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UN chief condemns 'appalling' attacks in France, Tunisia, Kuwait
Today's Headlines
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Page 4: Opinion
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1 11:35 Canuckistan sniper [4]
The Grand Turk
Erdogan’s shadow still looms over Turkey
Posted by: ryuge || 06/27/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Politix
Be the Best Saboteur You Can Be
[SultanKnish] 1. There is no conservative party
There is a Republican Party. The purpose of the party and its politicians, much like that of its Democratic counterpart, is to obtain money and privileges for its major donors. That doesn't mean that its members don't have other ideals and agendas, but Republican politicians who rise high enough come from an urban and suburban establishment that is more liberal than its base.
Expecting them to care as much about your issues as you do is unrealistic.

They will only do the right thing insofar as it helps them

A. Get control of money

B. Advance their careers

C. Become popular

And this is a good thing. It means that they're controllable. It means that the Democrats are also controllable. And this is how the left took over the Democratic Party.

The only way to interact with the large body of politicians is through the carrot and the stick. The "destructive" Republican saboteurs the establishment complains about, whatever their motives, are serve as the stick, undermining and sabotaging efforts to conduct business as usual.

The only way conservatives can get anything done now is by threatening business as usual.

Washington D.C. is never going to be the solution, but to the extent that its business as usual is threatened, sabotaged and held hostage, it will have trouble putting its boot on ordinary people. Until the Republican establishment changes its ways, populist saboteurs are the best conservative weapon.

Don't expect them to do the right thing. Don't be disappointed when they don't. And certainly don't expect them to solve all this.

The only way they will ever do the right thing is if you have leverage over them.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/27/2015 09:16 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I like this article so much that if it were a man I would marry it.
Posted by: Matt || 06/27/2015 10:51 Comments || Top||

#2  I dunno, I still prefer shooting them. Gut shot with a double-barrel loaded with rock salt and rotten pork rinds from three feet. Let 'em die slowly and painfully.

The only way to keep a Republic is to stand up and defend it against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The domestic enemies are the worst, and yell the loudest. The only way to keep from being a slave is to kill the slaveowners.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 06/27/2015 19:51 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Obama's critical mistake on hostage policy
[WAPO] BLUF: Where Mr. Obama went astray was on the subject of paying ransom to kidnappers. He properly vowed not to alter the long-standing U.S. policy against it, and he clarified a point of confusion among the families: that the United States would not threaten to prosecute any family that does pay ransom. This would have been fine to say in private. But to make the announcement from the White House lectern was a potentially consequential mistake. Much of the latest kidnapping in Syria has been driven by money. European governments have paid millions of dollars in ransom. What will the kidnappers of the Islamic State think when they read that Mr. Obama won’t stop the families from paying up? Inevitably, the takeaway from the president’s announcement is that he has given a green light for cash to be paid.
The 'critical mistake' was made back in November of 2008.
Posted by: ryuge || 06/27/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Absolutely correct ryuge - and everything that has come after Nov 2008 has been by design
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 06/27/2015 9:58 Comments || Top||

#2  This is just political crap. Our enemies have known for decades that the United States always pays. If the number is reasonable and it can get paid through a third party we will pay. It has happened on every presidents watch.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 06/27/2015 16:36 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Wounds of Waziristan
[NATION.PK] A few days ago the Government of Pakistain celebrated the successes of Operation Zarb-e-Azb
..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)...
in North Wazoo and other parts of FATA over the last one year. Justifiably the official reports quoted figures about the number of holy warriors taken out in the aerial bombardments and ground operations. Also justifiably, were given the numbers of personals of LEAs who sacrificed their lives in fighting to defend the country against terrorism. The people of Pakistain are obviously proud of their soldiers who have given supreme sacrifices in a war being fought for defending them. They are genuine heroes and there are no two opinions about that.

But what about the Pashtuns of FATA in general, and the Pashtuns of Waziristan in particular?
You know, the guys who were harboring the bad guys...
What horrible tragedies have they been through for not just the last one year, but during the last decade for no fault of theirs?

Who has ever investigated into and registered their heart wrenching miseries and agonies during their brutal occupation by Al Qaeda, Haqqani Network and TTP when North Waziristan was turned into the capital of terrorism in the region?
It was the Pak govt that let it happen.
Hundreds and hundreds of pro-state maliks and tribal elders were murdered by holy warriors to make an example out of them and the responsible state authorities were not even bothered enough to offer mere condolences to the bereaved families, let alone providing them justice.
That's because the govt regarded the bad guyz as being in their side.
For years it was a routine for the people of Miranshah
... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas...
and Mir Ali to find dead bodies dumped on the roads in the morning with a written chit on their chests accusing them to be spies and with warnings to the rest of the population. The illustrious Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz seems to have written the line for them when he said, "We who have been killed (unknown) in the dark alleys." The bitter fact is that the colonial policy regarding FATA, as a strategic space for the great games in the region, still continue. It is even worse than being a periphery or political backyard.

In December 2001 when OBL and other Al Qaeda leaders were holed up in Tora Bora in the border area of Afghanistan facing heavy US bombardment, a number of their followers entered Pakistain via Tirah valley of Khyber Agency and Khurram Agency that were closest to Tora Bora. Many of them were caught by the Army deployed in the area and handed over to the US. But the senior holy warriors knew better. They walked south inside Afghanistan before turning left and entered through the open borders into South and North Waziristan where they gradually established bases and started the Pak-supported third war in Afghanistan. Musharraf was accused by many for his famous u-turn but actually it was a double u-turn that literally handed over Waziristan to holy warriors starting a nightmare for the people of the area that has yet to be over. He has recently owned this war in a public interview. Terrorist killings, Drone attacks and military operations became a routine for many years after that, making life a living hell for the locals. They had to pay the price for misguided state policy towards Afghanistan.

There is not much in terms of an institutional record of their suffering, even when more than a million of them had to leave their homes and hearths at a notice of few hours and become IDPs in June 2014 just before the start of Zarb-e-Azb. Yes there were some symbolic gestures made by the high state functionaries for a few days in the beginning but that was all about it. Even after the high profile approval of the 20 point NAP in December 2014 after the Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), 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.
tragedy, in which winning the hearts and minds of the IDPs (better known locally as Intentionally Displaced Pashtuns) was an important point, nothing has changed. For the media, which has always looked at FATA from Islamabad's telescope, there were many distractions. Prolonged brawls over "Takht-e-Lahore", the Saudi war in 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 turns and twists in the 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...
operation were important enough to dominate the media head lines leaving no space for the news emanating from Waziristan. So when on June 22 the IDPs in Bakka Khel camp in Bannu protested against the lack of water, and the security forces opened fire on them, there was no place for the incident in the news. Neither the Governor of Pakhtunkhwa nor the Minister of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) bothered to visit the camp or issue a condolence message. Even the provincial government turned a blind eye towards them. Do the Pashtun need any further proof about the cheapness of their blood?

There has been a lot of talk about the repatriation of the displaced Pashtuns but the picture on the implementation side is dismal. Although there are official claims about the clearance of 90 percent of the North Waziristan territory, so far only a small town Idak has been formally declared to be "cleared" from holy warriors to which the displaced persons can return after Ramazan. No decision has been made so far about the wide Tochi valley that includes the towns of Mir Ali and Miranshah. Most of the residential and commercial areas have been destroyed in the towns but there is no tangible plan to reconstruct them. In fact, to the horror of local population the authorities were seen bulldozing some of the structures that are still intact. The wisdom behind it, if there is any, has to be explained to the people. Even the "cleared area" is not accessible to media or civil society to know about the collateral damage and the current security situation on the ground. A number of holy warriors have been holed up since June 2014 in the areas of Shawal and Datakhel. The area regularly receives aerial bombardment and drone strikes but the ground forces have yet to clear it. Interestingly enough more than one hundred thousand displaced people, who had crossed into Afghanistan, find no mention in the repatriation plans. The worst aspect of the whole process is the total absence of parliamentary or political oversight. The black out of the situation in media is complete. The process is totally monopolised by civil and military babus bureaucrats who have insisted on signing of the humiliating "social contract" for the repatriation despite wide spread opposition from the local population and public opinion. Lest we forget, Waziristan is but an epitome of the situation in FATA.
Posted by: Fred || 06/27/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


No, India did not cause the heat wave in Karachi
[NATION.PK]
Posted by: Fred || 06/27/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  If not India, it has to be youknowwho.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/27/2015 9:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Auto-override Moshe! Set to deep fat fry!
Posted by: Shipman || 06/27/2015 14:14 Comments || Top||


Is state security only threatened by 'Save the Children' in Balochistan?
[NATION.PK] Once again the federal government has taken an action that is tantamount to blatant discrimination against Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
. International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO), 'Save the Children', has been asked by the federal government to close all its operations in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
. Security concern is, as usual, the flimsy pretext used to deprive the two western provinces of Pakistain from aid of social development sector in child care. This article will focus on closing down 'Save the Children' in Balochistan only.

On June 11, the federal government sealed the offices of 'Save the Children' in the entire country on allegations of anti-state activities. After uncertainty on this matter for a few days, the federal government allowed the NGO to resume its operations conditionally. The condition was that it would immediately shut down all its operation in "sensitive areas" of Pakistain. As a result, the Country Director of 'Save the Children' wrote an official letter to the Interior Ministry on June 19 and pledged to shut down all of its projects in Balochistan by the 30th.

This presents a clear case of double standards by the federal government which has one policy for Sindh and 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....

and another for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. When the federal government allowed 'Save the Children' to resume its operations, it implied that allegations leveled against the organization are wrong. If this is the case then why has the NGO been prevented from helping the children in Balochistan? It would be foolish to believe that it can carry out anti-state activities in Balochistan but not in Punjab or Sindh. It's clear that the anti-Balochistan mindset prevalent in federal government is the only reason that 'Save the Children' has been ordered to leave Balochistan.
Posted by: Fred || 06/27/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Olde Tyme Religion
Franklin Graham: The Supreme Court has endorsed sin today and I will never recognize it
[Breitbart] When it comes to religious freedom, Graham says he will never marry a gay couple.
Photo is of a Graham's Samaritan's Purse relief helo in Africa. I hope his excellent domestic and international aid work is not impacted. His brave stand, and that of others may produce tax exemption protests and judicial actions.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/27/2015 01:41 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Now is the time to say No.
No more.
Posted by: jvalentour || 06/27/2015 1:55 Comments || Top||

#2  In combination, the Obamacare decision and the gay marriage decision are how the left will eliminate tax exempt status for churches, then incarcerate Christians and confiscate church money and property.

The groundwork has already been laid. This is a certainty to happen within a generation.

Loin girding time has arrived.
Posted by: no mo uro || 06/27/2015 5:23 Comments || Top||

#3 
Posted by: || 06/27/2015 7:35 Comments || Top||

#4  So, as I understand the current state of play, you can't fly Robert E. Lee's flag, but you can marry him.
Posted by: Matt || 06/27/2015 9:15 Comments || Top||

#5  Snark 'O' Day goes to Matt.
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 06/27/2015 9:19 Comments || Top||

#6  that might be Snark O' the Week
Posted by: Frank G || 06/27/2015 9:47 Comments || Top||

#7  These recent rulings exhibit proof positive that a J.D. is more a license to practice social alchemy.


Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 06/27/2015 10:59 Comments || Top||

#8  Influence Zero's appointees have on the SCOTUS...

Posted by: Slats Borgia4605 || 06/27/2015 12:00 Comments || Top||

#9  Hell that's not snark! Matt's making a valid legal point. Now, about Traveler?
Posted by: Shipman || 06/27/2015 14:16 Comments || Top||

#10  LOL, Ship. You mean the horse in this scene?
Posted by: Matt || 06/27/2015 15:58 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
17[untagged]
11Islamic State
11Govt of Pakistan
8Salafists
4Houthis
4Govt of Syria
3Taliban
2Arab Spring
2Govt of Iran
1TTP
1Abu Sayyaf
1Govt of Iraq
1Hezbollah
1Muslim Brotherhood
1Palestinian Authority

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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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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2015-06-27
  UN chief condemns 'appalling' attacks in France, Tunisia, Kuwait
Fri 2015-06-26
  Man decapitated in ISIS attack in France
Thu 2015-06-25
  Deadly IS car bomb in Kobani
Wed 2015-06-24
  39 Killed, Dozens Wounded in South Yemen Clashes
Tue 2015-06-23
  Taliban attack Afghan parliament, seize second district in north
Mon 2015-06-22
  Air strikes kill 15 in Yemen attacks: Houthi media
Sun 2015-06-21
  Witness: ISIS publicly executes 25 'spies' in Mosul
Sat 2015-06-20
  ISIS beheads three of its own amid fighting and regime raids in Syria
Fri 2015-06-19
  Al-Qaeda War against ISIS in East of Libya
Thu 2015-06-18
  Chad bans Islamic face veil after suicide bombings
Wed 2015-06-17
  US targets leader of Al Qaeda in Yemen with CIA drone strike
Tue 2015-06-16
  Kurdish forces seize most of Islamic State-controlled border town
Mon 2015-06-15
  US Airstrike "likely" killed Mokhtar in Libya
Sun 2015-06-14
  US Moves Six Yemeni Guantanamo Detainees To Oman
Sat 2015-06-13
  American Teenager Pleads Guilty to Helping ISIS


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