[IsraelTimes] Israel “will not let the West Bank become Gaza or southern Lebanon,” Defense Minister Israel Katz vows during an assessment of military and security operations in the area from senior officers.
“Anyone who engages in terror like in Gaza will be treated like in Gaza; we will work to cut off the arms of the Iranian octopus in the refugee camps in Judea and Samaria and to maintain the security of the communities and residents,” the defense minister adds, according to a statement from his office.
Katz was updated on the IDF’s extensive operation over the weekend in Qabatiya, near Jenin, Border Police operations in West Bank refugee camps, and the recent operation that culminated in the arrest of a terrorist cell last night that was en route to carry out a shooting attack.
Since October 7, troops have arrested some 6,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,350 affiliated with Hamas.
So they have plenty they can spare to trade for those Hamas is holding hostage, and all the biometric identifying data and interrogation information has been neatly filed away for when they’ll need to be picked up again.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 835 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 46 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another six members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
[IsraelTimes] Two Palestinian gunmen who were en route to carrying out an imminent shooting attack were detained by Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Nablus last night, defense authorities say.
Members of the police’s Yamam counterterrorism unit and the Shin Bet security agency stopped the gunmen while they were driving to carry out the attack.
Police, IDF, and Shin Bet in a joint statement say that the gunmen were detained with two loaded M16 assault rifles, vests, face masks, and ammunition.
The pair are identified by the Shin Bet as Ahmed Zakarna, 21, and Tariq Abu Ziyad, 25, residents of Qabatiya and members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.
In their initial interrogation by the Shin Bet, the pair said they set out from Jenin and were en route to carry out a shooting, the statement says.
[IsraelTimes] The Israel Defense Forces issues an evacuation warning for Palestinian civilians in part of central Gaza’s Nuseirat following rocket fire.
“Terror organizations are once again firing rockets from this area that has received warnings several times in the past,” Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman says on X, attaching a map of the areas to be evacuated.
Civilians are urged to move to an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone before the IDF launches strikes on the area.
[IsraelTimes] Jordan, one of the world’s driest countries, has signed an agreement with French-led investors to build one of the world’s largest desalination plants.
Jordan’s official Petra news agency calls it the country’s biggest-ever infrastructure project, which Prime Minister Jafar Hassan has told Parliament is valued at more than $5 billion.
Jordan is poor. Where will they get the money?
French infrastructure specialist Meridiam led the project in partnership with SUEZ, Orascom Construction and VINCI Construction Grands Projets.
On its website, Meridiam says the project will supply more than 300 million cubic meters of drinking water to Amman and Aqaba, serving more than three million people.
The project will take about four years to complete, the prime minister said last month.
It follows Jordan’s withdrawal in 2021 from a 2013 agreement signed by Jerusalem, Amman, and Ramallah that would have linked the Dead Sea and Red Sea by pipes in Jordan.
Did they walk away because Joooos ae icky or because Palestinians are?
#4
In a week the opportunities for betterment will begin to coalesce again. A necessary prerequisite to achieving progress is to discover who is trying to hamstring those opportunities, out the malevolent entities and remove their roadblocks.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/13/2025 8:17
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[IsraelTimes] A 27-year-old woman was lightly injured by rocks allegedly thrown by Palestinian attackers at civilian cars in the West Bank this evening, the IDF says, while several vehicles were damaged.
The Magen David Ambulance service says the woman has been evacuated for medical treatment with minor facial injuries from glass fragments.
The incident took place next to the Palestinian village of Hares, near the settlement of Ariel.
Security forces are scouring the area for the perpetrators, according to the military.
[IsraelTimes] The IDF says it has struck several Hezbollah targets Sunday night, including a rocket launcher, an unspecified military site, and "routes along the Syria-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.... border used to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah."
The military says that before the strikes, it made the threats known to an international mechanism set up as part of the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, but "the threats weren’t addressed."
"The IDF continues to act to remove any threat to the State of Israel and will operate to prevent any attempt by Hezbollah to rebuild its forces in accordance with the ceasefire understandings," the IDF adds.
[DW] Germany's military is to carve out a new land forces division responsible for homeland security. The unit will be dedicated to securing critical infrastructure and key military facilities in preparation for possible war.
Gearing up for Russia?
On Saturday, Germany's military, the Bundeswehr, confirmed that it would establish a major new land forces unit dedicated to securing vital infrastructure and military facilities inside the country..
As part of the new structure, the homeland defense forces will be placed under the army's command from April.
The move anticipates Germany's existing army divisions being deployed to NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... 's external borders under NATO command as a deterrent or to defend against external aggression.
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING NOW?
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius last year ordered a Bundeswehr reorganization to strengthen its defense capabilities with a unified operational command.
Its establishment comes in line with the Osnabruck Decree, which aims to make Germany combat-ready for war against Russia in light of the invasion of Ukraine.
At the time, the minister referred to the changed situation and the need to survive militarily in a defensive war.
While Germany already has homeland defense units, these are generally non-active and made up of reservists, coming under the control of commands from Germany's individual states.
The latest move would make them semi-active, under the command of the army. The division is to consist of active soldiers and reservists.
The decree, the fourth regulation to restructure the Bundeswehr in its history, means that "national and alliance defense is once again the focus" due to heightened concerns about Russian aggression. It provides "the formal basis for a war-ready leadership organization."
HOMELAND DEFENSE DIVISION TO STAFFED BY MORE THAN 6000
Military planners expect the unit to be formed in mid-March and to number some 6,000 personnel by the summer before being expanded further.
The Bundeswehr currently has more than 260,000 personnel, including civilian staff. This comprises the army, navy and air force, as well as medical and other support services.
Currently, the army comprises three divisions, the addition of a fourth major unit dedicated to homeland defence marks a significant enhancement of the Bundeswehr's capabilities.
While the move was initially put on ice after the collapse of the coalition government in November, preparations are continuing.
Germany's CDU/CSU conservative alliance, currently leading the polls ahead of a February 23 parliamentary election, says it wants to go further than the model already put forward by the center-left-led outgoing government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
WHAT WILL THE FORCE DO?
The Bundeswehr says the homeland defense division will be charged with the protection of ports, railway facilities and freight shipment points, as well as pipelines.
It will also guard roads for troop deployment, bridges, transport hubs and digital infrastructure, the military said.
Such capabilities are seen as particularly crucial should the rest of Germany's army be deployed to countries on the eastern flank of NATO, such as Poland or the Baltic states.
The division will also safeguard Germany's role as an operational base and hub for NATO. As such, it will be tasked with defending both national and alliance property in times of crisis or conflict.
It could also be used to give administrative assistance in the event of major accidents, terrorist attacks or future pandemics.
An army front man on Saturday said the division would "lead its own and, if necessary, other troops as part of national territorial defense, in the event of assistance, in civil-military cooperation and in the implementation of joint Bundeswehr tasks in the area."
#1
"Chinese government is prepositioning on U.S. civilian critical infrastructure to lie in wait on those networks to be in a position to wreak havoc and inflict real world harm at a time & place of their choosing" - FBI, C. Wray
No reason Germany wouldn't feel the same about Russia.
[IsraelTimes] Demonstrators throw Molotov cocktails, fireworks at synagogue, spray ‘Justice free Gaza’ on wall near Ramy Elgaml’s name
A synagogue in the Italian city of Bologna was attacked and vandalized on Saturday night amid massive protests following the death of a young Egyptian-Italian man during a police car chase in November, according to a Ynet report on Sunday.
November. Why riot and attack the synagogue now?
Ramy Elgaml, the 19-year-old son of Egyptian immigrants colonists to Italia, was killed in November, when riding on the back of a moped with his friend. Police pulled the two over, demanding to see their licenses, but Elgaml’s friend, Fares Bouzidi, took off, in an attempt to escape, sparking a car chase with the two coppers, the report said.
The eight-kilometer (nearly five-mile) police chase ended when the moped crashed into a pole, killing Elgaml instantly.
The incident sparked protests among anti-racist and immigrant groups across Italia that died down within a few days, according to Euro News, but they were rekindled last week, after footage from the chase appeared to show that the coppers hit the moped with their car, causing it to crash into the pole.
The footage sparked renewed protests on Saturday in Rome, Milan, Brescia, and Bologna. Amid the massive demonstrations, the synagogue in Bologna was attacked and the words "Justice free 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... " were sprayed onto the wall alongside Elgaml’s name.
Protesters also injured at least 18 coppers and caused heavy damage to shop windows, Euro News reported.
Ynet quoted the president of Bologna’s Jewish community, Daniele De Paz, on Sunday saying that the synagogue was a deliberate target for the protesters, who he said had broken through police barricades and made their way to the synagogue before hurling Molotov cocktails, explosives, and fireworks at it, while shouting threats and curses.
While no culprits were identified as of Sunday, Ynet reported that members of pro-Paleostinian groups were among the demonstrators.
Israel’s Ambassador to Italia Jonathan Peled expressed his solidarity with the Bologna Jewish community in a post on X on Sunday, saying the attack on the synagogue was "a serious antisemitic attack which must be condemned with absolute firmness."
It’s a start. Not an effective one, but better than nothing at all.
In a Facebook post on Sunday morning, Bologna’s mayor, Matteo Lepore, also expressed his "solidarity with the Jewish community" for the "acts of vandalism and threats against the Bologna Synagogue."
The president of the Italian Senate, Ignazio La Russa, noted the damage done to the synagogue in a Facebook post on Sunday and wrote that "no justification [and] no tolerance is admissible for these episodes."
In a statement issued to the Agi news agency through their lawyer on Sunday, Elgaml’s family condemned the violence perpetrated in their son’s name.
While the statement did not explicitly mention the synagogue, it did say they "strongly condemn all forms of violence and vandalism that have occurred in the demonstrations."
"We believe Ramy’s memory should be a symbol of unity, not of division or destruction. We dissociate ourselves from any political use of our son’s name," they said.
[IsraelTimes] US envoy Hochstein said to assure officials in Beirut that Israel will complete withdrawal by January 26, as Lebanese military says it finished deploying in area IDF has left
The military said late Saturday that it carried out a dronezap against three suspects on the Lebanese side of Mount Dov, close to the border, two weeks before Israeli forces are set to withdraw from Leb ...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?... under the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.
The three suspects were apparently killed in the strike. It was unclear if they were armed or what their intentions were.
Hours earlier, another drone struck in south Lebanon "to remove a threat" after several Hezbollah operatives were spotted leaving a building known to be used by the terror group, the IDF said. According to Lebanese media, the strike occurred in the southern village of Kounine. Lebanon’s health ministry reported two people maimed.
Under the terms of the November 27 ceasefire agreement, which ended 14 months of war with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terror group is to withdraw north of the Litani River — some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the border with Israel — while Israel must withdraw from southern Lebanon by January 26, to be replaced by the Lebanese Armed Forces and international peacekeeping force UNIFIL.
Washington has reportedly assured Beirut that Israel would complete the withdrawal in time, and the LAF said Saturday that it had finished deploying in south Lebanon’s western sector following Israel’s withdrawal from there.
Israeli officials have reportedly indicated that the IDF could stay in south Lebanon past the deadline for withdrawal if the Lebanese army does not replace the Israeli presence there quickly enough. The IDF has also accused the Lebanese Armed Forces of failing to accede to a request to act against Hezbollah missile launchers situated in south Lebanon in violation of the agreement.
However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly... Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Friday that the state would start disarming Lebanon’s south, and on Thursday, new Lebanese President Joseph Aoun pledged in his inauguration speech that the state would hold a monopoly on power — a thinly veiled threat against Hezbollah’s extensive arsenal.
Meanwhile,
...back at the palazzo, Don Smilzo looked for an avenue of escape. The only window opened a hundred feet above the moat. The nearest of the hired assassins hold a bloody axe.
The window was looking better all the time.... Hezbollah-aligned newspaper al-Akhbar reported Saturday that US envoy Amos Hochstein, who visited Lebanon last week, told his interlocutors that he had obtained from Israel a detailed timeline for the IDF withdrawal from Lebanon’s south.
According to the report, the last day of the IDF presence will be January 26 — the end date for the initial, 60-day period of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal.
Hochstein, who brokered the deal, was said to have requested that, as Beirut gears up to replace the IDF presence, the Lebanese military strengthen its units and ensure that Hezbollah hands over all its arms south of the Litani.
Al-Akhbar said Hochstein was updated by his Lebanese counterparts that there is an existing agreement to that effect between the Lebanese Armed Forces and the terror group.
The LAF said on X Saturday that, following an Israeli withdrawal, it is deploying to the southwestern border towns and villages of Naqoura, Aalma ash-Shaab, Dhayra, Aitaroun, Bint Jbeil, Tayr Harfa, Majdal Zoun, Salhani, and Qouzah.
The LAF warned locals to stay away from the area until engineering units have scanned the towns and villages, and cleared them of unwent kaboom! ordnance and other debris.
The Lebanese military said it was working to strengthen its positions in the area, in coordination with UNIFIL and the five-member committee supervising the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. The committee comprises representatives of Israel, Lebanon, La Belle France, the US and UNIFIL
[NYPost] A federal judge in Texas on Friday said American Airlines violated federal law by basing investment decisions for its employee retirement plan on environmental, social, and other non-financial factors.
The ruling by US District Judge Reed O’Connor appeared to be the first of its kind amid growing backlash by conservatives to an uptick in socially-conscious investing.
O’Connor said American had breached its legal duty to make investment decisions based solely on the financial interests of 401(k) plan beneficiaries by allowing BlackRock, its asset manager and a major shareholder, to focus on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors. This will be a stake through DEI's heart by ripping the money away from Blackrock and other grifting corporations
[Epoch Times] The executive order will target price gouging and halt some environmental regulations to speed up rebuilding, the governor said.
"I’m worried about issues of rebuilding as it relates to scarcity, as it relates to property taxes, meaning scarcity of resources, materials, personnel. I’m worried about time to getting these projects done," Newsom said.
"But one thing I won’t give into is delay. Delay is denial for people: lives, traditions, places torn [apart], torn asunder. Families, schools, community centers, churches, you’ve seen it," Newsom said. "The number of schools that have been lost in this community, and ... we’ve gotta let people know we have their back."
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/13/2025
08:26 ||
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[11155 views]
Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
#1
I’m worried about issues of rebuilding as it relates to scarcity, as it relates to property taxes....and to my rich donors.
"It was Elon Musk, with the help of private citizens like former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and the Cajun Navy that delivered Starlink routers to every crevice of Western North Carolina, connecting us with the outside world."
Snippet:
I thought of my recent interviewee, Hawaii-based activist Michelle Melendez, who reported on current conditions in Lahaina. She said that now, many months later, there are still barricades around the burned homes in Lahaina and that the homeowners themselves are prevented from going to their own homesites.
No one is allowed in. And the permitting process has been changed in Lahaina so that rebuilding is onerous and too costly for most.
She also said that many people still are unaccounted for.
The rezoning process is reputed to be underway in Los Angeles.
Will LA be free again? Martial law, once imposed, is very difficult to lift.
Is another US city next to be targeted in a hot war?
#1
There is a progressive depth to the conspiracy theories that begin with leftist being leftist and bureaucrats being bureaucrats all the way down to Hillary wearing a kids face in a satanic ritual. It has become hard to discern the true layer depth of reality. We see fires start in places where there is no natural ignition source and video of youths leaving the scene at the start of the blaze. Is this organized by authorities or on Reddit? Why are the reservoirs empty in fire season? Where is the correct depth of reality?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/13/2025 8:10
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#2
It's symbolic of this republic. It will have to metaphorically crash and burn and rise from the ashes over the next decade or so. The USA is walking dead.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2025
01:35 ||
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[11168 views]
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#1
Pronunciation is "Joe-bean-a Rawl-ston" according to Jobyna Ralson, the silent movie star. She was from South Pittsburg (TN) which is near Jasper, TN.
From a few days ago — catching up to the state of play.
[JustTheNews] About 25 companies have relaxed their DEI policies amid pressure to accept the conventional wisdom of the times: "Get Woke, Go Broke."
Several major companies operating in the U.S. are backing away from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies, while educational institutions are continuing to push such initiatives.
McDonald's on Monday became the latest major American corporation to reverse some of its diversity policies. Over the course of about a year, at least 25 companies have relaxed their DEI policies amid pressure.
Republican political activists and advisers have pushed companies to cancel their diversity-oriented policies, including America First Legal President Stephen Miller and conservative activist Robby Starbuck. Miller has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... to serve as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor in his second administration.
However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... while corporate America has started easing off DEI policies, many educational institutions are moving in the opposite direction, according to Goldwater Institute Director of Education Policy Mike Beienburg.
"Fortunately, I think the momentum is starting to run out from this," Beienburg told the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show on Tuesday. "You know, we're seeing companies that are pulling back from this, but when it comes to education, we are seeing full steam ahead.
"They're retreating in some areas, you know, pulling back on these forced diversity statements where they're making, you know, applicants say, ’I support treating students differently based upon race,’ or ’I support battling the so-called, you know, systemic oppression.’ But even as they're making some retreats here, we're still seeing them double down on these issues of putting DEI forward and saying, we're going to force students ... to go in and continue to take these courses."
Some companies, such as Costco and Jaguar, are also doubling down on diversity-focused policies.
According to a report released by The Heritage Foundation in November, almost all Fortune 500 companies still maintain DEI incentives.
Here is a list of the companies that have revised or canceled their DEI policies, or reduced staffing for their programs:
[NYPost] For the second time this week, a judge has found Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court in a case involving two Georgia election workers he baselessly claimed committed election fraud in 2020.
Washington, DC, federal Judge Beryl Howell
…appointed by Barack Obama, who shocked the world by joking with President Trump at Jimmy Carter’s funeral…
sided with lawyers for Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman,
…the ladies were observed on surveillance video in Fulton County’s State Farm Arena, where they were engaged as vote tabulators for the 2020 election. After the supervisor announced that the count was shut down for the night, Ms Freeman and her daughter, and Ms Moss and another worker pulled extra boxes of ballots from under the table where they’d been secreted, then repeatedly scanned the stacks of ballots into an election computer. That sounds like a basis for claiming election fraud to me…
finding that Giuliani violated the judge’s "unambiguous" prior ruling barring the former New York City Mayor from continuing to defame the two women, according to reporting by The Hill.
The ruling is indeed unambiguous. However, telling the truth cannot be defamation.
On Monday, a Manhattan federal judge similarly held Giuliani in contempt of court, on the grounds that he was trying to "run out the clock" to avoid paying Freeman and Moss a $148 million defamation verdict they won in 2023.
Did he appeal the verdict? What’s the status of that?
Howell chided Giuliani — President-elect Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... ’s one-time personal lawyer who was once regarded as "America’s Mayor" — for using his fame to tarnish the duo with "fabricated lies."
"You’re the most famous person in this courtroom right now, you’ve got a bigger audience, you’ve got a bigger public following than anyone in this courtroom," the judge said.
"I really hoped we were done," the judge said.
No doubt.
Earlier, Michael Gottlieb, a lawyer for Moss and Freeman, told Howell they didn’t want to be back in court but said his clients just want "Mr. Giuliani to stop defaming them," according to a report by NBC News.
He requested that Giuliani be fined $20,000 for every time he continued to defame the women even after Howell ordered an agreement promising he wouldn’t do so anymore.
Gottlieb specifically requested that the fines come from money that has been deemed off-limits — including an IRA account.
Giuliani’s lawyer, Eden Quainton, claimed a $20,000 fine per violation would be "excessive."
At one point, Giuliani took the witness stand explaining that he had roughly $163,000 in a 401k account, $100,000 in one IRA account and $1.1 million in another — all of which he claimed should be exempt.
"I claim they’re exempt, and you’re trying to take them from me," Giuliani testified.
Giuliani allegedly violated the agreement in November on a streaming show repeating claims that the two women committed election fraud against Trump during the 2020 presidential election, but Quainton argued his client had kept his promise for months prior to the slip-up.
An easy way to keep the controversy in the public eye.
Howell shot down the argument.
"Because he was good for a few months, we ought to excuse any bad behavior after that?" she asked.
There’s a solid argument that it’s the judge, defence team, and defendants who are the miscreants.
Quainton also claimed that Giuliani couldn’t have said the comments on his show with malice — a legal standard used in defamation cases — because he actually believes to be true what he’s saying about the women.
Howell was alarmed by the argument suggesting Giuliani would never cease making the claims against the women.
"He’s never going to stop because he thinks he’s right?" Howell said. "That’s chilling."
Ted Goodman, Giuliani’s political advisor, claimed Giuliani wasn’t able to sufficiently defend himself in the original defamation suit.
"This contempt ruling is designed to prevent Mayor Giuliani from exercising his constitutional rights," Goodman said.
Manhattan federal Judge Lewis Liman on Monday held Giuliani in contempt for twice blowing off deadlines and failing to turn over critical information ahead of a Jan. 16 trial in the case about whether his Florida home and his cherished Yankees World Series rings should be relinquished to Ross and Freeman to help pay down his debt to them.
"The defendant willfully violated a clear and unambiguous order of the court," Liman said, also blasting Giuliani’s testimony Monday as "self-serving."
The surveillance video:
WATCH: Footage of State Farm Arena in #Atlanta shows that after poll monitors and media were told counting was done, four workers stayed behind to count #ballots, at times pulling out suitcases containing ballots from underneath desks.
#1
In Western democracies the burden of proof is on the government.
The government must prove that elections were free and fair to legitimize its powers.
One necessary element for this is that vote counts be only conducted in public, the government must prove that measures were taken that would deny access to uncounted ballots when not under public scrutiny.
Here, we not only know that officials had theoretical access to ballots but we actually have evidence of ballots being "counted" in the absence of observers.
#2
How could he have done $148 Million worth of defamation on these two?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/13/2025 5:50
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#3
Will Trump pardon Rudy, having seen and experienced 1st hand the fraud that many Fulton Co. GA Election workers pulled off, despite the mountain of evidence showing it happened?
Will the MSM blow a fuse for Trump doing the right thing, unlike they didn't do with the babbling Biden pardons?
#4
We have some really contemptible courts right now.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/13/2025 7:58
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#5
This will deter anyone from pointing out possible election fraud.
Well, yeah. That's kinda to point, isn't it? I mean, I believe that is their intention.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/13/2025 12:04
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#6
He seems to be his own worst enemy, when it comes to dealing with legal process. Probably getting to old for this game. You should see the vulture peanut gallery on X.
[Townhall] In a move that has many critics up in arms, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas has granted amnesty to 850,000 illegal immigrants colonists, further exacerbating concerns about the Biden administration’s border policies. With just days away from being outgoing President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. Old, boring, a plagiarist, fond of hair sniffing and grabbing the protruding parts of women, and not whatcha call brilliant.... ’s last week in office, critics argue that this decision, which effectively shields hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens from deportation, signals an alarming disregard for the rule of law and sets a dangerous precedent for future immigration enforcement. With the U.S. southern border already overwhelmed by record numbers of illegal crossings, conservatives contend that this blanket amnesty acts as a stab in the back to President-elect Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... ’s mass deportation plans.
With just days left as Biden’s border czar, Mayorkas announced the 18-month expansion of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) amnesty, which includes the 234,000 illegal immigrants colonists from El Salvador who first got their TPS status after a 2001 earthquake that destroyed the nation’s economy. The mass amnesty also includes 600,000 economic migrants colonists from Venezuela
...a country in Central America that sits on an enormous pool of oil. Formerly the most prospereous country in the region, it became infested with Commies sniffing almost unlimited wealth. It turned out the wealth wasn't unlimited, the economy collapsed under the clownish Hugo Chavez, the murder rate exceeded places like Honduras and El Salvador. A significant proportion of the populace refugeed to Colombia and points south... However,
if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... the once struggling economy is now growing, thanks to the successful crackdown on gang crime led by the country’s popular president, Nayib Bukele.
That's correct—Mayorkas cited "bad weather" as the reason for not sending the illegal aliens back to their home countries.
"El Salvador’s extension of TPS is based on geological and weather events, including significant storms and heavy rainfall in 2023 and 2024, that continue to affect areas heavily impacted by the earthquakes in 2001," Mayorkas said. The agency "is automatically extending [work permits] through March 9, 2026."
"After reviewing the country conditions in Venezuela and consulting with interagency partners, it was determined that an 18-month TPS extension is warranted based on the severe humanitarian emergency the country continues to face due to political and economic crises under the inhumane Maduro regime. These conditions have contributed to high levels of crime and violence, impacting access to food, medicine, healthcare, water, electricity, and fuel," his statement continued.
The amnesty will benefit Venezuela's Cuba-backed dictator by allowing 600,000 of his opponents to remain employed in U.S. jobs rather than protesting in the streets of Venezuela. Illegal immigrants colonists can also send U.S. dollars back to their families in their home country.
Under Biden’s pro-illegal immigration czar, the number of migrants colonists with TPS amnesty has tripled to around one million, including many Haitian immigrants colonists invited to take advantage of U.S. jobs and housing in Springfield, Ohio.
[ToloNews] The family of Ryan Corbett, an American citizen detained in Afghanistan, is attempting to meet with Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... , President-elect of the United States, in Florida to request his assistance in securing Corbett's release.
American media reported that Ryan Corbett’s wife said her last contact with him was on New Year’s Day, and she is concerned about his health.
Anna Corbett, Ryan Corbett’s wife, stated: "I’ve been asking President Biden to meet with me and he has refused. He has met with other families and up until now, he has not met with me. After waiting that long for President Biden. I’m hoping that after a day I can meet with President Trump."
Ketsia Corbett, Ryan Corbett’s daughter, said: "It’s been really hard, and it’s been really sad. I miss him a lot, I just started college, and I just want him home soon because I miss him so much."
Ryan Corbett, an American citizen, was detained in Kabul on August 10, 2022, and has been in the custody of the Islamic Emirate ever since.
Anna Corbett added: "He has not been accused of anything and has been designated now as wrongfully detained. And he is a patriot. He is a US citizen that deserves to be in his country that he loves."
Previously, Donald Trump told Fox News that he does not support prisoner exchanges but will consider this case.
The Telegraph also reported that Afghanistan's interim government has paused prisoner exchange agreements with the US until the new government takes office in Afghanistan.
"This has no direct connection to the interactions between the two countries, but it creates better conditions. It can send a message that we can resolve our issues through dialogue and have positive engagement on many matters," said Yousuf Amin Zazai, a military analyst.
George Glezmann, Ryan Corbett, and Mahmood Habibi are American citizens currently detained in Afghanistan. Previously, senior US officials have repeatedly called for their release.
Yesterday, Afghanistan’s interim government announced that negotiations on prisoner exchanges with the US have so far yielded no results.
[FoxNews] FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell encouraged families still needing assistance to contact the agency
As I recall, the FEMA office was closed for the long weekend, or the weather or something. But once it opens they’ll assuredly eventually answer the phone.
Western North Carolina families left without homes after Hurricane Helene swept through the Appalachian Mountain region last year received some devastating news earlier this month — their temporary FEMA housing assistance could soon come to an end, leaving them with nowhere to turn as temperatures dip below freezing.
The agency began notifying some families checked into hotel or motel rooms that they are no longer eligible for the Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program due to one of the following reasons: an inspection indicated their home is habitable, they declined an inspection or FEMA has been unable to contact them to update their housing needs.
The deadline, initially Friday, now sits on Jan. 14.
That’s tomorrow.
FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell says those who receive the notification who are still in need of housing are still eligible, but they need to contact the agency.
"There's a number of reasons why somebody might have received that notification," Criswell explained Sunday.
"What we do is we call everybody. We call them every two weeks to check in on where they're at, what their status is, and is their home able to be occupied again, but one of the biggest things is when we call them, if we don't hear from them, the only thing we can do is assume that they've been back in their home. One of the things I want to make sure, if somebody has received that notification, but they haven't talked to somebody at FEMA and their situation is still in need, they are still eligible. We just need them to get in touch with us so we can talk to them. Everybody's going to have a unique circumstance. Everybody's going to have a unique situation," she added.
"We need to work with them all individually to make sure we're getting them the right resources so they can continue to stay in a safe place until their home is either rebuilt or it's accessible."
North Carolina residents still needing assistance can contact 1-800-621-FEMA or visit a disaster recovery center to speak to someone face-to-face.
Already strained by the crisis left in Helene's wake, FEMA must now also address the needs of families displaced by southern California wildfires, which continue to burn after creating billions of dollars worth of damage.
Criswell told Fox News' Shannon Bream that California residents needing assistance should register at disasterassistance.gov and contact their personal insurance company to see what they will cover.
"But more importantly, [what they will] not cover so they can be eligible for different programs within our system," she added.
[NEWARAB] Negotiations for a ceasefire 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 are reportedly at a ''decisive'' point, with a deal very close to being achieved.
An Israeli delegation is due to arrive in the 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... i capital Doha on Sunday, headed by Mosssd ...... chief David Barnea.
A leadership source in Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... exclusively told The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site al-Araby al-Jadeed on Saturday that nearly all the details of the ''final concept'' of a Gaza ceasefire deal had been complete.
The source said that the mediators were now preparing to announce that a ceasefire deal had been reached, after the Israeli delegation sent by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived.
Negotiations have long been stalled and have been continuously scuppered by Netanyahu and his right-wing allies — who have wanted to keep the brutal Gaza war going — whenever a deal appeared close.
However,
the way to a man's heart remains through his stomach... this time Paleostinian sources have indicated that things are different and a ceasefire deal is nearly ready.
Another Paleostinian source told al-Araby al-Jadeed that technical teams from mediating powers the US, Qatar, and Egypt and both sides had finished preparing the agreement.
They added that the agreement would be implemented 24 hours after Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, agrees to it.
"It means enabling the Israelis to knock out the final couple of battalions of Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... and their leadership. It means very aggressive sanctions and financial penalties on those who are supporting terrorist organizations in the Middle East. It means actually doing the job of American leadership," Vance tells ’FOX News Sunday.’
The IDF indeed states that it has yet to dismantle the final two of Hamas’s 24 battalions 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 that is because they are believed to be holding many of the remaining 98 hostages in central Gaza. Accordingly, the IDF has avoided operating there en masse, so as not to risk the lives of the hostages, given that a number of them have been accidentally killed in IDF operations or were executed by their Hamas captors when they feared Israeli troops were approaching.
Vance does not elaborate on the financial sanctions that the incoming Trump administration has planned against Hamas, but the Biden administration has already levied a host of sanctions against the terror group and has issued arrest warrants for several of its leaders.
The incoming vice president asserts Trump’s threat of "all hell to pay" in the Mideast if the hostages are not released is what sparked recent progress in the ongoing hostage talks.
"We’re hopeful there’s going to be a deal that struck toward the very end of Biden’s administration — maybe the last day or two," Vance says. "But regardless of when that deal is struck, it will be because people are terrified that there are going to be consequences for Hamas."
“Let’s allow our hostages to be set free. I want to see them walking across the tarmac, or at a minimum, some type of agreement before inauguration because President Trump is serious,” Waltz tells ABC’s “This Week.”
“Any deal will only get worse for Hamas, and there will be all hell to pay in the Middle East if we continue to have this kind of hostage diplomacy,” Waltz adds.
If he’s no longer in the government, how does he know?
The first stage of a potential hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas will entail the release of 25 Israeli hostages in exchange for 48 Palestinian security prisoners who were freed in the Shalit deal in 2011 and incarcerated again since, along with 200 prisoners serving life sentences, and another 1,000 detainees including women, children and wounded prisoners, according to a Palestinian prisoner advocacy group.
In a rare interview with Ramallah’s Maan news agency, Prisoners Club director Qadura Fares adds that all of the Palestinian prisoners would be allowed to return to their homes in East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank, except those serving life sentences, who would most likely be deported to either Qatar, Egypt or Turkey.
The former PA minister notes that this exception is necessary for the protection of the Palestinian prisoners against Israeli assassination attempts.
The Prisoners Club is a Palestinian organization that advocates on behalf of Palestinians in Israeli jails. While the organization used to be financially supported by the Palestinian Authority, Ramallah has reportedly ceased funding the body for at least five years.
Fares is also quoted by Maan as saying that Israel has been pushing for nine more hostages to be released in the first phase, including wounded IDF soldiers, in exchange for a yet-to-be-negotiated number of Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences.
The comments come amid reports of progress in ongoing talks in Doha to seal a hostage-ceasefire deal before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office next week.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a high-level Israeli delegation to Qatar last night to join the talks.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/13/2025 10:23
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About the imminent deal:
Although a final deal has not yet been reached, a source involved in the negotiations told Reuters, “The next 24 hours will be pivotal to reaching the deal.”
The talks revolve in part around a list of more than 30 hostages Hamas has said it would be willing to finally release — without saying how many might be alive.
Hamas, meanwhile, promised the release of its own terrorists while confirming it expects a deal.
“We renew our pledge with our steadfast and patient people and with our heroic prisoners in the prisons, and we affirm that their freedom is near,” the terror group said, according to the Times of Israel.
Hamas razzle dazzle. Not saying upfront which are live and which dead has been a deal-breaker all along. Bibi only wants living hostages for the first round.
The officials say that the first stage of the potential deal would see Hamas releasing 33 “humanitarian” hostages — children, women, female soldiers, the elderly and the sick. The officials say that all of the 33 are officially considered by Israel to be alive, but that Jerusalem has not currently received any confirmation of their status.
Which raises the point, what will Israel do if some of them are dead?
[MSN] The Nigerian military said on Wednesday its troops had killed 34 Islamist snuffies in a shootout in northeastern Borno state and six soldiers had also died.
The clash took place on Saturday in Sabon Gari village when the snuffies ambushed troops returning to a military base, military front man Major-General Edward Buba said.
The snuffies belonged to the Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... and 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.... West Africa Province (ISWAP) groups, he said. They were riding on cycle of violences and trucks mounted with guns.
The troops, along with reinforcements from the Civilian Joint Taskforce militia and vigilante groups, successfully repelled the attack, he said.
Nigeria has been grappling with a 16-year-long Islamist insurgency in its northeast driven primarily by Boko Haram and its offshoot ISWAP that has led to huge human and economic losses, including mass displacement and a humanitarian crisis.
Buba said six soldier were killed in the action while an improvised bomb (IED) injured the vigilante commander. The Nigerian Air Force also carried out Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s on the fleeing Death Eaters, resulting in further casualties in addition to the 34 killed in the shootout, Buba said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2025
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Top|| File under: Boko Haram (ISIS)
[AFRICANEWS] Emergency crews have begun work to extinguish several wildfires that have broken out in Algeria's northeastern Bejaia and Tizi-Ouzou provinces. The fire is reported to have gained strength and is now threatening hamlets.
The same region was devastated last July by huge forest fires, which claimed around thirty lives. There have as yet been no reports of fatalities or property damage for the present fires; however, responders warn that the blazes are spreading quickly due to strong winds.
Authorities have also warned high temperatures may persist in the affected area over the weekend, and the hot and dry conditions are likely to further wildfire growth.
This summer, Northern Algeria experienced a record heatwave, with temperatures reaching 48C.
The World Meteorological Organization says extreme weather patterns being experienced across the world highlight the need for greater climate action.
You first. Or go talk to China — they’ve become the #1 emitter of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses.
[IsraelTimes] Army and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard exercises, initially focused on Natanz enrichment plant, now held at Fordo and Khondab nuclear facilities, state media reports
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... has expanded military drills to cover two additional nuclear facilities in the west and center of the country, state media reported on Sunday.
The drills — dubbed Eqtedar, or "might" in Farsi — began last week and are set to continue until mid-March. They involve the army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological branch of Iran’s military.
On Tuesday, the IRGC announced the drills were initially focused on the Natanz nuclear enrichment plant in central Iran.
"The exercises are currently being held at the Fordo and Khondab nuclear facilities," in central and western Iran respectively, state TV reported Sunday.
They involve missile and radar units, electronic warfare units, electronic intelligence and reconnaissance command carrying out "offensive and defensive missions," it said.
The drills come after, 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 from Tehran on Israel earlier that month.
Iran’s new activities are taking place with the country’s nuclear program under close watch ahead of US President-elect 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... ’s return to the White House.
In his first term, Trump pulled the United States out of a 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, and he also ordered the killing of an IRGC general in a dronezap in Iraq.
Iran is set to hold nuclear talks with La Belle France, Britannia and Germany on Monday in Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... In January, 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. Gave an airbase and billions in military hardware to the Taliban and called it an extraordinary success... with options for a potential US strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities if Tehran moved toward developing an atomic weapon before January 20, when Trump takes office.
Iran’s foreign ministry front man Esmaeil Baqaei criticized 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.
However,
ars longa, vita brevis... 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.
[DW] Turkey's government is reaching out to the Kurdish population at home while backing militias fight Kurds in Syria. What is behind Recep Tayyip Erdogan's approach?
"In future, we will take decisive steps to realize our vision for The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund... and an entire region without terror," 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... said in his New Year's Day speech.
These words were a reference to the current reconciliation process between Turkey's government and Kurds, which was initiated about three months ago by Erdogan's coalition partner Devlet Bahceli, chairman of the ultranationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
In October, Bahceli mastered a political turnaround when he shook hands with politicians from the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM).
Beforehand, Bahceli had claimed that the left-wing, pro-Kurdish DEM was an extension of the banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all...
organization Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and should be banned.
In the past, Bahceli's party had also called for the reintroduction of the death penalty , primarily to execute the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.
The paramilitary PKK is classified as a terrorist organization in the EU and the US and has been in armed conflict with the Ottoman Turkish state since 1984.
Around 40,000 people are said to have been killed during the violent mostly peaceful conflict between Turkey and the Kurdish PKK between 1984 and 2009.
AN OCCASION FOR HOPE?
Ocalan, who founded the PKK in 1978, has been serving a life term in prison on Imrali Island off Istanbul since 1999.
Accordingly, Bahceli's next suggestion, namely that Ocalan could be released in exchange for renouncing violence and dissolving the PKK came as an even bigger surprise.
Shortly afterward, Bahceli also publicly commented on the "millennial brotherhood" between Turks and Kurds, saying, "Turkey's problem is not the Kurds, but their separatist terrorist organization."
Ocalan replied in a statement that "I possess the necessary competence and determination to contribute positively to the new paradigm."
On December 28, two representatives of the pro-Kurdish DEM visited Ocalan in Imrali prison and said they were "full of hope."
DEM politicians are currently holding consultations with representatives of the Erdogan government and the opposition.
ALL TO BENEFIT ERDOGAN?
According to some observers, however, there is more realpolitik than love for the PKK behind the current initiative.
Erdogan seeks to secure a new term in office after 2028, which would be impossible under the current constitution.
Technically, there are two ways for Erdogan to run again: Either the constitution can be amended or parliament can opt for early elections.
The sticking point, however, is that the ruling alliance is 45 seats short to win such a vote.
DEM, with its 57 seats in parliament, could tip the balance in favor of an early election.
However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... Berk Esen, a political scientist at Istanbul's Sabanci University, also sees another possible reason for this push.
Erdogan and Bahceli need more support to change the constitution or call for early elections to secure a next term for ErdoganImage: DHA
Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) can no longer win elections because it lacks the Kurdish vote, he told DW.
According to various estimates, Kurds make up between 15% to 20% of the Ottoman Turkish population.
"The Erdogan system is in a major political and economic crisis," Esen said. "We saw that in the local elections in spring 2023 and under the current conditions, Kurdish voters prefer to vote for opposition candidates."
In turn, Esen believes that the ruling alliance had to do something to stop the downward spiral.
FALSE OPTIMISM?
It is not the first time the Ottoman Turkish government has attempted to reconcile with the Kurds in Turkey.
Initiatives have been launched to meet Kurds' demands of the Ottoman Turkish state. These attempts were called an "opening up," "solution" or "normalization process," and, so far, have all failed.
"If politicians say in public that they are full of hope, implying that peace is closer than ever, there must have been some progress behind closed doors and the process must be reasonably advanced," political scientist Deniz Yildirim told DW.
However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... he also added a warning against premature optimism.
"Turkey needs to solve this chronic problem by peaceful means so that no more blood is shed," Yildirim told DW. "Yet, it would be naive to expect this to take place in a time of authoritarian centralization, while at the same time freedom of the press and freedom of expression are being uprooted in the country and universities are being disempowered."
NO RECONCILIATION OUTSIDE TURKEY
After the end of the First World War, the Kurds' settlement area was divided between Turkey, Syria, 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... and Iraq.
Since then, the Kurds have been fighting for their own state — or at least for more power to decide their own affairs.
In Turkey, they have been denied autonomous status to this day despite Erdogan's push for reconciliation with Ocalan and the PKK.
Across the border in Syria, Ottoman Turkish-backed militias continue to fight Kurdish YPG fighters.
Turkey considers them as a threat to its territorial integrity.
Yet, while Turkey regards the YPG as a Syrian offshoot of the PKK, the Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria are supported by the US, which makes the balance of power in the region even more complicated.
Meanwhile,
...back at the pond, the radioactive tadpoles grown into frogs. Really big frogs, in fact... Turkey demands that Syria's transitional government disband the Kurdish militia YPG, which controls large parts of northern Syria.
However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... Turkey's demands are not realistic from a Kurdish perspective, political scientist Esen said.
"After many years of bloodshed, the YPG has established itself as a power factor in north-eastern Syria. Regardless of what kind of agreement could be reached in Turkey, it is extremely unlikely that they will lay down their arms," he told DW.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/13/2025
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[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.COM.LB] Shortly after late Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah was martyred on September 27 during the Last brutal Israeli aggression on Lebanon, some local parties in Lebanon — who are known for their foreign affiliations — rushed to talk about the so-called ''Lebanon post-Hezbollah''.
Back then, late Hezbollah Media Relations Officer Hajj Mohammad Afif, who was later martyred in an Israeli strike on Beirut last November, said his well-known remarks addressing such malicious ambitions: ''Too early!''.
Whoever watched the 13th parliamentary session aimed at electing a new Lebanese president following a two-year vacuum on Thursday, knows very well what martyr Hajj Afif meant with such words.
As things got clearer, with Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun emerging as the front runner for the presidency, Hezbollah and its strong ally Amal Movement were keen to deliver a clear message.
Lawmakers of the nationalist duo (nearly 30 MPs) voted blank ballots in the first round of Thursday's session, forcing a second round of the vote.
LEBANON PARLIAMENT BALLOT COUNT
Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri, the Leader of Amal Movement, adjourned the session for more discussions, and set a timing for the second round.
A break of two hours between the two rounds witnessed a meeting between General Aoun, Head of Hezbollah's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc Hajj Mohammad Raad and Amal MP Ali Hasan Khalil.
Local reports indicated that during the meeting General Aoun offered some guarantees to the nationalist duo regarding implications of the ceasefire agreement with the Israeli enemy in areas south of the Litani River, plans for reconstruction and government restructuring.
The Parliament then convened for the second round, that led to the election of General Aoun who obtained 99 votes after Hezbollah and Amal lawmakers voted in his favor.
Despite claims of alleged ''weakened Hezbollah sway'' in the national decisions, the scene on Thursday has indicated that the Lebanese resistance party, along with Amal Movement, remain the major players and decision makers.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2025
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[Garowe] 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... 's security forces have delivered a severe blow to ISIS activities in Somalia, obliterating five command bases of the bully boy group in the al-Miskaat mountains, officials reported on Saturday.
The ongoing operation is being conducted without the support of the Somali federal government, highlighting Puntland's self-reliant approach to combating terrorism.
The offensive involved the incineration of ISIS fortifications in the Il-Cameyra region to prevent their reoccupation. A key achievement in this operation was the recapture of a vital water well, previously controlled by the hard boys, which was critical for their operational sustainability.
Additionally, Puntland's forces successfully downed three ISIS drones over the Cal-Miskaat mountains. These drones, equipped with explosives and engaged in reconnaissance, posed a significant threat to both military and civilian lives.
The Puntland government declared the successful seizure of these strategic points, underscoring their determination to fight terrorism.
The latest combat victory not only hampers ISIS's logistical and operational capabilities but also showcases Puntland's commitment to regional security without reliance on external assistance.
[ShabelleMedia] The Somali National Army (SNA), in collaboration with local forces, has successfully eliminated four holy warriors from al-Shabaab ... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia attempting to metastasize into Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and similar places, all ofwhich have enough problems without them... during a targeted operation in Camaara, Mudug region, military sources reported on January 12, 2025.
The operation was meticulously planned and executed, targeting a residence occupied by Ismaaciil Beerdile, identified as a big shot of al-Shabaab responsible for its so-called "court" in the Galgaduud region.
Security forces seized four rifles and a substantial cache of ammunition during the raid. Additional casualties were reported among the murderous Moslems, though exact numbers remain undisclosed.
Military officials stated that the operation has dealt a significant blow to al-Shabaab’s activities in the area. "This operation underscores the effectiveness of our joint efforts with local forces," said a high-ranking military officer, emphasizing the need for continued collaboration to maintain security and stability in the region.
The raid in Camaara is part of ongoing efforts by Somali forces to dismantle al-Shabaab’s networks and reduce their influence in central Somalia.
[ToloNews] Hamdullah Fitrat, the Deputy Spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate, stated that ISIS has been granted permission to operate under Pakistain’s governance.
Rejecting the claims of Khawaja Asif, Pakistain's Defense Minister, Fitrat said that the Islamic Emirate possesses evidence of an ISIS presence in Pakistain's Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... province.
”I’m rubber and you’re glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you,” he taunted.
Fitrat further said: "The production, training, and funding centers for ISIS are in Balochistan and other parts of Pakistain. It appears they have been allowed to operate under the protection of these entities and are carrying out destructive activities. All of this is documented, and we hold evidence. Pakistain’s security and other issues are their internal matters and have no connection to Afghanistan."
Previously, Pakistain’s Defense Minister claimed that some terrorist groups, including ISIS-K, are active on Afghan soil.
Khawaja Muhammad Asif stated: "According to the latest report of the UN Monitoring Team, over two dozen terrorist groups including TTP, al-Qaeda, ISKP, ETIM and IMU are operating in Afghanistan. Afghanistan remained the hub for ISKP’s recruitment and facilitation in 2024."
Fazl Rahman Oria, a political analyst, told TOLOnews: "The people of Pakistain are protesting peacefully, and in some cases, armed uprisings have occurred because they no longer want the current rulers to stay in power. To divert public attention, such accusations are sometimes made against Afghanistan and sometimes against India."
Salim Paigir, another political analyst, said: "The world knows that the nests of terrorism and ISIS still exist in Pakistain, and they are used against neighboring countries, including Afghanistan."
Verbal tensions between the two sides [Afghanistan and Pakistain] have intensified following Pakistain’s Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s on Barmal district in Paktika ...which coincidentally borders North Wazoo and Kurram Agency... province.
A day earlier, Pakistain also launched artillery attacks on parts of Kunar province ... Kunar is Haqqani country..... , which were condemned by the Islamic Emirate.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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[ToloNews] Afghan migrants colonists in Pakistain told TOLOnews that the process of deportation and arrest of Afghan migrants colonists in Pakistain continues.
According to these migrants colonists, the validity period of visas has been reduced from six months and three months to just one month, and they cannot afford its cost.
"The high costs and short time frame have created challenges for all Afghans and migrants colonists because no one can afford these exorbitant expenses," said Mohammad Reza, an Afghan migrant in Pakistain.
"Currently, in some areas of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the arrest and forced deportation of Afghan migrants colonists by the Pak police continue," said Atiqullah Mansoor, another Afghan migrant in Pakistain.
Meanwhile,
...back at the shattered spaceship, Fffflirgoll the Arcturan slithered stealthily toward the control room, where the humans had barricaded themselves... some Afghan migrants colonists in 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... also report that the arrest and deportation of Afghan migrants colonists from this country persist.
"They are arrested at their workplaces and transferred to special centers for Afghan detainees. This situation imposes mental, psychological, and economic challenges on these individuals," said Asadullah Zaeri, an Afghan migrant in Iran.
The arrest and deportation of Afghan migrants colonists from Pakistain have intensified for more than two weeks. Previously, various institutions and organizations, including Amnesty International, had called on Pakistain to stop the deportation of Afghan migrants colonists.
The largest number of Afghan migrants colonists reside in Pakistain and Iran, and at times, political tensions have impacted their situation.
[GEO.TV] A group of armed Israeli settlers stormed the Old City of Hebron in the occupied West Bank and descended on Ibrahimi Mosque under heavy protection from Israeli forces, reported Al Jazeera on Sunday.
Local sources cited by the Wafa news agency said ''hundreds'' of armed settlers, escorted by soldiers, entered multiple neighbourhoods in the Old City, chanting ''racist and anti-Arab slogans'' and engaging in threats.
They reportedly performed Talmudic rituals at the mosque, as the movement of Paleostinians to the area was restricted amid a military curfew. In the town of as-Samu, south of Hebron, Israeli soldiers reportedly shot a young Paleostinian in the leg.
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Because the Houthis refuse to learn from others’ mistakes?
[NEWARAB] On 19 December, 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... military front man Yahya Saree announced that 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 group had carried out a hypersonic ballistic missile strike on central Israel.
One week later, the Israeli military retaliated by striking Sanaa International Airport, the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations, and the infrastructure of Hodeidah, Salif, and Ras Kanatib ports.
These tit-for-tat military actions set off a renewed spiral of escalation between Israel and the Houthis. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ominously warned that the Houthis will follow Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... , Hezbollah, and Syrian President Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... 's path to defeat.
Houthi Political Bureau official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti has persistently vowed to escalate strikes on Israel until it ends ''the genocide 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... Despite this fiery ...a single two-syllable word carrying connotations of both incoherence and viciousness. A fiery delivery implies an audience of rubes and yokels, preferably forming up into a mob... rhetoric, Israel's expanded military intervention against the Houthis is unlikely to produce a conclusive victory. Iran's sustained clandestine support for the Houthis and the Yemeni group's ability to create a siege mentality around Israeli strikes will help keep the stalemate intact.
Nevertheless, the intensifying Israel-Houthi conflict has the potential to metastasise beyond Yemen's borders and threaten Western commercial maritime assets.
ISRAEL'S UPHILL STRUGGLE FOR A MILITARY TRIUMPH
Although Israeli air defences have been largely effective in limiting civilian casualties from Houthi missile strikes, the attacks continue to be a thorn in Israel's side. The Eilat port is no longer a reliable transit hub and some Israeli vessels have been forced to circumnavigate Africa along circuitous routes.
The strikes have caused foreign airlines to cancel flights to Israel and tourism to dry up. These hits to the Israeli economy are unlikely to let up as some Houthi missiles and drones can breach Israel's highly sophisticated defences.
Why is Israel finding it so difficult to defuse the Houthi threat? A lack of preparedness for Houthi drone and missile strikes is one contributing factor. Even though Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi declared in March 2018 that ''we are prepared to send fighters in any Israeli war against 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.... or Paleostine'' and formed a robust alliance with Hezbollah, Israeli officials paid relatively little attention to the Houthi threat.
When the Houthis attacked an Egypt-bound Saudi oil tanker in August 2018, Netanyahu threatened military action against 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... if it blocked the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and left Israel's policy towards the Yemeni group unclear. The expansion of Houthi drone and missile capabilities continued under Israel's radar until the Gaza war began in October 2023 and has left Israel playing catch-up to a certain degree ever since.
[NEWARAB] Kuwaiti media personality Fajr al-Saeed has reportedly been detained for 21 days pending trial after publicly advocating for normalising relations with Israel, according to Arabic media reports on Wednesday.
Nouveau riche Kuwaitis have to be more pure and hateful than anyone else. Their female news readers are supposed to argue for husbands getting war booty concubines upon which to relieve their urges, not cozy up to that uppity Zionist entity.
The Ministry of Interior filed a formal complaint against al-Saeed, accusing her of violating Kuwait's Unified Law for Boycotting Israel, which criminalises any dealings with or calls for normalisation with Israel.
Al-Saeed is set to appear before a detention renewal judge in the coming days, where her release on bail may be considered.
Legal proceedings are expected to continue in the coming weeks. The New Arab has approached Kuwait's Ministry of Interior for comment.
Al-Saeed sparked controversy nationwide for her outspoken support for normalising ties with Israel, which included a 2019 interview on Israeli television and subsequent tweets advocating for such relations.
In her interview with Israel's Kan public broadcaster, she defended her views, stating: "I didn't suddenly establish normalisation. It's not like I arrived at Ben Gurion Airport, entered Israel, and declared, 'Let's normalise relations.' I expressed a wish and a hope. You can take it or leave it, but it's my personal opinion."
[ALJAZEERA] Chad's governing party has taken the majority of seats in last month's parliamentary election that was mostly boycotted by opposition parties, according to provisional results.
President Mahamat Idriss "Lil" Deby's party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement, has secured 124 of the 188 seats at the National Assembly, Ahmed Bartchiret, head of the electoral commission, announced late on Saturday.
The participation rate was put at 51.56 percent, which opposition parties said showed voter doubts about the validity of the contest.
The December 29 election was presented by Deby's party as the last stage of the country's transition to democracy after he took power as a military ruler in 2021.
The takeover followed the death of Deby's father and longtime President Idriss Deby Itno, who spent three decades in power. Mahamat Deby eventually won last year's disputed presidential vote.
The vote, which also included municipal and regional elections, was Chad's first in more than a decade.
Deby had said the election would ''pave the way for the era of decentralisation so long-awaited and desired by the Chadian people'', referring to the distribution of power beyond the national government to the various provincial and municipal levels.
'CHARADE'
The election was boycotted by more than 10 opposition parties, including the main Transformers party, whose candidate, Succes Masra, came second in the presidential election.
The main opposition had called the election a ''charade'' and expressed worries that it would be a repeat of the presidential vote, which election observers said was not credible.
Last month's vote came at a critical period for Chad, which is battling several security challenges — from attacks in the Lake Chad region by the Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... gang to ending decades-long military cooperation with La Belle France, its former colonial power.
The severing of military ties echoes recent moves by Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso ...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president used to be Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and was chased out in 2014. Now it's the usual army officer type guy, Captain Ibrahim Traore, running things, who's just doing a bang-up job unless he's already been deposed... , which all kicked out French troops and fostered closer ties with Russia after a string of coups in West and Central Africa's Sahel region ... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas... This week, security forces foiled an attack on the presidency that the government referred to as a ''destabilisation attempt''.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2025
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[NYPOST] Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, Gov. Gavin Governor Hair Gel Newsom ...mayor of San Franciscoas it transformed itself into Poopville, currently governor of Californiaas it transforms itself into Cinderland... on Sunday tried to play semantics and weasel out of blame by saying state reservoirs were ''completely full'' when the LA fires broke out — even though a county-run reservoir had been drained at the time.
Newsom made the shocking statement while addressing criticism from President-elect Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... over the state's water management ahead of the infernos.
''The reservoirs are completely full — the state reservoirs here in Southern California. That mis- and disinformation I don't think advantages or aids any of us,'' Newsom told NBC News in a pretaped interview that aired on ''Meet the Press'' on Sunday.
Reporter Jacob Soboroff pressed Newsom on his response by pointing out how the LA-County-run Santa Ynez Reservoir was bone dry — something that even has prompted a probe from Newsom.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2025
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Given, there are 11 other smaller counties, which are North and South of L.A. county, producing literally Billions of gallons of fresh safe drinking & fire hydrant water each year.
Other than Santa Monica, which only serves 18,000 customers, and produces about 3.777 Billion Gal fresh water per year.
Why hasn't LA county added more seawater desalination units?
#8
Solar Farms take up a lot of real estate, NN2N1.
And that land is really really pricey around LA.
Of course, they could pull an 'Eminent Domain' and just appropriate it, I guess.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
01/13/2025 7:49
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#9
Why lie like Baghdad Bob when everyone can check to see the water level over the last nine months pretty easily using the internet? You have to do better gaslighting than that,.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/13/2025 7:58
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#10
A lot of centrally-located, prime real estate has recently become available for solar farms. Might as well make lemonade out of thousands of lemons! /sarc
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/13/2025 8:21
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#13
It doesn't matter if the reservoirs are full if you can't get water from the reservoirs to the fire hydrants. Democrats have a disturbing tendency to overlook basic facts like that.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/13/2025 11:42
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#14
Why hasn't LA county added more seawater desalination units?
It'd take years, decades probably, to get approvals from all the layers of government in this state for such a unit.
The bigger problem is that people like Newsom believe everybody in the whole, wide world should be able to live in California in spite of the fact that we simply don't have the infrastructure or the resources to support the population we already have. The only way to make it affordable for all the people who want to live here is to turn the entire state into a giant, Third World slum and Newsom is hell bent on doing exactly that.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/13/2025 11:50
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#15
Why hasn't
Why, you could power a big one with nuclear for a twofer. I wonder why no one has thought of that.
[GEO.TV] Huge asteroid (887) 'Alinda' has made its closest approach towards Earth in decades and is about to peak in brightness in a rare once-in-a-decade event.
The event can be observed this weekend from home with basic stargazing binoculars or in a free livestream, reported Live Science.
The near-Earth asteroid named as (887) Alinda measures an estimated 2.6 miles (4.2 kilometres) wide — roughly the width of Manhattan, according to Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Moreover, the chunky space rock made its closest approach to Earth on Wednesday in decades, swooping to within 7.6 million miles (12.3 million km) of our planet, or about 32 times the average distance between Earth and the Moon.
It is important to note that Alinda isn't predicted to make another close approach to Earth until 2087.
Its large size also makes it a great target for curious stargazers while an asteroid this big could trigger a mass extinction event if it were to collide with Earth.
Alinda will peak in brightness at a magnitude of 9.4 on Sunday. The asteroid will be visible moving through the constellation Gemini.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2025
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The UN, terrorist-lovers that they are, might need it. But Israel most assuredly does not. And even if they did, that ship sailed over a year ago.
[GEO.TV] A top official from the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... High Commissioner for Human Rights in Paleostine
Oh. Them….
has told Al Jazeera Arabic that a quick ceasefire is needed 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... ''Action must be taken on the humanitarian situation in Gaza,'' the official said, adding: ''We need a quick ceasefire in Gaza".
The official also stated that Israel "must provide all humanitarian supplies in Gaza".
The official is mistaken. And stupid not to have noticed that the fact that everything changes a week from now has already changed everything.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2025
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Like Moses he led the way, but was never permitted in the Promised Land. Otherwise he was a man of his time, refusing to let go of the common prejudices that are once again doing such damage.
[AFRICANEWS] A funeral was held on Saturday for Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of La Belle France's main far-right party.
Le Pen who was a polarizing figure in French politics, died on Tuesday at 96.
Marine Le Pen and one of her two sisters, Marie-Caroline, walked the few hundred metres between the family home and the small church of Saint-Joseph.
Around 200 people were expected to be seated inside the church. After the ceremony Le Pen will be buried in the vault where his parents rest.
Dozens of police were deployed to implement a ban against any demonstrations that could disturb services for Le Pen, whose death at a care facility in Garches sparked celebrations by those who opposed him.
While Saturday's funeral remained a strictly family-only event, a public ceremony is scheduled for January16th at the Notre Dame du Val-de-Gr ce church in Gay Paree, offering supporters and critics a chance to reflect on his controversial impact on the nation's political landscape.
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01/13/2025
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#1
The Western left is all-in-all reprehensible in their enmity to Western Civilization but that doesn't imply that there aren't dubious element on the right.
Le Pen did advocate some sound policies and some bad policies, but IMHO for the wrong reasons.
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.COM.LB] Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have intensified their incursions into southern Syria, particularly in Quneitra's northern countryside. On the 2nd of January, the IOF advanced into the Al-Hamr Hills near Hadar and Taranja, where they uprooted trees, demolished homes and agricultural lands, and destroyed Syrian Army barracks and weapons depots. The area has been declared a military zone, barring civilian access. Residents were reportedly ordered to hand over weapons allegedly looted from Syrian military locations.
In the southern Quneitra Countryside, Israeli forces supported by tanks entered the villages of Al-Asha, Abu Ghara, and Al-Hiran farm, further solidifying control. They also destroyed fortifications and demanded civilian compliance under the guise of military security.
Quneitra
Israeli military armored vehicles block a road leading to the town of Quneitra (Jaunary 2025).
In Jabatha al-Khashab, Israeli forces advanced and established new military points within Syrian territory, including constructing a 3-kilometer road inside the forest. The town's mayor emphasized the need to resist Israeli demands and called on the new Syrian government to address the violations. The occupation forces' control over weapons abandoned during Syrian Army collapses has fueled further tensions in the region.
One of the most significant developments occurred when Israeli forces seized the Mantara Dam, the largest water reservoir in southern Syria, capable of holding 40.2 million cubic meters of water. By raising earthen barriers, the occupation has effectively blocked residents' access to this critical resource. This move exacerbates Syria's water security crisis, particularly in the face of climate change and declining reserves.
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Text taken from the dzen.ru page of Yuri Pasholok. by Yuri Pasholok
[Dzen] A story about a 149mm Type 96 fortress gun located on Shushmu Island in the Kuril Islands
Japanese artillery is not a particularly studied topic for the majority of fans of this topic. Partly, this is a problem of the language barrier. The Japanese themselves have written quite a few books on artillery. But not everyone can read them. One way or another, but this topic is very interesting.
At the beginning of World War II, the Japanese design school was able to move from copying foreign ideas to their own developments. In places, they were quite original. This was especially true for heavy artillery, in which the Japanese were quite successful.
In August 1945, Japanese artillery was used for the last time. This also concerned high-power guns. Of these, two (or rather, one and a half) guns have survived to this day, which took part in repelling the Kuril landing on August 18, 1945. We are talking about the 149-mm fortress guns Type 96 (officially called Type 96 15 cm Cannon). This was the most advanced example of Japanese fortress artillery, which, however, did not help the Shumshu garrison repel the attack of Soviet troops.
The Japanese army traditionally paid much attention to heavy artillery. They were used as a means of coastal defense and as siege artillery. The 280 mm L/10 howitzers, developed in England, were successfully used by Japanese troops during the Russo-Japanese War. Later, their own 240 mm howitzer Type 45 appeared, which was successfully used in World War I, this time against the Germans (they shelled Qingdao). The Type 45 was also used during World War II, together with the 305 mm Type 7 howitzers.
However, large-caliber howitzers alone were not enough. As early as the years of World War I, experiments began to create large-caliber fortress guns capable of firing over long distances. As a result, the most widespread of the Japanese fortress guns of modern design was born - Type 89.
Initially, the Japanese created their own analogue of the French Canon de 155 GPF gun, but the final version of the gun turned out to be original. It turned out to be lighter, had a higher muzzle velocity and, in general, looked like a more successful system.
When creating a gun with an unusual for the Japanese caliber of 149.1 mm (the Germans pretended that it had nothing to do with it), a number of compromises had to be made. For example, the gun had to be disassembled, or rather, the barrel had to be removed, as it was too long for transportation. However, such a system became common for many heavy guns around the world.
Due to its large mass, the gun was transported exclusively by mechanical traction, fortunately the Japanese already had tracked artillery tractors of the required power. A total of 150 such guns were built, and they were very actively used starting with the battles at the Khalkhin-Gol River.
At the same time, by the mid-1930s, there was a need for a more powerful weapon capable of firing at a greater distance. For this, the Japanese military was ready to sacrifice the mobility of the weapon. When creating a new fortress gun, the experience of creating the Type 89 gun was taken into account, although it was obvious that a more powerful system would be noticeably heavier.
In addition, such a gun, due to its specificity, was clearly intended for small-scale production. Here, the Japanese military was not alone. The closest analogues, the German 15 cm Kanone 18 and the Soviet 152 mm BR-2 gun, were also not numerous.
Officially accepted into service in 1936, the 149-mm fortress gun Type 96 turned out to be a typical example of a siege weapon. It should be said that the Japanese military developed three guns at once - a 149-mm gun, a 240-mm howitzer (also Type 96), and a 305-mm mortar.
True, the mortar remained experimental, and the howitzer was built in a very small edition - either 6 or 7 pieces. At the same time, the Japanese did not develop a triplex, as was often done at that time. The guns had different carriages, rather the concept became common. Somewhat specific, but generally working.
Since the guns were designed as siege (or fortress) guns, the issue of rapid deployment was, one might say, secondary. The issue of fire maneuverability was considered much more important. For this purpose, the gun carriage received special guides (a turning circle), thanks to which it was possible to quickly turn the gun in a sector of 90 degrees to the left or to the right.
Such fire maneuverability had its price: in order to completely transfer the gun from the marching position to the combat one, 4-5 hours of work were required by the crew. But since the gun was supposed to be a siege and long-range one, this was not a huge problem.
The Type 96 was almost one and a half times heavier than the 149 mm Type 89 gun. The combat weight of the gun was 24.31 tons, which is more than the combat weight of its analogues. However, for the Japanese military, such a mass of siege weapons was not at all surprising. The 240 mm Type 45 howitzer weighed 33 tons, and the 240 mm Type 96 howitzer reached a mass exceeding 37.5 tons.
And this is still the heaviest siege weapons of the Japanese army. In order to transport these guns, 13-ton Type 95 Ho-Fu tracked tractors were used. At the same time, the 149 mm Type 96 gun was partially disassembled, the barrel (its length was an impressive 7860 mm) was transported on a special cart.
Only 30 of these guns were produced. It seems like not many, but it is worth repeating once again - this is a specific gun for specific tasks. The Type 96 had a firing range of 26.2 kilometers, which more than compensated for all the problems associated with disassembly and towing. This gun could (and was very actively used) as a means of counter-battery combat. The Japanese first used it in the Philippines in 1942. Two such guns were used in the 2nd separate artillery division. Its task was, among other things, to suppress enemy artillery.
As a rule, units armed with 149-mm Type 96 fortress guns had 2 such guns. This was due to their small number. Towards the end of World War II, Type 96 were used as fortress guns. Our troops encountered them during battles in Manchuria. As for the Kuril Islands, the 2nd division of the Kuril Fortress Regiment was stationed there.
There is a theory that there were 4 such guns, but there are serious doubts about this. According to documents, in 1944, 2 certain 200-mm mortars were taken from Shumshu to Hokkaido (possibly, we are talking about 240-mm mortars). Most likely, these are the same 2 missing guns.
By August 1945, one gun was located on Paramushir, next to the airfield (not far from the Kashiwabara base, now Severo-Kurilsk). This gun has partially survived to this day. True, part of the barrel was cut off with a gas cutter, plus non-ferrous metal is being slowly cut off. According to the command's plan, the gun fired at ships entering the strait between Shumshu and Paramushir. The second gun was located in a position next to Height 165 (aka Height 168, aka Malaya Vysota, aka Otaizan), in the north of Shumshu. The idea was that the gun could cover Soviet batteries at Cape Lopatka.
Judging by the fact that there are four prepared positions in the Chetyrekhgorye area, there were initially four guns in the area of Height 165. Then only one remained, and overall it was not in the most advantageous position. Shumshu is often covered by fog, which greatly reduces visibility. As a result, the combat career of the gun, commanded by Lieutenant Yoshitaka Kunio, turned out to be extremely dubious.
During the Kuril landing operation, the gun crew could do little. When the shelling of Shumshu began from Cape Lopatka, the gun began to conduct counter-battery fire, but without much result. On August 18, 1945, the crew managed to fire 61 shots, and then the landing forces arrived. That was the end of it.
The gun was taken warm, so to speak. Together with the tractor (its remains are lying nearby), as well as the barrel carriage. Since the gun is quite impressive, and the turntable was partially concreted, no attempts were made to take it from there. They decided to make the gun an element of the memorial, and it still has this status. Naturally, the fact that it stands in the open air does not make the gun any more intact. But there are no alternatives.
The gun is not only of historical value, but is also, one might say, a monument to technical thought. It is the largest and heaviest Japanese gun system of those that have survived. It is enough to process it and paint it regularly. However, it is obvious that no one has used paint there for a long time. With this approach, and in this climate, soon only thick metal parts will remain of the gun.
The material is dedicated to the memory of Vyacheslav Mysov (Ust-Kamchatsk), who did a lot in terms of research into military operations in the Kuril Islands
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] A symbolic cold snap is expected in Moscow on Epiphany. This was announced on January 12 by weather forecaster Yevgeny Tishkovets.
"On Sunday, a slight minus and then the weather will clear up. On Epiphany, there will be a symbolic cold snap: 0…-5 at night, around 0 during the day," he wrote on his Telegram channel.
Tishkovets noted that there will be no serious frosts or snowfalls until the end of January.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, 2024 was the warmest year in the entire 245-year history of observations in Moscow. According to the Moscow State University Meteorological Observatory, only in January and May were the temperatures lower than usual, while in the other ten months the figures were higher than average.
On January 11, the scientific director of the Hydrometeorological Center Roman Vilfand warned of dangerous and unfavorable weather phenomena that are expected in six districts of Russia due to abnormally warm weather. Among such phenomena, he named heavy precipitation and wind, wet snow, rain and ice.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.2 was recorded off the coast of Crimea in the Black Sea. This was reported on January 12 on the website of the European Mediterranean Seismological Center.
It is noted that the earthquake occurred at 17:49 Moscow time in the Black Sea, 75 km southeast of Kerch and 60 km south of Taman. The source was at a depth of 45 km.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.5 occurred in Sochi on the night of January 11. The epicenter of the tremors was located at a depth of 5 km. As a result of the seismic event, no one died or was injured, and no appeals were received from the population.
Another earthquake in Sochi occurred on the evening of January 11. According to the head of the city's seismic service, Elena Karpovich, it was a repeat of the morning earthquake - in approximately the same place at a depth of 5 km.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [EADaily] In Los Angeles, where powerful fires are currently raging, real estate belonging to high-ranking Ukrainian military personnel has been destroyed, the Military Observer Telegram channel reported, citing sources.
"According to Ukrainian resources, during the large-scale fires in Los Angeles, eight mansions belonging to high-ranking Ukrainian military personnel burned down. The total value of this real estate reaches $90 million, and it was purchased with money that the West allocated as part of financial assistance to Kyiv after the start of the war," writes TK.
As reported by EADaily, California Governor Gavin Newsom has mobilized 400 National Guard troops to help combat the worsening wildfire crisis in Los Angeles County. This was reported by Yahoo, citing Fox News 11.
The National Guard is tasked with controlling traffic, protecting critical infrastructure and supporting law enforcement and first responders as fires continue to devastate the region. Adds Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin:
Putin sent fire tornadoes.
Everything. Everything that was stolen by backbreaking labor...
[AFRICANEWS] A tragic plane crash near Malindi Airport in coastal Kenya on Friday claimed three lives and left a trail of destruction, local authorities confirmed.
The light aircraft crash landed in the town of Kwachocha, along the busy Malindi-Mombasa highway, just meters from the airport. Eyewitnesses described harrowing scenes as the plane struck bystanders and burst into flames upon impact.
Salim Mwayaya, a local witness, recounted the horror: "We were on our way to Malindi when we saw the plane crash. The wing hit a woman who was on a bike and severed her head. The plane then caught fire, and the pilots jumped out and were taken to the hospital alive. That is all I saw."
Authorities identified the victims as a cycle of violence taxi rider who was burned to death and two others struck by parts of the disintegrating aircraft.
The crash has reignited concerns about safety measures in the vicinity of the airport. Rashid Odhiambo, a Member of the County Assembly, emphasized the urgency of enforcing precautions: "This crashed plane is not a commercial plane, so we can say it is an accident that has happened because any accident can happen anywhere. But what I am saying is that safety precautions have to be taken along the airport, especially on this road which is next to the airport."
The Kwachocha neighborhood, where the crash occurred, has been at the center of a legal dispute over the expansion of Malindi Airport. Residents have challenged government plans to extend the airport's boundaries without resolving land compensation issues.
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[DW] Russia's Rosatom energy company is building Turkey's first nuclear power plant. But construction has been delayed because of the nondelivery of German-made parts.
The Russian state-owned energy corporation Rosatom reportedly plans to sue a German manufacturer for not delivering equipment meant for the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in southern The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... The plant would be the first of its kind in Turkey. It is also the largest energy project in Turkey's history. On January 4, Rosatom boss Alexey Likhachev made serious accusations against the German supplier and referred to German industrial giant Siemens, even though he was actually talking about another company, Siemens Energy.
"We have noticed media reports about this, but we do not currently have a lawsuit," Siemens Energy's spokesperson Tim Proll-Gerwe told DW.
Siemens Energy was previously the energy technology division of Siemens, but in 2020 it became an independent company and was listed on the stock exchange. Siemens currently owns 17% of Siemens Energy.
Proll-Gerwe confirmed that Siemens Energy was supposed to supply gas-insulated equipment for the nuclear plant's power distribution system, critical equipment needed to connect it to the Ottoman Turkish power grid.
The contract to do so was signed with the Russian company Elektroavtomatika in 2020, two years before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to its website, the St. Petersburg-headquartered company is a regular Rosatom supplier.
EXPORT PERMISSIONS GRANTED
Siemens Energy had been waiting a "long time" for export permissions from the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control, or BAFA, Proll-Gerwe told DW, adding that the company adheres to all local regulations.
The necessary permits for exporting the components have, in the meantime, been obtained, Proll-Gerwe said, adding that Siemens Energy could meet its contractual obligations in Akkuyu "if the customer still wants."
However,
if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well... substitute products have apparently already been found for the delayed Siemens Energy components, and Rosatom could be seeking compensation for its losses. That's what Likhachev seemed to allude to in comments about additional expenses and the "adjustment of installation dates" for the power plant.
It appears the Russian firm would like to blame construction delays in Turkey at least partially on Siemens Energy and on German bureaucracy. The contract for the construction of nuclear power plants in Turkey was first signed in 2010. The cornerstone for the first section of the plant was laid in 2018, and the first reactor is supposed to go online, at the earliest, this year. The whole project is supposed to be finished by 2028.
The substitute components in Turkey appear to be Chinese.
Oboy. Not a choice I’d have made, but my national pride is not on the line.
Last September, Ottoman Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Rosatom had ordered alternative parts from China. According to Russian news agency Interfax, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak explained that substitute components had been purchased from "friendly countries" and that some had already reached the power plant in Akkuyu.
In the time it took for German authorities to approve the exports, permission to export other equipment was granted much faster, German news outlet ntv reported in September 2024.
SECURITY ISSUES?
But is it permissible for German companies to work with Russian businesses in a sector as sensitive as nuclear energy, given current tensions between Russia and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... ?
"Siemens Energy ended all activities in Russia earlier and no longer has any contractual relationships there," Siemens Energy spokesperson Proll-Gerwe told DW. "Siemens Energy now only has to fulfill older, outstanding contracts, concluded before the start of the war in Ukraine. But, of course, this should always take place in accordance with any applicable sanctions and export control restrictions."
If BAFA has now issued an export license, it means Siemens Energy's equipment delivery to the Ottoman Turkish nuclear power plant violates neither German export rules nor EU sanctions on Russia.
It seems unlikely, however, that Rosatom would replace Chinese deliveries with the delayed German equipment. So, there is a chance Siemens Energy could end up in court across from the Russian energy firm.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/13/2025
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#1
I guess Siemens Energy was smart enough to have a "force majeure" clause in its contract regarding government approval (would be foolish not to have it), so Rosatom will simply pound sand.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
01/13/2025 5:45
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#2
The substitute components in Turkey appear to be Chinese.
New nuclear reactor from Temu for $327.00. S&H separate
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/13/2025 6:21
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#3
Who knew chinesium worked as a neutron moderator!
[DHS.GOV] The Department of Homeland Security announced today the extension of Temporary Protected Status- (TPS) for Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... for 18 months. This extension is due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions that continue to prevent individuals from safely returning.
After reviewing the country conditions in Sudan and consulting with interagency partners, it was determined that an 18-month TPS extension is warranted because of continued political instability that has triggered human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. abuses, including direct attacks on civilians. Militias have targeted fleeing civilians, murdering innocent people escaping conflict, and prevented remaining civilians from accessing lifesaving supplies. These conditions currently prevent Sudanese nationals and habitual residents from safely returning. Such a determination meets the statutory obligation to decide, at least 60 days before the expiration of a TPS designation, whether the conditions for designation continue to be met and merit an extension.
The extension of TPS for Sudan allows approximately 1,900 current eligible beneficiaries to re-register for TPS, if they continue to meet eligibility requirements. Re-registration is limited to individuals who previously registered for TPS under Sudan's designation. This population includes nationals of Sudan (and individuals without nationality who last resided in Sudan) who have been continuously residing in the United States since at least August 16, 2023, with or without lawful immigration status.
Every individual processed by the Department of Homeland Security goes through rigorous national security and public safety vetting during the original application process and again during re-registration. If any individual is identified as posing a threat, they may be detained, removed, or referred to other federal agencies for further investigation or prosecution as appropriate. Individuals are barred from TPS if they have been convicted of any felony or two misdemeanors.
DHS recognizes that not all re-registrants may receive a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD) before their current EAD expires and is automatically extending for 12 months the validity of EADs previously issued under Sudan's TPS designation.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2025
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[CHANNELSTV] Boko Haram terrorists have attacked the community in Borno State and killed two persons while also razing down a church.
The village is called Bamzir village under Whuntaku District, Chibok Local Government Area.
In a statement, the media team of the local government chairman of Chibok LGA Mustapha Madu said the terrorists attacked around 2:10 am Sunday and set many houses ablaze resulting in the death of two blood brothers identified as Josiah Pogu Pudza, a student of SS Two, and Enoch Pogu Pudza while one Esther Yohanna sustained a bullet injury.
The statement noted that the terrorists carted away food items and livestock, and razed down the EYN LCC church auditorium, and several houses and shops.
The two persons were buried early morning. The chairman of the LGA Mustapha Madu was in attendance.
Mustapha condoled with the family of the bereaved and also inspected all burnt houses, shops, and the church auditorium.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2025
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Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics.
[ColonelCassad] Donald Trump continues to excite the world with his loud statements about the annexation of Greenland, Canada and the restoration of control over the Panama Canal. They should not be overestimated, but they cannot be ignored either. At the very least, Greenland has been talked about for a long time - Trump himself wanted to buy the island from Denmark during his first term, and in 1946, Harry Truman had such plans. There are obvious strategic and geopolitical reasons for such interest, but we will pay attention to economic factors.
Experts argue whether they can be called primary, but they certainly cannot be ignored. Let's start, of course, with resources. In short, Greenland has oil, gas, rare earth elements (REE) and uranium. The first two positions have a combined estimate of 31.387 billion barrels of oil equivalent. This is comparable to the potential of Alaska and is significant even in the context of the entire Arctic. And there is also the factor of additional exploration.
The uranium reserves are estimated at 300,000 tons. This is quite a lot, this volume is enough to meet the demand in the USA for more than 15 years, if we take the demand in 2024 as a basis. In turn, the reserves of rare earth elements were estimated at 40 million tons. Greenland has, for example, neodymium, terbium, praseodymium and others. REE are used in many high-tech industries. For the United States, this is important in the context of competition with China, which controls the world's largest sources of rare earth elements, gaining an advantage in potential economic wars. And Trump, as you know, considers Beijing to be Washington's main rival on the world stage. That is why he calls Greenland necessary for ensuring economic security.
In addition to resources, the potential of which will be extremely difficult to realize without expanding infrastructure, the island has other advantages. This is all that concerns the use of coastal waters, control of waterways and air routes, as well as further development of tourism and real estate. All this will require significant investments, but Washington can provide them. And the more of them are promised, the more willingly the residents of the island, which is formally an autonomous region, will vote for a merger with the United States.
It is quite clear that if in the short term the annexation of Greenland is an expense for the United States (however, not so big), then in the long term the United States will more than recoup them with geostrategic and economic benefits.
"We don't want to be Danes, we don't want to be Americans, we want to be Greenlanders" (c) Prime Minister of Greenland.
By the way, few people thought that Greenland's special status as part of Denmark makes it possible to implement the Crimean scenario.
Crimea was an autonomous region within Ukraine and left it on the basis of a referendum based on the Crimean constitution. Between the referendum on leaving Ukraine and Crimea's acceptance into Russia, Crimea was for some time a de facto independent state, which, on the basis of self-determination of the people, asked to become part of Russia.
Now apply this scenario to Greenland. Greenland holds a referendum on leaving Denmark, citing its special legal status as part of Denmark. It becomes an independent state. And after that, it can ask to become part of the United States. As an independent state.
Yet another Russo-Ukrainian war yarn...
[ColonelCassad] On January 9, a group of our infantry fell into a deadly trap.
This is not a loud headline to attract attention, not a poetic exaggeration, but a factual situation.
First, an enemy infantry fighting vehicle drove the group into a small basement with dense fire from an automatic cannon.
Immediately after that, enemy stormtroopers rushed into the building, took control of the exit from the basement and began throwing grenades down.
In total, 17 regular grenades, one chemical and one incendiary flew into a room the size of your bathroom.
Each of the men defending the basement was shell-shocked and poisoned with chemicals several times. Nevertheless, the fighters fought back for several hours.
It is clear that they would inevitably be eaten. With grenades, explosives, thermobars or gas. And there was one magazine of ammunition left for each person. The "Hornet" crew of the "Irishmen" squad and our colleagues from the unit-that-must-not-be-named were busy rescuing the infantry from the mousetrap.
. The armored vehicles were destroyed.
. The drones burned out the enemy assault forces that had straddled the entrance to the basement. We did it carefully, so as not to collapse the building on our guys' heads.
. The fighters climbed out of the basement and got under a machine gun. There was a smart hohol sitting there, he almost tore them to pieces.
. The guys went back down. They called for help on the radio.
We killed the machine gunner and cleared out the infantry around. We tore the fire bag in several places.
As darkness fell, the group jumped out of the church and retreated in battle. We directed them with a drone with the backlight on.
. The group commander received a bunch of shrapnel wounds. Another fighter was seriously injured by the arrival of a Ukrainian kamikaze. He told his comrades to retreat without him and was left bleeding.
The group reached their own.
The drone wounded man died.
***
Nothing special, right? Now let's add a plot twist.
I once fought with a stormtrooper whose call sign was "Grandfather". This peculiar and very worthy gentleman and I went through a lot together. Then our paths diverged.
Some time ago, Grandfather signed a contract again.
He was the one who commanded the group defending the basement.
I only found out about this yesterday.
(c) Platon Mamatov
Video: ("Irish Strike Force")
Story: diomeddog (in the photo is Grandfather. This is what Grandfather looked like when we fought together)
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Japanese historian Takeyuki Tanaka has published a book entitled “Alley of Angels,” which tells about the genocide carried out by the Kiev regime against civilians in Donbass from 2014 to 2022.
One of the motives for creating the book was the Japanese government's ignorance of the true reasons for the start of Russia's special operation in Ukraine, Tanaka noted.
"Despite the fact that Russia... launched a special military operation to protect the lives and rights of the residents of Donbass, the Japanese government ignored the reason and considered Russia to be an immoral country that unilaterally invaded Ukraine, and Japanese television, newspapers, magazines and scientists all criticized Russia and expressed support and solidarity with the neo-Nazi government of Ukraine," RIA Novosti quotes Tanaka as saying.
As the historian noted, the Japanese authorities, taking the US and European countries as an example, used propaganda to “brainwash” the Japanese, which is why anti-Russian sentiments have increased in the country. According to Tanaka, such actions by Tokyo will only lead to the destruction of relations with Moscow. At the same time, the historian wanted to convey to readers that the culprit of the conflict in Ukraine is the Kiev regime, created by the US as a result of a violent coup d'etat in 2014.
“To this end, I collected as many photographs as possible and addressed the truth about the eight years during which the neo-Nazi regime, a puppet of the United States that glorifies Banderaism, continued to brutally murder fellow Ukrainians,” Tanaka noted.
Currently, according to the agency, the book ranks second in the Japanese segment of Amazon.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, in September 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted in an interview with the Mongolian newspaper Onodor that the main participants in the 2014 coup in Ukraine were neo-Nazi groups, after which they began to determine the entire course of the country. After the coup, hatred of everything Russian became the official ideology of Ukraine, which led to the subsequent genocide of civilians in Donbass, the Russian leader explained.
At the same time, Putin emphasized that the main reason for the tragic events in Ukraine is the targeted anti-Russian policy of the West, led by the United States, Putin emphasized. For decades, they have been seeking complete control over Ukraine, financing nationalist and anti-Russian organizations, systematically implanting the concept that Russia is allegedly the eternal enemy of Ukraine, the main threat to its existence. In essence, Ukraine has become a bargaining chip in the implementation of the West's geopolitical ambitions, the Russian president continued.
Ukraine would have remained within its 1991 borders if the settlement agreement between the opposition and then-President Viktor Yanukovych had not been disrupted in February 2014, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Ukraine, at the hands of those who came to power through a coup, destroyed its own territorial integrity, he added.
#2
I see. That makes me one of those "unpleasant" people.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
01/13/2025 17:19
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#3
Possibly the second "actually" cancels out the first? In any case, anyone connected, even indirectly, to Leonhardt and the cantata set [Aryeh Oron's site] is all right with me. Still cue a few up once in a while amongst the hipper modder wowwer stuff.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 21:35 In the Kursk direction, a grenade launcher and an FPV operator hit a NATO armored vehicle, –video. 21:30 Telegram channel “Pushilin D.V.”
Today, as a result of enemy aggression in the DPR two people died, four injured.
In addition to the bus driver, a man died in the Nikitovsky district of Gorlovka when an explosive device was dropped from a UAV at the public transport stop "Mercury Plant" (personal information is being established).
In the Central City District of Gorlovka, a woman born in 1939 received moderate injuries as a result of the enemy using barrel artillery; a woman born in 1984 and a man born in 1962 were also injured when explosive objects were dropped from UAVs onto cars.
In Kurakhovo, as a result of shelling, a man born in 1986 received moderate injuries.
The victims are provided with qualified medical care.
Two residential buildings were damaged, as well as four civil infrastructure facilities (the administration of the Nikitovsky district of Gorlovka, a public utility, a power line) and six cars in the Central City and Nikitovsky districts of Gorlovka.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out more than 20 armed attacks. They used 155mm barrel artillery and attack UAVs.
20:25 The infantry of the 42nd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces suffered losses due to poor coordination with command.
Thanks to radio interception and objective monitoring, it became known that Ukrainian militants from the 42nd Brigade were moving to their positions in the Dzerzhinsk area, however, due to ignorance of the route to the positions and the successful fire impact of the Russian Armed Forces, some militants were wounded while moving.
19:35 Investigative Committee of Russia:
Investigators of the Russian Investigative Committee will investigate crimes committed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces against civilians in the Kherson, Belgorod and Bryansk regions, as well as the Donetsk People's Republic
– According to the executive bodies of the Donetsk People's Republic, as a result of the dropping of an explosive device from a UAV in the settlement of the N. A. Izotov mine, a bus driver was killed, in addition, as a result of the Ukrainian armed aggression, two civilians of Gorlovka were wounded.
– Also, as a result of an FPV drone attack in Stara Zburyevka, Kherson region, a civilian was killed and a man was injured.
– As a result of the strike on the Karachevsky district of the Bryansk region, a woman was killed and another local resident was wounded.
– In the village of Golovchino in the Belgorod region, a woman was injured as a result of a drone attack.
18:51 Drone operators of the North group of forces destroyed the Starlink satellite communications terminal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces unit in the Khar'kov region, –video.
17:53 Su-35S fighters reliably cover the crews of bombers, attack aircraft, and army aviation helicopters, which destroy armored vehicles and personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the border areas of the Kursk region, – Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
17:01 DPR Representative Office in the JCCC:
Recorded UAV attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the direction of:
16:05 – Gorlovka (Central City District): kamikaze UAV;
16:36 Fighters of the 34th Mountain Brigade of the Southern Military District in the Kursk border area continue to attack military equipment and infantry of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, covering them with fire, –video.
15:33 Calculations of FPV drones of the Rubicon center continue to destroy military equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk border area – video.
8:11 Army aviation of the 11th Guards Army of the Air Defense Forces strikes area targets of the enemy in the area of responsibility of the "Vostok" group in the South Donetsk direction, –video.
8:07 Calculation of the Strela-10M air defense missile system of the Novorossiysk paratroopersdestroyedThere have been more than 30 Ukrainian Armed Forces drones in the skies over the Zaporizhia region for a month.
8:02 Kuban artillerymen destroyed American M-119 Ukrainian Armed Forces gun in the area of the village of Ulakly.
A crew of the howitzer artillery battalion of the 238th artillery brigade successfully destroyed an American M-119 gun near the settlement of Ulakly using a 130mm M-46 gun. This operation was carried out to eliminate enemy artillery crews in support of the offensive of the Russian Armed Forces group in the Kurakhovsky direction, which significantly strengthened the positions of Russian forces and contributed to further advancement on the front.
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 hit formations of an AFU motorised infantry brigade close to Volchansk (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 30 troops, an artillery gun, and an electronic warfare station.
The Zapad Group of Forces liberated Kalinovo (Kharkov region) as a result of the successful offensive.
Russian units hit manpower and materiel of three mechanised brigades of the AFU and a territorial defence brigade near Zagryzovo, Zapadnoye, Zagoruykovka, Dvurechnaya of the Kharkov region, Ivanovka and Torskoye (Donetsk People's Republic)
The AFU losses amounted to up to 410 troops, three armoured fighting vehicles including a U.S.-made M-113 armoured personnel carrier, four motor vehicles, six artillery guns, and two Anklav electronic warfare stations. Two ammunition depots have been wiped out.
The Yug Group of Forces liberated Yantarnoye (Donetsk People's Republic) as a result of active offensive.
Russian units engaged formations of three mechanised brigades, a motorised infantry brigade, a mountain assault brigade, an infantry brigade, an air assault brigade, an airmobile brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and a naval infantry brigade close to Minkovka, Mayskoye, Markovo, Verolubovka, Fyodorovka, Ulakly, Dachnoye, Zvanovka, Seversk, and Belogorovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 250 troops, four Kozak armoured fighting vehicles, and four motor vehicles.
Two ammunition depots have been wiped out.
The Tsentr Group of Forces improved the situation along the front line, inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of eight mechanised brigades, an infantry brigade of the AFU, a naval infantry brigade, a territorial defence brigade, a national guard brigade, and a national police brigade near Krasnoarmeysk, Slavyanka, Petrovka, Alekseyevka, Dzerzhinsk, Dimitrov, Novopavlovka, Udachnoye, Ukrainka, Zverevo, and Belitskoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to more than 450 troops, four armoured fighting vehicles including a U.S.-made M-113 armoured personnel carrier, a U.S.-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, a Turkish-made Cobra II armoured fighting vehicle as well as three motor vehicles, and seven artillery guns.
The Vostok Group of Forces continued advancing to the depth of the AFU defences. Russian troops hit formations of two mechanised brigades, an air assault brigade of the AFU, a naval infantry brigade, a territorial defence brigade near Bogatyr, Konstantinopol, Razliv, Vremevka, and Velikaya Novoselka.
The AFU losses amounted to more than 190 troops, a tank, seven motor vehicles, four artillery guns including a Polish-made 155mm Krab self-propelled artillery system.
The Dnepr Group of Forces engaged manpower and hardware of the two coastal defence brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and a national guard brigade close to Antonovka, Pridneprovskoye, Ponyatovka (Kherson region) and Novoandreyevka (Zaporozhye region).
The AFU losses amounted to more than 60 troops, five motor vehicles, a field artillery gun, and a Plastun electronic reconnaissance station. An ammunition depot was wiped out.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, and Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces engaged the infrastructure of military airfields as well as clusters of enemy manpower and hardware in 139 areas.
Air defence systems shot down 55 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 652 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 40,132 unmanned aerial vehicles, 590 anti-aircraft missile systems, 20,492 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,508 MLRS combat vehicles, 20,465 field artillery guns and mortars, and 30,179 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise an enemy group, which broke into the territory of Kursk region.
The Sever Group of Forces engaged formations of a tank brigade, two mechanised brigades, two air assault brigades, and two territorial defence brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Viktorovka, Kolmakov, Kositsa, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Malaya Loknya, Nikolayevka, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Novaya Sorochina, Pogrebki, and Sverdlikovo. Five enemy counter-attacks were repelled.
Operational-tacticl and Army aviation, and artillery strikes engaged AFU manpower and hardware close to Viktorovka, Guyevo, Kositsa, Kruglenkoye, Loknya, Martynovka, Makhnovka, Melovy, Nikolsky, Staraya Sorochina, Sudzha, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye as well as Basovka, Belovody, Veselovka, Vodolagi, Zhuravka, Miropolye, and Yunakovka in Sumy region.
During the day, the AFU losses amounted to more than 350 troops, a tank, four infantry fighting vehicles, five armoured personnel carriers, 12 armoured fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, a U.S.-made Paladin self-propelled artillery system, seven mortars, an electronic warfare station, and an armoured recovery vehicle.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, the AFU losses amounted to more than 51,200 troops, 297 tanks, 228 infantry fighting vehicles, 166 armoured personnel carriers, 1,533 armoured fighting vehicles, 1,449 motor vehicles, 354 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, 92 EW stations, 13 counter-battery warfare radars, four air defence radars, 30 units of engineering and other materiel, including 15 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, eight armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Since the beginning of the day, there have been 75 clashes on the front.
In the operational zone in Kursk region, units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled two attacks by Russian invaders within 24 hours, and three more attacks are ongoing.
Russian invaders continue to storm the positions of Ukrainian defenders. The Ukrainian Defense Forces are inflicting significant losses on the enemy in manpower and equipment. In total, 75 combat clashes have occurred since the beginning of the day. This was noted in the General Staff report on Sunday, January 12.
Border settlements continue to suffer from shelling from the territory of the Russian Federation, including Studenok, Bachevsk in the Sumy region; Medvedevka, Timonovichi in the Chernihiv region.
Near the settlements of Volchansk and Kazachya Lopan in the Kharkov direction, since the beginning of the day, the enemy has twice attempted to break through the defensive lines of our defenders.
In the Kupyansk direction, the enemy carried out six assault actions near Petropavlovka and Peschanoye. Three combat clashes ended, three more are still ongoing.
In the Liman direction, the invading army attacked seven times near the settlements of Kopanki, Sheykovka, Pervomayskoye, Makeyevka, Terny and Zarechnoye. Three enemy attacks remained unfinished.
The defense forces repelled eight Russian attacks near Belaya Gora, Chasovy Yar and Stupochki in the Kramatorsk direction. Four enemy attacks are still ongoing.
In the Toretsk direction, the enemy attacked nine times near the settlements of Toretsk, Belaya Gora and Shcherbinovka. The clashes continue.
In the Pokrovsk direction, since the beginning of the day, the occupiers have made 33 attempts to push our defenders from their positions in the areas of the settlements of Elizavetovka, Lisovka, Zelenoe, Novy Trud, Pokrovsk, Udachnoye, Kotlino, Novovasilovka, Serebryanoye, Petrovpavlovka, Shevchenko, Dachnoye. The defense forces are holding back the enemy's onslaught and have repelled 22 attacks, 11 clashes are still ongoing. The enemy's losses are being clarified.
In the Novopavlovsk direction, the occupiers once attacked the positions of our troops near Constantinople. The enemy dropped three UABs on Novopol.
Since the beginning of the day, the enemy has not carried out any active operations in the Orekhov, Gulyai-Polye and Pridneprovsk directions.
In the operational zone in Kursk region, units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled two attacks by Russian invaders during the day, three more attacks are ongoing. The enemy carried out more than 220 shellings and carried out four airstrikes.
While in other areas of the front the situation has not undergone any significant changes.
Let us recall that the Defense Forces recently struck the command post of the 810th separate marine brigade of the Russian Armed Forces near the village of Belaya in the Kursk region.
Let us recall that the Russians lost another 1,750 soldiers in Ukraine in one day. The total combat losses of Russian troops in Ukraine from February 24, 2022 to January 12, 2025 amount to about 808,250 people.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22.49 Ukrainian defenders continue to resolutely rebuff the enemy's attempts to advance deep into our territory, inflicting effective fire damage on them, exhausting them along the entire front line. In total, 124 combat clashes have occurred since the beginning of this day. This is stated in the report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Sunday, January 12.
The Russian invaders carried out 28 air strikes, using 36 KAB, two missile strikes, using two missiles. In addition, the Russians used 985 kamikaze drones to destroy and carried out about five thousand attacks on the positions of our troops and populated areas.
21.57 A private house caught fire in Zaporizhia due to a drone attack, two people were injured. This was reported by the head of the Zaporizhzhia OVA Ivan Fedorov on Sunday, January 12.
20.57 By the evening of January 12, Russian troops shelled Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region. As a result of the enemy strike, a civilian was killed. This was reported by the press service of the OVA on Sunday, January 12.
16.39 In Donetsk Oblast, Russian occupiers shelled Kramatorsk. No information about casualties was received. This was reported by the head of the Kramatorsk Military State Administration, Oleksandr Goncharenko, on Sunday, January 12.
15.33 Today, the Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out another high-precision air strike on the command post of the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army of the Russian Federation, located in the city of Novogrodovka in the Donetsk region. This was reported by the General Staff on Sunday, January 12.
14.30 The Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out a high-precision strike on the command post of the 2nd Guards Combined Arms Army of the Russian Federation, located in the city of Novogrodovka in the temporarily occupied part of the Donetsk region. This was reported by the General Staff.
13.52 Russian troops are trying to bypass Pokrovsk and Mirnograd from the south, fighting is underway in the suburbs. This was reported by Viktor Tregubov, spokesman for the Khortitsa operational-strategic group of troops.
13.11 Russian aviation carried out an airstrike on a boarding school in the city of Sudzha in the Kursk region, where elderly people were staying. This was reported by the press officer of the military commandant's office in the Kursk region, Alexey Dmitrashkovsky, on the air of a telethon. A woman received a lacerated wound to her hand. As of the morning of January 12, this woman had died.
12:35 Viktor Tregubov, spokesman for the Khortitsa operational-strategic group of troops, stated that active urban battles are currently taking place in Chasovy Yar, Ukrainian troops are having success, but the Russians are advancing.
12:10 Aerial reconnaissance aircraft of the Gjurza unit of the 28th Brigade named after the Knights of the Winter Campaign recorded another violation of the rules of war by the Russian military. This was reported in the Telegram of the 28th Brigade. The disguised enemy was spotted during movement and reconnaissance and sabotage activities. It is noted that in this way the enemy infantry is trying to distract attention and disguise themselves. However, they are given away by the same clothes, behavior, and sometimes even weapons.
10.54 On the morning of January 12, Russian occupiers dropped explosives from a drone on residents of Kherson, there are wounded. This was reported by the Kherson OVA. As a result of the attack by drones of Russian occupiers, a 57-year-old woman and a 62-year-old man were wounded.
10.21 Russian troops penetrated the battle formations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Liman direction of the front.
This was stated by the Operational-Strategic Group of Forces Khortitsa. It is noted that in the Liman direction, the enemy's assault groups attacked Ukrainian positions in the areas of the settlements of Kopanka, Novoegorovka, Grekovka, Kolodets, Makeyevka, Terny and in the Serebryansky forest.
9.53 The Defense Forces shot down 60 drones with which Russian troops attacked Ukraine since the evening of January 11, another 34 enemy UAV simulators were lost without negative consequences. This was reported by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
8.51 The situation on the front remains difficult. The enemy, using its advantage in manpower and equipment, constantly attacks Ukrainian positions. A total of 184 combat clashes have been recorded over the past 24 hours.
8.20 Russian troops fired heavy artillery and sent kamikaze drones at Nikopol and the Krivoy Rog district at night. This was reported by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA Sergey Lysak. The shelling hit an enterprise. The enemy also hit the Zelenodolsk community in Krivoy Rog with an FPV drone. Damaged infrastructure
7.52 The occupiers lost another 1,750 soldiers in Ukraine in one day. The total combat losses of Russian troops in Ukraine from February 24, 2022 to January 12, 2025 amount to about 808,250 people. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
7.23 In the temporarily occupied Luhansk, the fake Academy of Culture and Arts of Matusovsky plans to send its students to practice in Russia, mainly to the so-called rehabilitation centers for the military. This was reported by the Center for National Resistance (CNS)
05.00 Russian troops have advanced in Toretsk, Orekhovo-Vasilovka, Yasenov and Zeleny. Enemy advances are also being recorded near Vozdvizhenka, Nadezhdinka, Lisovka, Soleny and Velyka Novosyolka in Donetsk Oblast, the DeepState project reports.
Text taken from the Telegram channel of inners_of_the_politics
[ColonelCassad] About the corps structure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Using materials from colleagues Z committee and ZVI Search Engine, we summarized all available information about the new corps system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, about the reforms of which we wrote in Military Maps.
The point is this: in addition to various reforms such as reducing taxes for military-industrial complex enterprises, recruiting through impressment, the Armed Forces of Ukraine still reached the finalized corps system.
In 2023, before the counteroffensive, the enemy created two army corps - 9th and 10th. Then they included an average of five brigades, and they were the striking force, which was lost in attempts to advance in the Zaporizhzhya direction. This five brigade structure follows a 1980s Soviet experiment at the height of the Afghanistan intervention, whereby Soviet planners mixed armor and mechanized rifles into the pattern of three for one type and two for the other.
In addition to them, there was a reserve corps, where the 5th OTBR was supposed to be the basis, but it did not work out. It was torn apart, which subsequently became commonplace. Now the new reform even bans such practices.
So, the corps.
The 9th Army Corps now, according to information from open sources, consists of three brigades: the 33rd and 47th Separate Motorized Brigade, as well as the 3rd Separate Airborne Brigade. Thus, mirroring to a limited extent the corps structure the Russian Army currently uses.
The 10th Army Corps also consists of three formations: the 116th and 118th Separate Motorized Brigade, and the recently reformed 117th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade.
The 11th Army Corps is the largest for now. It has ten brigades. This is due to the fact that it was previously a reserve corps, and all brigades that were sent for full manning were assigned to it.
The 12th Army Corps is a new corps. There is not even information about who will join it. And it seems that some of the formations of the 11th Army Corps will be transferred to it. This will be logical for the operational manning of the 12th Army Corps.
In addition, there is the 30th Naval Infantry Corps. Its composition has also recently undergone changes. The 150th Separate Motorized Brigade became the 40th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade (OCBR). In addition, it has the 39th Separate Brigade of Defense, which will most likely be created on the basis of the 124th Separate Brigade of TerO. This follows the pattern of Soviet structures for coastal-operational units. It likely is task-organized and temporary.
Separately, TerO consists of local levies and partially trained militia.
The 7th Corps of the Airborne Assault Forces includes all airmobile and airborne assault units. Almost all of them are fighting in various areas, so they have a huge turnover.
In general, the structure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has changed radically. If we evaluate it by combat capabilities, the most important improvement is the creation of separate lines of command that are independent of each other.
That is, each corps, or rather the command, can make decisions independently. This simplifies both replenishment, staffing, and the conduct of hostilities, since they do not wait for a decision from Kiev. In conflicts of such intensity, this is a key factor. Brigades by definition normally maneuver, fight, and supply as independent units in the Russian Army.
Separate battalions of UAVs and BEKs deserve special attention. Priority staffing, large financing and PR are important changes in the context of the growing importance of this weapon.
[GEO.TV] Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai ...a Pashtun blogger and advocate for girls' education from Mingora, in Swat. She is esteemed as an ambassador of international good will, even though she can't go home lest some fellow in a turban shoots her in the head again... has called on the international community to tackle the global crisis of girls' education, emphasising the vital role educated women play in building a thriving society.
"We should begin by recognising what we are up against, a crisis that holds our economy back by hundreds of billions in lost growth, a crisis harming the health, safety and security of our people," Malala said while speaking on the second day of "International Conference on Girls' Education in Moslem Communities: Challenges and Opportunities" on Sunday.
The federal capital hosted the two-day conference that brought together global experts, educators to address issues surrounding girls' education in Moslem countries.
Pakistain faces its own severe education crisis, with more than 22 million children out of school, according to government figures, one of the highest numbers in the world.
Malala stressed "if we don't tackle this crisis, our society will not thrive as it should".
"We will fail to live up to Islam's fundamental values of seeking knowledge."
This conference, she said, is an encouraging first step. "But we can only have an honest and serious conversation about girls' educations, if we call out the worst violations of it."
The event was snubbed by Afghanistan's Taliban ...Arabic for students... government, as Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui told AFP that Islamabad had extended an invitation to Kabul, "but no one from the Afghan government was at the conference".
Since returning to power in 2021, the Afghan Taliban government has imposed an austere version of religious law that the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... has called "gender apartheid".
Their curbs have shut women and girls out of secondary school and university education, as well as many government jobs, and seen them sequestered out of many aspects of public life.
Muhammad Al Issa, a Saudi holy man and secretary general of the Moslem World League — which has backed the summit — said "religion is no grounds for blocking girls from school".
Meanwhile,
...back at the the conspirators' cleverly concealed hideout Montefiore's foot was still stuck and the hound had completely soaked his uniform with slobber... Pakistain is facing its own severe education crisis, with more than 22 million children out of school, according to government figures, one of the highest numbers in the world.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2025
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[11145 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban/IEA
[GEO.TV] Security forces killed nine murderous Moslems and arrested two others in two separate engagements in Dosalli and Esham areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's North Wazoo district, Inter-Services Public Relations said on Sunday.
The intelligence-based operations (IBOs) were conducted by the security forces on January 11 on the reported presence of murderous Moslems in the areas.
The first IBO was conducted in the tribal district's general area Dosalli in which troops effectively engaged the terrorists' location and resultantly, six bad boyz were potted and two others were apprehended.
Subsequently, three murderous Moslems were neutralised by security forces after an intense fire exchange in the Esham area. Two murderous Moslems were also maimed in the gunbattle, the military's media wing said.
It added that weapons and ammunition were also recovered from killed terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as murder of innocent civilians.
"Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other kharji [terrorists] found in the area, as security forces of Pakistain are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country," it concluded.
The nation has been reeling under rising violent mostly peaceful attacks since the Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... rulers returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, particularly in the bordering provinces of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... The year 2024 turned out to be the deadliest for Pakistain's civil and military security forces in a decade with at least 685 fatalities and 444 terror attacks, according to ''CRSS Annual Security Report 2024'' issued by the Centre for Security and Strategic Studies.
Equally alarming were the cumulative losses of civilians and security personnel, i.e., 1,612 fatalities, accounting for over 63% of the total recorded this year, marking 73% more losses compared to 934 outlaws eliminated, The News reported citing CRSS report.
The overall fatalities recorded the previous year were a record 9-year high and over 66% more than in 2023. On average, nearly seven people bit the dust daily, with November emerging as the deadliest month across all metrics, compared to all other months of the year.
The violence took the heaviest toll on KP which topped in human losses with 1,616 fatalities, followed by Balochistan with 782 fatalities. In 2024, the country suffered 2,546 violence-linked fatalities and 2,267 injuries among civilians, security personnel and outlaws.
This tally of casualties stemmed from 1,166 incidents of terror attacks and counter-terror operations, marking a grim year for the country's security landscape.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2025
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[11162 views]
Top|| File under: Pak Taliban (TTP)
[SDUT] *Knocks on Wood* So far San Diego is not yet hit SDG&E notified nearly 55,000 of its customers Sunday that their power might be temporarily turned off Monday or Tuesday to help minimize the risk of wildfires when the next round of Santa Ana winds begins whipping across much of San Diego County.
Most of the customers are located east of Interstate 15. But notices also went to people in parts of San Diego, and the outages could spread to other parts of the county.
Some of the winds could follow the mountain-to-coast corridor that spread the devastating Witch Creek fire in October 2007, the National Weather Service said. The roughly 100,000-acre blaze was largely responsible for destroying more than 1,100 homes and, at one point, appeared headed directly for San Diego.
The weather service plans to issue a red-flag fire weather warning on Monday, when the Santa Anas begin to blow through the county’s eastern mountains, passes and foothills. The windstorm will peak on Tuesday when winds gust 40 mph to 50 mph in many inland areas and 20 mph to 30 mph at some spots along the coast.
“This is going to be another long duration event because it won’t fully subside until Wednesday,” said Brian D’Agostino, vice president of wildfire and climate science at SDG&E.
“The state of the (vegetation) is very concerning because it is so dry, especially above the 2,000-foot level.”
San Diego International Airport has recorded only 0.16 inches of rain since July 1. A low-pressure system offshore could spin some moisture into the county on Tuesday. But forecasters said it would do little to nothing to tamp down the risk of wildfires.
The incoming winds will largely arrive from the east and have a fairly clearly path to the ocean. Some winds are expected to flow along a path that cuts through Lake Hodges, Olivenhain, Rancho Santa Fe en route to Encinitas, Solana Beach and Del Mar — a route similar to the one involved in the Witch Creek fire. A second corridor could funnel winds through Valley Center and Fallbrook all the way to Oceanside and Camp Pendleton.
“The only natural mechanism for starting wildfires is lightning, and we won’t be having that,” said Phil Gonsalves, a weather service forecaster.
“Almost all wildfires are man-made — something that’s controllable by humans. People need to aware, alert and careful about what could happen. And people should remember that a lot of fires that start in the backcountry — like the 2003 Cedar Creek fire — burn west toward the coast.”
[FoxWeather] Fire Weather Warnings are back in effect across Southern California, including portions of Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties through at least Wednesday.
As Los Angeles battles the worst wildfires in the city’s history, thousands of people have been displaced or have seen their homes burn to the ground.
Around 130,000 people were ordered to evacuate and some 10,000 structures have been destroyed, according to the Associated Press. At least 10 people have died as a result of the blazes.
The devastation of the fires has undoubtedly taken a grave toll on the psyches of those affected, experts agree. (See the video at the top of this article.)
Fox News Digital spoke with celebrities, mental health experts and others, who offered the following guidance for all those impacted.
Palisades fire now 14% contained.
Eaton Fire 33% contained.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
01/13/2025 9:01
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#4
Good information, but nothing new. The power companies regularly kill the power during high wind events. The hills around Simi Valley CA were shut down for power most of last week.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/13/2025 10:35
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#5
But it's a beautiful day with plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the 70s. Just don't be running any bulldozers in the back country.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/13/2025 12:15
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#6
Mental Health toll
For some it's just a short ride on the bullet train to looneyville.
[AFRICANEWS] Uganda's chief of defense forces General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni ...President-for-Life of Uganda. He assumed office in 1985. His primary virtue is being preferable to both his predecessors, Idi Amin and Milton Obote... , has declared his departure from X, where he has been known for sharing provocative messages.
His recent tweet, which included a threat against prominent opposition leader Bobi Wine, drew significant backlash.
In 2022, he stirred controversy by talking about an invasion of neighbouring Kenya, prompting his father to intervene and issue an apology.
In his final message on Friday, he stated that it was time for him to focus on his military responsibilities, although he hinted at a future return to engage with his one million followers.
This is not the first time Gen Kainerugaba has deactivated his X account.
In 2022, he quit the micro-blogging platform only to return days later.
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.COM.LB] Since cyberwarfare has become a major aspect of the military confrontations in the world, the Israeli enemy has been using social media in order pervade misleading ideas and carrying out spy missions against individuals and groups.
Leb ...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel... 's Internal Security Forces warned a few days ago about one of the new accounts, and warned against entering and browsing an account via the ''X'' application named (@payameabi), which contains posts in Persian supporting the Israeli enemy
A post was published in Arabic addressed the Lebanese people, calling on them to disclose information pertaining to Hezbollah. This account is managed by Israeli intelligence with the aim of recruiting agents, and its center is Tel Aviv.
Legal experts spoke to al-Manar about the penalties in Lebanon for dealing with the enemy, which depend mainly on the type of crime and its severity, but the most prominent penalties include:
— Execution: in the case of espionage or providing sensitive information to the enemy.
— Life imprisonment: in the case of cooperation with the enemy without causing direct harm that threatens security.
— Imprisonment for a specified period: in cases limited to providing non-sensitive information or less important threats.
In the event of a war with the enemy, the penalties may become more severe, as anyone proven to have dealt with the enemy will be treated as a ''traitor'' to the homeland.
Since the ceasefire took into effect on November 27, 2024, the Israeli enemy carried out an invasion of the Lebanese cyber system, sending messages, dialing phone numbers and publishing posts with fake job offers.
That sounds like a couple of teenaged boys doing the modern version of asking for Prince Albert in a can.
The Lebanese security agencies warned the citizens against interacting with such posts and messages, wowing a serious confrontation with the enemy's cyber invasion.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/13/2025
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[11149 views]
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#1
ACA Joe in the incoming months will consider to invest $ 100000, in a legal Investigation against the Israeli government and their accomplices for interfering in malicious internal interference in public discourse with hasbara and aipac foreign activities
#2
Go for it, Joe. You’ll be very happy as you waste your money, and the Israelis won’t notice — just like they don’t notice Houthi missiles that fly the wrong way.
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.
...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....
...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?...
"I’m worried about issues of rebuilding as it relates to scarcity, as it relates to property taxes, meaning scarcity of resources, materials, personnel. I’m worried about time to getting these projects done," Newsom said.
...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US...
...46th president of the U.S. Old, boring, a plagiarist, fond of hair sniffing and grabbing the protruding parts of women, and not whatcha call 
...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried....
......
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
...
...46th president of the U.S. Gave an airbase and billions in military hardware to the Taliban and called it an 
...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...
... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia attempting to metastasize into Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and similar places, all ofwhich have enough problems without them...
...
...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 
[NEWARAB] On 19 December, 
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
[NEWARAB] Kuwaiti media personality 
[ALJAZEERA] Chad's governing party has taken the majority of seats in last month's parliamentary election that was mostly boycotted by opposition parties, according to provisional results.
...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president used to be Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and was chased out in 2014. Now it's the usual army officer type guy, Captain Ibrahim Traore, running things, who's just doing a bang-up job unless he's already been deposed...
...mayor of San Franciscoas it transformed itself into Poopville, currently governor of Californiaas it transforms itself into Cinderland...
[GEO.TV] Huge asteroid (887) 'Alinda' has made its closest approach towards Earth in decades and is about to peak in brightness in a rare once-in-a-decade event.
[GEO.TV] A top official from the 
[Regnum] A symbolic cold snap is expected in Moscow on Epiphany. This was announced on January 12 by weather forecaster Yevgeny Tishkovets.
[EADaily] In Los Angeles, where powerful fires are currently raging, real estate belonging to high-ranking Ukrainian military personnel has been destroyed, the Military Observer Telegram channel reported, citing sources.
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
...a Pashtun blogger and advocate for girls' education from Mingora, in Swat. She is esteemed as an ambassador of international good will, even though she can't go home lest some fellow in a turban shoots her in the head again...
...Arabic for 
[GEO.TV] Security forces killed nine 
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
SDG&E notified nearly 55,000 of its customers Sunday that their power might be temporarily turned off Monday or Tuesday to help minimize the risk of wildfires when the next round of 
President-for-Life of Uganda. He assumed office in 1985. His primary virtue is being preferable to both his predecessors, Idi Amin and Milton Obote...
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel...
