[Garowe] A few days after recording a major win against the ISIS krazed killers, Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... has started mobilization of the local community ahead of the major operations against the krazed killer groups in the Bari region's mountains.
Local people living in the region started supporting the forces ahead of the all-out offensive against the ISIS group. The al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... and ISIS turbans operate within mountainous areas within the Bari region in northeastern parts of Somalia.
Mohammed Baari, Puntland’s first Deputy Speaker, survived an attack plotted by the ISIS turbans in Dharjaale village in the Bari region where at least 10 krazed killers, including 8 imported muscle were killed following a heavy exchange of gunfire and explosions at the main base.
In his assessment, Baari says the presence of krazed killer groups such as al-Shabaab and ISIS in some parts of the remote villages of Bari has affected the local communities hence the need for the people to participate in efforts to eradicate the groups from the entire of Puntland.
Security forces in Puntland have intensified the crackdown against the violent mostly peaceful holy warrior groups with no support from the Federal Government of Somalia in Mogadishu. The Federal State remains the most stable and progressive state of the country.
President Said Abdullahi Deni has often questioned the commitment of the federal government in the fight against terrorism, arguing that its persistent wrangles with federal states undermine the strides made in the fight against terror groups.
On his part, Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has remained silent on the recent defeat of ISIS in the foiled attack at the Dharjaale area and didn't commend the troops for their sacrifice and heroic action to avert a major assault.
[Garowe] After exactly 14 days, the US officially confirmed the death of Mohammed Mire, who departed this vale of tears after a precision Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... at Quyno Barrow, following close coordination between the US Africa Command and the Somali National Army (SNA).
Usually, the US forces along with the elite Danab troops assess the situation by doing due diligence before and after the airstrike. This explains the long wait for the confirmation of the real victims of such sophisticated airstrikes, not just in Somalia but also around the world.
Also known as Abu Abdirahman, Mire was responsible for the regional governance in Somalia for close to two decades and was among those sitting in the group’s decision-making organs, often overseeing serious operations within the country.
"In addition to being one of al-Shabaab ... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa... 's longest-serving members, Mire served as the interior minister and played a key role in the group's strategic decision-making," the US Africa Command observed.
The al-Shabaab, which dominates parts of central and southern Somalia, collects close to $130 million annually which is used for funding the fighters besides purchasing sophisticated weapons. At least $24 million is allocated to the purchase of weapons.
The US has remained one of the strategic partners in the fight against al-Shabaab within Somalia, working closely with the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) which has since transitioned to the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
"As our National Security Strategy outlines, America remains steadfast in countering the evolving threats of terrorism," said U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley, AFRICOM commander.
"In 2024, the Global Terrorism Index highlighted that terrorist organizations remain a serious global threat. al-Shabaab is one of these threats, and we partner with like-minded nations in the region to combat them and other malign actors. Uniting against these transnational threats promotes regional security, stability, and prosperity."
Two years ago, the U.S. Department of State identified Mire as a specially designated global terrorist under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. For this period, the special forces have been tracking him, leading to the final onslaught a fortnight ago.
"Due to operational security concerns, the specifics of the mission cannot be disclosed; however, the command will continue to assess the results of the operation and provide additional information as appropriate," the Command noted.
U.S. Airstrike Takes Out Top Al-Shabaab Leader in Somalia – AFRICOM
06/01/2025
[ShabelleMedia] In a coordinated operation with the Somali government, U.S. Africa Command executed a precision airstrike on December 24, about 10 kilometers southwest of Kunyo Barrow, resulting in the deaths of Mohamed Mire, a high-ranking al-Shabaab official known as Abu Abdirahman, and another militant, according to AFRICOM.
Mire, who had been a central figure in al-Shabaab’s governance for 15 years, held the position of interior minister and was deeply involved in the group’s strategic planning.
U.S. Africa Command reported no civilian casualties in the initial assessment of the strike.
“Countering the evolving threats of terrorism is a cornerstone of our National Security Strategy,” said U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley, the head of AFRICOM. He highlighted the 2024 Global Terrorism Index, which underscores al-Shabaab’s status as a substantial threat, and reiterated the U.S. commitment to working with allies in the region to enhance security, stability, and prosperity.
Mire had been listed as a specially designated global terrorist by the U.S. Department of State in October 2022, under Executive Order 13224.
While operational details are being kept under wraps for security reasons, officials from AFRICOM have indicated they will keep a close watch on the aftermath of the strike and share further developments as they arise.
[Rudaw] Armenian Christians have historically been part of the Iraqi community but their numbers are drastically decreasing as most have left the country due to instability and violence.
In Kirkuk, ... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time... a small part of the community remains. They celebrated Orthodox Christmas, which is on January 6.
"There are four of us: my wife, a son, and a daughter. We stayed in this city, but after [the year] 2000 the number has decreased to 30 to 35 families," Awadis Humberso, an Armenian in Kirkuk, told Rudaw.
The Armenian Orthodox Christmas mass in Kirkuk lasted two hours and about 30 people attended, mostly elderly, saying there were only a few young Armenians left in Iraq.
"The difficult situation in Kirkuk has led Christians to migrate, some to Erbil and some abroad," said Harut Krikor, a retired teacher.
One student said they would also like to leave the country but their current situation does not allow it.
Most of the Armenians left Iraq in search of better job opportunities, according to community members.
"I came from Baghdad yesterday, today, and tomorrow to celebrate Eid [Christmas]. We used to have many more Armenian families in Iraq, about 20,000, but now that number is gone," a priest in the Armenian church explained.
In 1987, an estimated 540 Armenian families were living in Kirkuk, making up 2,300 people in total. They still have their churches and cemeteries.
The Kurdistan Region recognizes Armenians as an ethnic component, provides the right to mother-tongue education in the Armenian language, and previously reserved one seat in parliament for Armenians before an Iraqi top court ruling removed it.
There are six Armenian churches in the Kurdistan Region - four in Duhok province, and one each in Erbil and Kirkuk.
Armenian churches in the Region house memorial statues placed to honor those massacred during the Armenian Genocide - the systematic killing and deportation of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, in which approximately 1.5 million Armenians were killed.
[Rudaw] Ottoman Turkish foreign minister warned on Tuesday that Ankara plans to carry out a fresh military operation against the northeast Syria (Rojava) if the alleged cadres of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) do not leave the country, adding that they have given a deadline to the Kurdish authorities through Western countries.
"We have given an ultimatum to the YPG through Americans and the West," Hakan Fidan told CNN ...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for... Turk, referring to the People’s Protection Units (YPG), backbone of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
"The PKK cadres, who carry the international characteristics and came from The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... , Iraq and Iran, have to leave [Syria]. They have to leave and they know this. To be honest, we do not see any preparation and intention in this regard. We are waiting," he added.
He warned that if Turkey’s demands are not met "there will be a military operation."
Turkey and the Syrian militia groups it supports, who call themselves the Syrian National Army (SNA), have recently intensified their attacks on the SDF-held areas near Manbij, including Tishreen Dam and Qere Qozaq bridge.
The SNA has controlled Manbij and Til Rifaat towns from the SDF since the collapse of Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... ’s regime on December 8.
The issue of the alleged presence of PKK cadres in Rojava has recently resurfaced. The new government in Damascus and Ankara have called for their departure.
The PKK has repeatedly said that it has no presence in Rojava.
"We openly announce that we as the PKK are not present in Rojava. We do not have any organic ties with any organizations, " Murat Karayilan, a top PKK commander said in mid-December.
He added that their fighters entered Rojava to defend Kurds from the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) attacks and returned to their places.
Turkey has carried out three major military campaigns against the SDF since 2016 on the grounds the YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK and poses a threat to Ankara’s national security.
Turkey’s last offensive against the SDF was in 2019 when it took control of Sare Kani (Ras al-Ain) and Gire Spi (Tal Abyad). The campaign was halted after Americans and Russians mediated a ceasefire.
US President-elect Donald Trump ...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania... said on Tuesday that Turkey suspended the operation after he, then president, intervened.
Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... "started and I said please don’t do that and he didn’t do it," Trump said, adding that he and Erdogan are friends and have mutual respect for one another.
Fidan warned on Tuesday that his country plans to carry out a new military if the YPG fails to meet its conditions.
"If you do not want a military operation in the country from us or the new Syrian administration, the conditions are clear. We are openly announcing the conditions: the imported muscle should leave Syria and the PKK leadership cadres -Syrians who hold leadership positions - should leave the country. They know who [we mean] and we have their names," said the top Ottoman Turkish diplomat.
He noted that the rest of the YPG fighters should lay down their weapons.
"This is a bloodless and problemless process. In return, the non-PKK , dear Syrian Kurds, will live their normal lives without being harmed. The new Syrian administration has guaranteed us this," he noted.
Mazloum Abdi, SDF chief, has also said several times that the PKK no longer exists in Rojava.
In an unprecedented move in mid-December, the Rojava administration decided to only allow the new Syrian flag, SDF flag and the emblems and symbols of the administration, effectively banning PKK slogans and banners.
Fidan said Kurds would enjoy equal rights in the new Syria.
Thousands of Kurds living in Syria had been deprived of citizenship by the ousted regime. Fidan said that they have urged the Syrian authorities to address this issue.
HTS has not clashed with the SDF and has allowed the US-backed force to remain in control of both Kurdish-majority neighborhoods in Aleppo.
Sharaa has said that the country's new security apparatus will include "Kurdish forces in its ranks," calling Kurds an "integral part" of Syrian society but stressed that his administration will not allow the country to become a "launchpad" for the PKK.
SDF’s Abdi has declared that they are willing to merge the SDF into the new Syrian army if both sides agree on a "suitable formula through negotiations."
[Rudaw] Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... is prioritizing efforts to release the country’s frozen assets through diplomatic measures with large sums remaining blocked, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday.
"The issue of frozen assets is consistently on the agenda of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant institutions," Araghchi said, as cited by Iran’s state IRNA news agency.
He emphasized the necessity to relieve the Islamic republic from external economic struggles, with the country crippled by heavy sanctions and internal challenges.
The US and European countries have continued to impose sanctions to hold Iran accountable for its actions and attacks targeting Western allies.
"A portion of the funds has been released as a result of the efforts made, while another part remains frozen," Araghchi added.
To secure the release of its frozen funds, Iran stated that it requires "ongoing meetings, reviews, and new initiatives."
Iran has faced heavy sanctions for aiding Russia, contributing to Moscow's war against Ukraine by providing drones and the October missile attacks on Israel, a Western ally.
Iran in November condemned the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... and the UK for committing a "systematic violation" through imposing sanctions, labeling them "unjustified" following fresh measures against Tehran by Western countries.
The latest sanctions imposed on Iran by the US’s Department of the Treasury for interference in the country’s latest presidential elections aimed to "stoke sociopolitical tensions."
The US in 2018 under former president Donald Trump ...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!... ’s administration withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and imposed biting sanctions on Tehran.
The JCPOA was signed between Britannia, La Belle France, China, Germany, Russia, Iran, and the US in 2015, offering Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program to ensure it does not enrich enough uranium to develop a nuclear weapon.
[Rudaw] Iraqi warplanes carried out several airstrikes Tuesday against suspected Islamic State (ISIS) cells in the Hamrin Mountains of Kirkuk province, the army said, as Baghdad continues cracking down on jihadist cells.
The air force “carried our airstrikes using F-16 aircraft targeting the retreating defeated terrorist ISIS gangs in the Hamrin Mountains within the Kirkuk Operations Command sector,” the country’s Security Media Cell said in a statement.
The strikes killed “a number” of suspected ISIS members while destroying their positions, the cell added.
The operation was carried out with support from the US-led international coalition.
Despite its territorial defeat, ISIS has continued to pose a security threat in Iraq through hit-and-run attacks, bombings, and abductions, particularly in the disputed territories that stretch across several provinces including Diyala, Salahaddin, Kirkuk, and Nineveh.
The strike was the second on Hamrin Mountains this year, after another suspected ISIS hideout was struck by Iraqi warplanes on Friday.
On Saturday, Iraqi and Kurdish security forces detained four suspected ISIS members.
[IsraelTimes] Focused for now on reconstructing Lebanon and rebuilding support, the terror group will also seek to reconstitute its arsenal in hopes of fighting Israel another day
As a fragile 60-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah approaches its end, the expectation that the prevailing calm along the Lebanese border will continue and transform into a long-term detente is suddenly being challenged by tough talk from both sides.
It’s a hudna — that’s to be expected.
In Israel, officials are concerned that the terror group is not pulling out of southern Leb ...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. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration.... , and that the Lebanese Armed Forces, or LAF, which is supposed to move in, is moving too slowly to take over control of the area by the January 26 deadline. On Sunday, Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that the Israel Defense Forces could be "forced to act" in response, and some in the military are apparently preparing for the possibility that the army could remain deployed north of the border beyond the 60-day deadline.
In the meantime, the IDF is continuing to carry out strikes against Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure in south Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of repeatedly violated the terms of the agreement.
On the Hezbollah side, the Iran-backed group’s new leader Naim Qassem ... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies... threatened in a Saturday speech that its "patience may run out" with Israeli behavior even before the end of the 60-day withdrawal period.
The comments have sparked worries that the deal could fall apart sooner rather than later, sending US special envoy Amos Hochstein back to Beirut in a bid to get the deal back on track.
But even if Qassem wanted to make good on his threat, it remains unclear what kind of actions the Shiite terror group would be able to undertake once its "patience" runs out, with its leadership largely decapitated and its rocket and missile stock reportedly reduced by at least 80%.
"Hezbollah is in an extremely unenviable position," Hezbollah expert Matthew Levitt told The Times of Israel by phone recently. "It’s on life support right now."
"The Axis of Resistance® stood [on] a three-legged stool of Hezbollah, Syria and Iran. Two of those legs don’t exist anymore," said Levitt, who is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former FBI counterterrorism expert.
However,
ars longa, vita brevis... there are multiple indications that the terror group has only been temporarily deterred, and could resume fighting if it is allowed to reconstitute its arsenal. The process will also involve rebuilding its base in Lebanon by helping stabilize and reconstruct the country after bringing about widespread destruction and turmoil at the service of a foreign entity, angering many Lebanese.
In a December 14 speech, Qassem indicated that the group’s agenda moving forward was to focus on domestic Lebanese issues, namely "the implementation of the agreement south of the Litani River, reconstruction, the election of a head of state on January 9, and positive dialogue on the problematic issues."
The political crisis has been particularly daunting. The country has been without a president for over two years, chiefly due to Hezbollah’s political arm insisting on elevating its candidate, Sleiman Frangieh, though he lacks the support of other political parties.
"Hezbollah understands that the country is already quite angry and quite worried, especially with the fall of the [neighboring] Assad regime. There is now a regime in Syria that hates Hezbollah. Hezbollah doesn’t want another civil war. It doesn’t have the support that it had before," Levitt said. "It will fight to protect its position."
While the ceasefire agreement — backed by international guarantors — may keep Hezbollah from regrouping in areas south of the Litani River, from which it poses the most direct threat to Israel, there is no reason to think the terror group will lay down its weapons or desist from regrouping militarily anywhere else in the country; renouncing its arsenal would imply losing clout and power, and ultimately its raison d’être.
And despite Western backing and funding, Lebanon’s military has yet to actively confront the terror group or seize its weapons as far as is known.
Earlier this month, four sources briefed on updated US intelligence told Rooters that the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group will likely try to rebuild its arms and forces, allowing it to once again pose a long-term threat to Israel.
"If the LAF goes after Hezbollah in a way that makes it feel threatened, then Hezbollah will open fire against them," David Daoud, a Lebanon expert at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank. "But there has not been a single move against them. So Hezbollah will try and get what it wants quietly, through political means. The resistance prefers the path of least resistance."
THE DANGER FOR ISRAEL HAS NOT SUBSIDED
Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah began in earnest in mid-September, when thousands of the group’s pagers and walkie-talkies booby-trapped by Israel went kaboom!.
The operation followed nearly a year of almost-daily rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel starting on October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah, unprovoked, began firing at Israel in support of fellow Iran-backed terror group Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... , which a day earlier had stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, starting the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... But while the autumn 2024 offensive saw Israel take out much of the group’s rocket arsenal and command and control structure, it has not been completely defanged.
"In terms of the threat to Israel, [Hezbollah] has become more of a traditional terrorist organization," said Levitt. "They can still do a cross-border raid. They will try to move material south of the demarcation line. At some point in the not-too-distant future, they can still shoot a rocket. They can certainly carry out attacks abroad."
"Those are very dangerous things that are not to be minimized. But they are nothing like the full-scale rocket and missile threat that Hezbollah posed before," he added.
Consequently, the IDF will need to remain vigilant even after the 60-day truce during which it is allowed to remain on Lebanese territory, and to continue targeting Hezbollah operatives violating the late November ceasefire agreement.
"Israel is not going to be expected to sit back and watch as enemies begin to prepare over time to be able to strike at Israeli civilians again," Levitt said.
Israel also does not have the luxury of complacency based on the fact that the new Syrian regime helmed by rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is hostile to Hezbollah and Iran.
Sharaa and his government are currently bent on gaining international legitimacy, but the new regime’s overstretched security forces will need time to extend their control over the whole of Syria’s territory. In the meantime, Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... is expected to exploit the power vacuum in parts of the country to attempt to smuggle weapons to its Lebanese proxy, according to Mike Knights, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute and an expert on Iran-backed militias
"Although the collapse of Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... ’s regime is certainly encouraging, this does not mean its former patron Iran will simply give up on using Syria as a corridor for reconstituting Hezbollah next door in Lebanon," Knights wrote in a recent analysis. "Quite the opposite: Iranian arms smuggling has historically thrived in collapsed or weak state environments."
"As Syria presumably reopens post-Assad, it will see an influx of people, vehicles, money, humanitarian aid, reconstruction supplies, and consumer goods, much of it via truck transport from neighboring states. Iran could easily use this influx to reconstitute both Hezbollah and its proxy factions in Syria," Knights wrote.
HEZBOLLAH’S DOMESTIC BASE STILL PERSISTS, ALBEIT ERODED
While many Lebanese have raised their voice against Hezbollah’s military adventures and for dragging the country into a destructive war, popular support for the terror group has not completely eroded, particularly among Shiites, who make up about a third of the country’s population of over 5 million.
An Arab Barometer survey conducted between February and April 2024 found that 85% of Lebanon’s Shiites have "quite a bit or a great deal of trust in Hezbollah," while only nine percent of Sunnis and six percent of Christians expressed the same sentiment.
Scenes of Lebanese waving Hezbollah flags in jubilation after the ceasefire suggest that base may still be solid.
"Hezbollah is at the weakest it’s ever been, but finishing it off requires a ’final squeeze’ from within Lebanon — and that’s not going to happen," said Daoud, pointing to images of displaced Shiites returning to their homes in Hezbollah strongholds hailing the "resistance" and its slain leader His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...> "They still have a bit of breathing room in which they can learn to maneuver," he added.
One of the tools with which Hezbollah has managed to attract and maintain a vast base among Shiites is through financial assistance. While the terror group’s finances were hard hit in the war — branches of its bank al-Qard al-Hassan were targeted in IDF Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s — Hezbollah still has liquidity at its disposal.
In early December, Qassem said the terror group had paid more than $50 million in cash to families affected by the war, almost all of them Shiites, giving out $300 and $400 per person. He said the group planned to pay out more than $77 million in total, plus lump sums between $4,000 and $8,000 to those whose primary homes were destroyed.
The payments would be financed mainly by Iran, he added.
Can Iran afford it?
In the upcoming reconstruction phase, Hezbollah will also be able to draw from foreign contributions made to Lebanon’s state coffers, and will receive donations from the Shiite Lebanese diaspora abroad, Daoud predicted.
In addition, Hezbollah will continue to play a prominent role in Lebanese politics as a legitimate political party. It still sits in the government and still has 15 members of parliament (13 from its ranks and two independent Hezbollah supporters), and maintains alliances with other political factions.
In 2022, the last time Lebanon held an election, Hezbollah and pro-Hezbollah independents received over 356,000 votes, more than any other party.
"Other political forces cannot just tell a party that got that many votes, from the sect that is Lebanon’s largest and fastest growing, that ’we don’t want to listen to you,'" Daoud said.
While Hezbollah attempts to repair its reputation and mend ties with its domestic allies, Israel will need to stay vigilant, watching the group’s movements and preventing any attempt at reconstituting its military capabilities, the expert said.
"Lebanon is giving them time to rest and relax. And that’s that’s the scary part. The more time they have, the more they can rearm and go back to where we were," Daoud said. "So what Israel should do is not let them rest and relax."
#4
Trump’s agenda is domestic improvement, but he has no interest in funding Iran or the Taliban. The State Department would likely continue to follow their habitual stupidity, but he has set up a structure of special envoys to have ME oversight. The State Department will seek to work around that block, but Trump has had four years to strategize against the DS. Interestingly, their focus will have to be domestic based on his DOGE initiative.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/08/2025 13:46
Comments ||
Top||
#5
accusing Hezbollah of repeatedly violated the terms of the agreement
One nation’s people after another is choosing leadership from the populist right — leaders who appear to love the people instead of despising them.
[IsraelTimes] Herbert Kickl – whose Freedom Party won September election, but was initially shunned by other factions – says he is prepared for new elections if coalition talks fail
Austrian far-right leader Herbert Kickl said Tuesday, in his first comments after being tasked to form a new government, that he aspires to "govern Austria honestly," as he prepared for talks on a potential coalition with conservatives who criticized him sharply in the past.
Kickl said he is prepared for new elections if they fail.
His Russia-friendly, anti-immigration, euroskeptic Freedom Party won Austria’s parliamentary election in September, but was initially shunned by other parties. Their efforts to put together a coalition without it failed.
On Monday, Kickl received a mandate to try to form what would be the first national government led by the far right since World War II. That came after the conservative Austrian People’s Party of outgoing Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who announced his resignation Saturday, made an abrupt U-turn on its previous refusal to contemplate working with the Freedom Party under Kickl.
Kickl — a 56-year-old with a provocative style — made clear he has not forgotten past friction with the People’s Party. Nehammer has described him as a "security risk." The party’s interim leader, Christian Stocker, said during the election campaign that anyone voting for Kickl "is voting for five years of high risk with radical ideas."
"Our country was driven into the wall in the past five years," Kickl said, pointing in particular to Austria’s large budget deficit and what he said was "a massive trust deficit" accumulated by mainstream parties. He said he has "a very, very simple aim, and that is to govern Austria honestly."
Kickl said he is reaching out to Stocker, "and you can believe me, that isn’t easy for me either. We have an interesting past together — but it is honest."
Kickl added he has clear expectations, including "an awareness of who won the election, and who finished second and isn’t the winner." He also demanded "an understanding of who is responsible for the mistakes of the past" and a partner with stable and consistent leadership.
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"If this isn’t assured... I can say that’s it," Kickl said. "Then there will be new elections — we are prepared for that."
The Freedom Party won 28.8% of the vote in September. That was a nearly 13-point gain from five years earlier, when the party was punished by voters following the collapse of a conservative-led government in which it was the junior partner at a time of scandal surrounding the Freedom Party’s then-leader.
The Austrian People’s Party came in second with 26.3% and the center-left Social Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... , post-war Austria’s other traditional big party, were third, with 21.1%.
The Freedom Party’s poll ratings have risen since the election as its rivals struggled and failed to find common ground. Surveys published in December put its support at between 35% and 37%.
Kickl did not address any specific policies for Austria, which is a member of the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... but not of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... , in his lengthy statement to news hounds. He took no questions.
The Freedom Party is part of a right-wing populist alliance in the European Parliament, Patriots for Europe, which includes the parties of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and of the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders, whose party dominates the Netherlands’ new government.
Nehammer has said he will step down on Friday. It is not clear who will serve as interim chancellor while Kickl explores a possible coalition.
[IsraelTimes] The US military general leading the committee tasked with enforcing the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah hails the efforts of the Lebanese Armed Forces
…are they half or three quarters Hezbollah nowadays?
in implementing the early stages of the agreement following a visit to one of the LAF’s bases in southern Lebanon.
US Major General Jasper Jeffers and French Brigadier General Guillaume Ponchin visited the LAF’s 5th Brigade headquarters, which is located five kilometers northeast of Naqoura — one of the two towns from which Israeli forces have withdrawn as part of the ceasefire.
“As part of the Mechanism-enabled transition, the LAF immediately deployed forces to the area to clear roads, remove unauthorized munitions, and provide security for the people of Lebanon,” a statement from the US Embassy in Beirut says.
“Jeffers and Ponchin viewed stockpiles of weapons to be destroyed in the coming days, which the LAF seized from unauthorized armed groups,” the US readout reveals.
“The LAF is the legitimate security provider for Lebanon and continues to demonstrate to me and the rest of the Mechanism it has the capability, intent, and leadership to secure and defend Lebanon. They have acted decisively, rapidly, and with clear expertise. Today, we saw an example of this with the soldiers of the 5th Brigade. The engineer corps in particular is full of true professionals, removing and rendering safe hundreds of pieces of unexploded ordnance every week,” Jeffers says in his own statement.
[IsraelTimes] A Palestinian who was assisting Israeli forces in searching potentially booby-trapped buildings and tunnels in the Gaza Strip over the summer was shot dead by an officer, according to a report by online magazine, Hamakom Hachi Ham Bagehenom (The Hottest Place in Hell).
According to the report, the Palestinian was serving as a human shield for the Nahal Brigade’s 931st Battalion, when the unit was deployed to the Rafah area in August.
The Palestinian would be sent to search buildings and tunnels before troops did, a practice that has been reportedly commonplace in the IDF during the war in Gaza. The IDF has not denied that the practice has been carried out, but says that such conduct is prohibited.
Hamakom says the Palestinian was also allowed to reside alongside the Nahal troops inside a building.
One of those quid pro quo thingies — food and shelter in exchange for service?
A commander in the battalion who entered the building spotted the man and opened fire on him, without knowing he was cooperating with the military, the report says.
Fog of war, unfortunately. Even the IDF has to deal with imperfect knowledge. Shocking, I know.
The IDF Spokespersons Unit confirms the incident to Hamakom, saying that “the case was investigated by the brigade commander. The lessons of the investigation have been implemented into the forces’ activities.”
[IsraelTimes] Earlier this evening, the Israeli Air Force carried out several strikes in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza, targeting terrorists who participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught, the military says.
The airstrikes were carried out following intelligence provided by the Military Intelligence Directorate and the Shin Bet security agency.
The IDF says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strikes, including by using “munitions adapted to the type of strike,” aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.
Palestinian media report several casualties in the strikes.
The strikes come as part of efforts led by the Shin Bet to track down and eliminate all the terrorists who took part in the massacre on October 7, 2023.
[NY Post] The Israeli military said Wednesday that troops have recovered the body of a hostage held in Gaza and were examining whether another body recovered was also that of a captive.
Earlier, Israel’s defense minister said that troops recovered the bodies of two hostages.
The military said the body of Yosef Al Zaydani was brought to Israel on Tuesday after being discovered in an underground tunnel near the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
It said troops uncovered information about Al Zaydani’s son Hamzah that "raised serious concerns for his life."
Military spokesman Col. Nadav Shoshani said the military was looking into the identity of a second set of remains recovered.
The body’s recovery comes as Israel and Hamas are considering a ceasefire deal that would free the hostages and halt the fighting in Gaza.
However, Yosef and Hamzah Al Zaydani were believed to still be alive and their return could ramp up the pressure on Israel to move ahead on a deal.
Yosef Al Zaydani’s name was on a list of 34 hostages shared by a Hamas official with The Associated Press that the group said were slated for release.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/08/2025
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[11156 views]
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[BEE] PALO ALTO, CA — Social media users rejoiced today as in an initiative to fight back against censorship, the guy who said Facebook was not suppressing free speech announced that Facebook would stop suppressing free speech.
Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg released a video statement outlining the upcoming changes that would be made to content restriction policies on Facebook and Instagram, revealing that Facebook would stop suppressing all the free speech he had previously insisted wasn't being suppressed on Facebook.
"This is a major shift toward no longer doing the things I said we weren't doing," Zuckerberg said in the statement. "While we never suppressed free speech and expression at Facebook, we felt that the election of 2024 was a cultural pivot point that made it clear that we had to stop suppressing free speech and expression. Even though we absolutely never did it, starting now, we're going to stop doing it."
Conservatives who had been victimized by the social media platform's oppressive policies were pleased to find out that the conduct Zuckerberg said never happened would reportedly come to an end in the coming months. "Even though it wasn't ever happening, we're not going to do it anymore," Zuckerberg emphasized. "We owe it to our users who were never censored to stop censoring them."
Zuckerberg stressed that these changes would be implemented over time, with the goal of putting an end to the policies that he said were never in place.
At publishing time, Zuckerberg's video promoting free speech and limiting censorship on Facebook had been censored by Facebook.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Wednesday warned Donald Trump against threatening the EU's "sovereign borders" after the US president-elect refused to rule out military action to take control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of EU member Denmark.
A record 22 people were shot dead by German police in 2024, according to a report by the news agency dpa based on law enforcement records, more than in any other year this century.
It is more than double the total recorded in 2023, when 10 people were killed; 11 were neutralized in 2022 and eight in 2021, according to the report published on Tuesday.
According to statistics from the Civil Rights and Police publication, the 2024 fatalities may represent the highest annual total since German reunification in 1990. The previous record highs were 19 deaths in both 1995 and 1999.
Many of these incidents involved individuals in psychological distress, often armed with knives. For example, a 31-year-old woman was shot in a Munich supermarket; she’d had prior encounters with law enforcement due to mental health and drug-related issues.
On the final day of 2024, German police were involved in a fatal shooting in Grünsfeld, a small town in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg, where a 38-year-old man stole an excavator, caused extensive damage, and injured officers during a prolonged chase.
This incident occurred just days after the Magdeburg Christmas market attack on December 20, 2024, where a car was driven into a crowd, resulting in six deaths and over 200 injuries. The suspect in the Magdeburg attack, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor, was arrested at the scene.
Jochen Kopelke, head of the German Police Union (GdP), told Welt in October that the rise in fatal shootings could be linked to an increase in societal violence. He noted that officers are facing more aggressive attacks and, in escalating situations, are often forced to act decisively to neutralize threats.
Recent police statistics indicate a significant rise in violent crime in Germany, local media reported. In 2023, it reached a 15-year high, with 214,099 cases reported, marking an 8.6% increase from the previous year. The overall crime rate saw a 5.5% rise, totaling 5.94 million cases, the highest since 2016.
#2
Psychological distress armed with knives sounds like unacknowledged Moslem colonists running amok. In which case the German police ae reacting not only logically , but wisely as well.
[JPost] The Obama administration’s decisions left a significantly more fragmented and futile world than the one he inherited.
When Barack Obama took the oath of office as US president in 2009, he ignited a wave of hope and a belief in transformative change that would define his presidency. His foreign policy, however, remains a topic of heated debate.
While Obama aimed to position the United States as a moral leader on the world stage, his actions often fell short of American expectations, leaving behind a legacy of instability and unfulfilled promises, particularly in the Middle East.
Obama’s approach to foreign policy was often summed up by the phrase “lead from behind.” This strategy prioritized building alliances and avoiding unnecessary wars, reflecting a preference for diplomacy over military intervention. While the philosophy seemed ideal, its practical application led to unintended, devastating consequences.
WHEN OBAMA'S FOREIGN POLICY BACKFIRED
In 2012, for instance, Obama declared a “red line” against the use of chemical weapons by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Yet, when evidence showed Assad’s regime continued to use such weapons, the Obama administration opted for a Russian-led deal to dismantle Syria’s chemical stockpile rather than taking military action.
Obama’s decision was widely criticized. Although it avoided immediate conflict, it failed to deter future chemical attacks. The Syrian Civil War raged on, killing over 500,000 people and displacing more than 13 million, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The war’s continuation fueled a humanitarian crisis of massive scale; more decisive US action may have prevented the suffering of millions.
The effort to sanction Syria for its use of chemical weapons only adds to Obama’s growing list of setbacks in handling the crisis, as he was ultimately ineffective due to strong opposition and substantial support for Syria from Russia and China. In 2015, for example, Russia intervened directly in the Syrian conflict by providing aerial military support to the Syrian Army, significantly strengthening the Assad regime. China used its veto power alongside Russia in the UN Security Council to block resolutions against Syria, preventing further international sanctions and interventions.
Obama aimed to weaken Assad’s regime through economic sanctions; however, substantial assistance from Russia and China counteracted his efforts.
Obama’s inaction in Syria also had repercussions for Israel. The ongoing chaos in Syria enabled Iranian-backed militias, such as Hezbollah, to expand their influence near Israel’s borders. According to a 2017 report from the Israel Defense Forces, Hezbollah built an arsenal of over 150,000 rockets, many of which were transferred through Syria.
These developments heightened tensions in the region and posed a direct threat to Israeli security, further illustrating the ripple effects of Obama’s Syria policy. In 2018 alone, Israel conducted over 200 airstrikes in Syria targeting Iranian assets to prevent further threats, showcasing the security challenges made possible by US inaction.
THE 2011 NATO-led intervention in Libya is another example of Obama’s disastrous foreign policy. The operation successfully toppled Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi but failed to establish a stable government in his place. Libya descended into chaos, becoming a failed state plagued by civil war and hardship.
The increase of weapons from Libya, perpetuated by the war, fueled conflicts across Africa and the Middle East. For instance, weapons from Libya were used in Mali’s civil war and reportedly fell into the hands of extremist groups like Boko Haram in Nigeria. Even Obama acknowledged this failure, calling the lack of planning for Libya’s aftermath the worst mistake of his presidency in a 2016 interview with Fox News.
The consequences of the Libyan intervention were global. In addition to regional instability, Libya became a hub for human trafficking and extremist groups, including ISIS. By 2017, Libya’s migrant crisis had worsened, with thousands risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean, contributing to Europe’s refugee crisis. According to the International Organization for Migration, over 3,000 migrants died attempting the journey in 2017 alone.
Obama’s biggest failure was the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The agreement aimed to halt Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. While some viewed it as a diplomatic success, others criticized it for being a freebie to Iran. The US Treasury Department reported that the deal unfroze approximately $150 billion in Iranian assets, a significant boost for a country with a GDP of around $408 billion.
The JCPOA failed to ensure Iran’s compliance with its terms. Reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency revealed gaps in monitoring, such as Iran’s refusal to grant inspectors access to suspicious sites like the Karaj facility.
Israeli intelligence further highlighted these issues, uncovering evidence that Iran continued developing missile technology and maintaining capabilities that could facilitate a rapid nuclear breakout. In 2018, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a 55,000-page document proving that Iran had lied about its nuclear program, further undermining confidence in the deal.
The JCPOA also sparked controversy within the United States. Obama bypassed Congress by treating the agreement as a deal rather than a treaty, avoiding the Senate’s ratification process. This decision drew criticism for ignoring constitutional norms.
The deal’s impact on regional stability remains questionable, as it emboldened Iran’s regional influence without addressing its ballistic missile program or support for terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.
A 2017 US State Department report emphasizes that Iran’s support for terrorism remained “unabated,” with the country providing over $700 million annually to Hezbollah alone – money that may have very well been given to Iran by the US through the Nuclear Deal.
Despite a peaceful ideology, Obama often struggled with execution. While he sought to redefine America’s role in the world through diplomacy and alliance, his administration’s actions led to greater instability.
Whether Obama’s foreign policy ranks the worst in recent history depends on one’s perspective. The evidence, however, suggests that his administration’s decisions left a significantly more fragmented and futile world than the one he inherited.
For all his rhetorical brilliance and strategic aspirations, Obama’s foreign policy ultimately highlights the inability to govern a nation solely based on ideology.
The writer is a high school student from Great Neck, New York, passionate about advocacy and government. Through his writing and activism, he engages others in meaningful conversations about US politics, international relations, and Israel’s significance as both a homeland for the Jewish people and a key ally of the United States.
#3
Seems likely that the J-Staff thinks some new directions might be coming to CENTCOM on the afternoon of 20Jan25 and maybe some new Commanders Intent, updated Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace and Course of Action analysis might be needed. Just spitballing of course!
#4
Here’s my idea:
I don’t think the Houthi are manufacturing sophisticated drones and missiles. Cut their supply lines. That’s what stopped the Somali pirates.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/08/2025 17:00
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Setting up the argument. Read the rest at the link.
[ZeroHedge] BEYOND THE FIRST VEIL
In 'Reading Between the Lies,' we explored how to recognize patterns of institutional deception—the carefully crafted narratives that keep humanity trapped in a matrix of perceptions.
Theodore Dalrymple identified how this first matrix of control operates in totalitarian regimes: "In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, not to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is in some small way to become evil oneself. One's standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control."
This principle of forced participation hasn't disappeared - it has evolved. Today's system doesn't merely demand silence but active complicity in its narratives, weaponizing resistance itself as a means of influence. Watching trusted voices expose real corruption, only to redirect into managed solutions, reveals an even deeper pattern: The system doesn't just create propaganda - it creates contained paths for those who see through propaganda. Breaking free from mainstream programming is only the first step. What follows is both subtler and just as disturbing. Untethering from institutional narratives creates an immediate vulnerability—the need for new answers, new leaders, new direction. Those who steer the first matrix wouldn't leave the off-ramps unsupervised.
This illuminates the deeper mechanics of the second matrix: capturing awakening through sophisticated channels of inauthentic opposition.
THE MECHANICS OF CONTROLLED OPPOSITION
The pattern becomes clear when we examine how systemic criticism is managed: Those who expose corruption are permitted to speak, but only within careful boundaries. Take banking for instance - even those who reveal central banking's predatory nature rarely demand abolition. The 2008 crisis pushed financial fraud into mainstream awareness through popular exposés like 'The Big Short.' Yet understanding bred only mistrust - no accountability, just bailouts for perpetrators and a more fragile system for everyone else. Like any sophisticated confidence game, it works in stages: first gain trust through real revelations, then build dependency through exclusive "insider" knowledge, finally redirect that trust toward constrained outcomes. Watch how alternative media platforms follow this pattern: expose genuine corruption, build devoted following, then subtly shift narrative focus away from systemic accountability. Each revelation seems to lead deeper into a labyrinth of coordinated awakening. Note: I'm deliberately avoiding naming specific targets - this analysis isn't about creating new heroes or villains, but recognizing patterns that transcend individuals.
What makes this model so effective is that the same institutions that transformed money from gold to paper also convert genuine resistance into managed opposition. As I wrote in ‘Fiat Everything,’ just as synthetic currency replaces real value, fiat opposition movements offer synthetic versions of independent awakening - containing just enough truth to feel real while keeping opposition within safe boundaries.
Understanding these patterns of controlled opposition can feel overwhelming. Each revelation seems to lead to another layer of deception. It's like discovering you're in a maze only to realize there are mazes within mazes. Some get lost documenting every turn - debating financial system minutiae, arguing over medical protocols, dissecting geopolitical chess moves. Or in ‘conspiracy circles’ - was the virus isolated? How did the Towers really go down? What's really on Antarctica? While these questions matter, getting stuck in endless maze-mapping misses the point entirely. Healthy debate and disagreement are natural - and even healthy - in truth-seeking movements - but when these debates consume all energy and attention, they prevent effective action toward core goals.
[ZeroHedge] The Palestinian Authority (PA) asked the United States to approve a four-year $680m plan
…or $170 mil/year….
to boost the training of its special forces and bolster its supply of ammunition and armoured vehicles, an American source and a source close to PA revealed to Middle East Eye.
The request was made in mid-December at a meeting with US security officials at the PA's Ministry of Interior in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. At the meeting, PA security officials expressed frustration over what they believed was the US’s failure to fulfil its commitments to the authority by replenishing arms supplies and training special forces.
"Authority officials requested in the meeting that their needs for armored vehicles and ammunition be met urgently in light of the difficulty of the clashes and their inability to resolve the situation in the Jenin camp," a source told MEE.
They also complained that the US had yet to approve funding for renovation works at prisons in Bethlehem and Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
The meeting came as the PA launched a crackdown on Palestinian fighters belonging to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Jenin. Fighting in the northern West Bank city, long a bastion of Palestinian resistance, has killed at least eight people, according to local media reports.
One former US intelligence official told MEE that the PA’s request for additional funding and arms made sense because the US has been pressing the PA for months to ramp up security operations in the occupied West Bank. The PA has been critical of the departing Biden administration’s post-war planning for the destroyed Gaza Strip.
Since the summer, the US has tried to bolster coordination with the PA. A think tank panel staffed by former US officials even presented a plan to bring cooperation with the PA's security forces under the purview of Centcom, MEE reported previously.
'NOT A HAPPY RELATIONSHIP'
According to Israeli media reports, the US Security Coordinator (USSC) for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, General Michael Fenzel, met with PA officials and reviewed their planning for the raid on Jenin.
The US has provided security assistance to the PA since the 1990s. After the Second Intifada, it established the USSC to train its security forces. While the Jerusalem office is tied to the US State Department, American intelligence agencies and the Defence Department have the most regular contact with the PA’s forces.
"It's not a happy relationship," William Usher, a former CIA officer who was based in Israel, told MEE previously. "And has little depth. It's been reduced at heart to a security relationship."
Complicating the PA’s request for US weapons, Israel can veto security assistance to the authority. According to Axios, the US asked Israel to approve the aid package in December. The previous Trump administration downgraded ties to the PA and former US security officials expressed doubts the US president would press Israel to approve the aid when he returns to office in late January.
#2
Pensions for the dead ones, salaries for the living ones, overdue utilities bills owed to Israel, weapons for the boys, and a great many personal bank accounts that haven’t been fed in entirely too long — weeks in some cases. ;-)
[JustTheNews] DPS will also work with local partners to train and educate Texas communities about terrorism and targeted violence prevention and awareness and with local law enforcement partners to enhance security for special events and mass gatherings.
[JustTheNews] A rocket launcher and “rocket-propelled grenades” were headed into Mexico before it was thwarted by United States Customs and Border Protection in Nogales, Ariz.
CBP explained that the weapons taken on Dec. 28 would likely be used to support the drug cartels.
“Great interception!” Port Director Michael W. Humphries tweeted on Tuesday.
“CBP officers working outbound operations at the Nogales POE seized a rocket launcher and 2 rocket-propelled grenades hidden in a car headed to Mexico. The cache was likely intended to protect the cartels and their fentanyl production labs in Mexico,” he continued.
The confiscation comes at a time when President-elect Donald Trump is vowing for major policy changes at the border, including dubbing the cartels as terrorist organizations, according to Reuters. The decision to escalate what the cartels are classified as could signal a change in strategy in how the U.S. government faces them, as the groups are already major causes for illicit drug trafficking into the country.
In addition, the Republican is expected to bring back the “Remain in Mexico” policy for migrants crossing illegally and resume the construction of the border wall.
The Port of Nogales is considered a hub for trade and migration in the Tucson sector of Arizona.
#4
If we pick up 20 percent of the contraband at the border, only 4 RPG launchers made it through. Guess I’ll watch my sports in TV until this all shakes out.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/08/2025 13:57
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#5
It was inert. Either someone bought a training unit and didn't know better or.....
#7
RPG launchers don’t explode. They are just pointing sticks. The grenades that you load into them are the problem. As we learned early in the GWOT, you can actually launch the grenades without the launcher Inshallah style.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/08/2025 16:58
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#8
OBVIOUSLY, they were obtained through a gun-show loophole, amirite?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/08/2025 18:09
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[CNN] African governments have criticized a speech by French President Emmanuel Macron in which he said that some leaders showed "ingratitude" for the deployment of his nation’s troops in the Sahel region in battling Islamist extremism. Macron "speaks truth to power" but will other world leaders pay any attention ?
Macron told French ambassadors at a conference in Paris on Monday that Sahel nations — beset by civil conflicts and violent extremism — only remained sovereign because of the deployment of French forces.
Macron also dismissed the notion that French troops had been expelled from the Sahel, an area that sits just below the Sahara Desert, as Paris’ influence on its former colonies wanes.
"We had a security relationship. It was in two folds: One was our commitment against terrorism since 2013. I think someone forgot to say thank you. It does not matter, it will come with time," Macron said at the conference.
"Ingratitude, I am well placed to know, is a disease not transmissible to man." "Disease" or simple phychological projection?
Macron’s comments were denounced by Chad’s foreign affairs minister, Abderaman Koulamallah, who accused the French leader of showing "a contemptuous attitude towards Africa and Africans." Is Abder Koul's attitude toward the French and other Westerners not "contemptous?"
The French leader blamed the exit of his country’s forces from the region on successive coups.
#3
"Macron’s comments were denounced by Chad’s foreign affairs minister, Abderaman Koulamallah, who accused the French leader of showing 'a contemptuous attitude towards Africa and Africans.'"
If there is any African nation more deserving of contempt thatn Chad, perhaps it is the Sudan. Or maybe Somalia.
[FoxNews] Jaia Cruz accused of stabbing USPS carrier Ray Hodge III in NYC deli.
A 24-year-old transgender New Yorker has been charged with murder for allegedly knifing a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier in the stomach while he was waiting in line to buy lunch.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) identified the victim as Ray Hodge III, a 36-year-old postal carrier and father of two. Police said he suffered multiple stab wounds after an argument broke out while the two were standing in line. He was on duty at the time of the attack.
The suspect has been identified as Jaia Cruz, also known as Alvin. Video shows police escorting Cruz out of the NYPD's 28th Precinct on Thursday.
The 6-foot-4-inch suspect's face was hidden inside a sweatshirt, and Cruz did not respond to shouted questions from reporters.
Cruz allegedly spit in the victim's face then drove the knife into his stomach in a fight that broke out over their places in line, according to the New York Post.
The attack happened around 2:30 p.m. Thursday at a deli on Lenox Avenue in Harlem. Police found Hodge with multiple stab wounds to his torso, neck and arms, and he was rushed to Harlem Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Hodge's colleagues at the USPS remembered him as a "great, kind soul" on social media.
#2
Given the MSM & Government officials seemed to have switched to using Transgender, to also cover Transvestites. There is a notable small physical difference.
#4
^
Starlink and Taiwan have been disputing over terms for several months.
This may speed things up.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
01/08/2025 8:04
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#5
Maybe Musk can contract some subs from the cartels to help pressure customers into better terms. Know that's unlikely - but recognized that would be my former boss's take on the topic
[FOX] President-elect Trump announced the Gulf of Mexico is getting a new name.
"We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which has a beautiful ring. That covers a lot of territory," Trump said on Tuesday. "The Gulf of America. What a beautiful name. And it's appropriate."
Trump made the announcement in his first press conference since Congress certified his election win over Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday from Mar-a-Lago. He opened the press event by announcing DAMAC Properties will invest $20 billion in new data centers across the country in addition to previewing a bevy of policy issues ahead of his inauguration this month.
#8
One of the best suggestions I read yesterday was that Trump should lean into more of this yanking of chains. He should announce that he'll rename the Atlantic Ocean "The American Ocean" and rename the Pacific Ocean..."The Other American Ocean".
#12
One pundit said this is Trump controlling the media focus - if they bite on weird stuff they have less time to agitate against the real stuff. Dunno.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Papua New Guinea has been rocked by 'horrific acts of cannibalism' with a bow and arrow-wielding gang seen posing with hacked off body parts.
In grisly photos published Monday on the front page of the nation's largest newspaper, the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier, a group of machete-wielding men dangle what appears to be a severed human foot.
Although the men are not filmed eating the body part, one of them appears to make a licking gesture while holding it up for the camera, while others around him smile and point to the chopped-off limb.
Papua New Guinea's Police Minister Peter Tsiamalili said he was deeply troubled by the images that appeared to depict 'horrific acts of cannibalism'.
'A violent confrontation between two brothers escalated, leading to a heartbreaking outcome,' he told AFP.
'The conflict saw villagers taking sides, ultimately resulting in the gruesome killing of the elder brother by the younger sibling.'
In the video which has gone viral on social media, several men armed with bows and arrows are seen brandishing parts of severed bodies, the newspaper said.
The Courier also reported that police are set to fly into the area to investigate the killing of seven people over the weekend amid claims from one local that 'this is our meat, we will cook and eat it'.
Tsiamalili said in a separate statement dated Sunday 'such barbarity does not define us as a people or a nation'.
'These barbaric actions by a group of youths not only shock our collective conscience but also pose a grave threat to the societal values that bind us as a nation,' he said.
'Such acts of inhumanity are intolerable and represent a significant challenge to our shared humanity.'
Police traced the images to the Goilala district in the country's jungle-clad interior.
The killing took place 'a month ago' in Saki Village, Tsiamalili said, although the video had only recently gained traction online.
Papua New Guinea has long been tarred by outdated tropes that paint its people as savages.
Historically, cannibalism has been documented among a small number of tribes in remote parts of Papua New Guinea.
United States President Joe Biden last year quipped that his fighter pilot uncle may have been eaten by cannibals after he was shot down during World War II.
'He got shot down in New Guinea, and they never found the body because there used to be a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea,' Biden said.
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape later dismissed the gaffe as 'loose' talk on the part of the president.
'I've met him on four occasions, until today, and on every occasion he's always had warm regards for Papua New Guinea,' Marape said.
'Never in those moments (has) he spoke of PNG as cannibals,' he added.
[IsraelTimes] IDF says 3 Palestinian gunmen killed in drone strike, gun battle amid counterterror operation; IDF soldier seriously wounded; perpetrators of al-Fundaq shooting still on the lam
As Israel Defense Forces troops carried out counterterrorism raids across the West Bank, Defense Minister Israel Katz visited on Tuesday the site of a deadly terror attack in the Paleostinian village of al-Funduq, which he said was an "act of war" that will be answered in kind.
Two elderly women and an off-duty cop were killed and eight Israelis were maimed when Paleostinian Death Eaters opened fire on vehicles as they passed through the village on Monday.
The three perpetrators from the Jenin area of the northern West Bank are still on the lam.
"The despicable, murderous terror attack that occurred here yesterday is an act of war for all intents and purposes, and it will be answered accordingly," Katz said in remarks provided by his office.
"We will hit the Death Eaters and those who sent them, and we will act powerfully against the places from where the Death Eaters came," he said.
Far-right government members and settler leaders have called for military action in the West Bank resembling that taken in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip, where the IDF has evacuated and destroyed entire cities that it said had become terror strongholds.
According to a preliminary IDF probe, the terrorists, armed with assault rifles, initially shot up a civilian car from a close range, killing Rachel Cohen, 73, and Aliza Raiz, 70.
They then fired at a bus farther away, injuring eight people, at which point an armed civilian opened fire with a handgun, causing the button men to get back in their car and flee.
While the Death Eaters were escaping, they opened fire on another car, killing off-duty police officer Master Sgt. Elad Yaakov Winkelstein, 35.
The military said it had launched a manhunt for the three perpetrators, two of whom were already wanted for involvement in terror activity, while the third was still unidentified.
The army said it set up roadblocks near the attack site, and placed cordons around the city of Nablus and several other nearby villages.
Amid an apparently unrelated operation overnight, the IDF said it killed two Paleostinian button men who were shooting at troops in the town of Tamun, in the Jordan Valley, during a brigade-level counterterrorism raid in the area.
The military said the group of button men was targeted with a dronezap. Several suspects were detained and weapons were seized during the operation, the military said.
[IsraelTimes] While Witkoff says progress made in Doha, Hamas stands by demand for permanent end to war, which Israel rejects; president-elect: ‘It won’t be good for anyone’ if no deal by Jan. 20
Incoming US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff announced Tuesday that he will travel to Doha later this week, saying a hostage deal being mediated by Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... is on the verge of completion, as US President-elect Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... again warned "all hell will break loose" in the region if an agreement between Israel and Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... is not reached by his January 20 inauguration.
"We’re making a lot of progress, and I don’t want to say too much because I think they’re doing a really good job back in Doha. I’m leaving tomorrow to go back to Doha, but I think that we’ve had some really great progress, and I’m really hopeful that by the inaugural, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president," Witkoff said, after Trump called on him to provide an update on the negotiations during a presser at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Witkoff said he would leave for Qatar either Tuesday or Wednesday night. Delegations from Israel and Hamas have been in the Gulf state since the weekend.
While Trump and his team are not formally part of the ongoing negotiations, they have been cooperating with the outgoing Biden administration, and Witkoff has traveled to the region several times since his appointment in November.
"We’re working in tandem in a really good way; but it’s the president — his reputation, the things that he has said — that [is] driving this negotiation; so hopefully it’ll all work out, and we’ll save some lives," Witkoff added. "The red lines [Trump] put out there — that’s driving this negotiation."
Witkoff appeared to be referring to Trump’s December 3 Truth Social post in which he threatened "ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East," if the 100 remaining hostages in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... weren’t released by January 20.
Pressed on what has been holding up the talks to date, Witkoff declined to get into specifics. "I believe we’ve been on the verge of [a deal]. I don’t want to discuss what’s delayed it — no point to be negative in any way."
Asked whether the parties are waiting to reach a deal until Trump is in office, Witkoff responded, "No, I think they heard him loud and clear. [This] better get done by the inaugural."
At this point, Trump piped back in to reissue his threat to Hamas.
"All hell will break out in the Middle East, and it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good — frankly —for anyone," Trump said.
Witkoff addressed several news hounds after the presser, and one quoted him as saying the deal that the mediators are trying to ink before the inauguration would last 42 days, in what would be the first time that someone involved in the negotiations has gone on the record to specify the exact number of days that the ceasefire agreement would last. The deal was previously understood to extend for around six or seven weeks.
The Trump envoy said Qatar is leading the mediation effort along with the Biden White House’s Mideast czar Brett McGurk, who is also in Doha. Witkoff made a point of praising Qatar’s mediation efforts, while not mentioning Egypt, which is another mediator, but has apparently played less of a central role in this latest round of talks.
Witkoff is a real estate executive who also has business ties to sovereign wealth funds in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
HAMAS OFFICIAL URGES TRUMP TO BE MORE ’DIPLOMATIC’
Funny!
Israel and Hamas meanwhile accused each other of blocking a deal by adhering to conditions that torpedoed all previous negotiations.
Hamas said it would free its remaining hostages only if Israel agrees to end the war and withdraw all its troops from the Gaza Strip. Israel says it will not end the war until Hamas is dismantled and all hostages are free.
"Hamas is the only obstacle to the release of the hostages," the director general of Israel’s foreign ministry, Eden Bar Tal, told a briefing with news hounds, saying Israel was fully committed to reaching a deal.
Hamas official Osama Hamdan, who held a news conference in Algiers, said Israel was to blame for undermining all efforts to reach a deal.
While he said he would not give details about the latest round of negotiations, he reiterated the Hamas conditions of "a complete end to the aggression and a full withdrawal from lands the occupation invaded."
Commenting on Trump’s threat that there would be "hell to pay" unless all hostages were freed before the inauguration, Hamdan said, "I think the US president must make more disciplined and diplomatic statements."
Hamdan added that Hamas and its supporters in Gaza are not afraid of Trump’s threats "because they already live in hell" in the Strip.
On Monday, a forum representing the vast majority of hostage families held a presser during which relatives of four captives called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to pursue a comprehensive deal that would see all of their loved ones released, blasting the framework Jerusalem is currently pursuing that would only free roughly one-third of the captives during a temporary ceasefire.
While Hamas has long pushed for a permanent ceasefire, officials familiar with the talks have told The Times of Israel that the terror group has indicated willingness in recent weeks to prioritize the first stage of the three-phase deal that has been under discussion since May.
A senior Arab diplomat said on Sunday that Hamas had approved a list of 34 hostages it was prepared to free as part of the deal. The list included female Israeli soldiers, plus elderly, female and minor-aged civilians, Rooters reported, citing a Hamas official.
A Saudi news outlet subsequently published what it said was the aforementioned list. Netanyahu’s office says it has yet to receive any list from Hamas, which it says is a precondition for any deal to advance.
Some of the names on the list published in Arabic media were of slain hostages. Hamas has insisted that it does not know where all of the hostages are, but would be able to ascertain their locations and conditions if Israel agrees to a brief ceasefire. Israel has rejected the idea, insisting that Hamas knows where all of the hostages are.
Israel is seeking to maximize the number of living hostages who will be released as part of the deal, while Hamas is looking to hold onto as many hostages as possible, as long as Israel plans to resume fighting once the temporary ceasefire is over. Israeli intelligence assesses that as many as half of the hostages are still alive.
The deal being discussed would see the release of the remaining female, elderly and maimed hostages in exchange for hundreds of Paleostinian security prisoners and a partial IDF withdrawal from Gaza.
Netanyahu’s office has preferred the temporary ceasefire framework, with the premier arguing that ending the war permanently in exchange for all of the hostages would allow Hamas to regain control of Gaza. Repeated polls have indicated that the majority of the Israeli public rejects Netanyahu’s approach.
Much of Israel’s security establishment has maintained that Netanyahu’s prosecution of the war contains no exit strategy since he has refused to advance a viable alternative to Hamas’s rule, thereby allowing the terror group to repeatedly return to areas briefly cleared by the IDF. The security establishment and the international community have pushed for allowing the Paleostinian Authority, which enjoys limited governing powers over parts of the West Bank, to gain a foothold in Gaza in order to replace Hamas.
Netanyahu has rejected the idea out of hand, likening the PA — which backs a two-state solution — to Hamas. His far-right coalition partners have backed collapsing the PA entirely and would likely threaten to collapse the government if he considers empowering Ramallah.
The security establishment has also backed a more comprehensive deal to free the hostages, arguing that the IDF can return to Gaza if need be and that putting off the release of two-thirds of the hostages not freed in a temporary deal would likely be a death sentence ...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead... for them.
The ceasefire that US, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators are trying to advance is still within the three-staged framework, but Israel this time around is much more open about the second and third phases not coming immediately after the first one.
Hamas is demanding assurances from the mediators that there will be some linkage between the first and subsequent phases, as it seeks a permanent ceasefire. Qatar hosted Israeli and Hamas delegations over the weekend for talks, but no breakthroughs have been reported.
IDF THREATENS MORE MILITARY PRESSURE TO BREAK HAMAS
Earlier Tuesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi told officers during a visit to northern Gaza’s Jabalia that the military was working to bring Hamas "to the point where it will understand that it needs to [release] all the hostages, otherwise the very professional work you are doing will continue and continue, and it means more prisoners and more dead operatives."
"I look at the situation that Hamas is in, they see every day what you are doing to them and they understand that this thing is close to being unbearable," Halevi said.
For over a year, Israeli officials have insisted that military pressure is what will convince Hamas to release the hostages. Military pressure has indeed intensified since the first hostage deal was reached in November 2023 when over 100 captives were released during a week-long pause in the fighting. Since then, though, the only hostages freed were seven in three separate rescue operations. Other hostages were executed by Hamas as they identified IDF troops approaching, and some were accidentally killed in Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s. The IDF did recover the bodies of roughly three dozen slain hostages.
Israeli military strikes killed at least 10 Paleostinians across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, medics said, as the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza called for international donors to immediately provide fuel it said was needed to maintain medical services.
One of those strikes killed four people in a house in Beach camp in Gaza City, while the remaining six were killed in separate strikes across the enclave, medics said.
The health ministry said hospitals were running out of fuel to operate generators and maintain medical services across Gaza because of Israeli restrictions.
Israel has repeatedly said it facilitated the delivery of fuel and medical supplies to hospitals in the enclave, even in areas where forces have active operations.
On Tuesday, the military said its forces had detained 240 Paleostinians in a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza last month, and they had provided "substantial intelligence."
The military released footage of the interrogation of a purported Hamas bad boy who detailed how snuffies "operated from the hospital area" and transferred weapons to and from it.
[IsraelTimes] The majority of Iran’s forces have withdrawn from Syria over the past month and various armed groups backed by Tehran have disbanded following the fall of the Assad regime, the Wall Street Journal reports.
For years, Iran propped up deposed president Bashar al-Assad, while at the same time using Syria as a vital land route through which it could smuggle weapons to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon. As such, thousands of Iranian fighters and members of Iran-backed groups were present across Syria when a rebel offensive overthrew the decades-old Assad regime in December.
At the time of the rebel victory over Assad, fighters from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were mainly stationed in eastern Syria, the WSJ reports, citing Western and Arab officials. Stationed alongside them were Iraqi, Lebanese, Afghan and Syrian militia forces.
The majority of those stationed in eastern Syria have since fled across the border to al-Qaim in Iraq, the report states, while IRGC forces previously stationed in Aleppo have returned to Tehran. It adds that Hezbollah troops that had been stationed in western Syria returned to Lebanon by road.
The WSJ adds that Iraq’s embassy in Washington and the Iraqi foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment, while the Iranian mission to the UN declined to comment on the withdrawal of its forces.
#4
He's a Democrat flapping his mouf, so you know he was lying
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/08/2025 11:08
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#5
You would think that a protester would have been charged with that if it happened.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/08/2025 12:27
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#6
"But a review of the federal charges against the alleged rioters shows that they did come armed, and with a variety of weapons: stun guns, pepper spray, baseball bats and flagpoles wielded as clubs. An additional suspect also allegedly planted pipe bombs by the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican parties the night before the riot and remains at large."
#2
QUESTION: Are we being primed for some future event/agenda/incident? One that the DC SWAMP and Globalists need the public on their side, to pull off?
Because, the Biden Coup, LSD's and the Globalists have all of this blood and 10's of 1000's of other relate deaths on their hands.
Using OPEN BORDERS
They have created and even funded a traveling death march for illegal immigrants, promoted open sex trafficking of kids and women, brought in murders, rapist, Pedophiles and dozens of violent criminal gangs.
All while trying to abolish our 1st, 2nd Amendments, running a Scamdemic, forcing a deadly DNA based Clot Shot on 100's of Millions and rigging elections.
Given its history, a person would have to be a complete IDIOT or Anti-USA, to support or vote for the New Democrat Party.
#4
Guatemala used to be notorious for unsolved homicides of women and girls. It was a world leader. That may not be up to date, though, as the pace of slaughter might have slowed down during the Biden Administration.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/08/2025 12:21
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#5
Because a lot of maniacs have been exported to the north?
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/08/2025 17:44
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Russian wooden boat "Pilgrim", which was making a round-the-world trip, suffered a disaster off the coast of Malaysia. This was reported on January 7 by the Russian embassy.
The crash occurred on December 20 off the northern coast of Borneo in the state of Sarawak. The diplomatic mission noted that it was aware of the incident and was in contact with Captain Sergei Sinelnik.
"Since the moment information about the incident was received, the diplomatic mission has been in contact with the ship's captain, S. V. Sinelnik. We are providing assistance to the crew members within the framework of our powers," RIA Novosti quoted the embassy representative as saying.
The crew consists of three Russians and one citizen of Belarus. Now all the sailors feel well, one of the Russians has already returned home. The remaining crew members will fly to Russia on January 7.
The Pilgrim was raised to shore by the local shipyard. Its further fate will be decided upon the return of the expedition members to Russia. The boat requires expensive repairs.
The diplomatic mission noted that Russian diplomats remain in constant contact with Sinelnik. They are ready to provide any additional assistance in the context of what happened.
The construction of the Pilgrim was completed in 2017. The 15-meter sailboat was built in Petrozavodsk. Since the start of the round-the-world trip, the team has visited 15 countries.
The boat was to sail through the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea, and from there to the Mediterranean, Black and Azov Seas. The journey was to end in Petrozavodsk.
STATE OF EMERGENCY: Bulldozers being used to clear abandoned cars for first responders after people evacuating fled with their keys pic.twitter.com/QMIXsOSHnx
… with reports of multiple structures being burnt down.
Helicopters and airplanes are making water drops on the fire. Embers are being picked up by the wind and distributed to other locations which is starting more fires.
Vegetation surrounding the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Palisades station location is even burning, according to local reports.
Multiple communities have been told to evacuate.
First video:
@JMRaasch
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2025
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#6
When all is said and done, my curiosity is whether or not any of these fires were 'assisted' in some way.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
01/08/2025 8:07
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#7
Seen 'rumors' of firebugs waking up, and mysterious fires starting roadside. Those could just be the mentals and Bidenville Campfires, if they are in fact not rumors.
Meet Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley. She boasts about being the first female and LGBTQ fire chief in the LA Fire Department. Promoting a culture of DEI is her priority.
#13
When all is said and done, my curiosity is whether or not any of these fires were 'assisted' in some way.
I think it is unusual for a wild fire to start in a built up suburban area.
Could have been a hobo fire but it doesn't matter. And, no, it is not at all unusual for fires to start in suburban areas of southern California.
Instead of building up like a lot of cities in the East, California cities spread out into the scrub brush. When Los Angeles ditched their trolley system way back in the 1930's they thought the automobile was the future. With cars and freeways, they built vast single family housing developments all over Los Angeles County and then the developers moved south to Orange and San Diego Counties. Never mind the traffics jams when the freeways proved to be inadequate for all the cars in all those suburbs.
But they left open areas between the housing tracts, mainly in canyons where it was too steep to build. The brush in those canyons gets thick and dry. Fires are as predictable as the Santa Ana winds. One way or another they will start. It's part of the natural cycle and it would happen whether people were here or not. Some of those seeds won't even germinate until they've been burned.
The problem is we've made ourselves vulnerable. If you buy a home on the rim of one of those canyons you must know that you are at risk. That's why the insurance companies have either jacked up their rates or left the state altogether. Insuring homes in fire prone areas doesn't make sense.
Building vast housing tracts in southern California never made any sense except for the developers who made fortunes and the politicians they bribed. Taxes are high, the Democrats who run the place are all crooked morons, traffic jams are stupefying, it's crowded everywhere you go. The place only has one thing going for it: When it's nice, it's really really nice.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/08/2025 13:53
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#14
I'm thinking that if Mayor Karen can just piss off to Africa to cash her Diddycrat Loyalty Points, maybe put her out in a busy booth and let the adults make decisions.
Mayor Karen: I think we need to do a broadcast
Adults: Great idea, precious little time, we can do evacuation routes, no-go areas, refugee rally points, and ....
Mayor Karen: I was thinking something like blaming global warming and elevating my public image, something Kathleen Sebelius like.
As fires ravage Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas, reports are surfacing that fire hydrants in many areas are without water.
This is a staggering failure—one that demands immediate answers from Janisse Quiñones, CEO of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).
How is it possible that in fire-prone Los Angeles, hydrants—our first line of defense—are dry when they’re needed most? Homes are being reduced to ash, not because firefighters lack skill or bravery, but because there’s no water to fight the flames.
Questions LADWP Must Answer:
Why are reservoirs like Santa Ynez and Upper Stone Canyon not supplying adequate water to hydrants?
Were maintenance or refill protocols ignored ahead of wildfire season?"
[Daily Mail, where America gets it’s news] Two people have been found dead in the landing gear compartment of a JetBlue flight that had landed in Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport in Florida. Is it easier to load people into aircraft wheel wells, or bombs?
The bodies onboard the flight that departed from JFK Airport in New York were said to have been discovered on Monday evening during a 'routine' post-flight maintenance check.
The bodies were found in the plane's landing gear compartment, the airline told MailOnline. Officials are investigating how the individuals got onto the plane.
Broward Sheriff's Office deputies and medical examiners were seen outside the airport as officials began to investigate the deaths.
Spokesperson Carey Codd told DailyMail.com that both victims were pronounced deceased at the scene.
Codd added that autopsies are set to be performed and that the investigation is ongoing but was unable to offer victim identities or further detail.
The plane, operating flight 1801, departed JFK Airport Monday just before 8pm, flight tracking data showed.
The aircraft landed in Fort Lauderdale three hours later. It is unclear at exactly what time officials found the bodies in the landing gear compartment.
JetBlue told DailyMail.com: 'On Monday evening, January 6, at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, two individuals were found in the landing gear compartment of one of our aircraft during the routine post-flight maintenance inspection.
'Tragically, both individuals were deceased. At this time, the identities of the individuals and the circumstances surrounding how they accessed the aircraft remain under investigation.
'This is a heartbreaking situation, and we are committed to working closely with authorities to support their efforts to understand how this occurred.'
The deaths have not impacted operations Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport, an airport spokesperson has confirmed.
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Israeli occupation forces continued to expand into new towns in the Quneitra countryside, southern Syria, overnight (Sunday-Monday).
Syrian activists and media reports revealed that Zionist occupation forces entered the village of Kudna, south of Quneitra, with armored vehicles, bulldozed tens of dunams of forest land, and worked to excavate sites in Tal Ahmar and the surrounding area.
This came amid attempts by villagers to prevent the occupation forces from advancing towards their villages after the new rulers of Syria turned a blind eye to the Israeli enemy's occupation of Syrian lands.
In a related context, the Syrian Human Rights Observatory reported that Zionist forces erected dirt barriers along the road leading to the village's forest area, causing the closure of schools and disrupting the entire educational process.
The Observatory reported that the Israeli occupation forces arrested a young man from the al-Alia town in the countryside of Daraa, without providing any information about the reason for his arrest.
[IsraelTimes] Jews were the target of the majority of hate crimes in New York City last year, according to statistics reported by the NYPD.
Data compiled by the department showed that there were 345 anti-Jewish hate crimes across the US city in 2024, nearly 54% of the 641 total hate crimes tallied. The next-largest category of hate crimes were those related to sexual orientation, at 78.
The number of antisemitic hate crimes in 2024 was slightly larger than in 2023, when police recorded 323 total anti-Jewish crimes. That year’s total was driven by a recorded surge in antisemitism following Hamas’s invasion and onslaught of October 7 of that year, which sparked the war in Gaza. The increase in antisemitism year over year comes as the total number of hate crimes in the city decreased slightly from 2023 to 2024.
High-profile antisemitic incidents occurred last year across New York, which has the largest Jewish population in the United States.
The NYPD data are preliminary figures and are subject to change. Not every recorded hate crime leads to an arrest or prosecution.
[IsraelTimes] Australia’s ice hockey federation says it has canceled a planned international qualifying tournament due to safety concerns, with local media reporting the decision is linked to the participation of the Israeli national team.
Multiple local media outlets cite an internal email from Ice Hockey Australia (IHA) to the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) saying it cannot hold the tournament due to safety and security concerns over Israel’s attendance.
IHA says in a statement it has decided to cancel the event, due to take place in Melbourne in April, after consultation with local police and the participating venues.
The statement does not mention Israel, with the body saying it cannot comment on “global issues outside the sport.”
“The decision was primarily made to ensure the safety and security of athletes, volunteers, spectators, and other participants,” the statement says. “IHA does not shy away from making this decision with safety at the forefront.”
The IIHF does not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The cancelation follows a spate of antisemitic attacks in recent months, including graffiti daubed yesterday on a car in Sydney.
Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the cancelation is “unfortunate,” but that the government has taken sufficient action to protect Jewish people in Australia.
Clearly not, when even tough hockey fans in their vicinity are afraid.
“This is a decision made by Ice Hockey Australia,” he says in an interview on Channel Nine. “We’re addressing in every single way possible these issues because we understand that [antisemitism] is very hurtful for the Jewish community.”
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The Israeli occupation army acknowledged on Monday evening the death of an officer and a soldier during festivities with Paleostinian resistance fighters in northern Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... The occupation forces reported that Cpt. Eitan Israel Shiknazi, 24, a deputy company commander in the Nahal Brigade's 932nd Battalion was killed in battles in northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun along with another soldier whose name will be disclosed at a later time, according to the Israeli newspaper ''Yedioth Ahronoth''
Two additional soldiers were seriously maimed in the same incident, the paper added.
Despite the passage of three months since the expansion of the Israeli aggression on northern Gaza, the Paleostinian resistance continues to resist and carry out operations against the Israeli enemy forces.
The resistance also releases video clips documenting some of its operations, which result in casualties among the occupation forces, who continue committing crimes and atrocities against civilians amid a suffocating blockade.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2025
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[Federalist] The Democrats’ entire assault on the court, and especially on Justices Thomas and Alito, has ended in utter defeat.
The Democrat-run Senate Judiciary Committee’s two-year partisan assault on conservative Supreme Court justices, especially Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, on baseless "ethics" allegations ended with a pathetic 93-page Democrat staff report replete with dishonest and false information. It was so bad it was issued the day after Congress left town for the year and right before the Christmas recess.
This entire investigation was never about "ethics" but about trying to undermine the Supreme Court because it is no longer acting like a left-wing super legislature handing down opinions implementing the Democrats’ political agenda.
The Democrats falsely accused Justices Thomas and Alito of violating ethics laws by not disclosing vacations with friends and not recusing from cases because of their spouses’ activities. They are wrong on both counts.
The Democrats have been after Justice Thomas from the moment he was nominated to the Supreme Court, because despite being born a poor black child and serving as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education and then chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, he is a thoroughly conservative Supreme Court judge. The terms in which they attacked him over the years would amply justify the term racist had anyone but senior level Democrats said those things.
Justices Thomas and Alito complied with the laws, regulations, advice, and Judicial Conference rulings regarding reporting trips with friends. They were not required to report these trips under the personal hospitality exemption outlined in the law, no matter what the leaders of this witch hunt, Democrat Sens. Dick Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse, claim or wish.
When the Judicial Conference, which was established by law to administer the ethics laws for the federal judiciary, changed its rules in March 2023 and excluded from the personal hospitality exemption trips on private planes and boats, Justice Thomas promptly reported such trips.
In fact, in a humiliating rebuke to Whitehouse’s personal obsession with smearing Thomas, the Judicial Conference sent a letter to Whitehouse dated Jan. 2, 2025, rejecting his outrageous demand that the conference refer Thomas to the Department of Justice for investigation. With this action, the conference agreed that Thomas had done nothing wrong and had complied with the rules. It also found that where there were inadvertent omissions, Justice Thomas filed amended forms, as every justice and judge has done through the years. In other words, the Judicial Conference completely rejected Whitehouse’s frivolous attempt to smear our greatest justice.
RIDICULOUS RECUSAL CLAIMS
The staff report also falsely claims Justices Thomas and Alito violated the federal recusal law by not recusing from Jan. 6, 2021-related cases because of their wives’ activities. But the law only requires recusal if one’s spouse is a party to or lawyer in the case, has a financial interest, or there is a reasonable basis where the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned. None of those factors are present here.
Ginni Thomas had concerns about fraud and irregularities in the 2020 elections. She expressed those concerns to a friend who was serving as White House chief of staff, and she also sent a prewritten form email to state legislators about election integrity concerns. Martha-Ann Alito flew iconic American flags at the Alitos’ home and summer home, including the historic Appeal to Heaven flag, which was created during the Revolutionary War period and has been flown by federal, state, and local governments through the years. But because some protesters carried this flag during the Jan. 6 demonstration, leftist critics claimed, without evidence, that Mrs. Alito was signaling support for the J6 defendants.
A spouse’s opinion or activity is not a basis for a justice to recuse, and it’s sexist to argue otherwise. In fact, that’s what the Democrats and legal ethics experts argued when the shoe was on the other foot.
In a seminal case in 2011, left-wing federal appellate Judge Stephen Reinhardt refused to recuse from a case concerning a challenge to California’s state ban on same-sex marriages, even though his wife’s ACLU chapter (where she was the executive director) had joined two amicus briefs in the court below arguing that the ban was unconstitutional, and she had publicly denounced the ban.
Left-wing legal ethics expert Stephen Gillers filed a brief defending Reinhardt, stating that "a spouse’s views and actions, however passionately held and discharged, are not imputed to her spouse, and Judge Reinhardt is not presumed to be the reservoir and carrier of his wife’s beliefs... No authority requires a judge to recuse based alone on the opinions of his or her spouse; only an ’outmoded conception of the relationship between spouses’ would hold otherwise." In stark contrast to Mrs. Thomas and Alito, who did not comment on any specific case in the court system, Judge Reinhardt’s wife’s group had joined two briefs in the case now before him.
Neither Thomas nor Alito had any reason to recuse from any of these cases based on their spouses’ activities. Moreover, it’s astonishing that the Senate Democrats would criticize justices on recusal issues when Congress is not subject to any recusal laws. They are the only branch in our system not subject to such laws, and Durbin and Whitehouse have repeatedly taken official action to help their spouses’ clients.
AN EMBARRASSING REPORT
More generally, this Democrat staff report is an embarrassment. I served for 10 years as a chief counsel for oversight and investigations for a major congressional committee, managed nearly 200 investigative hearings, and issued several staff reports. Much of the information the staff received in response to letters sent to private citizens had already been reported in the press. The staff report here is based on very little investigative work itself and relies on shoddy work by discredited leftist-funded groups. It is a disgrace to the professionalism of congressional staff and the institution itself.
For example, the staff report cites leftist-funded Fix the Court’s (FTC) absurd claim that Justice Thomas accepted $4.75 million in gifts when that figure has been completely discredited. FTC’s list has scores of trips Justice Thomas never even went on, preposterously values a trip to Indonesia as a $500,000 gift, calculating that Thomas chartered a private yacht for his own personal use, and absurdly values visiting friends at their summer home as a $280,950 gift. This source is a complete dumpster fire of false claims.
This exposes Whitehouse and Durbin as pure hypocrites who don’t care about ethics. President Joe Biden and his family have taken more than 15 vacations at billionaires’ mansions, and he never once reported them on his form. These billionaires are not friends, they are donors, and they vacate their homes while the Bidens are there.
In fact, Joe Biden decided to issue his sweeping and unprecedented pardon to his son, Hunter, while staying at a billionaire’s $34 million mansion on Nantucket Island. Joe Biden also vacationed over Christmas at a mansion in St. Croix Virgin Islands for the eighth time since 2014, and he has never reported these trips on his forms. Whitehouse and Durbin are fine with Biden grifting on billionaire donor homes but are outraged that Justice Thomas visits his friends at their homes and does not disclose it.
The Democrats had no problem with Justice Stephen Breyer taking more than 230 trips paid for by third parties — 63 of these trips outside the United States and 17 of them funded by the Democrat Pritzker family. Never mind that Ruth Bader Ginsburg took more than 157 trips paid for by third parties, 28 of them international. RBG also received a $1 million gift from the Berggruen Institute, which she then secretly distributed to her favored charities.
Fix the Court is its own scandal center. Its CEO Gabe Roth reportedly violated federal law by failing to disclose that he was lobbying Congress on certain issues and was recently exposed for being paid a salary equivalent of 96 percent of FTC’s revenues, while running a deficit of nearly $46,000. Some experts believe this may violate federal law. FTC was also busted for failing to list several trips that liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor failed to disclose. FTC is a sloppy, partisan, noncredible source, but the Democrat staff report relies on its work for its findings.
The staff report cites ProPublica’s dishonest reporting on the justices’ trips, despite ProPublica refusing to include for months in its reporting that similar claims about Thomas’ travel had already been raised in 2011 in a complaint filed by 20 Democrat members of Congress and that the Judicial Conference ruled in 2012 that Thomas had not failed to disclose any necessary information. When ProPublica was forced to write about this ruling, which blew up their entire false narrative that Thomas and Alito had violated the law, these left-wing activists sought to impugn the Democrat and Republican judges on the conference with smears from anonymous sources. This is their standard tactic.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/08/2025
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Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
#1
The report served as a threatening cudgel that turned out to be a Nerf product. A helping of disbarment is well deserved for all the sponsors and staffers with legal licenses.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/08/2025 12:24
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[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The United States has issued a sanctions exemption for transactions with the ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else ...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State... (HTS) administration in Syria for six months, as part of efforts purportedly seeking to ease the flow of humanitarian assistance following the downfall of President Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... 's government.
The exemption, known as a general license, also allows some energy transactions and personal remittances to Syria until July 7. The action did not lift any sanctions against the Arab nation.
The US Treasury said the move sought ''to help ensure that sanctions do not impede essential services and continuity of governance functions across Syria, including the provision of electricity, energy, water, and sanitation.''
The United States, Britannia, the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... and other Western governments imposed tough sanctions on Syria at the height of the foreign-sponsored militancy against the country in 2011.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered... , claimed that the move showed goodwill toward the Syrian people rather than the new HTS administration.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo also alleged in a statement that Washington ''will continue to support humanitarian assistance and responsible governance in Syria'' during the current period of transition.
Maher Khalil al-Hasan, the trade minister in the HTS administration, said on Monday the country is unable to make deals to import fuel, wheat or other key goods due to strict US sanctions.
Syria faces a ''catastrophe'' if sanctions are not frozen or lifted soon, he said.
Militants, led by HTS, took control of Damascus on December 8 and declared an end to Assad's rule in a surprise offensive that was launched from their stronghold in northwestern Syria, reaching the capital in less than two weeks.
The situation in the Arab country remains very fluid and fragile, amid the ongoing political instability.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2025
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Top|| File under: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (al-Nusra)
#1
"The situation in the Arab country remains very fluid and fragile, amid the ongoing political instability." Americans used to refer to this kind of situation as a SNAFU. I think the modern Arabic term is "al-Fuqdup"
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The 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... i Armed Forces have carried out several military operations targeting the US aircraft carrier "Truman" and several military and vital targets of the Israeli enemy in "Yaffa and Ashkelon" with a number of drones and cruise missiles.
The Yemeni armed forces issued the following statement:
"In support of the oppressed Paleostinian people and their Mujahideen, and in response to the massacres against our people in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , and as part of the fifth phase of supportive actions in the Battle of the Promised Conquest and the Holy Jihad.
The missile and UAVs forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a specific and joint military operation targeting the American aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman using two winged missiles and four drones North of the Red Sea, while the American enemy was preparing to launch a major air attack against our country, and the operation led to the failure of the attack.
The UAVs force carried out two military operations this afternoon, the first of which targeted a military target linked to the Israeli enemy in the occupied area of Yaffa with two drones.
The other operation targeted a vital target linked to the Israeli enemy in occupied Ashkelon with a drone.
In another context, the UAVs force carried out a third military operation this evening targeting a military target linked to the Israeli enemy in the occupied Yaffa with a drone.
The operations of the Armed Forces have successfully achieved their objectives.
The Yemeni Armed Forces will continue their operations in support of the Paleostinian resistance, and these operations will not stop until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted."
The launches may have been successful, but the IDF is confused because they never saw the things anywhere near Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2025
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[11198 views]
Top|| File under: Houthis
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] A strong earthquake shook a high-altitude region of western China and areas of Nepal on Tuesday, damaging hundreds of houses, littering streets with rubble and killing at least 126 people in Tibet. Many others were trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the remote region.
Rescue workers climbed mounds of broken bricks, some using ladders in heavily damaged villages, as they searched for survivors. Videos posted by China's Ministry of Emergency Management showed two people being carried on stretchers by workers treading over the debris from collapsed homes.
At least 188 people were maimed in Tibet on the Chinese side of the border, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
More than 1,000 homes were damaged in the barren and sparsely populated region, state broadcaster CCTV reported. In video posted by the broadcaster, building debris littered streets and crushed cars.
People in northeastern Nepal strongly felt the earthquake, but there were no initial reports of injuries or damage, according to the country's National Emergency Operation Center. The area around Mount Everest, about 75 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of the epicenter, was empty in the depth of winter when even some residents move away to escape the cold.
The quake woke up residents in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu — about 230 kilometers (140 miles) from the epicenter — and sent them running into the streets.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake measured magnitude 7.1 and was relatively shallow at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles). China's Earthquake Networks Center recorded the magnitude as 6.8. Shallow earthquakes often cause more damage.
The epicenter was in Tibet's Tingri county, where the India and Eurasia plates grind against each other and can cause earthquakes strong enough to change the heights of some of the world's tallest peaks in the Himalayan mountains.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2025
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Top|| File under: Commies
#1
Everest shrugged
Posted by: Oregon Dave ||
01/08/2025 22:17
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] On January 7, two barges collided off the coast of Mayotte in France, one of which was carrying the head of the parliamentary faction of the National Rally party, Marine Le Pen. This was reported by the BFMTV television channel.
The ships collided while moving towards each other. The barge with Le Pen was sailing from the main island of Mayotte, Grand Terre, to the island of Pamandzi.
Most of the passengers fell to the deck. At least three people were slightly injured. Le Pen was not injured because she managed to stay in place during the collision. The politician was evacuated by the coast guard.
The accident paralyzed barge traffic for more than an hour, the TV channel reported.
Le Pen arrived in Mayotte on January 5 to meet with residents affected by tropical cyclone Shido.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, Shido hit Mayotte in mid-December. According to meteorologists, it was the strongest cyclone in the last 90 years. The storm was accompanied by heavy rains and gusts of wind up to 250 km/h.
As a result, more than 15,000 households were left without power. In Mayotte, infrastructure was seriously damaged, and the department's airport was heavily damaged.
French President Emmanuel Macron visited Mayotte. Local residents booed him and began chanting calls for him to resign. They accused the head of the republic of not reacting properly to the incident. In response, Macron was rude to the people.
#2
“French President Emmanuel Macron visited Mayotte. Local residents booed him and began chanting calls for him to resign. They accused the head of the republic of not reacting properly to the incident. In response, Macron was rude to the people.”
There a lot of that going around. This morning I listened to a song released by the lead singer that pointed out that Justin Trudeau never played hockey.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/08/2025 12:51
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Mikhail Zakharov
[REGNUM] January 7 is Christmas in Russia, a holiday dedicated to the birth of Jesus Christ. Along with Easter, this is one of the most significant days in the church calendar for Orthodox believers.
On the evening of January 6, believers traditionally go to churches, where on the eve of the holiday an all-night vigil is held - a special solemn service that is held twice a year, on Christmas and Easter.
"DO GOOD DEEDS"
The main Christmas service in Russia is held in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, led by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill." God came to earth and became a man to take us to heaven," he addressed the Russians on this festive night with congratulations.
The Patriarch also wished the believers “to remain Christians not only in name, but also in their way of life,” particularly emphasizing the importance of volunteer and humanitarian service in military conflict zones.
“Let us walk the path of life with firm faith and unwavering hope for help from above, rejoicing in each new day and new opportunity to do good deeds, loving our neighbors and thanking God always and for everything,” concluded the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
On the night of January 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the Christmas service at the Church of St. George the Victorious on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow. Together with him, the holiday was celebrated by SVO participants, volunteers, and their families, with whom Putin had previously met as part of the Year of the Family events.
"This bright, long-awaited holiday is dear to millions of people around the world. It gives believers joy and hope, inspires good thoughts, deeds and actions. During Christmas, we clearly, with all our hearts, feel how important paternal, family traditions are for us, passed down from generation to generation," the head of state congratulated the Russians.
Later, the president came to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where he congratulated the patriarch on the holiday. At the request of the president, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church blessed pectoral crosses and icons for the participants of the special military operation.
“I think that our comrades will be honored to receive these symbols of faith, consecrated by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia during the festive service on Christmas night,” the Russian leader’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov quoted the president as saying.
FAMILY HOLIDAY
Since 1991, Christmas has been an official day off in the country, and this time the holiday also falls on the penultimate day of the New Year holidays. However, this was not always the case: in the USSR, days off were cancelled on religious holidays, and most Christmas customs and traditions, such as decorating a Christmas tree, sending cards and giving gifts, were transferred to the New Year celebration.
Today there are no such restrictions, so January 7 is the time for mass Christmas festivities: all over Russia, celebrants visit markets, festivals, concerts, theater productions, exhibitions and performances. Russians also go to ice rinks, and if the weather permits, they go skiing and tubing.
Large-scale events are taking place in the capital of Russia, where more than 30 festive venues are open in the city center and districts until January 12 — they are prepared as part of the Journey to Christmas festival. Visitors can expect performances, themed master classes, quests, ice shows and curling, festive dishes and Christmas gifts, and the venues themselves are decorated with garlands, art objects and animation.
Public spaces are also open to citizens and guests of the city in St. Petersburg these days, where New Year's fairs are open on Manezhnaya Square and in "New Holland", as well as on "Fort Island" in Kronstadt. The Mariinsky Theatre will host a Christmas concert on January 7 featuring works by outstanding composers.
Guests from different cities also travel to the ancient Shuya in the Ivanovo region, which is also called the “capital of Russian Christmas” - there they will be able to see the all-Russian festival dedicated to this holiday until January 8 inclusive.
Those believers who stayed at home celebrate the end of the great Nativity Fast with their families. After a night visit to the temple, they return home to gather with their families at a hearty festive table. There are no restrictions on food, although overeating and abusing alcohol are still not recommended.
Then Orthodox believers will begin Svyatki, or holy days, the period from Christmas to the Epiphany of the Lord, celebrated on January 19. During these days, it is customary to visit with congratulations, as well as to help those in need: the sick, the elderly, and lonely people.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Vladimir Dobrynin
[REGNUM] Spain's ruling left-wing coalition, led by Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez, has effectively declared 2025 the country's year of remembrance for Francisco Franco.
No, it was done, as is customary among the country's high-ranking politicians, not in a direct ultimatum form, but a little allegorically, when in form it is one thing, but in content it is completely different. And if opponents object, you can always note that "it was taken out of context and misinterpreted."
Formally, the country will be celebrating the half-century anniversary of the establishment of democracy for the entire coming year. In fact, according to the press and the population, the planned hundred different cultural and mass events (most of them with political overtones) look more like a tribute to the memory of the "leader to whom Spain owes the establishment of economic stability" than to the "dictator who threw people in jail for a sidelong glance and an unfortunate word."
Sánchez claims that the anniversary of Franco's death (20 November 1975) is an occasion to look back on the history of Spanish democracy. The opposition, represented by the head of the People's Party (PP) Alberto Feijóo and the leader of the Vox party Santiago Abascal, believes that the Prime Minister has decided to "play the trump card that he always has in reserve."
Five years ago, Sanchez played, as stockbrokers say, "for the increase" (of his rating), having organized the removal of the ashes of the caudillo (caudillo - leader, Spanish) from the family crypt in the Valley of the Fallen, declaring that this memorial complex is for the real heroes who died in the struggle for democracy. And the tyrant can and should rest somewhere aside, so as to attract less attention and not provoke the emergence of his positive image in society.
The path of Francisco Franco, the Spanish caudillo who promoted himself to generalissimo and remained at the helm of the country from 1939 to 1975, from veneration to removal from the grave took 44 years.
The ex-dictator was reburied, but something, as they say, went wrong in society.
He’s still dead, though. That’s the important thing.
THE DEAD IN THE SERVICE OF THE LIVING
All these years, the topic of reburial has not exactly been on the pages of the press. No, it has appeared there periodically, reflecting the coming to power of one or another party (socialists or populists) and serving them both faithfully as an instrument of political struggle. But precisely episodically. And the people, frankly speaking, were indifferent to this topic.
In 1976, a year after Franco's death, when the Spanish press, which had entered a period of democratization (that is, the ability to express one's opinion without worrying about the consequences), no longer denied itself the pleasure of dancing on the bones of the now safe dictator, several private individuals created the Francisco Franco National Foundation (Fundación Nacional Francisco Franco).
It was not difficult to find an official justification for this act: “the need to preserve part of the history of Spain.” The foundation began writing its history by organizing an archive that collected about 30 thousand documents from the period of the caudillo’s rule.
The amount of funds received into the Fund’s accounts, as well as the names of donors (individual, corporate and government) were not made public, so as not to irritate the people.
Privacy and banking secrecy were the rule. State subsidies to the foundation were accompanied by politically correct formulations, such as "due to the need for digital processing of documents for subsequent storage in computers" and the like.
The financial aid provided by the state to the Franco Foundation was defended by prominent scientists in the country, such as the director of the Royal Academy of History, Gonzalo Anez, who repeatedly emphasized that “at any time, any document will be accessible to any user of the World Wide Web.”
In fact, the availability of documents is very limited today, but there are no media disputes on this topic or calls to declassify everything.
The common people are ready to gossip about the Franco Foundation only over a glass of beer, and only if they are prompted with a leading question. The masses are sure that considerable money, inaccessible to ordinary people, is laundered through the foundation. Otherwise, why would such offices be needed?
A poll conducted by one of the country's leading newspapers, El Mundo, on the eve of the exhumation yielded results that slightly shocked those in power. Only 43% of respondents supported the reburial, while 32.5% were against it.
"The number of those who are not concerned about this issue is astonishing. It reaches 20%, that is every fifth person surveyed," the publication reported. And then the readers' comments poured in, often diametrically opposed. As a result of the squabble that arose under the newspaper's text, the winners were two statements with which the majority agreed:
"I believe that we are the only country on the planet that insists on distorting and rewriting its history, replacing objective history with crude and shameless lies. Yes, Franco was a dictator, but he and millions of Spaniards like him were the result of a time full of violence and radicalism. And this cannot be changed. Personally, I am grateful to him," wrote one user.
"When I see the politicians who govern us today and compare them to Franco, he seems to me a model of virtue. That's why the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party - Ed.) constantly attacks his memory - so that he can't serve as a beacon for us," added another reader.
A fair description of socialists everywhere and -when, for any eminent personage not their own.
The exhumation of Franco's remains and his reburial in the cemetery in the Madrid quarter of Mingorrubio naturally did not go unnoticed by newspapers, radio and television. But the process of covering the event, although it demonstrated close attention to what was happening, still did not allow one to free oneself from the feeling of the routine of articles and video reports, speeches of politicians and comments of passers-by on the street who happened to meet the reporters.
The wish “let’s just get this over with and move on” was in the air. Towards the night of October 24, 2019, the wish came to a stop and seemed to have disappeared from the modern Spanish agenda forever.
TO WRITE A FAIR HISTORY…
The five years that have passed since then are called by some political scientists the “period of Franco-silence.” This name not only indicates silence about the former Spanish dictator, but also a play on words: franco in Spanish means “sincere, pure.”
That is, the parties that are "for" and "against" carefully avoided the topic, so as not to stir up trouble in society. They were silent not without reason: the occasional polls showed a noticeable polarization of public opinion.
In addition, it turned out that the majority of respondents born before 1950, that is, the part of the population that was a priori considered to have suffered the most from the caudillo dictatorship, recall those years as a time of stability in life and a virtual absence of crime.
And a very large group of young people born after Franco's death believed and believes that the establishment of a dictatorship now would be positive for the state and would put the economy in order.
Sober political scientists explain this by the fact that school textbooks describe the period of General Franco's rule in a one-sided and too brief manner. Which, according to Menorca.info columnist Julia Navarro, prevents the younger generation from fully appreciating the scale of fear and repression.
"The Socialists, by inventing a hundred events to commemorate Franco's death, are in fact glorifying him and creating a nasty impression of the democratic period that followed his death," she said.
… OR COVER UP A CORRUPTION SCANDAL?
The Spanish press also reports the opinion of representatives of the opposition People's Party, who say that the Sánchez government needs the anniversary events in order to distract the people's attention from the corruption scandal, the main character of which is the Prime Minister's wife, Begoña Gómez.
In the same context, Alberto Feijóo announced that the members of the NP will not take part, at least in the first of the celebrations, which will take place on January 8 at the Reina Sofia National Museum.
Whether the "populists" will participate in others is an open question. Most likely, they will announce their participation or non-participation immediately before each event. In order to attract additional attention to themselves and gain political points.
The current King of Spain, Felipe VI, also announced that he would not attend the first two of the hundred celebrations planned. The monarch cited “his notebook being full” — on January 8, he is scheduled to visit the former concentration camps of Auschwitz and Mauthausen, and then he has a busy day ahead of him, presenting credentials to new ambassadors from several countries.
"The Socialists' attempt to involve the King in the celebrations in honor of Franco failed," La Razón states with undisguised triumph, hinting that the monarch should have performed some act of gratitude to the late dictator.
After all, the very preservation of royal power in the country was a gift from Franco, who wrote in his political testament that after him Spain should be led by His Majesty Juan Carlos I, who had reigned until that moment somewhere abroad.
Philip, who took over the monarchy ten years ago from his father Juan Carlos, preferred to stay above the fray and not to stir up the periodically flaring debates about whether it is time to abolish the throne and everything that goes with it in Spain. Especially since the king's power in the country is formal, but the upkeep of the royal household costs a pretty penny.
The Socialists did not hesitate to respond to the Narodniks, reminding Alberto Feijóo that the PP was founded in 1976 by former Francoist minister Manuel Fraga Iribarne. They say that with such roots, telling us that we glorify the dictator is, at the very least, illogical.
In general, the celebration of 50 years of democracy in Spain has caused an intensification of political struggle and could lead to increased polarization of the population, Spanish newspapers note.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 19:17 artillery attack from the Ukrainian Armed Forces was recorded in the direction of: 15:55 – Dyleevka settlement – Gorlovka settlement (Nikitovsky district): two 155mm rounds. 18:47 As a result of Ukrainian armed aggression in the settlement of the V.I. Lenin mine, a civilian resident of Gorlovka was wounded. This was reported by the city mayor Ivan Prikhodko.
17:32 Ramzan Kadyrov reported that as a result of the battle in the Sudzhan direction, 15 units of enemy equipment were destroyed and three Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers were captured.
16:00 Sever group of forces fighters in the Kursk region defeated Ukrainian Armed Forces formations near Kazachya Loknya, Kubatkina, Lebedevka, Nikolskoye, Sudzha, Cherkasskoye Porechny.
15:59 The losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk direction in one day amounted to over 325 servicemen, ten tanks were destroyed, the Russian Defense Ministry reports.
14:47 New briefing from the Russian Ministry of Defense:
– The losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in one day in the special operation zone amounted to 1,635 servicemen.
– Units of the Southern Group took up more advantageous positions, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 245 servicemen.
– As a result of the actions of the “North” and “Dnepr” groups, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 145 fighters in one day.
– The “West” group repelled two enemy counterattacks in one day; the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 580 servicemen and a Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled gun.
– The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 510 servicemen and two Leopard tanks in the area of responsibility of the Center group of forces.
14:40 Over the past 24 hours, air defense systems have shot down six HIMARS MLRS projectiles and 50 Ukrainian drones, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported.
13:40 Over the past 24 hours, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed the infrastructure of military airfields, weapons depots, and concentrations of equipment of Ukrainian Armed Forces and mercenaries in 164 districts, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported.
13:39 Enemy drones are again active in the skies over Gorlovka in the DPR, the region’s monitoring resources report.
12:35 The Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked six districts of the Belgorod Region over the past 24 hours, using 30 drones and firing a total of 95 rounds of ammunition, the region's governor Gladkov reported on his Telegram channel. He specified that a civilian was wounded as a result of the shelling.
11:57 A civilian died in the city of Oleshky in the Kherson region as a result of artillery attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, reported Governor Vasilenko's press secretary.
11:55 The number of victims in the attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Gorlovka has grown to seven, the head of the district Prikhodko clarified.
11:10 According to updated information, two more civilians from the city of Dzerzhinsk in the Gorlovka urban district were injured as a result of Ukrainian armed aggression, said Mayor Ivan Prikhodko.
10:15 Molniya drone crews of the Ivanovo Guards Airborne Forces destroyed fortifications and infantry of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the fireproof plant in Chasovy Yar - Russian Defense Ministry.
09:32 Since the beginning of the day, Ukrainian troops have fired eight 155mm rounds at Gorlovka, including three cluster rounds, the Telegram channel Department for Documentation of War Crimes of Ukraine of the Administration of the Head and Government of the Donetsk People's Republic.
08:17 The air defense system shot down several air targets over Belgorod and the Belgorod region; there were no casualties, Gladkov reported.
08:13 Company commander with call sign Guryatold, how experienced fighters from the Southern Group of Forces unit drove Ukrainian Armed Forces militants out of apartment buildings in the city of Kurakhovo.
08:11 Infrastructure has been damaged in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine, reported the head of the regional administration, Serhiy Lysak.
Linked article is available only through a VPN
[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
In Kharkov direction, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted losses on formations of one mechanised brigade, one air assault brigade of the AFU, and one territorial defence brigade near Oreshanka, Granov, Veterinarnoye (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 65 troops, two motor vehicles, two 152mm D-20 guns, and two 122mm D-30 howitzers.
Units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation along the front line. Losses were inflicted on manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades and one assault brigade of the AFU near Zeleny Gay, Petropavlovka (Kharkov region), and Novoyegorovka (Lugansk People's Republic). Two counter-attacks launched by AFU assault detachments were repelled.
The AFU losses amounted to up to 580 troops, two infantry fighting vehicles, 12 motor vehicles, one Italian-made Iveco armoured fighting vehicle, one Italian-made 105mm Melara Mod 56 howitzer, one German-made 155mm Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery system, one 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, three 122mm D-30 howitzers, one U.S.-made M-113 armoured personnel carrier, two U.S.-made 155mm M-777 howitzers, two U.S.-made 155mm M-198 howitzers, and one U.S.-made 105mm M-119 guns.
One Israeli-made RADA RPS-42 counterbattery radar, four Khortitsa, one Bukovel-AD, and one Anklav electronic warfare stations as well as one ammunition depot were destroyed.
Units of the Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Losses were inflicted on formations of one mechanised brigade, one motorised infantry brigade, and two airmobile brigades of the AFU near Seversk, Predtechino, Dachnoye, and Belogorovka (Donetsk People's Republic). Two counterattacks launched by the enemy's assault detachments were repelled.
The AFU losses amounted to up to 245 troops, one tank, one infantry fighting vehicle, two pick trucks, two 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems, one 122mm D-30 howitzer, and two U.S.-made 105mm M-119 guns. Three ammunition depots were destroyed.
Units of the Tsentr Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Losses were inflicted on manpower and hardware of four mechanised brigades of the AFU, three territorial defence brigades, two national guard brigades, and one brigade of the National Police of Ukraine near Druzhba, Panteleymonovka, Mirolyubovka, Shcherbinovka, Dzerzhinsk, Vozdvizhenka, Shevchenko, Aleksandropol, Dyleyevka, and Volkovo (Donetsk People's Republic). Twelve AFU counter-attacks launched by AFU formations were repelled.
The AFU losses amounted to up to 510 troops, four tanks, including two German-made Leopard tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles, two U.S.-made M-113 armoured personnel carriers, five other armoured fighting vehicles, ten motor vehicles, three 152mm D-20 guns, one 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, two 122mm D-30 howitzers, and one U.S.-made 105mm M-119 gun. One electronic warfare station was eliminated.
Units of the Vostok Group of Forces continued advancing to the depth of the enemy's defences. Losses were inflicted on formations of three mechanised brigades of the AFU, two territorial defence brigades, and one national guard brigade near Neskuchnoye, Velikaya Novoselka, Razliv, Volnoye Pole, and Vremevka (Donetsk People's Republic). Two counterattacks launched by the enemy's assault detachments were repelled.
The AFU losses amounted to up to 155 troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, five motor vehicles, one 152mm 2S3 Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system, one 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, and one 122mm D-30 howitzer. One ammunition depot was wiped out.
Units of the Dnepr Group of Forces inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of one infantry brigade of the AFU near Pyatikhatki (Zaporozhye region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 80 troops, six motor vehicles, and one 122mm D-30 howitzer. One Bukovel-AD electronic warfare station and one ammunition depot were destroyed.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces struck infrastructure of military airfields, ammunition depots, as well as engaged manpower and hardware of the armed AFU formations and foreign mercenaries in 164 areas.
Air defence units shot down six U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectiles and 50 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 652 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 39,618 unmanned aerial vehicles, 590 anti-aircraft missile systems, 20,280 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,507 MLRS combat vehicles, 20,270 field artillery guns and mortars, and 29,955 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.
In the course of offensive actions, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted losses on formations of one heavy mechanised brigade, three mechanised brigades, two air assault brigades, one naval infantry brigade, and two territorial defence brigades of the AFU near Kazachaya Loknya, Kubatkin, Lebedevka, Nikolsky, Sudzha, and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation and artillery inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the enemy near Zazulevka, Zamostye, Kamyshovka, Mirny, Russkoye Porechnoye, Sverdlikovo as well as Basovka in Sumy region.
Over the past 24 hours, the AFU losses amounted to more than 325 troops, ten tanks, one infantry fighting vehicle, one armoured personnel carrier, 11 armoured fighting vehicles, eight motor vehicles, three artillery guns, and three mortars.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, the AFU losses amounted to more than 49,830 troops, 293 tanks, 217 infantry fighting vehicles, 159 armoured personnel carriers, 1,511 armoured fighting vehicles, 1,426 motor vehicles, 344 artillery guns, 44 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and six of MLRS made by the USA, 16 anti-aircraft missile launchers, eight transport-loading vehicles, 89 EW stations, 13 counter-battery warfare radars, four air defence radars, 29 units of engineering and other materiel, including 15 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, seven armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 13.35 On January 7, in the village of Pridneprovske in the Kherson region, Russians dropped explosives from a drone near a store, killing a civilian. This was reported by the Kherson GVA.
11.57 Russian troops shelled the border areas of the Chernihiv region, in particular, the city of Semenovka. There are wounded. This was reported by the Chernihiv OVA. As a result of the shelling, three wounded are known , two of them are hospitalized. There is destruction.
11:36 A 26-year-old volunteer from Scotland, Jordan McLachlan, who served in the Ukrainian army since 2022, died in the war in Ukraine. This was reported by the BBC.
10.56 Over the past 24 hours, 218 combat clashes between units of the Defense Forces and Russian occupiers have occurred on the front. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 12 areas of concentration of personnel and equipment, two radar stations, two air defense systems, as well as another important facility of the occupiers were damaged.
9:55 On the night of January 7, the Russians launched 38 "shahed" type drones over the territory of Ukraine. The air defense managed to shoot down 28 drones . This was reported by the air force. Another 10 enemy drone imitators were lost, three of them flew in the direction of Russia.
9:34 Partisans have discovered a new location for Russian military personnel in a sanatorium located in the Saksky District on Morskaya Street. This was reported by ATESH. Numerous military vehicles, personnel in military uniform, and increased security were recorded on the territory of the sanatorium.
8.51 Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have destroyed 1,970 Russian occupiers. The total combat losses of the Russian invaders from 24.02.22 to 07.01.25 amounted to approximately 800,010 people. This was reported by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
6.45 On the night of January 7, the Ukrainian Navy destroyed two "shahids" with which the Russians attacked Ukraine.
[BenarNews] The world’s largest coast guard ship arrived at the disputed area as China’s navy holds drills to exert air control.
The world’s largest coasties vessel, a Chinese ship known as "The Monster," has arrived at the disputed Scarborough Shoal inside the Philippine exclusive economic zone to boost Beijing’s control over the maritime area, an American analyst said.
Meanwhile,
...back at the precinct house, Fat Tony demanded his rosco back. He didn't say please... the Chinese navy has been conducting a New Year carrier-based helicopter training exercise in the airspace over the South China Sea, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The 12,000-ton CCG 5901 arrived at Scarborough Shoal on Wednesday, said Ray Powell, director of the SeaLight project at Stanford University, who tracks the ship’s movements.
There are at least three other Chinese coasties ships — CCG 3106, 3302 and 3305 — as well as seven militia ships, already present at the shoal, Powell told Radio Free Asia.
The aim of their mission is to boost Beijing’s control over the maritime area just 125 nautical miles (232 kilometers) from the main Philippine island of Luzon, he said.
Scarborough Shoal is known in the Philippines as Bajo de Masinloc and has served as a traditional fishing ground for Filipino fishermen but their access has been restricted by Chinese vessels in recent times, which hold de-facto control of the area.
It is well within the area under the jurisdiction of the Philippines, where it has exclusive rights to resources in the waters and on the seabed.
"The Monster" is not only large in size, it is also armed with heavy machine guns and has a helicopter platform.
It is unclear whether the ship carries any helicopter unit on this mission but last week, the Chinese coasties conducted a carrier-based helicopter training exercise, also at Scarborough Shoal, using another coasties vessel.
CONTROL OF AIRSPACE
Chinese authorities "are now paying more attention to the deployment of airpower" in relation to the South China Sea disputes, Yang Xiao, a maritime expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said on an influential blog with nearly three million followers on Sina Weibo.
The U.S. and Philippine militaries have been deploying reconnaissance aircraft and drones to the Scarborough Shoal, a strategically located chain of reefs south of Bashi channel between Taiwan and the Philippines, Yang said, adding that China now has to gain air control, especially after it announced baselines to form territorial sea and airspace around the shoal in November.
The carrier-based aircraft training is to send a warning to the Philippines and its ally the U.S. that they should think twice before "entering China’s airspace," the Chinese expert said.
The Chinese coasties’s training exercise on Dec. 27 was similar to current drills by a helicopter unit of the Southern Theater Command navy’s carrier-based aviation force, conducted at an unspecified location in the South China Sea.
According to CCTV, on Wednesday and Thursday, various types of carrier-based helicopters carried out multi-subject practical training including search and rescue, alert control, and sea landing, "further improving the unit’s coordinated combat capabilities."
The aircraft also carried out reconnaissance patrol and alert control training exercises at high altitude in a "target sea area," CCTV said without identifying the location.
In recent weeks, China’s military has been ramping up combat readiness exercises at Scarborough Shoal.
On Sunday, its Southern Theater Command staged large-scale patrols around the shoal, with both navy and the air force taking part.
SUBMARINE DRONE Meanwhile,
...back at the precinct house, Fat Tony demanded his rosco back. He didn't say please... the Philippine armed forces on Thursday said it was conducting an investigation into the origin and purpose of a submarine drone with suspect origins in waters off the central Philippines.
Philippine police said the drone, which was fished out of waters off Masbate island in the central Philippines on Monday, could be Chinese.
A report by the police about the incident said the drone was found by fishermen on the morning of Dec. 30 while fishing in the area. The fishermen, accompanied by village officials, then turned over the item to police.
The yellow drone had the markings "HY-119," which police said refers to a Chinese underwater navigation and communication system.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not return messages requesting for comment.
"The Navy is currently conducting further investigation to determine its origin and purpose," Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said in a statement.
"The AFP is fully committed to ensuring the safety and security of our maritime domain, with all necessary resources mobilized to address similar and other situations with the utmost diligence," he added.
It’s an ugly culture — petty and mean to create in ways large and small the idea that the dhimmis are or soon will be conquered.
[IsraelTimes] Anti-Israel graffiti and swastikas daubed on bicycles in Jewish neighborhoods of Australian city for over a year; community leaders accuse operator Lime of not tackling problem.
Lime doesn’t care, the local and national Labour politicians don’t care…
Vandals have turned an electric bike-sharing program in the Australian city of Sydney into a platform to target the local Jewish community with anti-Israel and antisemitic graffiti, with complaints that the bike operators are not doing anything to counter the problem for over a year, a report said Tuesday.
Bikes are being defaced and then driven around or left in neighborhoods with large Jewish populations, the Australian Telegraph newspaper reported.
Speaking truth to power and discomfiting the comfortably smug haters.
The bikes are daubed with swastikas or slogans such as “Israel is hell,” “Zionists are Nazis” and “Israel is a terrorist state.”
They have been seen in Bondi, Rose Bay Coogee, Kensington, Maroubra, and Randwick.
Attacks on Australia’s Jewish community have proliferated since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre in Israel. Cars and buildings have been vandalized and torched around Australia during protests against Israel that have often targeted the Jewish community, and in December a synagogue was set on fire in Melbourne in what authorities described as a terrorist act.
The Australian Jewish Association told the paper it had received hundreds of complaints about the bikes since the start of the Gaza war.
It claimed that the private company operating the bikes, Lime, has ignored requests to remove the graffiti.
“They are placed in areas where Jewish families live or near synagogues to intimidate the Jewish community,” AJA CEO Robert Gregory said.
“If the graffiti was on a public building, it would be removed but Lime bikes and others have created a loophole that vandals are exploiting,” he charged. “The share bike companies are effectively providing permanent billboards to spread hate and division and target the Jewish community.”
Because a private company is operating the bikes, the council and police are not able to clean up the vandalism, according to the report.
However, a spokeswoman for Lime said the company is taking the matter seriously.
“We are horrified at the anti-Semitic vandalism occurring on buildings, vehicles, and signage across the City and thank every community member for alerting our local teams to vandalism on our e-bikes,” she said.
If the things are rented with a credit card, it’s easy enough to add an additional charge to the last user for collection, cleaning and repainting, and a deliberate damage surcharge. Hit them all up and the problem will stop, especially if some of those charged are not the ones who actually damaged the e-bikes. A class action suit by the Jewish communities against the company would certainly bring the pain home in that quarter as well, if such a thing is possible under Australian law. Or helpfully spray every one that appears a pretty colour to cover up the the offensive language, since the painting the bikes is apparently acceptable.
Wouldn’t it be fun for Israel to be an approved supplier the next time a Democratic president deliberately screws up inventory, as happened under the Biden administration. Ditto for Germany…
[IsraelTimes] Elbit Systems also contracted to establish manufacturing plant for raw materials, in deals worth $275 million; Israel hopes to reach ‘full independence’ in munitions manufacturing
The Defense Ministry on Tuesday signed two major deals with Elbit Systems for the local arms contractor to supply the military with thousands of heavy bombs and establish a new facility to manufacture raw materials.
The deals were estimated at NIS 1 billion ($275 million), the Defense Ministry said.
The ministry said the agreements were "crucial for enhancing the IDF’s operational endurance and force build-up capabilities," and represented a "central lesson learned from the war."
Under the first agreement, Elbit was to supply thousands of heavy air munitions used by the Israeli Air Force.
This would apparently reduce Israel’s need to rely on the United States, which in late spring held up a shipment of heavy bombs.
Since the beginning of the war, the IAF has launched over 83,000 munitions in Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s, according to the military.
Under the second agreement, Elbit was to establish a "national raw materials plant to produce raw materials that were sourced mainly from abroad before the war."
"The new facility will feature advanced production lines for energetic materials that Israel’s defense industry uses," the ministry said, adding that the project is expected to "strengthen domestic manufacturing independence and reduce reliance on imported raw materials."
Defense Ministry Director General Eyal Zamir said the deals were "laying the foundations for expanding manufacturing independence in two critical areas for the IDF’s operational sustainability: domestic production of heavy air munitions and establishing a national raw materials plant."
"Both agreements will ensure sovereign capability in producing bombs and munitions of all types," he said in remarks provided by the ministry.
"We initiated this historic move before the war but accelerated it during it. Under both agreements, initial capabilities will soon gradually expand until we achieve full independence in both areas," Zamir said.
"This is a central lesson from the war that will enable the IDF to continue operating powerfully in all theaters," he added.
The Defense Ministry said in August that the US has sent over 50,000 tons of armaments and military equipment to Israel since the war began.
The aggression against Israel throughout the Middle East, which has been described as a seven-front war, began with the Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... October 7, 2023, massacre, which saw thousands of Lions of Islam invade Israel from the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251.
In Gaza, fierce fighting in the north continues, with Hamas still demonstrating it is still capable of firing rockets at Israel after nearly 15 months of war.
In Leb ...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade.... , a delicate ceasefire holds as Israeli forces continue to uncover Hezbollah infrastructure in the country’s south.
Meanwhile,
...back at the cheese factory, all the pieces finally fell together in Fluffy's mind... over the past month, Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... ballistic missiles from 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... have repeatedly sent millions of Israelis to bomb shelters in the middle of the night.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] The long-time husband of The View co-host Sunny Hostin is starting the New Year under a cloud after being accused of federal insurance fraud.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Emmanuel ’Manny’ Hostin is among nearly 200 defendants named in one of the largest RICO cases ever filed in New York.
He and many of the others are accused or getting kickbacks by performing surgery and fraudulently billing a company that insures taxi companies and Uber and Lyft drivers.
’Hostin knowingly provided fraudulent medical and other healthcare services including arthroscopic surgeries,’ the lawsuit, filed on December 17, claims.
The insurance firm American Transit was then billed ’in exchange for kickbacks and/or other compensation which were disguised as dividends or other cash distributions.’
Hostin's attorney Daniel Thwaites told DailyMail.com his client 'denies each and every allegation' and called the lawsuit a 'blanket, scattershot, meritless lawsuit by a near-bankrupt insurance carrier'.
The lawsuit, obtained by DailyMail.com, identifies Dr. Hostin as owner of Hostin Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, located in midtown Manhattan
The lawsuit, obtained by DailyMail.com, identifies Dr. Hostin as owner of Hostin Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, located in midtown Manhattan
The couple has been married since 1998 and currently live in a 10-bedroom, 10-bathroom estate in Purchase, New York. They have a 22-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter
’It is meant to intimidate and harass doctors from collecting for care given to American Transit insureds and their passengers,’ Thwaites said.
He said Hostin has an ’impeccable’ record, adding: ’American Transit has rushed into the lawsuit without ever conducting an examination of Dr. Hostin or expressing any concerns to his lawyers.
’The real story here is about an insurance carrier abusing the legal system to limit and restrict health care benefits to its insureds and their passengers, and write off its proper obligations,’ Thwaites said.
They met at a church in Maryland, where he graduated from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1996.
Sunny, a lawyer and former prosecutor, is senior legal correspondent and analyst for ABC News as well as co-host of The View.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/08/2025
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[11149 views]
Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
#1
Maybe Sonny can get some good legal advice from Matt Gaetz.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/08/2025 13:50
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[IsraelTimes] Incoming president comments as son flies into Greenland, says both vital for US interests; also says he will use ‘economic force’ to encourage Canada to unite with US.
I’m confused. Is he trolling or moving the Overton Window? One of each?
…and the internet provides an answer, though without clarifying if the answer is truth or merely more speculation:
I'm hearing MAGAs complain that the whole Greenland thing is a "distraction" and Trump should instead be focused on his key campaign promises.
IMO, at a certain level this definitely IS a distraction, one that Trump has purposely created.
… While I believe he is serious about the strategic importance of Greenland and the Panama Canal, I also believe that he knows that this issue is sensationalistic, dramatic stuff and will suck all of the air out of the news cycle. This in turn will draw attention away from the Hegseth/Tulsi/RFK nominations and will give him the freedom to engage in immediate and drastic actions on 1/21 without the media being able to fully commit their usual journalistic malpractice about what he is doing with executive orders.
This is a tactic the Democrats have been using for years--get a dramatic issue in this news cycle so they can do bad stuff undetected.
#3
While, not believing 1/4 of what being dumped on us by the media about Trump, and usually right thinking so.
I do feel a lot of what we hear is a well planned deflection, to shift attention from other things amiss.
As Trump or maybe Vance takes office on the 20th.
However, given the growing CCP mass land purchases around the Panama Canal. It might require another US intervention to guard US trade routes.
#10
Don't be so flippant Grom. A lot of people say the same thing about Israel and being on stolen ground.
Personally I think Trump is just trolling reporters for asking him the same questions for sensitive information. Optics look horrible, but most people will forget it in 2 years after these issues have been resolved or dropped.
#11
^And if they could, they'd wipe Israel out a long time ago. But, this time around Israel has an equalizer.
That's one. Two: Ukrainians started the war - now, they're getting the consequences.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
01/08/2025 12:30
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#15
Meanwhile, the same Chinese that took over the Panama Canal are cutting power and communications cables to the Baltic States and the Germans have a rationalization to explain that it's all really Trump's fault.
#20
The question was military or ECONOMIC coercion. Get the cheese out of your ears, surrender monkeys.
Posted by: Regular joe ||
01/08/2025 13:38
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#21
Ukrainians started the war
Hmmm. Here I thought it was NATO...or maybe Victoria Nuland. Putin acted to keep NATO out of Ukraine. OK, call it an invasion if you must but it looks to me like he had some good reasons.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/08/2025 14:23
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#22
But they look like such a lovely couple that I'd hate to go to war against them.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/08/2025 14:26
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#23
All I know is the same people who set up a base of operations in Ukraine and backed the Elenskyy coup also did Libya, toppled Egypt, backed once a future ISIS in order to overthrow at least Syria, and came within a John Kerry gaff of air striking everyone in the Middle East not on board Team Obama while putting Israel into a pincer, and didn't give a fk while ISIS overran Iraq until the atrocities couldn't be hid anymore.
Argue whether that deserves a hot war or not, but that is a shitty neighbor with an agenda based history of unprovoked violence, like having a gang backed drug house next door.
#27
EC. Trump is not invading anybody. He like the new leader of Panama. He also likes Denmark. I don’t think we are buying or annexing Greenland. Trump is making the point that importing resources from Russia is dumb. Greenland has the resources you need. Don’t sell them to the Chinese.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/08/2025 16:55
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[GatewayPundit] Researchers from the University of Toronto have documented a rare instance of gigantomastia—abnormal and excessive breast growth—following the administration of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
A 19-year-old woman, previously healthy with no notable medical history, experienced rapid breast enlargement just one week after receiving her first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in September 2022.
Her condition worsened following the second dose, with her breast size increasing dramatically from a B cup to a triple G over six months.
Social media users have dubbed this unusual case the "Pfizer Boob Job."
Despite undergoing extensive medical evaluations, no hormonal abnormalities or other causes were identified.
Doctors determined that the woman’s symptoms aligned with pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia (PASH), a rare condition involving idiopathic fibrous mammary tissue growth.
The association between PASH and vaccine administration has not been previously established, making this case particularly noteworthy.
According to the medical journal:
PASH-associated gigantomastia is rare, with fewer than 20 documented cases. Current gigantomastia classification systems do not account for PASH as an etiological factor and lack detail on the timeline of breast growth or the type of tissue involved. Including these elements could improve clinical decision-making and streamline management.
CONCLUSIONS
The cause of gigantomastia remains unclear. Here, we present the case of a healthy female patient who experienced rapid breast enlargement, progressing from a B cup to a triple G cup over 6 months, beginning 1 week following Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination.
She underwent bilateral reduction mammoplasty, complicated by intraoperative bleeding, necessitating postoperative transfusions. Surgical specimens confirmed PASH. Further research is needed to understand PASH etiology, refine gigantomastia classification, and explore the potential link between the Pfizer vaccine, gigantomastia, and PASH. Photos at link. 24 brownie points for the best Nancy Pelosi jokes
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Fighting continues in Kurakhovo.
Ukrainian troops continue to destroy Russian manpower and equipment, causing damage and hindering the enemy's advance.
Russian occupation forces are trying to "take apart stone by stone" the development of Kurakhovo in the Donetsk region. The Defense Forces are holding out in the western part of the city, Major Viktor Tregubov, spokesman for the Operational-Strategic Group of Forces Khortitsa, said on the air of the national telethon.
"The Russians are simply trying to destroy all the houses, even the low-rise ones in the city. When the city is completely destroyed, there is simply nowhere to hold a defense, because there are practically no fortifications.
Any house is a fortification, if there are no houses, if the earth is simply scorched, then it is impossible to hold a defense there. At present, the situation in Kurakhovo is really difficult, because a significant part of the city has been destroyed. Ukrainian troops are holding on in the western part of the city, on its western outskirts. Including holding the power plant, which is in the city," he noted.
At the same time, the officer emphasized that Ukrainian troops continue to destroy Russian manpower and equipment, causing damage and hindering the enemy’s advance.
Let us recall that earlier Tregubov stated that the operational-strategic group of troops Khortitsa has no information about the capture of the settlement of Lozovaya in the Izyum district of the Kharkiv region by Russian troops. He said this on television.
French National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen dies at 96 Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The founder and former leader of the French party "National Front" ("National Union") Jean-Marie Le Pen has died at the age of 96. This was reported on January 7 by the France Presse agency, citing the politician's family.
"Jean-Marie Le Pen... [died] at 12:00 (14:00 Moscow time) on Tuesday, surrounded by his family," the publication says.
It is noted that on the day of his death, the politician was in a medical facility in the commune of Garches (department of Hauts-de-Seine), to which he had been taken several weeks earlier. His daughter Marine Le Pen, who is the head of the parliamentary faction of the "National Rally", was on a visit to Mayotte (overseas department of France) that day. At that time, there was a collision between two barges, on one of which Le Pen was.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, in April 2024, Jean-Marie Le Pen was placed under guardianship due to his deteriorating health. The corresponding decision was made by the court at the request of the politician's family after a medical examination.
Le Pen was born on June 20, 1928, and became the youngest member of the French parliament in 1956. He also became the leader of the National Front party in 1972.
The politician was a supporter of extreme right-wing views and during his political career he took part in the French presidential elections five times as a candidate for this post. In 2002, Le Pen managed to get to the second round of the presidential elections, but he received only 17.8% of the votes and lost to Jacques Chirac.
In 2011, the politician handed over the leadership of the National Front to his daughter, and he was expelled from it in 2015. The National Front was renamed the National Rally in 2018.
[IsraelTimes] Drills come after Israel said to have destroyed much of Iran’s air defenses in recent strikes and after US examined plans to attack nuclear program
Iran’s military has begun drills focusing on air defenses near the Natanz nuclear enrichment plant in the center of the country as part of exercises planned nationwide, state media reported on Tuesday.
The drills — dubbed Eqtedar, or "might," in Farsi — have involved the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological branch of Iran’s military, alongside the army.
"The first phase of the joint Eqtedar exercises in the air defense zone of the Natanz nuclear facility has commenced under the orders of the air defense headquarters commander," state TV said.
It added that IRGC air forces were undertaking "an all-out point defense" of the site "against a multitude of air threats in tough electronic warfare conditions."
On Monday, IRGC front man Ali Mohammad Naini said the drills, which will also cover other parts of Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... until mid-March, were being conducted in response to "new security threats," without elaborating.
Several branches of the IRGC, including the navy and the paramilitary Basij forces, will also take part in the exercises, he added.
At the end of October, Israel attacked key military targets in Iran, degrading its air defense and missile production capabilities in retaliation for a massive ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier that month.
Iran’s attack was launched in response to Israel’s killings of Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... leader Ismail Haniyeh ...became Prime Minister of Gaza after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continued as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintained a separate PM in the West Bank. Zapped during the 2023-24 war, to eveyone's satisfaction... in Tehran in July and Hezbollah leader His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...> in September and involved hundreds of ballistic missiles being shot at Israel, triggering sirens across the country.
There were no casualties, but the IDF said that certain airbases were hit, although the Air Force’s capabilities were unaffected.
Israel’s response damaged Iran’s missile production capabilities as well as elements of the nuclear program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF said, although they added that the damage to the nuclear program was not significant enough to thwart it.
They did say, however, that Iran’s ability to produce ballistic missiles and solid fuel, which is used for long-range missiles, was greatly diminished.
The Israeli strikes also reportedly destroyed much of Iran’s air defense system, including its four Russian-made S-300 systems.
Last week, US news website Axios reported that White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan had presented President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. The very model of probity.... with options for a potential US strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities if Tehran moved toward developing a nuclear weapon before January 20, when Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... takes office.
Iran’s foreign ministry front man Esmaeil Baqaei lambasted the reports, saying threats against the country’s nuclear facilities were "a gross violation of international law."
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes and denies any intention to develop atomic weapons. "Nuclear? Yes. Atomic? No." However,
a lie repeated often enough remains a lie... Iran, which is sworn to destroy Israel, has in recent years increased its manufacturing of enriched uranium, and it is the only non-nuclear weapons state to possess uranium enriched to 60 percent, the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog said.
That level is well on the way to the 90% required for an atomic bomb and beyond anything needed for a civilian nuclear program.
Tensions over Iran’s nuclear program soared after the United States, during Trump’s first term in office, withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal that offered Tehran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear ambitions.
[IsraelTimes] US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ...71st United States secretary of state and a leading light of the corrupt and inept Biden administration. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under the corrupt and inept Obama administration. He advocated for the 2003 invasion of Iraq while serving as the Democratic staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002 to 2008. He was a foreign policy advisor for the Biden 2008 presidential campaign. During his tenure in the Obama administration, Blinken helped craft B.O.'s policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the nuclear program of Iran. We all saw how well each of those worked. After leaving government service, Blinken moved into the private sector, co-founding WestExec Advisors, a lobbying firm... will be prosecuted for his role in the war in Gazoo, says a senior Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... official.
"His statements are misleading and we do not trust them, and his partnership in the crimes against our people will be pursued legally," threatens Hamas politburo member Osama Hamdan at a presser in Algeria, calling Blinken "a partner in the war of extermination."
In a weekend interview with The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... , Blinken put the blame squarely on Hamas for the failure to reach a hostage release agreement.
"What we’ve seen time and again is Hamas not concluding a deal that it should have concluded," Blinken said.
"Why there hasn’t been a unanimous chorus around the world for Hamas to put down its weapons, to give up the hostages, to surrender — I don’t know what the answer is to that. Israel, on various occasions, has offered safe passage to Hamas’s leadership and fighters out of Gaza. Where is the world? Where is the world saying, Yeah, do that! End this! Stop the suffering of people that you brought on!" he said.
Hamdan claims that negotiations with Israel have proven that the only way to achieve rights for the Paleostinians is by force.
"We are determined to stop the aggression and for the enemy to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, and for relief and reconstruction to be without Israeli conditions," says Hamdan. "We hope that this will be achieved as soon as possible."
He calls for a "national committee" to manage Gaza and "block the path of every corrupt argument that seeks to oppress our people."
Indirect talks on a potential hostage deal between Israel and Hamas continue in Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... , but progress has been slow.
Hamdan says that Hamas hopes that Syria "will remain in the position of resistance" due to Israel’s control of the Golan Heights and beyond. "One of the most important values launched by al-Aqsa Flood [the Hamas name for the October 7, 2023, terror onslaught] is that peoples will not be liberated except through resistance."
Referring to a wave of legal complaints against IDF soldiers vacationing abroad, Hamdan says that "pursuing Zionist war criminals is a Paleostinian national goal and a goal for all free people in the world. Those who raised the case in Brazil and elsewhere are people whose consciences pushed them to take action against the crimes of the occupation. Those who commit crimes of genocide must be pursued all over the world."
...Metrópoles reported on Monday that the Brazilian Federal Police filed a request to the Federal Court to reconsider a Sunday arrest warrant for a visiting IDF reservist for alleged war crimes.
The police chose to open a crime report instead of a formal investigation while awaiting the judicial process. They argued that the case required more detailed analysis before a formal investigation, and the issue generated internal debate about the legitimacy of an investigation and the relevance of Brazilian criminal law.
[Yahoo] Two prisoners who are among the 37 federal inmates whose death sentences were commuted last month by President Joe Biden — a move that spares them from the death chamber — have taken an unusual stance: They're refusing to sign paperwork accepting his clemency action.
Shannon Agofsky and Len Davis, both inmates at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, filed emergency motions in federal court in the state's southern district on Dec. 30 seeking an injunction to block having their death sentences commuted to life in prison without parole.
The men believe that having their sentences commuted would put them at a legal disadvantage as they seek to appeal their cases based on claims of innocence.
A 1927 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, maintains that a president has the power to grant reprieves and pardons, and "the convict's consent is not required."
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
01/08/2025
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If they’re innocent, more power to them.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/08/2025 12:26
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[IsraelTimes] Operative says terrorists saw north Gaza hospital as ‘safe shelter,’ used it as armory; unclear whether statements were made under duress, and whether other detainees agree
The IDF released on Tuesday interrogation footage of a Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... operative detained by troops at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , in which he says that the terror group uses the medical center as a shelter.
Over 240 members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... were detained by troops at Kamal Adwan during an operation there last month, according to the military.
"They [the terror operatives] think it is a safe shelter for them, because the army cannot strike it directly," the operative, Anas Mohammad Faiz a-Sharif, said in the interrogation video.
It is unclear whether the statements were made under duress and if they represent the stances of the other detainees.
A-Sharif said the operatives would move weapons to and from the hospital, as well as set out from the medical center at night to carry out surveillance operations and patrols.
"From the hospital the grenades and mortars were given out, to attack the tanks, for ambushes, and for tunnels," he said.
A-Sharif said he worked at Kamal Adwan as a janitor but was also a member of Hamas’s elite Nukhba force.
The IDF said that the operatives interrogated by the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 have so far provided "a lot of intelligence information that helps the IDF in its activities in the area.
The IDF’s recent raid on Kamal Adwan, which began in late December and lasted a few days, saw the arrest of over 240 members of Hamas, Paleostinian Islamic Jihad and others suspected of being members of terror groups, the military said last week.
The IDF said some of the terror operatives "tried to impersonate patients and medical staff, and some tried to escape in ambulances."
Among those detained was the director of Kamal Adwan, Hussam Abu Safiya, who the IDF said is suspected of being a Hamas operative.
Before launching the operation, the IDF said it enabled the evacuation of 350 patients, caregivers, and medical personnel to other hospitals, in an effort coordinated by the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).
In the weeks prior to the operation, "tens of thousands of liters of fuel, food, and medical supplies for the essential functioning of the hospital" were delivered to Kamal Adwan.
During the raid itself, the IDF said another 95 patients, caregivers, and medical personnel were evacuated from Kamal Adwan to the nearby Indonesian Hospital, where 5,000 liters of fuel, two generators, and medical equipment were delivered "to maintain and operate essential systems in the hospital."
Hundreds of Paleostinian civilians also left the hospital area "via defined evacuation routes," the military added.
In response to the raid and detention of the hospital’s director, the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... Security Council met on Friday for an emergency session to discuss the raid, though there were not any practical implications from the meeting.
A number of countries such as La Belle France, Jordan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... condemned the raid as a violation of international law, and urged Israel to protect hospital infrastructure in Gaza.
Hamas has fought from within hospitals throughout the war and even periodically hid some of the Israeli hostages kidnapped on October 7 inside them. International law generally prohibits targeting hospitals during wartime, but hospitals can lose this protection if used for military purposes.
Since October, Israel has intensified its land and air offensive in northern Gaza, stating its goal is to prevent Hamas from regrouping in the area.
Israel had ordered civilians to evacuate the area amid preparations to invade Gaza in October 2023 in response to the Hamas onslaught, which saw thousands of Lions of Islam storm southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said Tuesday that more than 45,885 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, and at least 109,196 people had been maimed, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
Israel says it has killed some 18,000 combatants in battle as of November and another 1,000 Lions of Islam inside Israel on October 7. Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
[IsraelTimes] The United States has determined that members of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group’s leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says in a statement the RSF and aligned militias have continued to direct attacks against civilians, adding that they have systematically murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis and deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.
The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken says.
“The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities,” Blinken says.
Washington announces sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, aka Hemedti, barring him from traveling to the United States and freezing any US assets he might hold.
“For nearly two years, Hemedti’s RSF has engaged in a brutal armed conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces for control of Sudan, killing tens of thousands, displacing 12 million Sudanese, and triggering widespread starvation,” the Treasury Department says in a separate statement.
Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in conflict for more than 18 months, creating a humanitarian crisis in which UN agencies have struggled to deliver relief.
The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.
[PJMedia] As the inauguration of Donald Trump ...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons... looms on the horizon, we can expect an uptick in the prognostications of doom, gloom, and nightmare scenarios of a conservative dictatorship. I would have hoped the Left would have gotten all that out of its system by now, but who are we kidding?
Talking about an article in the Sunday edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the New York Post highlighted a move on the Left, in this case, LGBTQ groups, to purchase guns before 45/47 is sworn in. The groups have such names as the Liberal Gun Club, the Socialist Rifle Association, and Pink Pistols. The Liberal Gun Club says it has received "thousands" of training requests since Trump was elected, with about a quarter of those coming from the LGBTQ community.
One person told the Inquirer, "Three months before the election, that’s when the alarm bells started to ring. Minorities that are armed are more difficult to legally oppress." While not a gun enthusiast myself, I have often heard 2A advocates make the same argument on behalf of all people. New Jersey resident Matthew Thompson said that he decided to buy a gun after the Pulse Nightclub attacks. He commented:
The people I’ve been seeing on the left and the gay people who are out purchasing guns for the first time it’s all about self-defense and fear. We’re not looking to arm up and storm the capital. We just don’t want to be put in concentration camps.
The Post pointed out that the shooter, Omar Mateen ... the Afghan-"American" who decided he was a soldier of the Caliphate and shot fifty unarmed people to death in a Florida gay bar he used to frequent... , was a home-grown Islamic terrorist sympathizer who, as it turns out, likely had no idea that he was in a gay nightclub.
One particular glaring fact that keeps getting glossed over is the fact that Trump has been very supportive of the LGBTQ community to the point of appointing gay people to his administration. But facts like those only serve to dampen the mood of a good screed.
It goes without saying, or at least it should, that no one is planning on putting LGBTQ people into concentration camps. Are there people who are vehemently opposed to LGBTQ lifestyles and non-traditional marriages and relationships? Are there those who are prejudiced against LGBTQ people? The answer to both questions is yes.
That said, every conservative I have ever met has not cared what LGBTQ people do with one another. And I have never met one who wanted LGBTQ people killed, deported, or placed in camps. Every conservative I have met just wants to be left alone. And that includes the LGBTQ conservatives I have met. Many conservatives have objected to the introduction of sexual agendas into classrooms and efforts to promote the trans agenda among children, which to some on the Left is tantamount to violence. But no one is planning on rounding anyone up.
So why the worry about concentration camps? Well, I am writing this on January 6, and we all know what happened the last time we certified a presidential election. It is true that on that day, some people who entered the capital committed crimes — not all, but some. That gave the Left, which studiously ignored and even advocated for previous bouts of violence, the opportunity to declare January 6 the worst thing since (insert catastrophe here).
That paved the way for waves of incendiary rhetoric from the Biden administration and provided the necessary rationale for various governmental entities to harass, surveil, and kick in the doors of school board parents, pro-lifers, and people who dared question the trans agenda, not to mention wanting to round up anyone at the capital that day and working feverishly to suppress dissenting ideas. Under the guise of fighting totalitarianism, the Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... became totalitarians.
The rhetoric and the other rhetoric that came before it found a home with many. And now we have people who honestly believe that the guy with a Trump bumper sticker wants to behead them or toss them in an oubliette and that anyone who objects to sexualizing children is a proponent of genocide. And that raises an uncomfortable question: what will these people perceive as a threat worthy of using a gun? One thing we have consistently seen from the Left is a propensity to project its fears onto its opponents.
[IsraelTimes] Staff Sgt. Ido Samiach, 20, slain in battle, bringing ground op death toll to 398; military says after months in Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, Kfir Brigade preparing for other ops
An IDF soldier was killed on Tuesday fighting in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , as the military announced it was pulling a brigade from the northern Strip in order to prepare for future operations.
The slain soldier was named as Staff Sgt. Ido Samiach, 20, a team sergeant in the Nahal Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, from Ganei Tikva, killed in northern Gaza.
The previous day, two other soldiers — Cpt. Eitan Israel Shiknazi, 24, and Maj. Dvir Zion Revah, 28 — were killed fighting in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun. The latest death brings Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip to 398.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claimed Tuesday that 31 people were killed in the Strip over the past 24 hours, including four killed in an Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... on a house in Gaza City.
Also Tuesday, the IDF said the Kfir Brigade has been withdrawn from the northern Gaza Strip after 64 days of fighting, though an operation in the area led by the 162nd Division is still ongoing. According to the IDF, the Kfir Brigade killed more than 300 terror operatives during their operations in the towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun and in the Sheikh Zayed neighborhood.
Among the dead operatives are many prominent members of terror groups, including some who participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught, the IDF said.
During the two-month operation, 12 soldiers with the brigade were killed in six separate incidents of fighting, and dozens more were maimed, though many have since returned to service, according to the IDF.
The military said the brigade’s operations were aimed at removing threats to residents of Israeli communities close to the Gaza border in the Strip’s north.
The brigade was responsible for demolishing the so-called officers’ neighborhood, where Hamas commanders had lived. The residential complex of high-rise towers had served as a "central terror complex" with anti-tank firing positions, booby traps, tunnels and rocket launchers aimed at Israel, according to the military.
The IDF said the brigade demolished other Hamas infrastructure, including 7.5 kilometers’ (4.6 miles’) worth of tunnels, and captured numerous weapons. The Kfir Brigade is now preparing for future operations in Gaza, the IDF said, including being deployed to the Philadelphi Corridor in the Strip’s south.
Meanwhile COGAT, the Israeli government’s liaison to the Paleostinians, said Tuesday that it had facilitated the transfer of some 1,100 truckloads of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip over the past week.
"In accordance with a directive of the political echelon, efforts to transfer aid to the Gaza Strip continue in coordination with COGAT," it said in a statement. "As part of these efforts, over 1,070 humanitarian aid trucks carrying food, water, medical supplies, and shelter equipment were brought into Gaza over the past week, with more than 1,100 trucks unloaded on the Gazook side of the crossings."
COGAT vowed to "continue working to allow and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip in collaboration with aid organizations and the international community." It said that all of the shipments were thoroughly inspected by the Defense Ministry’s Land Crossings Authority.
A Hamas official on Tuesday reiterated the group’s long-held demand for Israel to completely end its war in Gaza in order to reach any deal to free the 100 hostages still held there.
Hamas official Osama Hamdan, who held a news conference in Algiers, said Israel was to blame for undermining all efforts to reach a deal.
While he said he would not give details about the latest round of negotiations, he reiterated the Hamas conditions of "a complete end to the aggression and a full withdrawal from lands the occupation invaded."
Commenting on US President-elect Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... ’s threat that there would be "hell to pay" unless all hostages were freed before the inauguration, Hamdan said: "I think the US president must make more disciplined and diplomatic statements."
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.
... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
...every time you hear the phrase 
[BEE] PALO ALTO, CA — Social media users rejoiced today as in an initiative to fight back against censorship, the guy who said Facebook was not suppressing free speech announced that Facebook would stop suppressing free speech.
[Breitbart]
[CNN] African governments have criticized a speech by French President Emmanuel Macron in which he said that some leaders showed "ingratitude" for the deployment of his nation’s troops in the Sahel region in battling Islamist extremism.
Yet another teachable moment. Gratitude which was never there, can likely never be restored. 
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Israeli occupation forces continued to expand into new towns in the 
[Federalist] The Democrats’ entire assault on the court, and especially on Justices Thomas and Alito, has ended in utter defeat.
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The 
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] A strong earthquake shook a high-altitude region of western China and areas of Nepal on Tuesday, damaging hundreds of houses, littering streets with rubble and killing at least 126 people in Tibet. Many others were trapped as dozens of aftershocks shook the remote region.
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
..always the voice of sweet reason...
...71st United States secretary of state and a leading light of the corrupt and inept Biden administration. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under the corrupt and inept Obama administration. He advocated for the 2003 invasion of Iraq while serving as the Democratic staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002 to 2008. He was a foreign policy advisor for the Biden 2008 presidential campaign. During his tenure in the Obama administration, Blinken helped craft B.O.'s policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the nuclear program of Iran. We all saw how well each of those worked. After leaving government service, Blinken moved into the private sector, co-founding WestExec Advisors, a lobbying firm...
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
... the Afghan-"American" who decided he was a soldier of the Caliphate and shot fifty unarmed people to death in a Florida gay bar he used to frequent...
