[Khaama] United Nations Security Council unanimously passed resolution 2615 proposed by the United States and allowed money to flow to Afghanistan for humanitarian purposes.
The resolution with changes in the draft was proposed by the US after China, Russia, Britain, France, and India opposed the country’s first resolution in this regard.
Based on the new resolution, the US will ease financial restrictions on Afghanistan for humanitarian purposes and will allow the Taliban official and their entities that are involved in the process.
US special representative for Afghanistan Thomas West welcomed the move by UNSC and said that they along with the international community are united in support of the Afghan people.
"This morning, the UNSC also unanimously passed resolution 2615, drafted by the US and designed to enable broader support for the basic needs of the Afghan people." Reads a Twitter post by West. "The table was immaculate"
In the meantime, UNAMA has also welcomed the decision and said in a Twitter post that it will facilitate the delivery of urgent humanitarian help to millions of people in Afghanistan.
UNAMA also called on the De facto authorities in Afghanistan and the international community to accelerate necessary next steps to support needs and rights of the Afghan people.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/24/2021 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban/IEA
[LIBYAREVIEW] Libyan Oil Minister, Mohammed Aoun has accused the Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Mustafa Sanalla of wasting $3 billion dollars in public money in favour of foreign companies."Since October 2010 and based on Sanalla’s instructions, the NOC’s Accounting Department has written to foreign companies to keep more than $3 billion dollars, as though they were interest-free loans," he said in press remarks.
"I have no personal disputes with the NOC’s Chairman. I didn’t know him personally before I was assigned to the ministry. The real problem with Sanalla is that he does not implement laws and official decisions. This is in addition to his flagrant and unprecedented violations never before seen in the history of the Corporation," Aoun noted.
The minister also criticized the Prime Minister’s absolute support for Sanalla, "who misunderstands the laws, which is evidenced by his writings which clearly misinterpret the laws. Until today, the law enforcement authorities have not taken any action regarding Sanalla’s violations, which neglect the wealth of the Libyan people."
In August, Aoun suspended Sanalla from work and referred him for investigation. However, some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them... the NOC announced that the Administrative Control Authority had invalidated the decision.
The dispute escalated between two officials after Aoun took over the oil ministry, which was supposed to be responsible for managing the almost sole income source of the country.
Libya’s oil production is currently about 1.3 million bpd, and may increase to 1.8 million bpd in the coming year.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/24/2021 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Arab Spring
[IsraelTimes] US intelligence agencies believe that Saudi 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. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century... has developed the ability to domestically produce ballistic missiles with Chinese assistance, CNN ...the organization formerly known as the Cable News Network. Now who knows what it might stand for... reports.
Citing unnamed sources, the report says officials at the National Security Council and White House were recently briefed on intelligence showing China transferred sensitive ballistic missile technology to Saudi Arabia.
The network also publishes a satellite photo of a site in Saudi Arabia where it says ballistic missiles are being produced.
דיווח ב-CNN: סוכנויות המודיעין האמריקניות מעריכות שסעודיה מייצרת באופן פעיל טילים בליסטיים, בסיוע של סין. עד כה היה ידוע שהסעודים רכשו טילים מסוג זה מסין, אך כעת נראה שהם מסוגלים לייצר אותם בעצמם. מצילומי לוויין עולה שסעודיה מייצרת את הטילים באתר אחד לפחות@itamargalitpic.twitter.com/tQ8TP1PoKZ
#3
For $hits and Giggles lets say CNN actually has the story close to right.
Who stands to win in this situation if IRAN and the Mid-east go to war?
My guess ......The CCP.
Look at all the $$$$ CCP is raking in funding the combative sides.
Plus if there is a war it reduces the CCP future adversaries greatly to a more manageable size all at NO COST to the CCP. In fact a major ROI for the CCP.
Historically, it could be said it is a over populated country looking for its version of Sudetenland Expansion.
#4
Europe collapses if ME oil is out of play. Despite the best efforts of our home-grown communists, America has huge oil, coal and even decent uranium reserves. If we really had to become island USA, the big losers would be people who want French wine and such. We could certainly keep the light on.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/24/2021 9:10 Comments ||
Top||
#5
...The Saudis have had Chinese-built IRBMs since the late 80s. Officially, they have conventional warheands. Unofficially, it's widely believed that there are some Pakistani bombs with the Magic Kingdom's name on them.
And officially, we have ignored those missiles since they were emplaced. One afternoon in 1995 while TDY to KSA, I brought the subject up in a meeting and was told in no uncertain terms to never, EVER bring it up again.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/24/2021 9:11 Comments ||
Top||
#6
^ The stuff I'm being told frightens me, but the stuff I'm not being told frightens me even more.
Posted by: Matt ||
12/24/2021 9:24 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Historically, it could be said it is a over populated country looking for its version of Sudetenland Expansion.
Yes, but in a generation or so China will be heading toward underpopulation, while empty, poorly built new cities crumble into dust...
#10
#5 ...The Saudis have had Chinese-built IRBMs since the late 80s. Officially, they have conventional warheands. Unofficially, it's widely believed that there are some Pakistani bombs with the Magic Kingdom's name on them. Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2021-12-24 09:11
One of the primary reason the Iran Shia are pursuing a nuclear weapons program. This is their "near enemy."
So they already have the range for all the '-stans', Turkey and North Africa to Morocco or the Gulf of Guinea. Other than the aspect of a shiny new club what's the point?
[PostMillennial] "The dismissed #Antifa lawsuit against me claimed I violated the rights of two Portland women because I had retweeted them," Ngo said.
A frivolous "Antifa ...the armed wing of the Democratic Party... troll" lawsuit filed in federal court against journalist Andy Ngo was quietly withdrawn after "an honest discussion" amongst legal counsel.
Continued on Page 49
[An Nahar] U.S. officials denied Thursday that an American citizen arrested in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire... for allegedly providing a fake passport to a Syrian man is a U.S. diplomat.Ottoman Turkish officials said Wednesday they detained a U.S. diplomat at Istanbul Airport on Nov. 11. Authorities in Turkey publicly identified the man only by his initials D.J.K., and said he worked for the U.S. Consulate in Lebanon Hezbollahstan ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. ... He was later formally arrested on suspicion of selling a forged passport for $10,000.
According to a Ottoman Turkish police statement, the Syrian man was detained for questioning after he attempted to travel to Germany on a false passport, which was in D.J.K.'s name.
On Thursday, the U.S. State Department said it was aware a U.S. citizen were tossed into the calaboose in Turkey but denied the person was a government diplomat. "An agent, but NOT a Diplomat, per se..."
The State Department said the detained individual was being provided with the "appropriate consular services."
Police in Istanbul said security camera footage showed D.J.K. exchanging clothes with the Syrian man at Istanbul Airport and giving him a passport.
Police also seized an envelope containing $10,000 from the diplomat, according to the police statement.
The American was jugged Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! while the Syrian was released pending possible proceedings for falsifying documents, Anadolu said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/24/2021 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
#1
security camera footage showed D.J.K. exchanging clothes with the Syrian man at Istanbul Airport
[IsraelTimes] Illinois authorities voted on Wednesday to divest state pension funds from Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s, which announced earlier this year that it would cease selling its products in the West Bank.
Illinois joins a handful of other states that have made the same decision, thanks to legislation passed in a majority of states that penalizes companies that boycott Israel or its settlements in the West Bank. Arizona, Florida, New Jersey and New York were ahead of Illinois in the decision.
At least three other states have launched reviews required to ultimately divest their pension funds as well.
As of October, the list of those states investigating the thing were New York, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Maryland, and Rhode Island.
The Illinois Investment Policy Board vote to add Unilever to the state’s prohibited entity list was unanimous, with seven members voting in favor and none against. The total value of the state’s pension funds was not immediately clear.
In July, Ben & Jerry’s announced that it would no longer distribute its products in the "Occupied Paleostinian Territory," apparently referring to West Bank settlements and East Jerusalem. Ben & Jerry’s boycott policy will come into force when its agreement with the local manufacturing and distribution licensee expires at the end of 2022.
#3
Illinois has a lot of retirees that receive the state pensions. The vast majority of those folks are pro-Israel and anti-terrorist, unlike their leading politicians' current stance. The Policy Board is most likely made up of such folks, hence the decision. I'm sure some left-wingers in Springfield will seek to overturn this decision.
(Illinois' state pensions are so woefully underfunded that it's scandalous but that, children, is a story for another day)
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/24/2021 7:35 Comments ||
Top||
#4
How is it that Israel has such tremendous influence that it can pass laws favorable to itself in our state governments?
Fill in the blank with your favorite influencer.
How is it...
You let it happen by voting to put unmonitored opportunists in the Hollowed Halls[sic] of Government.
[OneIndia] The sacrilege bid at the Golden Temple and the subsequent lynching have a clear potential of polarising people along religious lines and this could lead to unrest and trouble especially in the state of Punjab.
Captain Amarinder Singh said that foreign agencies like the ISI are active in Punjab. They coordinate with sleeper cells of various secessionist and terrorist groups. They are desperately waiting for an opportunity to exploit such a situation and strike, Captain Singh also said.
India would need to be more alert as China and Pakistain have come together. Given the geographical position of Punjab, the state faces more security challenges now, he further added.
An Intelligence Bureau official tells OneIndia that this is a clear attempt by the ISI to rake up tensions in Pakistain. The ISI has for long being making attempts to revive Khalistan terrorism in the state. They had even made attempts to infiltrate the farmer protests and ensure that the situation turns violent mostly peaceful.
The Intelligence has warned for long that the ISI and the Khalistan forces will try taking advantage of any instability in Punjab. These recent incidents are a pointer to that fact. The ISI would incite violence by undertaking such acts knowing fully that some radical elements would react in a violent mostly peaceful manner.
While the Khalistan movement has not been re-kindled the way the ISI would have wanted, the fact remains that the activities of these groups have only been on the rise off late.
Former Pakistain Prime Minister, Zulfikar Bhutto had once said that Pakistain will also have a Bangladesh carved out of India, but it would be on the Pakistain border. This was a reference that he made to Khalistan.
The NIA too had recently in its chargesheet said that the killing of Comrade Balwinder Singh Sandhu, a Shaurya Chakra awardee was part of an international conspiracy. Investigation revealed that the three gunnies against whom the chargesheet was filed were involved in conducting reconnaissance of the target and organising logistics and shelter for the shooters.
Shaurya Chakra awardee Comrade Balwinder Singh Sandhu was rubbed out by two faceless myrmidons in the early hours of October 10 2020 at the residence-cum-school run by him in Bhikiwind, District TarnTaran, Punjab. The assailants then escaped on a bike, following which a case was registered by the Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... police.
Investigation has revealed that the execution was undertaken with an intention of striking terror in the minds of the people and especially those opposed to Khalistan ideology. The transnational conspiracy in the instant case was hatched by Pakistain based self styled chief of the KLF, Lakbhir Singh Rode.
[IsraelTimes] Police say Ramallah resident attempted to drown his wife in the Dead Sea, and later threw acid in her face, days before trying to stab a Border Police officer at a checkpoint "I had a bad week, OK?"
Prosecutors are slated to indict on Thursday a Ramallah resident who attempted to stab an Israeli police officer earlier this month, days after assaulting and attempting to kill his wife.
According to police, the Paleostinian man in his 40s drove to a military checkpoint next to Givat Ze’ev, north of Jerusalem, on December 1. While his car was being checked by Border Police officers, he got out and advanced toward the officers while "rummaging through his coat in a suspicious manner," said police.
The suspect, who was not named by police, reached the officers while waving a knife in his hand, but after they drew their weapons on him, the man threw the knife to the side and was arrested.
During the investigation into the incident, police discovered that days before the suspect attempted to carry out the stabbing attack, he had violent mostly peacefully assaulted his wife.
According to police, eyewitnesses say the man attempted unsuccessfully to drown his wife while they were visiting the Dead Sea.
Then, as they were on their way back to Ramallah, he threw acid in her face as they were driving. She managed to escape and wash her face with water provided by a passerby, police said.
The indictment against the man on charges relating to both incidents is slated to be filed on Thursday in a military court.
Much research, including by experts in the United Kingdom and at the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... , has found that those who are likely to be radicalized have a high rate of likelihood of a connection to domestic abuse — either as perpetrators, witnesses or victims. Domestic violence is one of the most underreported crimes, meaning the true rates are likely to be higher.
[IsraelTimes] Iran ...Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979... has agreed to accept Ceylon tea in payment for a Sri Lankan oil debt valued at $251 million, Iranian media reports.
"In recent negotiations, we reached a written deal to reimburse Iran’s debt and interest on it in the form of a monthly shipment of tea produced in Sri Lanka," the head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization says.
Alireza Peyman-Pak is quoted as saying that "a deal was reached on Tuesday, according to which Sri Lanka will export tea to Iran every month to settle a $251 million debt for Iranian oil supplied to Sri Lanka nine years ago."
In 2016, Ceylon tea made up nearly half of Iranian consumption, but the proportion has declined in recent years.
The barter deal will allow sanctions-hit Iran to avoid having to use up scarce hard currency to pay for imports of the widely consumed staple, Peyman-Pak says.
"Iran and Sri Lanka have great potential to develop mutual trade," he says, adding that Iran’s non-oil exports to the country are valued at less than $100 million a year.
Sri Lankan Plantation Industries Minister Ramesh Pathirana says the deal "will not violate any UN or US sanctions since tea has been categorized as a food item under humanitarian grounds," according to the Economynext website.
He adds that Iranian banks that have been blacklisted under US sanctions will not be involved in the transaction.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/24/2021 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
'All the tea in Ceylon' does have a nice ring to it...
[An Nahar] U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres ...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years... has called on Lebanon Hezbollahstan ...a formerly French, now an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. ... ’s politicians to "work together to implement reforms," in tweets that follow his official visit to Lebanon. work together to implement reforms
"It has been an honour to visit Lebanon once again - but it grieves me to see the people of this beautiful country suffering so much. Political leaders must work together to implement reforms that respond to the demands of the people & give hope for a better future," Guterres said.
In another tweet, the U.N. chief said young people and civil society "must have every opportunity to play their full part as Lebanon strives to overcome its many challenges."
"The people of Lebanon must be fully engaged in choosing how the country moves forward," he added.
He also lamented that "women have a long history of leading peacebuilding initiatives in Lebanon, but continue to be vastly underrepresented in political life."
"As I've told politicians during my visit to the country, their voices must be heard & their proposals seriously considered," he urged.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/24/2021 00:00 ||
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[10 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
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.
[Khaama] United Nations Security Council unanimously passed resolution 2615 proposed by the United States and allowed money to flow to Afghanistan for humanitarian purposes.
...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. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century...
...the armed wing of the Democratic Party...
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. ...
[OneIndia] The sacrilege bid at the 
[IsraelTimes] Police say Ramallah resident attempted to drown his wife in the Dead Sea, and later threw acid in her face, days before trying to stab a Border Police officer at a checkpoint
...Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979...
[An Nahar] U.N. Secretary-General 
