[TOLO] The Asia Foundation’s annual survey of the Afghan people shows that more than 60 percent of Afghans remain pessimistic about their country’s future.
According to the Asia Foundation, a total of 15,012 face-to-face interviews were conducted with Afghan respondents 18 years of age and older, 50.3% male and 49.7% female, and comprising 80.6% rural and 19.4% urban respondents.
The interviews were conducted across the country from July 6 to 27, 2018, a month following the three-day, Eid-ul-Fitr ceasefire agreement between the government and the Taliban.
The survey shows that this year, the proportion of Afghans who say the country is moving in the right direction is the same as last year (32.8%).
Similarly, there is little difference between the number of Afghans this year who say the country is moving in the wrong direction (61.3%) and last year (61.2%), the survey says.
A small proportion of respondents say they do not know whether the country is moving in the right or the wrong direction, (5.6%, compared to 5.3% in 2017), the survey indicates.
Insecurity is the most frequently cited reason for pessimism about the country’s direction, cited slightly more often this year than last (72.5% vs. 69.5%), followed by concern about the economy (37.6%), which includes the 23.7% of respondents who explicitly refer to unemployment as a reason for their pessimism, the survey says.
[PRESSTV] Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... in a surprise announcement says it will leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) next month in a move that appears to have been meant to take a swipe at the group’s de factor leader 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... .
Saad al-Kaabi, Qatar’s energy minister, told news hounds in a news conference that Doha had informed OPEC about its decision on Monday morning.
Kaabi denied speculations that quitting OPEC was linked to the country’s feud with Saudi Arabia and its allies.
The decision was "technical and strategic" and had "nothing to do with the blockade," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/04/2018 00:00 ||
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[PRESSTV] The front man for Yemeni Armed Forces says the Saudi-led military coalition continues to use internationally-banned weapons, particularly cluster bombs, in its aerial bombardment of residential neighborhoods in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... despite a global outcry against the use of such munitions by Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and its allies.
Speaking at a presser in the capital city of Sana’a on Monday, Brigadier General Yahya Saree stated that the Saudi-led military alliance has carried out 350 air raids across Yemen, notably in the mountainous northwestern province of Sa’ada and the western coastal province of Hudaydah, over the past ten days.
He added that the assaults have resulted in the death and injury of dozens of civilians, and destroyed a number of houses ‐ especially in the province of Hudaydah.
Saree further noted that the Saudi-led Arclight airstrikes have focused on the eastern and southern neighborhoods of Hudaydah city, causing considerable damage to factories and warehouses.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/04/2018 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... special envoy Martin Griffiths arrived in Sanaa on Monday in order to escort Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... negotiators to Sweden for peace talks with the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
Griffiths did not talk to the media upon arrival, rushing directly for talks with the Houhti officials.
According to the special envoy’s office, the peace talks in Sweden are set to begin in the next few days.
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12/04/2018 00:00 ||
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[PRESSTV] Britannia’s media regulator has launched an official investigation into claims that a London-based TV station praised terror attacks in Iran apparently under influence and support of 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... The Guardian said in a report on Monday that Ofcom had begun investigating whether Iran International, a TV station based in western London which broadcasts programs in Farsi, broke broadcasting standards by airing a footage in September in which a representative of a terror group outlawed in Iran praised an attack on a military parade in the city of Ahvaz.
"Under Ofcom’s rules, potentially offensive content must be presented with sufficient context," said an Ofcom spokesperson, adding, "We are investigating whether this news program fell short of these requirements."
The media regulator also issued an announcement saying that the probe, which was based on three complaints, did not mean that Iran International had broken the laws by airing comments of Yacoub Hor al-Tostari, a front man for the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz, which condoned the killing of dozens of people and military personnel in the terrorist attack.
Iran’s Ambassador to the UK Hamdi Baeidinejad tweeted on Monday that Ofocm had officially confirmed that it was considering Iran’s complaint against Iran international.
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12/04/2018 00:00 ||
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[Jpost] Nuclear accord and settlement labels caused Germany to deny Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The founding director of the European Coalition for Israel in Brussels, Tomas Sandell, announced in a shocking video message on Thursday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel ...chancellor of Germany and the impetus behind Germany's remarkably ill-starred immigration program. Merkel used to be referred to by Germans as Mom. Now they make faces at her for inundating the country with Moslems .. waged a campaign to prevent Central and Eastern European countries from moving their capitals to Jerusalem to preserve the Iran nuclear deal.
Sandell said The Jerusalem Post exclusive report in November stating that Merkel called Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis, to convince him to not relocate his country’s embassy to Jerusalem prompted him to go public.
Speaking from the European parliament, Sandell said, "what we have found out, something I heard for quite some time already, from Central and Eastern European countries, that would have an inclination to move their embassy to Jerusalem, this is the natural thing for them to do, is that they have received phone calls from Berlin, from Angela Merkel, the chancellor. Basically, this cannot happen under any circumstances."
He said, "I have spoken to many Germans these last few days in Brussels. They are not aware of this, and all of them would be shocked that all of the countries in the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... today would want to block an embassy move to Jerusalem, not only for your own country, but for other countries that have the conviction [that] this is the right thing to do, the only country to do would be Germany. This is a big shock."
He added that "this is something unprecedented. This is not the Germany we once knew. This is not the even Angela Merkel we once knew when she was elected."
Sandell said many of Merkel’s telephone calls took place to European leaders in April when "many of the nations were seriously considering moving their embassies."
Sandell said Merkel’s anti-Israel moves have to do with the Iran nuclear deal, which "has been very much supported by Germany, the German government."
He added that Merkel’s move to block the relocation of embassies was also sparked by "how Germany did not block the marking of Israeli goods from disputed territories" in 2015. He said it was anticipated that Germany would stop the penalties against Israeli products. Germany instead implemented "this counterproductive measure" to punish Israeli goods, said Sandell.
Germany and the EU singled out only Israeli goods from one territorial conflict in the world to penalize the Jewish state with a labeling system on its merchandise.
He said Merkel’s policy is "of great concern for us who support the Jewish people, support the state Israel."
He ended his video message by stating the importance of recognizing "Jerusalem as the capital of Israel."
#1
" Today President Trump announced the closure of US Embassies and Consulates in the EU and the cancelation of favored nation trading status of its members. "
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/04/2018 6:58 Comments ||
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#3
the president of Germany was at the Hanukkah menorah candle lighting
Hanukkah celebrates the independence of a Jewish state whose capital was and is Jerusalem. Obviously, someone lacks any knowledge of real history. Then again, when did Marxists have any use of real history? /rhet question
#10
Thank you for posting the video, Neville Dark Lord of the Wee Folk7365 2018. I ought to know how to do that — I even have notes saved in my moderating file — but to no avail.
[Telegraph] Foreign criminals sentenced to deportation are to be banished to a remote island off the coast of Denmark, the country's government has announced.
Finance minister Kristian Jensen said the criminals will be detained at a facility on Lindholm, an uninhabited seven-hectare island in the province of Vordingborg.
The tough scheme was set up as part of an agreement between Denmark’s conservative coalition government and its anti-immigration ally, the Danish People’s Party (DF).
The DF's official Twitter account celebrated the announcement by publishing an animated cartoon which shows a dark-skinned man being dumped by a ship on a desert island.
A front man for the party said: "Foreign criminals have no reason to be in Denmark. Until we can get rid of them, we will move them to the island of Lindholm, where they will be obliged to stay at the new deportation centre at night.
"There will be police there around the clock."
The Lindholm facility will house rejected asylum seekers who have been convicted of crimes, as well as foreign citizens who do not have permission to stay but cannot be deported for legal reasons.
For example, some of those due to be detained at the facility are stateless, while others come from countries which do not have a readmission agreement with Denmark.
"They will not be imprisoned," Mr Jensen told Danish news agency Ritzau.
"There will be a ferry service to and from the island, but the ferry will not operate around the clock, and they must stay at the departure centre at night. That way we will be better able to monitor where they are."
According to Danish news website The Local, opposition figures have strongly criticised the proposals, which one politician described as a "humanitarian collapse."
"The green government I want to lead would never force people on to a deserted island," said Uffe Elbæk, a prime ministerial candidate and leader of the Alternative party.
"Inhuman politics are creating a completely different Denmark to the Denmark I love," he added.
Morten Østergaard, leader of the Social Liberals, said the island facility was merely a "symbolic" gesture that would not tackle the root cause of the country's crime and immigration woes.
There are already two detention centres in Denmark for criminals and failed asylum seekers: Kærshovedgård and Sjælsmark.
Though nearly 87 per cent of the country's population is of Danish descent, the number of migrants colonists and refugees from non-Western countries such as Afghanistan and Syria has risen sharply.
It’s tragic, especially because he had been trying to improve relations between Israel and Hamas. But living in a war zone is dangerous, especially during a war. Ultimately Hamas is resoonsible fir the fact that the war happened,
[IsraelTimes] Izzeldin Abuelaish wanted an apology and reparations for the deadly 2009 incident; justices find deaths stemmed from terror groups’ fighting from within civilian population
An Israeli court on Monday ruled against a Gazook doctor who filed a compensation suit against the state over the death of three of his daughters in IDF shelling during 2009’s Operation Cast Lead in the Gazoo Strip.
The Beersheba District Court said in its decision that it was terror groups that bore responsibility for the girls’ deaths by fighting from within a civilian population and storing weapons in the building where they died.
Continued on Page 49
[IsraelTimes] Iran is facing "chronic challenges" that existed long before US sanctions were reimposed, the influential parliament speaker Ali Larijani says.
"External factors do affect our economy, but there are problems persisting from before," Larijani says at a presser. He lists a number of challenges, including "big, costly government," high interest rates that "disrupt production," cash-strapped pension funds and a water crisis.
Parliament’s research center has "repeatedly warned" of these challenges, Larijani says, but the government has yet to respond on key issues.
The US decision in May to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on Iran has added another layer of difficulty.
The International Monetary Fund says the Iranian economy will contract by 1.5 percent in 2018 and 3.6% is 2019, largely due to reduced oil sales caused by the renewed sanctions.
Larijani is an influential insider who was previously seen as deeply conservative but has lately forged a close working relationship with the faction led by President Hassan Rouhani.
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12/04/2018 01:58 ||
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#1
you forgot the one about the Revolutionary Guard looting everything that ain't nailed down.
Posted by: Black Bart Protector of the Welsh2131 ||
12/04/2018 13:19 Comments ||
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#2
What the hell - it worked for the Chinese PLA generals.
#3
Didn't they just announce launching a make believe naval presence in the Atlantic? That's no small feat conducting toy boat naval exercises in such a wide expanse.
[PRESSTV] A political commentator says America raises a hue and cry about the Iranian missile program because Washington is incapable of militarily competing with Iran's defense power.
E. Michael Jones told Press TV on Monday that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s "condemnation" of an alleged missile test by Iran was a sign of the "bankruptcy of American foreign policy."
He explained that since World War II, the US navy has been basically reliant on aircraft carriers as the main projector of force, but that the development of missile technology has endangered that military superiority.
"It looks as if the aircraft carrier may be obsolete because of missile technology," Jones said, adding that the US purported concerns about the Iranian missile program showed America was in "a very weak position."
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded to Pompeo by calling attention to the fact that the US secretary of state was invoking a resolution against Iran that the US has totally breached by withdrawing from the Iran deal.
Commenting on Pompeo's remarks, Jones echoed a similar sentiment, "On the diplomatic front, you can’t violate laws with impunity, violate treaties with impunity and then expect other people to hold to treaties that you violated even though there is no treaty that says that they are not allowed to develop missiles."
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12/04/2018 00:00 ||
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[PRESSTV] Iran has voiced its objection to a US-drafted resolution condemning the Paleostinian resistance movement Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",, saying the Islamic Theocratic Republic would do its utmost to prevent its ratification at the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... General Assembly.
In a telephone conversation with the head of Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh ...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank... , on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reaffirmed the Islamic Theocratic Republic's full support for the Paleostinian people's rights.
The UN General Assembly plans to vote on Tuesday on the motion that would reportedly condemn the resistance movement "for repeatedly firing rockets into Israel and for inciting violence."
"Iran will make its utmost efforts at the General Assembly in coordination with other Moslem and progressive countries to prevent the ratification of the resolution [which is] a violation of the United Nations Charter and runs counter to the Paleostinian people's resistance," the top Iranian diplomat said.
He added that the policies of certain regional countries have emboldened the administration of US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... not only to relocate its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds in violation of international law, but also to propose a resolution against the Paleostinian people's resistance at the General Assembly.
Earlier on Monday, Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... ’s Fatah party vowed to support its rival Hamas at the General Assembly against the US-drafted resolution.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/04/2018 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The commander of the U.S.-backed Jaish al-Maghawir forces stated on Monday that the U.S. Coalition did not attack the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) troops in eastern Homs last night.
The Jaish al-Maghawir commander, Mohannad al-Talaa, said that the U.S. Coalition did not hit the Syrian Army troops, as they were targeting 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.... (ISIS/ISIS/IS/ISIS) forces in the Badiya al-Sham region.
The rebel commander claimed that the U.S. Coalition attack was far away from the Syrian Arab Army’s front-lines in the al-Sukhnah region.
This report by the rebel commander contrasts the Syrian Ministry of Defense’s claim that the U.S. Coalition had fired at least 15 missiles towards their positions in al-Sukhnah.
While no casualties were reported by the Syrian Army, the U.S. Coalition did claim that they managed to kill a wanted ISIS commander in the Badiya al-Sham.
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12/04/2018 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Paleostine Liberation Army (PLA) recently mobilized their forces and redeployed from southern Syria to the provinces of Hama and Idlib.
According to a communique from the Paleostine Liberation Army, they moved their forces from the recently liberated al-Safa region in southern Syria to the provinces of Hama and Idlib.
This move by the Paleostine Liberation Army comes after a successful campaign in southern Syria that saw the end of the so-called "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.... " (ISIS/ISIS/IS/ISIS) in the al-Quneitra, Dara’a, and al-Sweida provinces.
The Paleostine Liberation Army is the Paleostinian wing of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA); they have served on several fronts across the country, including the battles in southern Damascus, Dara’a, East Ghouta, West Ghouta, east al-Sweida, and Aleppo.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The commander of the Iranian Navy stated on Monday that his Persian Gulf nation will soon have a presence in the Atlantic Ocean.
According to state-owned IRNA, Brigadier General Hussein Khanzadi said Monday, "We have dispatched 58 flotillas to the Gulf of Aden in interacting with the international community in order to provide security for fat merchantmen so far."
"So far, flotillas have received many letters of appreciation in fighting piracy," he added, citing the effectiveness of the Iranian deployments.
"For the past 10 years, my colleagues have been on board in the seas and provide the security of barges," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/04/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
They deploying ships that convert to submarines.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Kingdom of 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... launched the second most Arclight airstrikes in Syria after the United States, the Global Coalition said in a new report on Monday.
"The Kingdom ranked second after the United States of America in the number of air strikes carried out within the Global Coalition in (Syria)," the report read.
No further details were released regarding the Saudi military’s participating in the ongoing efforts to eliminate 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.... (ISIS/ISIS/IS/ISIS) from the region.
Last month, Ottoman Turkish publications claimed that the Saudi and Emirati ground forces had entered Syria and taken up positions east of the Euphrates.
While these claims were never corroborated by the Global Coalition, the two Gulf nations did send delegates to meet with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Aleppo Governorate city of Kobane (var. ’Ayn al-’Arab).
Posted by: Fred ||
12/04/2018 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
...chancellor of Germany and the impetus behind Germany's remarkably ill-starred immigration program. Merkel used to be referred to by Germans as 
...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank...
