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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Anbar antics: 7 turbans permanently unwound, tribal types get frisky
Today's Headlines
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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-Land of the Free
Texas Antics: US appeals court upholds law targeting sanctuary cities
[FoxNews] In a new ruling, a federal appeals court has upheld most of Texas law targeting sanctuary cities in what some are calling the toughest state-level immigration measure in the country.

Tuesday’s ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans allows police officers in Texas to ask people their immigration status during routine stops.

It also threatens officials with jail time for not cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...When the sanctuary crap works its way up the chain - and gets swatted down - the sanctuary morons will have a choice: back down or 'resist', and I truly fear we're going to see resistance.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 03/15/2018 5:52 Comments || Top||

#2  It also threatens officials with jail time for not cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

This is the key. Until the Jerry Browns are locked in the slammer this is all blather. You want to resist now?
Posted by: AlanC || 03/15/2018 7:58 Comments || Top||

#3  Berkley will be burned to the ground by rioters if the Feds arrest Jerry.

Hmmmm....
Posted by: Bobby || 03/15/2018 13:13 Comments || Top||

#4  Berkeley will be burned to the ground by rioters if the Feds arrest Jerry.

Except for Telegraph Av., who cares?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/15/2018 13:34 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Cameroon: A Reckless Old Man
[All Africa] In Cameroon
...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there...
, the election for president in October will take place against the background of a crisis that could break up the country.

English-speaking Cameroon -- to the Northwest and Southwest -- threatens to break away to form the Republic of Ambazonia protesting decades of exclusion. The crisis runs deep.

Cameroon, a Germany colony before the First World War, was split into two mandate territories and given to La Belle France and Britannia after the defeat of Germany. The mandataries soon moulded the country to their different cultures, producing French-speaking and English-speaking regions.

In 1961 one part of English-speaking Cameroon joined Nigeria. The other part agreed terms for a federation with French-speakers under a hurriedly drafted independence constitution. In 1972, president Amadou Ahidjo, in total disregard of the terms agreed in 1961, unilaterally abrogated the federation.

Since then, the Anglophone grievances have grown and festered. At the national level, the government is no longer committed to biculturalism.

Examinations are usually set by the French part of the education system, to the detriment of the Anglophones. The rights of western Cameroon have been eviscerated. Senior government officials are drawn mainly from French speaking areas.

When the crisis first broke out, the Anglophones tried to force issues by protests, boycotts and strikes. However,
there's more than one way to stuff a chicken...
the government's brutal response radicalised even moderates.

President Paul Biya initiated half-hearted talks in 2016 and then undermined them by detaining and exiling the English-speaking leadership.

In 2017 a separatist group declared the breakaway Republic of Ambazonia. The International Crisis Group notes in a 2017 report, "Cameroon's Anglophone Crisis: Dialogue Remains the Only Viable Solution," that though not everyone wants secession, the separatists now have the upper hand.

President Biya's tokenist solutions -- creating a common law department at the Supreme Court and promising to decentralise power under the terms of the 1996 constitution -- incense everyone.

Thousands have fled to Nigeria creating a refugee problem. That -- and Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
's sporadic incursions into Cameroon -- has shrunk the space for a credible election.

Whether the election will be peaceful depends on the Ambazonia crisis abating. President Biya, 84 this year, recently said that it already has, a clear delusion.

The silver lining is that Biya's main opponent, so far, is Akere Muna, a lawyer from the Anglophone region. Muna, a former vice-chair of Transparency International and president of the Cameroon Bar Association, could douse the separatist flames. That, however, depends on the opposition -- especially French-speaking candidates -- rallying behind him.

The Ambazonia crisis has ramifications beyond Cameroon. Separatist groups have become increasingly visible -- among the Catalans in Spain, the Kurds in Iraq and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
, the Scots in the United Kingdom and, surprisingly, the Igbos in Biafra. Secession in Cameroon would recharge separatists elsewhere.

All in all, Cameroon is headed into a difficult election and an even longer political crisis thereafter.

Posted by: Fred || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Saudi Arabia should 'immediately investigate' allegations of abuse, death in custody: HRW
[DAWN] 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...
should immediately investigate the claims that authorities physically mistreated or coerced prominent people detained in November 2017 and hold those responsible to account, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday in a statement on its website.

According to a New York Times

...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...

report, published on Monday, prominent Saudis held in what Riyadh dubbed an anti-corruption campaign were subjected to coercion and physical abuse, describing fear and uncertainty even after their release.

The newspaper had revealed that at least 17 detainees were hospitalised after facing abuse, while a Saudi general later died in jug with what witnesses said appeared to be a broken neck.

Saudi officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but NYT quoted the government rejecting the abuse claims as "completely untrue".

"The alleged mistreatment at the Ritz Carlton [where the detained people were held] is a serious blow to Mohammad bin Salman’s claims to be a modernising reformist," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW, on Wednesday. "While MBS jaunts across Western capitals to gin up foreign investments, investors should think twice about the Saudis’ cavalier dismissal of the rule of law and fundamental rights."

Posted by: Fred || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia


Britain
Facebook removes home page of far-right group Britain First
[ARABNEWS] Facebook has removed the official home page of the UK far-right group Britannia First along with the pages of its two leaders because they violate the company’s standards, a statement said.

The group, who often polarise public opinion in the UK, gained prominence in November when US 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...
retweeted some of its anti-Moslem videos, angering British leaders on both sides of the House of Commons.

Facebook said on Wednesday that content posted by the group and party leaders Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen "has repeatedly broken our community standards" despite written warnings, and incites hatred against minority groups.

The two Britannia First leaders were recently convicted of religiously-aggravated harassment.

The group opposes what it calls the "Islamization" of Britannia.
Posted by: Fred || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  What about the Nation of Islam™ Facebook page, hmmm? Oh, right, that's different.
Posted by: magpie || 03/15/2018 16:29 Comments || Top||


Europe
EU presses tough migration stance with more Turkey money, stricter visa rules
[AlAhram] The European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
on Wednesday said it would chip in another three billion euros ($3.7 bln) for Syrian refugees in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund....
, and restrict travel for countries refusing to take back their citizens who fail to obtain asylum in Europe.

The latest measures to curb immigration from the Middle East and Africa, which overwhelmed the bloc when it surged in 2015-16, were announced by the EU's top migration official, Dimitris Avramopoulos.

Some 1.8 million refugees and migrants colonists have reached Europe
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
across the Mediterranean since 2014, according to U.N. figures, causing friction among member states at odds over how to handle them and lifting support for nationalist and populist parties.

The EU has since been tightening its external borders and asylum laws, as well as offering money and other help to third countries in exchange for preventing people from trekking north.

A 2016 deal with Turkey, though criticised by rights groups for restricting the chance to claim asylum by those in need, has cut to a trickle arrivals through its soil to EU member Greece.

The EU on Wednesday announced a second tranche of three billion euros for projects benefiting Syrian refugees in Turkey, though the bloc's executive European Commission and the member states must yet agree on the exact financing.

"Our cooperation with Turkey is key to address common challenges," Avramopoulos told a news conference, referring to the many rifts between Ankara and the EU, which sees President Tayyip Erdogan as increasingly autocratic.

"Unnecessary escalations can and should be avoided," he said, hoping for a swift return of two Greek soldiers held in detention in Turkey.

Despite heavy criticism of Erdogan's track record on human rights
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
, the bloc's brass hats will host him for high-level talks next week, a reminder that many in the EU may dread Ankara but cannot do without it.

Deportations
Though the number of people who reached Europe on smugglers' boats since 2014 is small compared to the bloc's population of 500 million, higher immigration caught the EU by surprise and caused political chaos.

It still reverberates, as last seen in the resounding defeat of Italia's centre-left in elections this month.

As EU states struggle to become more effective in deporting failed asylum seekers or people who overstay the time allowed, the bloc agreed last June to restrict visas for foreign countries that refuse to take back their nationals.

The Commission proposed on Wednesday to regularly monitor how third countries cooperate on returns and, if it deemed it poor, could recommend the bloc gets tougher on visas for that country in the hope of encouraging a change in policy.

Currently, citizens of 105 countries in the world - from Russia to Congo to Bolivia - need a visa to get into Europe's Schengen zone of free travel and Avramopoulos said 15 million such entry permits had been issued in 2016.

With some African and Asian countries topping the EU's list of problematic returns, the Commission said the bloc was still short of one billion euros for projects to improve life for people in Africa. The bloc hopes such projects would weaken people's resolve to try get to Europe.

EU warns Africa of tougher visa policy over illegal migration

[AlAhram] The EU warned African and other countries on Wednesday that their citizens will find it harder to get visas to Europe if they refuse to readmit economic migrants under the bloc's efforts to curb migration. Brussels has been seeking greater cooperation from such countries to take back irregular migrants since Europe was hit in 2015 with its worst migration crisis since World War II.

"We will introduce stricter conditions for processing visas when a partner country does not cooperate sufficiently on the readmission of irregular migrants," EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told a press conference in Brussels.

Under international law, European countries do not have to admit migrants seeking jobs but are required to take in those people fleeing war and persecution.

EU officials say the vast majority of people from sub-Saharan Africa are economic migrants and they have stepped up efforts to return them to their home countries. But EU sources and analysts said African countries have dragged their feet on readmitting them, mainly because the money they send home from abroad boosts their economies.

"Countries like Mali, Senegal or Ivory Coast cooperate very little," a diplomat told AFP.

"We must fight to obtain the famous consular pass (to return a migrant to his country) and that undermines the ties of trust we must have with these countries."

Under the proposal, if the commission and member countries find other countries are uncooperative on returns, they can toughen rules on granting visas. These include the processing time of applications, the length of validity of visas issued, the cost of visa fees and the exemption of such fees for certain travellers such as diplomats.

The commission, the EU executive, said 14 million tourist and business visas for short stays, up to 90 days maximum every six months, were granted in 2016. These visas are required for citizens of around 100 countries and allow them to travel freely in 26 European countries in the so-called Schengen zone.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


Merkel narrowly elected to fourth term as German chancellor
[Hurriyet Daily News] German Chancellor Angela Merkel
...chancellor of Germany and the impetus behind Germany's remarkably ill-starred immigration program. Merkel used to be referred to by Germans as Mom. Now they make faces at her for inundating the country with Moslems ..
, bruised by half a year of post-election coalition haggling, was narrowly confirmed by parliament on March 14 to her fourth and likely final term at the helm of Europe’s biggest economy.

Lawmakers in Berlin’s glass-domed Reichstag voted 364-315 with nine abstentions for Merkel, who was then formally appointed by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier before taking the oath of office.

The outcome of the secret ballot suggested 35 politicians of her new right-left coalition bloc voted against Merkel, giving her a thin nine-vote margin that opposition parties were quick to label a "rocky start" for a spent and joyless governing alliance.

Merkel, wearing a necklace in the national colours black-red-gold, nevertheless beamed with joy and relief as applause filled the Bundestag chamber, where her scientist husband Joachim Sauer and her 89-year-old mother Herlind Kasner were among the well-wishers.

For the veteran leader, the ceremony marked the end of a painful stretch of post-election paralysis, the deepest crisis of her 12-year career.

Posted by: Fred || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


The Grand Turk
Turkish defense companies clinch key deals in Qatar
[Hurriyet Daily News] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund....
’s leading defense firms have announced significant agreements with 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...
i officials on the sidelines of a sector exhibition in Doha, pledging to deliver key products, including drones and armored vehicles.

Ottoman Turkish unmanned aircraft producer Baykar Makina signed an agreement on March 14 to export six armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to Qatar’s armed forces.

Under the agreement, six Bayraktar TB2 armed UAV Platforms, three ground control station systems and equipment, and a UAV training simulator will be delivered within a year, as reported by Anadolu Agency.

Baykar will also set up a UAV operation center and network-based data tracing and archiving software for Qatar’s Armed Forces.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the Doha International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX 2018), which lasts through March 14.

Posted by: Fred || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Qatar (MB)


Foreign ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran to talk 'Silk Road'
[Hurriyet Daily News] Ottoman Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on March 14 said the foreign ministers of The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran will meet in Baku to evaluate regional developments and discuss "regional cooperation."

"The foreign ministers of these four countries will have the opportunity to discuss and revive the historic Silk Road," said Yildirim, speaking Ankara's Esenboga Airport ahead of his visit to the Azerbaijani capital to attend the 6th Global Baku Forum.

Ottoman Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif are expected to meet.

Known as "One Belt One Road," plans to revive Silk Road would see gleaming new road and rail networks built through China, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia, extending to Europe
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
via Turkey.

Posted by: Fred || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Lavrov says delivery of S-400 missiles to Turkey will speed up
[Hurriyet Daily News] Moscow and Ankara have agreed to speed up delivery of S-400 anti-ballistic missile systems to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
despite growing concerns in NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
over the Ottoman Turkish government’s purchase of a non-interoperable system.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told news hounds that Moscow will speed up initial deliveries of S-400 missile batteries to Turkey at a presser with visiting Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu after lengthy talks in the Russian capital on March 13.

"The sooner Turkey receives [the S-400 missile system] the better. Works are continuing to this end," Cavusoglu said upon a question at the presser.

Turkey signed an agreement to buy the multibillion dollar S-400 missile system from Russia in late December, in a move which raised concern in the West because they cannot be integrated into NATO’s military architecture. Moscow is scheduled to begin supplying the missile systems in the first quarter of 2020.

The Ottoman Turkish foreign minister paid a two-day visit to Moscow to hold talks with his counterpart as part of Turkey-Russia 6th Joint Strategic Planning Group. Describing Russia as "one of Turkey’s most important partners" in the economy and politics, Cavusoglu said their priority was to develop bilateral ties in a stable way under the leadership of both countries’ presidents, Vladimir Putin
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
and 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...
.

Posted by: Fred || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Home Front: WoT
'Clock boy' Ahmed Mohamed's lawsuit against Irving ISD, city dismissed
[DalkasNews] A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Irving ISD, the city of Irving and several individuals by the father of a teen who was arrested after bringing to school a homemade clock that was mistaken for a bomb.

The federal lawsuit had alleged that Ahmed Mohamed's civil rights were violated in September 2015 when Irving police officers took him into custody at MacArthur High School and charged him with making a "hoax bomb." The then-14-year-old was also suspended from school for three days.

The charge against Ahmed was later dropped. The boy and his family have since moved to Qatar. The suit, filed by Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed on behalf of his son, had asked for unspecified damages. It had been amended twice since it was initially filed in August 2016.
He's been hit with Atty's fees in all his losing suits. Hope he posted bond before fleeing.
Posted by: Frank G || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  The president[Obama] joined an international outpouring of support for the science-loving pupil, tweeting: “Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great.”
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/15/2018 6:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed father of Ahmed Mohamed
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/15/2018 8:06 Comments || Top||

#3  It's a great pity we drove this budding genius to Qatar. If he had stayed in on Texas, he might have invented a fundamental human technology, such as the wheel.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 03/15/2018 10:40 Comments || Top||

#4  He's been hit with Atty's fees in all his losing suits.

Makes you wonder who's helping him out with that, doesn't it?
Posted by: Raj || 03/15/2018 11:23 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Rao Anwar sends another 'letter' to CJP, asks court to unfreeze his bank accounts
[DAWN] Chief Justice of Pakistain (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar on Wednesday revealed that he has received another letter from absconding Sindh police officer Rao Anwar, this time asking the court to unfreeze his bank accounts.

The Supreme Court was hearing the case regarding extrajudicial killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
allegedly by a police party led by the former Malir Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Rao Anwar.

"I do not know whether the letter is real or fake," the CJP said about the letter, which is now the second message received directly by Justice Nisar allegedly written by the absconding police official. "The letter has been kept in a file."

In his first letter, sent last month, the officer had claimed that he was innocent and that he was not present at the site of the encounter when Mehsud was killed. The officer had also requested for a free and fair joint investigation team to look into the controversy.

The court in response had asked Anwar to appear before the bench; however, on his failure to do so, the SC had issued a show-cause notice to the police official for committing contempt of court by not surrendering before it despite being given a fair chance. The law enforcement agencies were also ordered by the court to locate his whereabouts and arrest him.

The CJP on Wednesday expressed dissatisfaction with the progress in the murder case. Naqeebullah's killing had sparked protests on social media as well as rallies across the country. The arrest of Rao Anwar was one of the major demands of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement's long march which eventually culminated into a sit-in outside the Islamabad Press Club.
Posted by: Fred || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [14 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


A brief history of the anti-blasphemy laws
[HERALD.DAWN]
Posted by: Fred || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Alleged militant killed in Lyari operation was mentally challenged, insists relative
[DAWN] A suspected Lion of Islam, who was among the four killed by Rangers personnel in Lyari's Ali Mohammad Mohalla early Wednesday morning, was "mentally challenged and had nothing to do with criminal activities", the dear departed's relative told Dawn.com.

On Tuesday night, a Rangers vehicle on routine patrol in Lyari
...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot....
had come under a grenade attack in which one official was martyred and four others injured. One alleged Lion of Islam was also killed, the Rangers had said.

Following the grenade attack, Rangers launched a search operation in the vicinity in the early hours of Wednesday, during which the paramilitary force personnel reportedly came under gunfire by suspected Lion of Islams.

"After an exchange of fire, four more bad boyz were potted," the Rangers spokesperson had said.

Among those killed in the Ranger's retaliatory fire was Chakar Ali; while the Rangers claim he was wanted by law enforcement agencies in connection with various crimes, Ali's uncle, Rasool Bux, insists that the dear departed was an "emotionally disturbed, mentally challenged person" and was undergoing treatment at the Lyari General Hospital.

Bux pleaded that justice be served for Chakar Ali's "violent death" and demanded a proper investigation into the incident so that the "truth can be revealed".

According to Bux, Ali had left his home in Ali Mohammed Mohalla at around 7pm on Tuesday and was later killed.

Some people on Twitter also highlighted Ali's "unstable" mental state, raising questions on the veracity of the encounter.

Another alleged terrorist killed in the gunfire, Mehar Ali, according to users on social media had been missing for three months. Dawn.com is verifying if a petition regarding his disappearance has been filed in the Sindh High Court.

Posted by: Fred || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Pakistan’s terror watchdog to target ‘dubious’ charities
[ARABNEWS] Pakistain’s National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) signed an agreement with the Pakistain Center for Philanthropy (PCP) on Wednesday as the country strives to meet global standards in the fight against terrorism funding and money laundering.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international watchdog, has said it will place Pakistain on its "grey list" of countries with strategic weaknesses on terrorism financing and money laundering in June.

FATF extended a three-month reprieve to correct irregularities before strict financial restrictions were imposed.

Regulation of non-government and non-profit organizations is a key part of the watchdog’s demands.

Organizations that comply with PCP will be accepted on NACTA’s white list of legally compliant entities. "It (PCP) certifies and verifies NGOs/NPOs and ensures the entities use banking channels for funding and that credible third parties conduct audits of those organizations," NACTA official Qaiser Ashfaq told Arab News.

He said the move would promote genuine charity and humanitarian assistance organizations in Pakistain and discourage public donations to dubious unregistered entities or individuals.

A delegation of FATF’s Asian Pacific Group is due to visit Pakistain in April to deliver a list of requirements for an action plan to counter money laundering and terror financing.

NACTA officials said that the financial watchdog has yet to provide recommendations or list weaknesses in Pakistain’s financial monitoring system. Most of FATF’s standards were met before the regulator held its plenary meeting in February, they said.

Last week, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal lashed out at the US over criticism of Pakistain’s alleged weaknesses. "Recent FATF action 2 put us in grey is in violation of process & politically motivated 2 pressurize Pakistain (to) follow Trump admin policies. Our successes against terrorism are recognized internationally," he tweeted on Saturday.

Defense analyst and former air vice-marshal Shahzad Chaudhry told Arab News that Pakistain should think strategically before confronting the US on its demands.

"Political manipulation will always take place if there is cleavage available to exploit that weakness," he said.

However,
denial ain't just a river in Egypt...
Pak officials said that FATF’s decision would have no impact on the country’s $300 billion economy.

NACTA is working with departments to monitor and regulate the flow of funds and to close loopholes exploited to launder money, including terror financing.

The watchdog’s national coordinator, Lt. Cdr. Ihsan Ghani, said a task force formed last July would improve coordination between 27 agencies in Pakistain.

As part of the global measures, travelers will have to complete financial declaration forms on departure and arrival in the country. Up to $10,000 is allowed per person on departure, with a yearly limit of $60,000.

Posted by: Fred || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Non-ISI Approved?

*wink wink*
Posted by: Frank G || 03/15/2018 12:51 Comments || Top||


International-UN-NGOs
UN Palestinian agency in urgent search for cash at global gathering
[Hurriyet Daily News] Global powers will gather in Rome on March 15 to discuss the future of the U.N. agency for Paleostinian refugees, which faces an unprecedented crisis after the U.S. froze tens of millions of dollars in funding.

The United Nations
...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense...
Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) only has enough funds to keep schools and medical services open until May, its commissioner general Pierre Krahenbuhl told AFP.

U.S. 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...
’s administration has so far committed only $60 million to the agency this year, down from $360 million in 2017. He has frozen two planned payments worth more than $100 million - one for UNRWA’s central budget and one for food aid.

Trump continues to pressure the Paleostinians to end their boycott of his administration sparked by his December recognition of the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

A major funding drive launched by UNRWA after the U.S. freeze has raised little new money and diplomats are not optimistic about getting major pledges in the Italian capital.
Guess the Palestinians aren’t nearly as important as the fussing makes them seem.
U.N. officials want European countries to step in to fill part of the gap but are especially looking at Gulf Arab countries.

Fear is rife about the future of the organization that employs more than 20,000 people across the Middle East, the vast majority Paleostinians.

UNRWA was established after the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948 when around 700,000 Paleostinians were expelled or fled.It offers vital support for these refugees and their descendants in Syria, Leb, Jordan and the West Bank and Gazoo, providing services for more than three million people.

This includes education for around half a million students, with nearly 30 percent of its funding coming from the United States.

In January, Trump tweeted "we pay the Paleostinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect," accusing them of walking away from peace negotiations.

Two weeks later his administration confirmed it would hold back tens of millions in aid to UNRWA, saying it wanted the rest of the world to pay more.

Posted by: Fred || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  Here's my agura (1/4 cent) - though I'd rather contribute to you in bullets (the part of cartridge that goes through the barrel of a gun)
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/15/2018 7:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Cockroaches eat crumbs
Posted by: Frank G || 03/15/2018 11:59 Comments || Top||


Iraq
PM attends funeral ceremony of top guard killed in clashes with Shiite militias
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) ‐ Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi attended on Wednesday the funeral ceremony of one of his top bodyguards, who was killed in festivities with the Shiite militia of Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades) earlier on Tuesday.

In a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Alghad Press, the Iraqi defense ministry said, "Brig. Gen. Sherif Ismail el-Morshedy, the commander of the 57th brigade of Abadi’s protection service, breathed his last while on duty after undisciplined personnel shot him dead near a central checkpoint in Samarra."

Abadi offered condolences to the martyr’s family and ordered a probe to be opened into his death.

He also praised sacrifices made by the late commander in the fight against the 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.

According to the statement, the funeral ceremony was held at the defense ministry’s headquarters in the presence of Defense Minister Erfan al-Hiyali.

Commenting on the incident, Saraya al-Salam blamed Abadi’s guards for the death of Morshedy after they attacked its personnel deployed at a security checkpoint between Samarra and Tikrit in Salahuddin.

In December, Moqtada Tater al-Sadr
... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah...
, the head of the Sadrist Movement, announced disbanding Saraya al-Salam brigade, urging the members to evacuate its headquarters and turn in their weapons to the government.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq

#1  Nailed at least this part. I bet I was right about the mosque too.
Posted by: 3dc || 03/15/2018 5:28 Comments || Top||

#2  :-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/15/2018 10:28 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
7 Days In Entebbe - movie trailer
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/15/2018 06:58 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It looks promising — thank you, Besoeker.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/15/2018 10:03 Comments || Top||

#2  I really liked "Raid on Entebbe" (1977) with Charles Bronson. The last scene with the song Hine ma tov is beyond moving. The proud young Israeli girl clutching her flag and the three old ladies, who bear all the pain of the Jewish people in their winkled faces. Very powerful.
Posted by: European Conservative || 03/15/2018 20:13 Comments || Top||


Egypt army said to jam Israeli SIM cards used by Islamic State
[IsraelTimes] Israelis in the south have been reporting widespread disruptions to cell service amid Egyptian crackdown in Sinai.

The Egyptian army suspects that fighters in the 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....
terror group are using Israeli SIM cards to communicate with each other in the Sinai Peninsula, and is jamming cellular networks in southern Israel in its battle against the jihadists, causing disruptions for some 300,000 Israeli cellular users, the Globes financial daily reported Wednesday.

In February, Gadi Yarkoni, the head of the Eshkol Regional Council, sent out a text message saying residents had been subject to "intolerable disruptions" in their cellular communication networks, and were unable to send or receive calls or messages. The disruptions were a result of security activities in Egypt, he said, for which Israeli residents were paying a steep price. He called for the immediate intervention of the Israeli Defense Ministry and the army.

Wednesday’s report said that the reason for the disruptions was Egypt’s battle against Islamic State fighters. The Egyptian army was deliberately jamming the Israeli networks, and Israel was not intervening even though Egypt was in effect infringing on Israeli illusory sovereignty, the report said, citing unnamed Israeli officials.

The Egyptian army suspects that the fighters were using Israeli SIM cards to make it harder for local forces to locate them, and is concerned Islamic State will use the cellphones to detonate bombs remotely, the report said.

A source familiar with the operations of the cellular companies in Israel said the disruptions, apparently from Egypt, have been affecting all of the cellular networks in the south and have been ongoing for a number of weeks. There is not much these firms can do about it, the source said.

Bezeq’s Pelephone, a mobile network provider, said in a text message: "There is an external interference to all the Israeli cellular networks. We are currently working with the authorized official bodies that are relevant to bringing the matter to an end." A spokeswoman for Cellcom Israel Ltd., the nation’s largest cellular provider, referred questions to the Communications Ministry.

There was no immediate response by the IDF, the Communications Ministry or the Defense Ministry to a request for comment.

In an emailed comment to The Times of Israel, the IDF said that the disruptions were caused by the Egyptian army in Egyptian territory. "The issue is being dealt with," the military said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)



Who's in the News
34[untagged]
5Sublime Porte
5Govt of Pakistan
5Islamic State
4Moslem Colonists
3Arab Spring
3Govt of Syria
2Commies
1Palestinian Authority
1Tablighi Jamaat
1al-Nusra
1Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)
1Govt of Iraq
1Govt of Qatar (MB)
1Govt of Saudi Arabia
1Hamas
1Houthis

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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2018-03-15
  Anbar antics: 7 turbans permanently unwound, tribal types get frisky
Wed 2018-03-14
  Al-Qaeda operative born in Texas sentenced to 45 years for conspiring to murder Americans, supporting terrorism
Tue 2018-03-13
  Trump fires Rex Tillerson as secretary of state and replaces him with CIA boss Mike Pompeo
Mon 2018-03-12
  Syrian Army surrounds Jaysh Al-Islam stronghold in East Ghouta
Sun 2018-03-11
  First group of militants surrender arms & leave East Ghouta after Russia-brokered talks
Sat 2018-03-10
   Tuareg militias again clash with Islamic State-loyal militants in northern Mali
Fri 2018-03-09
  Mullah Fazlullah's kid killed in drone strike in Afghanistan
Thu 2018-03-08
  Accomplice of Paris attacks mastermind held in Poland
Wed 2018-03-07
  Kirkuk Klean up: 33 turbans permanently unwound
Tue 2018-03-06
  Paramilitary troops repulsed Islamic State suicide attack, north of Babel
Mon 2018-03-05
  20 Islamic State militants killed in clashes with Iraqi forces in Hawija
Sun 2018-03-04
  Teacher found guilty of grooming children to launch terror attacks in London
Sat 2018-03-03
  Mosul Clearances Continue: 30 turbans tied up or permanently unwound, ISIS chemicals concern, Saddam Hussein mass grave found
Fri 2018-03-02
  Attack underway in Burkina Faso's capital, police say
Thu 2018-03-01
  Nigerian-Cameroonian Troops Eliminate 35 Boko Haram fighters, Recover Large Weapons
Wed 2018-02-28
  US designates 'Daesh-Egypt', other ISIS affiliates as terrorist groups


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