Alinsky’s methods work. The theater has been embarrassed into living up to their standards.
[IsraelTimes] A Chicago theater will hold a screening of “Bring the Family Home,” a documentary about campus antisemitism, days after canceling an advance screening of the film.
Rami Even-Esh, an Israeli-American Jewish rapper who uses the stage name Kosha Dillz, created the still-unfinished documentary about his music and life on college campuses after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel in which invaders killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages to Gaza.
He tells The Hollywood Reporter that the theater, Facets, changed its position Friday after media attention and outcry by Jewish groups. The theater will play the film in the coming weeks.
“This is incredible. I was practically crying on the Zoom [when informed of the decision],” Kosha Dillz tells The Hollywood Reporter, adding he will not shoot the ending of the movie when the screening is held.
Tuesday’s screening was also to feature a panel discussion with Kosha Dillz and Michael Kaminsky, a Jewish student who was assaulted last November in an alleged hate crime at the nearby DePaul University.
Before Tuesday’s screening could take place, Facets, an independent cinema in Chicago, canceled it. The theater announced the decision in a since-deleted post on Instagram that night that began with the sentence, “We are firmly not an antisemitic organization.”
It cited statements by the filmmaker, though it did not detail what he said.
[IsraelTimes] Flight from Jordan lands at Yemen’s Houthi-controlled main airport only week-and-a-half after strike destroyed the terminal and six planes, and left craters on its runway.
[X]
Just 11 days after the Israeli Air Force bombed Yemen's Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport, a first flight has landed, according to plane tracking sites.
The Yemenia flight from Amman was carrying 136 passengers, local media reports. pic.twitter.com/HDNR2oWDyd
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 17, 2025
#1
"Same targets as last time, boss?"
"Same list, but you need to update the coordinates. After all the ordnance we dropped last go-round, everything has shifted left about a meter and half."
"I'm on it!"
[Rudaw] Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... said on Saturday that his country is engaged in talks with its neighbors on disarmament of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
"Discussions are ongoing with our counterparts in neighboring countries regarding how the Death Eaters beyond our borders will surrender their weapons," Erdogan told news hounds on his return from Albania.
"The complete disarmament of the terrorist organization, the full implementation of the dissolution decision, and the abandonment of illegality are essential requirements," he added.
The PKK said on Monday that it had decided to "dissolve its organizational structure and end the armed struggle" against the Ottoman Turkish state. No timeline has been set.
The move, widely seen to include its disarmament, has been welcomed by regional and Western countries. A PKK spokesperson, however, said on Friday that the group has not decided to lay down arms yet as there has been no change to the security landscape in northern Kurdistan Region where they are headquartered and have been battling Ottoman Turkish forces.
Basim al-Awadi, spokesperson for the Iraqi government, said on Friday that Baghdad is willing to receive their weapons.
He also said that a potential PKK disarmament would boost Ankara-Baghdad relations and that if the process is done properly "this will certainly be encouraging and a factor in the withdrawal of all foreign forces from northern Iraq, that is, from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq."
The Ottoman Turkish army has established dozens of bases and outposts in northern Kurdistan Region on the pretext of fighting the PKK.
Erdogan said that the dissolution of the PKK "will also serve Iraq and Syria's peace, development, and stability."
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Baghdad has conducted in-depth discussions with the Ottoman Turkish authorities regarding next steps for the PKK.
"There are specific visions, and there will be cooperation between the federal government in Baghdad, the Ottoman Turkish government, and the Kurdistan Regional Government to deal with this important decision. We hope that this decision will be a step toward achieving peace and stability in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... member, but not the most reliable... and the region," he told journalists on Wednesday.
Iraq banned the PKK in March last year.
Founded in 1978, the PKK initially pursued an independent Kurdish state but later shifted its focus toward securing broader political and cultural rights for Kurds within Turkey. Turkey, the United States, and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... continue to list it as a terrorist organization.
[Rudaw] An Iraqi government spokesperson said on Friday that Baghdad is willing to receive weapons from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which this week announced it has decided to dissolve itself and end its armed struggle against the Turkish state.
“Iraq is ready to cooperate with Turkey and the Turkish Kurdistan Workers' Party in receiving weapons," Basim al-Awadi told Rudaw, adding that Iraq has presented "initiatives that it is also ready to deal with this issue from both humanitarian and relief aspects."
He said that a potential PKK disarmament would significantly contribute to Ankara-Baghdad relations and that if the process is done properly “this will certainly be encouraging and a factor in the withdrawal of all foreign forces from northern Iraq, that is, from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq."
The Turkish army has established dozens of bases and outposts in northern Kurdistan Region on the pretext of battling the PKK.
The PKK said on Monday that it had decided to “dissolve its organizational structure and end the armed struggle” against Ankara. The move, widely seen to include its disarmament, has been welcomed by regional and Western countries. No timeline has been set.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told journalists on Wednesday that they have conducted in-depth discussions with the Turkish authorities regarding the PKK’s disarmament.
“There are specific visions, and there will be cooperation between the federal government in Baghdad, the Turkish government, and the Kurdistan Regional Government to deal with this important decision. We hope that this decision will be a step toward achieving peace and stability in Turkey and the region,” he said.
Iraq banned the PKK in March last year ahead of a visit from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan when the two sides signed agreements in various fields, including security.
A PKK spokesperson said on Friday that the group has not decided to lay down arms yet, saying there has been no change to the security landscape in northern Kurdistan Region where the group is based and battling Turkish forces.
“No one has talked about laying down and surrendering weapons. The caves and tunnels of resistance in Zap and Metina are still surrounded by the Turkish state and the KDP,” Zagros Hiwa, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Community Union’s (KCK) foreign relations department, told the PKK-affiliated Sterk TV.
KCK is an umbrella organization consisting of several groups including the PKK.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is the most powerful political party in the Kurdistan Region and enjoys close relations with Turkey. The PKK has often accused it of supporting Ankara in anti-PKK operations.
“The distance between the guerrilla fighters and the Turkish occupying soldiers is 50 meters, 100 meters. In such a situation, how can one lay down weapons?” asked Hiwa. “Before we talk about laying down weapons, we need to talk about the withdrawal of the Turkish occupying army from the soil of Southern Kurdistan [Kurdistan Region]. It's too early to define this situation as a process.”
Iraqi government spokesperson Awadi said that the mechanism of the PKK’s potential disarmament will be discussed in talks between intelligence agencies of Iraq, Turkey and the Kurdistan Region.
This is not the first time Iraq has been involved in disarming a Kurdish group. A security pact signed between Iran and Iraq in March 2023 saw Baghdad agree to disarm Iranian Kurdish opposition groups and secure the border regions. The groups are being relocated within the Kurdistan Region.
Awadi said Baghdad intends to apply "the same mechanisms that we used with the Kurdish Iranian opposition inside Iraq, including weapons surrender and finding alternatives with the participation of the international community and organizations."
Turkey has named the peace efforts “terror-free Turkey.” During an event in Istanbul on Friday, Erdogan said that the 40 years of war with the PKK has affected the economy.
“We have also suffered a lot economically. We have had to allocate resources of nearly two trillion dollars to this issue. We have faced numerous problems in politics and democracy as well as in our unity and solidarity," he said.
"We have had to grapple with this issue besides other troubles in international relations. Our brotherhood has been harmed because of terrorism. Our development journey proceeded very slowly because of terrorism. Now, we are taking our steps very determinedly and yet very carefully to free our country and our nation from this scourge once and for all. We will not stop until we reach our target. We will definitely achieve the goal of a terror-free Turkey,” he said.
[OneIndia] Operation Sindoor, launched in response to the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, was India's forceful and calculated military retaliation, targeting nine terror bases in Pakistain and Pakistain-occupied Kashmir ...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.... . But it wasn't just firepower that stunned the Pakistain military - it was strategic deception.
According to an ANI report citing top defence sources, the Indian Air Force (IAF) used unmanned aircraft disguised as fighter jets to confuse and disable Pakistain's Chinese-supplied HQ-9 air defence systems during the May 9-10 offensive.
Before launching its long-range missile strikes, the IAF deployed decoy aircraft camouflaged to mimic real jets. Pak radars, mistaking them for actual fighters, scrambled to intercept, triggering the activation of their missile defence systems and unintentionally revealing key locations.
Pakistain's Air Force responded by redeploying HQ-9 launchers and radars across different sites - some newly activated - but these, too, were detected by Indian surveillance.
With the deception complete, the IAF launched a barrage of missiles, including BrahMos, Scalp, Rampage, and Crystal Maze. Around 15 BrahMos missiles were reportedly used, marking their first known use in active combat. The strikes targeted and damaged airstrips, hangars, communication nodes, and reportedly took out an airborne early warning aircraft and drones in Sindh.
Sources told ANI the airbase strikes were so precise and overwhelming that Pakistain dropped any plans for retaliation and urgently sought DGMO-level talks to de-escalate the situation.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF OPERATION SINDOOR:
Planning & Execution: The mission was coordinated by the Western and Southwestern Air Commands.
Defensive Measures: Pak counterattacks involving cruise missiles and unmanned combat drones were mostly thwarted by India's S-400, MRSAM, Akash, and other defence systems.
Ceasefire & Tensions: Shortly after the strikes, India and Pakistain agreed to an immediate ceasefire across land, air, and sea. However,
those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... within hours, a series of drone sightings and explosions were reported in Jammu and Kashmir, prompting India to activate its air defence to neutralise potential threats.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Palestinian movement Hamas called on participants in the Arab League summit in Baghdad to impose sanctions against Israel. Representatives of the movement reported this on social networks. There will be lots of indignant talk, and probably some mustache cursing, but in the end too many of them need Israel to stand between them and Iraq’s nukes.
“We call for fulfilling our historic role and taking practical steps to stop Israeli aggression against Gaza and lift the blockade on it, and we also demand that Arab countries and the entire international community immediately impose sanctions on Israel,” the statement said.
The movement also demanded that the Israeli authorities be condemned “as war criminals,” since “hundreds of people are dying and being injured” in Gaza.
As reported by Regnum, on May 7, the Al Jazeera television channel stated that at least 66 people were killed in just one day as a result of the IDF attacks on the Gaza Strip. Dozens of civilians were injured, and several areas of the enclave, including refugee camps, were subjected to bombing and artillery shelling.
On May 1, Gaza Health Director General Munir al-Barash called on the UN to declare the enclave a famine zone. According to him, about 91% of residents face critical food shortages, and another 65% do not have access to clean drinking water.
On May 16, the chairman of the council of imams of Kizlyar and the Kizlyar region, Muhammadhabib Magomedov, reported that five volunteers of the Dagestani charity foundation Insan were killed as a result of the bombing of the Jabaliya camp in the Gaza Strip. According to him, the volunteers were distributing money to those in need when the tragedy occurred.
[IsraelTimes] Terror group says negotiations in Qatar held ‘without preconditions’; Israel’s Katz argues Gaza op brought Hamas to table; teams said discussing 2-month truce with US involvement
A new round of negotiations for a Gazoo ceasefire and hostage deal between Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... and Israel began in 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... on Saturday after the Israeli military launched its new expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip, according to both Israeli and Hamas officials.
Hamas confirmed a new round of talks was underway. Terror group official Taher al-Nono told Rooters that both sides were discussing all issues without "preconditions."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Israel’s negotiating team to remain in Qatar for the time being, an Israeli official said late Saturday, in a move widely seen as indicating wary optimism about prospects for progress.
Netanyahu was in continuous contact throughout Saturday with the delegation, with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and with US envoy Steve Witkoff, "in an effort to dissuade Hamas from its refusal and to advance a deal for the release of our hostages," the official said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz argued that it was the start of the new campaign that had brought Hamas to the table.
Israeli and Hamas delegations had traveled to Qatar earlier in the week after the terror group released American-Israeli hostage soldier Edan Alexander, as part of an agreement with Washington that did not involve Israel and ahead of US President Donald Trump ...They hit him with slander, they impeached him twice. Nancy Pelosi tore up his State of the Union address on national TV. They stole an election and put his adherents in jail. They vilified him. They couldn't crucify him, so they shot him. Still, they can't keep him down... ’s visit to the region.
However,
the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... according to reports, those talks made little progress, with both sides entrenched in their usual positions: Israel demanding a temporary truce only so long as Hamas is undefeated, and the terror organization insisting on an end to the war.
On Saturday morning, Katz said in a statement: "With the launch of Operation Gideon’s Chariots in Gaza, led with great force by IDF command, the Hamas delegation in Doha announced a return to negotiations on a hostage deal, contrary to the intransigent stance they had taken up until that moment."
He added, "The heroism of IDF soldiers, the unity of the people, and the determination of the politicianship increase the chances of bringing back the hostages."
Hamas’s Nono said the group was "keen to exert all the effort needed" to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was "no certain offer on the table."
The Qatari al-Araby al-Jadeed news site cited an unnamed senior Hamas source as saying negotiators in Doha were discussing a two-month truce deal during which talks would be held on ending the war. According to the source, there would be clear involvement from Washington to ensure that the agreement would be implemented.
Kan news reported that the deal on the table would see the release of 10 living captives for a one-and-a-half-to-two-month-long ceasefire. Around 200-250 Paleostinian prisoners would be released by Israel as part of such a deal, the report said, adding that the specific number remains a point of contention. Hamas would also hand over a list detailing the status of all remaining living and dead hostages on the 10th day of the ceasefire, the report said.
Channel 12 news reported, citing Egyptian sources, that Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya was meeting with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed al-Thani Saturday night
An Israeli official told Channel 12 that the talks in Doha were "serious," but that "Hamas needs to understand they must agree to the Witkoff framework, and if not, the ground offensive will begin soon" in Gaza.
In March, US Special Envoy Witkoff proposed a temporary ceasefire of some 40 days in exchange for the release of about half of the remaining living hostages, and Israel has hoped to advance such an agreement.
Hamas has so far rejected partial deals, instead insisting on an agreement that would permanently end the war.
A Paleostinian source cited by the Kan public broadcaster on Saturday night asserted that the main obstacle to a deal is whether Israel will agree to give assurances that it won’t resume the war in Gaza after all the hostages are released. Hamas is demanding such international guarantees, including from the United States, in the current negotiations, the source said.
Hamas has said it is prepared to cede control of the Strip and agree to a year-long truce with Israel that includes security guarantees. However,
the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... it has long refused demands that it permanently disarm.
[IsraelTimes] Jake Wood of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation tells CNN other aid organizations ‘face a choice. This is the mechanism by which aid can be distributed. Are you willing to participate?’
The executive director of the newly established 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 a rusty iron fist by Hamas with 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... Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), Jake Wood, told CNN ...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for... on Saturday that conditions in Gaza are "clearly urgent," but that he expected positive updates on bringing in aid in the coming days. Wood couldn’t confirm when or how many aid trucks Israel would allow into Gaza.
The US- and Israel-backed aid organization, established to manage a new model for distributing humanitarian assistance in Gaza, announced on Wednesday that it would begin operating in the enclave by the end of the month and that Israel would lift its more than two-month blockade in the interim.
There was no Israeli confirmation of the announcement, but an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that one would be made in the coming days.
GHF is an organization that will oversee the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza in a manner that does not allow its diversion by Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... . It was established in close coordination with Israel amid mounting mistrust between Jerusalem and UN-backed aid groups that have been operating in the Strip to date.
GHF is backed by the Trump administration, but the rollout has been rocky, with many international organizations refusing to cooperate with it due to the strict conditions Israel is placing on its operations.
Among those restrictions was a limit on aid distribution sites to just four, all located in southern Gaza. Even GHF acknowledged in a memo earlier in May that the sites would only be enough to, at best, feed 60% of Gaza’s population.
Accordingly, GHF said in its inaugural Wednesday statement that it had asked and received Israeli approval for additional "Safe Distribution Sites" (SDSs) to be established throughout Gaza. The statement didn’t say how many SDSs Israel agreed to build. As of last week, only one SDS was in the process of construction by the Israel Defense Forces.
Wood agreed that the current number of distribution sites was "not sufficient" but added that it was "hard to say" if the foundation could do more without support from UN agencies.
"This plan is not perfect, but this plan will be feeding people by the end of the month, in a scenario where no one has allowed aid in over the course of the last 10 weeks," Wood, former CEO of the Team Rubicon disaster relief group, said in his first interview since starting the foundation.
"Ultimately, the community is going to face a choice. This is going to be the mechanism by which aid can be distributed in Gaza. Are you willing to participate? The answer is going to be, you know, pretty critical to whether or not this ramps up to sufficiently feed 2.2 million people in a very desperate situation."
Wood said he thinks the humanitarian community’s opposition to the foundation is due to "misinformation" about an Israeli role or involvement in the distribution, or claims that data would be shared with Jerusalem.
"I would not have participated in a plan that did those same things. However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... that is not the plan," Wood said, adding that he "unequivocally ... will not be a part of anything that forcibly dislocates or displaces the Paleostinian population."
GHF said it would launch operations by the end of May, but acknowledged that it would take time before it would be fully operational. Accordingly, the foundation said Israel has agreed "to allow the flow of transitional aid into Gaza under existing mechanisms" until the construction of "Safe Distribution Sites" is complete.
GHF said it secured the concession from Israel after Wood sent a letter to the Israeli government that outlined the organization’s requirements for operation.
The organization said this week it was in the "final stages" of securing enough food from aid organizations already operating in Gaza to box 300 million meals within the first 90 days of operation.
Meanwhile,
...back at the pond, the enormous newt was trying to decide if Gloria was edible... Trump officials have been meeting in recent days with representatives from UN agencies and other international aid organizations, pressuring them to cooperate with the plan and, in at least one case, threatening to cut funding from groups that refuse.
Two organizations that have agreed to join the effort are American security firms UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions, who will be tasked with running logistics and security at the SDSs so that the IDF does not need to be directly involved, the Israeli official told The Times of Israel, adding that the military will only secure the perimeter of a still-being-built humanitarian zone where the SDSs will be located.
Israel has blocked aid from entering Gaza since March 2, arguing that enough assistance entered Gaza during a six-week ceasefire and that Hamas was diverting aid from civilians. Nonetheless, the IDF has warned the political echelon that the Strip is on the brink of starvation, the Israeli official told The Times of Israel.
In his letter to the Israeli government, Wood sought to address some of the concerns. He said the foundation would not share any personally identifiable information of aid recipients with Israel.
Wood also asked in the letter to the IDF to "identify and deconflict sufficient locations in northern Gaza capable of hosting GHF-operated secure distribution sites that can be made operational within thirty days."
The GHF statement did not address all of the criticism and unanswered questions that the international community has about the group, including who would fund the work and how much involvement the US, Israel, or any other government or military would have in controlling life-saving aid for Paleostinian civilians.
[IsraelTimes] As reports claim there’s a rift between them, US president says Israeli PM has ‘been hurt badly’ by Hamas-led October 7 attack, adds ‘he’s got a tough situation’ on his hands
US President Donald Trump ...They hit him with slander, they impeached him twice. Nancy Pelosi tore up his State of the Union address on national TV. They stole an election and put his adherents in jail. They vilified him. They couldn't crucify him, so they shot him. Still, they can't keep him down... said in an interview Saturday that he is not frustrated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appearing to downplay claims of a rift between the two leaders, saying that he understands Netanyahu’s anger with Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... Trump visited the Middle East this week, skipping Israel but stopping in Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... , 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... and the United Arab Emirates, leading government critics to warn Israel was being left out of Washington’s regional diplomatic initiatives as Netanyahu’s government continues the war in 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 a rusty iron fist by Hamas with 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... Asked by Fox News if he was frustrated by the prime minister, Trump responded: "No, look, he’s got a tough situation. You have to remember, there was October 7 that everyone forgets. It was one of the most violent mostly peaceful days in the history of the world — not the Middle East, the world, when you look at the tapes."
Trump claimed, as he often has, that the massacre in southern Israel by Hamas-led bully boyz on October 7, 2023, would have never happened under his watch, arguing that Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... had been broke under his first administration and would not have been able to fund the Paleostinian terror group’s activities.
That attack, which sparked the ongoing war, killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and resulted in the capture of 251 hostages who were taken to Gaza. Of them, 57 are still held captive, 34 of whom are confirmed dead by Israel.
"Bibi, he’s an angry man, and he should be because of October 7, and he’s been hurt badly by that, but in another way, he’s been sort of helped because I think he’s fought hard and bravely," Trump added, using Netanyahu’s nickname.
Trump has repeatedly denied reports of a rift between him and Netanyahu, insisting that his choice to not visit Israel during his trip to the region was not a snub, despite making several policy decisions without Israeli input or against Israel’s wishes, such as the ongoing Iran nuclear talks, the decision to restore ties with and lift sanctions from Syria, and the US ceasefire with the Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...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 legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. 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 They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... rebels 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... On Wednesday, Trump said his visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates was "good for Israel," adding that "having a relationship like I have with these countries... I think it’s very good for Israel."
Netanyahu also denied the reported rift, calling his relationship with Trump "excellent."
Despite the denials, Channel 13 reported last week that people in Netanyahu’s inner circle have expressed unusually harsh criticism toward the Trump administration in recent weeks.
"There’s chaos in the Trump administration — the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing," said a senior figure close to the premier, according to the report.
"It’s not even clear if this has anything to do with us. Everything operates according to the president’s whims. Sometimes that works in our favor, and sometimes it doesn’t," the source said.
Citing unnamed US officials, NBC reported last week that Netanyahu was growing increasingly frustrated with the US approach to Iran amid the nuclear talks, seemingly the largest point of contention between the two leaders.
Speaking to NBC, one US official said Israel was "worried about any deal" that the US could sign with Iran to thwart its nuclear ambitions.
To that end, two US officials said Netanyahu has privately dismissed the negotiations as a waste of time, arguing that even if a deal is forged, Tehran would inevitably break it.
Israel would rather take action and strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, the report said, and believes that the opportunity to do so is shrinking further the longer talks continue.
Jerusalem is reportedly unhappy that the ongoing US-Iran talks are said to be developing into a largely similar framework to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, which was signed by then-US president Barack Obama They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them... and was panned at the time by Netanyahu as disastrous for Israel. Trump withdrew from that deal in 2018.
Under the terms now being discussed, according to reports, Iran would limit stockpile size and centrifuge types, and dilute, export or seal its 60 percent uranium stock under unprecedented ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) scrutiny, in exchange for substantial sanctions relief.
This approach has not aligned with Netanyahu’s longtime position, which is that Israel will not allow Iran to attain nuclear weapons and is opposed to any talks that don’t lead Iran to agree to a "Libya-style agreement," under which Tehran’s entire nuclear program — both military and civilian — would be dismantled completely.
[IsraelTimes] The German current affairs show Panorama says it acquired the full, highly classified document reported by German tabloid Bild in September, claiming that the publication seriously distorted the file.
While Bild presented the document as evidence that Hamas was not interested in reaching a serious ceasefire-hostage deal with Israel, Panorama says the full document shows Hamas was ready to be flexible in arrangements and sought a truce for 84 days with a pathway to ending the war.
If the pathway did not involve Hamas completely disarming, exile from Gaza, and returning all hostages living and dead, it was merely a hudna proposal at best, not a viable offer.
The Bild report excluded this information and presents Hamas as indifferent to whether the ongoing war ends quickly. It reported that it instead prioritized maintaining the terror group’s military capabilities, “exhausting” Israel’s military and political apparatuses, and increasing international pressure on Israel.
Bild reported that the document was found on a computer in Gaza that belonged to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. It later became apparent that the document was written by lower-level officials in the terror group and did not necessarily reflect the leadership’s position.
Indeed.
The document was allegedly unlawfully removed from the IDF’s military intelligence database by the reservist — a non-commissioned officer (NCO) — who gave it to Eli Feldstein, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who saw to it that it was transferred to Bild, though he was aware that it was obtained illicitly and that the military censorship had barred the information from publication.
#3
"It is the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet."
Hassan al-Banna
This is the mission statement of the MB, Hamas being the "Palestinian" chapter of the MB.
There's no need to do exegesis on secret documents to understand the nature of Hamas, Qatar, Iran etc.
A reminder: Y’all have been conquered. That means your only option is to surrender, so please get in with it. NOW.
[Rudaw] Syria’s defense minister announced on Saturday that all armed units have been integrated into the Ministry of Defense, unifying the country’s armed forces, though he gave "remaining small military groups" a ten-day deadline to complete the process.
"Today, we convey to our honorable people the news of the integration of all units into the Syrian Ministry of Defense," Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said in a post on X.
He said that the process to unify all the armed units under a single institutional structure began immediately following the end of the former regime.
"Given the importance of institutional work, we stress the need for the remaining small military groups to join the ministry within a maximum period of 10 days from the date of this announcement, in order to complete the efforts of unification and organization," he added, warning that any delay complying would be dealt with under the law.
In December, the rebel coalition, including Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else ...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State... (HTS) that led the final offensive to oust Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... , agreed to merge into the Syrian defense ministry.
The Syrian Democratic forces (SDF), which control the northeast, signed an agreement with Damascus on March 10, to integrate "all civil and military institutions in northeast Syria [Rojava] under the administration of the Syrian state, including border crossings, the [Qamishli International] Airport, and oil and gas fields."
Despite this deal, Kurds in Rojava are concerned about key decisions the new authorities in Damascus have made to centralize authority. The Damascus leadership in late April censured SDF's call for federalism, saying it contradicts their agreement.
Syria’s new authorities, led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, have dissolved the army and security agencies linked to the Assad government.
The new administration also dissolved all armed factions including Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the lightning offensive that toppled Assad in December.
Factions that agreed to dissolve were integrated into the defense ministry, and General Security, the country’s new police, opened the door to recruits as part of both institutions’ efforts to create a new army and security force.
Factions from Daraa in the south, as well as The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... -backed factions in the north and Islamist groups also joined the ministry’s forces.
These factions have retained their weapons and remain deployed in their areas of operation.
But HTS and Islamist groups aligned with it remain dominant, especially in their original stronghold in Idlib in the northwest and in Damascus.
Syria’s new authorities face major challenges preventing them from asserting control over all of the war-torn country, including the presence of gangs with varying loyalties.
The main challenge for Abu Qasra, who as a rebel commander led the offensive that overthrew Assad, is building a new national army.
[Rudaw] Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> said on Saturday that the United States "must and will leave" the Middle East and described President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... ’s remarks during his recent trip to the region as shameful.
In a televised address, Khamenei lamented that Washington is trying to convince Arab countries that they cannot survive without American support. "This model has definitely failed," he said. "With the struggles of regional nations, the US must and will leave this region."
"Some of the remarks made during the US president’s trip to the region aren’t even worth a response at all. The level of those remarks is so low that they are a source of shame for the American nation," Khamenei said on X.
Trump on Friday concluded a major Gulf tour - his first since returning to office - where he secured long-term partnerships and investments worth trillions of dollars.
Speaking at the US-Saudi Investment Forum 2025 on Tuesday, Trump labeled Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... the "most destructive force" behind instability in the region.
He said that while "Iran will never have a nuclear weapon," it could still have "a much brighter future" if it chooses a path of peace, referencing the ongoing Oman-mediated nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran.
"I want to make a deal with Iran," Trump added, but warned that "if Iran's leadership rejects this olive branch and continues to attack their neighbors, then we will have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure, drive Iranian oil exports to zero like I did before."
"Iran has a choice... between continuing its chaos and terror or embracing peace," the US president said, adding, "We don't have much time to wait."
In his response, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday criticized Trump for making "remarks that reveal his profound misunderstanding of the Iranian people" and rejected "the claim that Iran is a source of insecurity."
Indirect talks between Iran and the US over Tehran’s nuclear program began on April 12 in Oman.
The revived talks represent the most substantive engagement between the two countries since the unraveling of the 2015 nuclear deal under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
In 2018, during his first term in office, Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the deal and reimposed sweeping sanctions on Tehran. In response, Iran began gradually scaling back its commitments under the deal.
Tehran has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes and that the pursuit of nuclear weapons contradicts the principles of the Islamic Theocratic Republic.
#2
It's being floated that Trump will cut a deal with Iran, pull the rug out from under Israel and declare AIPAC a foreign agent.
This is a color revolution against Netanyahu. What's next, forged polls showing no support for Netanyahu?
Stop Trump from meddling in Isreali politics. Those are for Isrealis to decide, not Americans! Stay out!
#3
"Floated"? By who? You. Try a reality check sometime
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/18/2025 5:57 Comments ||
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#4
You haven't seen it? They're pushing this Trump/Netanyahu rift thing to try to cause the government crushing Hamas to fall. if Trump tries any bullshit he's going to feel the full fury of AIPAC. Don't mess with Israel.
#5
My thoughts, with no understanding of military matters whatsoever:
“They” are indeed pushing the idea hard. But I think we just saw with the Houthis how PM Netanyahu is handling it: Israel held off while President Trump made his deal, a deal that only applied to America. And as soon as America disengaged, Israel dropped the hammer, sending a fleet of airplanes to pound the Hodeidah ports used for receiving shipments from Iran. And for all the talk about how America is incapable of really damaging the Houthis, and how the Houthis so easily shoot down American planes and drones, they haven’t managed to do touch or stop Israel’s.
As soon as President Trump was sworn in, America started shipping the really heavy bombs that Israel needs to destroy Iran’s underground nuclear sites. They have not yet been used, assuredly not because Bibi has forgotten he has them, or that the IAF wiped out Iran’s entire anti-system.
#7
#3
If you go to the CNN or MSNBC, Drudge, major network websites you will read about "friction" between Trump and Netanyahu. It's out there daily. So Gepids has a point.
#8
Many of the Israeli news sites, too. And all the noisy Israeli opposition have been fussing about it, as well as some of Bibi’s more nervous allies.
But President Trump has openly been threatening Iran with the Israeli attack dog, if Iran does not quickly negotiate a surrender on the nuclear thing. There’s also this post today, about what he’s thinking about Hamas.
#9
All those 2,000 pound bombs were used up on targets in Gaza.
Iran needs to be taken out by the USA. Iran is just too big for the IDF to handle by itself.
And what is Trump doing? Deals with the genocidal enemy! Hamas' biggest sponsor! Hezbollah! Terrorist groups all over the region. Regime change in Iran and all of these problems are over. Trump is resisting this obvious solution, which is a huge problem. Americans need to come together and make it unambiguously clear that we stand with Israel and that Iran is America's enemy as much as it is Israel's.
#10
America was trying to exit the Persian Gulf in 90 when I was there. Iran is not a good place for ground troops and the being beyond the Straights of Hormuz becomes a fist fight in a phone booth for the USN. The Abraham Accord structure is a good way to isolate Iran. Dropping the price of oil is an excellent way to hamstring their shenanigans. If they go nuclear, it won’t do them any more good than it has done NK.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/18/2025 11:21 Comments ||
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#11
All those 2,000 pound bombs were used up on targets in Gaza.
Do you mean Lebanon? I thought they were using precision stuff in Gaza, with much of the destruction coming from the secondaries, ie. Hamas weapons cooking off.
But the big Hezbollah bombings happened before President Trump was sworn in, and Trump opened the spigot immediately afterward.
#12
the IDF reportedly used several dozen 2k# bombs in Lebanon
they have lots more but I'm not sure the IDF could deliver them on targets in Iran
I agree with others that the best way to hurt the klepto-mullahocracy is by keeping the price of oil to $55-60/bar plus tighter sanctions. It will be difficult to get the IGRC to abandon the regime but this is crucial to success.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
05/18/2025 12:24 Comments ||
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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.
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it 
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
