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Today: 61 articles and 229 comments as of 12:17.
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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Cleverness: U.S. Says Will Hold Iran 'Responsible' in Iraq but Won't 'Lash Out'
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
Peace Negotiators Meet After More Than Month-Long Gap in Talks
[ToloNews] A meeting was held between heads and some members of the negotiating teams in Doha on Monday evening and was focused on the continuation of the negotiations, Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
front man Mohammad Naeem said.

He said the working groups were asked to continue their meetings to finalize the agenda of the negotiations.

The meetings between the two sides have been stalled for the last 36 days.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
Ageela Saleh: Libya’s Elections Depend on Mercenaries Withdrawal
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Libya, Georgia or Libya, Michigan?
Posted by: Omegum Spawn of the Leprechauns2583 || 02/23/2021 6:21 Comments || Top||


Joint Military Committee Confirms Safety of Sirte to Host Libyan Parliament
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Arabia
S Arabia opens military recruitment to women
Add another to the long list of things I never thought to hope to see in my life.
[Dhaka Tribune] 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...
’s Ministry of Defence announced that men and women in the Kingdom can now apply for positions in the military through their unified admission portal.

Women will be able to sign up to join the Saudi Arabian Army, Royal Saudi Air Defence, Royal Saudi Navy, Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force, and Armed Forces Medical Services.

Saudi Arabian woman can be recruited as soldiers, lance corporals, corporals, sergeants, and staff sergeants, according to the ministry.

The move comes under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
...Crown Prince and modernizer of Saudi Arabia as of 2016. The Turks hate him, so he must be all right, despite the occasional brutal murder of Qatar-owned journalists...
’s Vision 2030 initiative, introducing reforms that advance Saudi Arabian women in various fields.

To join the armed forces, a woman must be between the age of 21 and 40 years old, be 155 centimeters tall or above, and cannot be a government employee. She must also pass admission procedures, have a clean criminal record, and be medically fit for service.

A Saudi Arabian woman must also hold an independent national identity card, have at least a high school education, and cannot be married to a non-Saudi Arabian citizen.
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Armenia seeks expansion of Russian military presence on its territory
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Armenia would welcome the expansion of a Russian military base on its territory and the redeployment of some Russian forces closer to its border with Azerbaijan after a conflict with its neighbor last year, its defense minister said on Monday. Ethnic Armenian troops in the Nagorno-Karabakh region ceded swathes of territory in and around the enclave to Azerbaijan in a six-week conflict in 2020 that claimed thousands of lives.

Russian peacekeeping troops are deployed in the enclave and, under a formal defense pact with Armenia, Russia has a fully-fledged military base in the city of Gyumri near the Ottoman Turkish border with an estimated 3,000 troops.

Russia said in November it was deploying almost 2,000 servicemen as part of the peacekeeping mission.

"The question of expanding and bolstering the Russian military base on the territory of Armenia has always been on the agenda," Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan told Russia’s RIA news agency in an interview published on Monday.

"The Armenian side has always been interested in this."

Harutyunyan did not say whether there were any concrete plans for a potential expansion.

Armenian opposition politicians have called for the creation of a second Russian base in Armenia’s southern Syunik region, wedged between Azerbaijan and the Azeri exclave of Nakhchivan.
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Ottoman Proxies


Fifth Column
Kentucky Police Officer Fired for Allegedly Giving Officers’ Information to Black Lives Matter Protesters
[EpochTimes] A police officer in Kentucky was fired on Feb. 19 over allegations he provided a Black Lives Matter organizer with information about other officers in the department during protests last year.

Lexington Police Officer Jervis Middleton was fired after a unanimous vote by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, according to local reports. The council found Middleton guilty on two of three counts of violating operational rules.

"Officer Middleton’s conduct during a highly stressful and potentially vulnerable time during the history of our community—the most significant policing event in our community in 20 years—demonstrates that he should no longer be a police officer," Keith Horn, a lawyer with the city, told the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Middleton challenged his termination and said the information didn’t jeopardize officers’ safety and was free speech. Middleton, who is black, said he faced racial taunts and discrimination in the department. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) division in Kentucky also weighed in.

Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers said a police disciplinary board recommended that Middleton be fired after he shared information with Black Lives Matter and allegedly lied about it, according to the Herald-Leader. The paper also reported that Middleton used police resources to look up information about a woman who he was allegedly involved with.

"I felt like the discipline he received last time should have been a message to him and allow him to come back and become the officer that I know he can be," Weathers said. "After this, I just can’t see him coming back. To me, it was a violation of trust and a violation of the position of a police officer. He was supposed to protect the public but he should also protect his fellow officers."

Investigators wrote that Middleton advised protest organizer Sarah Williams that "certain officers and command staff were ’racists’ and directed her to call them out during the protests" last year.

"He also provided her copies of sensitive ’law enforcement only’ communications, including emails and text messages which outlined staffing, operational, and deployment plans. Based upon conversations between Ms. Williams and Officer Middleton, it is reasonable to believe that he knew what she would do and how she would use it against the officers and the agency once she received it," they wrote.

"There were also incidents where Officer Middleton actively encouraged Ms. Williams [tp] curse out and use the personal information he provided in a manner to embarrass the officers involved."
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Antifa/BLM

#1 

It is our opinion, you have hit a brick wall, your life is very much over... but since you are on the "right side of BLM" ....you have a built in get out of jail card.... Congratulations, you can also run for any political office you wish for the next 4 years, and its a guarantee win !
Posted by: Herb Dribble5310 || 02/23/2021 5:43 Comments || Top||

#2  I wonder if the officers he ratted out will file civil lawsuits against him. It's possible they sue Lexington.
Posted by: Knuckles Fluper5134 || 02/23/2021 12:28 Comments || Top||


Biden’s AG pick says antifa attacks on federal courthouse in Portland may not be domestic terrorism because they happened at night.


Merrick Garland took questions in the Senate today in support of his nomination by President Joe Biden for US Attorney General.

Senator Josh Hawley asked Garland his thoughts on "assaults on federal property in places other than Washington, DC, Portland, for instance, Seattle." Garland said, in essence, that while the attack on the Capitol was domestic terrorism, the attacks on federal buildings over the summer likely were not.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Antifa/BLM

#1  Definition of night rider

: a member of a secret band who ride masked at night doing acts of violence for the purpose of punishing or terrorizing
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/23/2021 6:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Such an obvious lie. What's this guy hiding?
Posted by: Glerert Angomosing9157 || 02/23/2021 7:04 Comments || Top||

#3  I think it's a safe bet to assume that once this clown is confirmed, he won't use the office as an extended nap time like Sessions and Barr did.

He'll find no shortage of 'domestic terrorists' to go after.
Posted by: Bob Grorong1136 || 02/23/2021 7:07 Comments || Top||

#4  (im)Plausible deniability for not going after Antifa donk-surrogates while going after "Capitol rioters and their abettors", abettors being defined as DJTrump

BTW_ you know you're going to be tagged as an abettor if you make any waves, right?
Posted by: Mercutio || 02/23/2021 7:54 Comments || Top||

#5  Garland is nothing more than another political hack. He will do Obama's bidding.
Posted by: Spoter B || 02/23/2021 8:38 Comments || Top||

#6  he was obamas pick for the supremes and his pick for AG. Biden has no say.
Posted by: irish rage boy || 02/23/2021 9:03 Comments || Top||

#7  "Biden has no say" You don't say?
Posted by: Thineger Sproing6704 || 02/23/2021 10:32 Comments || Top||

#8  What if its really cloudy?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/23/2021 11:59 Comments || Top||

#9  Top....men
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 02/23/2021 13:01 Comments || Top||

#10  How about during an solar eclipse?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 02/23/2021 13:40 Comments || Top||

#11  While this little homunculus and his masters keep repeating lies about the faux "insurrection" on Jan. 6, Sicknick's mother tells the press the truth: he wasn't killed.

Garland is so full of shit, his beady little eyes are brown
Posted by: Elmuse Snolusing7352 || 02/23/2021 15:35 Comments || Top||

#12  Time to decorate the lamp posts
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/23/2021 17:26 Comments || Top||

#13  ^^--- Just make sure you do it at night. Then it's all Ok.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 02/23/2021 20:19 Comments || Top||

#14  Thank God they stopped this idiot from being on the Supreme Court.
Posted by: Deadeye Jaiting7534 || 02/23/2021 21:40 Comments || Top||

#15  Just make sure you do it at night. Then it's all Ok.

Nice!
Snark O'The Eve (or tomorrow's Snark O'The Day)
Posted by: Angumble Johnson4440 || 02/23/2021 22:07 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Turkey's Erdogan defends plunge in reserves under ex-minister Albayrak
Sometimes bad things happen to very bad people because they were bad.
[AlAhram] President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday defended a policy that oversaw a steep drop in FX
...foreign exchange...
reserves under former finance minister Berat Albayrak, his son-in-law, saying it helped The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
to ride out pandemic-related shocks


President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday defended a policy that oversaw a steep drop in FX reserves under former finance minister Berat Albayrak, his son-in-law, saying it helped Turkey to ride out pandemic-related shocks.
Does this mean they’ll have to start selling the Libyan gold the GNA gave them in gratitude for the useless Syrian mercenaries Turkey provided?
In a surprise leadership overhaul in November, Albayrak abruptly resigned shortly after Erdogan replaced the central bank governor.

In his two-year term as finance minister, the lira slumped to record lows while foreign-exchange reserves dwindled under a policy of state banks selling an estimated $130 billion in dollars to support the lira.

In a social media campaign blaming Albayrak for economic woes, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) demanded to know what had happened to the FX funds that it said was sold from the central bank's reserves.

Erdogan described the CHP campaign as an attack on his family, and that Albayrak had been at the forefront of the country's economic battle.

' Planned forex transactions were carried out in this difficult period to ensure there were no problems with the balance of payments,' Erdogan said in a speech to a provincial congress of his ruling AK Party.

' Thanks to the forex transactions, our country managed to remain committed to its goals despite serious international shocks.'

The political dispute weighed on the lira, which weakened 1.2% to 7.0375 against the dollar. Since Albayrak stepped down, the lira has rallied more than 20% and foreign investors have snapped up Ottoman Turkish assets on expectations of more orthodox policies.

Economists, investors and ratings agencies say the unorthodox FX interventions policy, which began in 2019 and helped chop net reserves down by three quarters last year alone, left the economy more fragile to crisis.

Current finance minister Lutfi Elvan had earlier defended Albayrak's reserves policy as a response to the extraordinary demands of the COVID-19 pandemic.

' I strongly condemn the unjust and rude rhetoric used by the CHP,' Elvan said on Twitter on Sunday.

A lawyer for Albayrak said at the weekend the CHP's campaign comprised "ugly slander and attempts at smearing" the former minister, adding that they would file a 500,000 lira ($71,000) damages lawsuit over the campaign.

The transactions were in line with regulations and aimed for financial stability, the lawyer said in a statement.

' Since the day he resigned from his post, Mr Berat Albayrak
The Imperial Son-in-Law (Bow the Knee!)...
has been spending time with his wife and children at home, like in any normal Ottoman Turkish family,' it added. ($1 = 7.0130 liras)
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Home Front: WoT
Biden team colluded with Iran to foil Trump diplomacy
[WashingtonTimes] President Trump in 2019 sought to open a back channel of communication with top Iranian officials and saw the U.N. General Assembly meeting in September as a potential opportunity to defuse escalating tension with Tehran, but the effort failed.

Two months earlier, however, a different back channel was thriving in New York. Iran’s smooth, English-speaking foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, met with Robert Malley, who was President Obama’s Middle East adviser, in an apparent bid to undermine the Trump team and lay the groundwork for post-Trump relations.

The attempt at counterdiplomacy offers a window into the deep relationships Mr. Zarif forged with influential U.S. liberals over the past decade. These relationships blossomed into what high-level national security and intelligence sources say allowed the Iranian regime to bypass Mr. Trump and work directly with Obama administration veterans that Tehran hoped would soon return to power in Washington.

One of those was former Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who met with Mr. Zarif during the Trump years. So did Obama-era Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. They, along with Mr. Malley, were top U.S. negotiators of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). As part of the deal, Tehran promised to limit its nuclear enrichment activities in exchange for economic sanctions relief and access to tens of billions of dollars in frozen bank accounts.

Mr. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the pact in 2018. He cited the need for a much tougher agreement that also addressed Iran’s support for terrorist groups and its destabilizing behavior in the Middle East.

Mr. Kerry and Mr. Malley are now in the Biden administration, Mr. Kerry as a climate adviser and Mr. Malley poised to play a major role in U.S.-Iranian relations from his perch as special envoy for Iran policy at the State Department.

But Mr. Zarif’s power extends far beyond the negotiating table. Numerous sources have told The Washington Times that he wields tremendous influence over a tightly knit group inside the U.S. that has long advocated for Washington to take a more accommodating tack toward Iran.

The sources, including several from the U.S. intelligence community who spoke on the condition of anonymity, described a "web" of activity tied to prominent think tanks across the United States, as well as lobbying efforts that reached directly into the White House during the Obama years.

It’s an informal union of Iran apologists and pro-diplomacy advocates that helps amplify Mr. Zarif’s talking points, giving the Iranian Foreign Ministry influence over public opinion in the United States and considerable sway in left-leaning political and social circles.
Posted by: Ebbereger Unainter6303 || 02/23/2021 08:20 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  No other word available
direct and to the point


Posted by: Ulaque de Medici2627 || 02/23/2021 15:08 Comments || Top||

#2  "...See, that's different because shut up."

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 02/23/2021 16:35 Comments || Top||

#3  I'm not a lawyer or anything, but isn't this a violation of the Logan Act?
Of course, John Kerry should be very familiar with this, since he did the same thing during the VietNam war.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 02/23/2021 17:24 Comments || Top||

#4 
You know better, Darth Vader.
Posted by: DarthVader || 02/23/2021 17:53 Comments || Top||

#5  ouch. ruler. knuckles. Were you ever a nun, TW?
Posted by: Mercutio || 02/23/2021 18:44 Comments || Top||

#6  Sentence has been pronounced; you have received you last cigarette, the end is near.... no last words..... not approved by the state
Posted by: Glomomp Black3073 || 02/23/2021 18:57 Comments || Top||

#7  Didn't they FBI go after Michael Flynn because he talked to a Russian ambassador? How is this different? Oh, I know. Because there was no transition underway. But I guess this is not a crime because shut up.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 02/23/2021 19:29 Comments || Top||

#8  The DoJ/FBI/DeepState was certain that obvious felony actions like this and so many other acts of resistance to a lawfully elected President would be overlooked and buried. The politicization of the power centers of our federal government is complete thanks to Obama and his creatures infesting the civil service.
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 02/23/2021 19:33 Comments || Top||

#9  Were you ever a nun, TW?

A nice Jewish nun, Mercutio? ;-) I’m afraid I don’t have the temperament to marry other than a flesh-and-blood man.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2021 20:40 Comments || Top||

#10  This points out just how important it is that the next Republican president's first action should be to clean out the FBI, DOJ and CIA. Immediate resignation letters from all who hold appointed positions: *emphasis added)

I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me
Posted by: Deadeye Jaiting7534 || 02/23/2021 21:46 Comments || Top||

#11  deep relationships Mr. Zarif forged with influential U.S. liberals over the past decade.

Relationships no doubt greased with baksheesh deposited into Zarif's Swiss numbered accounts, sluices through State Dept off-balance sheet funds + bribes from the Heinz (Kerry) inheritance
Posted by: Ebbaith Ulish9961 || 02/23/2021 22:13 Comments || Top||

#12  Oh, pray for the health of John Kerry:
Long life on bread, water and Terry!
So too for John's wraith
All the fruits of his faith
As it wanders through Protestant Derry.
Posted by: Waldemar Snosh1778 || 02/23/2021 22:18 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Plot to kill Hindus in Bengaluru, Nanded, Hyderabad: NIA charges two Lashkar operatives
The NIA are still working this case dating back to 2012.
[OneIndia] The National Investigation Agency has filed a chargesheet in connection with a Lashkar-e-Tayiba conspiracy case.

The NIA filed the chargesheet against, Dr. Sabeel Ahmed alias Motu Doctor of Bengaluru and Assadullah Khan of Hyderabad.

The case pertains to the conspiracy hatched by the members of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami to commit subversive activities and wage war against Government of India.

They had procured illegal arms and ammunition for assassinations of important personalities of Hindu community in Bangalore and Hubli in Karnataka, Nanded in Maharashtra and in Hyderabad, Telangana to disturb the communal harmony and strike terror in society.

Investigation established that accused persons Dr.Sabeel Ahmed and Asadulla Khan are members of proscribed terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Tayiba. They were involved in criminal conspiracy along with other accused persons in supporting and furthering the cause of outfit in Damam and Riyadh, 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...
. They had actively participated in conspiracy meetings in which terrorist activities like assassinations of important personalities of Hindu community in Bangalore and Hubli in Karnataka and Nanded in Maharashtra were planned.

The background:

Dr Motu was a mysterious character when the National Investigation Agency (NIA) started its probe into an liquidation plot at Bengaluru.

According to the details of this plot, a group of boys had decided on targeting several Hindu leaders and journalists.

Further probing found that the plot extended to Telangana and Maharashtra as well.

During the course of the investigation, it came to light that a doctor based in Saudi Arabia was also part of the plot.

The various transcripts that the Sherlocks collected found that this person was being referred to as Dr Motu.

The NIA had claimed that this person was Dr Sabeel Ahmed, the brother of Kafeel Ahmed an accused in the Glasgow (UK) terror plot.
...the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack with what would have been a nasty car bomb, had it actually exploded, with a connected set of car bombs that also did not go off in London. It might easily have been called a doctors’ plot, given how many of those arrested were MDs. The whole thing was a project of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, with handlers in Saudi Arabia...
Dr Sabeel Ahmed who was also questioned in connection with the Glasgow attack was deported to India after that incident.

When the NIA had identified Dr Motu for the first time and it was reported in the media, there was a denial issued by him. He had said that he was given to understand that he had taken part in some meetings in Riyadh in connection with this plot.

This is a ridiculous allegation against me and I deny all the charges he had said at that time.

The NIA in its chargesheet states that Dr Sabeel Ahmed was a key player in the plot.

The NIA accuses him of being part of meetings and also making financial and logistic support in connection with this plot.

In all the NIA has named 25 persons in the chargesheet on the ground that they were planning on killing Hindu leaders in Karnataka, Telangana and Maharashtra.
According to NIA, the case was initially registered by the police in Bengaluru on August 29, 2012,
...the mills of justice grinding very slowly indeed, on this one...
and pertains to conspiracy hatched by members of LeT and Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI) to commit subversive activities and wage war against India.

It was taken over by the NIA on November 25, 2012. The agency chargesheeted 17 people in the case after investigation.

The NIA said that the two people named today were involved in criminal conspiracy along with other accused in supporting and furthering the cause of the terror groups in Damam and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They had also actively participated in meetings in which activities like targeted killings of important personalities of Hindu community were planned, it further added.

The NIA special court had convicted 13 accused people in 2016; they were sentenced to five-year imprisonment.

While trial is continuing against three accused, further investigation against six absconding accused persons continues.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2021 02:22 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba

#1  Mehh. Nobody should plot to kill hindoos. They're doing of sheer hindooness all the time.

Incidentally, Dr Motu translates as... Dr Fatso.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 02/23/2021 5:58 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Cleverness: U.S. Says Will Hold Iran 'Responsible' in Iraq but Won't 'Lash Out'
[AnNahar] The United States said Monday it would hold 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...
to account for its Iraqi allies after rocket fire hit the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, but insisted it would not be drawn into an escalation.

State Department front man Ned Price said the United States was "outraged" by recent attacks in Iraq and said, "We will hold Iran responsible for the actions of its proxies that attack Americans."

"What we will not do is lash out and risk an escalation that plays into the hands of Iran and contributes to their attempts to further destabilize Iraq," Price told news hounds.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies

#1  "....Well, that ought to do it then. Thanks, Ray."

-- Dr. Peter Venkman



Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 02/23/2021 6:13 Comments || Top||

#2  "Will Hold Iran 'Responsible"...

Only going to send half a pallet of money this time?
Posted by: Mercutio || 02/23/2021 7:41 Comments || Top||

#3  Or, in the darkly menacing words of Elmer Fudd, 'Somebody's gonna pay fo dat gwass.'
Posted by: Cesare || 02/23/2021 9:06 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Former Fatah terrorist who recruited Hezbollah’s Mughniyeh dies of COVID-19
[IsraelTimes] Anis Naccache, a former pro-Paleostinian terrorist who participated in the 1975 kidnapping of oil ministers in Vienna, dies after battling COVID-19, a Paleostinian official and Lebanese media say. He was 69.

Naccache, a Lebanese citizen, participated in attacks around the world but spent much of the past two decades running a Beirut-based think tank and has frequently appeared on TV shows as an analyst on Middle Eastern affairs.

A staunch supporter of the Paleostinian cause, and in the past few decades of the so-called Iran-led axis of resistance, Naccache last tweeted on February 5 about the crisis over the formation of a new Cabinet in Leb
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: PLO


Iran commutes sentence of ailing Iranian-American, but blocks him from leaving
[IsraelTimes] 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 commuted the sentence of an ailing 84-year-old Iranian-American but barred him from leaving, his son said Monday, urging President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden
...Candidate for president in 2020. When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened.'...
to prioritize the case.

Baquer Namazi, a former UNICEF official, was detained in February 2016 when he traveled back to Iran after the arrest in Tehran of his son, Siamak Namazi, a businessman.

Siamak’s brother, Babak, revealed that the Iranian judiciary commuted the sentence to time served a year ago based on his serious medical problems.

Baquer Namazi requires a stent for the main artery to his brain, which is 80 percent blocked and puts him at grave risk of a stroke, said the family’s lawyer, Jared Genser.

The Biden administration last week offered to meet with Iran under the aegis of the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
to jumpstart diplomacy to revive a denuclearization agreement.

Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, on Sunday said that the releases of Americans would be a "significant priority."

"We intend to very directly communicate with the Iranians about the complete and utter outrage, the humanitarian catastrophe that is the unjust, unlawful detention of American citizens in Iran," Sullivan told CBS News’ "Face the Nation."
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  "We intend to very directly communicate with the Iranians about the complete and utter outrage"


Joe's mouthpiece?

Posted by: Theogun Hayback4564 || 02/23/2021 4:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Didn't Biden have a similar operation ?

Posted by: Theogun Hayback4564 || 02/23/2021 4:37 Comments || Top||


US-Backed militants (SDF) ‘steal’ 140,000 barrels per day of Syrian oil in Hasakah: report
[AlMasdar] Militants of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is supported by Washington, steal 140,000 barrels of crude oil on a daily basis from oil fields in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah, according to a report.

Ghassan Halim Khalil, governor of Hasakah, announced the grim news in an interview with the Lebanese al-Akhbar newspaper on Saturday, adding that the SDF turbans are plundering Syrian oil in various ways, all with the participation and support of American forces deployed to the region.

He stressed that precise intelligence collected and received show that US-backed turbans use tanker trucks from the Taramish area in Tigris and al-Malikiyah to smuggle the Syrian oil to neighboring Iraq.

Khalil further noted that many tanker trucks pass through the illegal al-Mahmoudiyah crossing into Iraq every day, adding that the SDF turbans also regularly send mounts of stolen oil to their controlled areas in Syria.
The Syrian governor also revealed that the US forces had ordered the SDF turbans not to allow the Damascus-controlled areas receive oil.

Khalil said that while the Syrian people suffer from the cold weather and hunger, these US-supported turbans plunder Syria’s national oil resources.

The US looting of Syrian oil was first confirmed during a Senate hearing exchange between South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham
...soft-spoken senator from South Carolina, former best buddy of John Maverick McCain. Since McCain's demise, Graham has become more outspoken, more Republican and more of a supporter of President Trump. The speech he gave in support of Brett Kavanaugh was downright manly and really cheesed off the Dems...
and then US secretary of State Mike Pompeo last July.

During his testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Pompeo confirmed for the first time that an American oil company would begin work in Northeastern Syria, which is controlled by the SDF, which is an alliance of Kurdish turbans operating against Damascus and currently controls areas in Northern and Eastern Syria.

ALSO READ Rare festivities breakout between Syrian military and Kurdish forces in northeast Syria

The Syrian government at the time denounced in the strongest terms the agreement inked to plunder the country’s natural resources, including Syrian oil and gas, under the sponsorship and support of the administration of former US President Donald Trump
...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US...
Since late October 2019, the US has been redeploying soldiers to the SDF-controlled oil fields in Eastern Syria in a reversal of Trump’s earlier order to withdraw all troops from the war-torn country.

The Pentagon claims that the move aims to "protect" the fields and facilities from possible attacks by the ISIS (also known as ISIS or ISIS) Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed...
terrorists. At the same time, Trump famously stated that the US seeks economic interests in controlling the oil fields.

A US-led military coalition has been pounding what it claimed was the positions of ISIS inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate.

On many occasions, the strikes resulted in civilian casualties and failed to fulfill their declared aim of countering terrorism.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


IAEA & Iran Issues joint statement after reaching ‘Temporary Understanding’
[AlMasdar] The Atomic Energy Organization of 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...
(AEOI) and the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have issued a joint statement after reaching a "temporary bilateral technical understanding" during the visit of the IAEA chief to Tehran.

According to the statement released on Sunday night, after bilateral talks between IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi and the AEOI Chief Ali Akbar Salehi in Tehran, the two sides recalled and reaffirmed the spirit of cooperation and enhanced mutual trust that led to the Joint Statement in Tehran on 26 August 2020, and the importance of continuing that cooperation and trust.

"The AEOI informed the IAEA that in order to comply with the act passed by the Parliament of the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran called ’Strategic Action to Cease Actions and Protect the interest of Iranian Nation’ Iran will stop the implementation of the voluntary measures as envisaged in the JCPOA, as of 23 February 2021," the statement said.

"In view of the above and in order for the Agency to continue its verification and monitoring activities, the AEOI and the IAEA agreed:

1. That Iran continues to implement fully and without limitation its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA as before.

2. To a temporary bilateral technical understanding, compatible with the Law, whereby the IAEA will continue with its necessary verification and monitoring activities for up to 3 months (as per technical annex).

3. To keep the technical understanding under regular review to ensure it continues to achieve its purposes," it added.

In a later statement, the AEOI shed more light on the second part of the agreement regarding the IAEA’s ’necessary verification and monitoring activities in the three-month period.

"As explained in the technical annex, the ’continuation of necessary verification and monitoring activities’ means Iran will record the data of some of its activities and monitoring equipment and keep them for three months," the AEOI said.

"In this period of time, the IAEA will not have any access to the data recorded by Iran, and they will be exclusively kept in Iran. If the sanctions are fully removed in three months, Iran will share the data with the IAEA; otherwise, it will erase them forever," it added.

The AEOI statement says the technical annex, which includes a list of Iranian nuclear facilities, will remain confidential due to security considerations and the need for keeping secret the exact location of Iran’s critical facilities.
Ask the Israelis. They no doubt have not only street addresses and GPS coordinates, but building heights, basement depth underground, and the personal cell phone numbers of certain janitors’ girlfriends, the ones their wives don’t know about./div>
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  "... the two sides recalled and reaffirmed the spirit of cooperation and enhanced mutual trust that led to the Joint Statement in Tehran on 26 August 2020..."

Malarkey Level 9.8 of 10
Posted by: Lord Garth || 02/23/2021 11:11 Comments || Top||


Tehran has suggested it may produce nuclear-fueled ships & subs
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  ...Combine that with inshallah maintenance and standards, and we'll have some mobile Chernobyls in no time.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 02/23/2021 4:22 Comments || Top||

#2  not really on the table

if Iran is 3 years from a bomb, then they are more like 15 years from nuke propulsion
Posted by: Lord Garth || 02/23/2021 12:01 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2021-02-23
  Cleverness: U.S. Says Will Hold Iran 'Responsible' in Iraq but Won't 'Lash Out'
Mon 2021-02-22
  'Inexplicable': Alito and Thomas Dissent as Supreme Court Strikes Down Pennsylvania Election Lawsuit
Sun 2021-02-21
  Three Jihadists Sentenced for Plotting Paris Terrorist Attack
Sat 2021-02-20
  Somalia: At Least 20 Al-Shabaab Members Killed in Army Ops - SNA Chief
Fri 2021-02-19
  Algeria Sentences Jihadist in French Beheading Trial to Death
Thu 2021-02-18
  ISCAP has secured its enclave in Mozambique
Wed 2021-02-17
  Rush Limbaugh Dies at 70
Tue 2021-02-16
  30 Taliban militants killed in explosion during bomb-making class
Mon 2021-02-15
  Turkey finds bodies of 13 PKK prisoners
Sun 2021-02-14
  Car bomb explodes outside Somali parliament HQs in Mogadishu
Sat 2021-02-13
  Senate Votes - 57 - 43; Trump Acquitted
Fri 2021-02-12
  Denmark charges seven with attempted terrorism
Thu 2021-02-11
  20 U.N. Peacekeepers Wounded in Mali Attack
Wed 2021-02-10
  5 Detained For Death Threats To French Teen Who Criticized Islam As ‘Religion Of Hate'
Tue 2021-02-09
  Houthis launch attacks on Soddys in Al Jawf and Marib

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