They may be loved in principle, but they're so good at making themselves unwelcome wherever they go.
[AnNahar] A senior Paleostinian official has been denied entry to Egypt, prompting a Paleostinian delegation to withdraw in protest from a counter-terrorism conference he was to attend, officials said Tuesday.
Jibril Rajoub, a senior member of Paleostinian president the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... ' Fatah party, told AFP he was "surprised by the Egyptian security decision to ban me from entering Egypt."
Rajoub, who also heads the Paleostinian Football Association, said the Egyptian minister of youth and sports had been waiting at the airport to meet him.
An Egyptian airport official said Rajoub was rejected "on the instruction of one of the Egyptian security services," without giving further details.
Paleostinian Justice Minister Ali Abu Diak, who was scheduled to participate with Rajoub in the conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, announced that he was withdrawing in protest, a Paleostinian official said.
#1
Rajoub has had a long career. He is about 64 and has personally led torture/interrogations of Palestinians, planned terror bombings and had critics of Yassar Arafat killed without trial.
Why he isn't the stat speaker at an arab counter terrorism conference is a surprise to me.
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/01/2017 4:43 Comments ||
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[IsraelTimes] The Sydney Jewish Museum was evacuated following a bomb threat received by its staff on Tuesday.
Staff at the neighboring building housing the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, Jewish Communal Appeal and United Israel Appeal also were evacuated. Police and security officials searched the buildings and allowed staff to reenter two and a half hours later.
The Board of Deputies canceled its monthly plenum following the decision allowing the staff to leave early.
The museum, which is dedicated to documenting and teaching the history and lessons of the Holocaust, announced the launch of its new photo exhibition last week.
Board of Deputies CEO Vic Alhadeff told JTA that the building was evacuated by police as a “precaution.”
“The NSW Police secured the area, the all-clear was subsequently given and we were assured there was no risk to the facility or the community,” he said. “We wish to express our gratitude to the NSW Police for their swift response.”
Less than a day earlier, 28 Jewish community centers and Jewish schools, and the San Francisco office of the Anti-Defamation League were evacuated after receiving bomb threats in the fifth wave of such threats since the beginning of the year.
CNN adds the following about the five waves of bomb threats in America:
Law enforcement officials believe many of the threatening calls to Jewish commuinity centers have originated overseas.
#1
this is very sad because mainly it is so easy for a malicious kid or anyone to ring up and do this
and it causes so much disruption
i wish there had been no news story about it because once the news story goes round you get 100 x copycats since it's such a low-effort, easy thing to do
#3
yep the MSM ignored antisemitism in favour of islamophobia.
the left made alliance with islamofascists over "free palestine" so now muslims are the only victims, forever, regardless of the headchopping and crucifixions etc - and ignore the antisemitism
that's the ugliness of the regressive left right there
[DeutscheWelle] Sabrina de Sousa was found guilty of unlawfully kidnapping imam Abu Omar in Milan. The Italian president took one year off her sentence in light of the fact that the US no longer practices "extraordinary rendition."
Former CIA officer Sabrina de Sousa had one year shaved off her prison sentence on Tuesday by Italian President Sergio Mattarella. De Sousa was set to be extradited to Italia from Portugal on Wednesday to serve time for her role in the kidnapping of a Moslemholy man off the streets of Milan.
The Portuguese-American de Sousa now faces a sentence of three years instead of four. The reduction was further significant because under Italian law she is now allowed to stay in detention outside prison, making it unclear if she would be able to stay in Portugal after all.
The case relates to the February 2003 kidnapping of imam Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar.
...a member of the Egyptian terror group al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, he spent the 1990s in Bosnia before being kidnapped and transferred to Egypt for questioning in 2003. He was released from prison in 2007, and has been living without attracting much attention in Egypt ever since, though Italy convicted him in absentia of terorism in 2013 for acts committed before the CIA got hold of him...
The holy man was one of many suspected Islamists who was kidnapped, questioned and sometimes tortured on CIA "black sites" off of US soil in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks under the Bush administration's policy of "extraordinary rendition."Despite being wanted in Italia as well on terrorism charges, a court in Egypt where he was being held found his detention unlawful and freed him in 2007.
In 2016, the European Court of Human Rights ordered Rome to pay Nasr and his wife 115,000 euros ($127,000) in damages.
Dozens convicted over the abduction
De Sousa was locked away ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... at the Lisbon airport in October 2015 while visiting her mother. She is one of 26 US agents to be tried and convicted in absentia over the matter. She has consistently denied being involved and has repeatedly lost attempts to fight her extradition.
Italia was the first country to take US intelligence agents to courts over the kidnappings and interrogations that took place in the Bush era. The Italian officials who were tried over the Nasr incident had their convictions thrown out when the country's top court ruled that prosecuting them could reveal information sensitive to state security.
President Matarella said he decided to reduce her sentence largely because the program of extraordinary rendition had been suspended under President Barack Obama I am the change that you seek...
Interesting timing, given the current American president.
The control tower first denied the Egyptian plane permission to land, but relented, Americans said, after a Navy E-2C communications plane radioed to the tower that the civilian airliner was running out of fuel and that the Defense Ministry had been informed.
When the Egyptian 737 pulled to a stop on the runway, several dozen Americans from the Army Delta Force clambered out of a C-141 transport plane that had just arrived and surrounded the civilian plane. Italian paramilitary carabinieri also quickly converged on the plane.
''Our intentions were to take the Palestinians off the 737, hustle them onto the C-141 and take off for the United States,'' an Administration official said. ''The Italian commander objected. We surrounded the plane, and then the Italians surrounded us.''
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... has slammed Austria’s "double standard" and "irresponsible" approach to potential campaigning by President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... in the EU member state ahead of April’s referendum.
Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said Erdogan is "not welcome" to hold campaign events, adding that it would "increase friction" in Austria and prevent the integration of a 360,000-strong minority of Turkish origin.
"We do not accept those irresponsible comments that exceed their limits and the distorted mentality," Turkish foreign ministry front man Huseyin Muftuoglu said in a statement late on Monday.
Kurz’s comments are a "new example of a biased and double standard approach", he added.
Turkey will hold an April 16 referendum on changing the constitution to give Erdogan an executive presidency along the lines of that in La Belle France or in the United States.
The Turkish government says the changes would bring stability while opponents fear it would hugely boost Erdogan’s powers and drag Turkey into one-man rule.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2017 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] Turkish President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... said Tuesday Ankara wanted to work with its allies to capture the ISIS bastion of Raqa in Syria, but without the involvement of Syrian Kurdish militia.
"If our allies are really sincere, we tell them: We will act with you so long as we cleanse Raqa from ISIS and give it back to its original owners," Erdogan said at an Istanbul airport before leaving for Pakistain, referring to the 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... ISIS group.
But he made clear The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... would not fight alongside Syrian Kurdish fighters, who are viewed by Ankara as "terrorists".
The Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing, the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), are seen by Washington as the most effective force in the fight against ISIS but are condemned by Turkey.
Erdogan said Turkey clearly told Washington it would never cooperate with PYD or YPG.
"It is certainly not possible for us to agree with or act together with PYD or YPG," he said.
Last August, the Turkish army launched a unilateral military campaign inside Syria, backing opposition faceless myrmidons to clean its border from ISISmurderous Moslems as well as Syrian Kurdish militia.
Compared to the lightning advance at the onset of its "Euphrates Shield" operation, the Turkish army sustained increasing casualties to capture al-Bab.
The strategic town, just 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of the Turkish border, was the Takkfiris’ last stronghold in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo.
On Friday, the Turkish military said together with Anakara-backed bully boyz it had completely taken al-Bab from Takfiris.
Erdogan, who met with Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar on Monday, said al-Bab operation was "completed."
"But this doesn’t mean the process is over," he said, adding that if Ankara reached an agreement with coalition forces, steps would be taken in Raqa.
He said Turkey was also talking to Moscow because "our solidarity with Russia is also important."
Erdogan said Turkey’s Syria campaign had cost the Takfiri bully boyz a "very serious price," saying more than 3,000 murderous Moslems had been killed throughout the operation.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
I would rather have the kurds on my side than the turks
Posted by: chris ||
03/01/2017 11:44 Comments ||
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General Mattis confirms recent Yemen mission 'a success.'
[Independent] In the most emotional moment during his speech to Congress on Tuesday, President Trump recognized the widow of Navy SEAL William "Ryan" Owens, provoking a standing ovation that lasted longer than two minutes.
"Ryan's legacy is etched into eternity," Trump said as the chamber stood up and applauded Carryn Owens, whose husband was the first American combat death during the Trump administration.
Carryn Owens, who was sitting next to Ivanka Trump and other guests on the balcony of the House chamber, fought back back tears, exhaled, looked above and mouthed "I love you, baby." Tears streaming down her face as the applause continued, Carryn Owens eventually stood up, clasped her hands in apparent prayer, raised her head again and mouthed "I love you."
Owens was killed in Yemen on Jan. 29 in a raid Trump has said was "highly successful."
Moderator note at 0850 CT: I would strongly prefer that we not insult the father of this young hero. The man is in grief over the loss of his son. I won't comment on whether he's being used or not, but he's entitled to be left in peace. Let's try to do that.
[Iraq News] Influential Shia cleric and militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr apologized to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi Tuesday after demonstrators believed to be loyal to Sadr assaulted the premier’s convoy in Wasit.
Dozens of students at Wasit University protested Tuesday against a visit by al-Abadi to the campus and attacked his convoy, with police responding with air shots.
News reports said Abadi arrived to the southern province to run an ordinary cabinet meeting and made a visit to the university, where tens of students attacked his convoy and chanted anti-government slogans.
Alghad Press said the prime minister had to leave the campus from the backdoor, while his sentry shot fire in the air to scare the demonstrators away. It reported that 19 students were suffocated with tear gas fired by the troops.
NRT network said the protesters chanted a slogan which supporters of al-Sadr used during their demonstrations in Baghdad two weeks ago. The slogan calls for “totally uprooting” the government, accusing it of corruption.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2017 00:00 ||
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[Iraq News] Iraq’s Kurdistan has agreed new deals to borrow $3 billion from trading houses and Russian state oil firm Rosneft that will be guaranteed by future oil sales to strengthen its fiscal position as the semi-autonomous region fights 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.... Kurdistan’s natural sources minister Ashti Hawrami told Rooters the new deals had been concluded in recent weeks. The region also negotiated grace periods of between 3 and 5 years for repaying the debt.
Trading houses have been pre-financing Kurdish oil exports for the past two years after the government in Erbil decided to start independent oil exports via The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s Mediterranean terminals. Rosneft said last week it would join them. .
Kurdistan says it needs to export oil independently as Baghdad has not paid Erbil its budget share just as the region needs money to fight Islamic State and host Syrian refugees.
Baghdad has said it would sue buyers of Kurdish oil, arguing that the central government was the only legal exporter. The new Baghdad government has softened its stance, however, as it cooperated with Erbil against Islamic State in djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... "This helps our economic independence although it is important to understand that this cannot be achieved just by oil revenues and higher oil prices. We also need to press on with our economic reforms," Hawrami said in an interview in London.
"We have learnt a lot from the oil price shock, the costs of fighting ISIS, and the burden of some 1.8 million refugees coming to our territory... Reform is a must ‐ we have a lot of debts to deal with."
He declined to name the trading houses but market sources have previously identified Vitol, Petraco, Glencore (GLEN.L) and Trafigura as buyers of Kurdish barrels. Last week, Glencore confirmed it had concluded deals for Kurdish oil. The other trading houses do not comment on their dealings with Kurdistan and Rosneft did not give any details on the size of the deal.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2017 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] Iraq Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi stressed that the Iraqi forces can strike the gunnies outside the country’s border, saying that a mortal combat will be dealt to the terrorist group of ISIS.
"Terrorists outside Iraq are within our reach," Abadi said, "There is a fast military advance in djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , and the whole world recognizes this success."
"Had not Iraq almost defeated ISIS, the terrorist group would have reached the Gulf countries," Abadi added, "We want to build strong ties with 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... on the basis of mutual ties."
Abadi pointed out that Iraq is a strong country which plays a strategic role in the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2017 00:00 ||
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[AFP] Thai army and Muslim insurgent negotiators agreed on Tuesday to create a "safety zone" in southern Thailand. Talks held in Kuala Lumpur have staggered on for years, undercut by bombs, ambushes and assassinations in the far South and a decade of political instability in Bangkok.
The army has been talking with Mara Patani, an umbrella group that says it is a political wing representing a shadowy network of fighters. The Thai side doubts the Mara's ability to get rebels to put down their guns. For their part, the militants are not convinced Thailand's military government will reduce its massive security presence across the south or devolve significant political power.
But in a confidence-building measure both sides on Tuesday "approved and adopted a general framework for the implementation of a safety zone in one of five proposed districts," the Mara said in a statement.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha welcomed the development but warned that continued militant attacks undermining the safety zone would damage the peace process. He said, "If the safety zone cannot happen, it will prove the potential of the people we are talking to."
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] The newest torpedo to join the Iranian Navy’s arsenal has been successfully test-fired as the force wraps up large-scale drills spanning over territorial and international waters.
Tuesday marked the last day of the final phase of the maneuvers codenamed Velayat 95, which have been underway since early February across the Strait of Hormuz, Sea of Oman and the northern part of the Indian Ocean.
Valfajr, as the torpedo has been named, was fired from the Navy’s Qadir submarine towards a surface vessel, destroying its target.
Similar simulated tasks of target location and destruction were performed by various other submarines dispatched to within 100 kilometers (62 miles) off the country’s southern coast.
Separately, anti-submarine helicopters of naval defense squadrons, which serve the Navy’s strategic operations, practiced patrolling missions, hitting and destroying sub-surface targets.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
When I first read the headline, my dyslectic brain saw 'ValJar'.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
03/01/2017 8:37 Comments ||
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[UPI] China and Russia on Tuesday vetoed a U.N. sanctions resolution against Syrian leadership.
The U.N. Security Council draft resolution, written by the United States, Britannia and La Belle France, called for sanctions against 11 Syrian nationals and 10 entities connected to chemical attacks in Syria in 2014 and 2015.
"In terms of sanctions against the Syrian leadership, I think that now they are completely inappropriate. This would not help the negotiation process but would only interfere or undermine confidence," Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... said after a meeting in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. "Russia will not support any new sanctions in relation to Syria."
Putin added that he was pleased with the conclusion of talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, which arranged a cease-fire and monitoring protocols in Syria, but acknowledged that U.N.-brokered peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... , are "not going as smoothly as hoped."
Russia's military involvement in Syria was instrumental in the survival of the Syrian government after six years of a civil war. Russian representatives are scheduled to meet Wednesday in Geneva with the High Negotiations Committee, the umbrella group of remaining Syrian anti-government groups.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/01/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Just the side note, Assad is still there, in power. O is not.
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.
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] Turkish President 
[AFP] Thai army and Muslim insurgent negotiators agreed on Tuesday to create a "safety zone" in southern Thailand. Talks held in Kuala Lumpur have staggered on for years, undercut by bombs, ambushes and assassinations in the far South and a decade of political instability in Bangkok. 
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
