[Rudaw] The United States has begun a gradual withdrawal of troops from Syria, reducing its presence by several hundred to maintain roughly 1,000 forces on the ground, a US defense official told Rudaw on Tuesday.
Asked by Rudaw about reports that Washington had started scaling back its military personnel in Syria and that several hundred troops had already been withdrawn to consolidate the force at around 1,000, the official responded, "I confirm the reports on the background."
According to the official, US troop numbers in Syria have already been decreased from approximately 2,000 to 1,500, with plans to reach the target of 1,000 in the coming months.
"Coordination with the State Department is ongoing, and a formal announcement from the Pentagon is expected soon," the official added to Rudaw.
This development follows a mid-April announcement by Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell, who said the "Secretary of Defense directed the consolidation of U.S. forces in Syria under Combined Joint Task Force — Operation Inherent Resolve to select locations in Syria."
Parnell explained that "this consolidation reflects the significant steps we have made toward degrading [the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... ] ISIS's appeal and operational capability regionally and globally." He then added, "This deliberate and conditions-based process will bring the U.S. footprint in Syria down to less than a thousand U.S. forces in the coming months."
"During the last ten years, the [US-led] Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS has made major gains, including those which led to the territorial defeat of ISIS in 2019," the Pentagon chief spokesperson noted. Parnell further emphasized that "as this consolidation takes place," the "U.S. Central Command will remain poised to continue strikes against the remnants of ISIS in Syria."
Following the April 18 announcement by the Pentagon, well-placed sources on the ground informed Rudaw that the US military had begun relocating equipment from the Green Village base and the Omar Oil Field in Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province, signaling the drawdown’s implementation.
Importantly, the same US defense official clarified on Tuesday that the number of troops in Northeast Syria (Rojava) is not fixed, but are adjusted according to the evolving security situation and could change as conditions evolve.
Late last year, a coalition of opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else ...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State... (HTS) launched a swift offensive, toppling Syrian dictator Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... In the aftermath, the US increased the number of its troops in Syria from 900 to around 2,000, describing the deployment as a temporary measure aimed at preventing ISIS from exploiting the changing security dynamics to regroup.
[IsraelTimes] Israeli troops are again maneuvering inside Gaza, hoping this will be the knockout blow; but Hamas is still fighting and doesn’t seem desperate for a deal.
One man’s opinion, at length. It seems to me he makes some good points, but I’m not really qualified to have an opinion on matters military.
[IsraelTimes] Troops advance slowly in southern Gaza city, day after bodies of slain hostages Gadi Haggai and Judih Weinstein were recovered and brought home for burial
After recovering the bodies of slain hostages Gadi Haggai and Judih Weinstein in Khan Younis on Wednesday night, Israeli forces continued to push deeper into the city in the southern 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, intensifying operations aimed at reaching its center.
Now entering its 20th month, the war has left Khan Younis in ruins — a shattered landscape almost unrecognizable from what it once was. The Israel Defense Forces last operated deep in Khan Younis with ground troops in April 2024.
The devastation served as a stark reminder of the toll exacted by Israel’s offensive in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... ’s brutal October 7, 2023, invasion, during which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
Despite the widespread destruction already inflicted across the Strip, military officials told news hounds during a Thursday tour of Khan Younis that there is still a long road ahead to reach full operational success.
Commander of the Kfir Brigade’s Shimshon Battalion, Lt. Col. Yud — identified only by his first Hebrew initial due to security concerns — reaffirmed the war’s primary goals: the return of the hostages and the dismantling of Hamas. These objectives, he said, are what justify the IDF’s continued presence in Gaza.
"That’s all that interests us," he said.
The Kfir Brigade has been operating in southern Khan Younis for the past three weeks, working in close coordination with the Israeli Air Force, combat engineers from the elite Yahalom unit, and other forces. Their mission: to reach the city’s center and establish operational control.
Progress, however, has been slow and grueling. The city is laced with terror infrastructure, including a sprawling tunnel network and buildings rigged with explosives, military officials said. Every step forward requires methodical clearing, turning each advance into a battle not only against Hamas button men, but against the terrain itself.
In one case, military officials spoke of a residential building flagged by troops as suspicious in recent days due to a surveillance camera at the entrance, a bolted door, and telltale signs of guerrilla tactics — including a hole in the wall designed to allow a gunman to fire from within.
Upon inspection, the structure was found to be booby-trapped and was subsequently demolished by Israeli forces.
Traces of terror activity remain scattered among the ruins. In the rubble of one demolished home, several unused rockets lay in a heap — a grim monument to the arsenal hidden in plain sight and the constant threat posed to Israeli communities just across the border.
Despite the intensity of the fighting, Yud said morale among his troops remains high.
"We can see the kibbutzim across the border — we know well why we’re here," he said, referring to nearby communities like Nir Yitzhak and Sufa, where some residents have already returned after being evacuated in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack.
Also, just across the border lies Nir Oz, the kibbutz from which Haggai and Weinstein were kidnapped that fateful morning.
Yud said the recovery of their bodies the night before added "more drive to keep on fighting," amid his unit’s third week of operations in the Strip.
The extended deployments in Gaza are not without strain. Troops typically serve two weeks inside Gaza, followed by four days out — a rotation that offers brief relief but continues to weigh heavily on soldiers and their families.
In most standing army units, including the Shimshon Battalion, phones are not allowed inside the Strip, limiting communication to a single weekly call, typically on Fridays before Shabbat. To maintain a semblance of connection, certain commanders run shared WhatsApp groups with families, offering sparse but critical updates — a digital lifeline for those waiting anxiously for their loved ones at home.
The duration of the IDF’s presence in Gaza remains uncertain. Last Sunday, the military announced plans to establish control over 75% of the territory within two months — a move that signals the intention to maintain a long-term presence aimed at dismantling Hamas’s capabilities.
"I know that there are still hostages, I know well what [Hamas] did on October 7 — therefore we don’t know how much longer we’ll stay [in Gaza]," Yud added.
[IsraelTimes] New distribution point opens in Tel Sultan area of Rafah after over 24 hours of closures; videos, eyewitnesses said to bolster claims IDF behind recent deadly fire near aid centers
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... Humanitarian Foundation resumed operations near Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood on Thursday afternoon, a front man for the organization said, after it shut down aid distribution for over 24 hours to work out security issues, prompted by three straight days of mass casualty incidents.
After Wednesday’s shutdown stretched unexpectedly into Thursday morning, an Arabic-language message was published in the early afternoon, informing Gazooks that a new aid distribution site had opened in the Saudi neighborhood of Tel Sultan.
The center is located in one of the large school complexes in the center of the neighborhood, a GHF spokesperson told The Times of Israel.
The new site is intended to replace another location in the so-called Swedish Village area on Gaza’s far southern coast, which was permanently shuttered on Thursday, after just a few days of operations.
Images shared by GHF showed Gazooks picking up food from the Swedish Village distribution site ahead of its closure.
The scenes near the unfinished Kuwaiti hospital along the Egyptian border showed some disorder as civilians opened boxes and filled bags to carry, but the area appeared to be relatively uncrowded.
A video clip shared by the group showed a staffer with a camera photographing about a dozen smiling and waving Gazooks.
GHF said 18,240 boxes of food were delivered at the Tel Sultan "Swedish Village" site, and 6,720 were picked up at the new site in the nearby Saudi neighborhood.
The foundation says that food in all of those boxes amounts to roughly 1.5 million meals. The products are largely dry foods, though, which require cooking equipment or community kitchens in order to prepare.
The new location in the Tel Sultan area was opened after a brief shutdown of all GHF aid centers, implemented to give time for the US and Israel-backed organization to carry out logistical work needed to accommodate larger crowds.
The closure was also intended to give the IDF time to prepare safer access routes to the sites, a GHF spokesperson said, following days of mass-casualty incidents across the various GHF locations.
The initial mass casualty event came on Sunday as hundreds of Gazooks made their way to an Israeli and US-backed aid distribution compound in Rafah — the only one open that day, amid the partial easing of a more than two-month blockade on aid into the Strip.
Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... -controlled health authorities in the war-torn enclave reported that 31 people had been killed and nearly 200 had been maimed in the pre-dawn shooting near the distribution center in Rafah, for which the IDF largely denied responsibility.
The corpse count could not be verified, nor were the subsequent Hamas-issued tolls of three killed on Monday and 27 killed on Tuesday in similar incidents.
CLAIMS OF IDF RESPONSIBILITY FOR DEADLY FIRE
The IDF has acknowledged firing warning shots at Paleostinians headed to the distribution site before it was open or who approached it from outside the designated safe route. The military said that its fire hit an unspecified number of people, but did not acknowledge killing anybody.
At the same time, it said that Hamas’s claims of dozens killed and maimed were "exaggerated." In an international press briefing, a government front man claimed that reports of IDF troops firing at civilians near aid sites were "based on Hamas propaganda."
Eyewitness accounts, video testimony, and expert analysis cited by separate US and Israeli news outlets on Thursday bolstered claims that Israeli forces had indeed shot at Gazook civilians seeking aid near Rafah.
According to the analyses published Thursday, the IDF was potentially firing in an apparent attempt at crowd control, which experts said was a recipe for disaster given the masses of people involved. However,
a lie repeated often enough remains a lie... some eyewitnesses quoted in the reports claimed the military was intentionally shooting to kill.
A CNN ...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for... investigation cited more than a dozen eyewitnesses, including some who were maimed amid the incident, who said Israeli troops "shot at crowds in volleys of gunfire that occurred sporadically through the early hours of Sunday morning."
The report noted that GHF had said Israeli forces were operating in the same area during the same period.
The shooting took place around half a mile from the aid distribution site in Rafah’s Tel al-Sultan neighborhood, the report said. The shooting’s location, where hundreds of Paleostinians had gathered, was confirmed via CNN’s geolocation of videos from the scene.
None of the videos definitively showed who fired the shots.
However,
a lie repeated often enough remains a lie... the CNN report cited weapons experts who said the rate of gunfire, as well as photos of retrieved bullets, were consistent with tank-mounted machine guns used by the IDF, and inconsistent with weapons used by Hamas. Multiple people also told CNN they saw gunfire coming from Israeli tanks in the area.
A separate report by Haaretz also cited eyewitness accounts and video pointing to Israel having carried out the shooting. The outlet quoted an unnamed military official as saying that senior officers sought to lay down fire as a way to direct Gazooks away from the military position and toward the aid site.
"The intention was to direct the population via fire," the officer was quoted as saying. "The army treated this like a regular situation of suspects entering a combat zone, but it’s impossible to direct a population at scales this large with fire if you want them to feel safe getting to areas you have opened."
The military initially denied any role in Sunday’s shooting, although military sources were said to have acknowledged it in private. On Tuesday, however, the IDF confirmed that Israeli troops had indeed fired shots in the area, and said that they were warning shots intended for suspects about a kilometer away.
The IDF did not respond to the CNN report on Thursday, nor did it respond to the Haaretz report.
Although the number of dead and maimed in the incident could not be verified, the International Committee of the Red Thingy reported that its field hospital was overwhelmed on Sunday as a result of the shooting, calling it the "highest number of weapon-maimed in a single incident" since it opened the field hospital a year ago.
Doctors at nearby Nasser Hospital, which also absorbed some of the maimed, shared with CNN photos of the bullets taken from the bodies of patients killed in the incident. They were consistent with the type of ammunition used by Israeli weapons, including the FN MAG.
Dr. Ahmad Abou-Sweid, an Australian working at Nasser, told CNN, "There was a heavy proportion of head-targeted injuries from bullet wounds."
Meanwhile,
...back at the saloon, Butch got the bill for the damage caused by the fist fight, the mirror broken in the shootout, and drinks for everyone...... Gazooks who spoke to Haaretz rejected the claim that there were armed Paleostinians in the area who may have been responsible for the shooting, rather than the IDF.
One local, identified only by the Hebrew initial Aleph, called the claim "baseless."
"There were no button men. There were planes, artillery and drones. The people who were there were innocent civilians who came to receive a share of the aid," Aleph said.
"What I saw there is hard to digest — fire for long minutes, in all directions," they continued. "There was a machine gun on a crane and I saw it firing as if it were a robot, and that’s in addition to the drones."
"The shooting came from all sides, as though the people who came to the compound were planning an invasion, and not hungry people who wanted food."
Another eyewitness dismissed suggestions that the first was a failed attempt ...Curses! Foiled again!... at crowd control, telling CNN that he had witnessed the deliberate targeting of civilians.
"I have seen a lot of soldiers in this war. When they want to clear an area or warn you, they shoot around you. But yesterday, they were shooting to kill us," said Mohammad Abu Rezeq, who was shot in the stomach.
While the IDF has not directly responded to the allegations laid out by CNN and Haaretz, it appeared to try and rebuff them in an indirect manner.
On Thursday afternoon, the military published an audio recording that it said was of a conversation between a Gazook man and an officer from the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, in which he claimed that Hamas is the one who opened fire on Paleostinians near the Rafah aid distribution site.
"The people who fired were Hamas terrorists," the Gazook man says, according to a translation provided by the IDF.
"They don’t want the people to receive aid, they want to foil the plan so that the aid will go to them, allowing them to steal it. They’ve gone completely bankrupt," the man said.
AID DELIVERY DIFFICULTIES CONTINUE
Even with the reopened distribution centers, problems continued to plague aid delivery efforts on Thursday, after a labor union representing Gazook truck drivers said it was going on strike, halting aid deliveries within the Strip.
The Private Transport Association said it was calling the strike in response to an incident on Wednesday in which a convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid was attacked by button men in central Gaza.
The union said button men had shot and killed several drivers in the Deir al-Balah area, and had maimed and kidnapped several others.
Israel has said that hundreds of trucks packed with food, medicine and other assistance were awaiting transport from the Kerem Shalom crossing to warehouses run by the UN and other humanitarian groups throughout Gaza.
The union’s ties to Hamas are also hazy, as before the war, most unions in Gaza were affiliated with the terror group.
STRIKE TARGETS GAZA CITY HOSPITAL
The IDF’s military offensive continued across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, with operations including an Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... at a hospital in Gaza City.
The military said that the strike at the al-Ma’amadani Hospital targeted a Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... command center in the medical center’s courtyard.
The Hamas-run health ministry claimed, however, that the strike had hit a press compound and killed three people.
Reports named one victim as Ismail Badr, a cameraman for the Islamic Jihad-affiliated Paleostine Today channel. A second journalist, Suleiman Hajaj, was also killed, according to reports.
The IDF said the compound was being used by Islamic Jihad operatives to plan and carry out attacks on troops and Israeli civilians.
As always, it said it took steps to minimize civilian harm, including by using a precision munition, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.
Elsewhere in the Strip, Nasser Hospital said it had received the bodies of 10 Paleostinians killed in Israeli strikes in Khan Younis overnight.
[IsraelTimes] The Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announces that 92 humanitarian aid trucks carrying flour and food entered the Gaza Strip today.
Israel resumed aid deliveries to Gaza on May 19, after a pause since March 2. Since then, 1,289 trucks have entered the Strip.
Some of the truckloads have been taken to the new aid distribution sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The contents of many of the trucks that entered Gaza in recent weeks are still awaiting collection on the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The aid underwent an inspection first by Israeli authorities before entering Gaza via the crossing.
[AnNahar] The Health ministry said that one person was injured Thursday in an Israeli strike that targeted a car in the southern town of Bourj Qalaway.
Also on Thursday, Israeli artillery shelled the southern town of Yaroun and the outskirts of al-Wazzani.
[IsraelTimes] The decision by Studio 303 has triggered debate among its attendees, including Israelis, who question whether boycotting the pro-Palestinian Israeli choreographer ‘misses the mark’.
The saga continues — follow the links at the bottom of this post back from article to article back to the original attack on june 2nd. No new names — yesterday we added wife Hayem El Gamal to high school graduating daughter Habiba Soliman, but today we learn that the two spellings of the miscreant’s Christian name are from the affidavit.
[IsraelTimes] Mohamed Sabry Soliman also charged with assault, use of incendiary devices and animal cruelty for hurling firebombs at demonstrators; faces over 600 years in prison if convicted
A man accused of yelling "Free Paleostine" and throwing Molotov cocktails at demonstrators calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... 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... was charged with 118 counts, including 28 for attempted murder, in a Colorado court Thursday.
Mohammed Sabry Soliman, 45, who has been nabbed anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not since his arrest following Sunday’s attack, was advised of the charges during a hearing in Boulder, where he appeared in person. Investigators say Soliman, who posed as a gardener, planned it for a year.
The 118 counts include attempt to commit murder, assault in the first and third degrees, use of explosive or incendiary devices and animal cruelty. He has also been charged with a hate crime in federal court and is nabbed anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not on a $10 million cash bond.
Soliman’s attorney, Kathryn Herold, waived a formal reading of the charges Thursday. A preliminary hearing has been set for July 15 to determine whether the state has enough evidence to move forward.
"The charges reflect the evidence that we have regarding this horrific attack that took place and the seriousness of it," Michael Dougherty, the Boulder County district attorney, said at a news conference after the hearing.
The attempted murder charges alone could result in Soliman being sentenced to as many as 672 years if convicted, Dougherty said.
Authorities have said 15 people and a dog were victims of the attack. Not all were physically injured, and some are considered victims for the legal case because they were in the area and could potentially have been hurt. The dog was among the injured, Dougherty said.
Soliman is accused of trying to kill 14 people and faces two attempted murder charges for each.
Soliman had intended to kill all of the roughly 20 participants the weekly demonstration at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall, but he threw just two of his 18 Molotov cocktails while yelling "Free Paleostine," police said.
Soliman did not carry out his full plan "because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before," police wrote in an affidavit.
Officers responded and took Soliman into custody about five minutes after the 911 call, Police Chief Stephen Redfearn said at the news conference.
According to an FBI affidavit, Soliman told police he was driven by a desire "to kill all Zionist people." Authorities said he expressed no remorse.
Boulder County officials said in a statement that the victims included eight women and seven men ranging in age from 25 to 88.
The attack unsettled the community just a week before the Boulder Jewish Festival. Redfearn said there will be enhanced security for that event, including SWAT teams, drones and likely plainclothes officers.
DEFENDANT’S FAMILY INVESTIGATED
Soliman told authorities he acted alone and did not inform his wife and five children, who have not been charged in the attack but were taken into custody Tuesday by immigration officials. The following day a judge granted a request to block their deportation.
Attorneys for the family had sued over their detention, writing in their complaint that "It is patently unlawful to punish individuals for the crimes of their relatives."
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the plaintiff’s claims "absurd" and "an attempt to delay justice." She said the entire family was living in the US illegally.
When asked whether Soliman’s family was under investigation, Dougherty, the district attorney, did not give a clear answer and said the investigation was ongoing.
Soliman’s wife, Hayam El Gamal, a 17-year-old daughter, two minor sons and two minor daughters were being held at an immigration detention center in Texas, said Eric Lee, an attorney representing the family. El Gamal said she was "shocked" to learn of his arrest, according to the lawsuit.
THE FAMILY’S IMMIGRATION STATUS
Before moving to Colorado Springs three years ago, Soliman spent 17 years in Kuwait, according to court documents.
He arrived in the US in August 2022 on a tourist visa that expired in February 2023, McLaughlin said in a post on the social platform X. She said he filed for asylum in September 2022 and was granted a work authorization in March 2023, but that has also expired.
Hundreds of thousands of people overstay their visas each year in the United States, according to Department of Homeland Security reports.
Soliman’s wife is an Egyptian national, according to her lawsuit. She is a network engineer and has a pending EB-2 visa, which is available to professionals with advanced degrees, the suit said. She and her children all are listed as dependents on Soliman’s asylum application.
Oh well. Too late for that now.
A VIGIL FOR THE VICTIMS
Hundreds of people squeezed into the Jewish Community Center in Boulder for a vigil Wednesday evening that featured prayer, singing and emotional testimony from a victim and witnesses of the the attack.
Rachelle Halpern, who was part of the demonstration Sunday, recalled thinking it was strange to see a man with a canister looking like he was going to spray pesticide on the grass. Then she heard a crash and screams and saw flames around her feet.
"A woman stood one foot behind me, engulfed in flames from head to toe, lying on the ground with her husband," Halpern said. "People immediately, three or four men immediately rushed to her to smother the flames."
Her description prompted murmurs from the audience. One woman’s head dropped into her hands.
"I heard a loud noise, and the back of my legs burning, and don’t remember those next few moments," one victim, who did not want to be identified and spoke off camera, said over the event’s speakers. "Even as I was watching it unfold before my eyes, even then, it didn’t seem real."
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, disguised as a gardener, had planned to kill all of the roughly 20 participants in Sunday's demonstration and had 18 Molotov cocktails, but he threw just two while yelling "Free Palestine," police said. Soliman, who federal authorities say has been living in the U.S. illegally, didn't carry out his full plan "because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before," police wrote in an affidavit.
The two incendiary devices he threw were enough to injure 12 of the participants in the weekly demonstration held at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder, authorities said, noting that he expressed no remorse about the attack.
Soliman told authorities that no one, including his family, knew about his plans for the attack, according to court documents that, at times, spelled his name as "Mohammed."
Soliman was born in el-Motamedia, an Egyptian farming village in the Nile Delta province of Gharbia that's located about 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Cairo, according to an Egyptian security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to the media. Soliman was also a handball player for a club in Cairo, the club's former chairman wrote on Facebook.
Witnesses and police have said Soliman threw two incendiary devices, catching himself on fire as he hurled the second. Soliman took off his shirt and what appeared to be a bulletproof vest before police arrived and arrested him, said witness Alex Osante of San Diego.
Solimon told authorities he had gas in a backpack sprayer but didn't spray it on anyone but himself because "he had planned on dying," officials said.
[IsraelTimes] US administration spokesperson highlights repeated changes British broadcaster made in report on aid center violence; BBC says adjusting death tolls is normal in a developing story
[IsraelTimes] Military slams ‘blatant violation’ of November ceasefire, accuses terror group of preparing for future war; 2nd evacuation warning issued for two sites in southern town of Ain Qana
The Israel Defense Forces carried out a series of strikes on several buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Thursday evening that it said were used by Hezbollah to manufacture drones, and in a separate instance, also issued evacuation warnings for two areas in a southern 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.... town.
The strikes in Beirut hit several underground drone manufacturing facilities belonging to Hezbollah’s aerial forces, also know as Unit 127, according to the military.
Ahead of the strikes, which began shortly after 10 p.m., the IDF said it had "identified that Hezbollah’s aerial unit is working to produce many thousands of UAVs, under the guidance and funding of Iranian terror officials."
This was happening, the military said, "despite the understandings between Israel and Lebanon" as laid out in a November ceasefire agreement that halted more than a year of fighting along Israel’s northern border.
"This activity is a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The Hezbollah terror organization creates challenges for the Lebanese state and thus impairs the implementation of the understandings," the IDF asserted.
In a later statement, the IDF said Hezbollah’s aerial forces launched over 1,000 explosive and surveillance drones at Israel during the war last year, and was currently working, despite the ceasefire deal, to strengthen its capabilities.
[X]
צה”ל תקף בדאחייה ובדרום לבנון אתרים תת-קרקעיים לייצור ואחסון כטב”מים וסדנה לייצור רחפנים
לפני זמן קצר, צה"ל תקף באופן ממוקד באמצעות מטוסי קרב, אתרי ייצור ומחסני כטב"מים בשימוש היחידה האווירית של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה (127), בדאחייה שבביירות ובדרום לבנון.
Translated from Hebrew by Google
The IDF attacked underground sites for the production and storage of UAVs and a drone production workshop in Dahiyeh and southern Lebanon.
A short time ago, the IDF carried out a targeted attack using fighter jets, production sites, and UAV warehouses used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization's air unit (127), in Dahiyya in Beirut and southern Lebanon.
Throughout the fighting, the air unit carried out more than 1,000 explosive and collection drone strikes against the territory of the State of Israel.
Despite the understandings of the agreement between Israel and Lebanon, the organization's aerial unit continues to engage in terrorism and is strengthening its capabilities. The unit is working to produce many thousands of drones under the direction and funding of Iranian terrorist elements, as part of Iran's efforts to harm the State of Israel.
Over the years, Iran has been funding and directing terrorist elements in the project, in collaboration with Hezbollah. Hezbollah terrorists come to Iran and are trained for the purpose of self-production of drones in Lebanon.
The IDF has recognized that Hezbollah terrorists have continued to do so even since the understandings came into effect, and is determined to act against terrorists who are trained in Iran for terrorist purposes.
The IDF also attacked a workshop in southern Lebanon for the production of drones used for attack, intelligence gathering, and improving the surveillance capabilities of the terrorist organization Hezbollah.
Prior to the attack, steps were taken to reduce the likelihood of harming civilians, including the use of precision weapons, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence. The infrastructure that was attacked was located in the heart of a civilian population. This is another example of the terrorist organization Hezbollah’s cynical use of Lebanese civilians as human shields.
The activity at these sites constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The IDF is prepared for defense and attack, will continue to act to eliminate any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens, and will prevent any attempt to reestablish the terrorist organization Hezbollah.
"The unit was working to manufacture many thousands of drones under the direction and funding of Iranian terror officials, as part of Iran’s efforts to harm Israel," the IDF said.
"Over the years, 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 funded and directed terrorist attacks through this project, in coordination with Hezbollah. Hezbollah gunnies travel to Iran for training in production systems, which supports the group’s ability to independently manufacture UAVs inside Lebanon," the military continued.
"The IDF has identified that Hezbollah gunnies have been continuing this activity even since the understandings came into effect, and the IDF is determined to take action against gunnies trained in Iran for terrorist attacks."
As it generally does before strikes in Beirut, the military issued an evacuation warning for civilians in the vicinity of the targeted buildings.
"You are located near facilities belonging to the terrorist organization Hezbollah," the IDF’s Arabic-language front man, Col. Avichay Adraee, said on X.
"For your safety and the safety of your families, you are required to evacuate these buildings immediately and move away from them at a distance of no less than 300 meters," said Adraee.
The post was accompanied by maps showing the locations of the soon-to-be targeted buildings.
A video circulating on social media following the evacuation warning showed heavy traffic in Dahiyeh, Beirut, as thousands of people tried to hurriedly leave the area.
AFP photographers reported massive numbers of people trying to flee the area, and Lebanese media reported that it was nearly emptied of inhabitants and had been sealed off.
Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed ahead of the strikes that, along with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he had "instructed the IDF this evening to strike and destroy buildings used by the terrorist organization Hezbollah to manufacture and store drones in the heart of the Dahiyeh district of Beirut."
"We will continue to enforce the terms of the ceasefire without any compromises, and we will not allow any party to make threats against the northern communities and all citizens of Israel," said Katz.
He stressed that Israel holds the Lebanese government "directly responsible for preventing violations of the ceasefire and all terrorist activity against the State of Israel."
Following the strikes in Beirut, the IDF issued a new evacuation warning for two areas in the southern Lebanese town of Ain Qana, and warned that it would soon strike Hezbollah assets in the vicinity.
Adraee again published maps showing the locations of several buildings that the military intended to target.
"You are located near facilities belonging to Hezbollah," he said, calling on civilians to evacuate at least 500 meters from the areas for their safety.
Lebanese media reported a series of strikes in Ain Qana following the warning, which according to the IDF targeted a Hezbollah workshop used to build drones for attacks and surveillance.
Israel has continued to carry out targeted strikes on Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure since it signed a ceasefire with Lebanon in late November, alleging violations of the truce agreement.
According to the IDF, over 180 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in that time.
The ceasefire agreement brought to an end more than a year of fighting with the Iran-backed Hezbollah, including two months of open war in southern Lebanon late last year.
Hezbollah began attacking military outposts and communities in northern Israel unprovoked on October 8, 2023, in a show of support for fellow Iranian proxy Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... 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... after its assault on southern Israel a day earlier.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah was required to withdraw its fighters north of the Litani and dismantle all military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
Since then, the Lebanese state has been working methodically to dismantle the terror group’s infrastructure in the south of the country, and is estimated to have seized the majority of the terror group’s weapons stockpile in the same area.
Earlier on Thursday, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that the Lebanese Armed Forces had dismantled "more than 500 military positions and arms depots" belonging to Hezbollah in the south of the country."
In a televised address marking 100 days in office, Salam said his government was pressing ahead with reforms demanded by the international community.
"The state continues its action... to restore its authority over the entire national territory... and to have a monopoly on arms," he said.
"The Lebanese army is continuing its deployment and has so far dismantled more than 500 military positions and arms depots south of the Litani River" about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Israeli border, Salam said.
The Lebanese premier also criticized Israel for maintaining troops at five locations within southern Lebanon, rather than fully withdrawing as the ceasefire had demanded.
"There can be no security or stability while Israel’s daily violations persist, parts of our land remain occupied and our prisoners are not freed," he said.
[IsraelTimes] A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocks US President Donald Trump from barring US entry of foreign nationals seeking to study or participate in exchange programs at Harvard University.
Under a two-page temporary restraining order granted to Harvard, US District Judge Allison Burroughs enjoins Trump’s proclamation from taking effect pending further litigation of the matter amid an escalating dispute between the Ivy League school and Republican president.
The judge rules that Trump’s directive prohibiting foreign nationals from entering the United States to study at Harvard for the next six months would cause “immediate and irreparable injury” before the courts have a chance to review the case.
Burroughs last month had blocked Trump from implementing a separate order prohibiting Harvard from enrolling international students, who make up more than a quarter of its student body. Harvard on Thursday amended its lawsuit to challenge the new directive, claiming Trump is violating Burroughs’ decision.
Burroughs’ order also continues a separate temporary restraining order she issued on May 23 against the administration’s restriction on international student enrollment at Harvard.
[IsraelTimes] Harvard adds US President Donald Trump’s proclamation barring new foreign students at the university from entering the United States to existing legal action against the administration, which it accuses of “retaliation” action.
“This is not the administration’s first attempt to sever Harvard from its international students… (It) is part of a concerted and escalating campaign of retaliation,” it says in an amended complaint filed in federal court.
In response, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson calls Harvard “a hotbed of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators,” claims that the school has previously denied.
“Harvard’s behavior has jeopardized the integrity of the entire US student and exchange visitor visa system and risks compromising national security. Now it must face the consequences of its actions,” Jackson says in a statement.
#1
In a related consequence to Harvard's intransigence, Ace of Spades today has a Buck Throckmorton editorial with some telling observations:
"THE MORNING RANT: Harvard’s Doom Loop: The Poison Ivy is Considering Selling Some of its Illiquid Endowment at a Discount for Some Fast Cash
—Buck Throckmorton"
"...Harvard is in a doom loop. Its donor base is diminishing and sitting on their wallets, as many of them are repulsed by what the school has become and how tainted its brand is. President Trump is cutting off the flow of federal dollars to the school. Harvard has tapped out the bond market, and further bonds will likely start to be priced at junk bond levels if the school has to keep borrowing to plug holes in its cash flow. The endowment is crashing in value, and its illiquid assets are being sold at a fire sale.
The Harvard asset that always held the most value was its reputation. Having foolishly decided to destroy that asset in service to a globalist political ideology that is hostile to the United States and western civilization, the seeds were planted for the doom loop that is consuming the disgraced university."
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 139,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in health care, leisure and hospitality, and social assistance. Federal government continued to lose jobs.
======================== The decline in Federal Govt employment Jan-May 2025 comes to about 59k which is a pretty large decrease. Hourly earnings increased about the same rate as prices. An increase in short term unemployment was balanced by a decrease in long term unemployment. The increases in previously reported March and April 2025 employment were adjusted downward.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
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[Jpost] According to Rafael, a major advantage of its lasers is that they can shoot down enemy rockets and drones much earlier in the threat process.
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems’ new family of lasers, which started to be rolled out last week and will continue to be presented to the public by the end of 2025, could eliminate the need for Israelis to run to bomb shelters during most aerial threats, the defense company revealed on Wednesday.
According to Rafael, a major advantage of its lasers – Iron Beam, Iron Beam M, and Lite Beam – is that they can shoot down enemy rockets and drones much earlier in the threat process, such that most of the time, no sirens or bomb shelters would be necessary.
This is because the light energy of the laser travels much faster than any interceptor in Israel’s arsenal and would already potentially destroy the enemy aerial threat shortly after it launches, invariably while it is still in enemy territory.
Only in those rare cases where the laser system missed its target, and likely missed it multiple times – since there should be time for multiple shoot-down attempts – would a siren and running to bomb shelters be necessary.
Rafael’s presentation of the three different laser systems comes as it expects to display the lasers’ capabilities at a defense technology conference in Paris in 10 days, and it is the first time that it has formally mentioned the Iron Beam M – a mobile version of the Iron Beam.
Although Raytheon in the US, as well as the UK, Russia, China, Germany, and Japan, are all at various stages of developing laser defense systems, Rafael said it is the only company that has moved beyond test firings to actual use in the field.
Last week, the Defense Ministry revealed that a version of Lite Beam had been used close to 40 times to shoot down Hezbollah drones during the course of the war, and especially in fall 2024.
Questioned about future applications, Rafael sources said it would take a significant amount of time to adapt lasers for use by Israeli aircraft. There are many challenges with using lasers relating to turbulence, dust, clouds, and smoke, which are a partial issue even when the end target is in the sky but are a larger issue when the starting point is also in the sky.
Also, if laser systems firing at enemy aerial threats must consider somewhat additional objects that could get hit by the laser after it continues through the object it hits, those considerations are much more complex for any aircraft firing on ground targets.
For this reason and due to other considerations, the impression was that the IDF has not even made it a priority to achieve such laser aircraft capabilities for the foreseeable future; however, this could all change once the IDF sees more laser defense systems in action at the end of 2025.
#3
...enemy aerial threat shortly after it launches, invariably while it is still in enemy territory. Ignoring the fact that the Earth is curved so there is a thing called the horizon at 21 or so miles. The air is thicker closer to the ground so "early shots" have to fight against a lensing effect as well. This was all covered in the old debate about the "Star Wars" ABM systems decades ago.
[Jpost] Sources estimated that if delivered, the materials could produce around 800 missiles.
Iran has ordered thousands of tons of ballistic missile ingredients from China as part of an effort to rebuild its military capabilities while navigating ongoing nuclear talks with the United States, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the transactions.
The shipments, which are expected to reach Iran in the coming months, include ammonium perchlorate, a key component in the solid propellant used for ballistic missiles. Sources indicated that these materials could potentially fuel hundreds of missiles.
Some of the ammonium perchlorate is expected to be sent to militias aligned with Iran, including the Houthis in Yemen, one of the sources revealed. This move aligns with Iran’s broader strategy to strengthen its regional influence and rebuild its missile arsenal while continuing to negotiate with the Trump administration over the future of its nuclear program.
Iran has been expanding its stockpiles of uranium enriched to just below weapons-grade levels, despite calls from the US to curb its nuclear activities. At the same time, Iran has made it clear that it has no intention of negotiating limits on its missile program, a point that has remained a major sticking point in international discussions.
According to sources, the order for the missile ingredients was placed in recent months by an Iranian entity, Pishgaman Tejarat Rafi Novin Co.. The material was sourced from Hong Kong-based Lion Commodities Holdings Ltd., a company that did not respond to requests for comment. The Iranian mission to the United Nations also declined to comment on the matter.
In a statement, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson denied knowledge of the deal, asserting that China has “always exercised strict control over dual-use items in accordance with China’s export control laws and regulations and its international obligations.”
PART OF REBUILDING IRAN’S 'AXIS OF RESISTANCE'
The shipment of ammonium perchlorate is part of Iran’s broader efforts to rebuild its so-called "Axis of Resistance" network, which includes a number of terror proxies across the region.
These groups have faced significant setbacks over recent years, as well as the ongoing war. These setbacks include Israeli strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon and the assassination of key leaders such as Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, former Hezbollah secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and multiple Hamas leaders.
While US and Israeli strikes have damaged the Houthis' capabilities in Yemen, they continue to periodically launch missiles at Israel.
Beyond supporting regional militias, Iran has also reportedly transferred ballistic missiles to Shia militia groups in Iraq, which have previously targeted both US and Israeli forces in the region.
EARLIER SHIPMENTS OF MISSILE INGREDIENTS
Earlier this year, Iranian ships docked in China to load over 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate, a precursor for ammonium perchlorate. The material was delivered to Iranian ports in mid-February and late March, according to shipping trackers. This quantity of sodium perchlorate is said to be enough to fuel around 260 short-range missiles.
The new order for ammonium perchlorate, which was placed months before President Trump’s proposed nuclear talks with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in early March, could supply Iran with enough material to produce approximately 800 missiles, one official estimated.
In response to Iran’s missile activities, the US Treasury Department sanctioned six individuals and six entities from both Iran and China on April 29 for their involvement in procuring ballistic missile propellant ingredients.
Two weeks later, the Treasury expanded these sanctions to include additional Chinese and Hong Kong entities. The US Department of the Treasury also added sodium perchlorate to the list of materials it believes are being used in Iran’s military, nuclear, or ballistic missile programs.
Iran’s reliance on foreign material for missile production is due, in part, to domestic production bottlenecks. Fabian Hinz, a military analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, noted that Iran’s defense industry struggles to meet its needs without the continued importation of missile propellant materials.
The storage and handling of these materials, however, come with significant risks. A deadly explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port in April, which killed dozens, was reportedly caused by the mishandling of explosive materials by a unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Some of the sodium perchlorate imported earlier this year was lost in that explosion, an official confirmed.
“These substances are a major fire and explosive hazard,” said Hinz. “Iran’s defense industrial complex does not have a strong track record in ensuring safety standards.”
Not just perchlorates, and not just Iran. It was ammonium nitrate sent with brotherly Moslem affection from Iran to Hezbollah that destroyed the Port of Beirut and a good chunk of the nearby city. The Times of Israel adds:
Much of the material will reportedly remain 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... as the country works to repair missile production plants that were damaged in October, when Israel responded to Iran’s second-ever direct attack some six months after an earlier missile-and-dronezap. Israel’s October strike destroyed about a dozen so-called planetary mixers, which serve to blend ballistic missile ingredients, the Journal said.
A report earlier this week said Iran is also working to revive its air defense system after Israel’s successive attacks on it.
An earlier Chinese shipment of missile fuel material has been linked to a blast in a southern Iranian port that state media said killed at least 18 people and maimed hundreds. That shipment, which Iran has not acknowledged, contained enough ammonium perchlorate precursor to produce 260 short-range missiles, the Journal said, attributing the blast to mishandling by a unit from the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for Iran’s enrichment capabilities and nuclear facilities to be fully dismantled. US intelligence has assessed that Israel will attack the nuclear facilities this year.
However,
we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by... Israel has assured the White House that it won’t launch an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities unless Trump signals that the ongoing negotiations with Tehran have failed, Axios reported Thursday, citing two Israeli officials familiar with the matter. One official said it could take several months before that happened, and Iran would try to prevent the talks from collapsing.
During a visit last week by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Mosssd ...sees all, knows all, gets 'em all in the end... Director David Barnea and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, Israeli officials reassured the White House that Israel would not surprise the US by unilaterally striking Iran, the report said. An Israeli official quoted by the news site said, "We calmed the Americans and told them there is no logic in launching an attack if a good diplomatic solution can be found. This is why we are going to give it a chance and wait with any military action until it is clear that negotiations have been exhausted and [White House envoy to the Middle East] Steve Witkoff has given up."
Though the IDF is constantly training for a strike on Iran, separate preparations for strikes on the 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... s have been misread by the US and other countries as a sign of an imminent Israeli attack on Iran, according to a senior Israeli official cited by Axios.
The report added that Iranian and US negotiators are not expected to hold talks this weekend, despite reporting earlier this week that a sixth round could take place in the Middle East.
#5
My understanding is that they’re engaging in parallel track development/acquisition, so that they’ll have the missiles ready to go as soon as they have the nuclear warheads ready to attach.
#8
If your obnoxious neighbor has been perfecting his manufacture of Sarin gas mortar rounds and you discover he has now ordered a lot of pipe, do you wait until you see the delivery truck in the driveway to pay him a visit?
#9
#1 IIUC a bomb made with 60% U-235 would need 100+ kg of Uranium to achieve critical mass. The higher the enrichment % the less is needed. The Iranians may have an explosive device they can load on a ship, a rail-car or even a large truck but that is it.
Posted by: Difar Dave ||
06/06/2025 19:11
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#10
Drive it in from Canada.
How many would they really need?
Two towers was one more than needed.
[ZeroHedge] The issue of crime on public transport in Germany is a major topic, as the left wants more people taking public transport
…a lost cause in Germany, where people love their cars. When we went back in 2010, fifteen years after we left, the roads were considerably more crowded, and the trains were practically empty…
while at the same time promoting open borders, which makes public transport more and more dangerous. The data has shown for years that migrants are sexually assaulting women, partaking in knife attacks, and generally making public transport hell for Germans, and the latest data from the southern state of Baden-Württemberg only highlights this trend.
There, a recent inquiry by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) to the Ministry of the Interior, Digitalization, and Municipalities reveals a concerning picture of safety on public transport in Baden-Württemberg.
In 2024, Baden-Württemberg’s public transport system saw a total of 30,950 individuals identified as suspects for various crimes, averaging about 85 suspects per day. It is important to note that this figure does not include violations for immigration offenses, which can only be committed by foreigners, of which there were an additional 20,339 violations of immigration law, bringing the total recorded incidents in public transport to 51,289.
Significantly, foreigners also lead the statistics across all other crime categories, including violent crime. Out of the 30,950 suspects for crimes on public transport, 19,138 (62 percent) were non-German, compared to 11,812 (38 percent) German suspects.
A deeper dive into specific crime categories further highlights the trend:
Violent Crime: Of the 1,942 suspects recorded for violent crimes in 2024 (including murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, and various forms of bodily harm), 1,037 (53 percent) were non-German, while 906 (47 percent) were German.
Theft Offenses: In the 2,180 suspects registered for theft, 1,397 (64 percent) were foreigners, compared to 783 (36 percent) Germans.
Drug Offenses: Non-German suspects also formed the majority in drug-related offenses, accounting for 1,216 (56 percent) out of 2,189 total suspects, with 973 (44 percent) being German.
Weapon Offenses: Out of 422 suspects, 257 (61 percent) were non-German, while 165 (39 percent) were German.
The number of suspects in knife attacks on public transport has continuously increased over the past three years in Baden-Württemberg, rising from 181 in 2022 to 184 in 2023, and reaching 224 suspects in 2024.
It is much worse than this. A large portion of the „German“ suspects have only recently acquired citizenship. This is how they manipulate crime statistics.https://t.co/2IHQ2NS8sO
In London the reported rapes have doubled since 2022, 1/4 of the victims are 17 or under, every 26 minutes a female is raped or sexually assaulted! And hardly anyone ever gets prosecuted. https://t.co/BS7igBGq7u
#2
You can also swap your depleted battery for a fresh one. Note - Sodium-ion batteries are also expected to reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing the metals used in lithium-ion cells, particularly cobalt and nickel – heavy metals that can negatively impact humans and nature.
A 2024 study concluded that sodium-ion batteries can help the world avoid excessive mining and possible depletion of critical raw materials, but that the production process generates similar volumes of greenhouse gas emissions to lithium-ion cells.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/06/2025 11:59
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#3
Sodium-Ion batteries (at the present stages anyway) only have about 70% of the capacity for energy storage as Lithium-Ion for similar size and weight cells.
Can't recharge them as often, either. Only about half of the L-Ion recharge cycles (again, for now).
They don't explode as easily though, which could be a boon based on the dodgy e-bike chargers they have in China.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
06/06/2025 17:28
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[BBC] Eighty years ago on 6 June, D-Day, the largest land, air and naval operation in history was unleashed to fight the Nazis – led by a group of British troops who crash-landed in Normandy in six flimsy gliders. In 1984, the man who led this mission gave an extraordinary account to the BBC.
D-Day was a marvel of planning; it involved the simultaneous landing of tens of thousands of Allied troops on five separate beaches in Nazi-occupied northern France. The British and Canadians would land on three beaches in Normandy, codenamed Sword, Juno and Gold. The Americans were to capture Omaha and Utah beaches.
Major John Howard and his company's part in this elaborate plan required perfect navigation, great daring and complete surprise. Their mission was to capture two bridges intact – Bénouville Bridge, later known as Pegasus Bridge, over the Caen canal, and Ranville Bridge, later renamed Horsa Bridge, over the adjacent River Orne. Because these road bridges were the only way across the parallel water obstacles, capturing them would mean they could stop German reinforcements from reaching the beaches where the Allied armies would land later that day.
Preparation for this audacious glider mission was intense. Thousands of aerial photographs were taken of the bridges and their defences mapped in detail. The British even created a model of the area which was modified to match each day's aerial photograph. When the Germans cut down trees, the model-makers did the same. The idea of using gliders was that troops and heavier weapons could be landed in the same place behind enemy lines, without the need for parachutes. Because of the need to conserve metal supplies during wartime, the gliders were made mostly of spruce and plywood. They were tricky to operate, and liable to break apart upon landing.
#1
My first reaction to this was "Why is the BBC running an article about this? Doesn't everyone already know about Pegasus Bridge?" And then it occurred to me that not many people under the age of 40 could pick Pegasus Bridge out of a lineup. Good post, Skid.
Posted by: Matt ||
06/06/2025 12:08
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[BBC] Tucked deep in Donald Trump's sprawling "One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act" is a clause that could quietly take billions from money sent abroad.
It proposes a 3.5% tax on remittances sent abroad by foreign workers, including green card holders and temporary visa workers such as those on H-1B visas. For India - the world's top remittance recipient - the implications are serious, say experts. Other major recipients include Mexico, China, the Philippines, France, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
In 2023, Indians abroad sent home $119bn (£88bn) - enough to finance half of India's goods trade deficit and outpace foreign direct investment, according to a paper by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) economists. Of this, the largest share came from the US. For millions of migrants, that includes the money wired to cover a parent's medicine, a nephew's tuition or a mortgage back home.
A blunt levy on remittances could skim billions from migrant workers, many of whom already pay taxes in America. The likely result? A rise in informal, untraceable cash transfers and a dent in India's most stable source of external financing.
India has remained the top recipient of remittances since 2008, with its share rising from 11% in 2001 to 14% in 2024, according to World Bank. India’s central bank says that remittances are expected to stay strong, reaching an estimated $160bn by 2029. The country's remittances have consistently hovered around 3% of GDP since 2000.
India's international migrant population grew from 6.6 million in 1990 to 18.5 million in 2024, with its global share rising from 4.3% to over 6%. While the Gulf still hosts nearly half of all Indian migrants, skilled migration to advanced economies - especially the US - has increased significantly, driven by India's global IT footprint.
The US remains the top source of remittances worldwide, with its share rising from 23.4% in 2020–21 to nearly 28% in 2023–24, driven by a strong post-pandemic job recovery and a 6.3% rise in foreign-born workers in 2022. Notably, 78% of Indian migrants in the US work in high-earning sectors such as management, business, science, and the arts.
Remittance costs - driven by fees and currency conversion - have long been a global policy concern due to their impact on families. While global averages of the costs remain above targets, India stands out as one of the most affordable destinations, reflecting the rise of digital channels and heightened market competition.
AFP via Getty Image A worker holding US dollar (R) and Indian rupee currency notes poses for a photograph at a money exchange outlet in New Delhi on April 3, 2025. US President Donald Trump ignited a potentially ruinous global trade war on April 2 as he slapped 10 percent tariffs on imports from around the world and harsh extra levies on key trading partners. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP) (Photo by ARUN SANKAR/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Image
India topped the global remittance charts with $129bn sent home in 2024
A 10-15% drop in remittances could cost India $12-18bn a year, tightening dollar supply and putting pressure on the rupee, according to Ajay Srivastava of Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI). He reckons the central bank may have to step in more often to stabilise the currency.
The bigger blow would land on households in states such as Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where remittances fund essentials like education, healthcare and housing. The tax could "hit household consumption hard" even as the Indian economy grapples with global uncertainty and inflation, Mr Srivastava says in a note.
The remittance tax could squeeze Indian household budgets, dampen consumption and investment, and undermine one of India's steadiest sources of foreign exchange, warns a brief by the Delhi-based Centre for WTO Studies. Maharashtra, followed by Kerala and Tamil Nadu, continues to be among the dominant recipient states.
Remittances in India are largely used for household consumption, savings and investment in assets like housing, gold and small businesses. according to a policy brief by the think tank's Pritam Banerjee, Saptarshee Mandal and Divyansh Dua.
A drop in inflows could shrink domestic savings and reduce investment in both financial and physical assets. When remittance inflows decline, households are likely to "prioritise consumption needs (e.g. food, healthcare, and education) over savings and investment", the brief says.
A study by Center for Global Development, a Washington-based think tank, suggests the proposed tax could sharply cut formal transfers, with Mexico facing the biggest hit - over $2.6bn annually. Other major losers include India, China, Vietnam and several Latin American nations like Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador.
To be sure, there's still some confusion surrounding the tax, and final approval is pending Senate action and the President's signature.
"The tax applies to all non-citizens and even embassy and UN/World Bank staff. But those who pay taxes can claim a tax credit. Thus, the remittance tax would apply only to those migrants who do not pay taxes. That would mostly include unauthorised migrants (and diplomats)," Dilip Ratha, the World Bank lead economist for migration and remittances, told the BBC.
Dr Ratha wrote in a note on LinkedIn that migrants would try to cut remittance costs by turning to informal methods - hand-carrying cash, sending money through friends, couriers, bus drivers or airline staff, arranging local currency payouts via friends in the US, or using hawala, hundi and cryptocurrencies.
"Will the proposed tax deter unauthorised immigration to the US? Will it encourage unauthorised migrants to return home?" wonders Dr Ratha.
Not quite, he says. A minimum wage job in the US earns over $24,000 a year - roughly four to 30 times more than in many developing countries. Migrants typically send home between $1,800 and $48,000 annually, estimates Dr Ratha.
"A 3.5% tax is unlikely to deter these remittances. After all the main motivation for migration - migrants trying to cross oceans and rivers and mountains - is to send money home to help helpless family members."
[Breitbart] The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously struck down a legal standard that had made it harder for white, male, or heterosexual employees to bring workplace discrimination claims, marking a landmark decision that threatens to undercut the legal foundation of many diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices.
The high court struck down a legal test created and employed by certain lower courts since the 1980s called the “background circumstances rule” which requires a heightened evidentiary standard for members of so-called “majority groups” in discrimination cases. In an opinion penned by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Supreme Court decided that the background circumstances rule is incompatible with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which bars employers from intentionally discriminating against employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
“As a textual matter, Title VII’s disparate-treatment provision draws no distinctions between majority-group plaintiffs and minority-group plaintiffs,” Jackson wrote. “Rather, the provision makes it unlawful ‘to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.’ The law’s focus on individuals rather than groups is anything but academic.”
“By establishing the same protections for every ‘individual’ — without regard to that individual’s membership in a minority or majority group — Congress left no room for courts to impose special requirements on majority-group plaintiffs alone,” she continued. “Our precedents reinforce that understanding of the statute.”
The case surrounds Marlean Ames, a heterosexual woman who had worked for the Ohio Department of Youth Services since 2004 and was originally hired to work as an executive secretary. Ames was eventually promoted to program administrator and applied for a management position in 2019. Ultimately, the agency hired a different candidate, a lesbian woman, to fill the role. A few days later, Ames was demoted back to her secretarial role with a significant pay cut, and the agency hired a gay man to fill her administrator position.
Ames subsequently filed a lawsuit against the agency until Title VII, alleging that she was denied the management promotion and demoted because of her sexual orientation.
A district court sided with the Ohio Department of Youth Services, concluding that Ames failed to provide evidence of “background circumstances” that she was being discriminated against as a member of a “majority group” — a heterosexual. The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the lower court’s decision.
Conservative-leaning Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, admonishing lower court judges who essentially legislate from the bench.
“I write separately to highlight the problems that arise when judges create atextual legal rules and frameworks. Judge-made doctrines have a tendency to distort the underlying statutory text, impose unnecessary burdens on litigants, and cause confusion for courts. The ‘background circumstances’ rule — correctly rejected by the Court today — is one example of this phenomenon,” Thomas wrote.
“The ‘background circumstances’ rule plainly contravenes that statutory command by imposing a higher burden on some individuals based solely on their membership in a particular demographic group. This rule is a product of improper judicial lawmaking,” he added.
Thomas asserted that courts who have employed the background circumstances rule have “offered no guidance on how to decide whether a particular person is a member of the ‘majority.”‘
“Instead, judges have been left to their own devices to make these challenging determinations. Most courts appear to have sidestepped these difficulties by abandoning the search for neutral principles and instead assuming that the ‘background circumstances’ rule applies only to white and male plaintiffs,” he observed.
Thomas additionally said the high court should consider scrapping the broader legal test from which the background circumstances rule is derived, called the McDonnell Douglas framework. The Supreme Court established the three-pronged test in 1973 for workplace discrimination claims that rest on circumstantial evidence.
“The Court today assumes without deciding that the McDonnell Douglas framework is an appropriate tool for making that determination. But, the judge-made McDonnell Douglas framework has no basis in the text of Title VII. And, as I have previously explained, lower courts’ extension of this doctrine into the summary-judgment context has caused significant confusion and troubling outcomes on the ground,” Thomas wrote.
“In an appropriate case, this Court should consider whether the McDonnell Douglas framework is an appropriate tool to evaluate Title VII claims at summary judgment,” he continued.
The Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of Ames’s discrimination claims, instead remanding the case for further litigation in a lower court.
The Supreme Court’s ruling comes as the Trump administration hacks away at the roots of DEI in the federal government and corporate America — standards which have resulted in hiring based on racial and sexual-orientation quotas, trainings, policies, and initiatives espousing the supposed pervasiveness of white supremacy in all of America’s institutions, and the overall demonization of white, heterosexual individuals.
[FoxNews] NTSB report reveals plane involved in March incident at Denver airport had parts installed backwards and loose connections
The American Airlines flight that caught fire soon after taking off from Denver International Airport in March had several parts installed incorrectly and fuel leaks, according to a preliminary report released Thursday.
And why was that?
The Dallas-bound aircraft had one loose part inside the right engine installed in the wrong direction and fuel leaking from the fitting of another part that was also fastened incorrectly, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report.
Soon after the plane took off, the crew noticed issues with the right engine, the report said.
"The captain noted high engine vibration indications for the right engine," the report stated, while the crew discussed whether they needed to divert before contacting American Airlines dispatchers.
They landed safely, but soon after arriving at a gate, passengers and crew members noticed fire and smoke filling the cabin. Images and video showed passengers evacuating the aircraft and standing on the wings of the plane.
"One of the flight attendants tried calling the flight crew" while another "knocked on the cockpit door to alert the flight crew," the report said.
The NTSB report also showed streaks on the outside of the engine from the leaking fuel. The plane was towed to a hangar for examination.
"The captain noted high engine vibration indications for the right engine," the report stated, while the crew discussed whether they needed to divert before contacting American Airlines dispatchers.
They landed safely, but soon after arriving at a gate, passengers and crew members noticed fire and smoke filling the cabin. Images and video showed passengers evacuating the aircraft and standing on the wings of the plane.
"One of the flight attendants tried calling the flight crew" while another "knocked on the cockpit door to alert the flight crew," the report said.
The NTSB report also showed streaks on the outside of the engine from the leaking fuel. The plane was towed to a hangar for examination.
American Airlines said 172 passengers and six crew members were on board at the time of the incident.
The airplane had "substantial damage" while 12 passengers and the six crew members sustained minor injuries, according to the report.
[FoxNews] Suspect intended to detonate a chlorine bomb before opening fire on moviegoers, according to federal agents
The FBI and law enforcement officials in Columbia County, Oregon, arrested a teenager late last month who was allegedly planning to carry out a mass shooting involving explosives at a Washington state shopping mall.
In a news release Thursday, the FBI said the teen, whose name was not released, was arrested May 22 by deputies with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
The FBI learned of "detailed and imminent" attack plans after they were reported to the agency just two days before the juvenile’s arrest.
After learning about the alleged planned attack, the FBI said it began working with its partners to identify the mastermind behind the threat. On May 20, the Columbia County teenager was identified as a suspect.
According to the FBI, the teenager shared nihilistic violent extremist ideology,
as well as the plans, in online chats.
The teenager was placed under court-authorized surveillance out of caution for the public, and, on May 22, a federal search warrant was executed, leading to the teen’s arrest.
The FBI said the suspect demonstrated the intention and means to carry out a plan that included details like the map of the Three Rivers Mall in Kelso, located more than two hours south of Seattle, and a route to follow.
"This plot was as serious as it gets," FBI Portland Special Agent in Charge Doug Olson said. "We, along with our partners, moved swiftly to interrupt this violent plan and to protect our community."
While the FBI made initial contact with the teenager, the local sheriff’s office made the arrest on state charges.
The Columbia County District Attorney’s office is prosecuting the case.
The FBI said it encourages the public to report suspicious behavior to law enforcement, adding that parents are also encouraged to engage in open dialog with their children about their online activity.
The suspect, whose identity has not been disclosed due to their age, allegedly planned to detonate a chlorine bomb to create chaos and panic before shooting fleeing patrons exiting a movie theater, the FBI Portland Field Office said in a statement.
According to FBI research of past violent actors, nihilistic ideation refers to a “preoccupation with themes of violence, hopelessness, despair, pessimism, hatred, isolation, loneliness, or an ‘end-of-the-world’ philosophy,” said retired senior FBI profiler Dr. Mary Ellen O’Toole. “Nihilistic ideation is a very pessimistic view of the world.”
The FBI said the plan included details on the use of an improvised explosive device, a specific route through the mall, and a sequence of actions culminating in the suspect’s planned suicide at the mall.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
06/06/2025
05:42 ||
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#1
You mean the FBI is actually doing their job now?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/06/2025 12:06
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#2
^He probably posted his detailed plans on his social media site.
[FoxNews] Federal and local authorities involved in the seizure said there were 61 bundles of methamphetamine in the three vehicles
Federal and local authorities in San Diego arrested three men in the U.S. illegally – two from Mexico and one from El Salvador – after they allegedly transported nearly 8,000 pounds of methamphetamine worth more than $5 million earlier this week.
The incident took place on Monday around 7 p.m. during a joint narcotics investigation in the South Bay region, the San Diego County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday evening.
SDCSO detectives and U.S. Border Patrol agents observed three vehicles they believed were being loaded with bundles of drugs. A federal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of California said the vehicles were being loaded in a parking lot on Otay Mesa Road.
Two of those vehicles were driven toward a motel in San Ysidro, while the third vehicle went to a motel in Chula Vista, the sheriff's office said. All three drivers were ultimately arrested.
They were identified by the Justice Department as 27-year-old Erick Omar Arriola, of El Salvador, and Mexican nationals Eugenio Lizama, 35, and Baltazar Rodriguez Reyes, 49.
Arriola is a felon convicted of driving under the influence, battery of a spouse and false imprisonment, the DOJ said.
When authorities searched their vehicles, they found a total of 61 bundles of methamphetamine, weighing more than 7,700 pounds and valued at around $5.5 million.
"It was one of the biggest seizures of methamphetamine in 2025 in the Southern District of California, and the most significant so far by the new Homeland Security Task Force San Diego, which was recently established by the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security at the request of President Trump," the DOJ said.
[MyRGV] A former Immigration and Customs Enforcement contract employee was sentenced to nearly two years in prison Wednesday for using a charter bus to transport 39 people in the country illegally.
Nancy Fernandez Luna, born in 1989, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport people illegally in the country on Dec. 6.
She was arrested on Oct. 4 after being found with the people at the Falfurrias checkpoint
…a city and the county seat of Brooks County, Texas, founded by rancher Edward Cunningham Lasater in 1904. It is known for its butter industry, oil and gas reserves, and a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint that attracts migrants and migrant deaths...
in an All Valley Charters Prevost bus.
At the checkpoint, Fernandez told Border Patrol agents that she was a government contract employee for MVM, a government contract transport company, according to a criminal complaint.
During the inspection, she told agents she works with ICE and escorts people without documentation north. She provided her ICE personal identification verification contracting card as proof of her authority, the complaint said.
During a secondary inspection, Fernandez claimed she was transporting juveniles who were all COVID positive. As the agents contacted the Central Processing Center regarding the validity of the bus, the bus departed.
"Agents conducted a traffic stop on the bus and instructed it to return to secondary inspection," the complaint stated.
Agents requested the manifest and found inconsistencies such as not all of its passengers being juveniles. The Central Processing Center, meanwhile, advised Border Patrol they had no transport buses currently operating.
The driver of the bus, Juan Torres Ayala, born in 1982, told investigators that he knew all 39 people were in the country illegally and said he was going to be paid $1,800 for the trip. Torres also said he picked up the bus rental and knew Fernandez’s manifest was fraudulent.
He previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 16 months in prison. Fernandez was sentenced to a total of 21 months and was ordered to self-surrender to the U.S. Marshals in McAllen on July 11 at 2 p.m., court records show.
[Vigilant Fox] FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino appeared on Hannity Wednesday night to outline the Bureau’s current priorities and address concerns around national security, immigration, and public health transparency.
The interview offered a detailed look into how the FBI, under the direction of Bongino and Director Kash Patel, is approaching both domestic and international threats during the early stages of a second Trump administration.
Skipping down to the bottom line:
The conversation then shifted to COVID-19. Hannity asked whether the government had misled the public about the virus’s origin.
"Covid origins, are we going to find out information that the government lied to us?"
Bongino answered, "You’re damn right you are. We’re all over that."
When asked if the misinformation was deliberate, Bongino said an investigation is already underway.
"Well, you’re going to find out. Yeah, listen, that’s the one I am the most optimistic about."
He shared that reopening the case was one of his first actions in the role.
#4
All this bullcrap is going on between Musk and Trump. Now Musk says Trump is in the Epstein files. Bongino says the files show that Epstein killed himself but nobody believes it and the files have yet to be released. Will they answer the questions about the cameras and the guards? Unlikely. Have the files not yet been released because they're being sanitized? That is a reasonable suspicion. Bongino is on thin ice. He needs to produce something very convincing and very quickly if he wants to retain any credibility at all.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/06/2025 11:58
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#5
^Say what you like about Trump - he's life-long record are grown up women.
#6
It’s like the Epstein tapes. They release the fact that they have thousands of hours of Epstein having sex with underaged folks. Is it possible that he may have video of other people having sex with underaged people? They won’t say that. We can’t know that. They continue to control the narrative to keep us away from the obvious. Epstein didn’t need the video of himself. He had the kids on staff.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/06/2025 12:04
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#7
The tapes are child p0rn — nobody except the investigators should see that. We just need a list of names of the adults who took advantage of Mr. Epstein’s party favours.
#8
I don't want to believe that Trump was doing it with minors. But we all know that conspiracy theories flourish when the government withholds pertinent information. I can't help believing, regardless of what Bongino says and especially without evidence to the contrary, that Epstein was murdered. FBI and DoJ need to do something about Epstein and they damn well better do it very, very soon.
The kiddie pr0n can be saved for the courts when the perps get prosecuted.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/06/2025 13:54
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[HackRead] Hackers have leaked what they claim is AT&T’s database which was reportedly stolen by the ShinyHunters group in April 2024 after they exploited major security flaws in the Snowflake cloud data platform. But is this really the Snowflake-linked data? We took a closer look.
As seen by the Hackread.com research team, the data was first posted on a well-known Russian cybercrime forum on May 15, 2025. It was re-uploaded on the same forum on June 3, 2025, after which it began circulating among other hackers and forums.
Full names Date of birth
Phone numbers
Email addresses
Physical addresses
44 Million Social Security Numbers (SSN) (43,989,219 in total)
[FoxNews] ICE officials intercept thousands of kilos of drug-making chemicals in latest Chinese infiltration attempt
Mexican drug cartels are getting help from the Chinese to build their drug empire that feeds off American consumers.
Border patrol officials intercepted 50,000 kilos of precursor chemicals this week used in the process of manufacturing methamphetamines, sent from China and intended for members of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico. In addition to providing the cartels with the chemicals needed to make illicit drugs, Chinese entities are also one of the foremost actors in helping them launder their proceeds, according to the Treasury Department.
"For far too long, the Mexican drug cartels have raked in billions of dollars at the expense of our local communities leaving nothing but addiction, death and despair in their wake," said Chad Plantz, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge in Houston. "This initiative provides HSI with a game-changing method to stay one step ahead of the cartels by disrupting the flow of chemicals that they depend on to produce illicit narcotics."
The seizure was part of an ongoing initiative launched in 2019 to identify suspicious shipments of precursor chemicals from China, India and other countries that are destined for Mexican drug cartels. Since the initiative was established, officials have interdicted more than 1,700,000 kilograms of chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamines and fentanyl, including a seizure this past March of 44,000 kilograms of precursor chemicals at the Port of Houston, destined for the Sinaloa Cartel.
Immigration officials' bust comes amid news of a spate of other incidents involving Chinese nationals or individuals working for China who have engaged in espionage efforts, ranging from agroterroism and selling military secrets, to infiltrating U.S. universities and utilizing American-based products to sow political divisions online.
In the latest incident, two Chinese nationals were charged with allegedly smuggling a "dangerous biological pathogen" into the U.S. to study at a University of Michigan laboratory. This happened amid controversy over the Trump administration's effort to intensify visa scrutiny for Chinese nationals trying to enter the United States.
Last month, an expansive investigation by a group of Stanford students detailed how there is a culture of students and faculty at their school doing work for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The report highlighted how some students want to work with the Chinese government, such as through sharing intellectual property or aligning their research priorities with Chinese interests, while others are sometimes coerced into doing work for the CCP, particularly if they have family back in Beijing.
Meanwhile, just this week, reports of Chinese efforts to steal U.S. state secrets or sow political divisions have surfaced.
On Friday, the Department of Justice indicted two Chinese nationals and a lawful permanent resident for conspiring to traffic sensitive American military technology to the CCP.
Over the weekend, a British businessman was arrested for attempting to smuggle sensitive U.S. military components to China.
American artifical intelligence company OpenAI this week also shutdown a Chinese-linked influence operation that was utilizing its ChatGPT product to generate social media posts and sow political division related to U.S. politics online.
"The new visa policy is long overdue," Congresswoman Michele Steel said. "After four years of willful ignorance – or gross incompetence – under the Biden administration, President Trump has wasted no time in directing his administration to take the decisive, necessary action to finally thwart the pervasive and growing threat of Chinese communist espionage."
Heavy winged long range drones, Iranian designed, manufactured by Iran and Russia.
Enemy monitoring resources report over 120 strike UAVs in the skies over the Outskirts, with more Geranium groups on the way.
The enemy is expecting one of the most massive strikes ever.
"The enemy continues to spread fakes about the attack on airfields. This video, made on the engine of the computer game Arma3, is being distributed in Western social networks.
The goal is to make the average person believe in the thesis about the destruction of exactly 40 aircraft."
More from RIA Novosti
MOSCOW, June 6 — RIA Novosti. Russian military launched a massive strike on Ukraine in response to the Kiev regime’s terrorist attacks last night, the Defense Ministry reported.
"Tonight, in response to the terrorist acts of the Kyiv regime, the Russian Armed Forces launched a massive strike with high-precision long-range air, sea and land-based weapons, as well as attack UAVs," the department said.
Targets hit:
design bureaus;
enterprises for the production and repair of weapons and military equipment;
attack drone assembly shops;
flight crew training centers;
warehouses of weapons and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The strike's objective was achieved; all designated targets were hit, the department emphasized.
#5
Oh, there's an escalation path. Sane people don't want to go there but it's there.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/06/2025 13:57
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#6
After 3+ years of threats Russia is suddenly going to go nuclear, with all the international baggage that includes? Nuclear Germany, Poland and Sweden for starters. Yeah, it's there. In theory.
[GEO.TV] The United States has vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire 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... , a move condemned by Pakistain's Permanent Representative to the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... , Ambassador Asim Iftikhar.
Speaking at the Council, Ahmad said that Gaza "is no longer a humanitarian crisis. It is a collapse of humanity and of international law and all that this Council is supposed to stand for".
He criticised the US decision as blocking the Council from fulfilling its responsibilities.
He remarked that US veto "will be remembered as a complicity, a green light for continued annihilation, a moment where the entire world was expecting action. But yet again, this Council was blocked and prevented by one member from carrying out its responsibility".
Pakistain expressed regret over the veto, and vowed to continue its support for the Paleostinian people, said the ambassador. Pakistain also demands an end to the war, the establishment of an independent Paleostinian state, and unrestricted humanitarian aid to Gaza, he added.
More than 54,000 Paleostinians have been killed in the conflict, Ahmad stated, adding that civilians were ''being killed for food.''
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2025
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[34 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[GEO.TV] The Trump administration has warned that Columbia University's accreditation may be in jeopardy after federal agencies found the school failed to protect Jewish students from campus harassment.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services accused Columbia of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by ''acting with deliberate indifference'' toward antisemitic harassment. The law prohibits discrimination by institutions receiving federal funding.
The statement said Columbia's inaction had denied Jewish students ''equal access to educational opportunities'' and created a ''hostile environment'' for over 19 months. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon ...business executive, and former professional wrestling performer. She was the 25th administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019. McMahon has been nominated to lead the Department of Education under the second Trump administration. McMahon, along with her husband, Vince McMahon, founded sports entertainment company Titan Sports, Inc. (later World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.) where she worked as the president and later CEO from 1980 to 2009. During this time, the company grew from a regional business in the northeast to a large multinational corporation. She made occasional on-screen performances, most notably in a feud with her husband that culminated at WrestleMania X-Seven. In 2009, she left World Wrestling Entertainment to run for a seat in the United States Senate from Connecticut as a Republican, but lost to Richard Blumenthal in the 2010 general election. She was the Republican nominee for Connecticut's other Senate seat in the 2012 race, but lost to Chris Murphy because that's the kind of guy people in Connecticutt like best. ... described the university's response as ''immoral and unlawful''.
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Columbia's accreditor, has been urged to ensure the university complies with civil rights requirements. Accrediting agencies serve as gatekeepers for federal student aid, and non-compliance could threaten Columbia's access to funding.
Columbia has been a centre of pro-Paleostinian student protests since April 2024, with high-profile activists arrested and facing deportation. While protest leaders deny any threat to Jewish students, the Trump administration reiterated its concerns in Wednesday's statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2025
00:00 ||
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[89 views]
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#1
Columbia's history of antisemitism goes back further than 2024. Lots of full time professional antisemitic professors and many antisemitic student orgs since the 90s.
In 2024, the antisemitism got to be obvious among the administrators and several administrators were put on leave.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
06/06/2025 17:59
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#2
Was there a big influx of 'Germans' at Columbia after WWII or am I thinking of Argentina?
[IsraelTimes] Measures target pair of judges on panel that authorized arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant; two others okayed probe into alleged war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan
The Trump administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on four judges at the International Criminal Court who have been involved in proceedings against Israel and the United States.
The four judges will be barred from entering the US and their assets in the country will be seized, measures typically used against officials from countries hostile to America.
"The United States will take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our illusory sovereignty, that of Israel, and any other US ally from illegitimate actions by the ICC," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration... said in a statement.
"I call on the countries that still support the ICC, many of whose freedom was purchased at the price of great American sacrifices, to fight this disgraceful attack on our nation and Israel," Rubio said.
The court swiftly hit back, saying in a statement: "These measures are a clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all corners of the globe."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on the other hand hailed the sanctions, thanking the Trump administration for imposing them.
"Thank you President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio for imposing sanctions against the politicized judges of the ICC. You have justly stood up for the right of Israel, The United States and all democracies to defend themselves against savage terror," said a statement from the premier’s office.
Two of the judges, Beti Hohler of Slovenia and Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin ...Benin, a French-speaking West African nation, that they put where Dahomey used to be. It is a birthplace of voodoo and zombies. In Abomey, Dahomey's former capital, the Historical Museum occupies two royal palaces with bas-reliefs recounting the kingdom’s past and a throne mounted on human skulls. To the north, Pendjari National Park offers safaris with elephants, hippos and lions and tigers and bears, oh my!... , took part in proceedings that led the court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan to issue in November arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
Khan claimed to find "reasonable grounds" of criminal responsibility by the pair for actions that include the war crime of starvation as a method of war in Israel’s massive offensive 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... following Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... ’s unprecedented October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which some 1,200 were killed and 251 were taken hostage. Israel has strongly rejected the charges.
Gansou also served on the bench that originally approved the investigation into alleged war crimes in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in 2021.
Before being elected ICC judge in 2023, Hohler worked in the prosecutor’s office at the court, leading Israel to object to her participation in the proceedings involving Israeli officials. Hohler said in a statement last year that she had never worked on the investigation that began in 2021 during her eight years as a prosecutor.
The two other judges sanctioned by the US, Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza of Peru and Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, were part of the court proceedings that led to the authorization of an investigation into allegations that US forces committed war crimes during the war in Afghanistan. They both have also worked on ICC cases involving Israel.
In February, Khan was placed on Washington’s list of "Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons," barring him from doing business with Americans and placing restrictions on his entry into the US Khan stepped aside last month pending an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct.
Neither the United States nor Israel is party to the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court. The Paleostinian Authority, on the other hand, is a Rome Statute signatory, in what the court has deemed is sufficient for hearing cases on alleged crimes that took place in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Moreover, almost all Western allies of the United States as well as Japan and South Korea, the vast majority of Latin America and much of Africa are parties to the statute and in theory are required to arrest suspects when they land on their soil.
Trump, in his first term, imposed sanctions on the then-ICC chief prosecutor over the Afghanistan investigation.
After Trump’s defeat in 2020, then-US president Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. This Is A Man That Does Not Seem Demented... took a more conciliatory approach to the court with case-by-case cooperation.
Rubio’s predecessor Antony Blinken ...71st United States secretary of state and a leading light of the corrupt and inept Biden administration. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under the corrupt and inept Obama administration. He advocated for the 2003 invasion of Iraq while serving as the Democratic staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002 to 2008. He was a foreign policy advisor for the Biden 2008 presidential campaign. During his tenure in the Obama administration, Blinken helped craft B.O.'s policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the nuclear program of Iran. We all saw how well each of those worked. After leaving government service, Blinken moved into the private sector, co-founding WestExec Advisors, a lobbying firm... rescinded the sanctions and, while critical of its stance on Israel, worked with the court in its investigation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
ICC judges in 2023 issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... over the alleged mass abduction of Ukrainian children during the war.
Both Putin and Netanyahu have voiced defiance over the ICC pressure but have also looked to minimize time in countries that are party to the court.
The ICC arrest warrants have been especially sensitive in Britannia, a close US ally whose Prime Minister Keir Starmer is a former human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... lawyer.
Downing Street has said that Britannia will fulfill its "legal obligations" without explicitly saying if Netanyahu would be arrested if he visits.
Hungary, led by Trump ally Viktor Orban, has parted ways with the rest of the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... by moving to exit the court.
Orban spurned the court by welcoming Netanyahu to visit in April.
Set up in 2002, the ICC seeks to prosecute individuals responsible for the world’s gravest crimes when countries are unwilling or unable to do so themselves.
Israel and the US have argued that they have their own independent judiciaries that eliminate the need for an international court of last resort.
#1
The ICC cites: "These measures are a clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution.....". A list of ICC Judges. Not one is from the USA. Many are from nations already overrun by Muslims or in conflicts with them
SO Independent? Or applying a political bias?
Because, Israel is kicking Hamas and other Anti-Israel Terrorist groups butts.
Remember these terrorists chose to attack, rape, murder and take civilian captives on Oct 7th.
Israel tried to deal with them, releasing 1000's of jail terrorists for the release of only a few captives. Then Hamas started playing games and milking it.
Now we know the Captives, that Hamas has, are being brutalized, starved and even children are being raped while in their tunnels.
Now add to it, the Palestinians in GAZA have helped Hamas, by hiding them and supplying them.
Israel is only responding to their attack on Israel and the JIHAD open declaration to killed anyone in Israel not of the Islamic/Muslim faith.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] US President Donald Trump has appointed Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grinkevich as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe and head of the US European Command, the Pentagon press service reports.
"Lieutenant General Alexus Grinkevich has been appointed Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Commander of the United States European Command," the statement said.
The Pentagon added that representatives of the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance supported the appointment of Grinkevich. At the moment, he holds the post of director of operations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States Department of Defense. Grinkevich will replace the current head of the command, General Christopher Cavoli, who is due to retire in early July.
According to media reports, Grinkevich has earned the status of one of the most promising generals in the US at the Pentagon. In the past, he was a pilot of F-16 and F-22 fighters. Grinkevich also served for four years at the Central Command (CENTCOM) headquarters, helping to lead the US armed forces in the Middle East.
On May 3, the German magazine Der Spiegel wrote that Trump might not attend the NATO summit scheduled for June if the alliance member states do not increase defense spending from 2% to 5% of GDP per year. It was noted that Berlin had long disregarded the words of the new US Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, about the demand by the head of the White House to increase military spending.
It doesn’t need to be over for Trump and Elon. Dominant men often develop deep friction when they disagree. Let me give you a powerful historical example of a similar situation:
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were close friends during the American Revolution and they worked on… pic.twitter.com/K8GJjMzwbQ
[SUDANTRIBUNE] 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... 's army said on Thursday that a dronezap by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed at least five civilians in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, and accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of supplying the drones.
The RSF has recently intensified its aerial attacks on El Obeid, according to the army. It said recent shelling had struck the city's central prison, the Military Medical Corps Hospital, the private al-Daman Hospital, the Zenobia Hotel, and a judicial authority building.
The army spokesperson said in a statement that ''one of the strategic drones, with which the UAE supplies the Dagalo militia, targeted sites within the city of El Obeid.'' The statement referred to the RSF as the ''Dagalo militia''.
The spokesperson stated that the drones hit the Grand Market, the industrial area, and other civilian facilities, leading to the death of five civilians and injuring others.
The army's statement condemned what it called ''criminal behaviour'' and ''continuous violations'' by the RSF. It accused the RSF, which it termed ''the notorious militia'', ''of attacks against citizens and civilian objects, with direct funding from the United Arab Emirates— without accountability.''
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2025
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[Federalist] Returning noncitizen children and noncitizen parents to their countries could save taxpayers hundreds of billions, especially in state budgets.
A few simple calculations indicate that as much as one-quarter of U.S. public school enrollment could be anchor babies, meaning children with at least one parent illegally present in the United States. This alone amounts to at least $145.6 billion in public resources diverted from U.S. citizens every year.
Here’s the math. In April, the Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that 17 percent of school-age children, or nine million kids, in the United States are children of at least one illegal alien. The New York Times has reported on the estimate. Some of these children are also foreign citizens, while some were born in the United States. Under a longstanding court misinterpretation, being born in the United States currently confers U.S. citizenship. Almost no other developed countries confer citizenship solely by birth location.
That’s already one in six kids in the United States who are legally subject to deportation to continue living with their parents. If you also assume that all of this population attends public schools, the percentage is more than 17. That’s because only 80 percent of U.S. kids attend a traditional public school, according to 2024 figures from EdChoice.
There were 50 million school-age kids in the United States in 2024, according to ChildStats.gov (adding in the five-year-olds to match the anchor baby age range and assuming there were 4 million of them, an equal age distribution among the 0-5 figure). Eighty percent of 50 is 40, so 40 million of the total 50 million U.S. kids went to public schools in 2024. Nine million anchor babies out of that total 40 million public-school attendees suggests 22.5 percent of U.S. public school enrollment could be anchor babies.
WHY THIS IS A REASONABLE FIGURE
Yes, these are estimates, and some very broad math. If anything, however, official estimates tend underestimate illegal migration, given its, well, illegal and illicit nature. So it’s absolutely within a reasonable range to assume somewhere around a quarter of U.S, public school enrollment is anchor babies.
It’s also fair to assume just about all anchor babies attend assigned public schools, for multiple reasons. First, public benefits are a key motivation for many foreign trespassers, as virtually all come from countries that spend far less on public services, including education. Even Kaiser says, “about three in four (77%) immigrant adults say they moved to the U.S. for a better future for their children.”
Plus, as even Kaiser and the NYT acknowledge, illegal immigrant households on average have significantly less income than the average American household. If the average U.S. household would prefer to enroll their children in private schools but doesn’t because of tuition, as EdChoice surveys have shown for years, illegally present foreigners are hardly likely to do so in any noticeable number.
HUGE IMPLICATIONS
Now for some more math related to the taxpayer costs just of educating these nine million kids who would not be in the United States without lawbreaking. Federal statistics estimate U.S. taxpayers spent an average of $16,280 per student in school year 2020-21, the latest data available.
Nine million anchor babies times $16,280 each is $145.6 billion. Per year. Again, this is probably a lowball figure, for several reasons. First, taxpayer spending per pupil is higher today than in 2020, given the vast “Covid” money shoveled out and the resulting inflation pressuring legislatures to raise education spending for “teachers’ salaries” since then.
Second, the illegal immigrant population disproportionately hides in higher-spending blue states such as California, Illinois, and New York. New York taxpayers will shell out approximately $35,012 per student in the coming school year. In 2023, California public schools spent nearly $19,000 per student per year. In 2024, Illinois schools spent nearly $24,000 per student. This is another reason U.S. taxpayer spending on students who shouldn’t be in the United States is likely far higher than our $145.6 billion per year estimate.
Some might dismiss this astronomical figure as a rounding error in at least the federal budget. (Please, donate such “rounding errors” to my retirement fund!) But every dollar spent on a child who is rightly another country’s responsibility is a dollar not available for an American citizen. Further, this figure extended just seven years — about half of a child’s K-12 experience — totals $1 trillion. That’s half the current federal deficit.
A HUGE CHUNK OF STATE BUDGETS
The fiscal distortions of just this one cost of illegal immigration are enormous, perhaps especially at the state level. States spend about half of their budgets on K-12, meaning 22.5 percent of fraudulent public school enrollment deprives legislatures of approximately one-tenth their annual revenue. That’s a ton of money not spent on other things taxpayers might prefer instead, including a pretty good tax cut.
To take an example: This year Indiana faced a $2.4 billion shortfall out of its $44 billion two-year budget. Indiana still managed to increase K-12 spending by 2 percent to $19 billion over the next two years. Indiana has approximately 1 million K-12 students, so that means it is spending $9,500 per student per year at solely the state level, meaning not including local and federal tax dollars.
If the average 22.5 percent of Indiana’s public school students are illegal aliens or their children, sending them to their home countries would alone have nearly solved Indiana’s $2 billion budget shortfall. That would be 225,000 students, at an annual state cost of $2.14 billion. Again, that doesn’t include the local and federal tax costs, which together are about the same amount as state expenditures, meaning it would have saved local taxpayers across Indiana another approximately $2 billion, not to mention all the downstream potential savings in smaller school buildings, less curriculum and supplies, and so on.
This means Indiana’s entire 2025 budget shortfall could have been due to the presence of illegal aliens, and solved by sending them where they belong. At the very least, illegal migration was a significant factor in the shortfall the legislature solved mostly with cuts to services and a dramatic cigarette tax increase.
Other spending on illegals — Medicaid, housing and food aid, etc. discussed at the link.
Trying in vain to game the situation while the IDF kills more Hamas, et al bad guys and breaks more Hamas things into rubble and dust.
[GEO.TV] The head of Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... 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... , Khalil al-Hayya, said in a pre-recorded speech on Thursday the group had not rejectedthe latest US proposal for a ceasefire with Israel but demanded changes that would secure the end of the war in the enclave.
The group was ready to engage in a new round of ceasefire talks, and communication with mediating countries was ongoing, he added. The latest US proposal came via President Donald Trump ...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party... 's special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
"The movement (Hamas) didn't reject the Witkoff proposal, but we have demanded some remarks and improvement to ensure an end to the war," Hayya, who is also chief Hamas negotiator, said in a pre-recorded video speech.
Hayya reiterated demands for an end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, conditions Israel has rejected.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[IsraelTimes] Massive exports come despite pressure by foreign governments to cancel deals over Gaza war; air defense systems account for nearly half of sales.
[IsraelTimes] Israeli firm says family of ‘high-energy laser weapon systems’ includes mobile interceptors that can be mounted on trucks, APCs to target drones, rockets and other aerial threats.
But not for those vile, leftwing idiots currently running Spain.
[AnNahar] Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... leader Samir Geagea ....Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005.... accused Wednesday the Hezbollah-led camp of trying to delay Paleostinian disarmament and called for a government timetable for removing all illegal Lebanese arms.
"The Hezbollah-led camp is pressuring Lebanese officials to delay the disarmament of Paleostinian camps and inciting some Paleostinian factions to oppose the disarmament," Geagea said in a statement.
A joint Lebanese-Paleostinian committee had agreed last month that the disarmament of the first Paleostinian camps in Leb ...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration.... will begin in mid-June in three Beirut camps, and other camps will follow.
"Any procrastination would show that the government is not serious and would delay the creation of an actual Lebanese state, keeping Lebanon isolated, especially from its Arab friends and obstructing any aid for the reconstruction (of war-hit regions) or for reviving the Lebanese economy," Geagea said, urging the President and the government to start taking serious steps to build a state that has a monopoly on arms and has war and peace decisions "like any other normal state."
Lebanon hosts about 222,000 Paleostinian refugees, according to the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... agency UNRWA, many living in 12 overcrowded official camps.
Most are descendants of Paleostinians who fled or were expelled from their land during the creation of Israel in 1948.
[AnNahar] Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab said Wednesday that authorities had seized all production facilities of illicit stimulant captagon, which became Syria's largest export under ousted ruler Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... In an interview with state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
, Khattab said that "we were able to stop the production of this drug and seize all the materials and factories that were producing" captagon.
"There are now no more factories producing captagon in Syria," he said.
Most of the factories, which he said numbered in the dozens, were located "in the Damascus countryside and a large number in the Lebanese border area" as well as on the coast.
"Most were in areas under the control of the former Fourth Division," he said, referring to the notorious Syrian army division headed by Assad's brother Maher.
Captagon became Syria's largest export during the civil war that erupted in 2011, and a key source of illicit funding for Assad's government.
Since his overthrow in December, the new Islamist authorities have announced the discovery of millions of captagon pills in warehouses and on military bases.
Last month, authorities said they had thwarted an attempt to smuggle out four million captagon pills, days after seizing another nine million that were headed for The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... Neighboring countries also occasionally announce captagon seizures.
"Shipments initially prepared for export have been intercepted" daily, Khattab said, noting Syria has begun coordinating with countries including neighboring Jordan and Turkey as well as Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... -- a key market for the drug
The interior minister also noted other security challenges, including 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.... (IS) group jihadists who according to Khattab had moved from "absurd acts... to studied attacks on strategic targets".
Last month, IS claimed its first attack on Syria's new government forces.
Also last month, Syrian authorities said they arrested members of an Islamic State cell near Damascus, accusing them of preparing attacks, while another anti-IS operation in the northern city of Aleppo saw the death of one security forces officer and three IS members.
Khattab said IS had also attempted "to carry out attacks against the Christian and Shiite community" that the authorities had thwarted.
Once in control of large swathes of Syria and Iraq, IS was territorially defeated in Syria in 2019 largely due to the efforts of Kurdish-led forces supported by an international coalition.
Reported IS attacks in areas controlled by the Syria's Islamist-led authorities have been scarce, while frequent attacks have persisted in areas under Kurdish control in the country's north and northeast.
[AnNahar] President Donald Trump ...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!... is nominating Vice Adm. Brad Cooper to take over as the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, the Pentagon said Wednesday. If he is confirmed, it would mark just the second time that a Navy admiral has held the job.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a statement that Trump also is nominating Air Force Lt. Gen. Dagvin Anderson to head U.S. Africa Command. Anderson would be the first Air Force general to lead the command, which was created in 2007.
Cooper is currently deputy commander of U.S. Central Command and has extensive experience serving and leading troops in the Middle East. The current head of the command, Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, is slated to retire after more than three years in the post.
It is a crucial role as the region has been shaken by conflict, with the Trump administration pushing to broker a ceasefire deal after 20 months of war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... and pressing for an agreement with 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... in negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.
A 1989 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Cooper commanded naval forces in the Middle East for close to three years as the head of the Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain. He left in February 2024 to take over as deputy at Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East and is based in Tampa.
Army and Marine generals have largely held the Middle East job since it was created in 1983. And two of the recent leaders — former Army Gen. Lloyd Austin and former Marine Gen. Jim Mattis, went on to serve as defense secretary. Central Command covers 21 countries across central and south Asia and northeast Africa and has overseen the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Syria and 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... The only Navy officer to ever lead Central Command was Adm. William Fallon, who resigned after a year and retired. At the time, Fallon said he was stepping down due to press reports that suggested he was opposed to then-President George W. Bush's Iran policies. He said the reports were wrong but the perception had become a distraction.
Cooper is a surface warfare officer and served on guided-missile cruisers, destroyers, aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships. He commanded a destroyer and a cruiser.
During his time leading the 5th Fleet, Cooper set up the Navy's first unmanned and artificial intelligence task force, and he led naval operations against the Iran-backed 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... rebels in Yemen. He also oversaw the Navy's role in Operation Prosperity Guardian, the U.S.-led coalition created in late 2023 to counter Houthi attacks on fat merchantmen in the Red Sea.
He previously served as commander of Naval Surface Force Atlantic and commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea. Cooper is the son of a career Army officer and got his master's degree in strategic intelligence from the National Intelligence University.
Anderson, nominated to lead operations in Africa, is a pilot who has flown the KC-135 tanker, the C-130 transport aircraft and the U-28A surveillance aircraft used largely by special operations forces. He has flown more than 3,400 flight hours, including 738 in combat.
He is currently serving as the director of joint force development on the Joint Staff.
According to the Air Force, he commanded a special operations squadron, an expeditionary squadron, an operations group and a special operations wing. He also led the task force that coordinated the repositioning of U.S. forces from Somalia and headed Special Operations Command, Africa, from 2019 to 2021.
Africa Command is the newest of the Pentagon's geographic commands and covers the bulk of the African continent. Much of the U.S. military's efforts there have focused on combatting holy warrior groups and training local forces.
Anderson would be the seventh general to head Africa Command. To date, four of the previous leaders were Army generals and two were Marines.
Anderson is from Ypsilanti, Michigan, and graduated from the ROTC program at Washington University in St. Louis.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Ministry of Internal Affairs has announced a search for the alleged participant in the attack on Russian military airfields, Artem Timofeev. The corresponding information appeared in the ministry's database on June 5.
“Reason for search: wanted under the Criminal Code,” follows from Timofeev’s card in the agency’s wanted list database.
However, it is not specified under what article Timofeev is wanted.
On June 3, the Ust-Kut city administration reported that a man born in 1987 was suspected of involvement in the drone attack on the Belaya military airfield near Irkutsk. Descriptions of Timofeev were sent to all departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on June 1, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the Kiev regime, using FPV drones, carried out terrorist attacks against five Russian airfields: in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions. All attacks by enemy drones in the Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions were repelled. Several aircraft caught fire in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions. The fires were extinguished, there were no casualties or fatalities.
As Irkutsk Region Governor Igor Kobzev specified, the UAVs in the region were launched from a truck. Later, an eyewitness in Olenegorsk, Murmansk Region, added that drones also flew out of a truck there. Later, Belarusian driver Anton Matskevich told how he and other truckers who found themselves in a parking lot in the Usolsky District of Irkutsk Region tried to prevent drones from flying out of a parked truck.
The head of the Kyiv regime, Volodymyr Zelensky, claimed responsibility for the drone attacks. He called it a “unique operation” that had been in preparation for more than a year and a half. According to Zelensky, 117 drones were involved in the attacks.
Following a telephone conversation on June 4 with Russian President Vladimir Putin, American leader Donald Trump said that Moscow intends to respond to the Kiev regime's massive attack on Russian airfields.
[IsraelTimes] Syria's new government has agreed to give inspectors from the United Nations' nuclear watchdog access to suspected former nuclear sites immediately, the agency's head told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Demonstrating that they really do intend to be mostly harmless, though as they haven’t anyone with the skills to continue the work it’s truly no loss to give it up.
The ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency's director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, spoke in an exclusive interview in Damascus, where he met with President Ahmad al-Sharaa and other officials.
He also said al-Sharaa expressed an interest in pursuing nuclear energy for Syria in the future, adding, "Why not?"
The agency's aim is "to bring total clarity over certain activities that took place in the past that were, in the judgment of the agency, probably related to nuclear weapons," Grossi said. He described the new government as "committed to opening up to the world, to international cooperation" and said he is hopeful of finishing the inspection process within months.
An IAEA team in 2024 visited some sites of interest while former President Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes... was still in power. Since the fall of Assad in December, the IAEA has been seeking to restore access to sites associated with Syria's nuclear program.
Syria under Assad is believed to have operated an extensive clandestine nuclear program, which included an undeclared nuclear reactor built by North Korea ...hereditary Communist monarchy distinguished by its truculence and periodic acts of violence. Distinguishing features include Songun (Army First) policy, which involves feeding the army before anyone but the Dear Leadership, and Juche, which is Kim Jong Il's personal interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, which he told everybody was brilliant. In 1950 the industrialized North invaded agrarian South Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force opposing the invasion, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel. Seventy years later the economic results are in and it doesn't look good for Juche... in eastern Deir el-Zour province.
The IAEA described the reactor as being "not configured to produce electricity" — raising the concern that Damascus sought a nuclear weapon there by producing weapons-grade plutonium.
The reactor site only became public knowledge after Israel, the Mideast's only nuclear power, launched Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s in 2007 destroying the facility. Syria later leveled the site and never responded fully to the IAEA's questions.
Grossi said inspectors plan to return to the reactor in Deir el-Zour as well as to three other related sites. Other sites under IAEA safeguards include a miniature neutron source reactor in Damascus and a facility in Homs that can process yellow-cake uranium.
"We are trying to narrow down the focus, to those or that one that could be of a real interest," he said.
While there are no indications that there have been releases of radiation from the sites, he said, the watchdog is concerned that "enriched uranium can be lying somewhere and could be reused, could be smuggled, could be trafficked."
He said al-Sharaa — who has courted Western governments since taking power — had shown a "very positive disposition to talk to us and to allow us to carry out the activities we need to."
Apart from resuming inspections, Grossi said the IAEA is prepared to transfer equipment for nuclear medicine and to help rebuild the radiotherapy, nuclear medicine and oncology infrastructure in a health system severely weakened by nearly 14 years of civil war.
"And the president has expressed to me he's interested in exploring, in the future, nuclear energy as well," Grossi said.
A number of other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... , the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan, are pursuing nuclear energy in some form. Grossi said Syria would most likely be looking into small modular reactors, which are cheaper and easier to deploy than traditional large ones.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The planes were not destroyed during the Ukrainian Armed Forces' attack on Russian airfields on June 1. They were damaged and will be repaired, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with TASS.
"The equipment in question, as was also stated by representatives of the Ministry of Defense, was not destroyed, but damaged. It will be restored," the diplomat said.
Ryabkov emphasized that "there is nothing close" to what the Kiev regime claimed when presenting the results of its attack. It is necessary to follow and trust the data officially disseminated by the Russian Defense Ministry, the Deputy Foreign Minister pointed out.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, after a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 4, American leader Donald Trump emphasized that Moscow intends to respond to the Kiev regime’s massive attack on Russian airfields.
Trump found it useful to learn Putin's opinion on Kiev's recent terrorist attacks on Russian regions, presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on June 4.
In a telephone conversation with Trump, the Russian leader emphasized that Kyiv was trying to disrupt the negotiations in Istanbul by striking civilian targets, Ushakov noted.
On June 1, the Kiev regime carried out terrorist attacks against five Russian airfields: in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions. The attacks were carried out using FPV drones, which are controlled by an operator via video link in real time.
All attacks on military airfields in the Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions were repelled. Fires broke out in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, they were extinguished, there were no casualties or fatalities. The Ministry of Defense reported that some of the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks were detained.
Coming from the SDF’s prison camps for their ISIS captives, I assume
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan reported on the repatriation of 13 citizens of the country who were victims of the armed conflict in Syria.
As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, Azerbaijan periodically organizes the return of its citizens from camps in Syria and Iraq. In June 2024, six Azerbaijani citizens - a woman and five children - were repatriated from Syria, and in October, the country's Foreign Ministry reported the repatriation of two citizens from Iraq. In November 2022, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry estimated the total number of its citizens repatriated from Syria and Iraq over the years of operation at 409 people.
The Azerbaijani government announced the return of 13 citizens from Syria on June 4, without specifying the gender and age of the repatriates.
According to the country's Foreign Ministry, the group of repatriates arrived in Baku the day before, on June 3. The Azerbaijani embassy in Turkey worked on their return. At the first stage, diplomats established the location and identities of the Azerbaijani citizens, confirming their citizenship, then they were provided with temporary identity cards - certificates for returning to Azerbaijan and air tickets, according to a publication on the department's website.
Back in Turkey, specialists from Azerbaijan conducted an initial medical examination of the repatriates and their psychological assessment. Social rehabilitation and reintegration programs into society are provided for them.
"The Azerbaijani government will continue to take the necessary measures to repatriate Azerbaijani citizens who have become victims of armed conflict in foreign countries," the ministry said in a statement.
Posted by: badanov ||
06/06/2025
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[SUDANTRIBUNE] The 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... ese army on Wednesday denied a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report accusing it of using unguided bombs in early February Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s on residential and commercial areas of Nyala, South Darfur State.
Brigadier General Nabil Abdallah, the army's spokesperson, stated that HRW's claims of bombing civilians were ''untrue and detached from reality.'' He called the report part of ''an international conspiracy targeting Sudan and its people,'' criticizing the watchdog for ignoring ''atrocities and violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against civilians.''
Abdallah added, ''We affirm that the militia — the RSF — is directly and systematically targeting public facilities, including health institutions, water sources, and electricity, before the eyes of the international community without any significant action.''
HRW, in its report, asserted that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) killed ''scores of civilians'' in these attacks. It deemed them ''indiscriminate'' and ''apparent war crimes.'' The report specified the use of unguided air-dropped bombs, like OFAB-250 and FAB-series general-purpose bombs. These weapons have wide-area effects and limited accuracy, making them unsuitable for targeting military objectives in populated areas.
The watchdog detailed repeated army attacks on Nyala, home to over 800,000 people, since the RSF took control in October 2023. These assaults were indiscriminate, with bombs hitting areas not designated as military targets.
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06/06/2025
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Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
[SUDANTRIBUNE] 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... 's former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Wednesday dismissed the military's recent moves to form a new government as ''fake,'' saying battlefield gains would not end the country's two-year civil war.
In a rare interview with The News Agency that Dare Not be Named, Hamdok, who now leads a civilian coalition from exile, said no military victory, in Khartoum or elsewhere, could end the conflict that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.
''Whether Khartoum is captured or not captured, it's irrelevant,'' Hamdok told AP on the sidelines of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation's governance conference in Morocco. ''There is no military solution to this. No side will be able to have outright victory.''
Hamdok became Sudan's first civilian prime minister in 2019, following decades of military rule, and attempted to lead a democratic transition. He resigned in January 2022 following a turbulent period that included his ouster in a coup and brief reinstatement. The following year, warring generals plunged the country into civil war, triggering one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
Fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left at least 24,000 people dead, though many believe the true toll is far higher. Both factions are accused of war crimes, with the RSF, which has roots in Darfur's Janjaweed militia, accused of carrying out genocide. The army is accused of using chemical weapons
...have not been used since WWI except for in Iraq, by the late, unlamented Saddam Hussein and in Syria, but really, honest, not by the Syrian government. And in Germany in WWII, but that was against civilians. Lots of them, just one of many reasons Hitler's also late and unlamented... and targeting civilians.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2025
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Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
[GEO.TV] The international medical group MSF has said that Israeli displacement orders and movement restrictions 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... have pushed Nasser Hospital to the edge of ''becoming non-functional''.
''Ordering hospitals to refuse new patients and making it harder for people to reach places of care has been a pattern by the Israeli forces throughout this war, aimed at closing the hospitals,'' the group said in a news release.
''Nasser is the last remaining referral hospital in the south of Gaza, a vital lifeline for people in need, and its full functionality must be immediately restored and preserved,'' it said.
Jose Mas, head of MSF emergency programmes, said that putting the hospital out of commission would be a ''death sentence ...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead... '' for severely maimed patients, the critically ill, and women in need of emergency obstetric care.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also called for the protection of Nasser and al-Amal Hospitals in Gaza.
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"LEGAL LANDSCAPE": Senate Engages in Discourse on Alberta and Saskatchewan's Secession Rights
Senator Marc Gold addressed the Senate, asserting that no province can break away without the consent of Parliament. Drawing from his background as a former law professor, Gold emphasized that this issue is fundamentally "a matter of law," though he refrained from detailing how such laws would be implemented.
"This government is dedicated to maintaining the strength and unity of our nation, and we will persist in that mission," Gold stated during Thursday's question period, as reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.
In the year 2000, Parliament enacted the Clarity Act, designed to ensure that any referendum question regarding a province's potential secession is clearly articulated, reflecting the true will of its populace on whether they wish to leave Canada and establish independence.
The preamble of the Clarity Act underscores: "The Supreme Court has affirmed that neither international law nor the Constitution of Canada grants the National Assembly, legislature, or Government of Québec the right to unilaterally secede from Canada."
During the question period, Senator Paula Simons inquired about the applicability of the act should the Prairie provinces seek to separate.
"The opening line of the preamble specifically references Québec," she noted.
"In light of the increasingly vocal separatist sentiments emerging from Alberta and Saskatchewan, could you clarify whether the Clarity Act extends to provinces beyond Québec?"
Gold responded, "This is not merely a matter of opinion; it is a matter of law."
"The Clarity Act is applicable to all provinces."
Simons pressed further, asking, "Could you outline the obstacles a province would need to overcome to achieve separation?"
"If I were in a law school classroom, that would be a question I would be eager to explore," Gold replied, leaving the matter unexplained.
#3
Treat them like individual States if they want to be part of USA. I cannot figure out a fifty three star flag, though.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
06/06/2025 4:36
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#4
From an old friend and former colleague:
I've been following this for the last few months. Looks like a train wreck for Canada caused by their wokeratti elites. It's a good object lesson. Trump must be licking his chops at the prospect of picking up some of the western provinces as new states. These are the ones more in line with conservatism. Ontario & Quebec can stew in their own juices. We don't want them. The Maritime provinces stated back then when Quebec seemed ready to secede that they would not stay with the rump of Canada and would petition for union with the United States.
There was a clip online in which a Canadian actually read a government document not for public dissemination that stated the goal of the government was to replace the European based population by massive immigration from China, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. It sounds just like what our wokistas have planned for us.
#10
NO additional Democrat Senators = NO PR, DC statehood
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/06/2025 18:51
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#11
Surely there should be a period as a protectorate before full statehood — it would probably take at least a decade just to bring local and provincial laws and regulations into alignment with American federal laws, regs, and the U.S. Constitution, not to mention writing a state constitution or several, depending on how they’re to be divided up, making sure the police and such understand the American way of doing things, that teachers are certified to teach American history and can do it without sneering at the folks down south as they’ve been accustomed to…
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 20:51 Successful clearing of residential buildings in Fyodorovka in the Velikonovoselovsky direction by Russian fighters —video. 20:35 Forward units received another batch of necessary equipment
A serviceman with the call sign "Lord" personally came to collect the valuable cargo straight from the front. His task is to deliver the vehicles to his unit. On the way to the humanitarian aid collection site, he took his son with him.
“I came with my son so that he could see and so that the growing generation could understand what tasks his father was performing,” the fighter shared.
The donated SUVs and motorcycles are particularly valuable to assault units, as they allow for the rapid delivery of ammunition and personnel to the front lines.
19:50 Units of the "Vostok" group continue break through the enemy's defenses and advance in the Komar area.
Southwest of Komar, our units entered Fyodorovka and began to storm it, bypassing the enemy's fortified area between Vesyoloye and Fyodorovka across the Mokrye Yaly River. Before the attack, the enemy in the village and fortified area was subjected to complex fire damage by artillery, aviation, and UAV crews.
18:40 Armed Forces of Ukraine inflicted strike on Rylsk. The attack hit an apartment building and private homes. In the alley of Rosa Luxemburg and Frunze streets, several more residential buildings were damaged by the shock wave, and the windows of a non-working bakery were knocked out.
Six people were injured, the 83-year-old victim is in serious condition. They are receiving all necessary medical care.
17:40 Servicemen of the "East" group of forces deployed pontoon crossing in the South Donetsk direction
The crossing was organized to create a sustainable logistics system and rapid delivery of ammunition and food from rear areas to the front line.
An unmanned boat was used to camouflage the crossing. It accompanied the pontoon, creating a smoke screen.
16:30 From 13:25 to 15:00 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed three Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the aircraft type:
- Two UAVs - over the Black Sea,
- One UAV - over the territory of the Belgorod region.
15:05 From 12.15 to 13.00 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the airplane type over the territory of the Belgorod region.
14:20 In the DPR, UAV units of the 20th Army discovered enemy stronghold in a forest plantation. The FPV drone crew of the Rubicon Center destroyed the detected target with a precise hit.
13:45 Summary of the Ministry of Defense on the progress of the Special Military Operation as of 06/05/2025
Units of the North Forces Group inflicted defeat of concentrations of manpower and equipment of the mechanized, two airborne assault, Jaeger brigades, an assault regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and an assault center of special operations forces in the areas of the settlements of Korchakovka, Varachino, Khrapovshchina, Pisarevka, Vorozhba, Yunakovka, Sadki and Velykyi Prikol in Sumy Oblast.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost over 180 servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, six cars, four field artillery pieces and an electronic warfare station.
Units of the "West" group of forces occupied more advantageous lines and positions. They defeated formations of two mechanized, assault and airmobile brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Kupyansk, Glushchenkovo, Borovaya, Peschanoye, Olgovka, Andreyevka in the Khar'kov region, Kirovsk and Yampol in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 195 servicemen, three tanks, a US-made M113 armored personnel carrier, a UK-made Snatch armored combat vehicle, 10 vehicles, and two Western-made artillery pieces. Eight ammunition depots were destroyed.
Units of the "Southern" group of troops improved the situation along the front line. They defeated the manpower and equipment of two mechanized, motorized infantry, assault, airmobile and mountain assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Nikiforovka, Ivanopolye, Fedorovka, Konstantinovka, Nelepovka and Pleshcheyevka of the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy lost up to 240 servicemen, an Italian-made Puma armored personnel carrier, eight vehicles, six artillery pieces, including three NATO-made ones. An electronic warfare station, a US-made AN/TPQ-50 counterbattery radar station, and an ammunition depot were destroyed.
Units of the "Center" group of forces improved their tactical position. They defeated formations of four mechanized, two airborne assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a naval infantry brigade, two territorial defense brigades and a national guard brigade in the areas of the settlements of Petrovskoye, Udachnoye, Kotlino, Novonikolayevka, Novosergeyevka, Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov of the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy's losses amounted to up to 500 troops, seven armored combat vehicles, including a US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, eight pickup trucks and six field artillery pieces, including a British-made 155mm FH-70 towed howitzer.
Units of the "East" group of forces continued to advance into the depths of the enemy's defense. They defeated the manpower and equipment of two mechanized, airmobile brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a naval infantry brigade in the areas of the settlements of Zaporozhye, Karl Marx, Komar and Fedorovka of the Donetsk People's Republic.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 195 servicemen, three combat armored vehicles, three cars, four field artillery pieces and two electronic warfare stations.
Units of the Dnepr group of forces defeated formations of two mechanized, mountain assault brigades, a coastal defense brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and three territorial defense brigades in the areas of the settlements of Kamenskoye, Pavlovka, Mala Tokmachka, Novodanilovka, Stepovoye in the Zaporizhia region, Krupitsa and Antonovka in the Kherson region.
The enemy lost up to 90 servicemen, nine vehicles, two self-propelled artillery units, two Grad multiple launch rocket system combat vehicles, six electronic warfare stations and three ammunition depots.
12:40 Artillerymen are delivering crushing blows to the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
– The 122mm D-30 gun crew of the Dnepr troop group destroyed a dugout with an enemy UAV crew in the Orekhov direction.
– The 152mm 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled howitzer crews of the Vostok group of forces carried out targeted strikes on temporary deployment points of Ukrainian formations in the area of the village of Zeleny Kut in the South Donetsk direction.
12:10 Around 9.45 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle of the airplane type over the territory of the Belgorod region.
11:20 On the border of Sumy region, servicemen of the 22nd Motorized Rifle Regiment of the North group of forces evacuated destroyed foreign equipment of Ukrainian militants.
Among the captured items were:
- Two M1 Abrams tanks,
- Two International MaxxPro armored personnel carriers,
- One Stryker armored fighting vehicle,
- One Challenger recovery vehicle.
10:17 For shelling civilians in the village of Pogrebki in the Kursk region, to a long prison term sentenced VFU grenade launcher
The evidence collected by the Main Military Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation was found by the court to be sufficient to sentence a serviceman of military unit A-3283 (17th Separate Tank Brigade), grenade launcher, senior soldier Sergei Stokoz. He was found guilty of committing a terrorist act in the Kursk region (subparagraphs "a" and "c" of Part 2 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
10:15 UAV operators GV "Sever" destroyed Ukrainian Armed Forces infantry at the border with Sumy Oblast, — video.
9:45 Ukrainian drones twice attacked a car with a film crew from Zvezda in Oleshky, Kherson region. The car burned down, the escort was injured.
9:35 Drone Drivers continue a series of precise strikes
– Special forces servicemen of the “West” group of forces, using attack drones, eliminated an enemy UAV crew, as well as repeaters that increase the range of enemy unmanned aircraft.
– Drone operators of the reconnaissance battalion of the Center group of forces supported the offensive actions of the assault groups.
– FPV drone operators of the Southern Group of Forces destroyed the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ communications antenna and disrupted the rotation of enemy units in the Konstantinovka area.
9:05 Units of the West group of forces are developing offensive on the Ivanovo-Makeyevka bridgehead.
Russian assault units are fighting in Karpovka. The enemy is aware of the consequences of our troops' further advance westward in the direction of the Oskol River.
From the direction of Lipovoye, our units advanced to Zelenaya Dolina and took up positions on the near approaches to the village from the north and west. As a result, taking into account the cutting of the road to Shandrigolovo by our units to the south, this led to the virtual encirclement of the village. Between the northern and southern envelopments, the enemy has 1.3 km of pocket neck left.
North of Redkodub, the Russian Armed Forces advanced in the direction of Novy Mir to the Krasnoyarskoye farmstead, and to the south, they expanded their control of the territory on the approaches to Karpovka along the heights.
Northwest of Novomikhaylovka – battles for strongholds on the approaches to Novy Mir from the eastern side.
Fighting in the eastern part of the settlement of Kolodezi and for the settlement of Mirnoye with a section of the dam, which the enemy continues to control.
The enemy has become active in the area of the settlement of Torskoye. Our units are repelling counterattacks. Fierce fighting is underway.
8:25 During the past night, air defense systems on duty destroyed 30 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
– 15 – over the territory of the Rostov region,
– 11 – over the territory of the Republic of Crimea,
– Two – over the territory of the Belgorod region,
– One each over the territories of the Moscow region and Kursk region
. 8:10 Calculation of the 152mm Giatsint-B howitzer destroyed enemy UAV control point in the Orekhov direction.
Russian paratrooper artillerymen fired from a closed firing position at a range of over 20 kilometers. The enemy was detected and the gun fire was subsequently adjusted using aerial reconnaissance equipment from the unmanned aircraft units of the formation.
8:00 From 22:00 Moscow time on June 4 until 0:00 Moscow time on June 5 by air defense systems on duty destroyed 29 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
– 15 – over the territory of the Belgorod region,
– 11 – over the territory of the Rostov region,
– Three – over the territory of the Voronezh region.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] The Ukrainian Armed Forces are engaged in fierce battles in the east and south of Ukraine.
Most of the fighting is taking place in the Pokrovsk direction. There, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already stopped 38 Russian attacks.
Since the beginning of the day, 99 combat clashes have occurred on the front. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an operational report on Thursday, June 5.
Thus, in the Kharkov direction, the Russians are trying to advance in the Vovchansk area. The battle is currently ongoing there.
In the Kupyansk direction, two enemy attempts to advance forward in the areas of the settlements of Zapadnoye and Petrovpavlovka were successfully stopped.
In the Liman direction, the enemy attacked 12 times in the areas of the settlements of Grekovka, Novy Mir, Ridkodub, Karpovka, Zelenaya Dolina, Torskoye and in the direction of Grigorovka. Currently, fighting continues in three locations.
In the Seversky direction, three military clashes took place near Verkhnekamyansky. One battle is not over yet.
In the Kramatorsk direction, two military clashes occurred in the areas of Chasovy Yar and Kurdyumovka. One military clash continues.
In the Toretsk direction, the enemy carried out 13 assaults near the settlements of Dilievka, Toretsk, Nelipovka, Shcherbinovka and in the direction of the settlements of Aleksandro-Kalinovoye, Yablunovka, Rusin Yar. Two combat clashes are currently ongoing.
In the Pokrovsk direction, the occupiers carried out 42 attacks in the areas of the settlements of Poltavka, Mirolyubovka, Malinovka, Elizavetovka, Lisovka, Zvirove, Udachnoye, Kotlin, Novosergeevka, Novoaleksandrovka, Gorikhovoe, Novoukrainka, Andreyevka and in the direction of Pokrovsk and Alekseyevka. The defense forces have already repelled 38 assaults.
In the Novopavlovsk direction, the Russians attacked 13 times near the settlements of Bogatyr, Konstantinopol, Rivnepol, Novosyolka, Zelenoe Pole and in the direction of Alekseyevka. One attack is still ongoing.
In the Gulyai-Polye direction, the enemy unsuccessfully attempted to break through the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defenses in the Malinovka area five times.
In the Orekhov direction, the invaders carried out four unsuccessful attacks near Stepovoye, Malye Shcherbaki and in the direction of Novoandrievka.
In the Dnieper direction, the enemy once unsuccessfully tried to approach the fortifications of our defenders.
In the Kursk direction, Ukrainian defenders repelled seven attacks by Russian troops.
Let us recall that on June 4, Russia lost almost 1,000 fighters killed and wounded in one day. The total number of Russian losses will soon exceed 1 million people.
[GEO.TV] Western allies are planning to file a resolution to the world nuclear watchdog condemning 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... for ''non-compliance'' over its nuclear programme, diplomatic sources told AFP on Thursday.
It is the latest move in years-long efforts to restrict Iran's nuclear activities over fears that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, which it denies.
The United States and European countries will submit the resolution to the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board next week, with the threat of referring the issue to the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... , the sources said.
After a recent IAEA report showed ''a general lack of cooperation'' by Tehran, the United States, Britannia, La Belle France and Germany ''are tabling a resolution that will find Iran in non-compliance'' with its nuclear obligations, a senior diplomatic source said.
Recent rounds of talks between the United States and Iran, mediated by Oman, have aimed to secure an agreement on limiting enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief.
Two other diplomats confirmed the resolution initiative in comments to AFP, saying it would ''increase pressure'' on Iran, with a vote scheduled at the IAEA board in Vienna on June 11.
Iran rejected last week's IAEA report, calling it a ''political'' manoeuvre, and accused Israel of contributing ''unreliable and misleading information'' to it.
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06/06/2025
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[IsraelTimes] French president promotes recognition of Palestinian statehood; German FM says move would send ‘wrong signal,’ vows to keep sending arms to Israel but calls for more aid to Strip.
”Need to placate our Moslem colonists to stop them rioting in the streets — but what can we do that won’t make the Israel-lovers mad? If only they would go back to not paying attention!”
Contrast with:
[GEO.TV] 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... 's civil defence agency said Israeli attacks killed at least 37 people on Thursday, as a US-backed aid group reported it had resumed operations after a one-day hiatus.
Gaza civil defence official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said that "37 people have been martyred in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip", reporting attacks up and down the length of the territory.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2025
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[GEO.TV] There was an unpredictable attack and a group of journalists inside the al-Ahli Hospital were hit as they were setting up makeshift tents to protect themselves from the heat. This is the eighth time the hospital has been hit, reported Al Jazeera.
Three of the journalists were reported killed on the spot, and pieces of flesh were left scattered on what once was a manicured garden at the medical facility. Good for the grass, and ants. IDF says it hit Islamic Jihad command center near Gaza hospital
[IsraelTimes] The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike at the Al-Ma’amadani Hospital in Gaza City, saying it targeted a Palestinian Islamic Jihad command center in the medical center’s courtyard.
According to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza, the strike hit a press compound and killed three people. Reports named one victim as Ismail Badr, a cameraman for the Palestine Today channel, which is affiliated with Islamic Jihad. A second journalist named Suleiman Hajaj was also killed, according to reports.
The IDF says the compound was used by Islamic Jihad operatives to plan and carry out attacks on troops and Israeli civilians.
The military says it took steps to minimize civilian harm, including by using a precision munition, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Taisiya Svetlichnaya
[REGNUM] In Ukraine, there is a new round of dispossession of Zelensky's iconic political rivals. This time, it is Petro Poroshenko, who was crushed by an elephant. And this is no joke.
Having fallen under personal sanctions, one of the richest people in the country and its former president decided to save his property from arrest and confiscation by formalizing it by dividing everything the family owns. At the end of March of this year, the ex-president's wife Marina filed a lawsuit in the Kryzhopolsky Court of thell Vinnytsia Region demanding that all the property acquired with Petro be divided and that she be given what she claims.
And the claims were estimated at 17 billion hryvnia.
Here are shares of enterprises, cash, and real estate. First of all, a controlling stake in an investment fund that lays golden eggs in the form of dividends: 1.6 billion hryvnia for 2024 alone.
According to the wording of the lawsuit, the husband was supposed to be left with a 2021 Honda motorcycle, a semi-trailer, a four-year-old Volvo, a share in a company that has been in a state of cessation of operations since 2016, 3.19 billion hryvnia in cash for a simple, modest life, as well as several paintings and an elephant sculpture by Salvador Dali, purchased in 2012 at a Sotheby's auction for $338.5 thousand.
And of the nearly fifty works of art listed in her husband’s declaration, Marina Poroshenko wanted to keep 32 for herself, including works by Russian artists Korovin, Polenov, Levitan and Bryullov – despite the proclaimed policy of “decolonization” and separation from the terrible past associated with Russia.
As of the date of the claim, the value of the art objects was estimated at more than 100 million euros. A trifle compared to Marina's property, but still nice.
Although in this family there are no trifles when it comes to money. Therefore, the oligarch's wife demanded and returned from the state 15 thousand hryvnia (about 28 thousand rubles), spent on filing a lawsuit against her husband.
"The lawsuit on division of property is a general tactic of protecting the Poroshenko family from Zelensky's attempts to block Petro Poroshenko's ability to finance assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and political activities. Since Zelensky, with his decree on sanctions, prohibited Petro Poroshenko from making any transactions, even paying taxes, the financing of the Poroshenko Charitable Foundation can only be unblocked through a corresponding court decision," this is how the press service of Poroshenko's European Solidarity party explained what is happening, but is in no hurry to explain anything about the 15 thousand hryvnias taken from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
And it seems that the idea of a fictitious division of everything “acquired through backbreaking labor” could result in new accusations of fraud.
The court closed the proceedings because there was no subject of dispute between the spouses, but only an oral agreement on the division of property. And against the backdrop of the lawsuit, the couple exchanged touching photos on social networks, demonstrating love and mutual respect, which confirmed the business basis of the divorce.
In addition, the above-mentioned private collection of paintings was recognized by the State Bureau of Investigation in 2020 as material evidence in a criminal case on smuggling, tax evasion, laundering of property obtained by criminal means, and forgery of security documents. So the attempt to rescue the property "to finance the Armed Forces of Ukraine" is not counted.
And the former president of Ukraine came under the sights of Ukrainian security forces literally immediately after he lost power.
Let us recall that in 2019 he lost the next presidential elections with a bang. At first, the motive of the new "green" government to persecute Poroshenko was justified by the fact that Zelensky, during the election campaign in the style of "stadium - so stadium" promised a lot and thickly to deal with the corruption of his predecessor.
In some remote places in Ukraine, remnants of election posters are still hanging around: “Spring will come - we will plant!”
Then the grip of the new government, dizzy with success, permissiveness and impunity, weakened, and Poroshenko was left alone for a while. But after visiting the British intelligence office in October 2020, Zelensky made a 180-degree turn in ideological terms. And the ex-president turned out to be his direct competitor in cultivating the nationalist electorate.
They took on him with renewed vigor.
They dug up dirt on him - cooperation with the main pro-Russian politician and businessman Viktor Medvedchuk, secret trade with the DPR-LPR, indirect financing of the Russian army through paying taxes to his candy factory in Lipetsk, illegal appropriation of state oil pipeline networks and much more.
All these criminal cases, and there are more than a dozen of them, threaten Poroshenko with the complete confiscation of the enormous fortune that he has accumulated over the years in power - he stole, caroled, robbed, took away, and raided.
And then personal sanctions arrived, under which a simple Ukrainian oligarch could lose everything. As a result, the family went for a fictitious division of property and money.
Although the persecution of the ex-president is not the fight against corruption that Zelensky promised his supporters at the dawn of his political career.
Suitcases of cash confiscated during searches at medical commissions, TCCs and military commissars, huge shortages of foreign aid money, constant scandals with purchases of everything and anything for the Ukrainian Armed Forces at inflated prices, holes in the budget, wild news about the number of the most expensive cars in the world imported to Ukraine and even the country's constantly growing corruption rating - all this testifies to the fact that no one is fighting corruption. Moreover, it has simply been successfully led.
The sanctions against Poroshenko are just a primitive and banal competitive struggle for the electorate. Here is what one of the leading Ukrainian media resources, Novoye Vremya, which is in the orbit of the "Sorosites", wrote:
"Amid the uncertainty of the war in Ukraine, the "shaping operations" continue. The goal is clear - to create a political landscape that, if elections are held, will allow Volodymyr Zelensky to have an opponent who is easy to defeat..."
Poroshenko, who has a whole network of opinion leaders, "talking heads", experts of all stripes, is quite good at snapping back. The publication Eadaily broadcast the sedition that "Poroshenko's people organized a powerful campaign called "President Zelensky's powers have ended", and there are no grounds like "martial law" that allow him to rule in violation of the term allotted by the constitution.
Also, having a long experience of political intrigue, the “gray-haired hetman” is trying to attract famous people to his political team, for example, making plans to put the former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny into politics.
And since Poroshenko has pretty good connections with the European political establishment, he continued to go to all sorts of political events in the EU. And now he has enough strength to shake up Europe if prison looms over him.
It will be quite problematic for Zelensky to imprison an unloved opponent. And is it necessary? It is easier to pluck Petro Oleksiyovych like a chicken, depriving him of money, TV channels, blocking his pocket speakers from speaking on central channels. And the experience of the confrontation between Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko shows that imprisoning an opponent who lost the election battle will not benefit, but harm the winner: a sitting political competitor instantly turns into an electorally resourceful leader of the "opposition".
Therefore, we predict that the matter will end with just a small fright, everyday problems and banking difficulties.
The political landscape of Ukraine will not change from these fights of spiders in a jar. Only the owner of certain wealth, resources and opportunities can change. After all, Zelensky and his entourage use the topic of fighting corruption as a screen for dispossession of the rich, emptying other people's money bags, degreasing all those who have at least something stuck to their hands, and robbing ordinary rank-and-file entrepreneurs.
For this purpose, a rather effective, albeit primitive, scheme was devised: personal sanctions against one’s own citizens.
The businessmen Boguslaevs, politicians Novinsky, Medvedchuk, Zhevago, Shufrich, Boyko, various owners of very profitable businesses - casinos, rich smugglers and thieves in law - were caught in the crossfire.
Some of them said that they were offered a bribe to remove their name from the sanctions list. In particular, influential businessman and smuggler Seyar Kurshutov, according to whom "security officials trade places on the sanctions list, even if a person had no chance of getting there. They call businessmen... instill fear, and then offer to remove you from the list."
The Ukrainian publication “Strana UA”, citing Kurshutov, also cites the “anti-sanction price” – from 100,000 to 3 million dollars.
In general, Zelensky's time is passing under the motto "rob the loot". Young boys in beautiful suits, girls with a dubious reputation, stand-up comedians from "95th quarter", who went to parliament, the government and the presidential office in 2019, turned out to be no better than the post-Maidan power of Poroshenko. And considering their role in bringing a huge 40-million country to suicide, they cannot be compared with the power of a huckster, a profiteer and a thief.
The elephant Dali may be confiscated from Poroshenko. But the country will not be saved.
[IsraelTimes] Israel confirms that 2,790 Palestinian detainees from the Gaza Strip are currently held in Israeli jails and detention facilities.
The information is revealed in the state’s response to a petition by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and other organizations against the Law for Unlawful Combatants.
The law enables the holding of suspected terrorists and combatants from terror groups fighting Israel without providing them with a “prisoner of war” status under international humanitarian law, since they are not members of the legal armed forces of a sovereign state.
According to the state’s response to PCATI, 660 of the Gazan detainees are being held in military detention facilities.
The state’s response also confirms that a military detention facility at the Anatot base has been closed, following reports of harsh conditions there, and a facility at the Amiad base used to hold Hezbollah operatives captured in Lebanon was also shuttered.
Since December, Israel has freed 1,244 Gazan detainees — mostly in the hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas — and has detained 455 more, according to the state response.
PCATI notes that there is a “discrepancy” of 144 detainees since the state’s last update. “The fate of these detainees is unknown, and has not been explained by the state authorities,” the organization says.
[SUDANTRIBUNE] At least 20 people have been killed and 17 others maimed over the past two days by artillery shelling from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the Abu Shouk camp for displaced persons in North Darfur state, an emergency group and a camp official said.
The camp, located north of El Fasher city, has faced daily indiscriminate shelling and drone attacks from the RSF, causing numerous civilian casualties, according to local reports.
Fourteen people died on Wednesday from artillery shells fired by the RSF towards the Nivasha area within Abu Shouk camp, according to a statement from the Abu Shouk Emergency Room, received by 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... Tribune.
On Thursday, six more people were killed and 17 injured as the RSF continued targeting areas heavily populated by civilians, a media official at the Abu Shouk camp said.
Many residents of Abu Shouk camp and El Fasher city have dug underground shelters for protection from artillery and drone attacks. However,
by candlelight every wench is handsome... a significant number of civilians continue to die daily due to the indiscriminate shelling.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/06/2025
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[RIA] Modern American political culture will go down in history as a turning point, says Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the international media group "Russia Today" and the RT TV channel, in her Telegram channel.
"Modern American political culture will go down in history as a turning point, of course. Like the English Industrial Revolution. Only in reverse. But it's fun to watch," she wrote.
There was a public spat between American entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump over the head of state's proposed large-scale bill to cut federal spending. Musk called the proposal "disgusting abomination" and called for "killing the bill." Trump responded by saying he was disappointed with Musk because he "did a lot for him." Musk then expressed the opinion that it was thanks to him that Trump became president and the Republicans gained control of both houses of Congress.
Following the spat with the president, Musk's Tesla stock prices fell nearly 9% at the opening of trading on Wall Street on Thursday.
[GEO.TV] A judge at New York Southern District court has ruled that the US govt didn't breach its plea bargain agreement with the Pak national, former gold trader Muhammad Asif Hafeez, in the high-profile drugs case in which he and four others are implicated including Bollywood star Mamta Kulkarni's husband Vicky Goswami.
Hafeez had filed a petition at the United States New York Southern District court arguing that the US govt was breaching the plea agreement terms with him; that he should be given only about 10 years jail term and that the government's proposed at least 276 months' imprisonment — around 23 years — would be a breach and therefore the court should rule against the government.
But Judge Victor Marrero of the court has ruled that "the Court finds that the Government did not breach the Plea Agreement, and, accordingly, orders the Defendant to adhere to the Plea Agreement's stipulated offense level and sentencing range under the United States Sentencing Guidelines" and that advocating for a sentence of at least 276 months' imprisonment for Hafeez would be proportionate to the offence level and category.
On November 18, 2024, Hafeez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and unlawfully import heroin into the United States and one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and unlawfully import methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States. His lawyers said he had no choice under the harsh US conditions but to plead guilty.
According to the allegations contained in indictments charging Hafeez, from 2013 through the date of his London arrest in 2017, conspired with his co-defendants, Baktash Akasha Abdalla, Ibrahim Akasha Abdalla, Gulam Hussein, and Vijaygiri Anandgiri Goswami to import heroin into the US.
[IsraelTimes] A short while ago, explosions were reported at a munitions depot at an air defense base near the Syrian city of Hama.
The reports are not confirmed by official Syrian media or authorities.
The cause of the blast is not immediately clear.
Inshallah?
#شام|| انفجارات عنيفة قرب بلدة الربيعة بريف حماة، ناتجة عن انفجار صواريخ ضمن مستودع للذخيرة في منطقة عسكرية سابقة لأسباب مجهولة، ولا أنباء عن حجم الأضرار حتى اللحظة. pic.twitter.com/lVkMggCYqb
Reports of an unusual explosion in Syria: 'An Israeli drone attacked'
[Ynet] After two rockets were launched into the Golan Heights Tuesday, and after Israel attacked in response in its northeastern neighbor's territory, Syria is now reporting an explosion at a missile depot in the Hama area - and 4 deaths. Qatari report: 'Israel attacked with a drone'
Syrian media reported a significant explosion on Thursday at a former military site near the village of al-Rabiya in rural Hama, where a missile storage facility was reportedly located. According to Syrian radio station Sham FM, “the cause of the explosion remains unknown, and no information has yet been received regarding the extent of the damage.”
Qatari outlet Al-Araby and the Iraq-based Sabrin News agency, affiliated with pro-Iranian militias, claimed the blast was the result of an Israeli drone strike. Other reports indicated that four people were killed in the incident.
Additional unconfirmed reports in Syrian media claimed that Israel also targeted a Syrian air defense battalion west of Hama airport, near the villages of Matnin and al-Rabiya. According to those accounts, two individuals were killed and three others wounded. Another report alleged that the IDF carried out artillery fire toward Daraa in southern Syria. However, the IDF said it was “not currently aware of any fire toward Syria.”
The Syrian news outlet SyriaTV confirmed the death toll in Hama as four, but noted conflicting reports regarding the cause of the explosion. Saudi-owned Al-Hadath claimed that drone activity was heard in the area shortly before the missile depot detonated.
Or it could have been poor missile storage techniques, which coupled with the heat or a poorly timed cigarette, spontaneously went off. A much smaller version of the Port of Beirut explosion — it’s a serious risk everywhere but Israel in that part of the world, I understand…
[Jfeed] ...Israeli authorities have been supplying light arms to the militia led by Yasser Abu Shabab in Rafah. The weapons include Kalashnikov rifles and other firearms seized from Hamas operatives during IDF raids.
... Abu Shabab's militia [a fairly large clan], which has recently assumed a central role in securing humanitarian corridors operated by international NGOs, is now considered by Israel a critical partner on the ground.
[X]
🚨 BREAKING A new armed group in Gaza, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, is shaking what’s left of Hamas.
🔻 Hamas tried to kill him near Kerem Shalom — failed. His brother was killed. 🔻 His 300-men force now secures food aid zones.
Security cabinet wasn’t informed of plan to start arming Abu Shabab group, which was created in Rafah last year and has its roots in looting aid trucks.
The group in question, which is sometimes described as a militia and sometimes as a criminal gang, is led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a member of a large clan in southern Gaza. It has been linked in the past to smuggling operations with Egyptian Jihadist groups, but it was not immediately clear why Liberman branded it as linked to the Islamic State.
His gang has been documented in recent days operating in an area near the Kerem Shalom border crossing under Israeli military control.
In the footage, which was published online by Abu Shabab, members of the group can be seen wearing military-style uniforms with the Palestinian flag and the words “Counter-Terrorism Mechanism” emblazoned on them.
In a conversation with Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper earlier this week, anonymous Hamas sources shared more information about the group, which they admitted has been a thorn in their side.
According to the sources, the militia comprises some 300 people, of whom Abu Shabab personally recruited around 50. They alleged that the remaining 250 members were recruited through the Palestinian Authority’s intelligence service.
The Hamas sources did not offer proof of Abu Shabab’s alleged ties to the Ramallah-based PA, and Al-Akhbar did not verify any of the terror group’s claims.
The group emerged in Rafah in May 2024, following the IDF invasion of the Strip’s southernmost city, the Hamas sources said. They told Al-Akhbar that the Al-Qassam Brigades have “already started carrying out direct assassinations” against members of Abu Shabab’s gang, and that its continued existence has fast become a “central issue” for the terror group.
According to the sources, some members of the group belong to an extremist Salafi faction that had run-ins with Hamas prior to the war as well.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
06/06/2025
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#1
Every Arab country should have an uncivil war - instead of externalizing their frustrations.
Link goes to Greenwald's Rumble video. YouTube was complaining. If you don't know Greenwald, he is a long-time antisemite who just went on Tucker Carlson a few days ago spewing ancient, long-discredited blood libels like "Jews control the US government" and Israel controls US foreign policy in the middle east.'It's the old DA JOOOZ orbital mind control lasers rhetoric, no need to repeat it here. Shortly thereafter a humiliating sex tape was released by "unknown actors" (LOL! remember, it's never a coincidence) of Greenwald having, uh, deviant sex with a gay male prostitute. He said it was nonconsensual and a crime, and you know what else was nonconsensual and a crime?
Oct 7.
This is the caliber of scum Rand Paul is choosing to freely associate with.
Here he is with his new buddy Rand Paul saying that the ADL's definition of antisemitism must not be passed into US law. Dangerous activities like calling Israel a racist state and making generalizations about Jews would be(ARE)antisemitic, too, and grounds for legal action. Revoke their student visas and deport them all.
Ron Paul is the man who ran for president all those years back and was endorsed by antisemitic organizations like Stormfront and accepted campaign contributions from leading white supremacists, which has not been forgotten. Not a surprise to see he's back to his old tricks.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The abnormal heat in Moscow will be brought down by a cold front, which is expected over the region after June 10. This was stated on Thursday, June 5, by forecaster, expert of the forecasting center "Meteo" Alexander Ilyin in a conversation with IA Regnum.
The Russian Hydrometeorological Center told TASS that an orange weather alert will be issued in Moscow from June 7 to 10 due to heat of +30…32 ℃. It is specified that the weather will be unstable and short-term rains and thunderstorms are quite possible during these days.
"Abnormally hot days are expected. The temperature will become very high, under +30 degrees on Sunday-Monday, maybe even above +30. In this regard, the fire hazard increases, in the coming days, maybe even tomorrow, there is a possibility of thunderstorm activity. Therefore, many different dangers arise," the weather forecaster said.
He stressed that hot weather over the Moscow region will last from June 6 to June 9–10, after which a cold front will arrive and reduce all the heat. Thus, the front will reduce the abnormal heat and the danger will be minimized.
"A cold front is expected somewhere on Tuesday. Most likely, the temperature will drop by 8-10 degrees. If on the weekend and on Monday it is somewhere around 30-32 ℃, even hotter in the sun, then, accordingly, after the cold front passes, the air can cool down to 18-23 ℃. That is, the maximum temperature will decrease," Ilyin said.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on June 4, the head of the Russian Hydrometeorological Center Roman Vilfand said that there is a 90% chance that this year could be among the top three in terms of the highest temperature. He also noted that from 2025 to 2029, the average temperature on Earth will increase by 1.5 degrees. Each additional fraction of a degree of warming can lead to more dangerous heat waves, extreme rainfall, severe droughts and melting glaciers, Vilfand explained.
According to the head of the Hydrometeorological Center, air temperatures in June in 80% of Russia's territory are expected to be close to the average norm, and only in some regions of the country are they expected to be above the norm.
Vilfand explained that it is impossible to predict the "hottest" summer; meteorology simply does not have such methods. He suggested asking those who promise extreme heat where one can get acquainted with their forecasting method.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The family of the teenager who desecrated the St. George ribbon in Obninsk does not yet know that the Investigative Committee will deprive them of Russian citizenship. The schoolboy's mother, Roxana, is very worried about her son's actions: the woman understands the seriousness of the situation, because both of her great-grandfathers fought on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, and her family has great respect for the symbols of Russia and Victory Day.
She trusts the decision of the investigative bodies and does not yet know whether she will challenge it. Roxana, the mother of the teenager who trampled the St. George ribbon in Obninsk,told Regnum News Agency about this.
On June 4, it became known that the families of the children who desecrated the St. George ribbon in Obninsk would be stripped of their Russian citizenship. This was announced by the Minister of Internal Policy of the Kaluga Region, Oleg Kalugin. According to him, the regional department of the Investigative Committee is currently working on this issue. Kalugin specified that the foreigners had received Russian passports quite recently, and after the scandal that had occurred, they had left Russia.
Journalists from Regnum News Agency managed to contact Roxana, the mother of one of the teenagers who trampled the St. George ribbon. She, her son and family are currently in their homeland in Tajikistan. According to the woman, they do not yet know anything about the Investigative Committee's decision to deprive her family of Russian citizenship.
"We have not been informed about this decision yet. Will we challenge this decision? It is difficult to answer now. When we receive official notification and a decision from the Investigative Committee of Russia, then we will look at the situation and think about what to do with it," Roxana told IA Regnum.
According to the woman, she deeply regrets her son's actions and regrets not having looked after him. Roxana emphasized that she strongly condemns such displays of disrespect for symbols associated with Russia and Victory Day. The woman noted that both her great-grandfathers, as well as her husband's grandfathers, fought on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War.
"I am very sorry about the situation that happened, about my son's actions. If I didn't regret it, I wouldn't repent of it, you understand? I didn't raise my children to insult the symbols of Russia, the symbols of those people who fought at that time, because my grandfathers also fought - my two great-grandfathers fought in the Great Patriotic War. And my husband's grandfathers also fought. This is not only the symbols of Russia, this is the symbols of the USSR, the USSR included 15 republics, including ours," Roxana emphasized.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on May 10, in the city of Obninsk in the Kaluga Region, teenagers trampled a flag with the St. George ribbon, a symbol of military glory, installed on one of the houses. The incident occurred on the territory of the residential complex "Cosmos 2.0", on Tabulevich Street. According to local residents, the participants in the incident do not live in this residential complex and were visiting it as guests that day.
The schoolchildren's actions caused a wide public outcry. During interrogation, the schoolchildren stated that they did not understand why they were taken to the police station. The children claimed that they simply wanted to block the fountain with a flag and did not mean anything bad. The teenagers and their parents publicly apologized for their actions and promised not to do anything similar in the future.
A criminal case was opened on the fact of the incident under the article on desecration of symbols of military glory of Russia (part 3 of article 354.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). It soon became clear that the teenagers were children of natives of Tajikistan, who had recently received Russian citizenship. On May 11, the Regnum news agency reported that the Investigative Committee would check the legality of obtaining citizenship by these families. The Investigative Committee opened another case under the article on negligence (article 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)
At the same time, neighbors of the scandalous family told IA Regnum that the children had previously demonstrated aggressive behavior. Thus, the mother of one of the pupils of the kindergarten reported that the younger brother of the teenager detained in Obninsk for desecrating the St. George ribbon threatened to bring a knife to the kindergarten to kill other children.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin:
[ColonelCassad] The Ukrainian Armed Forces shoot the refusers who do not want to go to "zero" in the Krasnoarmeysk direction.
One tries to run away, but not far.
The executioners were from the 68th Jaeger Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum]. Israeli military forces have found and returned the bodies of two hostages during an operation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
"During the operation of the General Security Service and the Israel Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip, the bodies of two hostages, Gadi Hagai and Judy Weinstein, were returned to Israel," Netanyahu said.
Elsewhere spelt Gadi Haggai and Judih Weinstein, due to the vagaries of transliteration between three alphabets.
The bodies were found in the Khan Yunis area, the IDF said. The prisoners were killed on October 7, 2023, and their bodies were taken to the Gaza Strip. The deceased were a married couple.
They were an elderly married couple, out for their daily constitutional. Such brave, brave Lions of Islam to murder them and take their bodies hostage.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalated in October 2023. On May 18 of this year, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a large-scale ground operation, Gideon's Chariots, in the northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip.
[GEO.TV] The Israeli military has warned it will take measures against the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, as a vessel chartered by the activist group approaches Gaza to protest Israel's blockade on the Palestinian enclave, reported Al Jazeera.
When asked about the vessel by British newspaper The Times, Israeli military spokesperson Effie Defrin said, ''For this case as well, we are prepared.''
#3
Israel should take the ‘high road’. Save Greta! I say impound the ship if it won’t agree to return to its launch site. Fly Greta back to Sweden though!
#6
In response, Israel should say "Fine. Since the Freedom Flotilla Coalition is supplying Gaza, we will stop allowing the hundreds of aid trucks to enter. Let the Coalition do all the aid."
A high-profile activist mission sailing to Gaza to challenge Israel’s blockade on the territory has taken a detour to pick up Sudanese migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean, according to a person on board the ship.
Activist Rima Hassan reports that the Madleen changed tack to the south to rescue a boat carrying migrants off the Libyan coast. They reached the ship just as Libya’s coast guard overtook the dinghy, but four people jumped into the water and were picked up by the so-called Freedom Flotilla.
“We were able to rescue them, they are with us on the boat,” she writes.
The ship, which has earned international attention thanks to its inclusion of climate protest leader Greta Thunberg, is not expected to reach Gazan waters for several days. It is unclear whether it now intends to bring the four Sudanese migrants along for the ride to Gaza or if it will now take a further detour to Europe.
[Breitbart] U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested a Russian national accused of working with Al Qaeda.
The arrested occurred on May 23 in Philadelphia and the 39-year-old man, originally born in Tajikistan, was a fugitive overseas, per Fox News.
“Arresting individuals linked to terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda reaffirms our unwavering commitment to safeguard the homeland,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Philadelphia Field Office Director Brian McShane said in a statement. “Through close collaboration with our outstanding partners at the FBI, we have taken decisive action to make our communities safer and prevent potential threats to the American people.”
The man was originally detained at the the San Ysidro Pedestrian West point of entry in March 2023 and “charged as an inadmissible alien under the Immigration and Nationality Act because he didn’t have an immigrant visa,” according to ICE agents.
“He was served a notice to appear before an immigration judge and paroled into the United States,” the agents said.
“It is alleged that he is or was a member of Al-Qaeda,” they added. “After his arrest, this individual was detained in ICE custody, where he will remain pending removal from the U.S.”
According to reporter Bill Melugin of Fox News, agents said that “Tajikistan authorities declared him a fugitive and suspected member of the terrorist organization last month,” which makes it “unlikely the Biden admin knew about his background.”
“But it highlights the extreme national security concerns associated with the Biden admin’s open border policies to mass catch and release millions of foreign nationals who arrived at the border during their tenure,” said Melugin.
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.
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
...sees all, knows all, gets 'em all in the end...
...business executive, and former professional wrestling performer. She was the 25th administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019. McMahon has been nominated to lead the Department of Education under the second Trump administration. McMahon, along with her husband, Vince McMahon, founded sports entertainment company Titan Sports, Inc. (later World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.) where she worked as the president and later CEO from 1980 to 2009. During this time, the company grew from a regional business in the northeast to a large multinational corporation. She made occasional on-screen performances, most notably in a feud with her husband that culminated at WrestleMania X-Seven. In 2009, she left World Wrestling Entertainment to run for a seat in the United States Senate from Connecticut as a Republican, but lost to Richard Blumenthal in the 2010 general election. She was the Republican nominee for Connecticut's other Senate seat in the 2012 race, but lost to Chris Murphy because that's the kind of guy people in Connecticutt like best. ...
...71st United States secretary of state and a leading light of the corrupt and inept Biden administration. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 under the corrupt and inept Obama administration. He advocated for the 2003 invasion of Iraq while serving as the Democratic staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2002 to 2008. He was a foreign policy advisor for the Biden 2008 presidential campaign. During his tenure in the Obama administration, Blinken helped craft B.O.'s policy on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the nuclear program of Iran. We all saw how well each of those worked. After leaving government service, Blinken moved into the private sector, co-founding WestExec Advisors, a lobbying firm...
...a 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 regional Iranian catspaw,...
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the 
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
...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...
...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead...
...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 
