through information-sharing networks and Interpol, to ensure that anyone who fought with IS group in Syria and Iraq can be identified in either routine traffic stops, border entry points or in the course of routine police work," McGurk said.
Speaking at the annual Herzliya security conference near Tel Aviv, McGurk said the coalition was also having success in preventing more foreign fighters from joining IS group, also known as ISIS or Daesh, in Syria.
"On foreign fighters we've largely halted the flow into Syria from Turkey; from hundreds a week to now a handful at most a month," he said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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#1
Don't wish to dampen Mr. McGurk's enthusiasm, but we've been using the Joint Priority Effects List (JPEL) for at least 16 years with what could certainly be considered, questionable results.
Raising rabbits also has numbering and naming convention downsides.
[IsraelTimes] 2 suspects enjugged Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! after breaking into Na’ale community; third man, apparently waiting in getaway car, manages to escape.
Border Police officers arrested two Paleostinians caught infiltrating the central West Bank settlement of Na’ale early Thursday morning.
Security cameras on the settlement’s perimeter fence picked up the pair as they entered, and they were only able to make it 40 meters (130 feet) into the community before being detained, according to Moked 443, a settler news service.
Authorities made the arrests without incident and transferred the pair to the Shin Bet security service for questioning. A third suspect, who was waiting for the two in a car outside the settlement, made an escape while the arrests were taking place.
It wasn’t immediately clear if they were armed.
Moked 443 also reported a separate incident Thursday morning in which a Paleostinian was spotted on a road outside the settlement of Nahliel. A chase ensued and the suspect was caught and taken away for further questioning.
[BUZZFEED] May was the deadliest month in Mexico since 1997 with three people killed every hour, according to the Mexican government.
There were 2,186 homicides last month, according to figures from the Executive Secretary of the National System for Public Security which go back 20 years. In some states which were previously considered peaceful, like Baja Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, Sur and Nayarit, the rate doubled.
"This is the overwhelming and absolute failure of Peña Nieto’s public safety policy," Alejandro Hope, a Mexican security analyst, told BuzzFeed News.
Hope and others attribute the uptick to a pie fight between criminal groups, and the violent fragmentation within the Sinaloa Cartel headed by Joaquín Guzmán, known as "El Chapo."
Kidnapping, extortion, and car-theft rates also increased in May compared to the previous month.
A spokesperson at the Ministry of the Interior declined to comment on the homicide rate when reached by BuzzFeed News.
The record figure is likely to further hurt President Enrique Peña Nieto’s low approval rating, which was most recently battered by the revelation that the government is spying on journalists and activists through spyware on their phones.
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[AlAhram] Egypt's Ministry of Interior said Thursday that police have killed seven Lions of Islam involved in recent attacks on churches and Christians during raids on training camps in Giza and Upper Egypt.
The raids, which started at dawn, initially targeted the Western Desert in Assiut where bully boyz where training in camps and hideouts to execute further attacks during the upcoming period, the ministry said.
The bully boyz were killed after a shootout with police forces, who seized large amounts of guns, ammunition, and IEDs.
The ministry said it is working on identifying the slain bully boyz and that the State Security Prosecution will carry out further investigations.
[FMT] Ismail Ternang, a former top leader of the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (PULO), was arrested in Malaysia several days ago for security offenses allegedly related to arms smuggling.
Thailand's Fourth Army commander Lt Gen Piyawat Nakwanich confirmed Ternang's arrest. He said, "I was informed that he was arrested by the Malaysian authorities. My men have double checked (with reliable sources) on his reported arrest."
He said the former PULO leader was not wanted for any security offense, nor did he carry an arrest warrent in Thailand since his release from prison two years ago. However, security authorities had exercised normal monitoring to keep an eye on him.
According to a source, Ismail was arrested several days ago at his family-run restaurant in Perak following an investigation by Malaysian police. His arrest followed a police operation in Kedah several days ago where a man was gunned down after a brief clash.
The dead man was suspected to have been involved in arms smuggling at the Malaysian-Thai border area. The source said, "The police checked the deceased’s handphone and found Ismail’s handphone number, which led to his arrest days later."
The source also claimed Ismail had since been released by Malaysian authorities, but this has not been confirmed.
[DAWN] A Christian bicycle mechanic in Lahore was arrested on June 15 over allegations of blasphemy after he became involved in a dispute regarding payment for services rendered to a customer, police said Thursday.
Human rights activist Napoleon Qayyum told Dawn that Ashfaq Masih ─ a resident of Mariam Colony in Green Town, Lahore ─ was working at a repair shop in the Bagarhian suburb of the city when Muhammad Ishfaq, a resident of the same area, had his bicycle repaired by him.
The two became embroiled in a heated argument when Masih demanded Rs35-40 for his services and Ishfaq requested that Masih reduce the price as he is a poor man, Qayyum said.
The disagreement escalated when Masih refused to lower the fee, reminding the bicycle owner that he was a poor man himself and needed the money as well, according to the rights activist.
After a crowd gathered to witness the incident, unidentified individuals levelled accusations of blasphemy against Masih, prompting further escalation of the already-tense situation, Qayyum claimed.
Police, who were called to the scene, arrived and arrested Masih, shifting him to the Green Town police station.
Station House Officer (SHO) of Green Town police station Wasim Akhtar confirmed to Dawn that a blasphemy case had been registered against Masih on June 15 after his arrest.
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[DAWN] At least two people were seriously injured in Azad Jammu and Kashmire in "unprovoked" Indian firing from across the Line of Control (LoC) on Thursday evening, an official said.
Aneela Zahoor, 12, fell victim to cross-border firing in Nari Dhroti village of Nakyal sector in the southern Kotli district, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kotli Chaudhry Zulqarnain Sarfraz told Dawn by telephone.
Robina Khalid, 30, was injured in the village of Dotilla Dabsi in Nakyal sector and referred to District Headquarters Hospital Kotli, the SSP said.
"She has been shifted to District Headquarters Hospital Kotli at death's door," he added.
The SSP said that the firing started without any provocation when people of the area were preparing to break their fast.
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[DAWN] The Counter-Terrorism Department is likely to recommend the trial of 227 high-profile under-trial prisoners (UTPs) belonging to banned outfits be forwarded to military courts, CTD Senior Superintendent of Police Omer Shahid Hamid said during a press conference on Thursday.
"[The] Counter-Terrorism Department is likely to recommend the trial of 227 UTPs languishing in Central Prison Karachi belonging to banned militants outfits before military courts," said Hamid.
Hamid, critical of the behaviour of certain prisoners in jail, claimed that "militants of banned outfits operate like 'dons' inside Central Prison", and noted that the high-profile militants had created an ‘intimidating atmosphere’ in jail.
The CTD SSP said the decision had been taken after the recent escape of two high-profile prisoners affiliated with the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ) from Karachi's Central Prison.
Hamid was of the opinion that a military trial of these convicts had become imperative as Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs) were delaying cases.
The CTD SSP revealed that around three months ago they wrote a letter to concerned authorities that around 60 UTPs ─ including the two convicts who escaped recently from the prison ─ should be shifted from Central Prison to other jails in Sindh.
He disclosed that the police had recommended shifting of such prisoners from Karachi to other jails within the province partly because the CTD had apprehensions that they might activate their networks within the metropolis.
The CTD SSP said that the escaped prisoners ─ namely Mumtaz Shaikh and Ahmed alias Munna ─ had vindicated the CTD's stance.
Hamid said Mumtaz Shaikh, who was involved in multiple targeted killings, was a roommate of Hafiz Qasim Rasheed, a terrorist known for operating his own faction of LJ in Karachi.
He pointed out that Hafiz Qasim had been arrested five years ago but his case had yet to be decided.
Besides the 227 high-profile prisoners, there are 34 convicted militants linked with banned outfits including Akram Lahori of LJ. He recalled that Lahori had been convicted in 2002 but his appeal had still not been decided.
"The conduct of high profile militants in the prison was alarming," said Hamid.
"In fact, they acted like dons in the jail and the prison staff was fearful of adverse consequences in case of not obliging their undue favours."
The SSP, who was a member of the CTD team probing the jailbreak, said that so far no evidence had emerged that the escaped prisoners had threatened the jail staff or their families. However, their past role showed that they had been involved in killings and threatening prison staff as well as prosecutors.
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#1
Did 'Goodfellas' finally make it over to Pakistan?
[DAWN] The Counter-Terrorism Department of Sindh police has prepared a consolidated list of websites, web pages and social media accounts spreading extremism and terrorism, it emerged on Wednesday.
The CTD has written a letter to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Federal Investigation Agency and other authorities for closing/banning of such websites, web pages and social media accounts to foil the designs of banned militant organisations.
“We have identified 25 such websites, which were involved in spreading religious and ethnic extremism and terrorism,” said Additional IG Dr Sanaullah Abbasi heading the CTD.
He said the CTD had sent a list of 25 sites with the recommendation that they should be banned by the PTA. These sites were linked with banned organisations or promoting radical thought, he added.
Although not all the websites were spreading terror, they were promoting radical thought and it was the assessment of the CTD that such sites often acted as ‘entry sites’ for individuals who were easily influenced to join extremist groups, he added.
Dr Abbasi said on the CTD’s recommendations, the relevant authorities had banned some websites including those which ‘misrepresented’ the teachings of the Holy Quran, condemned those religious scholars who did not support the extremist point of view, and were actively promoting intolerance by pronouncing controversial decrees.
The officer said there were certain social media pages on Facebook which were glorifying Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and other extremist groups. Such pages must be banned, he added.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Syrian rebels in southern province of Daraa have reportedly concluded a reconciliation agreement following weeks of fierce fighting.
According to the pan-Arabist satellite television channel, Al-Mayadeen, a meeting – brokered by Russia – was held yesterday last night between Syrian officials and representatives of the rebel groups in the town of Izra, located to the north of the provincial capital.
The alleged agreement’s terms stipulate that the Syrian government pulls out Army troops from the city of Daraa – while maintaining positions outside the provincial capital – only to be replaced by police and security forces, which shall take over the area.
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[Garowe Online] A Somali police station in the heart of Mogadishu was targeted on Thursday by a powerful car bomb, leaving a number of police officers dead, Garowe Online reports.
The car laden with explosives was detonated at the entrance of the Waberi district police complex, officials said. The blast also damaged nearby commercial buildings along Makka Al Mukarama street.
The blast was followed by a heavy gunfire, as security forces cordoned off the area around the Police station. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the car bomb attack.
Civilians were reported to be among the casualties of the attack.
There were no immediate details on casualties, but ambulances have been sent to the scene. Photos taken from the scene showed a plume of white smoke rising from the building.
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[IsraelTimes] PA president accuses Netanyahu of using issue of ’incitement’ as pretext to avoid serious negotiations.
At their second meeting President Trump yelled at him for lying about incitement. But the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity, so here he is, digging his incitement hole even deeper.
Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... on Thursday defended payments to Paleostinian prisoners, including convicted terrorists, as a "social responsibility," and said Israel was using the issue as a pretext to avoid peace talks.
#2
We usually call contraltos just alto nowadays; she is singing at the bottom of her range. Countertenors sing above tenors; he is singing at the top of his range. What is really interesting to hear is a sopranist, a non-castrated male singing naturally -- non-falsetto -- in the soprano range. The trailing daughters had one in their chorus, a very talented young man who loved the shocked expressions when he stepped forward to sing solo; he had a beautiful, full sound at top end of his range, but because he had such a deep chest the resonance was different than the girls he sang among.
#4
TW, that is interesting. I had a grade school music teacher who discouraged my singing. I think she was prescient in that she recognized that I was a threat to everything that is good about music with my nasal, off-key singing. Although I can't carry a tune, I do appreciate those who sing well.
[DAWN] A civilian was killed and several wounded Thursday in India-held Kashmir when security forces opened fire on a crowd gathered for the funeral of three suspected militants slain overnight in clashes with soldiers, police said.
Thousands of villagers poured onto the streets for the funeral, chanting slogans against Indian rule and pelting stones at soldiers who responded with bullets and pellet fire, a police officer said.
S.P. Vaid, director general of police for the territory, confirmed a protester was killed in the exchange.
Another police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least a dozen others were injured by pellets fired by government forces to disperse the angry crowd.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2017
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistain Proxies
[ALMASDARNEWS] The militant forces in the ‘Ayn Tarma Valley and nearby town are in serious trouble, as the Syrian Arab Army’s Republican Guard units rapidly advance through the enemy defenses.
On Thursday, the Syrian Arab Army’s 105th Brigade of the Republican Guard resumed their large-scale offensive in ‘Ayn Tarma, capturing more than 90 percent of the ‘Ayn Tarma Valley after a fierce battle with Faylaq Al-Rahman militants.
In addition to their advance at the ‘Ayn Tarma Valley, the Syrian Arab Army also captured several sites in the southern part of the town, including the Driving School, Al-Jisr Neighborhood, and a number of nearby buildings.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2017
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[8 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Faylaq Al-Rahman
That would be Legion of God, or something like that. Presumably Islamist.
[DAWN] Ravita Meghwar — who her parents alleged had been abducted by men from the Syed community of Wanharo village near Nagarparkar, Thar, on June 6 and forcibly converted to Islam — on Thursday told the Sindh High Court Circuit Bench, Hyderabad in a written statement that she wants to live with her husband.
Ravita denied being abducted or forced to convert, saying she was "in love" with Nawaz Shah and maintaining that her parents' claims were false.
Nawaz Ali Shah, the 'husband', in his statement said that they first met in their village, where he gave her a mobile phone to establish a communication channel. They remained connected through the device and decided to get married later.
Bhagwandas, the counsel for Ravita's father, argued that the girl may have given the statement under pressure since she was currently with Nawaz Shah.
After hearing both sides, Justice Salahuddin Panhwar decided to send Ravita, alias Gulnaz, to Darul Aman for a day where she will be able to see her mother.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2017
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[DAWN] At least 34 people were killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province on Thursday.
The bombing targeted Afghan troops and government employees waiting to collect their salaries ahead of Eidul Fitr, officials said.
Omar Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor, said at least 34 people had been killed and more than 60 wounded, including members of the police and army, civilians and staff of the New Kabul Bank branch where the attack took place.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but Helmand has been at the centre of bitter battles between the Afghan Taliban and Afghan security forces, aided by Nato troops.
The insurgents, believed to control nearly 80 per cent of the province's countryside, have increasingly been pressing a push onto Lashkar Gah and its environs in efforts to take the city.
In recent weeks, the Afghan Taliban have overrun Helmand's key Sangin district, where both British and US troops had fought for years to keep them at bay.
Esmatullah, an Afghan border policeman, who was at the scene of the explosion, said the noise from the blast was deafening. He said many are missing in the ensuing chaos as witnesses, survivors and ambulances struggled to ferry first the most seriously wounded to hospital.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2017
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
The bombing targeted Afghan troops and government employees waiting to collect their salaries ahead of Eidul Fitrr
If there ever was a case for having direct electronic deposit...
[KDVR] CenturyLink is facing a $12 billion class-action lawsuit that accuses the telecommunications company of defrauding customers.
The lawsuit claims the high-pressure sales culture at CenturyLink resulted in customers paying for services they didn't ask for.
It is being brought by a former employee, who is describing herself as a whistleblower.
Attorney Mark Geragos is representing the plaintiff in the case. The lawsuit calls it "frighteningly" similar to the Wells Fargo Bank scandal.
Experts say to check statements to see if anything looks out of the ordinary. If it does, contact the Denver Better Business Bureau or the firm that filed the lawsuit.
In January, the Denver Better Business Bureau issued a warning about CenturyLink, saying it had identified a pattern of complaints against the company.
The BBB said some customers claimed they are charged more than the price they agreed to pay when signing up for service, and that they don't receive the speed and quality that is promised by sales representatives.
"Really take a look at those line items and really understand what you are being charged for," said Krista Ferndelli, a spokeswoman with the Denver's Better Business Bureau.
"The allegations made by our former employee are completely inconsistent with our company policies, culture and unifying principles, which include honesty and integrity," CenturyLink said in a statement. "We take these allegations seriously and are diligently investigating this matter." Plus, the company sucks and has piss poor service. Hopefully this puts it out of business.
#1
possibly a worthwhile suit, but putting sleazeball Geragos on it is asking for incompetence. Only Gloria Allred and her daughter Lisa Bloom are bigger attention whores
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/23/2017 8:59
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#2
Wells Fargo should have been put out of our misery a long time ago.
[Al Jazeera] A US judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the deportation of about 100 Iraqi nationals rounded up in Michigan in recent weeks who argued that they could face persecution or torture in Iraq because they are religious minorities.
US District Judge Mark Goldsmith in Michigan issued an order staying the deportation of the Iraqis for at least two weeks as he decides whether he has jurisdiction over the matter. Goldsmith said it was unclear whether the Iraqis would ultimately succeed.
The arrests shocked the close-knit Iraqi community in Michigan. Six Michigan lawmakers in the US House of Representatives urged the government to hold off on the removals until congress can be given assurances about the deportees' safety.
The Michigan arrests were part of a coordinated sweep in recent weeks by immigration authorities who detained about 199 Iraqi immigrants around the country. They had final deportation orders and convictions for serious crimes.
The roundup followed Iraq's agreement to accept deportees as part of a deal that removed the country from US President Donald Trump's revised temporary travel ban.
Some of those affected came to the US as children and committed their crimes decades ago, but they had been allowed to stay because Iraq previously declined to issue travel documents for them. That changed after the two governments came to the agreement in March.
A US Department of Justice spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment on the ruling.
Lee Gelernt, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union representing the Iraqis in Michigan, said: "The court's action today was legally correct and may very well have saved numerous people from abuse and possible death."
The US government has argued that the district court does not have jurisdiction over the case. Only immigration courts can decide deportation issues, which can then only be reviewed by an appeals court, it said.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has said that people with convictions for murder, rape, assault, kidnapping, burglary, and drugs and weapons charges were among the Iraqis arrested nationwide.
The ACLU argued that many of those affected in Michigan are Chaldean Catholics who are "widely recognised as targets of brutal persecution in Iraq".
Then they should have been especially careful to abide by the laws of their refuge, and their parents should have been especially careful to teach them.
Shia Muslims and Christian converts were also detained in Detroit. Kurdish Iraqis were also picked up in Nashville, Tennessee, activists and family members told Al Jazeera.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2017
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Top|| File under:
#1
'Shocking' facts - he was appointed by Obama, and he's rocking a bowtie.
#3
A few of the miscreants mentioned here: A convicted murderer who was known to police as the “Godfather of the Chaldean Mafia” and two of his lieutenants are among the Metro Detroit Iraqi immigrants with criminal records who were recently arrested and targeted for deportation.
[DAWN] Terrorist "safe havens" are inside, not outside, Afghanistan, Pakistain told the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday.
"The resilience of the insurgency led by the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... cannot be explained away by convenient references to external 'safe havens' or 'support centres'," Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistain's permanent representative to the UN, said during a debate on Afghanistan.
Relations between the two countries have turned sour since Afghanistan's Caped PresidentAshraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. accused Pakistain of waging an 'undeclared war of aggression' against Afghanistan. Pakistain and Afghanistan have long accused each other of turning a blind eye to forces of Evil operating along their mostly non-existent border.
Pakistain, Lodhi asserted at the UNSC, was committed not to allow its territory to be used for terrorism against other countries. Pakistain's Zarb-e-Azb ..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)... and subsequent Raddul Fasaad military operations had succeeded in eliminating all terrorist and murderous Moslem groups from its tribal territory bordering Afghanistan, she said.
She told the 15-member Council that Pakistain is "implementing border controls, including the fencing and monitoring of vulnerable sections of the Pakistain-Afghanistan border."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2017
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
two days before two major terror attacks in west Pakistan
Posted by: lord garth ||
06/23/2017 18:23
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Note the carefully wording of the headline, dear Reader, then as you read these key bits from a much longer article, ponder the purpose of releasing it now.
[AnNahar] Hundreds of men swept up in the hunt for al-Qaeda gunnies have disappeared into a secret network of prisons in southern 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... where abuse is routine and torture extreme -- including the "grill," in which the victim is tied to a spit like a roast and spun in a circle of fire, an News Agency that Dare Not be Named investigation has found.
Senior American defense officials acknowledged Wednesday that U.S. forces have been involved in interrogations of detainees in Yemen but denied any participation in or knowledge of human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... abuses. Interrogating detainees who have been abused could violate international law, which prohibits complicity in torture.
The AP documented at least 18 clandestine lockups across southern Yemen run by the United Arab Emirates or by Yemeni forces created and trained by the Gulf nation, drawing on accounts from former detainees, families of prisoners, civil rights lawyers and Yemeni military officials. All are either hidden or off limits to Yemen's government, which has been getting Emirati help in its civil war with rebels over the last two years.
The secret prisons are inside military bases, ports, an airport, private villas and even a nightclub. Some detainees have been flown to an Emirati base across the Red Sea in Eritrea ...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age... , according to Yemen Interior Minister Hussein Arab and others.
Several U.S. defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered...
...unidentified officials speaking anonymously are all the rage in journalistic writing these days. Sometimes they even really exist...
to discuss the topic, told AP that American forces do participate in interrogations of detainees at locations in Yemen, provide questions for others to ask, and receive transcripts of interrogations from Emirati allies. They said U.S. senior military leaders were aware of allegations of torture at the prisons in Yemen, looked into them, but were satisfied that there had not been any abuse when U.S. forces were present.
This can't have been done recently. Since January 20th American senior military leaders have been busy.
"We always adhere to the highest standards of personal and professional conduct," said chief Defense Department spokeswoman Dana White when presented with AP's findings. "We would not turn a blind eye, because we are obligated to report any violations of human rights."
Inside war-torn Yemen, however, lawyers and families say nearly 2,000 men have disappeared into the clandestine prisons, a number so high that it has triggered near-weekly protests among families seeking information about missing sons, brothers and fathers.
None of the dozens of people interviewed by AP contended that American interrogators were involved in the actual abuses. Nevertheless, obtaining intelligence that may have been extracted by torture inflicted by another party would violate the International Convention Against Torture and could qualify as war crimes, said Ryan Goodman, a law professor at New York University who served as special counsel to the Defense Department until last year.
So he worked for the Obama administration, then probably found a more congenial environment after that unexpected election.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/23/2017
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
#1
It's their culture. Who are we to judge?
/Alinskey - make the left play by their own rules
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/23/2017 9:09
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#2
Water boarding is a lot less messy and far less harmful than an Arab with a drill and edged tools.
[Al Jazeera] A US defence contractor and former State Department security officer was arrested by American counterintelligence officials and charged with spying for China.
The Justice Department said on Thursday Kevin Mallory of Leesburg, Virginia allegedly sold classified documents to Chinese intelligence agents on trips to Shanghai in March and April.
He could face up to life in prison if found guilty.
The content of the documents in question was not divulged, but was characterised as "defence information" for which he received $25,000.
"Your object is to gain information and my object is to be paid," Mallory told Chinese agents in a May 5 message, according to an indictment.
Mallory, 60, is a fluent Mandarin speaker who had served in the US Army, then as a special agent for the security service of the State Department, before becoming a contractor to various government agencies.
Up until 2012 he had a "top secret" clearance level in positions in China, Taiwan, Iraq and Washington DC.
The Washington Post said Mallory had worked for the CIA.
The indictment said he made contact via social media in February with a Chinese "recruiter" who helped arrange a trip the next month to Shanghai to meet intelligence officials.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2017
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#1
He sold out for $25,000???? What a moron!
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/23/2017 9:51
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#2
Amateur...
Posted by: Hillary Clinton ||
06/23/2017 14:39
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#3
Army, CIA an State Dept; probably 40 year combined career; fluent in Mandarin: what could have possibly turned this guy into such a traitor, an IDIOTIC traitor at that?
#6
Army, CIA an State Dept; probably 40 year combined career; fluent in Mandarin: what could have possibly turned this guy into such a traitor, an IDIOTIC traitor at that?
My guess is his resume is a bit padded or overlapped in some areas. Appears he was a reservist and Department of State (DoS) Diplomatic Security (DIPSEC) employee. Too many reserve deployments could have resulted in difficulties at DoS. The CIA piece could have been linguist reserve assignments.
Diplomatic Security officers can be assigned some pretty remote and harsh locations. He might have become disenchanted with DoS, or they with him. This could have led to his disconnecting from DoS and starting his own contracting effort.
#8
Could have been money, debt. That nice 6 bedroom colonial in Leesburg last sold a few years ago for nearly $800.000. I'm assuming it was his purchase. Gov't contracting has declined considerably in the past few years.
[Reuters] Rebels holding parts of the southern Philippine city of Marawi have been cornered and their firepower is diminishing after five weeks of fighting. But despite signs that the militants are now on the back foot, regional governments are worried that the siege could be just the prelude to further violence as the Islamic State tries to establish a foothold in the area.
Jolted by the May 23 attack on Marawi, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have launched joint patrols to control the movement of militants across islands in the region and their foreign ministers gathered in Manila on Thursday for talks.
Malaysia is worried that militants who are flushed out of Marawi City may try to cross from the Philippines to its eastern state of Sabah. Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) chief Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid said, "We fear that they may enter the country disguised as illegal immigrants or foreign fishermen."
He said Esscom had drawn up a wanted list that included two militants who spearheaded the attempt to capture Marawi. They are Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, who was proclaimed last year as the Islamic State's "emir" of Southeast Asia, and Abdullah Maute.
The Philippine military said the number of militants holding out in Marawi had dwindled to "a little over 100".
"Their area has been reduced to one square kilometer only," said Lt Col Christopher Tampus, whose troops are blocking escape routes across bridges spanning a river to the west of the rebels. He said, "Our forces are coming from the east and the north and we are blocking the three bridges."
Tampus said rebel snipers were still firing from strategic nests in schools and mosques, and home-made bombs were hampering the progress of troops as they advanced house by house. He said he had seen at least five civilians dressed in black who appeared to have been forced to stand in the street as human shields.
Posted by: ryuge ||
06/23/2017
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#1
He said he had seen at least five civilians dressed in black who appeared to have been forced to stand in the street as human shields.
Happy Ramadan!
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/23/2017 8:39
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#2
Well, it being a Religion of Peace™, and all that...
Via Email to Supporters - No Web Page Link.
Obamacare is failing the American people. Without action to repeal and replace Obamacare, Americans are stuck with higher costs, more taxes, and fewer choices. The trend of bad news for Obamacare is continuing - Americans need relief now.
Today's Events
9:30 AM: Vice President Pence delivers the keynote address at the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Legislative Day
11:00 AM: President Trump participates in the American Leadership in Emerging Technology Event
1:00 PM: Vice President Pence delivers remarks at the Wilson Center
3:00 PM: President Trump meets with the International Olympic Committee
7:15 PM: President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump host the Congressional Picnic
OBAMACARE FACT OF THE DAY
FACT: The American people know a bad deal when they see one. The most recent data shows that around 6.5 million Americans paid $3 billion in penalties to the IRS rather than buy unaffordable Obamacare plans.
Yesterday, President Trump visited Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he gave remarks about empowering America’s farmers and protecting our Nation’s proud farming legacy.
Yesterday, Vice President Pence delivered remarks at the National Summit on Crime Reduction and Public Safety.
Yesterday, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, M.D., met with individuals who are facing lack of choice because of Obamacare.
Yesterday, President Trump held a meeting with cybersecurity and energy sector representatives.
The application period for the Fall 2017 White House Internship Program closes this Friday, June 23. Interested applicants can apply here.
"In order for us to expand prosperity and extend economic opportunity to more Americans, we must remain on the cutting edge. This means that government at all levels must focus on removing barriers to innovation and ensuring that technological advances aren’t strangled by bureaucratic red tape." - FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in New Hampshire Union Leader
"The White House is gathering technology leaders on Thursday to discuss how the industry aims to drive economic growth in emerging technology areas like wireless broadband and drones." - The Hill
"..the nation’s second-largest health insurer announced Wednesday it plans to pull out of ObamaCare exchanges in Indiana and Wisconsin next year -- a move that fueled GOP calls on Capitol Hill to upend the law." - Fox News
[Ynet] Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told his Turkish counterpart that weapons provided to the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria would be taken back once 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.... was defeated, Turkish defence ministry sources said on Thursday.
In a letter to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's Defence Minister Fikri Isik, Mattis said the United States had informed Turkey about the weapons it had given the YPG and that it would provide monthly lists of the arms supplied, the sources said in a statement.
Relations between the two NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... allies have become strained due to the support the United States has given the YPG, which Turkey has fought in northern Syria, to support the campaign against Islamic State.
In his letter, Mattis told Isik that the United States would take determined measures to address Turkey's security concerns, the sources said, and that Arabs would comprise 80 percent of the forces to capture Syria's Raqqa from Islamic State.
The YPG is a leading part of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which launched an operation earlier this month to capture Raqqa, Islamic State's de facto Syrian capital. Turkey has said that it would retaliate against the YPG if it felt a threat from the group.
Interesting that it is anonymous Turks said to be somewhere in the defense ministry telling us what the American defense secretary wrote, and not Secretary Mattis himself or his representative....or even the Turkish defense secretary himself. Based on what we've seen since the American election last year, the odds are good the anonymous sources live only in the journalist's imagination, or have no connection to the matter being reported and therefore have only malice to contribute instead of actual facts.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/23/2017
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Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
[AnNahar] A blast on Thursday hit the western Turkish city of Izmir, close to a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... military facility, but there were no casualties, state media reported.
The kaboom took place near a cemetery and the NATO facility in the Konak district of Izmir around 7:50 am (0450 GMT), state-run Anadolu news agency said.
The blast destroyed a wall and shattered the windows of buildings close by, Anadolu reported.
Initial findings said the kaboom was caused by a stun grenade left by the wall, the agency said.
A witness quoted by Anadolu said the kaboom took place just after a military vehicle passed by.
Reports said that the blast took place near to the Izmir air station, which is used by the US air force.
Reports of unrest are rare in the Aegean city but the blast comes after two people were killed in a boom-mobileing in Izmir in January outside a courthouse, which was attributed to Kurdish holy warriors.
[Al Jazeera] Human Rights group Amnesia Amnesty International has called on the UN to lead an investigation into allegations that the United Arab Emirates and its allied Yemeni security forces detained and tortured hundreds of people.
In a statement released on Thursday, Amnesty called for an urgent investigation after a news report from the News Agency that Dare Not be Named news agency alleged that the UAE financed, armed and trained Yemeni forces responsible for grave human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. violations during security operations against the Yemeni branches of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS, also known as ISIS).
The AP documented at least 18 clandestine lockups across southern 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... run by the UAE or by Yemeni forces, drawing on accounts from former detainees, families of prisoners, civil rights lawyers and Yemeni military officials.
Hundreds of men were swept up in the hunt for al-Qaeda and ISIS fighters and subject to extreme torture - including the 'grill', in which victims were tied to a spit like a roast and spun in a circle of fire.
"A UN-led investigation must immediately be launched into the UAE's and other parties' role in setting up this horrific network of torture," Lynn Maalouf, the director of research at Amnesia Amnesty International in the Middle East said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2017
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[6 views]
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#3
That used to be Canada's largest retailer.
As for US operations and living maybe 10 miles from Sears Hoffman Estates HQ, I have been waiting for the shoe to drop for a decade now.
The only presence that might be left would be an online direct marketing outfit, not unlike they and Monkey Wards originally were.
#4
I think Amazon was the death of Sears. Sears had the catalog business but got crushed by Amazon (which is really just a catalog business), because margins aren't large enough to overcome the 5-10% edge Amazon held by not having to collect sales taxes. So in effect government picked Amazon to win.
#5
...maybe, but corporate culture of the in house 'suits' was unable to adapt. Nothing different than the 70s oil embargo that allowed Americans to discover relatively less expensive, fuel efficient, quality, 'sold as' Japanese cars. When the foreign companies captured 30 percent of the market, Detroit got the SAOD moment, they just lingered on for a couple decades before the bailout. As someone said - adapt or perish. Any Encyclopedia Britannic salesmen knock on your door recently?
#4
"One Killed..."
The take away here is either that the Venezuelan Army has crap marksmanship, or contrarily that the troops are missing or have been instructed to miss.
Either way, information point.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
06/23/2017 11:15
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#5
They've packed 10 away in Chicago this week. As ed says, they weren't trying. Even panicked Ohio guardsmen were able to drop 4 without such a massed crowd for a target.
[Al Jazeera] Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... has never supported Jabhat Fateh al-Sham ...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant... , the Syrian group formerly known as the Nusra Front, or any other "terrorist group", its foreign minister says.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said in an interview with La Belle France 24 Arabic on Thursday that Qatar had always "abided by international laws" and played a key role in the international coalition fighting Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).
"Qatar does not support the Nusra Front in Syria ... and it does not support any terrorist organization," he told La Belle France 24.
The foreign minister added that he expects to receive a list of demands from 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 UAE in the next two days, but stressed Qatar would not accept any "foreign dictations" and "rejected discussing any matter related to the Al Jazeera channel as it considered it an internal affair".
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt severed diplomatic ties and cut off sea and air links with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting "terrorism" - a charge Doha strongly denies.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2017
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[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Qatar (MB)
[ALMASDARNEWS] An improvised explosive device planted in a motorcycle exploded inside the rebel-held city of Idlib as tensions escalate among rival jihadi groups.
The blast killed 5 militants from the ‘security force’ of al-Qaeda-affiliate Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, and injured 10 others.
The attack comes one week after the group (formerly known as Jabhet al-Nusra) was caught in heavy infighting with the FSA-affiliated Shaitat group. Elsewhere in Maarrat al-Numan to the south, HTS jihadists stormed bases for Division 13; an opposition action fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2017
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[7 views]
Top|| File under: al-Nusra
This represents a remarkable turnaround for SpaceX and the federal government. After filing a lawsuit against the Air Force three years ago for the right to bid on military launch contracts, the California-based company only began flying military payloads for the government in May. Now lawmakers seem to be warming quickly to the company's vision of low-cost access to space.
During the hearing, Franks said reusable rockets had the potential to enhance the nation's warfighting capability.
The amendment directs the Secretary of Defense to brief the Committee on Armed Services by March 1, 2018 on the department's plan to evaluate the risks, benefits, costs, and potential cost-savings of the use of reusable launch vehicles for use in national security space missions.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/23/2017 9:26
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#4
The key to whether this is feasible will be based on whose congressional district the rebuild shop is built it. Beyond that congress sees no reason why we can't buy missiles from China. (Or India. Or Pakistan. (Or...)
Posted by: ed in texas ||
06/23/2017 11:12
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[DAWN] A man allegedly shot dead his 24-year-old daughter and injured another man in the village of Jan Mohammad Brohi in Nawabshah, in what police termed an 'honour' killing.
Sakima was killed by her father and uncle after they allegedly found her with a man, Wahid Bux Brohi, who was also critically injured in the incident. Brohi has been shifted to Civil Hospital Nawabshah.
Kadhar Station House Officer Ghulam Hussain Peerzado said Akbar and his brother were arrested by police and confessed to the crime.
Two separate First Information Reports were registered against the accused. One was registered on behalf of the state and the other on the complaint of Ghulam Mohammad, the brother of the injured man.
Sakima's body was handed over to a notable of the area for burial following a post-mortem examination.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2017
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[FoxNews] A man fishing in British Columbia Friday managed to capture a slow-motion video of an eagle swooping down and taking the bait he was about to use to catch fish.
Ashton Phillips was trying to take a picture of the bald eagle circling his boat, but instead of getting a great picture, he watched as it took away with salmon. "I saw this one eagle kind of circling and it was along the shoreline, so I took out my camera to snap a picture of it," said Phillips. "All of a sudden out of nowhere, it started heading toward the boat," he told CTV News.
Phillips had been cutting salmon strips to bait halibut with when the bird started circling. He had left pieces on the boat’s motor in order to take out his camera.
"I didn’t even realize it was coming for the big chunk of salmon until obviously it snagged it and flew off," he said. "It was a pretty surreal experience."
After watching the video, Phillips posted it to Facebook
and it went viral. It was watched over 1.1 million times and shared 26,000 times, being described as "beautiful" and "epic."
Phillips was surprised at the reactions and attention the video received. "Everybody’s been very, very positive about it," he said. "I thought maybe people would start saying, ’well, you guys baited it, you’re feeding the wildlife,’ but we didn’t. And it hasn’t gone down the negative road, so it’s nice to see people just really enjoyed the video."
Phillips is a co-owner of Crab Park Chowdery in Vancouver.
#2
I had a similar experience fishing the West Canada Creek in the Adirondak Mountains. A Bald Eagle flew down the river and suddenly dropped down right in front of me. It took me a moment to realise it had seen my spinning lure in the water. I stopped reeling it in. The eagle checked its dive and flew on.
#3
Eagles recovered from their low in a grand fashion.
On a hunting trip in MT a couple years ago, the guides (who I have used for several years) had started referring to them as "sky-otes", they were so common.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
06/23/2017 5:33
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#4
Saw a video a year or so ago showing a guy feeding bald eagles on a fishing boat in Alaska. There were dozens of them on the deck, snacking up fish as he threw them out. It was pretty amazing to watch.
#5
Visited San Juan Island in Puget Sound in 1992, found many dozens of bald eagles scavenging a large number of dead salmon along the shoreline. First ones I had ever seen. Up until about 1980 I had not seen even a single raptor on my travels all over the USA.
[USATODAY] The Federal Communications Commission has levied its largest fine ever, targeting a Florida-based robocall network it says was responsible for nearly 100 million calls over the last three months of 2016.
The agency on Thursday proposed a $120 million fine against Adrian Abramovich of Miami, Fla., alleging his operation, doing business as Marketing Strategy Leaders, made 96 million spoofed robocalls during the period in which the FCC investigated. Of those calls, about 90% were made to wireless phones, with 10% to landline phones.
The calls used "neighborhood spoofing" technology to include local area codes and the first three numbers of the recipient's own phone number to encourage people to answer the calls.
Upon answering, recipients would hear a recorded message asking them to press 1 to hear about vacation deals from travel companies such as Marriott, Expedia, Hilton and TripAdvisor. Callers were then transferred to call centers in Mexico, where live operators would try to sell them vacation packages at Mexican timeshare facilities not affiliated with the companies in the recorded messages.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/23/2017
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#1
...Oh yeah. The robocalls have gotten worse instead of better, and lately I've been getting them in clusters of 8-10 in a few minutes.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/23/2017 4:37
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#2
..now if only you can expand it to PACs and pollsters.
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.
North Korea on Friday called itself the "biggest victim" in the death of an American student who was detained for more than a year and died days after being released in a coma.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A blast occurred on Thursday at one of the main exits between the capital city of Baghdad and Anbar province, a police source said.
[IsraelTimes] UN envoy Danon, IDF intelligence chief demand action against Lebanese terror group’s violations along border.
[Breitbart] Thursday when asked about criticisms that her leadership contributed to the recent special election losses for the Democratic Party, House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she was a "target" because she is "a master legislator."
[Breitbart] James Comey may have misled senators on May 3, when he testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had never been an anonymous source in news reports related to the Russia investigation.
[ALMASDARNEWS] US allies have sustained heavy casualties in Raqqa city this week. According to Amaq Agency, upwards of 53 casualties were inflicted on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) over the past 24 hours alone.
[RFE/RL] Authorities in Tajikistan have prohibited citizens under the age of 40 from performing this year's annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
[ABS-CBN] One of the Maute brothers is likely dead, said Philippine military chief of staff Eduardo Año on Thursday. He said Omarkhayam Maute was most likely killed in the siege of Marawi City but his brother, Abdullah, is still alive and is still in Marawi along with Isnilon Hapilon, the alleged regional Islamic State leader.
[FMT] Ismail Ternang, a former top leader of the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (PULO), was arrested in Malaysia several days ago for security offenses allegedly related to arms smuggling.
[DAWN] A Christian bicycle mechanic in Lahore was arrested on June 15 over allegations of blasphemy after he became involved in a dispute regarding payment for services rendered to a customer, police said Thursday.
[KDVR] CenturyLink is facing a $12 billion class-action lawsuit that accuses the telecommunications company of defrauding customers.
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
[AnNahar] Hundreds of men swept up in the hunt for al-Qaeda 
[Reuters] Rebels holding parts of the southern Philippine city of Marawi have been cornered and their firepower is diminishing after five weeks of fighting. But despite signs that the militants are now on the back foot, regional governments are worried that the siege could be just the prelude to further violence as the Islamic State tries to establish a foothold in the area.
[DAWN] A man allegedly shot dead his 24-year-old daughter and injured another man in the village of Jan Mohammad Brohi in Nawabshah, in what police termed an 'honour' killing.
[USATODAY] The Federal Communications Commission has levied its largest fine ever, targeting a Florida-based robocall network it says was responsible for nearly 100 million calls over the last three months of 2016.
