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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
SAS soldier cut head off jihadi with a SPADE after running out of ammo
Today's Headlines
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 3: Non-WoT
1 20:11 Zhang Fei [10]
1 11:05 Mike Kozlowski [3]
4 13:21 Seeking cure for ignorance [5]
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4 13:25 g(r)omgoru [4]
1 10:47 Raj [2]
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Page 4: Opinion
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1 13:53 Abu Uluque [9]
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1 08:32 DooDahMan [4]
9 20:43 swksvolFF [6]
9 18:01 Frank G [6]
5 15:19 Besoeker [3]
6 22:35 Anomalous Sources [6]
3 11:56 Thing From Snowy Mountain [8]
4 09:18 Procopius2k [8]
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Page 6: Politix
2 12:46 Sock Puppet of Doom [4]
8 21:31 Zenobia Floger6220 [6]
8 17:03 rjschwarz [5]
11 17:40 magpie [9]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Court Orders Antifa Organizer to Pay $11,000 for Filing Frivolous Restraining Order
[BREITBART] A court in California has ordered Antifa organizer Yvette Felarca to pay $11,000 after she filed a frivolous restraining order against former Berkeley College Republicans President Troy Worden.

In 2017, Antifa organizer Yvette Felarca filed a restraining order against former UC Berkeley College Republican president Troy Worden, citing two alleged incidents of harassment. Worden’s attorney alleges that Felarca made up two false accusations of harassment against him. He claims that Felarca used two incidents in which Worden made eye contact with her on campus as a basis for the restraining order.

Now, a California court has ordered Felarca to pay a $11,000 fine for filing a frivolous lawsuit. The funds will go directly to covering Worden’s attorney fees. In a press release, attorney Harmeet Dhillon suggested that the fine signals that Antifa can’t use the courts to silence their political opponents. “Felarca and her fellow travelers in BAMN [By Any Means Necessary]/Antifa need to learn that the California courts are not their personal plaything to use and abuse at will by filing baseless and vexatious lawsuits,” she said in the release.

“By ruling that she did not demonstrate good faith in filing the restraining order, the court recognized the frivolous nature of Felarca’s actions,” Worden’s attorney, Mark Meuser, added. “The award of attorney fees should send a strong signal that she cannot abuse the court system to silence speech.”

Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Antifa

#1  maybe Antifa can't use restraining orders to silence speech but UC Berkeley can and does use its administration in that way
Posted by: lord garth || 01/07/2018 8:56 Comments || Top||

#2  Find out who pays her judgement and broadcast it far and wide.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 01/07/2018 10:41 Comments || Top||

#3  And she teaches young minds at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Berkeley
Posted by: Frank G || 01/07/2018 11:01 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Ethiopia Arrests 107 Relating To Regional Conflicts
[RADIOSHABELLE] The Æthiopian government has placed in durance vile
I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
107 individuals relating to recent conflict along the border of Somali and Oromia regional states, an official said on Friday.

Abiyu Assefa, Commissioner of Æthiopia Federal Police Commission, gave the figure during a report to the Æthiopian Parliament.

He further said 98 of the suspects apprehended relating to the violence are from Oromia regional states while nine are from Somali regional state.

Heavy festivities along the 1500 km Oromia-Somali boundary in September spilt into ethnic violence that left hundreds of thousands displaced and an undisclosed number of people dead.

Oromia and Somali regional states have been locked in a dispute over the delineation of their common boundary for almost two decades.

A referendum in October 2004 was supposed to demarcate the boundary between the two regional states, but its implementation has been stalled ever since with both sides accusing each other of non-compliance.

The Æthiopian government has further pointed to competition to control illegal Khat trade as another reason for the conflict.

Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


Sudan sends troops to border after Egypt deploys own forces in Eritrea
[PRESSTV] The Sudanese army has deployed thousands of forces on the eastern border with Eritrea
...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age...
after Egypt, in coordination with the United Arab Emirates, dispatched its forces to a base in Eritrea.

The Sudanese forces have been stationed at a garrison in the border state of Kassala, as both Sudan and Æthiopia have shut down their borders with Eritrea, Sudan Tribune reported on Saturday.

The troops were deployed in anticipation of a possible influx of Eritrean refugees to Sudan’s border, the report said.

The deployment of forces came as Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it.
has declared a state of emergency in Kasala and in North Kordofan state for six months.

According to the Sudanese newspaper Assayha, the Æthiopian government has also dispatched military reinforcements to the border with Eritrea and Sudan.

The newspaper cited Æthiopian sources as saying that the deployment of Sudanese forces came after Eritrean military reinforcements, backed by Egypt, as well as rebel movements from the Darfur region in western Sudan, were stationed at Sawa base near the Sudanese-Eritrean border.

According to Al Jazeera, a number of military and security leaders from Egypt, the UAE, Eritrea and the Sudanese rebels have held a meeting at Sawa base.

Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan


Africa North
UN rights office raises alarm over Egypt executions
[Al Jazeera] The United Nations
...where theory meets practice and practice loses...
human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
office has expressed "deep shock" and concern over the reported executions of 20 people in Egypt over the past two weeks.

Due process and fair trial guarantees appear to have been disregarded, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) noted in a statement issued on Friday.

On January 2, five men were reportedly hanged in Alexandria after being sentenced to death by an Egyptian military court; four had been convicted over a 2015 blast in Kafr al-Sheikh that killed three military recruits and injured two others.

"We understand the defendants were tried by military judges on the basis of legislation that refers cases of destruction of public property to military courts and in view of the victims being from the Egyptian Military Academy," OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell told news hounds in Geneva. "Civilians should only be tried in military or special courts in exceptional cases."

Previously, on December 26, a group of 15 men convicted on "terrorism" charges over the 2013 deaths of soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula were executed.

Military courts typically deny defendants the rights afforded by civilian courts, Throssell said, citing reports "that the prisoners who were executed may have been subjected to initial enforced disappearance and torture before being tried".

The UN human rights office has urged Egyptian authorities to "reconsider" the use of the death penalty
, noting that executions "should not be used as a means to combat terrorism".

Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  The UN human rights office has urged Egyptian authorities to "reconsider" the use of the death penalty, noting that executions "should not be used as a means to combat terrorism".

Gee. I wonder why this war is taking so long.
Posted by: gorb || 01/07/2018 0:49 Comments || Top||

#2  executions "should not be used as a means to combat terrorism".

I dunno. While Havahart traps might be used for the odd raccoon, lethal mousetraps are the go-to method for dealing with vermin infestations. (Oh, the humanity rodentia!)
Posted by: SteveS || 01/07/2018 12:00 Comments || Top||


Egypt in tight security ahead of Coptic Christmas celebrations
[PRESSTV] Egyptian authorities have beefed up security as the country’s minority Coptic Christians prepare their celebrations for the Orthodox Christmas.

Tens of thousands of soldiers and police were on duty across Egypt as of Saturday, a day before the Coptic Christians mass to celebrate the holy occasion.

A focus of the heavy deployment was an unfinished cathedral in Egypt's new Administrative Capital east of Cairo. Pope Tawadros II was to lead Christmas Mass later in the day in the Nativity of Christ, the first time in living memory that the event is not held in the seat of the orthodox church in St. Mark's Cathedral in central Cairo. Around 3,000 people, including President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, were expected to attend the Mass.

The beef-up in deployment comes amid the fragile security in Egypt, especially for the country’s minority Copts, who have been the target of frequent attacks by turbans in the recent past. A branch of ISIS, a Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed...
terrorist group now on its last legs in Iraq and Syria, has been behind high-profile assaults on the Coptic Christians, killing more than a hundred over the past two years.

Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Egyptian military acquisitions 2017: A timeline
A lovely graphic with images of some of the new toys can be seen at the link. Enjoy!
[AlAhram] The Armed Forces made a quantum leap in its weapons and defence systems in 2017. The military’s weapons development and procurement programme secured a qualitative edge for the navy, air force and army. The Egyptian navy is the first in the region to acquire an aircraft carrier and state-of-the-art multipurpose Gowind corvettes.

The drive to build Egypt’s military capabilities entailed infrastructural and human resource development. The renovation and expansion of the Mohammed Naguib and Sidi Barrani military bases were part of a comprehensive drive to upgrade seaports, airports, landing strips, roads, bridges and other essential infrastructure and facilities. The military continued to sponsor joint training exercises and manoeuvres with regional and international partners staged in crucial strategic locations.

Multilateral exercises focusing on the Gulf region were conducted alongside other bilateral drills: the Zayed manoeuvres with the UAE; the Faisal manoeuvres with Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
; the Hamad drills with Bahrain; the Yarmouk operations with Kuwait and the Aqaba manoeuvres with Jordan. Egypt also took part in the Cleopatra 2017 manoeuvres with La Belle France, the Defenders of Friendship tactical exercises with Russia and the Bright Star manoeuvres with the US. The latter resumed for the first time since the January 2011 Revolution.

Egypt continued to diversify its sources of armaments. In addition to procurements from its conventional source of arms, the US, Egypt acquired major military hardware and electronic systems from Russia, La Belle France and Germany.

To meet escalating regional and international challenges the Armed Forces identified new theatres of operation. The restructuring that led to the launch of the Southern Fleet was necessary to address mounting threats in the Red Sea, including those posed by the ongoing war in Yemen. The upgrading of the Mohammed Naguib and Sidi Barrani bases in north-western Egypt not only allows the army to better perform its conventional functions but also to undertake new tasks related to combating illegal migration and cross-border infiltration and safeguarding newly discovered economic resources such as the offshore natural gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/07/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  first in the region to acquire an aircraft helicopter carrier and state-of-the-art multipurpose Gowind corvettes.
Posted by: Frank G || 01/07/2018 8:34 Comments || Top||

#2  I wonder exactly what Egypt thinks of the Neo-Ottoman designs on Africa.

Somehow I doubt they look kindly on them.
Posted by: AlanC || 01/07/2018 9:08 Comments || Top||

#3  The Egyptian army is hard pressed to deal with jihadis at home and just across the border in Libya, Alan. They pushed back against Saudi demands for aid in Yemen as long as they dared, given how badly they’ve needed Saudi charity in recent years. They ended up providing only naval support, not invasion troops as the Saudis had wanted, as I recall.

However much Egypt might resent neo-Ottoman adventures, they cannot afford a local Monroe doctrine.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/07/2018 10:33 Comments || Top||

#4  Entities a lot more important, and powerful, than Egypt have New Ottoman Empire in their sights.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/07/2018 11:31 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Situation in Yemen looks like apocalypse: UN
[PRESSTV] The United Nations
...an idea whose time has gone...
has warned that Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
could become the world’s worst humanitarian disaster in half a century as the war-torn country is grappling with deadly cholera and diphtheria outbreaks amid a devastating Saudi war.

"The situation in Yemen - today, right now, to the population of the country - looks like the apocalypse," Mark Lowcock, the UN's undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, told 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...
-based broadcaster al-Jazeera on Friday.

Lowcock said the "cholera outbreak is probably the worst the world has ever seen, with a million suspected cases until the end of 2017."

The UN official also expressed concern over "a terrible new epidemic" of diphtheria, which has killed scores of people and affected up to 500 others over the past few weeks.

He said the epidemic "is going to spread like wildfire across the country."

"Unless the situation changes, we're going to have the world's worst humanitarian disaster for 50 years."
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Britain
Britain migrant colonist briefs

UK Govt Doesn’t Know Where Hundreds of Returned Islamic State Fighters Are
5 January
[Breitbart] The government potentially does not know where hundreds of Britons suspected of going to fight with Islamic State terrorists in Iraq and Syria now are.

From Breitbart - immigration:
Lily Allen: Grooming Gang Victims Would Have Been Raped ‘By Somebody Else’ if Muslim Abusers Were Absent
6 January
Pop singer Lily Allen has claimed Muslim grooming gang victims could have been “raped or abused by somebody else at some point” if the gangs were not active in Britain.

‘Demographic Gerrymandering’? Pro-Migration Scottish Government Considers Giving Migrants the Vote
6 January
Scotland may become the first British nation to hand refugees and asylum seekers the vote, leading to concerns of election-rigging by pro-migration parties.

Study: Locally-Rooted People Affected by Immigration Helped Drive Brexit
5 January
The Brexit vote was partially fuelled by a backlash from locally-rooted people unhappy about changes in their home areas, including immigration and economic slowdown.

From the Daily Mail - immigration:
Brexit vote was driven by a backlash from people unhappy about 'immigration and economic decline where they lived', study claims
04/01/18
The finding, from experts at the London School of Economics, appears to confirm the belief Brexit exposed a divide between cosmopolitan voters and people rooted in local communities.

Ex-asylum seeker and bodybuilding 'Mr Big' who helped smuggle 87 illegal immigrants into the UK hidden inside second hand furniture is stripped of £100,000 worth of cars and cash
04/01/18
Human trafficker Mohammed Sangak, from Chatham, Kent, has been stripped of his luxury cars and cash. The court ruled he had to pay back more than £100,000 of his earnings from the crimes.

Lone child refugees are costing British councils £70,000 a year EACH with bills continuing until they reach 25
03/01/18
Each lone child refugee costs councils in Britain nearly £70,000 a year – with the bills continuing to land until they reach 25. Council chiefs have warned that they are struggling to cope.

Revealed: Just one in five lone 'child' migrants caught lying about their age are thrown out of Britain
03/01/18
More than 2,500 of the 13,600 unaccompanied child asylum seekers who have come to Britain since 2010 have been found to be over 18. But fewer than 600 have been returned home.

'Stowaway selfie' Facebook page is run by an Albanian bank robber (and, what a surprise, he reached Britain illegally in the back of a lorry!)
02/01/18
Fari Lleshi, originally from Albania, was jailed in Italy in 2011 for his part in a £20,000 heist. After his release he smuggled himself into the UK where he works on the black market as a plasterer.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/07/2018 00:15 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


Down Under
Australia migrant colonist briefs

African gang crime wave spirals out of control in Melbourne, but Sudanese community leader claims it’s all just political ‘scaremongering’
05/01/18
A South Sudanese lawyer has publicly criticised politicians for fuelling hatred and 'scaremongering' in the issue of African gang crime in Victoria. Police are scrambling to hunt down the offenders of repetitive violent crime across the state - but African community leader Kot Monoah (pictured top right) said more needs to be done by federal politicians to find peaceful solutions. Appearing on Sky News, Mr Monoah slammed Immigration Minister Peter Dutton for 'scaremongering' after he warned Melbourne people were afraid of even going out to dinner in fear of being targeted by gangs. '[He is] scaremongering the wider Australian public,' the African community spokesman said.

'They don't belong in Australian society': Peter Dutton says violent African criminals who refuse to integrate should be deported from the country
03/01/18
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton wants African youth to be deported if they are convicted of violent crime following a spate of thuggery in Melbourne.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/07/2018 00:15 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  A lot of political anger building in Australia about these ferals. Maybe we wont be so passive any more. Or supine, or gutless, or inert, weak,submissive,acquiescent, unresisting, compliant, obedient, docile, tractable, malleable, feeble, or pliable, either.
Maybe.
Posted by: Grunter || 01/07/2018 9:00 Comments || Top||

#2  We hope and pray firmness will manifest, Grunter.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/07/2018 18:22 Comments || Top||

#3  That is conspicuous by its absence, tw, but I echo your kind words.
Posted by: Grunter || 01/07/2018 18:57 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Turkish eyes on Africa
[AlAhram] The opening of Turkish military bases in African countries is just part of a concerted Turkish push onto the continent

Late last year, the Ottoman Turkish authorities opened their largest military base abroad in the Somali capital Mogadishu as a step towards consolidating ties with Somalia and establishing a presence in East Africa. Since then they have been seeking a military base in Sudan as the second Ottoman Turkish base in Africa.

The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/07/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


India-Pakistan
Trump praises proposal to spend Pakistan aid money on US infrastructure projects
[GEO.TV]
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  And if the Paki's buy a couple of bull dozers and a Visa maybe they can actually come over here and EARN the greenbacks they just lost. /sarc
Posted by: Ulaigum Ebbineng7056 || 01/07/2018 7:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Or we use it to build the wall the Mexicans don't seem to want to pay for.
Posted by: jpal || 01/07/2018 8:56 Comments || Top||


China set to build navy base near Pakistan's Gwadar Port
[PRESSTV] China is set to build a naval base in Pakistain as tensions are rising between Islamabad and Washington over the US cutting aid funds.

According to the South China Morning Post on Saturday, the naval base will be built in Gwadar Port, in the Pak province of Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
, as military vessels require "specific services" which cannot be provided by the present commercial facility.

"Gwadar port can’t provide specific services for warships... Public order there is in a mess. It is not a good place to carry out military logistical support," said one of the sources.

A China-based military analyst, Zhou Chenming, told the newspaper that China needs to build a base in Gwadar for its warships as the port has turned into a civilian facility.
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Year-end summary: Gaza rocket attacks doubled, but terror tally plummeted in 2017, army says
[IsraelTimes] Amid rising tensions with Strip, IDF says last year saw 35 projectiles launched, but fewer than 100 terror attacks elsewhere.

The army on Sunday released a series of year-end statistics, showing a sharp year-over-year increase in rocket attacks from Gazoo alongside a substantial drop in the number of terror attacks from the West Bank.

The yearly tally also showed a significant increase in arrests of Paleostinian suspects, though it was not clear if there was also a jump in indictments and convictions.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/07/2018 10:23 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:


Tapes Reveal Egyptian Leaders' Tacit Acceptance of Jerusalem Move
[NYT] As President Trump moved last month to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, an Egyptian intelligence officer quietly placed phone calls to the hosts of several influential talk shows in Egypt.

"Like all our Arab brothers," Egypt would denounce the decision in public, the officer, Capt. Ashraf al-Kholi, told the hosts.

But strife with Israel was not in Egypt’s national interest, Captain Kholi said. He told the hosts that instead of condemning the decision, they should persuade their viewers to accept it. Palestinians, he suggested, should content themselves with the dreary West Bank town that currently houses the Palestinian Authority, Ramallah.

"How is Jerusalem different from Ramallah, really?" Captain Kholi asked repeatedly in four audio recordings of his telephone calls obtained by The New York Times.

"Exactly that," agreed one host, Azmi Megahed, who confirmed the authenticity of the recording.

For decades, powerful Arab states like Egypt and Saudi Arabia have publicly criticized Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians, while privately acquiescing to Israel’s continued occupation of territory the Palestinians claim as their homeland.
Update from Al Ahram at 10:20 a.m. ET:
Egypt's State Information Service (SIS) issued a press release on Sunday condemnnig as "inappropriate" a New York Times’ report published on Saturday titled “Tapes Reveal Egyptian Leaders’ Tacit Acceptance of Jerusalem Move” by David D. Kirkpatrick.

The SIS said that the people mentioned in the article were incorrectly labeled “the hosts of several influential talk shows in Egypt.”

“Mr. Mofid Fawzy is a journalist who stopped TV presenting years ago contrary to the claim made in the Times’ report,” the SIS statement said.

The release also said the talk show hosted by Hassaseen was off the air several weeks ahead of the Jerusalem decision.

"The renowned movie star Yousra has no relation whatsoever to presenting TV talk shows and is a household name in the movie and acting industry in Egypt and the Arab world; a fact Mr. Kirkpatrick should have been aware of given his long stay in Egypt," the SIS said.

"Moreover, Mrs. Yousra has denied knowing someone by the name Ashraf El-Kholi or that she discussed with anyone the issue of Jerusalem… adding that she was not present in Egypt during the period specified in the report," the press release said.

The SIS added that Yousra would seek legal action for defamation.

The statement also asserted that Egypt’s positions on international issues are conveyed by the president, the minister of foreign affairs and in official statements, not from “alleged leaks from an anonymous source.”

“The Times’ report contains allegations regarding Egypt’s position on the Jerusalem issue mentioned in the so-called ‘audio recordings.’ It is inappropriate for The New York Times, a reputable newspaper, to publish such allegations,” the SIS said.

The statement added that Egypt has expressed “in word and dead” its position on the Jerusalem issue at the United Nations despite threats by the US to cut off aid to countries that condemn its Jerusalem decision at the UN General Assembly.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/07/2018 03:03 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Is this some of that smart diplomacy we were promised by the Obola crew?
Posted by: AlanC || 01/07/2018 9:10 Comments || Top||

#2  Nothing like releasing this to stir up trouble in Gaza and Cairo...the NYT is just scum.

This is irresponsible.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 01/07/2018 12:26 Comments || Top||

#3  And why would they have anything to say about what we choose to do?
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/07/2018 21:49 Comments || Top||


Israel compiles blacklist of BDS groups to be barred from country
[IsraelTimes] Document created by Strategic Affairs Ministry covers around 20 groups said to consistently and openly work to delegitimize Israel.

According to the Hadashot TV news report Saturday, these include BDS groups from Italia, La Belle France, South Africa, Scandinavia, and the Jewish American group Jewish Voice for Peace.

The ministry plans to begin enforcing the blacklist in March.

Erdan told Hadashot news the list was an additional step in Israel’s campaign against BDS.

Last week the government approved a plan setting aside $75 million to fight BDS.

The plan, which would entail the largest monetary investment yet by Israel specifically toward combating the boycott campaign, calls for setting up a not-for-profit organization whose board will be made up of government officials and donors from abroad, the Ynet news site reported.

The $75 million budget will come partly from the government and partly from Jewish donors and communities abroad, the report said. It did not say when the new organization would become operational or established formally.

But the initial funding to the tune of $36 million will come from the budget of the Public Diplomacy Ministry under Erdan. At least 10 Jewish philanthropists have pledged to at least match that sum, with some promising to give $2 and $3 to any dollar put in by the Israeli government beyond the initial funding, according to the report.

The organization envisaged by its creators would operate on a regular basis to counter pressure applied to artists, performers, and commercial enterprises not to engage with Israel. But it would shift into high gear at sensitive periods such as fighting, waves of terrorist attacks, and anti-Israel votes at international forums, the announcement stated.

The new organization’s avenues for action would include public campaigns, lobbying, arranging for solidarity visits to Israel by opinion shapers, establishing new and social media presence, and interacting with pro-Israel organizations worldwide for coordinated action with a focus on Europe.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/07/2018 00:15 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:


Egypt: 'Jerusalem? Let Ramallah be Palestinian capital'
[Ynet] Following Saudi suggestion of Abu Dis as future Paleostinian capital, senior Egyptian intelligence officer tells local TV presenters, 'How is Jerusalem different from Ramallah? A renewed intifada will only serve Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",. Concessions are a must'.

A senior Egyptian intelligence officer briefed television presenters from his country after President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the New York Times
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/07/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority


Arab League vows to seek international recognition of al-Quds as Palestine capital
[PRESSTV] The Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
has vowed to seek international recognition of Jerusalem al-Quds as the capital of Paleostine.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi made the announcement following a meeting attended by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
, Morocco, Paleostine, and the United Arab Emirates in the Jordanian capital Amman on Saturday.

"There is a political decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and we will strive to reach an international political decision to recognize a Paleostinian state... with (east) Jerusalem as its capital," said Safadi.

On December 6, Trump announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel’s capital and relocate the US embassy in occupied lands from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem al-Quds, a highly contentious move that triggered demonstrations in the occupied Paleostinian territories, Iran, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund....
, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco and other Moslem countries.
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian women seek virtual marriages amid uncertain futures
[ARABNEWS] "I’m married to a man I never met. He’s almost twice my age, has two teenage daughters and lives in Romania," Zainab, 28, told Arab News.

"I’ve been waiting for my visa for more than seven months so I can be united with my husband," she said.

"There are no young men left in Syria, so this is my only chance at starting a family and leaving to become a citizen of a European country. I see no future for me here ‐ at least this marriage gives me hope."

Zainab and her husband Imran, 54, were introduced on Facebook. They spoke via WhatsApp and Skype for a month before they decided to elope and complete all the paperwork for her immigration to Romania.

Marriage by proxy or via Skype has become very popular in Syria since the war erupted in 2011.

Many men have joined the conflict while others have fled to Europe, the Americas or neighboring countries. This has forced young people to resort to marriage by proxy.

Such marriages account for an estimated 54 percent of daily marriages in Syria, said Judge Mahmoud al-Maarawi, who heads the religious court that oversees personal status issues for Syrian Moslems.

Some youth prefer to carry out marriage ceremonies through Skype, where a licensed notary, the bride, the groom, their parents and witnesses are present.

After the ceremony, the wife or an attorney takes the contract and gets it registered in court for the marriage to be legal and to start working on immigration documents.

The law of personal status has authorized sending an official power of attorney in a proxy marriage, al-Maarawi said.

Anyone inside or outside Syria may either send a power of attorney to a trusted acquaintance, or appoint an attorney to conclude a marriage contract with the wife or her guardian.

Earlier this year, al-Maarawi said 70 percent of women in Syria were unmarried ‐ or "spinsters," as he put it.

To solve what he believed was a problem, he released a statement encouraging polygamy, which angered many Syrians on social media.

"It would be better of the judge to worry about providing people with food, warmth and shelter before making these suggestions," said a Facebook user.

Ghalia, an executive manager at a major insurance company in Damascus, said: "Instead of encouraging a solution that is far worse than the problem itself, I suggest Judge al-Maarawi seek ways to empower women in Syria and prepare them to be more independent instead."
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Virtual marriages, muzz style: "I reboot thee, I reboot thee, I reboot thee..."
Posted by: M. Murcek || 01/07/2018 10:45 Comments || Top||

#2  "Hello, my name is...Peggy"
Posted by: Frank G || 01/07/2018 11:03 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2018-01-07
  SAS soldier cut head off jihadi with a SPADE after running out of ammo
Sat 2018-01-06
  U.S. freezes grant to UNRWA
Fri 2018-01-05
  13 Islamic State members killed, injured in operation, northeast of Baquba
Thu 2018-01-04
  Revolutionary Guards deployed to crush Iran demonstrations
Wed 2018-01-03
  Egypt executes four Islamist extremists over 2015 bomb attack
Tue 2018-01-02
  Pakistan plans takeover of charities run by Lashkar-e-Taiba
Mon 2018-01-01
  Nigeria: Scores Killed in Boko Haram Attacks in Borno, Yobe
Sun 2017-12-31
  Iran protests: Telegram and Instagram restricted
Sat 2017-12-30
  IS says it was behind Saint Petersburg supermarket bombing
Fri 2017-12-29
  Senior Pakistani Taliban leader blown by own explosives in Kunar province
Thu 2017-12-28
  Islamic State claims attack on Shiite center in Kabul, 41 dead
Wed 2017-12-27
  Swede among 'terror' suspects arrested in the Netherlands
Tue 2017-12-26
  Six Islamic State, involved in killing policeman, killed in Kirkuk
Mon 2017-12-25
  ISIS military commission chief killed in US drone strike in Afghanistan
Sun 2017-12-24
  Taliban’s IED expert famous as Osama killed in NDS operation


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