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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
IS Attack Kills 19 in Hama
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
Germany tie troops pullout to peace negotiations
[KhaamaPress] German Foreign Minister stated that the exit of international forces from Afghanistan should be related to the success of Intra-Afghan Talks, German media outlets reported.

In an event organized by Die Zeit and media outlets, German Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas said Tuesday, foreign troops full drawdown should be tied to progress in peace negotiations rather than "slavishly" bound to the May month as per the US-Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
agreement, and that the pullout of foreign troops in the war-torn country shouldn’t be based on-time deadline.

"We must couple both processes, the withdrawal of foreign forces with the peace negotiations. We don’t have to hang on slavishly to the date of the end of April...", AP quoted Maas.

Maas said, "Our fear is that the Taliban could use this as a reason to leave the peace talks and seek a military solution".

"So our approach is to say that we must couple both processes, the withdrawal of foreign forces with the peace negotiations," Maas added, "We don’t have to hang on slavishly to the date of the end of April — these things must be linked and when the peace negotiations are concluded successfully, the time will have come to withdraw foreign troops".

According to mass, an agreement should be sought with the US, Afghan government, and the Taliban.

The US-Taliban agreement obliged foreign troops to fully withdraw by the end of April 2021, and that the agreement is being reviewed by the Biden administration.

The new American administration after Trump indicates that the Taliban has not honored their commitments to reduce violence.

This comes in a time when violence has raged in the country despite the Afghan grinding of the peace processor and negotiations, and concerns grew further as talks stalled.

Germany is the second-largest troop contributor to NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
missions in Afganistan, after the United States.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Pentagon: No Decision on 'Force Posture' in Afghanistan
[ToloNews] The Pentagon on Wednesday reiterated that any withdrawal from Afghanistan will be conditions-based.

Pentagon’s front man John Kirby in a question about a possible increase in the number of US forces in Afghanistan said that the US Defense Secretary is assessing all options, but said that the best solution to the conflict in Afghanistan is a political settlement of the conflict.

Meanwhile,
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1 
"We foresee another trillion or so will be required to deliver a stable utopia in this shi... sheer beauty of a place."
Posted by: Dron66046 || 02/04/2021 4:51 Comments || Top||

#2  Trillion you say? Come on Dron, let the moths out of that wallet, you old skinflint. They're socialists, they're talking REAL money.
Posted by: Cesare || 02/04/2021 8:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Biden or whoever moved General Austin straight from the board of directors of Raytheon to the office of the SecDef. That appointment pretty much gives the game away.
Posted by: Matt || 02/04/2021 11:58 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Egypt conditioning Netanyahu visit on goodwill gesture to Palestinians — report
[IsraelTimes] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to visit Egypt before the March elections, the Walla news site reports.

But Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi is conditioning the visit on a goodwill gesture by Netanyahu to the Paleostinians, such as a declaration in support of a two-state solution, according to two Israeli sources. Netanyahu pushed back against such a demand, the report says.

The Prime Minister’s Office denies any condition was set for the visit.

According to the report, the move is a bid by Egypt to impress the Biden administration.

"President el-Sissi doesn’t care so much about the Paleostinian issue, but he knows Netanyahu is looking for a campaign photo-op and is trying to get a diplomatic achievement for Egypt out of it," an Israeli official says.

Talks over the potential visit have been ongoing for months. The trip almost went ahead last month, but was postponed by Egypt after the Israeli elections were moved up, the report says.

The last official visit by Netanyahu to Egypt was in January 2011, when he met then-president Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
, though he reportedly paid a secret, unofficial visit in 2018. An official visit had reportedly been set to go ahead in 2016 but was canceled after Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said Egypt had taken action — at Israel’s request — to seal a cross-border tunnel from Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
built by the Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, terror group.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2021 00:47 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority


Arabia
Houthis vow more attacks in wake of Soddy blockade
The Supreme Political Council of Ansar Allah (more widely known as the Houthis) threatened Saudi Arabia with more strikes and ‘major operations’ if the Kingdom continues its blockade imposed on Yemen.

According to pro-Houthi sources, the threats came amid the continued detention of oil ships en route to Yemen. The lack of fuel, food and vital supplies contributes to the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the country.

The Houthi side says that the fuel crisis in Yemen inflicts a heavy blow on the lives of the ordinary people in Yemen. The Saudi blockade continues amid the de-facto silence of the international community. So, the Houthis say that they are not going to step back and will fight against the Kingdom and further.

More at the link, including maps
Posted by: badanov || 02/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


India-Pakistan
Senior Indian Diplomat Summoned to Register Pakistan’s Strong Protest Over Ceasefire Violations by India: FO
Summary: Pakistan troops shot at the Indian troops at that location of the border to distract them from the jihadis sneaking across on ISI orders, possibly through a tunnel the Pakistani army dug for the purpose, and the Indians perfidiously shot back. They’ll no doubt catch the mooks in the next few days — that’s how the game is played. The final act is when the Foreign Office summons the Indian ambassador to fulminate at him at length.
[DailyTimes.pk] A senior Indian diplomat was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday to register Pakistain’s strong protest over ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation Forces along the Line of Control (LoC) on 2nd February 2021, resulting in serious injuries to four innocent civilians including three women.

According to a statement issued by Foreign Office Spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chuhdhary said that due to the indiscriminate and unprovoked firing by the Indian occupation forces in Hotspring and Jandrot Sectors of the LoC on 2nd February 2021, 30 year old Zubina Bukhari w/o Faizan Shah, resident of Tahi Mohra village, 17 years old Rida Tahir d/o Bahsarat Shah resident of Tahi Mohra village, 16 years old Ameen Ali s/o Basharat Shah resident of Tahi Mohra village, 42 years old Saleema Begum w/o Muhammad Yaqoob resident of Batali village, sustained serious injuries.

The Indian occupation forces along the LoC and the Working Boundary (WB) have been continuously targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars, and automatic weapons. In 2021, the Indian occupation forces have carried out 175 ceasefire violations to date, resulting in serious injuries to 08 innocent civilians

Condemning the deplorable targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian occupation forces, it was underscored that such senseless acts are in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, and are also against all established humanitarian norms and professional military conduct. These egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security. It was added that by raising tensions along the LoC and the WB, India cannot divert attention from the grave human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty...
situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
(IIOJK).

The Indian side was called upon to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, investigate this and other such incidents of deliberate ceasefire violations and maintain peace along the LoC and the WB. The Indian side was also urged to allow the United Nations
...an idea whose time has gone...
Military Observer Group in India and Pakistain (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Army, ISI chiefs meet PM Imran third time in a month
[DailyTimes.pk] Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday called on Premier Imran Khan
...aka The Great Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight...
in Islamabad, a statement issued by Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

Inter-Services Intelligence
...the Pak military intelligence agency that controls the military -- heads of ISI typically get promoted into the Chief of Army Staff position. It serves as a general command center for favored turban groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, tries to influence the politix of neighboring countries, and carries out a (usually) low-level war against India in Kashmir...
(ISI) Director General Lieutenant General Faiz Hamid was also present during the meeting, it added. Matters pertaining to internal and external security were discussed during the meeting, it further stated. No further details were provided by the Prime Minister Office.

This is the third high-level huddle at the PM Office between the trio within a month as meetings also took place on January 11 and 25. Observers believe that the meeting, which took place on January 25, might be linked with the current Afghan situation particularly after the Biden administration announced to review the peace deal with the Afghan Taliban
...Arabic for students...
. The meeting was believed to have taken place to finalise Pakistain’s strategy as the Biden administration will soon formally contact Islamabad to discuss the peace efforts in Afghanistan.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Pakistan orders man acquitted in Pearl murder off death row and into safe house
Home again, home again jiggity jig! And thus the ISIS, pretending to be the elected government of Pakistan, protects their lad from the wrath of the stupid Americans.
[IsraelTimes] Pakistain’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the Pak-British man acquitted of the 2002 gruesome beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl off death row and moved to a so-called government "safe house."

Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh, who has been on death row for 18 years, will be under guard and will not be allowed to leave the safe house, but he will be able to have his wife and children visit him.

"It is not complete freedom. It is a step toward freedom," said Sheikh’s father, Ahmad Saeed Sheikh, who attended the hearing.

The Pakistain government has been scrambling to keep Sheikh in jail since a Supreme Court order last Thursday upheld his acquittal in the death of Pearl, triggering outrage by Pearl’s family and the US administration.

In a final effort to overturn the acquittal, Pakistain’s government as well as the Pearl family filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, asking it to review the decision to exonerate Sheikh of Pearl’s murder. The family’s lawyer, Faisal Siddiqi, however, said such a review had a slim chance of success because the same Supreme Court judges who ordered Sheikh’s acquittal sit on the review panel.

The US government has said that it would seek Sheikh’s extradition if his acquittal is upheld. Sheikh has been indicted in the United States on Pearl’s murder as well as in a 1994 kidnapping of an American citizen in Indian-ruled sector of the divided region of Kashmir
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
. The American was eventually freed.

The order sending Sheikh to a safe house would seem to be a concession to the federal government, as well as the government of southern Sindh province where Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
is the capital. The Sindh government has refused successive orders to release Sheikh, even courting contempt charges from lower courts.

In the government-run safe house, Sheikh will be under a 24-hour guard — often military personnel — and will not be allowed to leave the house. Locations of such safe houses are usually kept secret; Pakistain’s security establishment has several such facilities across the country.

Pearl disappeared on Jan. 23, 2002, in the port city of Karachi where he was investigating links between Pak holy warrior groups and Richard C. Reid, dubbed the "shoe bomber" after his attempt to blow up a flight from Gay Paree to Miami with explosives hidden in his shoes.

Pearl’s body was discovered in a shallow grave soon after a video of his beheading was delivered to the US Consulate in Karachi.

The Pentagon in 2007 released a transcript in which Khalid Sheikh Mohammad
...Mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. He was captured in Faisalabad, Pakistain in 2002 and interned at Guantanamo...
, the alleged criminal mastermind of the 9/11 attacks on the United States, said he had killed Pearl.

"I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew Daniel Pearl," the transcript quoted Mohammed as saying. Mohammad first disclosed his role while he was held in CIA custody and subjected to waterboarding, sleep deprivation and other forms of torture. He remains in the US prison in Guantanamo Bay and has never been charged with the journalist’s death.

Sheikh had long denied any involvement in Pearl’s death, but Pakistain’s Supreme Court last month heard that he acknowledged writing a letter in 2019 admitting a minor role — raising hopes for some that he might remain behind bars.

In a series of tweets over the weekend, Pearl’s family urged followers to "call your politicians in Pakistain, in the US, the world to support Danny’s parents," to keep Sheikh behind bars.

Last week’s ruling that exonerated Sheikh also exonerated another three men accused in Pearl’s murder who had been serving life sentences. It wasn’t clear whether they would be freed or also moved to a safe house.

Siddiqi, the Pearl family lawyer, said the original murder trial back in 2002 charged all four as one, which complicated the case and allowed the court to free all if there was doubt about the guilt of even one of the suspects.

Pakistan denies handing over Pearl murder suspect to US

Pakistain is not handing over the prime suspect who was convicted and later acquitted in a murder case of US journalist Daniel Pearl to Washington, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi
...a Pak political shape-changer. He is undistinguished except for his habit of periodically needing to have his lips reattached...
said on Sunday.

He was commenting on reports doing rounds in Islamabad after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered to prosecute British-born accused Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh in the US for his "horrific crimes against an American citizen" during a telephone conversation with him on Friday.

"Reports regarding handing over of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh to the US are baseless," a private TV channel cited the foreign minister as saying. "I spoke to the US secretary of state, who expressed his concern over the Supreme Court judgement," he said while referring to the acquittal of all four accused, including Sheikh by the apex court on Thursday. "I told him [Blinken] that our courts are independent," he went on saying.

However,
a woman is only as old as she admits...
Qureshi added that the government has filed a review petition against Sheikh’s acquittal, which will be heard on Monday by the same court. Pearl’s parents have also announced joining the review proceedings.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  You wrote ISIS there, TW.

He's a valuable resource to them alright. It's believed he was even trained by the brits for their own conquistadoring against Milosevic. Won't be easy to get to.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 02/04/2021 5:03 Comments || Top||

#2  Whoops! So I did. We’re running a little ragged while Fred dutifully allows himself to be tortured in rehab.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2021 20:08 Comments || Top||


International-UN-NGOs
UN court says it can hear case brought by Iran against US sanctions
Did the court receive, or anticipate receiving, information that the Biden administration is not interested in defending continuing U.S. sanctions against Iran?
[IsraelTimes] The United Nations
...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly...
’ highest court rules that it can hear a case brought by Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
against the United States in a bid to end sanctions the Trump administration re-imposed in 2018 after pulling out of an international deal aimed at curtailing Tehran’s nuclear program.

Lawyers for the United States argued at hearings last year that the case should be thrown out by the International Court of Justice for lack of jurisdiction and admissibility.

However,
it's easy to be generous with someone else's money...
the court’s president, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, says that judges rejected US arguments.

Iran filed the case in July 2018 a few months after then-US president Donald Trump
...the Nailer of NAFTA...
said he was pulling the US out of a 2015 international agreement over Iran’s nuclear program and would re-impose sanctions on Tehran. Washington also threatened other countries with sanctions if they don’t cut off Iranian oil imports by early November.

In its case, Iran alleges that the sanctions breach a 1955 bilateral agreement known as the Treaty of Amity that regulates and promotes economic and consular ties between the two countries.
That treaty was made between the U.S. and the government of the Shah of Iran. His son now holds court in exile — in Europe somewhere, I think — while Iran’s government has belonged to the Mad Mullahs since they took it by violence in 1979... and started their war against The Great Satan by holding the staff of the American hostage, a war crime. There is no friendship with dishonorable enemies.
The ruling Wednesday comes as new US President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden
...Candidate for president in 2020. Old, boring, a plagiarist, fond of hair sniffing and grabbing the protruding parts of women, and not whatcha call brilliant...
is seeking to enhance diplomacy toward Iran while Washington looks at restoring constraints on the country’s nuclear program and reining in its regional ambitions.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Iraq
Troop movements in Kurdistan intended to counter Bad Guys
[NRTtv] The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs said on Wednesday (February 3) that there had been no unusual movement on its part near Makhmour and Qarachokh Mountain, explaining that its recent actions there had been to counter the local threat posed by Islamic State (ISIS) militants.

Over the past week, movement by both the Peshmerga and the Iraqi Security Forces along the border between Erbil and Kirkuk governorates in the so-called “disputed areas” raised concerns about the potential for clashes between the two.

“The only purpose of that preparation by the Peshmerga is to prevent terrorist acts and protect the area’s stability and security,” the ministry said in a statement.

“We have previously warned of the dangers posed by terrorists in those areas, which are due to a security vacuum between the Peshmerga and the Iraqi army,” it added.

The disputed areas are a belt of territory that is claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad that stretches from Nineveh through Kirkuk to Diyala. ISIS is able to exploit its uncertain control and the rugged terrain to launch attacks against both civilians and military units.
Posted by: badanov || 02/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
IDF cancels leave for most soldiers as infection rates on bases soar
[IsraelTimes] Military says rule will not apply to open bases, units with no virus cases or units with 85% vaccination.

The Israel Defense Forces announced Tuesday that it was canceling army leave with immediate effect, the first time the measure has been used in the current, third lockdown, as cases proliferated in military bases.

IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi made the declaration a day after the army reported 2,406 soldiers and military employees with COVID-19, all in mild condition, with the infection rate doubling in 10 days. Among the patients are two commanders with the rank of major general.

Another 12,549 servicemembers were in quarantine as of Sunday.

The move would not affect soldiers serving on so-called open bases, who go home most nights, but would only be applied to those on "closed bases," who live in their units for extended periods.

It would also not affect units with no confirmed cases, or units where at least 85 percent of its members have received their second vaccine shot at least a week ago. According to clinical trials, vaccines only reach full efficacy a number of days after the second shot.

"Exemptions will only be approved by the commander of the Operations Directorate," the IDF said.

Troops on open bases would continue to operate on a system of "capsules" — shifts of soldiers with no contact between them — to ensure that if any servicemembers became infected with the virus, it would not spread widely.

The move took effect immediately on Tuesday, and the IDF didn’t say when it was set to end.

The military, which canceled leave on two previous occasions since the pandemic began, has been criticized for failing to impose the measure thus far during Israel’s third wave of infections, which has been worse than the previous two, aided by new and more infectious strains of the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
The IDF had hoped a "differential" policy to deal specifically with virus hotspots would curb the outbreak among soldiers, but the result has been soldiers seeing their families frequently, causing infections to migrate both into and out of military bases.

The extend of the outbreak and quarantines among soldiers have been harming some of the army’s operations in both combat and non-combat units. Specially designated quarantine bases have filled up, and many soldiers have been sent home, putting the burden on their families.

Channel 13 news reported Monday that least 110 new recruits from the Paratroopers Brigade tested positive at an army base in the south, the IDF’s worst outbreak since the start of the pandemic.

The military acknowledged not recognizing the outbreak quickly enough, having believed the complaints about various symptoms had been due to side effects of the vaccine. Some 30% of COVID-19 tests performed on the base returned a positive result, alarming officials who were working to conduct more widespread tests throughout the base and quarantine all virus carriers. The report did not clarify the extent of the vaccination program on the base.

Despite the country being under lockdown for almost a month, infections in the general population have remained sky-high. Ministers voted in the early hours of Monday morning to extend the nationwide closure until Friday morning at 7 a.m., and to keep Ben Gurion Airport closed until Sunday.

Ministers are to meet on Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. to discuss the lockdown terms. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to extend the closure beyond Friday, according to Channel 13. However,
some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves...
Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party is likely to strongly oppose any such extension.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2021 02:30 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Netanyahu hires ex-Breitbart journalist as campaign chief
[IsraelTimes] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has named a former journalist with the right-wing Breitbart news site, who authored books challenging Barack Obama
If you like your coverage you can keep it...
’s fitness for president, as his campaign chief for March national elections.

Aaron Klein, who has served as a political strategist to Netanyahu since last year, confirms his appointment to The News Agency that Dare Not be Named on Wednesday. He was appointed several weeks ago, according to a campaign official.

Klein also worked on Netanyahu’s March 2020 campaign and his efforts were credited by the prime minister with helping Likud become the largest party in that vote, according to JNS.

Klein is a former US radio show host and ex-Jerusalem bureau chief for Breitbart News. He was appointed by the site’s executive chairman at the time, Steven Bannon, who would later become a key strategist to Donald Trump
...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons......
Klein is the author of a number of books about Obama. They include: "The Manchurian President: Barack Obama’s Ties to Communists, Socialists and Other Anti-American Extremists"; "Fool Me Twice: Obama’s Shocking Plans for the Next Four Years Exposed"; and "Impeachable Offenses: The Case for Removing Barack Obama from Office."

Netanyahu, who is fighting a tough reelection battle, has a long history of using American campaign advisers. One of his main challengers, Gideon Sa’ar,
...a former Likud MP who has developed higher aspirations...
recently hired several founders of "The Lincoln Project," an anti-Trump Republican organization, as advisers.

Netanyahu and Obama clashed repeatedly during his time in office over Israel’s policies toward the Paleostinians and the nuclear agreement Obama’s administration negotiated with Iran. President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden
...Candidate for president in 2020. Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids....
is expected to restore many of these policies.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2021 01:30 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


3 Israelis, 3 Palestinians charged with smuggling air-soft rifles into West Bank
[IsraelTimes] Three Israelis and three Paleostinians are charged with smuggling air-powered rifles into the West Bank, where they were converted into lethal weapons, the Shin Bet security service says.

The alleged ringleader of this operation is an Israeli man from the town of Sderot, Yuri Shaulov, who owned a store that sold these so-called air-soft guns, the Shin Bet says.

Air-soft rifles — generally regarded as children’s toys — are far less dangerous than standard firearms. They typically rely on compressed air to fire a plastic ball down a smooth-bore barrel. However,
some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go...
over the past several years, the Shin Bet has noted that a small industry has sprung up in Israel and the West Bank that specializes in converting these toys into lethal weapons by changing the barrel and the internal mechanism to allow it to hold bullets.

According to the Shin Bet, over the past two years, the primary suspect, Shaulov had sold a number of these air-soft rifles to Paleostinians in the West Bank through two Bedouin intermediaries, "despite knowing that it was illegal to sell them in the West Bank and that the weapons that he sold were meant to be converted into proper firearms."

The Shin Bet does not directly tie the air-soft rifles sold by Shaulov to any terrorist activities, but notes that this type of makeshift weapon has been used for attacks in the past.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2021 01:05 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I can't understand how this can be done, without a proper alloy receiver, hi-pressure barrel or firing pin, etc. But good. Paleostinians mustn't be allowed even toy guns. And some of the really strong AS rifles can hit accurately pretty far. So they could be used to harass security forces, cause panic etc.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 02/04/2021 4:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Nerf guns weren't available?
Posted by: Frank G || 02/04/2021 7:40 Comments || Top||


Minister: US will never attack Iran’s nuclear facilities; Israel may act alone
A useful satellite photo from last December of construction at Iran's Fordo underground nuclear facility can be seen at the link.
[IsraelTimes] Likud Minister Tzachi Hanegbi
...he has the Settlement Affairs portfolio at the moment, but they do like to switch them around — I suppose so everyone has a better understanding of what the government does...
says the United States will never attack Iran’s nuclear program, and Israel will have to decide whether to launch such a strike alone or come to terms with a nuclear-armed Islamic Theocratic Republic.

"The United States will never attack the nuclear facilities in Iran, Israel must decide whether it will accept a nuclear Iran," Hanegbi tells the Kan public broadcaster. "Israel will be forced to act independently to remove this danger."

Hanegbi, who is close to Netanyahu, says the Iranians have proven to have a "very limited" capacity to retaliate against Israel.

"It’s possible that in the future there will be no choice [but to attack Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
militarily]," adds Hanegbi. "I hope that when our leadership is met with this dilemma, it won’t accept [a nuclear-armed Iran]."
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Let Lev do it.
Bring it
Posted by: Wholuth Panda3454 || 02/04/2021 0:59 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Released on bail, British-Iranian academic flees Iran through mountains
[IsraelTimes] A British-Iranian academic says he fled Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
across a mountain border after being sentenced to nine years in jail for collaborating with a hostile government.

Kameel Ahmady, a social anthropologist studying female genital mutilation and child marriage in Iran, tells the BBC and The Guardian newspaper that he escaped while on bail after being sentenced, as he feared he would not see his young son again.

"I just simply left. I packed my bag with shaving kit, a few books of mine and a laptop and I think pajamas... and warm clothes," he tells BBC radio.

After being detained for suspected links with foreign intelligence services, he spent three months in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, where he said he was subjected to "so-called white torture, a psychological pressure they put on you."

He was then released on bail and later sentenced in December last year and fined 600,000 euros (£529,000, $722,000) for receiving "illegitimate funds" and working on projects with "subversive institutions," Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.

British media reported that he escaped while on bail pending his appeal.

He describes the journey as "very cold, very long, very dark and very scary."

Iranian news reports have said Ahmady was sentenced by Iran’s Revolutionary Court on charges of cooperation with European embassies in support of promoting homosexuality, visiting Israel as a news hound for the BBC, cooperation and communication with foreign and hostile media, infiltration aimed at changing the law, and sending false reports about the country to the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights
...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
in Iran.

Ahmady is now living in London with his wife and son, British media reports, and his appeal was thrown out in his absence on Monday.

He tells the Guardian he does not know whether Iranian authorities were aware of his escape.

He says he took the paths used by smugglers of goods from Iraq and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
, wading through deep snow and evading Iranian border patrols.

Ahmady tells the BBC that as a dual-national and "a researcher who was digging up sensitive issues," he was aware he faced being detained.

"I always knew that I am an attractive and potential asset," he says. "But that doesn’t mean that I have done anything wrong."
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2021 01:02 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Bully for him!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 02/04/2021 2:27 Comments || Top||

#2  studying female genital mutilation and child marriage in Iran

Good for him, but why go to Iran for that?
Posted by: Dron66046 || 02/04/2021 3:54 Comments || Top||


Iran installing second batch of advanced centrifuges at Natanz — IAEA
[IsraelTimes] The ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency, in a confidential report obtained by Rooters, says Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
has installed a second cascade of advanced IR-2m centrifuges at the Natanz site to enrich uranium and will soon add a third.

The first batch is composed of 174 IR-2m machines, according to Rooters. The second cascade is currently in use for enrichment, it says.

"The Agency also verified that installation of the second of the aforementioned three (extra) cascades of IR-2m centrifuges was nearing completion and installation of the third of these cascades had started," the report says.

Iran said last month it plans to install 1,000 new centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear facility within three months and that its scientists had exceeded previous goals for uranium enrichment.

Natanz is Iran’s main nuclear enrichment plant. An explosion at the site last year, which foreign media reports have attributed to Israel or the US, damaged an advanced centrifuge development and assembly plant.

Iran envoy confirms 348 IR2m centrifuges are running at Natanz

[IsraelTimes] Iran’s envoy to the UN nuclear watchdog confirms the installation of a second batch of advanced centrifuges at the Natanz plant.

"Thanks to our diligent nuclear scientists, two cascades of 348 IR2m centrifuges with almost 4 times the capacity of IR1 are now running... successfully in Natanz," Kazem Gharibabadi says on Twitter, according to Rooters. "Installation of 2 cascades of IR6 centrifuges has also been started in Fordo. There’s more to come soon."
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Government
In shot at Trump, Biden official says cutting aid to Palestinians ineffective
It depends on what one wants to achieve.
[IsraelTimes] State Dept. front man says previous administration’s decision to end assistance, after PA refused to engage with peace efforts, didn’t produce political progress or concessions.

Reopening the PLO mission in Washington would violate Congressional legislation. Reopening the consulate in Jerusalem would require some degree of permission from the Israeli government.
A US State Department front man said Tuesday that the previous administration’s slashing of aid to the Paleostinians had failed to produce results and reiterated the new American leadership’s intention to restore such financial assistance.

"The suspension of aid to the Paleostinian people has neither produced political progress, nor secured concessions from the Paleostinian leadership. It has only harmed innocent Paleostinians," Ned Price said at a press briefing.
And the provision of hundreds of millions of aid from American Taxpayers which were stolen by Paleo "Leaders" has neither produced political progress, nor secured concessions from the Paleostinian leadership, amirite, Ned?
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/04/2021 02:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  It appears the Socialist-Democrat Peoples Party (SDPP), like other historical fringe upstart Socialist Parties, is seeking deflect it problems away from and to blame.

We already know and have heard politicians repeatedly in the SDPP blaming WHITES and the Jews, and Israel for the USA's problems.

Given we have already seen too many historical similarities to the SDPP and NSDAP, aka National Socialist German Workers' Party (NAZI's).

Such as: Anti-FArt / Browns shirts,
Reduction in citizen rights,
Staging incidents to incite and blame other political groups,
Clearly Fraudulent Elections,
Planted Judges and DA in the court systems,
Open Sexual Perversion among the leadership,
Media control,
Social Media control and sharing of enemy data,
Educational curriculum controls and etc....

It promises to be an interesting 2 years until the next Rigged/Fraudulent election. That is provided we don't have some sudden national incident that we are told requires indefinite election delays.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 02/04/2021 5:43 Comments || Top||

#2  what, you mean ? like a pandemic?
Posted by: Chris || 02/04/2021 9:05 Comments || Top||

#3  Money is fungible -- let the terrorist enablers spend and spend more.
Posted by: magpie || 02/04/2021 13:41 Comments || Top||

#4  Cutting aid to Palestinians ineffective...
unless you think sidelining the Palestinian Arabs was a big part of the Abraham accords.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 02/04/2021 14:16 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2021-02-04
  IS Attack Kills 19 in Hama
Wed 2021-02-03
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Tue 2021-02-02
  Somali forces end Al-Shabaab siege of Mogadishu hotel; 9 dead
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  Kidnappers Demand 15,000 Libyan Dinars for Each Egyptian Kidnapped in Tripoli
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Sat 2021-01-30
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Thu 2021-01-28
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Wed 2021-01-27
  100 Jihadists Killed in French-Malian Offensive
Tue 2021-01-26
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