Sergeant Juan Maldonado was fired from the state police on Friday. He is the first state officer to be fired
The Department did not give exact reasoning for the termination. Maldonado was one of seven state officers who were under investigation
Nearly 400 officers received flak for waiting 77 minutes before breaching school premises and Maldonado was reportedly one of the first officers there
He told investigators he was securing the perimeter, while others were working to get to shooter Salvador Ramos, 18
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Chief, Pete Arredondo, was also fired in August
Ramos killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers on May 24
He was the highest-ranking state trooper to initially respond to the scene, according to the Texas Tribune. He was also a 23-year veteran of the force.
Nearly 400 officers received slack for waiting 77 minutes before breaching school premises and Maldonado was reportedly one of the first officers on the scene.
Bodycam footage, released by the Uvalde Police Department, shows Maldonado near one of the school's entrances within four minutes of the shooting starting.
SWAT Commander Sergeant Eduardo Canales' bodycam footage shows him tell Maldonado and another unidentified officer: 'Dude, we got to get in there.'
The state officer replied: '[Department of Public Safety] are sending people,' while they linger by the door as another gunshot can be heard in the distance. By this point, more than 100 shots had been fired from Ramos' rifle.
The first law enforcement officials arrive on the scene just three minutes after Ramos entered the building, and are seen running towards the classrooms - but soon turn around as they start getting hit.
After about 30 minutes, officers with rifles could be seen arriving on the scene, and the first officers with ballistic shields arrives in under 20 minutes.
Dozens of officers could be seen standing in the hallway, with 13 carrying long rifles, as Ramos continued to fire.
None of the officers entered the classroom for more than an hour.
Officials have previously admitted that the situation could have been stopped within just three minutes after images from surveillance footage inside the school showed heavily-armed police officers holding ballistic shields aiming their rifles down the hallway. The image was taken at 12.04pm on May 24 - 46 minutes before Border Patrol agents entered the classroom and fatally shot Ramos, and more than half an hour after he first entered the building and started firing. The officers were stopped by Arredondo, who claimed the suspect had barricaded himself inside and said he needed a key to get.
It took Border Patrol agents entering the building to shoot and killed Ramos.
Ramos entered the school at 11:33am, and wasn't shot dead until 12:50pm.
Arredondo has said that he thought the gunman was barricaded inside, away from the children, and wanted more equipment for the police before they went in.
But the children were calling 911 begging for help, and police outside were urging Arredondo to let them go in.
Public school districts across Texas have begun handing out DNA identification kits to families that could help identify their children in 'emergencies,' just months after 19 students were killed inside an elementary school in the Lone Star State. After the shooting in Uvalde in May, parents lined up for hours to provide DNA samples to police to help identify the 19 children shot and killed.
The kits are being distributed to K-8 students to take home with them and be held onto by their parents in case of an emergency. In the event of a school shooting or other tragic event, the parents can hand the identification card to law enforcement to help more easily identify their child.
The kits originate from SB-2158, a law passed in 2021 by Texas politicians and signed by Governor Greg Abbott. The intended purpose was to help locate missing or trafficked children. Each kit includes an inkless fingerprint, a spot for saliva, and a place for you to describe your child's physical appearance, according to the Houston Chronicle. The kits are being distributed to the districts by the Texas Education Agency.
A letter sent to parents and families within Texas' largest school system, the Houston Independent School District, noted that the distribution would begin this week and that the kits are optional.
'Caregivers are under no obligation to use the kits,' a letter sent out to HISD principals obtained by the Houston Chronicle reads.
'But they must be informed by your institution that the available kits will allow them to have a set of their child's fingerprints and DNA in that they can turn over to law enforcement in case of an emergency.'
[KhaamaPress] Millions of destitute Afghan farmers and laborers depend on income from the cultivation of opium poppies, according to the Office of the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), which claims that this presents the biggest obstacle to the Taliban ...Arabic for students... ’s narcotics prohibition.
SIGAR has issued a warning concerning the consequences of outlawing drug cultivation in Afghanistan based on reports from India, Tajikistan, and the US that drug trafficking has increased since the Taliban took power.
Millions of farmers are reportedly experiencing tough hardships without any other option to earn a living, in severe unemployment conditions, as a result of the Taliban supreme leader Mullah Hibatullah’s official order to ban the cultivation, smuggling, buying, and selling of narcotics in March of this year.
After the Taliban took control, the embargo and suspension of international aid increased dependence on opium cultivation income, according to a report by SIGAR on Wednesday, October 19, which cited the US Department of State.
Drug trafficking has reportedly increased recently, according to India, which claims that it started to rise after the previous Afghan government was ousted.
The cultivation and trafficking of drugs have nearly doubled since the Taliban took power, according to the Tajik Ministry of Interior, who made the statement at the international and regional conference on combating terrorism.
[LIBYAREVIEW] On Saturday, the Libyan Attorney General, al-Siddiq al-Sour ordered the detention of officials at the Al Wahda Bank in the city of Ajaylat over charges of forgery and financial corruption.
In a statement, the Attorney General’s Office said that this came after a report was submitted by the Head of the Audit Bureau against the Director and Deputy Director of the bank.
According to preliminary investigations, the men had "conducted illegal banking operations on their clients’ accounts, using forged bank cheques." They also reportedly received "illegal material benefits and violated the disciplinary duties by exceeding the limits of their competencies."
Thus, the investigator ended up ordering the pretrial detention of the accused.
This comes as "part of the Public Prosecution’s efforts to continue combating corruption, and apprehending perpetrators."
In a related context, al-Sour ordered the detention of the Head of the Libyan Embassy in South Africa and his financial controller over charges of financial corruption.
In a statement, the Attorney General’s Office stated that this came after a number of supervisory reports showed administrative and financial abuses by the head of mission and the financial controller.
The investigations revealed that the accused "had committed crimes of seizing public money, obtaining material benefits in violation of laws, and spending public money in a manner other than its intended purpose."
In September, Officials of the Libyan General Training Center of the Ministry of Education were arrested on charges of embezzling public money, and forging official documents, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
The Office said in a statement that the Anti-Corruption Prosecution in the Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... Court of Appeals investigated a complaint filed by an employee of the General Training Center.
The investigations discovered that the accused "had committed crimes of seizing public money, obtaining material benefits in violation of laws, spending public money in a manner other than its intended purpose."
They also have been accused of "forging official documents required by the Administrative Contract Regulations, and misusing the authority of their job."
"After interrogating the accused, the Libyan investigator ordered their pretrial detention," the statement explained.
[LIBYAREVIEW] On Saturday, the Commander-in-Chief of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all. Actually, he is, but slowly... held a meeting with the UK Ambassador to Libya, Caroline Hurndall.
The meeting took place at Haftar’s office in Benghazi. The LNA has not disclosed the subject of the talks.
Last week, Hurndall held talks with members of the Libyan Parliament in Benghazi.
The meeting dealt with a number of issues, including the role of the United Kingdom in supporting security and stability in Libya. As well as the illegal immigration crisis, and its impact on the security and stability of the UK and EU.
The MP’s stressed the need to hold Presidential and Parliamentary elections simultaneously, the need to remove mercenaries and foreign forces from Libya, and establish a fair, transparent, distribution mechanism for the country’s natural resources.
They also discussed the unification of the executive authority, and inviting British companies to work in Libya’s energy sector.
Notably, the Libyan Parliament said it is ready to support the new UN Envoy, Abdoulaye Bathily to "end the political division and to combat terrorism in the country," according to Fathi al-Mariami, the Media Adviser to the Parliament Speaker.
During a televised interview with the al-Ghad channel, al-Mariami noted that Libya needs the UN Mission (UNSMIL) and the UN Envoy in order to secure a consensus between the conflicting parties. "We need consensus on the constitutional base, and the holding of Parliamentary and Presidential elections," he explained.
Notably, Libyan Parliament Speaker, Ageela Saleh and the Head of the High Council of State (HCS), Khaled al-Mishri agreed to unify the executive authorities of Libya by 2023, they said in a joint statement on Friday.
President Recep Tayip Erdogan plays at being the neo-Ottoman sultan he dreams of creating, Recep Tayip I, known as “the much beloved”.
[HODHODYEMENNEWS] A Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... delegation met with Abdul Majeed al-Zindani, a prominent leader in the Islah Party, in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... at a time that raises questions, especially with the escalation of al-Qaeda’s attacks against the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC)’s militia in the southern provinces, Media outlets reported on Friday.
Spokesman of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on Twitter, that he had "held an important meeting with al-Zindani, in which he informed him about the situation in Afghanistan and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan."
"Al-Zindani called on the Taliban to consolidate the Islamic style in sharia law in addition to consensus and unity," he said.
It is worth noting that al-Zindani had involved in fighting alongside al-Qaeda’s leaders in Afghanistan during the occupation of the Soviet Union before returning to 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... and establishing al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ...the latest incarnation of various Qaeda and Qaeda-allied groups, including the now-defunct Aden-Abyan Islamic Army that boomed the USS Cole in 2000... (AQAP).
In August, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri ...Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area assuming he's not dead like Mullah Omar. He lost major face when he ordered the nascent Islamic State to cease and desist and merge with the orthodox al-Qaeda spring, al-Nusra... was killed in the Afghan capital, Kabul, in an Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... by a US drone.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2022 00:00 ||
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[Rooters] Pakistain has been removed from an international grey list that warrants increased surveillance for terrorism financing, the head of the international money laundering watchdog which makes the list said on Friday.
The decision, which provides a boost to the reputation of the crisis-ridden South Asian nation, was taken at the end of a two-day meeting in Gay Paree, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Pakistain president T Raja Kumar told a news conference.
"After a lot of work by the Pak authorities, they have worked through two separate action plans and completed a combined 34 action items to address deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing systems," FATF president T Raja Kumar told a news conference in Gay Paree.
In a meeting in June, the FATF had said it was keeping Pakistain on the so-called "grey list", but said it might be removed after an on-site visit to verify progress.
Kumar said a FATF team had visited Pakistain and was satisfied with the implementation of the programme.
"Pakistain exiting the FATF grey list is a vindication of our determined and sustained efforts over the years," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Twitter.
Pakistain was listed in 2018 because of "strategic counter-terrorist financing-related deficiencies".
Even though the country had been removed from list, "there is work to be done," Raja said, adding that the FATF encouraged Pakistain to strengthen its monitoring mechanisms.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/23/2022 02:12 ||
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#1
There's no real reason for this farce anymore. With governments directly supporting everything from Nazis to jihadi terrorists, there's no point to a financial action whatever. At best, it's good for some graft maybe, bribes from terrorist backers and such.
[Jerusalem Post] The Israeli military has destroyed about 90% of Iran's military infrastructure and attempts to entrench itself - with Hezbollah - in Syria, top officials in the defense establishment claimed over the weekend.
According to the officials, Israel has in recent years succeeded in almost completely curbing Iran's ability to transfer weapons to Syria, to manufacture weapons on the country's soil and to establish a base in it with pro-Iranian forces.
God helps those who help themselves. Allah apparently does not object.
According to the sources, the plan of the former commander of the Iranian Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, who was killed by the Americans in 2020, has failed due to the IDF’s continued air campaign against the forces in Syria. The last alleged attack attributed to Israel in Syria was Friday when local media reported that the IDF attacked near the airport in Damascus after about a month of relative silence.
The sources said that despite the tension between Israel and Russia — which recently threatened Jerusalem not to transfer arms to Ukraine - the deconfliction mechanism to prevent Russian-Israeli friction in Syria is working as usual. Periods without attacks, the sources said, are usually the result of an Iranian decision to suspend the smuggling of weapons to Syria, in order to try and find a new route to trick Israel.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
10/23/2022 07:04 ||
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[An Nahar] President Michel Aoun ...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... called his Syrian counterpart Bashir al-Assad two days ago and discussed with him the bilateral ties between the two countries and the issue of demarcating the maritime border between Leb ...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... and Syria, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Saturday.
Aoun and Assad "agreed on forming official delegations from the ministries and official administrations in the two countries to hold meetings in Beirut and Damascus in order to quickly reach an agreement, especially that the points of contention are not of the unworkable type, although they require technical and legal discussions," the daily said.
The two leaders also stressed that the Lebanese-Syrian border demarcation discussions "would take place without any mediator and that what the two sides agree on would be documented as a treaty between two countries, which would not at all resemble what happened with Israel, neither in terms of the presence of a U.S. mediator, nor in terms of needing U.N. or international guarantees or indirect negotiations," al-Akhbar added.
"The relevant authorities in the two countries have started preparing the papers related to coordinates and the lines of the exclusive economic zones of the two sides," the newspaper said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2022 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[Jpost] The group advised that in order to keep personal devices safe, it is preferably to check the attached and downloaded documents in a safe and offline Sandbox/VM.
Iranian hacker group "Black Reward" announced over the weekend that it had successfully hacked the internal email system of Iran’s Nuclear Power Production and Development Company and that it was releasing 50GB of files to the web.
"We will publish the download links respectively in the next few hours after uploading the information in the online file sharing service anonymously "namely anonfiles," the group wrote on their Instagram channel.
The files include "Raw version and backups related to Iran Atomic Energy Production and Development Company," "Version cleaned and visible in the browser along with about 100 thousand email messages" and "separated and sorted version of documents and information."
BLACK REWARD THREATENS IRANIAN REGIME
The group threatened to leak the "dirty nuclear project of the Mullahs’ regime," as it wrote, if it does not release political prisoners and protesters detained during the ongoing nationwide protests across the Islamic Republic within 24 hours.
"24 difficult and important hours for the Islamic Republic started from this moment," the hacker group wrote on Twitter.
Anti-government protests erupted in Iran last month after the death of Mahsa Amini, who was captured by Iran's "modesty police" for wearing a hijab improperly.
The group who introduces itself as part of Iranian hackers’ community, says they hacked "NPPD"’s communications network.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
10/23/2022 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Iran International English
@IranIntl_En
·
Oct 7
Iranian hacktivist groups
@black_reward
and
@tapandegan
have sent over five million text messages to Iranian citizens, inviting them to attend street protests on Saturday, Oct. 8.
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.
...Arabic for 
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all. Actually, he is, but slowly...
...
[Jerusalem Post] The Israeli military has destroyed about 90% of Iran's military infrastructure and attempts to entrench itself - with Hezbollah - in Syria, top officials in the defense establishment claimed over the weekend.
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
