Kabul -- The United States is considering slowing its military exit from Afghanistan by keeping a larger-than-planned troop presence this year and next because the new Afghan government is proving to be a more reliable partner, US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said on Saturday.
Carter, on his first overseas trip since starting the Pentagon job on Tuesday, also said the Obama administration is “rethinking” the counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan, although he did not elaborate.
No decisions have been made, but President Barack Obama will discuss a range of options for slowing the US military withdrawal when Afghan president Ashraf Ghani visits the White House next month, Carter said at a news conference with Ghani. The presidents also plan to talk about the future of the counterterrorism fight in Afghanistan, he said.
Carter did not say Obama was considering keeping US troops in Afghanistan beyond 2016, only that the president was rethinking the pace of troop withdrawals for 2015 and 2016.
There are about 10,000 US troops in Afghanistan, down from a peak of 100,000 as recently as 2010-11.
While the White House recently acknowledged it was reconsidering the exit plan, Carter’s remarks were the most direct explanation by a Pentagon official amid criticism from opposition Republicans that the Democratic commander in chief is beating a hasty and risky retreat. The “common denominator” in the new thinking about the US military mission is a belief in Washington that the formation of a unity government in Kabul last year has opened new possibilities for progress on both the political and security fronts, Carter said.
The unity government of Ashraf and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah offers new promise for a more effective partnership in stabilising the country, Carter said. US officials had grown impatient with former President Hamid Karzai, who sometimes publicly criticised the US military and took a dimmer view of partnering with the Americans.
“That’s a major change,” Carter said, something “that just a few months ago we couldn’t have planned on.”
Carter did not describe in detail what changes Obama is considering in the US military presence. But he said could include slowing the withdrawal pace and changing the timing and sequencing of US base closures. He said Obama also was “rethinking the details” of the US counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan, where there are remnants of Al Qaeda as well as signs that the Daesh militant group is seeking to make inroads here in addition to Iraq and Syria.
In his remarks to reporters, Ghani thanked Obama for being flexible and showing a willingness to consider “the realities on the ground.” Using similar phrasing, Carter said that when he returns to Washington he will work up recommendations to Obama, in advance of the March talks, that “reflect reality on the ground.”
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2015 00:00 ||
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NAIROBI -- Somali families are panicking and businesses are running short of funds two weeks after the last major U.S. BANK stopped transferring money to the fragile Horn of Africa country, development groups said.
Somalia has no formal banking system due to decades of war, so Somalis living abroad use money transfer companies to send some $1.3 billion home each year - far more than the country receives in aid, Oxfam and Adeso said in a report on Thursday.
A fair bit of the cash gets earmarked for that favorite charity, the Widows Ammunition Fund...
Merchants Bank of California closed its ACCOUNTS with Somali-American transfer companies on Feb. 6, cutting off a lifeline to millions in a country plagued by widespread hunger, recurrent drought and an Islamist insurgency.
Got a quiet line from Treasury, the bank did...
Virtually all major U.S. BANKS have ended remittance services to Somalia over the last few years because of regulations that hold banks responsible if they transfer funds to "terrorist" groups like Somalia's al Shabaab.
Merchants Bank handled 60 to 80 percent of the money sent to Somalia from the United States, which is the country's biggest source of remittances, Adeso and Oxfam said.
Why couldn't we have done this five years ago?
"There has been quite a lot of panic from the diaspora with some (money transfer) branches actually being closed," said Degan Ali, the Somali-American executive director of the charity Adeso. "There is a bit of scrambling trying to find alternative (money transfer operators) to work with."
The Somali community in the United States has started a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #IFundFoodNotTerror.
Sure you do, Swampy. In that case you won't mind helping us out a bit...
"The money I send back to Somalia helps my siblings go to school," tweeted Ifrah Ahmed. "They are not terrorists."
Some 40 percent of Somalis rely on remittances for daily needs, such as food, medicines and school fees, Adeso said.
Blind and white-haired, Hassan Hussein Bulale's only source of income is $50 a month from a relative in the United States.
"If that money stops, it will be devastation," the elderly man, who lives in the city of Hargeisa, told Oxfam.
Reporters anywhere in the world can find a sympathetic figure on command...
While most transactions are a few hundred dollars sent to needy family members, it is Somali business people and traders, trying to transfer thousands of dollars, who have started feeling the impact of the Merchants Bank ACCOUNT closures.
The boomers and hard boyz are actively working to solve the problem...
"Cash-flow is becoming a problem in the system," said Adeso's Ali. "(The) pipeline of cash coming in from the U.S. is decreasing."
Somalia's remittance crisis has been intensifying for years. Britain's Barclays Bank closed its ACCOUNTS with Dahabshiil, the largest Somali money transfer company, in 2014. In Australia, Westpac, the only bank partnering with Somali remittance companies, is due to close their ACCOUNTS at the end of March, the report said.
"We are just lurching from crisis to crisis", said Ed Pomfret, Oxfam's Somalia campaign manager. "These governments need to take action."
Like what -- open up the money spigot to the Shaboobs?
Britain has been working with the World Bank on a "Safer Corridor" initiative to tighten the scrutiny of Somali money transfers through measures such as biometric identity cards for recipients in Somalia. It has also told banks dealing with Somali money transfer companies that they will not be prosecuted if money ends up in the wrong hands if they can show they have undertaken due diligence.
But the U.S. government is not matching these efforts to ensure money continues to flow into Somalia, where 3 million people - about a third of the population - require aid, campaigners said. 49% is the standard tipping point. We'll jump in then, at which point turning back will be virtually impossible. It's the way we roll.
"This should be a real priority because otherwise... it is going to be a lot more expensive in terms of the aid that is needed," Pomfret said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2015 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Matt ||
02/22/2015 9:19 Comments ||
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#3
All the cash did was prolong their agony.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
02/22/2015 10:05 Comments ||
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#4
Al-Barakat, known for cheap overseas money transfers, was a mainstay of the Somali economy until a 2001 clampdown.When it was operational, al-Barakat operated in 40 countries and transferred up to $140m a year.
Al-Barakat was [black]listed in 2001. Later that year, the US blacklisted the firm's representatives, suspecting that the company had been involved in the transfer of funds used in the 11 September attacks - a suspicion that was later refuted by the report on the official inquiry into the attacks.
The company operated on an ancient system known as hawala, which uses food, fuel, electronics or gold as a way of balancing the books between operators - hawaladas - in different countries. Migrant workers can send money home to relatives by depositing money with a local hawalada, who then instructs an agent to disburse the money in the recipient's country.
#5
If you’re looking to celebrate Mexican Independence Day, one party in Santa Rosa is free and fun for the whole family.
Fiesta de Independencia, on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, honors both Mexican independence and the rich history of the Latino culture and people with food, music, dancing and art. (The party’s a few days early, as Mexican Independence Day is Tuesday.)
This is the fifth year of the Fiesta, and organizers say it will be the biggest and boldest yet.
“Over the years, the festival has grown into a fun and lively celebration of all things Latino,” says Tracy Sawyer, arts and outreach program manager for the Wells Fargo Center. “It’s a great way to sample Latino culture and spend a Saturday afternoon.”
[Libya Herald] Sadek Al-Ghariani, who is recognised a Grand Mufti by the Libya Dawn ...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... regime but not by the House of Representatives and the government, has thanked the Algerian government for stating its unwillingness to intervene in Libya's affairs this week.
On his official website, Ghariani went on to congratulate the Libyan people for its "wonderful and spirited" celebration of the anniversary of the revolution.
The fact thon the lam crowds filled the streets and squares of the capital sent a powerful message to the outside, the holy man said, especially in the wake of recent events "instigated by 'enemies of the revolution' wanting to portray Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... as insecure to the international community".
After a meeting with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika ... 10th president of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term. Maybe it's the fifth. He'll likely die in office of old age... , British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said that the two countries were on the same page regarding the UN's roadmap for finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in Libya. This implied that neither country was in favour of lifting the arms embargo for the Libyan national army.
Fearing that the Arclight airstrikes coordinated by Egypt and the Libyan government may drive elements of the terrorist groups across the border into Algeria, the Algerian Ministry of Defense (MOD) posted a statement on its website Friday assuring the public that the dividing line between the two countries was impenetrable.
"The national borders are protected by a solid shield, and units of the National People's Army and various security forces are watching for any attempt to penetrate; we are ready to face any emergency," the MOD said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2015 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] Yesterday’s suicide bombs in Guba which killed 46 people will not stop Operation Dignity and the army from fighting and destroying the terrorists in Libya, General Khalifa Hafter has said. It made them all the more determined to fight . . . Rest is behind the paywall
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02/22/2015 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] There are mixed messages coming out of Libya Dawn ...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... . Yesterday an anonymous front man for the antigovernment of Omer Al-Hassi refuted media reports in "Pro-Dignity Operation media" saying Egyptians had been given 48 hours to leave Dawn-controlled territory "for their own safety".
He promised an official statement to deny the claim. Today, the Pro-Dawn Libya Observer carried news of virtually the same warning from the antigovernment itself. It said that Hassi had urged Egyptian workers to leave Libya for their safety. Hassi accused Qadaffy henchmen of attacking them "to undermine security and create chaos here".
Some Dawn sources continue to deny the authenticity of the IS-published beheading video of the 20 Egyptian Copts and, it is believed, one Ghanaian Christian, on a beach near Sirte. This, despite the strong condemnation of the crime which was broadcast on Monday by Nuri Abu Sahmain, the president of the rump GNC. Sahmain urged Libyans to exercise restraint and not to harm Egyptian workers in retaliation for Cairo's Arclight airstrikes on Derna.
Today, the pro-Dawn version of the news agency LANA carried a report quoting the Libyan Department of Border Management, to the effect that the beheaded Egyptians had not been registered in its records. It seems the department did not make clear how it thought their apparently illegal status might have contributed to the Egyptians' gruesome fate.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
[A] report quoting the Libyan Department of Border Management, to the effect that the beheaded [20 Egyptian Copts and, it is believed, one Ghanaian Christian] had not been registered in its records. It seems the department did not make clear how it thought their apparently illegal status might have contributed to the Egyptians' gruesome fate.
Wonder if the Libyan Department of Border Management was trained by DHS?
#4
"no harm, no foul" - rarely used in the ISIS Midnight Basketball League
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/22/2015 14:30 Comments ||
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#5
Before getting to digital video manipulation or camera positioning, line up the hostage row from shortest in front to tallest in back. Pick out the tallest jihadis (they don't have to actually perform the execution a stunt double if you will) and line them up tallest in front to shortest in back. It creates a converging line which emphasizes any height differences.
I know a tall dude, nowhere near 7' though. If we dressed him smartly, and put me in something plain, and took our picture side x side in a background (or greenscreen) without any standard items of measurement (or faked size such as a 30" stick marked off like a yard stick) he would look like a giant.
How do you make Schwarzenegger tall? Cast him next to Divito.
Then camera angles can be utilized to further distort actual differences, like the leaning on Tower of Pisa poses, or holding the fish closer to the camera.
Then you can do digital stuff like stretch vertical by 5% and crop to create desired visual center of balance.
This is your paper, pencil, and eraser of video. There are other tricks, such as lighting or changing the scale of props (Tom Cruise in his apartment in War of the Worlds is a great example with him standing next to a miniturized refrigerator to make him look 6'+ tall). Even sound; IIRC the AT-ATs are only a couple feet tall, but the sound effect from, IIRC, a large metel press adds to them being ginormous machines.
Nobody is taller than your main characters, unless to emphasize their physical dominance - think Mel Gibson in Braveheart. The main characters here are the prisoners, not the faceless uniform one voice jihadis but the unhooded slaves to emphasize their distinct features.
The point of these videos, for us, is to spread terror and doubt (to them, it makes their jihad swell and attracts like minded recruits). The terror is obvious, to sit back and question how much of the video is genuine, no matter how clear the message is, is the doubt.
*I did't see the video, guess I knew how it ended. I could if somebody thinks there is a point to it, just seems like making fun of someone's shoes being untied as they are kicking me in the mouth.
**and piss on our administration for giving doubt-cover by condeming the Egyptian led counter-attack.
#9
Oh, imagine the jobs they could do!
They could feed giraffes by hand at the zoo.
They could pick all the dates,
If they just stand up straight,
It would be Harf's mouth dream come true!
[DAILYMAIL.CO.UK] Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi Saturday dismissed all measures taken by the Shiite Huthi militia as "null and illegitimate", in his first public comments since fleeing house arrest in Sanaa.
In a statement he signed as president, in an apparent retraction of a previous offer to resign, Hadi said "all measures and appointments made since September 21 are null and illegitimate", and urged the international community to "reject the coup" by the militia.
A Hadi aide said earlier the president's resignation last month was tendered under pressure from the militia that overran the capital on September 21.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2015 00:00 ||
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#2
The MSM-Net repor times back that many Regional Shias are also Anti-Iran, or in altern prefer their independence to full-fledged control or domination from their Shia cousins or brethren in Tehran.
Former Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi fledran away left the capital, Sana'a, Saturday, according to aides close to him, but there were conflicting reports as to whether he escaped house arrest or the Shi'ite rebels who seized power in the majority-Sunni country let him go.
The aides said Mr. Hadi vamoosed fled to his hometown of Aden in the country's south. There were also conflicting reports on whether he might address the nation in a speech.
He'll get higher ratings then Champ's last stemwinder...
The former president had been under house arrest since last month, when he resigned after the Houthi rebels seized the presidential palace. But his resignation was never formally accepted by the parliament as is required.
Of course the parliament is also under house arrest...
The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution earlier this week demanding the Houthis restore the Sana'a government and release Mr. Hadi, who is backed by the United States.
That worked well, too...
Yemen has been mired in political turmoil since the day the Byzantines left the rebels seized Sana'a in September.
On Friday, the U.N. envoy to Yemen said rival political parties, including the Houthis, are getting closer to reaching a deal that could prevent the country from sliding into civil war.
Mohammed Albasha, a spokesman for the Yemeni embassy in the United States, told VOA following the announcement that the agreement to replace the current upper house of lawmakers with the new transitional council is a positive step.
U.N. envoy Benomar said issues that remain unresolved include the status of the presidency.
Since seizing power in January, rebels have dissolved parliament and set up their own ruling body. They say they are carrying out a "revolution" against corrupt officials and economic ruin.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2015 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] Leaders and activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir ... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh... have been regrouping to conduct massive destruction across the country, Chittagong police claimed yesterday following the arrest of a central leader of the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... along with two other local leaders.
To topple the government, Shibir has planned to carry out subversive activities like 2013, when Jamaat-Shibir men conducted attacks on police, pro-government activists and ordinary people killing dozens centring the delivery of war crimes case verdict against Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayeedi ...Islamic orator and politician. He was a former Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2008, and is one of the most prominent leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami... , police say.
The Shibir high-command has allegedly instructed its leaders to visit different district and other units with a view to bridging the gap with root-level activists and fortify the ongoing anti-government movement.
"Shibir's Central Executive Committee Member Enamul Kabir came to Chittagong on February 12 with a written message from its President Abdul Jabbar for handing it over to city (north) unit President Nurul Amin," Kotwali circle Assistant Commissioner Shah Muhammad Abdur Rouf told news hounds yesterday.
Acting on a tip-off, police conducted a drive in Bogar Beel area under Bakalia cop shoppe around 10pm on Friday and nabbed Enamul and city unit leaders Mushfique Abrar and Golam Mostafa while holding a secret meeting in the dead of night, he said.
The letter says coordination among the leaders and activists during the movement is so poor that the government cannot be removed with this strength.
Therefore, Chittagong's root-level leaders and activists have been instructed to stay united under the leadership of former Jamaat politician Shahjahan Chowdhury.
The Shibir high-command has also instructed the Chittagong unit leaders to join hands with the 20-party alliance organizations especially Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal ...student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)... , the BNP's student wing.
Enamul during preliminary interrogation said they planned to carry out massive sabotage acts which had been seen soon after Sayeedi's verdict.
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02/22/2015 00:00 ||
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Uruguay's president has accused six former Guantanamo Bay inmates of lacking a work ethic and being 'middle class' for refusing to get jobs since arriving in the South American country three months ago. President Jose Mujica has appeared to criticise the men, who were locked up for more than 12 years in the American detainment camp in Cuba, saying they lacked a work ethic.
But the men are equally disappointed with their new lives - with one telling the press they had simply swapped one prison for another.
The men arrived in Montevideo in December, after Mujica said his country would take them in and help them get resettled. The six, who were detained as suspected militants with ties to al-Qaeda in 2002 but were never charged, were cleared for release in 2009. But they were stuck in Guantanamo for the next five years because they could not be sent home - and no one wanted them, until Uruguay stepped into the breach.
It offered them a residential facility to study Spanish, learn about Uruguayan culture and integrate to their new home - which has about 300 Muslim residents out of a total population of 3.3million. A labour union was drafted in to help find the men work, but it has since said the men have turned down jobs they have been offered.
Local newspapers reported they were supposed to start work this month in the construction industry.
Mujica has since taken matters into his own hands, visiting the home of five of the six men to encourage them to take work. But he returned from his visit despondent. On his radio programme he said the former detainees are far from the ancestors of Uruguayans, who he described as gritty, hard-working immigrants.
'If these people were humble people of the desert, poor people, they'd surely be stronger and more primitive, but they're not,' Mujica said of the former prisoners. 'Through their hands, features and family histories, it seems to me that they're middle class.'
His comments have not been universally welcomed. Senator Ope Pasquet, of the Colorado Party, defended the men Wednesday, tweeting: 'The Guantanamo six were jailed for more than 10 years in dreadful conditions.
'The psychological damage must be terrible. Making them work now? Premature.'
His comments about their state of health appear to be backed up by lawyers working for the six men. Cori Crider, of Reprieve UK, told the Buenos Aires Herald last month: 'My client [Abu Wa'el Dhiab] has lost ability to walk after 13 years in Guantánamo. But he is now not just in wheelchair, he is able to walk with crutches.'
However, Dhiab - a Syrian who cannot return to his country because of the ongoing violence - has also complained about his new home. He recently said the men have 'walked out of a prison to enter another one'.
In a TV interview, Dhiab expressed thanks to Uruguay, but said it needs a plan for helping the ex-detainees, who need 'their families, a home, a job and some sort of income that allows them to build a future'. While at Guantanamo, Dhiab was at the center of a legal battle in U.S. courts over the military's use of force-feeding.
Since January 2002, when the Guantanamo detention center opened, about 620 prisoners have been released or transferred, with the vast majority making no public statements or appearances.
#2
The land of manana meets the people of inshallah.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
02/22/2015 9:31 Comments ||
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#3
"Held in dreadful conditions"
Bullshit, Guantanamo conditions look better than most prisons or county jails in the US. If they were from afghanistan I'm sure their life expectancy is higher now than what it was before they were captured.
Posted by: chris ||
02/22/2015 10:11 Comments ||
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#4
Work? That's what kaffirs are for. So much for jobs, jobs, jobs.
[Hurriyet Daily News] A parliamentary motion asking for an inquiry into 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's (ISIL) activities inside Turkey has been rejected by the votes from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Nazmi Gur, a deputy from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) who forwarded the motion late Feb. 20, said that the result of the parliamentary vote was "a sign that the Turkish government still refrains from taking a clear position against ISIL."
"This policy brings serious risks about Turkey's national security," the main opposition Republican's People Party (CHP) deputy Refik Eryilmaz said.
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Adnan Celik, on the other hand, pointed to the Tomb of Suleyman Sah, a formal exclave of Turkey around 25 kilometers from the Turkish border into Syria. "Our soldiers who are on duty at the tomb cannot return, because ISIL besieged the site," he repeated a claim which was refuted by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Feb. 20.
Ramazan Can, an AKP deputy, rejected the opposition's criticism about the parliamentary vote, stressing that Turkey recognizes ISIL as a terrorist organization and finds it unacceptable to link the group with Islam.
Turkey's ruling party has a long track record of pushing for its own motions, while rejecting those coming from the opposition even in some issues that it broadly agrees with them. On Feb. 17, the AKP had rejected another HDP parliamentary group motion, which asked for an inquiry into the "parallel structure," a byword for the movement of U.S. based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, the government's ally-turned-nemesis.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2015 00:00 ||
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[CBC.CA] Defence Minister Jason Kenney has indicated the government is not ruling out taking Canada's military mission against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group beyond Iraq -- to Syria and Libya.
Evan Solomon, host of CBC Radio's The House, asked Kenney about participating in missions in those countries.
"Well, we're going to look at all of the options," Kenney said an interview broadcast Saturday.
"Obviously there are practical limits to our ability to operate around the world, but we will look at our options to see where we can have the most impact, where we're most needed," he said. "That requires ongoing consultation with our allies. We don't just decide these things unilaterally."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2015 00:00 ||
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#2
Before the Marxists took over academia and substituted their theories and fantasies about human behavior, the real historical record showed that the start of colonialism in places like Africa included, among other rationales, the fight against what the West labeled barbarism of the locals. Those behaviors somehow got swept under the proverbial carpet in the "Hate Western Civ" school that would dominate academia. Now we get an education in what much of the real world was like before the 'evils' of Western Civilization.
Han Solo: You said you wanted to be around when I made a mistake, well, this could be it, sweetheart.
Caution: A&P
An AIPAC official said Friday that the group has not yet received any reply to its invitation for senior administration figures to attend the meeting that starts March 1. The official stressed that last-minute RSVPs are not unusual, but the White House has been signaling for some time that a Cabinet-level guest may not be coming.
Instead, the administration is toying with the idea of sending newly installed Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken who? He has a close association with Winken and Nod...
to speak to the conference, according to officials familiar with internal discussions on the matter. But it's possible Treasury Secretary Jack Lew could attend. So, the "Plan B" is an oblique reference to Jewish stereotypes? Machiavellian, but in a stupidly obvious sense.
[NBCNEWS] Terrorist group al Shabab released a video Saturday calling for attacks on shopping malls in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. The video, released by the Somalia-based group's official media wing, calls for attacks in the style of al Shabab's 2013 siege on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, in which more than 60 people were killed.
Minnesota's Mall of America, which was referenced in the video, said it was aware of the threat. "We will continue to follow the situation, along with law enforcement, and will remain vigilant as we always do in similar situations," it said in a statement. The mall, which is America's largest, has implemented additional covert and visible security measures, the statement added.
A spokesman for the National Security Council said the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have been working in recent months with mall operators to prevent and mitigate such attacks. "Protecting public safety and national security is our highest priority," NSC spokesman Ned Price said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2015 12:11 ||
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#1
Tom Clancy wrote this scenario years ago...before he died. Came through Mexico if I remember correctly.
That is a tactic that just might wake up the population and get us to demand EFFECTIVE action.
#5
Correct me iff I'm wrong, but AIRC the average US Mall guard is NOT armed wid guns, but batons, radios, + assor pepper sprays - some Malls allow Tasers but these are in the minority???
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
02/22/2015 20:02 Comments ||
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#7
Correct me iff I'm wrong, but AIRC the average US Mall guard is NOT armed wid guns, but batons, radios, + assor pepper sprays - some Malls allow Tasers but these are in the minority???
Maybe in the blue states. In many red states, grocery store guards are armed. Kenya's problem is that its security forces (cops and soldiers) were ill-trained, unwilling to do their jobs and more interesting in looting than in hunting down the attackers.
#8
All the bad guys need to do is buy up a container load of Nike Air Jordans (or whatever the most current fashion athletic shoes is) get them into a mall, and then announce a Barack Obama sponsored "day of revenge against white shoppers", with Air Jordans for the most "wins" in the mall knock-out game - oh, and arrange for free buses to the mall for feral black ghetto rats.
Then, they just sit back and watch America's "professional voters" tear the mall apart.
#9
* OTOH WORLDNEWS > US DHS CHIEF SAYS RIGHT-WING VIOLENCE IS BIGGER THREAT TO US THAN ISIS.
IMO Artic read, THREAT TO AMERIKA'S SACRED SECULAR NATIONAL COMMUNISM-SOCIALISM.
Becuz clearly only Lunatic Fanatic Terrorist Nationalists would have the audacity to ask the Voters = aka "the People" to vote on iff they want OWG + NAU + Socialism!
[DAWN] KARACHI: A local court on Saturday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Investigating Officer (IO) Sub-Inspector Jehanzeb for his failure to appear before it during the hearing of the Baldia Town factory fire case.
In a previous hearing of the case, the investigating officer failed to bring the Joint Investigation Team's report on record of the trial court. Following this, the court came down heavily on the officer for failing to file statements of witnesses in the case.
The judge had asked the officer to complete the statements of witnesses and file them in the court on Feb 21 (today). However,
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Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2015 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday accused Iran of concealing its plans to develop nuclear weapons, citing a report by the UN nuclear watchdog which credited Tehran with being in compliance with an agreement it struck with the Western powers."
Posted by: Hupineger Glomomp15048 ||
02/22/2015 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
Colombo -- Sri Lanka’s newly-elected government will next month look to win United Nations backing for a domestic probe into alleged war crimes under former leader Mahinda Rajapakse, an official said on Saturday.
I'll believe the UN is serious when they also investigate, with the same vigor, the war crimes committed by the Tamil rebels.
The investigation, which the new administration had promised after winning January elections, comes after the previous regime resisted a UN inquiry into claims that up to 40,000 ethnic Tamil civilians were killed under Rajapakse’s command in the final months of a war that ended in May 2009.
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera will travel to Geneva next month to meet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the foreign ministry said in a statement. It gave no details, but an official said that the new Sri Lankan administration was keen to get his backing for the investigation.
“Minister Samaraweera wants to brief the Human Rights Council about the new steps that Sri Lanka wishes to take,” an official said, asking not to be named.
“Sri Lanka is looking for about two months to establish a new (domestic) mechanism.”
The government has pledged a credible, independent investigation that may draw on foreign expertise and experience.
Last week, the UN postponed the publication of an eagerly-awaited report on a UN-mandated war crimes probe into Sri Lanka’s brutal separatist war, giving the new government time to prove its bona fides. Zeid’s office in a statement last week said the report, which had been scheduled to be presented to the Human Rights Council early next month, would be published by September.
Samaraweera’s talks with Zeid come after the government secured parliamentary approval on Thursday for a long-awaited witness protection law, a key demand of the international community to ensure accountability in the island.
The new government has also pledged to enact a right to information law, another demand of both local and international rights activists who accused the previous regime of persecuting and silencing critics and dissidents.
Former strongman Rajapakse, who ruled the country for a decade, had insisted that not a single civilian was killed while crushing Tamil rebels and refused to cooperate with any foreign probe, a move that drew international censure. The UN estimates at least 100,000 people were killed in the conflict against the Tamils between 1972 and 2009.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2015 00:00 ||
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[ARA] The absence of security, the lack of relief aid and the displacement of millions of Syrians dispersed in the neighboring countries, were not only direct results of the four-year-old crisis. Poor health conditions and lack of medical supplies constitute major challenges for the concerned institutions.
In an exclusive interview with ARA News, Dr. Wajih Jumaa, Minister of Health in the Syrian Interim Government, shed light on the work of various institutions and organizations inside Syria.
Jumaa talked about the tasks assigned to the ministry, how to implement the projects within Syria and in the refugee camps in neighboring countries.
Corrupt Vaccine
In September, the ministry was accused of distributing expired vaccines to the medical centers in the Syrian northern province of Idlib, which caused the death of at least 15 children and raised the outrage of residents and activists against the opposition-linked government, demanding immediate resignation of the Health Minister.
Dr. Jumaa denounced what has become known in local media as "Corrupt Vaccine Campaign", describing it as a "painful phase" in the modern history of the Syrians.
He stressed that the vaccines were not corrupt, but a technical mistake was the reason behind the incident, justifying that the vaccine was dissolved with a substance which led to side effects.
"The next vaccine will be subjected to strict monitoring," the minister said, promising the Syrians that such incidents will never be repeated.
"We have established three Directorates of Health, which will train members to carry out the vaccination process," Jumaa told ARA News. "The ministry is suffering from severe shortage of trained staff."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2015 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
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.
NAIROBI -- Somali families are panicking and businesses are running short of funds two weeks after the last major U.S. BANK stopped transferring money to the fragile Horn of Africa country, development groups said.
Bouteflika
Former Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi 
