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‘This Is Not a Revolution': Shiite Cleric Tells Iraqi Rioters to Stop After 30 Deaths, 400 Wounded
Today's Headlines
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Good Morning

Top Republican claims Biden is using
the government to protect Hunter and his family
Wednesday August 31st, 2022

taxidermy-animal-hats-1
We don't need the CIA: A history of failure. John Kiriakou worked for the CIA from 1990 to 2004 and was the CIA's Chief of Counterterrorist Operations.
Al-Sadr consoled himself on the
martyrs of the Green Zone demonstrations
Clashes erupt between YBS
and Yazidi Khan Forces, no casualties
CF withdraws supporters from the Green Zone
Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq accuses a ''deviant''
Sadrist group of burning its office near Baqubah
UNAMI, Coordination Framework
leaders welcome al-Sadr's declaration

Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2022 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This particular craze is perhaps an extension of the overall fascination with taxidermy, and the ways in which the Victorians pushed creative boundaries with the controversial practice.
Complete tableaux featuring dead bunnies studying in a library, for example, were all the rage, and giving the animals human characteristics after death — reading, having tea, playing croquet — was especially popular
However, it’s still not totally clear how or why this became super fashionable with upper-class Victorians. But apparently, donning a dead, stuffed animal on top of one’s head was considered the ultimate in haute couture.
Birds were a popular choice, although the more adventurous types went with squirrels, mice, and kittens… which, when you think about it, is especially sad and awful in its own way.
The Victorians era was full of weird traditions, including post-mortem photography. Taxidermy hats were also part of fashion. These hats were super fashionable among the upper-class Victorians. The Victorian era is considered as the golden age of taxidermy, donning a dead animal on top of the head was considered the ultimate in haute couture. Dead mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles were used to design these taxidermy hats. English ornithologist John Hancock mounted a series of stuffed birds as an exhibit in the Great Exhibition of 1851.
Posted by: Rupert B. Hayes2022 || 08/31/2022 0:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Taxidermy: Animal Hats





Posted by: Rupert B. Hayes2022 || 08/31/2022 0:39 Comments || Top||

#3  This particular craze is perhaps an extension of the overall fascination with taxidermy, and the ways in which the Victorians pushed creative boundaries with the controversial practice.

And they didn't even need TikTok to influence them!
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/31/2022 6:23 Comments || Top||

#4  Nobody noticed the early vape pen she's hitting?
Posted by: Frank G || 08/31/2022 7:28 Comments || Top||

#5  No skunk?
Posted by: Mercutio || 08/31/2022 9:44 Comments || Top||

#6  ^^^ I believe those skunk chapeaus were reserved for the "common gentlemen" of the era...
Posted by: Threck Mussolini3313 || 08/31/2022 9:56 Comments || Top||

#7  More Victorian taxidermy-animal-hats:
(y'all gettin' headstrong 'bout see'n more; kinda' like a bad car wreck, but ya can't look away.)







I know y'all goin' Bats over the last picture...
Posted by: Threck Mussolini3313 || 08/31/2022 10:16 Comments || Top||

#8 
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/31/2022 10:27 Comments || Top||

#9 
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/31/2022 10:28 Comments || Top||

#10  So, tell me again, how you got into the "evidence locker" of the Jan 6th protestors, to post that last picture? ---

Posted by: Threck Mussolini3313 || 08/31/2022 10:46 Comments || Top||

#11  Creepy. The lady doesn't seem to realize that people will be looking at a dead animal's face instead of hers and they will be creeped out.

The Indian head dress and the buffalo hats do not include a dead animal's face so they are OK.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 08/31/2022 11:17 Comments || Top||

#12  I think this had a lot to do with the demise of the passenger pigeon.
Posted by: AlanC || 08/31/2022 11:21 Comments || Top||

#13  ‘De-extinction’ engineers dream of reviving the lost passenger pigeon

Posted by: Threck Mussolini3313 || 08/31/2022 11:38 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Bomb blast kills deputy DC in Somali capital
[ShabelleMedia] An explosion that occurred in Mogadishu last night killed the deputy Yaqshid DC on political affairs who was identified as Moalim Hussein Filaweyne.

The reports say the earth-shattering kaboom that killed the deputy governor of Yaqshid district in the Banadir region was from an IED attached to his car that went off while driving in Buulo Mahay neighborhood in Karaan district of Mogadishu.

The killing of the deputy DC was confirmed by members of the Yashqid district administration who blamed the attack on al-Shabaab
...... the personification of Somali state failure...
Somali police arrived at the scene after the earth-shattering kaboom, and they conducted an investigation, but so far they have not made arrests for the murder, according to the witnesses.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2022 08:02 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Tigrayan Forces Deny Taking Town in Amhara Region
[Shabellemedia] A front man for forces in Æthiopia’s Tigray region is denying a report that Tigrayan forces have captured a town in the neighboring Amhara region. Renewed festivities broke out last week between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and the Æthiopian government after a five-month lull.

On Sunday night, some international media reported that the TPLF had entered the Amhara region town of Weldiya. Speculation also spread on social media.

However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt...
Monday, a TPLF representative told VOA that these claims were false, saying Tigrayan forces have not "yet" entered the town.

So far, the renewed fighting has been centered around the town of Kobo farther north.

Weldiya sits just over 300 kilometers from Addis Ababa and is a strategic point on the road leading south from the Tigray region’s capital, Mekelle, to Addis Ababa.

Any movement by the TPLF farther south could set alarm bells ringing for the federal government. Last year, the TPLF came within 200 kilometers from Addis after it took the town of Dessie on the same road.

Both the Æthiopian government and the TPLF have blamed each other for triggering the festivities last week that ended a five-month cease-fire in Æthiopia’s civil war.

On Friday, it was reported that an Æthiopian government Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
hit a kindergarten in Tigray, killing at least seven people.

The government accused the TPLF of staging images of the attack.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2022 08:01 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Subsaharan
Militant attacks in eastern DR Congo kill 40 people
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[REGNUM] At least 40 civilians have died in a series of attacks on several villages in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), Reuters reported, citing its sources.

The attacks took place from 25 to 30 August. One of the attacks was against a group of villagers from North Kivu province who had come to Ituri province to search for arable land.

Local authorities have warned that the death toll could rise as some people have yet to be found and dozens have been kidnapped.

As REGNUM reported , from August 25 to 26, in the province of Tapoa in Burkina Faso, militants attacked a convoy of cars belonging to a gold mine in Bungu. Six people were killed and two others were injured in the incident.
Posted by: badanov || 08/31/2022 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Nigerian Soldiers Engage Bandits In Kaduna, Kill One, Arrest Three, Recover 18 Motorcycles
Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2022 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Banditti

#1  Least they got a ride home.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/31/2022 23:24 Comments || Top||


Oil Bunkerers, Pirates Take Over Bayelsa Community, Chase Traditional Ruler Away
Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2022 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Pirates

#1  "Bunkerer" -- oddly, I couldn't find this in the OED
Posted by: Mercutio || 08/31/2022 9:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Black Sails
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/31/2022 10:39 Comments || Top||


Troops Killed Several Boko Haram Fighters In Night Ambush, Nigerian Army Says
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2022 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram (ISIS)


India-Pakistan
Terrorist detained under PSA
[GreaterKashmir] Ramban police detained a terrorist under Public Safety Act (PSA) for having links with anti national and anti social elements and sent to central jail Kot Balwal Jammu.

SSP Ramban, Mohita Sharma said Mohammad Amin Wani son of Shabir Wani resident Bankoot Banihal, was involved in anti national and social activities.

Earlier the dossier was prepared by Ramban Police and submitted to District Magistrate Ramban for slapping PSA against Mohammad Amin.

Subsequently, District Magistrate Ramban issued a warrant under PSA and same was executed by the Banihal Police following which Amin was arrested yesterday.

Police sources said Mohammad Amin joined militancy in December, 1999 for the HuJI
Founded in 1984 by Fazlur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Aktar. The Bangla branch was established in 1992 with assistance from Osama bin Laden. Recruits come mostly from Deobandi madrassahs. HuJI and Fazlur Rehman Khalil are signators of bin Laden's declaration of war on civilization.
outfit and left for arms and ammunition training in the same year to Pakistain.

He returned to India in 2002 and was operating in Ramban district as Harkat Ul Jihad e Islami ((HuJI)) outfit chief.

He was arrested at Lakhanpur, Jammu by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in 2005, and sent to Jail. He was released from jail in 2007 and went to Delhi in the same year where he was arrested by Delhi police and again sent to Tihar Jail in New Delhi.

He was released in October 2014 from Tihar Jail.

According to Police, Mohammad Amin was suspected to be in touch with Over Ground Workers (OGW (Over Ground Worker)
Over ground workers (OGWs) are people who help militants, or terrorists, with logistical support, cash, shelter, and other infrastructure with which armed groups and insurgency movements such as Hizbul Mujaheddin and Jaish-e-Muhammad in Jammu and Kashmir can operate....
S) on the Valley side and apprehension was there he might motivate local youth to join militancy.

District Magistrate Ramban, vide Order No. 19 / PSA of 2022 Dated 25.08.2022 viewed to prevent Mohammad Amin, resident of Bankoot, Banihal, District Ramban from acting in any manner which was highly prejudicial to the maintenance of public order and it was necessary to do so. Now, therefore, in the exercise of the powers vested under section 8 of the Public Safety Act, 1978, District Magistrate directed Police to detain Mohammad Amin.

On District Magistrates order Mohammad Amin was detained by Banihal Police and lodged at Central Jail Kot Balwal Jammu.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2022 09:41 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistain Proxies

#1  I thought Pacific Southern Airways went Chpt 11?
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 08/31/2022 13:18 Comments || Top||


Searches launched in several Rajouri villages
[GreaterKashmir] Security forces on Monday launched searches in different villages of Rajouri after reports of suspicious movement in the area.

Officials told that an information was received by security forces that some suspicious movement has been noticed in villages include Daggal Halal in Khawas police post area of Rajouri. Soon after the suspicious movement report was received, teams of army and police rushed to the area launched an operation.

"Atleast four villages in the area have been covered under this operation which is going on since Monday late afternoon hours." said officials. They said that this operation is still going on but there is no major development as of now.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2022 09:41 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


NIA arrests 12th accused in Handwara narco- terrorism case
[GreaterKashmir] The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday arrested 12th narco from Kupwara over his involvement in the Handwara narco- terrorism case, in which 21kg heroin and over Rs 1 crore cash were seized last year from members of a drug syndicate operating in J&K.

In a handout NIA said Today (28.08.2022) NIA arrested Abdul Rauf Badan (45 years) s/o Mohammad Abdullah Badan r/o Amarohi, PS Karnah, Tehsil Tangdhar District Kupwara, J&K for his involvement in case of supply of narcotics cash/ arms ammunition through LOC border of Amarohi, Tangdhar area by concealing the consignment in vegetable carrier vehicle.

NIA said he is a key operator of the module of proscribed bully boyz outfit LeT, which was working at the behest of Pak handlers. He was collecting the consignments of narcotics from Pak handlers in Tangdhar and other locations at LoC, J&K and further delivering them to the other co accused persons in the case.

The case was initially registered as FIR No. 183/2020 dated 11.06.2020 at Police Station Handwara, J&K and re-registered by NIA on 23.06.2020. Earlier, chargesheet has been submitted against 11 accused persons in the NIA Spl. Court, Jammu, in this case.

Further investigations are in progress in the case.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2022 09:34 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba


Three LeT terrorists killed in Shopian gunfight: police
[GreaterKashmir
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
] Police along with security forces claimed to have killed three LeT Death Eaters in an encounter in Shopian district on Tuesday.

"ShopianEncounterUpdate: 01 more #terrorist killed (Total 03). Search going on. Further details shall follow, " he added.

"The 3 killed #Death Eaters have been identified as local Death Eaters of LeT namely Danish Khursheed Bhat, Tanveer Wani & Towseef Bhat. They were involved in several #terror crime cases. Terrorist Danish was involved in #recruitment of youth into terror ranks in Shopian," said the ADGP Kashmir.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2022 09:34 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba


Iraq
JOC decides to lift the curfew in Iraq
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2022 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq

#1  The Iraq stuff disappeared from the internet news almost immediately. I expected that Al Sadr would be Supreme Ayatollah of Iraq by now.
Posted by: Super Hose || 08/31/2022 12:11 Comments || Top||


Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq accuses a 'deviant' Sadrist group of burning its office near Baqubah
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2022 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies


CF withdraws supporters from the Green Zone
[SHAFAQ] The Coordination Framework instructed all its supporters on Tuesday to withdraw from the Green Zone.

The organizing committee of the demonstrations called, in a statement, on its supporters to, "return to their homes and be ready to respond to the homeland calls."

The influential Shiite holy man Moqtada Tater al-Sadr
...hereditary Iraqi holy man and leader of a political movement in Iraq. He had his hereditary rival al-Khoei assassinated shortly after the holy rival's appearance out of exile in 2003. Formerly an Iranian catspaw, lately he's gagged over some of their more outlandish antics, then went back to catspawry...
has called on his supporters to withdraw from Iraq's parliament during a news conference in his headquarters in Najaf's al-Hannana.

Al-Sadr instructed his supporters to withdraw within the next 60 minutes, adding that not even a sit-in or peaceful demonstration would be allowed.

Al-Sadr apologized to the Iraqi people after nearly two days of violent mostly peaceful festivities.

"This is not a revolution [any more] because it has lost its peaceful character," al-Sadr said in a televised address.

"The spilling of Iraqi blood is forbidden," he added.

Supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr, carrying guns and driving tuk-tuk vehicles, begun withdrawing from Baghdad's Green Zone after the influential Shia holy man called on them to end their actions.

Following the move, Iraq's Joint Operations Command said it had been decided to lift the curfew in Baghdad and other governorates.

Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2022 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Clashes erupt between YBS and Yazidi Khan Forces, no casualties
[SHAFAQ] On Tuesday, festivities erupted between members of the Sinjar Protection Forces (YBS) affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Yazidi Khan forces led by Haider Shusho in the Sinjar district.

A security source told Shafaq News Agency, "loyalists to the Sinjar Protection Forces demonstrated near a camp of the Yazidi Khan forces, east of Sununu district of Sinjar."

No casualties were reported.

It is worth noting that in 2020, The Iraqi government reached a "historic deal" with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over the governance and security of Sinjar.

The deal ends the authority of intruding groups. It paves the way for the reconstruction of the District and the total return of its people in coordination between Erbil and Baghdad.

The agreement holds the local police and the National Security and Intelligence services responsible within the District.

It also ordered all armed factions to be deported outside the borders of Sinjar, including PKK.

Yet, Sinjar Protection Forces are still deployed in the District.
Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2022 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel sentences Gaza aid worker to 12 years for funding Hamas terror
There is much distress about this, out in the world. NPR felt it worthy of notice.
[IsraelTimes] Mohammed Halabi, local director of international Christian charity World Vision who was controversially held for 5 years before finally being sentenced, intends to appeal decision

An Israeli court on Tuesday sentenced a Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
aid worker to 12 years in prison after he was found guilty of several terrorism charges in a high-profile case in which independent audits and investigations found no evidence of wrongdoing.

Mohammed Halabi, the Gaza director for the international Christian charity World Vision, was arrested in 2016 and accused of diverting tens of millions of dollars to the Islamic terror group Hamas, the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®, that rules the territory.

The trial, and his prolonged detention, have further strained relations between Israel and humanitarian organizations that provide aid to Paleostinians. The sentence is likely to continue to affect those ties.
provide aid = enabling
Halabi’s lawyer reiterated his client’s claim of innocence following Tuesday’s sentencing.

"He says that he’s innocent, he did nothing and there is no evidence," Maher Hanna said. "On the contrary, he proved in the court above any reasonable doubt that he made sure that no money will be (given) directly to Hamas."

According to Hanna, if Halabi had admitted to wrongdoing, he would have been released.

"But he insisted that truth also has value. And for his personal values and for the international humanitarian work values, he insisted on the truth, and he cannot admit a thing that he did not do," the lawyer said.

"It’s inconceivable," Hanna, said of the length of the sentence. "They insist that injustice will persist throughout the whole process."

Both Halabi and World Vision have denied the allegations.
No, no! Certainly not!
and an independent audit in 2017 also found no evidence of support for Hamas.

Australia, which was the biggest single donor to World Vision’s humanitarian work in Gaza, came to similar conclusions in its own review.

World Vision, a US-based Christian charity with almost 40,000 employees globally, said the sentencing was "deeply disappointing" and stood in sharp contrast to the evidence and facts of the case.

"The arrest, six-year trial, unjust verdict, and this sentence are emblematic of actions that hinder humanitarian work in Gaza and the West Bank," the group said. "It adds to the chilling impact on World Vision and other aid or development groups working to assist Paleostinians."

Its spokesperson Sharon Marshall stressed her objection to "any form of terrorism or activities that support terrorism," saying they "don’t see any evidence of those things in this case."

"We fully support Mohammed’s intent to appeal the verdict and the sentence in this case, and we call for a fair and transparent process at the supreme court," she said in a statement.

"We remain committed to improving the lives of vulnerable children in the region and hope we’ll be able to advance our humanitarian work in the context of our longstanding cooperation with the relevant authorities in Paleostine and Israel," Marshall said.

Hanna said Halabi intended to appeal the verdict and the sentence to the country’s Supreme Court
...the political football known as The Highest Court in the Land, home of penumbrae and emanations...
The prosecution said it was also considering an appeal, believing the sentence to be too light.

"These are very severe deeds, the defendant funded terror with millions of shekels, helped strengthen the Hamas tunnel network," Moran Guez of the southern district attorney’s office.

"We asked for 16-21 years prison. We’ll read the sentencing and consider our actions," she told news hounds.

In response to the ruling, Israel’s Foreign Ministry called the diversion of funds a "reprehensible act committed at the expense of the welfare of the Paleostinian residents of Gaza," and acknowledged both World Vision’s condemnation of terrorism and Halabi’s right to appeal.

It added that Israel is committed to working with aid groups such as World Vision "in a manner consistent with security considerations and applicable standards."

Halabi had been convicted of membership in a terrorist group — Hamas — and financing terrorist activities, having "transmitted information to the enemy" as well as the possession of a weapon.

Much of the evidence against him was kept secret, with Israel citing "security concerns," prompting his legal team to question the verdict’s legitimacy.

In its sentencing, the court said Halabi had joined the military wing of Hamas in 2004 and was "planted in World Vision" the following year.

The court said that besides 12 tons of steel and other materials provided to Hamas for its tunnels and positions, Halabi also gave the terror group "millions of dollars" of World Vision’s money "to fund terror."

The 12-year sentence was also meant to deter Gazooks working in international aid groups from aiding Hamas, according to the court.

"There are huge amounts of money that, if they reach terror organizations, will contribute to strengthening the terror regime in Gaza," the sentencing said.

Omar Shakir, Israel and Paleostine director at Human Rights Watch, called the 12-year sentence a "profound miscarriage of justice," with the lengthy trial and use of secret evidence constituting a "mockery of due process."

"He should long ago have been released," Shakir said in a statement.

Following Halabi’s arrest, the Australian government, a major donor to World Vision, announced it was freezing funding to projects in the Gaza Strip.

A subsequent Australian government probe found no evidence of embezzlement.

In a 2019 interview with The Times of Israel, Halabi’s attorney Hanna flatly rejected the accusations, noting that his client was a representative of the rival Fatah movement on the student council in his university at the same time Israel alleged that he joined the Hamas military wing.

Israeli authorities have repeatedly said they have proof that Hamas had infiltrated the aid group and was diverting funds from needy Gazooks. Then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu trumpeted the charges in an online video shortly after Halabi’s arrest.

In February, the US Embassy in Jerusalem told Halabi’s father that it is "closely monitoring" the case. Halabi’s father Khalil had reached out to the Biden administration, the same old faces in slightly different places, the same old ideas, the same old graft
...the collection of boodlers, grifters, hangers-on, and self-proclaimed experts affiliated with the Biden Crime Family. Entrusted with an entire nation as the result of a suspicious election, they set about happily implementing stuff they absorbed in college, all of which blew up and splattered the rest of us...
, asking for Washington to intervene on his son’s behalf.

Hanna has accused the court system of refusing to provide qualified translators, saying it led to his client being unable to properly respond to questioning. The lawyer also said Israel refused to grant an entry permit to one of Halabi’s colleagues who Hanna wanted to call to the witness stand to testify on his client’s behalf at the Beersheba District Court.

Israel cited security concerns in rejecting the request. The same justification has been used to limit Hanna’s access to court minutes. Hanna has also been barred from entering Gaza where the alleged crimes took place.

Critics say Israel often relies on questionable informants and allege that Israel smears groups that provide aid or other support to Paleostinians. Israel says it supports the work of aid organizations but must prevent donor funds from falling into the hands of gangs like Hamas that do not recognize it and attack its citizens.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2022 08:05 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


IDF, police seize 26 pistols from gun smuggler along Jordan border near Jericho
[IsraelTimes] Suspect arrested after brief chase near Paleostinian town of al-Auja; military says ’significant rise’ in weapon smuggling attempts in past year

Israeli security forces arrested a man suspected of smuggling weapons into the West Bank from Jordan early Monday morning, confiscating 26 handguns in the process, the military and police said.

The Israel Defense Forces and Border Police said forces received intelligence about smuggling over the border and identified a suspicious vehicle near the Paleostinian town of al-Auja, north of Jericho.

After a brief chase, the driver was arrested and the 26 handguns he had in his possession were seized, police said.

On Sunday, the IDF said there had been a "significant rise" in attempts to smuggle weapons into Israel and the West Bank from Jordan, counting more than 300 guns seized since the beginning of the year. In 2020 and 2021 combined, 300 firearms were seized along the eastern frontier, the IDF said.

Law enforcement officials have indicated guns smuggled in from Jordan are often sold to Arab Israelis and West Bank Paleostinians, for both criminal and terrorist purposes.

The military and police have stepped up efforts to halt smuggling attempts along the Jordanian border in recent months.

Unlike Israel’s other frontiers — with Egypt, Lebanon Hezbollahstan
...a strong argument in favor of European colonialism, even French colonialism...
and Syria — its border with Jordan is largely open, often without significant fencing, and is relatively unguarded, making it an easy channel for large-scale smuggling.

The IDF said Sunday that it had beefed up defenses on the Jordanian border, as well as increased its surveillance efforts and improved its means of transportation, in order to better foil smuggling attempts.

In the last year, the IDF, police, and Shin Bet security agency have established joint operation rooms enabling them to "produce accurate intelligence in real time and formulate a united and joint operative response to the challenges and smuggling attempts," the military said.

Authorities have increasingly sought to crack down on the spread of illegal weapons in the Arab Israeli community, which have been used to carry out a record-breaking number of murders in recent years.

According to the Abraham Initiatives, a group lobbying against violence in the Arab community, last year 125 Arabs were killed in Israel in community violence — an all-time record. Since the beginning of 2022, another 72 have been killed in incidents of violence.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2022 01:39 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


IDF arrests wanted Islamic Jihad man, clashes with gunmen in northern West Bank
[israelTimes] Terror group says Alaa Zakarna ’refused to surrender’ until he ran out of ammunition as troops surround home in Qabatiya; seven Paleostinians said hurt in festivities

Israeli troops clashed with Paleostinian button men while operating in the northern West Bank town of Qabatiya on Monday morning, the military said.

Paleostinian media reports said soldiers surrounded a building in the town near Jenin where several suspects were holed up and called on them to surrender.

One wanted Paleostinian, later identified as a member of the Paleostinian Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
terror group, was arrested when he turned himself in after an exchange of gunfire, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Alaa Zakarna, a former security prisoner in Israel, "refused to surrender and clashed with special forces until his ammunition ran out before his arrest," a local wing of the terror group said in a statement.

The IDF said troops came under gunfire during the operation and returned fire. No soldiers were hurt. The PIJ said its members had shot at IDF troops as they "besieged" Zakarna’s home for an hour and a half.

The military added that troops seized an M-16 assault rifle after arresting Zakarna.

Footage showed dozens of Paleostinians hurling stones at IDF vehicles entering the town.

Paleostinian media reported that at least seven people were hurt in the festivities, some from gunfire. Their conditions were not immediately known.

IDF troops detained eight other Paleostinians across the West Bank early Monday, seizing another M-16 rifle in Hebron, the military said.

The raids came amid a recent uptick of shooting attacks against Israeli security forces in the West Bank.

Overnight, soldiers returned fire after two separate IDF positions were shot at within a short time frame near the northern West Bank city of Nablus and the Paleostinian town of Silwad. No soldiers were hurt in the two incidents.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2022 01:37 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Islamic Jihad


Southeast Asia
Repentant former Islamic militant works to draw youth away from radicalism
[BenarNews] At 36, Supriyadi has twice been in prison for terror-related activities in Poso, a regency in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province once torn by Moslem-Christian violence.

Now, the repentant co-founder of the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT) murderous Moslem organization wants to dedicate his life to drawing people away from extremism because, he says, he still has a conscience and opposes the killing of civilians.

Authorities have said that MIT members were responsible for several killings, not only of coppers, but of civilians they suspected were police informants, in Poso and its surroundings since 2012.

In May 2021, MIT killed four farmers in Central Sulawesi, and six months earlier, they killed four villagers living in a Christian community in Sigi regency near Poso. Similarly, in 2015, MIT suspects beheaded at least three non-Moslem farmers in Parigi Moutong regency.

These killings troubled Supriyadi (alias Upik Pagar).

"I still have a conscience. I don’t want to kill people carelessly. I disagree with MIT’s [killing of civilians.] That’s why I don’t want to deal with them anymore," he told BenarNews.

"Killing farmers, it is very wrong and not in line with the jihad struggle that I believe in."

Supriyadi was a member of the al Qaeda-affiliated Jemaah Islamiyah, the group behind the 2002 Bali bombings, when he was first arrested in 2007 for illegal possession of firearms.

After his release in December 2009, he returned to Poso and sought out friends from his former terror organization to form JI’s splinter group, the Poso-based Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT), the following year.

"You could say I’m one of the founders of Poso-based JAT," he said, adding that JAT later became MIT with a new man running it.

Like its predecessor, MIT, too, aimed to establish an Islamic caliphate. But, before the group could could carry out any attacks, Supriyadi was again arrested by the anti-terror squad in 2011.

"I was also charged with engaging in military training. I was sentenced to four years in prison," he said.

Even though he tried to stay away from MIT after his release in 2015, Supriyadi was contacted by the murderous Moslem group several times.

"They knew when I was free, that’s why they kept contacting me through their people," Supriyadi said.

He still refused to engage with them, because he was determined not to return to the path of violence, he said.

Since then he has been working on his small business of raising chickens for eggs and with efforts to promote peace and spread the message to the youth to move away from radicalism.

"Thank God, my life is getting better. The profit from business is sufficient for living expenses with the family. All three of my children have also gone to school," he said.

Supriyadi has since worked with an ex-terrorist on a film, "Courier," that tells the true story of a cocoa farmer who was forced to become a courier for an Islamic murderous Moslem group so he could keep working his fields without fear of attack.

"For my brothers who are still with the [MIT] group, wherever you are, repent, remember your wives and children at home," he said.

The former murderous Moslem said he wanted his former enemy, the government, to pay more attention to repentant ex-convicts.

"The regional government in Poso knows that we are no longer active in radical groups and terrorism. But they don’t pay attention to us, except for the BNPT [National Counterterrorism Agency] and NGOs," Supriyadi said.

He said he is ready to work with the government to campaign against radicalism so that the younger generation in Indonesia, especially Poso, doesn’t get involved in the activities of radical groups.

"Because I used to be a perpetrator, of course I know how to prevent these young people from trusting and wanting to join krazed killer groups," he said.

"To the government: ’If you want to take me, I’m always ready.’"
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2022 02:27 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Gunmen kill police chief, aide in southern Philippine ambush
[BenarNews] Unidentified gunman killed a local police chief and his aide, and maimed three other coppers during a roadside ambush in the southern Philippines on Tuesday while the officers were on their way to arrest a suspect, authorities said.

No one grabbed credit for the attack, but a separatist hard boy group that swore allegiance to the so-called Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
bully boy group operates in the area around Ampatuan, the town in Maguindanao province where the incident occurred, police said.

The button men opened fire on the marked vehicle of the arresting officers at about 10 a.m. in a village outside of Ampatuan. A shootout ensued that led to the deaths of Lt. Col. Reynaldo Samson, the local police chief, and his aide, Cpl. Salipudin Endab.

"Someone leaked the information about our operation," Brig. Gen. John Gano Guyguyon, the police director in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Moslem Mindanao (BARMM), told news hounds, confirming the killings.

"We condemn to the highest degree this incident and we condole with the families of the victims," he added.

A photo circulating on social media showed a police car riddled with bullets along the road in Kapinpilan village, with one of the two slain officers on the ground.

The police were supposed to serve a warrant against a long-wanted narco, identified as Abdulnasser Guianid, when they were ambushed, Guyguyon said. The maimed police, he said, were out of danger, and a manhunt was under way for Guianid.

Guyguyon said it was well known that hard boy groups such as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
...a MILF splinter group aligned with the Islamic State...
(BIFF) operate in the fringes of Maguindanao province. In addition, he said, smaller gangs of former separatist rebels also work in the area, sometimes as guns-for-hire for other groups.

BIFF has been blamed for several attacks, including bombings in public areas. It is a splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which signed a peace deal with Manila in 2014 and now controls the autonomous Moslem region.

"We have been telling our men to be cautious in their mission because this group is still active. We assure the public that we will not let this pass. We will do everything to keep the peace," Guyguyon said.

The incident on Tuesday occurred in the same town where 58 people, including 32 journalists, were killed by members of an influential clan in 2009. The victims of that attack were accompanying the wife of Esmael Mangudadatu, who had challenged the patriarch of the Ampatuan clan for the top political post in the province.

In December 2019, a court sentenced to life imprisonment 28 members of Ampatuan clam after more than a decade of trial.

In predominantly Moslem areas of Mindanao island, it is not unusual for families to settle differences through clan wars known as "rido." Hostilities could last for decades until a peace pact is signed, usually through mediation by religious leaders along with a cash payment.

Political rivalries, ancestral land claims, disputes over local fiefdoms as well as election-related feuds often spur clan wars in Mindanao.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2022 02:27 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Navy stops Iranian attempt to steal unmanned vessel in Arabian Gulf
[Wash Examiner] The U.S. Navy intervened and prevented an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy support ship from overtaking an unmanned surface vessel operated by the U.S. 5th Fleet in the Arabian Gulf on Monday and Tuesday.

The U.S. 5th Fleet observed an IRGCN ship, the Shahid Bazaar, towing a Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessel in an effort to take possession of it on Monday. U.S. Navy patrol coastal ship the USS Thunderbolt, which was nearby, responded immediately, while the 5th Fleet also launched an MH-60S Sea Hawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26, according to a statement from the fleet released on Tuesday

The IRGCN eventually disconnected the towing line after about four hours without further incident.
"We'll destroy it and the towing vehicle. Your move"
"IRGCN’s actions were flagrant, unwarranted and inconsistent with the behavior of a professional maritime force," said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces. "U.S. naval forces remain vigilant and will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows while promoting rules-based international order throughout the region."

Should the IRGCN have gotten away with the heist, the Saildrone Explorer USV was "equipped with sensors, radars and cameras for navigation and data collection," though it "does not store sensitive or classified information."

CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla said in a statement, "The professionalism and competence of the crew of the USS Thunderbolt prevented Iran from this illegal action. This incident once again demonstrates Iran's continued destabilizing, illegal, and unprofessional activity in the Middle East."

The United States and Iran are on opposite sides of a number of smaller active conflicts, while the Biden administration maintains its desire to reenter the previous nuclear agreement . Iran has provided Russia with drones that it intends to use in Ukraine , according to administration officials, while Iranian-backed militants in Syria engaged with U.S. forces earlier this week as well.
Posted by: Frank G || 08/31/2022 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  actions were flagrant, unwarranted and inconsistent with the behavior of a professional maritime force

Or, you were stupid for leaving it unattended and unsecured.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/31/2022 10:31 Comments || Top||


#3  /\ Amos, you're simply going to have to control those boys of yours.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/31/2022 10:39 Comments || Top||

#4  So a semi-autonomous, slightly movable part of a SOSUS screen of sorts; a picket?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 08/31/2022 11:26 Comments || Top||

#5  It would be a safer way to clear mines, for one. That might have provoked the Iranians.
Posted by: Super Hose || 08/31/2022 12:07 Comments || Top||

#6  Well, technically they could argue that it was a 'derelict' because it had no crew so it was open for salvage. A burst from a minigun quickly handles that theory...
Posted by: magpie || 08/31/2022 13:08 Comments || Top||

#7  Or, you were stupid for leaving it unattended and unsecured.

Or testing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy response?
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2022 16:08 Comments || Top||

#8 
Or testing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy response?
Posted by trailing wife 2022-08-31 16:08|| 2022-08-31 16:08|| Front Page || Comments Top


...That gets my vote, Ma'am.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 08/31/2022 17:06 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
47[untagged]
5Govt of Iraq
5Commies
3Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
2Lashkar e-Taiba
2Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life,
2Govt of Iran
1Palestinian Islamic Jihad
1Pirates
1Taliban/IEA
1[untagged]
1al-Shabaab (AQ)
1Banditti
1Boko Haram (ISIS)
1Govt of Iran Proxies
1Govt of Pakistain Proxies
1Hamas

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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.
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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2022-08-31
  ‘This Is Not a Revolution': Shiite Cleric Tells Iraqi Rioters to Stop After 30 Deaths, 400 Wounded
Tue 2022-08-30
  32 Killed, 159 Injured in Libya Clashes; Death Toll Continues to Rise
Mon 2022-08-29
  Iraq Presidential Palace Stormed, US Embassy Helicopter Evacuation
Sun 2022-08-28
  Jewelry designer unmasked as Russian spy luring NATO chiefs into honeytraps
Sat 2022-08-27
  Five people shot dead in the center of Canada's capital
Fri 2022-08-26
  The Russians unsuccessfully advanced in the Avdiiv, Slavyan and Bakhmut directions
Thu 2022-08-25
  At least 15 killed, 50 more injured after the Russian missile strike on the railway station in Chaplyne near Dnipro
Wed 2022-08-24
  UN Warns Against Military Confrontation in Libyan Capital
Tue 2022-08-23
  Fauci stepping down as NIAID chief
Mon 2022-08-22
  Hadhramaut tribes mobilise against Islah Party militias
Sun 2022-08-21
  Mogadishu hotel attack, Day 2: After 30 hours it’s over - at least 30 toes up, including all Al Shabaab turbans, 40 maimed
Sat 2022-08-20
  ISIS 'Beatle' El Shafee Elsheikh sentenced to life in prison
Fri 2022-08-19
  Dbaiba vs Bashagha. Armed Groups Relocate Around Libyan Capital
Thu 2022-08-18
  Zamfara Govt Approves Death Penalty for Bandits, Kidnappers, Cultists
Wed 2022-08-17
  Cote d' Ivoire Soldiers Charged as Mercenaries In Mali

Better than the average link...



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