AY-Pee
Saudi Arabia's civil defense directorate says 717 people were killed in a crush of Muslim pilgrims near the holy city of Mecca.
"Gangway, gangway, coming through, make a hole, make it wide..."
Thursday's disaster was the deadliest such incident on the annual hajj pilgrimage in more than two decades, and comes nearly two weeks after a crane collapsed in Mecca, killing 100 people.
The crush happened in Mina, a large valley about five kilometers (three miles) from Mecca that has been the site of past hajj stampedes.
Mina is where pilgrims carry out a symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing pebbles against three stone columns. It also houses more than 160,000 tents where pilgrims spend the night during the pilgrimage.
The civil defense directorate says at least 805 other pilgrims were injured. Allan is pleased
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/24/2015 09:00 ||
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#1
2nd highest fatality total ever
1990 tunnel stampede killed 1400+
Posted by: lord garth ||
09/24/2015 9:11 Comments ||
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#2
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/24/2015 9:22 Comments ||
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#3
Tragic that it happened, but the devil made them do it.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
09/24/2015 9:25 Comments ||
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#4
How is it tragic? They died the way they wanted to.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
09/24/2015 10:04 Comments ||
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#5
The Saudis got the money from the rubes, now just the cleanup is left to do. I guess the NASA outreach has not got there yet.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/24/2015 10:05 Comments ||
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#7
If they can hold off on the stampedes until they reach the Kaaba, circling it non-stop might eventually produce butter.... or was that some other story from my memory hole :-(
Anyway, they violated Besoeker's taboo on large crowds and gatherings. Too bad so sad.
#10
So far this hajj they've had a crane drop onto the Grand Mosque, killing 100. They've had two hotel fires, forcing the evacuation of a thousand or two apiece. And now this.
And still they don't take the hint.
They wouldn't take the hint even if there was a fiery finger writing across the sky "Thou shalt become Lutheran!"
Posted by: Fred ||
09/24/2015 12:36 Comments ||
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#11
No matter. It's a very lucrative racket for the Soddies. Not quite oil but still very lucrative to have one of the world's biggest tourist attractions.
#18
Hmmm, can the Halliburton Autonomous Device Division secretly replace the three columns with some auto-turrets that take offense at having rocks thrown at them?
[AlAhram] The army said in a statement that the first stage of the 'Martyr's Right' operation was a success
Egypt's army announced late on Tuesday the end of the first stage of the "Martyr's Right" operation, which involved the killing of over 500 forces of Evil in North Sinai as the armed forces battle an Islamist insurgency in the restive province.
The army announced the end of the first stage, which lasted 16 days, after the "achievement of its primary objectives", which include destroying terrorist hideouts and artillery storage facilities.
"This operation reflected the cohesion between the army, police and the people of Sinai -- as well as the unprecedented welcoming [of the people of Sinai] of joint cooperation to control the security situation and to regain their rights of security and stability," the army said in a statement.
North Sinai, which borders Israel and the Paleostinian Gazoo Strip, is a stronghold of Islamist krazed killer group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, an Egyptian affiliate of ISIS that intensified its attacks against army and police personnel after the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.
In the last two years, the army has been combating the spike in krazed killer insurgency in the peninsula, with hundreds of security personnel killed or injured.
The army said that all offensives in the Martyr's Right operation were conducted according to human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... laws and ethical standards to protect civilian lives.
The second stage of the operation, according to the statement, will "pave the road for creating suitable conditions to start development projects in Sinai".
The operation also extended to the Bahariya Oasis in western Egypt, where the army killed on Monday 10 forces of Evil who were "planning to execute terrorist and criminal acts against vital targets and foreign interests during the Eid vacation, scheduled to take place from 23 to 27 September."
[Iran Press TV] Officials in the Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... -based government of Libya have urged a freeze in the ongoing peace talks which is proceeding under the auspices of the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... in Morocco, saying the rival administration should stop its offensive in the east.
Khalifa al-Ghweil, the prime minister in Libya's Tripoli-based government, said late Tuesday that he rejects the ongoing negotiations between rival parliaments in the resort of Skhirat near Morocco's capital.
He also condemned a UN-drafted accord under discussion as "suspect" and containing articles which run contrary to the "immovable principles and the objectives" of the 2011 revolution which toppled long-time dictator, Muammar Qadaffy ...Proof that a madman with money will be politely received for at least 42 years until his people get tired of him and kill him... .
Since August 2014, when militias seized the capital Tripoli, Libya has had two parliaments and two governments with one run by the rebels in the capital and the other, which is internationally-recognized, taking refuge in the far eastern city of Tobruk.
In his televised speech, Ghweil acknowledged that some parliamentary delegates from his administration were taking part in the talks in apparent defiance of him, but urged the Libyans "to freeze this dialogue until the offensive is halted."
He called for "an inter-Libyan dialogue on Libyan soil to resolve the Libyan crisis, leading to a settlement that satisfies all parties while respecting the aims" of the revolution.
Talks were stopped for a few days on Tuesday after UN envoy Bernardino Leon told the delegates that there would be no more room for extension of the negotiations and the warring sides should provide a straight yes or no answer to the plan when they return next Sunday.
Repeated efforts by the Spanish diplomat have failed to create an agreement between the two administrations and allow the formation of a single government which could tackle the country's woes, including the rising violence and a growing wave of human smuggling across the Mediterranean toward the European shores.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/24/2015 00:00 ||
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[CBS] Egypt's president pardoned two journalists for Al-Jazeera English and dozens of human rights activists.
The two reporters - Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohammed - were later released from prison. A third person from the case was also pardoned but was not identified by name. The three were handed three year sentences last month for airing what a court described as "false news" and biased coverage.
Egyptian activists Yara Sallam and Sanaa Seif were among about 100 people pardoned by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on the eve of Eid al-Adha, when the nation's president usually pardon convicts for health or other reasons.
The long-running trial of the three Al-Jazeera staff is part of a wider political conflict between Egypt and Qatar following the Egyptian army's 2013 ouster of Mohammed Morsi.
[ARABNEWS] Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is working to restore his authority after returning from six months of exile with a vow to liberate the country from Shiite Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... rebels.
Hadi's first act was to chair a meeting of Cabinet members already back in the southern port city of Aden.
He instructed the ministers to focus on basic services such as water, electricity, housing, health care and security for ordinary Yemenis.
On the security front, the 70-year-old president stressed the need to integrate members of the Popular Resistance pro-government militia into the regular army, the government-run Saba news agency reported.
The president promised the Yemeni people that the Houthis, who hailed from the mountainous north, would be driven from the capital Sanaa. "The return to the capital Sanaa will come soon after the liberation of all cities and provinces," from the hands of militias, he said in a statement.
Analysts view the return of Hadi as mostly symbolic in the short term.
"It's a signal to all the actors, in the Houthi-camp or anti-Houthi, that the legitimate government is back," said Mathieu Guidere, a professor and Middle East specialist at the University of Toulouse ...lies on the banks of the River Garonne, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Toulouse metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in La Belle France... in La Belle France.
"This will not in itself change much on the ground but it will open up the road to Sanaa for the coalition, at the official invitation of the sitting government," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/24/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh denounced the conspiracies hatched by enemies of Islam to undermine its strength and urged the Moslem Ummah to forge unity among its ranks to foil their designs.
Delivering the Haj sermon from Masjid-e-Nimra in Arafat, where over two million pilgrims have converged to perform the main ritual of Haj, Waqoof-e-Arafat, the mufti implicitly targeted the self-styled Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (IS) group.
In an apparent condemnation of IS, the grand mufti cautioned Moslems against those who are misusing the name of Islam and indulging in sabotage and terrorist activities.
"They have not spared even mosques and peaceful citizens. These elements have gone astray and are strengthening the hands of Islam's enemies," said Sheikh Aziz.
They are disfiguring the image of Islam and serving the cause of its enemies, he said, urging the Moslem Ummah to make concerted efforts in their individual and collective lives to spread the true message of Islam as a religion of peace, love and brotherhood.
The grand mufti said the Prophet Muhammad (PTUI!) declared all types of injustices as forbidden (Haram) and added that no human being would take the life of another human being. He said injustice is destined to be eliminated sooner or later.
In his Haj sermon, Sheikh Aziz specially addressed the youth and said they should not listen to those who are spreading anarchy. Instead, they should "direct their energies towards constructive pursuits and spread the true message of Islam".
Posted by: Fred ||
09/24/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Militants disfiguring Islam's image to undermine its strength
Again. And no Muslims signing up in droves to battle against them.
#2
All over the world, it's definitely Muslims making Islam look bad.
My personal belief is that Allan is using the infidels, Crusaders and Juice to drag his chosen people kicking and screaming into the modern world. To provide them with their come-to-Jesus moment, so to speak.
BOGOTA-Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos will travel to Cuba on Wednesday to meet with government negotiators working on a peace accord with Marxist FARC rebels and may announce an agreement on what punishment they would face under a deal to end the country's 51-year war.
Santos's visit - on a layover during a trip to New York - comes as negotiators are finalizing talks on the how the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, will pay for human rights violations and other crimes.
"I will make a stop-over in Havana for a key meeting with negotiators with the goal of accelerating the end of the conflict. Peace is close," Santos said on Twitter.
Government sources said it was possible Santos will be present at the signing of the partial accord. The visit is the first time the president has traveled to Cuba since the negotiations began at the end of 2012.
Santos said on Tuesday that a deal on justice will not please everyone, but that it will be positive in the long-term. The president has previously said that the unwillingness of rebel leadership to complete sentences - not necessarily in a prison - has been the biggest obstacle to a peace deal.
Negotiators have so far reached partial accords on land reform, political participation for ex-rebels and an end to the illegal drugs trade.
The conflict between guerrilla groups, right-wing paramilitaries and the government has killed 220,000 people and displaced millions.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
09/24/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
The big sticking point, as I understand it, is an amnesty for FARC members. FARC insists on total amnesty, but the town councils in the mountain towns are calling for more lampposts to be built, so that they'll have enough to hang everybody from.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
09/24/2015 9:52 Comments ||
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[RT] Norway has welcomed the roll-out of the first two of 22 Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jets purchased by the Scandinavian state. They are seen as a counter measure to what Norway considers Russia's boosting military capabilities in the region.
Norwegian Defense Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide celebrated the occasion at American weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin's F-35 production line in Fort Worth Texas on Tuesday.
"We all know that the F-35 is not simply another fighter. We know that it is much more," the minister said at the launch, according to the Local Norway. "The F-35 provides us a capability we've never had before. It's by far the most advanced fighter ever made."
Speaking to Reuters on the eve, Defense Minister Soereide alluded to an "obvious projection of power" by Russia in the Baltic region, where NATO members have been ringing alarms over a possible Russian incursion.
The first batch of the American jets is set to be delivered some time in 2017, with possible deployments set for 2019.
Russian fighter jets flying in the Baltics have recently demonstrated better capabilities than ever before, Admiral Haakon Bruun-Hanssen, chief of defense of the Norwegian Armed Forces, told Reuters.
The F-35, being a fifth generation fighter, comes with a host of features Norway desires, such as radar-evasion capability, as well as the ability to spot potential threats from further away.
However there is an ongoing debate over the numerous problems that have been experienced by the highly expensive F-35, which sells for $150 million per plane.
The F35's shortcomings include a series of hardware malfunctions and software glitches. The aircraft reportedly could not outmatch the plane it is supposed to replace, the F 16, in a dogfight, according to a CNN report.
Norway's plans to acquire the fighter jets come amid deteriorating relations between Russia and its Scandinavian neighbors over the Ukrainian crisis.
In August, Norway issued a decree ordering the deportation of Russian citizens blacklisted by the EU from the country's Svalbard Archipelago -- a territory to which Russia has visa-free access under a special international treaty. Russian officials denounced this move, calling it an overreaction.
Norway's largest commercial broadcaster, TV2, is about to broadcast an expensive TV series depicting a Russian invasion of Norway. Moscow has called running the shows an 'unfortunate' decision.
In the meantime, Norway's neighbor, Sweden, has repeatedly accused Russian submarines of violating its waters. In January, Sweden's military claimed that as many as four foreign subs had been operating in the Stockholm Archipelago in mid-October of last year.
Swedish media had reported earlier that a "Russian submarine" had been spotted in the country's waters in October 2014. Sweden's military scrambled over 200 troops, helicopters, and ships on a week-long search for the alleged Russian vessel.
Although Sweden has recently undertaken several hunts for Russian submarines, none of them has been successful. One of the 'subs' turned out to be a work boat and another, recently found by Swedish divers, is likely a sunken WWI vessel.
Tensions between Russia and its Scandinavian neighbors have only grown since April, after Sweden and Finland made statements expressing a desire for closer cooperation with NATO. Moscow slammed the move, calling it counterproductive.
#1
They should make a bid for used A-10s, The Avenger cannon could cut a Bear in half with three rounds, if it could find it, climb fast enough to maneuver for a shot.
[Hurriyet Daily News] A local election authority's decision to move ballot boxes from some neighborhoods of the district of Cizre following violence earlier this month has sparked a political debate on poll security as The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's Supreme Election Board (YSK) said it would examine related requests next week.
YSK President Sadi Guven said in a written statement on Sept. 22 that it was the authority to decide on processes about the elections.
The Republican People's Party (CHP) member of the Cizre District Election Board, Kemal Cingu, said the decision was made by only one member of the board and that no one solicited their views.
The Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) member of the Cizre board, Sertac Özkan, said the decision was null and void because it was taken during a meeting in which they were absent. The HDP will object to the decision, he added.
The CHP's YSK member, Mehmet Hadimi Yakupoglu, underlined that the 79th Article of the constitution gives the YSK the responsibility to hold orderly elections and can use the same article if it determines irregularities in the decisions of provincial and district boards.
"But, the case cannot apply to the Cizre example since the law regarding the principle provisions of elections and the electoral roll clearly bans moving ballot boxes. Moving [ballot boxes] can only be done if there are less than nine voters. A contrary decision could lead to obstructing the right to vote. If one cannot get into a place due to security, it also means the citizen cannot go out," Yakupoglu stated.
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) member of the YSK, Kursat Turker Ercan, recalled the electoral body's previous decisions against moving ballot boxes. Acknowledging that there were places where security cannot be provided due to terror acts, Ercan proposed postponing the elections.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/24/2015 00:00 ||
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[Hurriyet Daily News] An investigation has been launched against Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Ibrahim Ayhan on a charge of "making terrorism propaganda."
The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa launched an investigation against Ayhan on Sept. 22 into his posting on Twitter, in which he purportedly praised Ismail Aydemir, an outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) krazed killer based in the eastern province of Tunceli, who was killed by Turkish security forces.
Ayhan also expressed respect for an outlawed Democratic Union Party (PYD) krazed killer in the same Twitter posting.
If the court indicts Ayhan on the charge of "making terrorism propaganda," a summary of proceedings will be prepared to lift the immunity of Ayhan, an HDP deputy from Sanliurfa.
Ayhan said he was ready to fight for "what [he] cares about and what [he] finds right" and that he would never step back because of an investigation.
"We never step back because of investigations [launched against us]. We are ready to fight for the values we believe in and what we find right. No matter what, we will continue our fight within the boundaries of democracy and peace to preserve as peaceful an environment as we possibly can," Ayhan told news hounds, when asked about the investigation launched against him on Sept. 23.
Ayhan also declared he was against war and that he sided with "peace."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/24/2015 00:00 ||
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Another Al Qaeda hotshot released from Guantanamo Bay.
[ClashDaily] It's hard to believe you are still living in America sometimes.
[FoxNews] MIAMI -- A Saudi prisoner at Guantanamo who waged a hunger strike for years to protest his confinement has been released from the U.S. base at Cuba, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
Abdul Shalabi was sent back to Saudi Arabia, where he was expected to take part in a rehabilitation program for militants.
His release, the second this month, brings the prisoner population at Guantanamo to 114, including 52 who have been approved for transfer.
Shalabi, 39, was among the first prisoners brought to Guantanamo in January 2002. The U.S. said he had been a bodyguard to Osama bin Laden and an associate of other senior al-Qaida figures, including Khalid Sheik Mohammed. He was never charged with a crime.
Criminals are charged with crimes. Prisoners of war are held until the war is over, then returned to the nation in whose uniform they fought. And spies get courts martial, then are hanged or shot.
#1
W should have made the detentions a lot clearer and had trials for them as spies or pirates when applicable.
Perhaps we don't hang them but make it clear that release depends upon surrender by Al Qaeda. We also should have put them into POW camps similar to the ones the Germans were housed in to ensure nobody could claim racism.
More money to pay for war material and supplies for the refugees, so that's good.
IraqiNews] Erbil -- Economic security adviser to the Kurdistan Regional Government Bioar Khansa announced on Wednesday, that the Kurdistan region has increased the size of its oil exports to 700 000 barrels per day, noting that the government of the region is trying to increase its oil production to 900 000 barrels by the end of 2015.
Khansa said in an interview for IraqiNews.com: "The Kurdistan Regional Government began the export of 700 thousand barrels of oil a day to world markets," noting that "the raise of oil production came because of the financial pressure on Kurdistan."
Khansa explained that "the region is suffering from a major financial crisis because of the lack of fulfillment of Baghdad to pay Kurdistan's share of the budget of 2015, as well as the presence of a large number of displaced persons and refugees in the region," pointing at the same time that "the war against ISIS is a burden on the government of the region. "
Khansa added that "the region will increase the size of its production to 900 000 barrels of oil per day by the end of the year 2015," explaining that "the region is trying through this plan to ensure staff salaries, amounting to $ 750 million a month."
[Hurriyet Daily News] A Paleostinian woman who was shot by Israeli troops on Sept. 22 has succumbed to her injuries, the Paleostinian Ma'an news agency has reported.
An Israeli military spokesperson said the woman had been shot at an army checkpoint in the West Bank city of Hebron after trying to stab an Israeli soldier.
The Isarel military said forces opened fire and "identified a hit."
Local residents, however, disputed the army's claims that the woman - identified as 18-year-old Hadeel Hashlmon - had attacked a soldier.
"The soldiers wanted her to remove her niqab [Islamic face covering], but she refused," Issa Amro, director of Youth Against Settlements, a Hebron-based Paleostinian activist group, told Anadolu Agency.
Clashes broke out Wednesday between Paleostinian youths and Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Hebron following the funeral of a young woman rubbed out after allegedly trying to stab a soldier.
Around 50 youths threw stones at soldiers, who responded with stun grenades and tear gas in the flashpoint city, where some 500 Israeli settlers live under heavy guard among Paleostinians.
The festivities followed the funeral of 18-year-old student Hadeel al-Hashlamon, who died after being shot by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint on Tuesday.
Several thousand people joined the funeral procession, carrying photos of her with her face completely veiled, as well as Paleostinian flags.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/24/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
getting stabby at armed checkpoints will get you Darwin'd
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/24/2015 9:03 Comments ||
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Malaysia has arrested six people suspected of being part of a human trafficking network and who may have helped a bomber who killed 20 people at a Bangkok shrine last month escape from Thailand, police said on Wednesday.
The suspects joined two people already in Malaysian detention who may have helped the bomber, who Thai police said was a foreigner of unknown identity, flee across southern Thailand's border with Malaysia, police in both countries said.
Four of the six people arrested last week were believed to be minority Uighur Muslims, who come from China's far western Xinjiang region, said Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, director of the Malaysian police counter-terrorism unit. Ayob told Rooters the six were not directly linked to the bombing but to a human-trafficking gang.
Thai police have made two arrests over the Aug. 17 blast, Thailand's worst ever bombing, that killed 20 people, including 14 foreigners, seven from Hong Kong and mainland China. A Thai police investigator who had just returned from Malaysia confirmed the suspected bomber was not among the latest suspects, who were likely part of the trafficking network.
Malaysia's arrests are the latest pieces in a puzzle pointing toward a connection to Uighurs that Thai authorities have sought to play down. Thai police have ruled out a political motive linked to Uighurs for the blast, suggesting instead the reason was that a human trafficking gang was angered by a police crackdown.
The Uighur issue could be a thorny one for Thailand and any substantive link between the bombing and Thailand's forced repatriation of 109 Uighurs at China's behest in July could result in criticism that its foreign policy may have triggered the attack.
Thousands of Uighurs have tried to flee China saying they face persecution, which Beijing rejects. Many use trafficking networks through Southeast Asia to Turkey, where they are largely welcomed and have ethnic and religious affinity.
Suspects believed to be Turkish and Thais living in Turkey are among those on Thailand's wanted list for the bombing.
[PhilStar] Philippine president Benigno Aquino III expressed confidence that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front will not block the arrest of its members facing charges over the deadly Mamasapano clash.
Aquino said, "I am very positive of this, they will as they have already demonstrated in the past that if there is a law enforcement operation they will stand aside. They will not hamper the procedure. But I would venture the guess that perhaps they will be even more than that. Again, they will not be a hindrance to our enforcement."
On Tuesday, a government fact-finding team filed criminal charges against 90 commanders and members of the MILF, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and militas over the death of 35 Special Action Force commandos on January 25.
The special investigating team of prosecutors and National Bureau of Investigation recommended the prosecution of people that included 13 MILF commanders and six BIFF commanders for the complex crime of direct assault with murder. The formal complaint read, "These 90 respondents acted in conspiracy with one another to attack, employ force, seriously intimidate or resist the 35 Philippine National Police SAF commandos, who were uniformed police officers and thus, persons in authority."
Aquino believes that most of the men will not appear for the preliminary investigation and will be issued arrest warrants.
Last week, the president presented findings disproving the alternative version of the incident that it was not the SAF troopers who killed Malaysian terror suspect Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, the target of the Mamasapano operation.
Posted by: ryuge ||
09/24/2015 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] The United States Department of Defense has denied reports that its newest batch of trained Lions of Islam to fight inside Syria had defected with their weapons to an al-Qaeda affiliate.
"We believe those reports to be false," Pentagon front man Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told news hounds on Wednesday.
"Their weapons and equipment are also still under the control of those rebels," Davis claimed.
Reports said on Monday that a group of US-trained myrmidons, under the name of Division 30, had defected to the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front in Syria.
The Lions of Islam had just "graduated" from the Pentagon's $500-million "train and equip" program in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... Davis, however, said, "It's patently false that there have been defections or weapons turned over... we believe the claims to those effect to be untrue."
"We do have contact, we have communications with members of the group and our understanding from being in touch ... is that all are present and accounted for, as are their weapons," he added.
Al-Nusra Lions of Islam attacked the division's headquarters last month, killing five, wounding 18, and kidnapping some others.
In July, another batch of US-trained Lions of Islam had been hit hard by the terrorist group in Syria. The first trained group, made up of 54 myrmidons, was wiped out by al-Nusra soon after it returned to Syria in July.
The B.O. regime came under intense pressure since last week, when Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, head of US Central Command, admitted the Pentagon's failure in its program to train and arm Syrian Lions of Islam to combat Daesh (ISIL) terrorists.
The general said on Wednesday that the program, that sought to train and arm 5,400 Lions of Islam to combat Daesh this year, yielded only "four or five" fighters in the field.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/24/2015 00:00 ||
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#2
When the Pentagon brass start harrumphing and twirling their moustaches, we'll really know that they're telling the truth.
Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf to the white courtesy phone, please.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
09/24/2015 9:24 Comments ||
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#3
"We do have contact, we have communications with members of the group and our understanding from being in touch ... is that all are present and accounted for, as are their weapons," he added.
On leave, medical exams, Regular Day Off (RDO), sick-call, that sort of thing. What were you thinking? Their leadership would never lie to us.
Allah Salehi, commander of Iran's army, said on Tuesday that the Islamic Republic would destroy Israel at all costs, regardless of the recent nuclear deal, reports the Washington Free Beacon.
According to the state-controlled press, Salehi said,
"Israel only barks. No matter how much weapons are given to [it], we are going to destroy them. We will promise this task will be done."
The comments follow reports that Iran has unveiled new advanced military hardware and intends to violate international prohibitions on its construction of ballistic missiles, which could be used to carry a nuclear payload.
Salehi expressed pride in Iran's support for terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, and acknowledged that Iran has been directly responsible for attacks on Israel:
"We are glad that we are in the forefront of executing supreme leader's order to destroy the Zionist regime. They have been hit by those supported by us [Iran] even though they have not confronted us directly; if they confront us directly they will be destroyed."
Hassan Firouzabadi, chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, was quoted as saying,
"The backward Republicans want to go back to the era of the mad Bush. Bush did all he could to invade Iran but was not successful. If Republicans want to take Bush's path, they cannot start a war with Iran, war will not benefit them, what Republicans say are just empty words."
Saeed Ghasseminejad, an Iran expert and associate fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, argued that Iran's military has become emboldened by the Obama administration's negotiations with Tehran:
"Due to the extreme weakness shown by this administration, Iran's military establishment neither fears nor respects the U.S. anymore. The U.S. faces a credibility problem in the region; the problem will be there as long as President Obama is in office."
Iranian leaders also vowed earlier this week to violate portions of the nuclear deal that seek to restrict Iran's construction of ballistic missiles and arms. They insist that they can violate any restrictions without facing repercussions.
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 ||
09/24/2015 00:00 ||
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#2
"Due to the extreme weakness shown by this administration, Iran's military establishment neither fears nor respects the U.S. anymore. The U.S. faces a credibility problem in the region; the problem will be there as long as President Obama is in office
says it all!
Posted by: paul ||
09/24/2015 15:52 Comments ||
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More on Netanyahu's meeting with Putin.
[Syriahr] Israel and Russia agreed on a mechanism to avoid military confrontations between the two countries in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
"My goal was to prevent misunderstandings between IDF forces and Russian forces. We have established a mechanism to prevent such misunderstandings. This is very important for Israel's security," Netanyahu told Israeli reporters during a telephone briefing from the Russian capital.
"Our conversation was dedicated to the complex security situation on the northern border," the prime minister said. "I explained our policies in different ways to try to thwart the deadly weapons transfers from the Syrian army to Hezbollah - action actually undertaken under the supervision of Iran."
Netanyahu said that he told Putin in "no uncertain terms" that Israel will not tolerate Tehran's efforts to arm Israel's enemies in the region, and that Jerusalem has taken and will continue to take action against any such attempts. "This is our right and also our duty. There were no objections to our rights and to what I said. On the contrary: there was readiness to make sure that whatever Russia's intentions for Syria, Russia will not be a partner in extreme actions by Iran against us."
Ahead of their meeting, as they made statements to the press, Netanyahu told Putin that Iran and Syria have been arming Hezbollah with advanced weapons, thousands of which are directed at Israeli cities. "At the same time, Iran, under the auspices of the Syrian army, is attempting to build a second terrorist front against us from the Golan Heights."
The prime minister told his Russian host that Israel's policy is to prevent these weapons transfers "and to prevent the creation of a terrorist front and attacks on us from the Golan Heights." Netanyahu came to the Kremlin to "clarify our policies, and to make sure that there is no misunderstanding between our forces," he said.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
09/24/2015 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
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[RT] Norway has welcomed the roll-out of the first two of 22 Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jets purchased by the Scandinavian state. They are seen as a counter measure to what Norway considers Russia's boosting military capabilities in the region.
[ClashDaily] It's hard to believe you are still living in America sometimes.
[PhilStar] Philippine president Benigno Aquino III expressed confidence that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front will not block the arrest of its members facing charges over the deadly Mamasapano clash.
