[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The second deputy chief executive of the unity government Haji Mohammad Mohqiq has rejected the rumors suggesting that a verbal clash has taken place between him and the leader of Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil... The office of the second deputy of the chief executive in a statement confirmed that a meeting was organized in ARG Palace regarding the upcoming parliamentary and district councils elections.
The statement further adds that various leaders of the political parties including Hekmatyar had participated in the meeting.
However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... the statement adds that such reports are not true suggesting that a verbal clash has taken place between Mr. Mohaqiq and Mr. Hekmatyar.
This comes as reports emerged earlier suggesting that a verbal clash erupted between the two leaders regarding the launch of the electronic national identity cards distribution.
The reports also suggested that Mr. Mohaqiq had abandoned the meeting after the verbal clash with the leader of Hezb-e-Islami.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/09/2018 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Talibs group in Afghanistan has rejected involvement in the deadly mosque bombing in southeastern Khost province ... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name... of Afghanistan.
Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... front man Zabiullah Mujahid has claimed that the attack has likely been carried out by the enemy circles of Taliban to defame the group.
At least 17 people were killed and dozens more were maimed after an kaboomdestroyed a mosque in Khost city in Southeast of Afghanistan on Sunday afternoon.
The incident took place in the vicinity of Yaqoobi area targeting a mosque where dozens of people had gathered to obtain voter cards.
Provincial Public Health Director Habib Shah confirmed that the dead bodies of at least 17 People have been shifted to the hospitals along with at least 34 others who have sustained injuries.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/09/2018 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. slammed the anti-government armed Lion of Islam and terrorist groups as well as the political circles amid growing chaos in the country as he insisted on strengthening the grip of the government in the light of the constitution of Afghanistan.
Speaking during the 5th International Symposium of the Afghan Women in Kabul, President Ghani said the enemies of Afghanistan have no positive ideas and ideology for the country.
He said the recent attacks in Kabul, Nangahrar, and Khost prove that the independence, freedom, and democratic rights of the nation are under attack but not a specific sect or group.
President Ghani further added that the attacks are aimed at national and Islamic values of the Afghan nation which proves that the enemies want persistent war and violence to continue despite the nation has suffered from 40-year long violence.
In other parts of his speech, President Ghani said politics is faith and commitment, not a trade, as he was apparently gesturing towards certain political circles.
He said the legacy of relations superiority over principles has been left to the country as the relations are insured when the government faces collapse.
President Ghani emphasized that the relations will remain intact and will hold its grip as long as the government is not strengthened in the light of the constitution.
he also added that the constitution also require positive and safe politics from the nation apart from the government as he insisted that the unity and coherence among the people will result into the collapse of the contractors of power.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/09/2018 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The shadow judge of the Taliban ...Arabic for students... group in northern Baghlan province of Afghanistan has reportedly urged the group’s supreme leader Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada to accept the peace offer in a bid to end the ongoing violence.
The 209th Shaheen Corps of the Afghan Military in the North said the Taliban shadow judge Mawlavi Abdul Hakim has made the plea in a letter published among the Taliban fighters in this province.
The source further adds that a copy of the letter has also been obtained by the armed forces in which Mawlavi Hakim urges the fighters of the group to act as per the Islamic Sharia.
He has also condemned the trial of the people in Kangaroo courts of the gunnies and has urged Mawlavi Akhundzada to accept the calls for peace, emphasizing that the people have became frustrated with the ongoing violence.
In regards to the desert courts, Mawlavi Hakim has said no one should be tried in such courts without obtaining a directive from the leadership of the group.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/09/2018 00:00 ||
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Truly turning over a new leaf, or hoping to survive the restoration of the status quo ante?
[AlAhram] Former Lebanese pop star-turned-Islamist Fadel Shaker is set to re-emerge in Egypt's music scene, singing the series intro in an upcoming Ramadan series this May.
49 year old Shaker announced the news on his official Twitter account, giving more details about the series' name and producers.
"We're Tired of Acting... is a song that I have sung for an Egyptian series [We have Another Say] which will be broadcasted in Ramadan," Shaker said.
Shaker, one of the most influential pop singers across the MENA region, had several music hits until 2011, when he renounced the scene and became a sympathiser for Lebanese Salafist Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir.
In June 2013, around 18 soldiers and 40 faceless myrmidons were killed in festivities between al-Assir's group and the Lebanese army in Sidon.
Shaker was handed a five year prison term in February 2016 in absentia by Leb's Military Tribunal, yet it remains unclear whether the former singer participated in the battle with the Lebanese army.
Al-Assir was handed a death sentence for inciting the deadly 2013 attacks.
The firebrand ...firebrands are noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments... sheikh was accused of insulting the Lebanese army and inciting rebellion, charges he has repeatedly refuted.
According to media reports at the time, Shaker refused to turn himself in to authorities, concealing himself in a refugee camp outside Lebanese authorities' control.
He has since appeared on 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... 's al-Arabiya TV channel, clean shaven, expressing views that he wants to live a "normal life." In March 2016, he appeared again saying he was seeking to be a religious chanter.
Shaker has denied charges that he participated in Sidon's festivities, and said that his relationship with al-Assir has tanked in recent years.
Egypt's upcoming series, We Have Another Say, is produced by Egyptian media production giant al-Adl Group, who confirmed news of Shaker's comeback on their official Facebook account.
The Bangladeshi navy is overseeing construction of an island in the Bay of Bengal called Bhasan Char. Bangladesh’s government is considering moving 100,000 #Rohingya refugees to the island, but aid groups are concerned - via @washingtonposthttp://t.co/1ZzDzbEKtSpic.twitter.com/YVBbf9UM8s
[Al Jazeera] A draft bill on US military spending is calling for a temporary halt of American weapons sales to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund.... , a key Middle East ally of Washington.
Clauses on Turkey in the annual defence policy bill - released by members of the House of Representatives on Monday - are the latest strain in already-sour relations between the two NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... allies.
The full text of the draft calls for a temporary arms sales ban against Turkey until the secretary of defence submits a report on the worsening US-Turkey relations to related House committees.
The $717bn military bill "prohibits any action to execute delivery of major military equipment to Turkey until the required report is delivered to the specified congressional committees".
The proposed US National Defense Authorisation Act must go through various steps before becoming law.
Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, recently told Ottoman Turkish media the section on arms sales to Turkey in the bill were "wrong, illogical and not suitable" in relations between NATO allies, stressing Ankara would retaliate if the measures are enacted.
"If the US imposes sanctions on us or takes a similar step, Turkey will absolutely retaliate. But we would not want to do that," Cavusoglu said.
Mensur Akgun, chair of the international relations department at Istanbul Kultur University, said the move would not affect Turkey's power to acquire weapons it needs, but would bring a new crisis in bilateral ties.
"Turkey has been producing its own weapons more and more as time goes by. Other high-technology weapons that cannot be produced in Turkey can be supplied by other countries. And Turkey is gradually increasing its weapon purchases from Russia," Akgun told Al Jazeera from Istanbul.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/09/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
Let Turkey go. If they want to snuggle up to Pooty Poot, let 'em. Putin likes to deal with nefarious governments.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/09/2018 1:32 Comments ||
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#2
Russians are after Constantinople. Catherine the Great. US can assist or not oppose that.
Russia is looking at Constantinople. History. Greek Church. Eastern/Second Caesar to Third Caesar/Tsar. Superb beat-down to the Central Asian (Turkic) Moslem Horde. Long reach of the Nordic genius. Would help everyone else in the ME, including USA.
#3
OK, I'll admit that I'm naive, but isn't NATO supposed to be made up of democracies and/or republics? And since as Sultana YiyYip I has said "Democracy is a bus that you get off of when you reach your stop", can Turkey be still considered a member of NATO? And if not in NATO, why the hell would you arm another Islamofascist state with delusions of empire?
#6
but isn't NATO supposed to be made up of democracies and/or republics?
I'd argue that the exact form of government is less important than whether they are at least nominally on our side, an area where Turkey seems to be lacking.
[FOX] The alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, like the Senate intelligence panel's Democrats, has come out against President Donald Trump's nomination of Gina Haspel to lead the CIA.
Both Mohammed and the Democrats question whether Haspel, a longtime CIA agent, is fit to run the agency given her involvement in the torture of prisoners following the attacks in 2001.
Haspel is due to appear Wednesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee for her confirmation hearing.
The Al-Qaeda leader, who was captured in March 2003 and was reportedly tortured, asked a military judge Monday at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to share an attachment titled "Additional Facts, Law and Argument in Support" with the intelligence committee, the New York Times reported.
The attachment contains "six specific paragraphs of information" regarding Haspel and was written by Mohammed himself. Marine Lt. Col. Derek A. Poteet, one of Mohammed's lawyers, claims his legal team believes the information is important.
"I am not able to describe the information," he said, noting that the information came from the detainee himself and not from files turned over by the government to the defense lawyers regarding Mohammed's treatment in the CIA custody.
Multiple Democrats have criticized Haspel's nomination, with U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana saying he opposes her because he objects to waterboarding, a controversial enhanced interrogation technique deemed torture by many opponents.
Four Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee -- Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein, both of California; Ron Wyden of Oregon; and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico -- also asked to declassify all CIA information regarding Haspel's role in the program.
[WhiteHouse.gov] “The Iran Deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.”
—President Donald J. Trump
PROTECTING AMERICA FROM A BAD DEAL: President Donald J. Trump is terminating the United States’ participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran and re-imposing sanctions lifted under the deal.
President Trump is terminating United States participation in the JCPOA, as it failed to protect America’s national security interests.
The JCPOA enriched the Iranian regime and enabled its malign behavior, while at best delaying its ability to pursue nuclear weapons and allowing it to preserve nuclear research and development.
The President has directed his Administration to immediately begin the process of re-imposing sanctions related to the JCPOA.
The re-imposed sanctions will target critical sectors of Iran’s economy, such as its energy, petrochemical, and financial sectors.
Those doing business in Iran will be provided a period of time to allow them to wind down operations in or business involving Iran.
Those who fail to wind down such activities with Iran by the end of the period will risk severe consequences.
United States withdrawal from the JCPOA will pressure the Iranian regime to alter its course of malign activities and ensure that Iranian bad acts are no longer rewarded. As a result, both Iran and its regional proxies will be put on notice. As importantly, this step will help ensure global funds stop flowing towards illicit terrorist and nuclear activities.
IRAN’S BAD FAITH AND BAD ACTIONS: Iran negotiated the JCPOA in bad faith, and the deal gave the Iranian regime too much in exchange for too little.
Intelligence recently released by Israel provides compelling details about Iran’s past secret efforts to develop nuclear weapons, which it lied about for years.
The intelligence further demonstrates that the Iranian regime did not come clean about its nuclear weapons activity, and that it entered the JCPOA in bad faith.
The JCPOA failed to deal with the threat of Iran’s missile program and did not include a strong enough mechanism for inspections and verification.
The JCPOA foolishly gave the Iranian regime a windfall of cash and access to the international financial system for trade and investment.
Instead of using the money from the JCPOA to support the Iranian people at home, the regime has instead funded a military buildup and continues to fund its terrorist proxies, such as Hizballah and Hamas.
Iran violated the laws and regulations of European countries to counterfeit the currency of its neighbor, Yemen, to support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force’s destabilizing activities.
ADDRESSING IRANIAN AGGRESSION: President Trump is committed to ensuring Iran has no possible path to a nuclear weapon and is addressing the threats posed by the regime’s malign activities.
President Trump will work to assemble a broad coalition of nations to deny Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon and to counter the totality of the regime’s malign activities.
Nations must work together to halt the Iranian regime’s destabilizing drive for regional hegemony.
In Syria, the Iranian regime supports the Assad regime and is complicit in Assad’s atrocities against the Syrian people.
In Yemen, the regime has escalated the conflict and used the Houthis as a proxy to attack other nations.
In Iraq, Iran’s IRGC sponsors Shia militant groups and terrorists.
In Lebanon, the Iranian regime enables Hizballah to play a highly destabilizing role and to build an arsenal of weapons that threatens the region.
The Administration’s actions are directed against the malign behavior of the Iranian regime, not against the Iranian people, who are the regime’s longest-suffering victims.
President Trump is making clear that, in addition to never developing a nuclear weapon, the Iranian regime must:
Never have an ICBM, cease developing any nuclear-capable missiles, and stop proliferating ballistic missiles to others.
Cease its support for terrorists, extremists, and regional proxies, such as Hizballah, Hamas, the Taliban, and al-Qa’ida.
End its publicly declared quest to destroy Israel.
Stop its threats to freedom of navigation, especially in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.
Cease escalating the Yemen conflict and destabilizing the region by proliferating weapons to the Houthis.
End its cyber-attacks against the United States and our allies, including Israel.
Stop its grievous human rights abuses, shown most recently in the regime’s crackdown against widespread protests by Iranian citizens.
Stop its unjust detention of foreigners, including United States citizens.
The Times of Israel has a longish article here, with background and a selection of responses.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/09/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
There will be consequences for Britain and France if they ignore the reestablishment of sanctions against the Iranian govt. President Trump means what he says. There will be costs.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/09/2018 1:42 Comments ||
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#2
...won't help the relations, given the implications of the game the Brits played in the whole Russian collusion gambit. He's a New Yorker. They remember less than honorable behaviors, so to speak.
DonCorleone: [to Michael] So, Barzini will move against you first. He'll set up a meeting with someone that you absolutely trust, guaranteeing your safety. And at that meeting, you'll be assassinated.
#3
They remember less than honorable behaviors, so to speak.
Indeed they do! I speak specifically in reference to the activities of one Mr. Christopher Steele and his London based firm Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd.
I seem to remember POTUS declining to attend a recent US Embassy grand opening in London as well.
#4
There will be consequences for Britain and France if they ignore the reestablishment of sanctions against the Iranian govt.
Don't forget the Germans.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/09/2018 10:45 Comments ||
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#5
I am a little confused here. If the Iranians stay in the deal with the British, French, Germans, and Russians, then they still have to abide by all of its provisions, no matter what the US does, no?
Posted by: Tom ||
05/09/2018 16:31 Comments ||
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[DAWN] The central information secretary of Pakistain Peoples Party, MNA Dr Nafeesa Shah, on Tuesday expressed concern over the release of five suspected Tehrik-e-Taliban ...Arabic for students... Pakistain (TTP) members that were jugged Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! for allegedly conspiring to assassinate PPP chairperson and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... in 2007.
"Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... , who is also involved in Benazir Bhutto's murder, was allowed to travel abroad. Now he is avoiding coming to Pakistain to appear before the court," Dr Shah regretted.
She expressed sorrow over the fact that the coppers who were found linked to the murder and handed court sentences were not only released on bail but reinstated into the force on their respective positions.
"Benazir Bhutto was a twice-elected prime minister. The release of those involved in her murder is tantamount to denial of justice," Dr Shah exclaimed.
The PPP leader warned about the consequences and said that such acts would encourage "the elements that constantly challenge the writ of the government and they will continue carrying out acts of terrorism".
Dr Shah said the release of the alleged murderers of an elected leader raises many important questions.
"It is on record that the government-appointed prosecutor in the murder case was killed in broad daylight," she said referring to the brutal killing of Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) special prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali on May 3, 2013.
Zulfiqar was shot multiple times by button men in Islamabad’s G-9 area as he was driving to attend the hearing in the murder case of the former prime minister.
On Monday, the two-member LHC bench accepted the plea of the father of Aitzaz Shah, one of the five suspects, who said he had nothing left to pay the fee of his lawyers. The court ordered their release on submission of surety bonds worth Rs500,000 by each suspect.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/09/2018 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Maulana Abdul Aziz ...nutball holy man who runs the Lal Masjid in the heart of Pakistain's capital. After instigating a rebellion against the state in 2007, he was caught trying to sneak away dressed in a burka. He rejects democracy as un-Islamic, which it probably is... of Lal Masjid ...literally the Red Mosque, located in Islamabad and frequented by all sorts of high govt officials. The proprietors, Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi, unleashed their Islamic storm troopers on the city, shutting down whorehouses and beating people up who weren't devout enough. The Musharraf govt put an end to the nonsense by besieging the place. Abdul Aziz Ghazi was nabbed while he was trying to escape dressed up like a girl. BBC reported that the corpse count at 173, but other claims, usually hysterical, say there were up to 1000 titzup. Among their number was Abdul Rashid Ghazi. Everyone then said tut-tut and what a nice guy he had been... notoriety will address the Friday sermon at the mosque on May 11 after a gap of over three years, the mosque's Shuhada Foundation announced on Tuesday.
According to a blurb by the Lal Masjid foundation, the holy man ‐ who was acquitted from all 35 cases against him in January last year ‐ last addressed a Friday sermon at the mosque in December 2014.
The release said that Aziz was the legal khateeb (the sermon-giver) of the mosque and expressed hope that the administration will not prevent him from speaking as he has been cleared by courts in all cases against him.
The Islamabad Capital Terrirtory (ICT) administration has earlier stated that Aziz had ceased to be khateebafter the orders of his appointment were withdrawn in 2004 following a fatwa he issued against the army and its operation in Wazoo.
In 2014, activists who had been at the forefront of protests against the Army Public School attack in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. had alleged that they had received death threats from Aziz's supports after protesting the Lal Masjid holy man's refusal to condemn the attack.
Last year, the capital administration had foiled an attempt by the Shuhada Foundation to hold a conference to mark 10 years of the Lal Masjid operation by imposing a ban on all political and religious activities by the foundation, declaring it an "unregistered entity".
Posted by: Fred ||
05/09/2018 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] Not long ago they were battling 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.... group -- now members of Iraqi paramilitary units have swapped the bullets for ballots as they compete in upcoming elections.
Abdel Amir Najem was quick to sign up to fight when Iraq's top Shiite holy man Ayatollah Ali Sistani issued a call to arms back in 2014 to stop the rampaging jihadists.
The former security officer was one of tens of thousands who volunteered to join the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Units) that fought alongside Baghdad's regular forces.
Five months after Iraq declared IS beaten, Najem is making a first foray into politics by standing for national parliamentary elections on May 12 in his southern home region Basra. Running at the head of an alliance of local civil society figures and technocrats he says his experience in battle is perfect preparation for taking on Iraq's corrupt elite.
"After the victory that we achieved at the front, we now have to battle those politicians who are just as bad as IS," Najem tells AFP.
He vows to focus on education and hopes he can break through "the tribal allegiances, personal interests, promises, bogus projects and vote buying" that mar Iraqi politics.
The rise of the Hashed as a political force has shaken up the landscape ahead of the vote with some concerned their ties to Iran mean Tehran could gain more influence. Members of the Shiite-dominated units feature widely on political lists vying for seats in the parliament.
Falih Khazali is running for the Conquest Alliance headed by Hashd leader Hadi al-Ameri, seen as one of the main challengers to incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Khazali -- an imposing figure who lost his right eye in battle -- is no stranger to the minefield of Iraqi politics. He was elected to parliament just before IS swept across his homeland in 2014 -- but spent most of his mandate fighting on the front lines. Together with his comrades, he says, he helped "win victory where even the 66 countries of the international coalition couldn't fight".
This experience is clearly a major selling point with potential voters.
"Someone who has sacrificed for Iraq will for sure make a good member of parliament," says Tareq Jabbar, a 55-year-old civil servant as he listens to their pitches.
Labourer Mahmud Yassin, 48, insists that people simply "want a change" as they are tired of the "same old faces" who have dominated Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Not everyone appears entirely convinced.
Clutching an excercise book and calculator, student Ammar Mufid, 24, is not willing to pay any price for the reforms he wants to see.
"Some are using their combat against IS for political ends but what we really need are people who will fight against unemployment," he says.
These concerns seem to have been taken on board by some of the ex-combattant candidates.
Khazali's campaign headquarters are a hive of activity as dozens of youths busy away putting the finishing touches to his political programme. He says he already has plans on "the economy, youth, poverty, housing, employment, agriculture and industry", and has collated 50 dossiers of corruption cases he wants solved.
"Even during the past three-and-a-half years away at the front, I did not stop following politics," he insists. "Now we are relying on the conscience of the voters".
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi Kurdistan Region has set September 30th for parliament elections postponed since last year.
Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani made the announcement during a presser on Tuesday.
Barzani urged the parliament in December to set the date for elections within three months.
The parliament decided in October to call off the votes for eight months, after initially setting November for the polls. A few days later, former president Masud Barzani announced his resignation, having failed to enforce the results of a September vote in which a majority voted for independence from Iraq as Iraqi forces seized territories disputed over with the autonomous region.
The rest of Iraq will be holding parliamentary elections on May 12th to choose the 329 members of the Council of Representatives, who will in turn elect the oresident and orime minister of the country.
Pakistan is an army that has a country. Lebanon is a jihadi group and Iranian catspaw that has a country. But really, the current election won’t change much, however enjoyable the process might have been.
[AnNahar] With its rivals weakened and its allies enjoying a stronger position than ever after Leb's parliamentary elections, Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... will seek a stamp of state legitimacy for its long-controversial weapons arsenal.
Analysts say the results of Sunday's legislative vote, the first in nine years, will give the Shiite gang which has close ties to both Syria and Iran a powerful voice in the 128-seat parliament.
Continued on Page 49
[Al Jazeera] Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said Tehran will bypass Washington and negotiate with the other signatories of a multinational nuclear deal, calling the US withdrawal from the landmark pact "unacceptable".
Rouhani's comments on Tuesday came shortly after 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... pulled out of the deal, formally known as formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), describing it "defective at its core".
In response, Rouhani said: "If we achieve the deal's goals in cooperation with other members of the deal, it will remain in place.
"By exiting the deal, America has officially undermined its commitment to an international treaty."
"I have ordered the foreign ministry to negotiate with the European countries, China and Russia in coming weeks. If at the end of this short period we conclude that we can fully benefit from the JCPOA with the cooperation of all countries, the deal would remain," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/09/2018 00:00 ||
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[PRESSTV] 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... is trying to satisfy Israel and the Israeli lobby in the United States by reneging on the Iran nuclear deal, an American writer and retired professor says.
James Petras, a professor emeritus of sociology at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York, and adjunct professor at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada, in an interview with Press TV on Tuesday, shortly before Trump was set to decide on the nuclear deal.
Trump has declared that he would pull the US out of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which lifted nuclear-related sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
"Most expectations regarding President Trump’s decision whether to abandon the nuclear agreement... [is] that Trump will sabotage the agreement and withdraw," Professor Petras said.
"There is a some possibility that he will accept on the basis of Iran reversing its commitments to defend itself with intercontinental missiles, and would abandon 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... and Syria and Hezbollah and other defense partners," he stated.
"This is highly unlikely on the part of Iran," he added. "And I think Trump is using these possibilities as a bargaining point to convince the Europeans to support him."
"But the consensus here is that Trump is trying to satisfy Israel and the Israeli lobby in the United States by reneging on the agreement," the analyst said.
"Now some of his advisers, not many but a few, are arguing that by breaking the agreement with Iran Trump is prejudicing his negotiations with North Korea, because the North Koreans can have very little trust in any agreement with Trump in light of the fact that an agreement in one year is reneged the following year," he noted.
"It’s very dubious that anyone will trust Trump signing any agreement on the basis that it’s not trustworthy," the scholar concluded.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/09/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
James Petras, "a professor emeritus of sociology." Now that admission of a life wasted is something no one should want engraved on their tombstone.
[PRESSTV] The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... 's diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini has said the bloc is "determined to preserve" the Iran nuclear deal.
Mogherini made the remarks on Tuesday shortly after 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... announced his decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA.)
The 2015 agreement "is delivering on its goal which is guaranteeing that Iran doesn't develop nuclear weapons, the European Union is determined to preserve it," Mogherini added, warning that she was "particularly worried" by the US' announcement of fresh sanctions.
"Stay true to your commitments as we will stay true to ours and together with the rest of the international community we will preserve this nuclear deal," Mogherini added.
"As long as Iran continues to implement its nuclear related commitments, as it is doing so far, the European Union will remain committed to the continued full and effective implementation of the nuclear deal," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/09/2018 00:00 ||
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[PRESSTV] Former US President Barack Obama I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money... says 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 decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal is "misguided."
After Trump announced his decision on Tuesday, Obama asserted that it is "so misguided."
"Walking away from the JCPOA turns our back on America’s closest allies, and an agreement that our country’s leading diplomats, scientists, and intelligence professionals negotiated. In a democracy, there will always be changes in policies and priorities from one Administration to the next. But the consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding America’s credibility, and puts us at odds with the world’s major powers."
The democratic president, who was in office when the deal was inked in 2015, further suggested that Trump’s decision would undermine efforts to negotiate with North Korea.
"At a time when we are all rooting for diplomacy with North Korea to succeed, walking away from the JCPOA risks losing a deal that accomplishes ‐ with Iran ‐ the very outcome that we are pursuing with the North Koreans," Obama claimed.
Iran has on numerous occasions asserted that its nuclear program is merely peaceful and not meant to make nukes.
Former Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, unsuccessful presidential candidate, and utterly failed Secretary of State... , who was a top negotiator in the talks that led to the agreement, also censured the move, asserting that it "breaks America's word."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/09/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
You could have always submitted it as a treaty to the Senate for ratification. You didn't.
#2
The tyrannical streak runs so deep and strong in Obama, Clinton, Kerry et. al. that they can't help thinking that the best course of action is to cater to the whims of tyrants hoping that some day they will rate the same.
[PRESSTV] President Hassan Rouhani says Tehran will stay in the JCPOA with other signatories, stressing that Iran has always complied with its commitments to the deal, while the US has never complied with its requirements.
Rouhani made the remarks on Tuesday shortly after 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... announced his decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA.)
While stressing that Trumps decision was a historical experience for Iran, Rouhani noted that the US president has a history of undermining international treaties. Rouhani also noted that Iran would remain in the nuclear deal without the US' presence.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/09/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
You see, in the US, unlike in Iran, our elections really do matter.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/09/2018 16:33 Comments ||
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#2
Fig leaf against Israel plastering the crap out of their nukes sites.
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.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
[FOX] The alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, like the Senate intelligence panel's Democrats, has come out against President Donald Trump's nomination of Gina Haspel to lead the CIA.
Pervez 
...literally the 
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
[AlAhram] Not long ago they were battling against the 
...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...
North Korea
North Korea
