[IsrelTimes] Three protesters have been arrested for disturbing the peace and damaging vehicles that were passing by an anti-hostage deal demonstration in Jerusalem, according to a police statement.
One of the suspects was arrested for spraying pepper spray at the protesters, police say.
The protesters also blocked traffic, including emergency vehicles, and set a fire in the middle of the road, according to the statement.
Opponents of the deal announced yesterday say its terms may endanger national security by releasing many convicted Palestinian terrorists while leaving some hostages in captivity and Hamas intact.
[IsraelTimes] Justice Julia Sebutinde of Uganda is set to be appointed president of the International Court of Justice, according to media reports, after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun summoned Nawaf Salam, the head of the ICJ, to designate him prime minister earlier this week.
An ICJ statement released on Tuesday announcing Salam’s resignation does not mention Sebutinde, but as the court’s current vice president, she is expected to be promoted to the top spot.
Sebutinde was the only judge on the 17-member ICJ panel to vote against all six measures adopted by the court last year in a ruling ordering Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide as it fought Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
She was also one of only two judges to oppose the court’s assertion that some Israeli actions in the war against Hamas may violate the Genocide Convention. The other was Israeli Justice Aharon Barak.
[IsraelTimes] Moscow expresses hope that Russian-Israeli Sasha Trufanov will be among those freed in an emerging hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... "We hope the agreement’s implementation will lead to long-term stability 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... , allow displaced persons to return, and facilitate reconstruction of what was destroyed during the conflict," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova says in a statement.
"Additionally, we expect Israeli hostages and Paleostinian detainees exchanged under this accord to reunite with their families. It is our hope that Russian citizen Alexander Trufanov, presently in Gaza, will be among those freed."
Trufanov, 27, was among 251 Israelis taken hostage in Hamas’s brutal October 7, 2023 massacre. He was kidnapped along with three members of his family from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His mother Yelena Trufanova, 50, and her mother Irena Tati, 73, were released by Hamas on November 29 at Putin’s request. His girlfriend Sapir Cohen was among 105 hostages released in a week-long truce in November.
The Kremlin says it "welcomes" the deal, but also expresses a degree of caution after Israeli accusations that Hamas is backtracking on the fragile agreement.
"Any settlement that leads to a ceasefire, an end to the suffering of the people of Gaza and increases Israel’s security can only be welcomed," 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... ’s front man Dmitry Peskov tells news hounds.
"But let’s wait for the finalization of the process."
[IsraelTimes] Donald Trump’s return to power could see him repeat rights violations committed during his first presidency and heap pressure on already faltering international institutions, Human Rights Watch warns.
The Republican’s “return to the White House not only threatens rights within the US but will also affect, by commission and omission, respect for human rights abroad,” the organization says in its annual report.
#1
While Human Rights Watch, does do some good occasionally. Could this baseless Trump rant be an lame attempt to get some badly needed media exposure, to rake in some $$$$$ donations?
[IsraelTimes] A mysterious airstrip being built on a remote island in Yemen is nearing completion, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show, one of several built in a nation mired in a stalemated war threatening to reignite.
The airstrip on Abd al-Kuri Island, which rises out of the Indian Ocean near the mouth of the Gulf of Aden, could provide a key landing zone for military operations patrolling that waterway. That could be useful as commercial shipping through the Gulf and Red Sea — a key route for cargo and energy shipments heading to Europe — has halved under attacks by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The area also has seen weapons smuggling from Iran to the rebels.
The runway is likely built by the United Arab Emirates, which has long been suspected of expanding its military presence in the region and has backed a Saudi-led war against the Houthis.
While the Houthis have linked their campaign to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, experts worry a ceasefire in that conflict may not be enough to see the rebels halt a campaign that’s drawn them global attention. The Houthis have lobbed repeated attacks at Israel, as well as US warships operating in the Red Sea, raising fears that one may make it through and endanger the lives of American service members.
Satellite photos taken on January 7 by Planet Labs PBC for the AP show trucks and other heavy equipment on the north-south runway built into Abd al-Kuri, which is about 35 kilometers (21 miles) in length and about 5 kilometers (3 miles) at its widest point.
The runway has been paved, with the designation markings “18” and “36” to the airstrip’s north and south respectively. As of January 7, there was still a segment missing from the 2.4-kilometer- (1.5-mile-) long runway that’s 45 meters (150 feet) wide. Trucks could be seen grading and laying asphalt over the missing 290-meter (950-foot) segment.
Once completed, the runway’s length would allow private jets and other aircraft to land there, though likely not the largest commercial aircraft or heavy bombers given its length.
While within Houthi drone and missile range, the distance of Abd al-Kuri from mainland Yemen means “there’s no threat of the Houthis getting on a pickup truck … and going to seize it,” says Yemen expert Mohammed al-Basha of the Basha Report risk advisory firm.
#3
Unknown Yemeni facts:
The Muslim Brotherhood, though born in Egypt, really didn't amount to much. When Colonel Nasser took over in Egypt he attacked the organization's center. So, many Egyptian brothers migrated to Yemen, but at first there was no well-organized Brotherhood chapter to speak of. Ironically, the Ikhwan only evolved years later as a result of the visit of Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Zubairi. Unlike most Muslim Brothers who were Sunni Arabs, Zubaairi was Shia, and he founded the Shiite Hizbullah movement in a town near Sanaa, Yemen, in 1965. It was soon transposed to Lebanon, while the Shiite Houthi revolt festered in Yemen. And the rest is history.
[IsraelTimes] Australian authorities say a Sydney home that was previously owned by a senior Jewish community leader was vandalized and two cars set on fire overnight, amid a series of antisemitic incidents in the city in recent months.
The attack, the third targeting the Jewish community in Sydney in two months, happened on a property once owned by Alex Ryvchin, the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of the Australian Jewry, according to New South Wales Premier Chris Minns.
“These are horrifying antisemitic attacks… it is truly disgusting,” Minns says during a media conference.
“While police can’t categorically at this early stage of the investigation say that the attack and the residence are linked, clearly it would be a massive coincidence if they were not linked.”
Police say the house in the upscale suburb of Dover Heights was spray painted in red. There are no reports of injury.
“I tell you no fire, no vandalism, no paint, no threats, no intimidation will stop me. I will continue to fulfill my duty to my country, my community, and my people,” Ryvchin tells reporters after the incident, vowing to continue advocating for the Jewish community.
New South Wales state police minister Yasmin Catley vows to “hunt” down the perpetrators.
“We will find you and lock you up,” Catley says. “What we are seeing on our streets is totally un-Australian.”
#2
"Previously owned" - Unless that means something different in Australian, the house *was* owned by a Juice but is not now, which means the moron(s) vandalized the wrong house. Dollars to donuts, there was an internet search involved, most likely AI assisted. Score one for ChatGPT!
#3
The lesson there, SteveS, is not only Don’t be Jewish, but also do not buy from a Jew, even by accident, lest you be forced to share their pain. To be followed by functional bans on selling to and standing in the vicinity of those people. Ghettos and expulsions keep everyone safer.
#4
Just as a point of order, Australian Authorities, it was just a couple of years ago Australian meant locking people in their homes, citizens turning in their neighbors, taking children from parents, forced experimental medical procedures, and camps. Oh, and arrest warrants for sharing memes which disparage dear leader.
[IsraelTimes] A pair of IDF airstrikes in the West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp earlier this week set back negotiations that were on the verge of a truce agreement between the Palestinian Authority and armed terror groups in the northern West Bank city that would have seen the latter hand over their weapons to the PA in exchange for immunity, two Palestinian officials familiar with the matter tell The Times of Israel.
The Tuesday and Wednesday strikes targeted some of the terror leaders that the PA has been operating against for over a month. Six people were killed in each strike, including civilians, according to Palestinian media reports.
The Palestinian officials who spoke with The Times of Israel lambasted the IDF for the airstrikes, saying that they undermined Ramallah’s efforts to crack down on lawlessness in the northern West Bank.
The PA has been carrying out an unprecedented counterterrorism raid, largely targeting the refugee camp’s so-called Jenin Battalion, whose fighters are largely affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas.
Israel has urged the PA to crack down on these armed factions for years, explaining that it would limit raids in West Bank cities where Ramallah is operating against terror elements.
The IDF held off on conducting any strikes or raids in Jenin when the PA began its raid there last month but ended that policy this week.
One of the Palestinian officials speculated that the decision was pushed by far-right elements in Israel who don’t want the PA to succeed in its effort, which also comes as Ramallah works to get off on the right foot with US President-elect Donald Trump.
The official says the strikes may have also been designed to scuttle the brewing agreement between the PA and the armed groups that would have seen them hand over all of their weapons in exchange for immunity — something that Ramallah believes would significantly calm tensions in the northern West Bank.
The second Palestinian official says that negotiations with the Jenin Brigade are ongoing and the PA still hopes an agreement can be reached in the coming days. The PA is hoping that the deal can coincide with the ceasefire in Gaza, the official says.
[IsraelTimes] Hundreds at Times Square demonstration chant for ‘intifada,’ vow to keep protesting even after hostage agreement
Hundreds hailed the Paleostinian "resistance" at a rally in New York City’s Times Square marking the ceasefire-hostage deal on Thursday night.
The crowd carried signs that said "The movement continues until Paleostine is free," and "Resistance® against occupation is a human right."
The protesters chanted, "Resistance® is glorious, we will be victorious," and "Long live the intifada."
Speakers urged the crowd to continue its anti-Israel activism, despite the ceasefire announcement.
"Our work is only beginning," a speaker told the crowd. "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... has taught us that the enemy’s defeat is clear and in sight."
Another hailed the "heroism of resistance" and the "Al Aqsa Flood," Hamas ..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,... ’s name for the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel.
"The price has been devastatingly high but so it has been in every revolution," she said. "Now is not the time to rest, but to reignite the fire."
"Today marks a new phase and we won’t let up after a ceasefire," she said, as snow dusted the crowd and police and passersby looked on.
New York City, folks.
Activists passed out fliers advertising another rally to mark the presidential inauguration on Monday.
At least two men in the crowd wore Hamas headbands, one of whom had a peace symbol stitched to his backpack. Another held a banner for Samidoun, a US-designated terrorist entity.
Full name Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. It was designated as an arm of the communist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group, which took part in the 10/7 invasion of Israel. In North America they’re active in the college anti-Israel scene and general anti-Israel leftist activities, and are a legal subsidiary of the left-wing nonprofit Alliance for Global Justice — supported by the usual very rich Progressive individuals and networks with tens of millions of dollars.
The rally was organized by the Paleostinian Youth Movement, a US activist group, and attended by several socialist organizations such as the People’s Forum.
A handful of pro-Israel counter-protesters sang "the nation of Israel lives" in Hebrew and heckled the anti-Israel demonstrators across a police barricade.
Anti-Israel groups in New York also celebrated the ceasefire agreement in public statements.
"Gaza has won, Paleostine has won, resistance has won. Imperialism and Zionism has lost, the Democratic Party has lost, the future of the Zionist state continues to be eroded," said Within Our Lifetime, the most prominent anti-Israel activist group in the city.
Uh huh. You keep believing that, guys.
Anti-Israel activists have held hundreds of protests around New York City, starting on October 8, 2023, the day after the Hamas attack.
[IsraelTimes] 3 billion required in first year, says envoy; UN agency chief says fewer than half of Gaza’s hospitals functional, urges Israel, Hamas to start ceasefire now
Next times don’t start a war, O Hamas. At least don’t start one with Israel. Feel free to fight with anyone else — the damage will be significantly less, and if it’s the PA you might even win.
At least $10 billion will likely be needed to rebuild 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 devastated health system over the next five to seven years, the World Health Organization said in an initial assessment Thursday.
"The needs are massive," said Rick Peeperkorn, the UN health agency’s representative in the Paleostinian territories, in a virtual presser.
The call to scale up international aid to Gaza comes amid humanitarian’ efforts to assess the damage there, a day after negotiators in Doha said they’d struck a deal between Israel and Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... that would end 15 months of fighting in the Strip.
Peeperkorn said his team’s initial estimate of the cost to rebuild just the health sector was "even more than $3 billion for the first 1.5 years and then actually $10 billion for the five to seven years."
"In Gaza, we all know the destruction is so massive. I have never seen that anywhere else in my life," he said.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "less than half of Gaza hospitals are functional."
He said Wednesday’s agreement was "just about the best news," adding that he hoped "this agreement marks the end of the darkest chapter in the history of the relationship between the Israelis and the Paleostinians."
[IsraelTimes] Hamas member who participated in Nova festival massacre killed in overnight airstrike, IDF says, amid dozens of attacks across enclave that terror group claims endangered a hostage
The Israel Defense Forces struck dozens of terror targets across the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip Wednesday night and into Thursday, including a strike that killed a Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... terrorist who participated in the massacre at the Nova music festival during the October 7, 2023, attack that started the ongoing war, the military said in a statement.
The Israeli strikes, which Hamas-aligned sources asserted killed at least 75 people and maimed hundreds more, came as Israel and Hamas appeared to be near a final agreement on a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, expected to begin on Sunday.
The agreement, if finalized, will have to be approved by the security cabinet and the full cabinet, which are expected to vote on the deal over the weekend.
According to an IDF statement Thursday, an overnight strike killed Hamas Nukhba force terrorist Muhammad Hashem Zahdi Abu al-Rous, who took part in the massacre at the music festival, where bully boyz murdered more than 360 people and took dozens more hostage into the strip.
In addition to killing Rous, the more than 50 strikes over the past day eliminated several other members of Hamas and 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... , and hit buildings used by the terror groups, weapon depots, rocket launchers, weapon manufacturing sites and observation posts, the IDF said.
The military added that it took numerous steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strikes, including using precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence. It also noted Hamas’s use of civilian institutions and the population as human shields.
Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency said Thursday that Israel "escalated" its strikes across the territory following the announcement of the deal; the agency said that at least 80 people were killed and hundreds more maimed. According to civil defense front man Mahmud Bassal, among those killed were 20 children and 25 women.
Bassal said teams recovered the bodies of five children after a strike in the northern town of Jabalia. AFP also reported first responders and residents searching through rubble late at night in Gaza City.
Ambulance driver Abu al-Rish told AFP that "after the ceasefire was announced and people were happy and joyful, a five-story building was targeted, with more than 50 people inside." He added that "shelling is continuing, targeting one house after another."
Hamas’s armed wing, meanwhile, said that the Israeli attacks were putting at risk hostages intended to be released in the deal. "Any aggression and shelling at this stage by the enemy could turn the freedom of a prisoner into a tragedy," the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades said on Telegram.
Without offering details, Abu Obeida, front man for the Qassam Brigades, claimed that an Israeli strike had hit near a location where one of the women to be freed "in the first stage of the ceasefire deal was located."
The deal will see the terror group release Israelis it has held hostage in Gaza, and Israel will release more than a thousand Paleostinian security prisoners.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 407.
[IsraelTimes] Laws barring Israeli cooperation with UN’s Palestinian relief agency set to come into effect in two weeks, with no clear alternative in place
The US is leading talks at the United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... to find a replacement for the global body’s Paleostinian refugee aid agency, as a deadline fast approaches when Israeli laws banning cooperation with the body come into effect, the Haaretz newspaper reported Thursday.
Legislation passed by the Knesset on October 28 bars the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from operating in Israeli territory and prevents Israeli authorities from holding any contact with the agency. The laws were to go into effect at the conclusion of a 90-day grace period from their passage, which expires in two weeks.
The law is expected to effectively cripple the agency’s ability to operate, as its operations are dependent on contact with Israeli authorities.
With no replacement set up, Israel is under pressure to find an alternative for institutes and services operated by UNRWA that are expected to collapse, the report said.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres ...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years... is refusing to even speak directly with Israel about a replacement, several unnamed sources familiar with the situation told Haaretz (Hebrew link).
The poor, suffering darling.
Senior UNRWA officials said they were open to talk with Israel but no solution has been presented so far.
An emerging ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... 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... is not likely to make a significant impact on the situation, with the legislation coming after long years of adversarial relations between UNRWA and Jerusalem.
The Foreign Ministry is in talks with senior United Nations officials, as well as the US, on the possibility of transferring UNRWA responsibilities to other UN agencies, the report said, adding that the Israel Defense Forces, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), and the Shin Bet are all interested in working with the UN on a solution. Discussions are looking at temporary measures to enable continued humanitarian operations in Gaza during a transitional period.
Israel notes that currently only 13 percent of aid entering Gaza is provided by UNRWA, but international groups say the agency remains a key element in providing aid to residents.
A security source told Haaretz, "If the other bodies see that Israel is serious [in its ban], they will slowly step in and replace UNRWA." That process is already happening, the source argued.
"Until the war, UNRWA had a monopoly on municipal services in Gaza," the official said. "Now other organizations will take on more responsibility for them, because UNRWA is disintegrating."
Fuel deliveries to bakeries and hospitals have already been taken over by the United Nations Office for Project Services, the report said.
While Israel’s defense establishment believes such agencies could provide a solution, a European diplomat told Haaretz that even Jerusalem realizes there are limitations to this. Humanitarian aid operations and health services could be taken over by other UN bodies but Israel also understands that UNRWA’s provision of shelter for war-displaced Gazooks would be more of a challenge.
One option being discussed is to replace UNRWA’s international directors but leave in place Paleostinian employees on the ground, who would be transferred to another UN agency, such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the report said. A senior security source told Haaretz that Israel’s security officials don’t oppose the idea in principle since UN agencies share employee lists.
However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... there are obstacles. Israel accuses many of those employees of being tied to Gaza terror groups. Also, the UN asserts that UNRWA’s mandate cannot be moved to another agency.
Israel has long had an adversarial relationship with UNRWA, accusing it of promoting hatred of Israel through its education system and perpetuating Paleostinian victimhood, as it allows Paleostinians to maintain refugee status for generations both in and outside the Paleostinian territories — a policy not afforded to any other refugees by global agencies. But Jerusalem’s campaign against UNRWA intensified significantly following Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, which killed 1,200 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians.
Over a dozen UNRWA staffers were found to have participated in the attack, and there has been a series of revelations since then regarding the extent to which Hamas has managed to infiltrate the agency.
While Israel has sought to box out the agency from the humanitarian effort over the past year, UNRWA remains central to operations, providing shelters to repeatedly displaced Paleostinians, storing and distributing aid to civilians and providing logistical support to the various international organizations operating in Gaza.
UNRWA Director in the West Bank Ronald Friedrich told Haaretz, "In Gaza and the West Bank, we provide education to more than half a million children, and we integrate tolerance education into our programs. If this collapses, the risk of radicalization will increase."
The agency also operates in East Jerusalem, where it has six schools with a total of 750 students, as well as two clinics.
Two rights groups on Thursday filed petitions to the High Court of Justice against the UNRWA laws, Ynet reported.
The Adalah Center and the Gisha Center filed a petition on behalf of 10 Paleostinian residents of East Jerusalem. In it, they argue the laws harm basic human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... and the state’s obligations under international law.
Petitioners asked that the court order a delay in implementing the laws.
One Paleostinian said in the petition that ending operations means "I won’t be able to buy drugs for a chronic disease that would ensure my survival."
Another said that without the supplementary income he receives from UNRWA, he will be forced to choose between buying medicine and food, the report said.
#1
From the relatively unknown UNOPS:
"UNOPS works hand-in-hand with the State of Palestine, the donor community, UN organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to improve the rule of law, justice and human rights. We support the government and civil societies efforts to strengthen capacities of people, systems and policies.
Our work supports the achievement of Palestinian national objectives in adherence to the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2014-2017. UNOPS leads UNDAF Outcome 6, which focuses on urban development, natural resource management and infrastructure."
Through our work, UNOPS supports the State of Palestine in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
#3
After drinking a pack of Bud Light and waking up in the middle of the night to finish the left out Taco Bell chili burrito, his bed was turned into a complete state of palestine.
[IsraelTimes] National security adviser pick Mike Waltz praises hostage-ceasefire deal but says Hamas must be destroyed, claims all hostages would have died if not for incoming US president
US President-elect Donald Trump ...The man who was so stupid he beat fourteen professional politicians, a former tech CEO, and a brain surgeon for the Republican nomination in 2016, then beat The Smartest Woman in the World in the general election. Then he beat Kamala while dodging bullets... ’s top national security nominee has said the US will back Israel if it needs to reenter 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... , while speaking out in support of a ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... and crediting his future boss with its apparent success.
Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, who is in line to become the White House’s national security adviser, also said Washington would not impose curbs on arms supplies to Israel, while criticizing the outgoing administration for trying to hold Israel back.
Speaking to Fox News Wednesday evening, Waltz praised the announcement of a deal between Israel and Hamas that will gradually end fighting in Gaza and see the remaining hostages released in exchange for Paleostinian prisoners, while seeking to assuage fears that the terror group could reconstitute and rearm.
"We’ve made it very clear to the Israelis, and I want the people of Israel to hear me on this: If they need to go back in, we’re with them," he said. "If Hamas doesn’t live up to the terms of this agreement, we are with them."
While Hamas has demanded a complete end to the war, Israel says it must retain the ability to ensure Hamas does not become a major threat again. The staged nature of the deal will leave Israeli troops in parts of Gaza for the first month and a half, and fighting could resume if no agreement is reached on implementing the second and third phases.
"Hamas is not going to continue as a military entity and it’s certainly not going to govern Gaza," Waltz promised.
He said he understood that "about 25" of the 33 hostages to be released in the first tranche were still alive.
"I’m convinced they all would have died if President Trump didn’t come in and say ’get them out,'" Waltz said, crediting a "Trump effect" with getting the deal done.
"Clearly, the entire world recognizes that this was the Trump effect. We’re hearing that from Arab leaders that were involved, we’re hearing that from the Israelis that were involved," he said.
"Hamas knew... they had no choice and they believed President Trump when he said there would be all hell to pay, and any deal that was on the table would just get worse once he was in office," he added, noting the terror group had also been isolated by the loss of fellow Iranian allies like Hezbollah.
The Republican predicted that hostages would likely first be released on January 20, comparing the timing to American hostages held 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... released moments after former US president Ronald Reagan replaced Jimmy Malaise Carter
...only the second worst president ever. Now the third worst, after Obama and Biden... at the White House in 1980.
"We will see hostages walking out and hugging their families as President Trump is being sworn in as the next president of the United States," he said. "This is in my view, and the world’s view, a Reagan moment because they understood the consequences if they didn’t get this done."
After being elected, Trump repeatedly threatened that there would be "hell to pay" if no deal was reached by the time he took office. While he never elaborated on the threat, many assumed it would involve the removal of US demands to curb fighting in certain areas and the end of US pressure for Israel to increase humanitarian aid flowing into the Strip.
Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. Sleazy Dem machine politician, paterfamilias of the Biden Crime Family... ’s administration played a major role in helping shepherd talks and nearly got to a deal several times, but was unable to reach a final agreement. While Biden officials publicly cited the removal of Hezbollah from the battlefield in autumn 2024 as a needle-mover, privately, some have pointed to the fact that Trump had more leverage over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than did Biden.
Officials familiar with the matter reported that Trump envoy Steve Witkoff leaned heavily on the Israeli premier to pave the way for the breakthrough in talks.
Waltz, a Trump loyalist and hawk on Israel and Iran, indicated in a December interview that the US under Trump would not be willing to negotiate for the release of Americans held captive, while also indicating that Hamas could survive under the terms of a hostage release deal, a position that contradicts Israel’s stance.
"Hamas has every exit blocked except one, and that’s to release our hostages if you want to live," he said at the time.
Several dual American-Israeli citizens are believed to be among the hostages set to be freed in the first stage of the deal.
In a podcast interview Tuesday, Waltz said the incoming administration’s relationship with Israel would be much more supportive than the Biden administration.
"I think we’re in a very good place because the Israeli government didn’t listen sometimes to the not-so-good advice coming out of this administration," Waltz told Dan Senor.
"And now we are where we are, where Iran is in the worst position it’s been. And that’s not to say this administration didn’t help with shooting down the missiles, [or that] they didn’t help with arms, but they also tapped the brakes as well in a way that I just did not find rational," Waltz added.
Asked if the US will stop restricting weapons supplies as the Biden administration did by withholding the supply of 2,000-pound bombs, Waltz replied: "You’re not going to see this administration tapping the brakes to make sure Israel can arm itself."
According to Waltz, the US will begin pushing for 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... to normalize ties with Israel once the war ends. He told Senor jumpstarting the process was a "huge priority."
The politician alleged that previous bids to broker a deal had been sabotaged by Iran, which he said "lit the fuse" for Hamas to carry out the October 7, 2023, massacre once it saw Jerusalem and Riyadh moving closer to a treaty.
"But where is Iran today? Hezbollah is decimated, its sword of Damocles over Israel, Hamas, is decimated, Assad has fallen, one of Iran’s biggest proxies, and Iran, the regime, is literally naked militarily with its air defenses down," he told Fox News. "That is a very different situation that we are now going to get back to."
"We needed to get our people out, we need to destroy Hamas as a military terrorist organization and we 100 percent support that," he said, "and then we can get back to crafting peace deals in the Middle East."
[LegalInsurrection] Will the IRS now move to revoke JVP’s charitiable status?
The nonprofit organization "Jewish Voice for Peace" is neither pro-Israel nor an advocate for peace. Rather, it is an anti-Zionist, pro-Paleostinian group founded by several undergraduate students at the University of Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,, Berkeley, in 1996. It is currently based in Washington, D.C. We have covered JVP’s malicious conduct in over 100 posts since 2011.
According to JVP’s website, they are "organizing a grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of U.S. Jews into solidarity with the Paleostinian freedom struggle, guided by a vision of justice, equality, and dignity for all people." The site tells prospective members that, if they’ve "been looking for a political home for Jews on the left in this perilous moment; if you’ve been wanting a Jewish community with justice at the center; if you’ve been looking to turn your rage and grief into meaningful, strategic action: Join us. You belong here."
On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced that JVP had agreed to pay $677,634 to settle fraud allegations arising from a $338,817 forgivable loan obtained under the Covid-era Paycheck Protection Act Program, which was part of the March 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
The CARES Act was "created to provide emergency financial support to Americans suffering economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ... [It] authorized billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses and other entities, including non-profit organizations, struggling to pay employees and other business expenses."
According to the news release, JVP’s loan was brought to the Department of Justice’s attention when another public interest group, TZAC, filed a whistleblower complaint. The following federal investigation revealed that JVP was not eligible to participate in the program. The group had violated the False Claims Act, which stipulated:
A business concern or other entity, including a nonprofit organization, is not eligible to receive a second draw loan if it is primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities, which shall include any entity that is organized for research or for engaging in advocacy in areas such as public policy or political strategy or otherwise describes itself as a think tank in any public document.
JVP had misrepresented the nature of the organization to its lender and the Small Business Administration in the original loan application and again when it further applied for and was granted forgiveness of the entire loan amount.
When an investigation found that JVP was primarily engaged in political activities, JVP maintained that “any misstatements in this application were inadvertent” as opposed to being knowingly fraudulent. Because the government was not able to prove the claims were made willfully, JVP was only ordered to pay back double the original loan amount – $677,634 – to settle the allegations.
Had the misstatements been confirmed to be deliberate, under the False Claims Act, JVP would have been forced to pay back triple the original loan amount – or $1,016,451, as well as “lost interest, along with civil penalties for each false certification made in the loan application and forgiveness application.”
Following the settlement, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves issued a statement that read:
The Paycheck Protection Act Program existed to help businesses survive a devastating global pandemic. When business owners unfairly drain those funds – either by not reading the eligibility requirements or disregarding them – they put the entire program at risk. In the end, those who are harmed are the businesses that actually qualified for and needed the money, and the taxpayers who funded the program.
#1
Jewish Voice for Peace,eh? The Federal Trade Commission should get involved here as well. Truth in labeling, man! If it says "chocolate bar with nuts and raisins" on the label, but inside is a raccoon turd, then we want our money back.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A convicted Miami scammer shot a man as he climbed into the back of a car for sex with her, then accused him of rape, police say.
Valerie Meza-Faublack, 22, was charged with armed robbery and attempted murder after the incident in on January 6 in Hialeah.
Meza-Faublack reportedly claimed she met the man outside the restaurant where she works before he drove her to a warehouse parking lot.
She told police she had paid him $20 to charge her phone but he instead forced her to undress and raped her, according to police.
Meza-Faublack was out on probation from a previous criminal spree when she was arrested.
She allegedly claimed the man 'dragged her out of the driver side door by her hair' and fired at her as she tried to escape.
But police say her story started to fall apart the next day, after they learned she refused a rape kit test at a rape treatment center.
The man then told authorities that he met Meza-Faublack at a bar and she asked him to leave with her.
But, the man said, when they went inside his car to have sex, Meza-Faublack attacked him instead.
'As the victim attempted to climb into the rear passenger seat of the motor vehicle, [Meza-Faublack] unlawfully took possession of his firearm, which was in the driver compartment area, and began shooting into the vehicle where he was occupying the rear passenger seat,' the police report says.
'After the shooting stopped, [the] victim advised he exited the vehicle, physically retrieved the firearm from [her] and fled the scene.'
Surveillance video also contradicted Meza-Faublack's story, as it showed her shooting into the man's car as many as 15 times.
[White House] Today, I am commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses who are serving disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice. With this action, I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history.
Today’s clemency action provides relief for individuals who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes. As Congress recognized through the Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act, it is time that we equalize these sentencing disparities. This action is an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families and communities after spending far too much time behind bars. I am proud of my record on clemency and will continue to review additional commutations and pardons.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
01/17/2025
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[11157 views]
Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life,
#2
Good move by Sloppy Joe. People rotting in prison for non-violent drug "offenses" is a crime in itself. Commuting the sentences is better than nothing, but I'll give Sloppy Joe credit on this one.
#3
Kinda side with JB on this one.
A typical day in prison costs the taxpayers between $150 and $500 depending on the state.
Yes! many are so loosely guarded that they also get drugs inside.
A person abusing their own body and not others, due to their addiction, should be treated 1st time. Treatment is a matter of around 90 days and costs the Taxpayers FAR LESS overall.
Also, shouldn't at least 50% of the 10's of Millions of $$$$ seized in drug busts be used for treatment, instead of letting the Politicians waste it?
Dealers of serious addicted drugs should be executed.
#5
A person abusing their own body and not others, due to their addiction, should be treated 1st time.
Should. But the sad reality is that nobody seems able to find money for it, so they just go on being untreated. And many turn to crime to support their habit, while others make the lives of those around them considerably more difficult — just like an alcoholic in the bosom of their family.
#6
a lot of these non violent drug offenses were the result of plea bargaining where charges included theft, robbery, assault, etc.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
01/17/2025 10:34
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#7
^ THIS! Nicely done, LG
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/17/2025 11:05
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#8
The Biden cash register remains open for cash only sales.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/17/2025 13:54
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#9
Drug dealing Fentanyl is a non-violent drug offence per the president. It's actually attempted murder, or flat out murder, but lets feel sorry for them, make them look like victims, and let them out. All those that support this can explain to the families of those they kill with drugs how its non-violent.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/17/2025 14:31
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#10
Thot I saw 80,000 dead from opioid ODs in US last year. Im not agreeing this is non violent.
[ZERO] "Humanity will attempt to overcome its limitations and arrive at fuller fruition," declared Julian Huxley in 1957, coining the term "transhumanism."
By 2022, Yuval Noah Harari would announce its dark fulfillment:
"Humans are now hackable animals. The whole idea of free will... that's over. Today we have the technology to hack human beings on a massive scale. Everything is being digitized, everything is being monitored. In this time of crisis, you have to follow science. It's often said you should never allow a good crisis to go to waste, because a crisis is an opportunity to also do 'good' reforms that in normal times people would never agree to. But in a crisis, you have no chance, so you better do what we - the people who understand - tell you to do."
Like Truman Burbank in 'The Truman Show,' we inhabit a world where reality itself is increasingly engineered. And like Truman, most remain unaware of the extent of this engineering until shown the patterns. But unlike Truman's physical dome with its obvious cameras and artificial sets, our manufactured environment operates through sophisticated technological systems and invisible digital constraints. The mechanics of this reality engineering - from media manipulation to social programming - were explored in detail in our previous analysis. Now we turn to the driving force behind this manufactured world: technocracy, the system of control that makes such reality engineering possible on a global scale.
The technocratic architecture wasn't merely passed down through institutions - it flowed through bloodlines. At the heart of this dynastic web sits Thomas Henry Huxley, known as "Darwin's Bulldog," who helped establish scientific materialism as the new religion while serving on the influential Rhodes Round Table. His son Leonard carried this torch forward, while grandsons Aldous and Julian became key architects of the modern world order. These weren't random connections but rather the careful cultivation of multi-generational power networks.
The connections deepen through marriage and association. Charles Galton Darwin, grandson of Charles Darwin, wrote "The Next Million Years" in 1952, outlining population control through technological means. His son would later marry into the Huxley line, creating a powerful nexus of influence spanning science, culture, and governance.
This intergenerational project has evolved with technological capability. Where Rockefeller once declared "we need a nation of workers, not thinkers" while building his educational information factory today's technocrats face a different equation. As artificial intelligence eliminates the need for human labor, the focus shifts from creating compliant workers to managing population reduction - not through overt force, but through sophisticated social engineering.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink recently made this shift explicit, explaining how AI and automation will reshape population dynamics: "In developed countries with shrinking populations... these countries will rapidly develop robotics and AI technology... the social problems that one will have in substituting humans for machines will be far easier in those countries that have declining populations." His candid assessment reveals how technological capability drives elite agendas - as human labor becomes less necessary, population reduction becomes more desirable.
Climate change messaging, declining birth rates, and the normalization of euthanasia aren't random developments but logical extensions of this evolving agenda.
[FoxNews] Migrants are threatened with violence, controlled through fentanyl addiction, safe house founder says
Heartbreaking images of minors at the southern border—alone and clutching nothing but a piece of paper—have become tragically familiar. According to border patrol data, since President Biden took office in 2021, nearly 540,000 unaccompanied children have been apprehended at the southern border. Many of these children fall prey to sex traffickers, facing unimaginable conditions and exploitation.
Fox News recently spoke with a 20-year-old sex trafficking survivor, whose identity we agreed to conceal for his safety. He still lives in fear that his captors will find him. Trafficked from South America to Mexico and then across the border, he was finally rescued at the age of 18 and brought to Bob's House of Hope.
Bob’s House of Hope is the first safe house in the country dedicated specifically to male sex trafficking survivors. The victim shared harrowing details of his experience: trafficked six to eight times a day, beaten, and threatened with death if he dared to speak out.
"I saw good people die," he said.
Bob Williams, the founder of the safe house, was inspired to create this refuge after his own experiences.
"They just feel that it just happens to girls and women," Williams said. "And that's the problem. That's the stigma that we have to change. The fact is that we believe up to 50% of human trafficking victims are boys and men."
Bob’s House of Hope welcomes both U.S. citizens and migrants. He works with law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and FBI.
"As a survivor, I said we are going to take anybody because these kids that are migrants are protected under the Federal Sex Trafficking Act," Williams explained.
Shockingly, many victims at Bob’s House of Hope have been trafficked by their own families, viewed as nothing more than dollar signs.
"Most of these kids are trafficked by somebody they know, whether it's an uncle, a neighbor, or someone else," Williams noted.
Williams describes a disturbing cycle: many migrants are labor trafficked during the day and then forced into sex trafficking at night.
A common question he says he hears is, "Why can’t the boys escape?" He explains that not only are they threatened with violence, but they are also controlled through addiction, specifically fentanyl.
"This fentanyl problem is so serious that they hook these young people on drugs," he said. "That, combined with the fear of threats against their families, is controlling."
A recent Office of Inspector General report revealed that ICE lost track of tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors in just the past few years. Williams expresses little doubt that many of these children have been trafficked.
"We know that a lot of these children were sold to gangs or trafficking groups by their families," he stated. "Predators prey on vulnerable kids. We had a case where a young man was trying to reunite with his family in Florida and was picked up by a gang under the guise of providing a ride to Miami. But that ride never materialized."
The mission of Bob’s House of Hope is to help heal the trauma these young men have experienced. The program lasts four years, offering housing, a safe space with therapy, animals, and education.
After completion, the goal is for them to transition to independent living, equipped with a car, a job, and the opportunity to pursue college.
Landon Dickeson, the chief operating officer of Bob's House of Hope and a therapist, sheds light on the challenges these young migrants face.
"From birth, they were often rejected by their parents and grandparents, frequently sold for money to be brought to the United States for further abuse," Dickeson explained. "They arrive here confused, don’t speak the language, and struggle to navigate our systems, making them incredibly vulnerable."
The survivor we spoke to expressed gratitude for the sense of family and comfort he has found at the safe house, and hope for a better life.
"All I can say is don’t lose hope, don’t give up. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
Williams believes that alongside tightening border security, there must be harsher penalties for traffickers and complicit family members, as well as increased funding for programs like his that support victims.
#1
The photos of the source article show a long row of burnt-out houses right on the beachfront. AFAICT, there was nothing to prevent a homeowner from running an intake pipe down the beach and into the seawater. Along with a fuel powered pump, that water could have been used to fight a fire, if only for buildings directly on the shoreline. The expense of doing that seems very small in proportion to the expense of replacing the destroyed building.
#2
That whole area's subsurface is tenuous at best for building foundational support. Not much topsoil and an underlying loose rock structure.
Take away the ground cover (like, in a fire) and the soil in steeper areas looses any support. Given any amount or water (or even a very minor earthquake), it lets go pretty easily.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
01/17/2025 7:54
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Ramazan Padiev and Batukhan Tochiev have been arrested by a Moscow court and are accused of involvement in a terrorist attack that killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov. The suspects acted at the request of their supervisor, the investigation suggested.
As the "Caucasian Knot" reported, two natives of Ingushetia were detained, who, according to operational services, belong to the combat wing of the Batalkhadzhin vird, which is recognized as terrorist. They provided a rented apartment to a native of Uzbekistan, Akhmad Kurbanov, accused of murdering Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his assistant. Batalkhadzhin vird is loosly tied to Ukrainian security services.
Igor Kirillov and his assistant Ilya Polikarpov were killed on the morning of December 17 in the southeast of Moscow. An explosive device was planted in a scooter that was parked next to the entrance. Uzbek citizen Akhmad Kurbanov is accused of the murder; he has been remanded in custody until February 17, Vedomosti reports.
The Basmanny Court of Moscow has arrested Ramazan Padiev for a month and three days, and Batukhan Tochiyev has been remanded in custody for a month and one day. They are accused of committing a terrorist act, as well as illegal storage and manufacture of explosives (Part 3 of Article 205, Part 4 of Article 222.1, Part 3 of Article 223.1 of the Criminal Code of Russia), the press service of the courts of general jurisdiction of Moscow reported today.
According to the investigation, Tochiyev and Padiyev, acting on instructions from an unidentified curator, rented a room in a hostel in the Moscow region for Kurbonov via the Internet. "The curator repeatedly transferred funds to pay the rent to Tochiyev's account. Padiyev personally went to the hostel, made the payment and filmed the interior and exterior of the premises on site, and then handed over the keys to the room to Kurbonov in one of Moscow's shopping centers, and subsequently also paid for the extension of the lease," the report says.
Padiev refused to admit guilt, TASS reported today.
The hearing on choosing a preventive measure for Ramazan Padiev at the request of the investigation was held behind closed doors, RIA Novosti reported today.
Batal-Khadzhi Belkhoroev is an Ingush sheikh, the founder of one of the Kadirite branches (virds), a follower of Sheikh Kunta-Khadzhi, according to the report " Batal-Khadzhi and His Followers " prepared by the "Caucasian Knot ". In February 2023, the FSB included the combat wing of the Ingush vird of the Batalkhadzhins in the list of terrorist organizations.
Earlier, the "Caucasian Knot" wrote that in November last year, the alleged accomplices of the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall concert hall, Ingush residents Khusein Medov and Dzhabrail Aushev, were detained and accused of illegal arms and explosives trafficking. The investigation links them to the recognized terrorist militant wing of the Ingush Batalkhadzhin vird and the weapons used for the terrorist attack in Crocus.
At the end of December, four more men were detained in Ingushetia, who are suspected of aiding the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall. The investigation believes that they are connected to the Batalkhadzhin people and helped Batyr Kulaev (included in the list of terrorists and extremists), who is considered one of the key members of the group that supplied weapons to the terrorists involved in the attack in Crocus City Hall, to hide from justice.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Tucker Carlson reveals shocking 'source of mysterious drones in New Jersey'
The Mail is easily shocked…
Tucker Carlson has made a shocking claim about the mysterious drones that plagued New Jersey for over a month, saying they were controlled by Chinese mothership satellite.
The first sightings appeared over the Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway and President-elect Donald Trump's golf course in Bedminster in November, followed by thousands more in the skies.
While the US government was quick to dismiss claims they were foreign adversaries, Carlson claimed he was told otherwise.
He said 'an intel person' told him that the drones 'were in fact Chinese,' explaining the US government took down a Chinese satellite 'that was a command and control satellite for these drones.'
Carlson appeared to be hinting at a Beijing-operated satellite known as GaoJing 1-02 which fell from space on December 21.
Astronomers tracking such devices confirmed the Chinese satellite re-entered Earth's atmosphere above New Orleans and headed north towards Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri before burning up in the atmosphere.
But Carlson claimed it was 'taken down by the US government.'
He made the claims while speaking with independent journalist Michael Shellenberger, who heard a similar explanation for the drones.
'Somebody told me that that the military got one of the orbs, opened it up and it was Chinese,' Shellenberger said.
The GaoJing 1-02 was a commercial satellite used for mapping parts of the Earth that launched at the end of 2016.
It was said to have been decommissioned in early 2023 and floating around in space before burning up in the atmosphere in December.
However, the European Space Agency, which keeps track of all commercial satellites in the sky, showed GaoJing 1-02's mission status as 'Operational' as recently as June 2024, which raises questions about whether it had truly been deactivated.
Shellenberger told Carlson that he 'interviewed a bunch of people' in New Jersey when drones were filling the skies.
Around that time he heard John Kirby, the Defense Department spokesperson, and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas say 'We're definitely not getting any drones over the military bases or other sensitive sites.'
'I was like, "Why would you lie about that,"' Shellenberger told Carlson.
The first drone spotted in New Jersey was over Picatinny Arsenal and on December 13, Naval Weapons Station Earle in Monmouth County reported seeing similar aerial vehicles.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Seven people, including three organizers of the riots, have been declared wanted in connection with the pogrom at the Makhachkala airport. 28 cases against 135 defendants have been sent to court.
As the "Caucasian Knot" reported, today the Soviet District Court of Stavropol Krai sentenced five more residents of Dagestan in the case of riots at the Makhachkala airport; they received from seven to eight years of imprisonment.
Mass riots at Makhachkala airport occurred on October 29, 2023, due to a report of the arrival of a plane with passengers from Israel. More than 20 people were injured in the riots, including nine police officers. 1,200 people were brought to administrative responsibility. What happened at Uytash airport and how the investigation is proceeding is described in the "Caucasian Knot" report "Case of the pogrom at Makhachkala airport".
Seven people have been put on the wanted list following the riots at the Makhachkala airport, including three organizers, the Russian Investigative Committee reported.
"Seven individuals have been placed on the wanted list, including three organizers of the crimes," TASS quoted the department's statement as saying.
A total of 142 people were involved in the riots, 28 cases were sent to court. "In relation to 135 defendants, the preliminary investigation has been completed, 28 criminal cases have been sent to court for consideration on the merits," the Investigative Committee added.
The message on the Telegram channel of the Investigative Committee of Russia also stated that on October 29, 2023, Ilya Ponomarev (Ilya Vladimirovich Ponomarev was recognized as a foreign agent), Abakar Abakarov, and Israil Akhmednabiyev posted publicly available publications in the Telegram messenger aimed at inciting hatred and hostility towards Israeli citizens among residents of the Republic of Dagestan and encouraging them to organize and participate in mass riots on this basis.
On February 17, 2024, relatives of the participants in the riots at the Makhachkala airport appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request for leniency.
On December 23, 2024, the Ust-Labinsk court sentenced eight defendants to prison terms of seven to eight years. On December 11, courts in Stavropol Krai also sentenced 10 residents of Dagestan to long terms. On January 10, a court in Georgievsk sentenced four residents of Dagestan to 10 years in prison in the airport riot case.
The five were sentenced to seven to eight years in a general regime penal colony.
As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, 27 criminal cases on the riots in Makhachkala were sent to the courts of Kuban and Stavropol. On September 26, 2024, the Novokubansky Court began considering the case of six residents of Dagestan. The defendants are Magomed Gadzhiev, Shamil Gadzhiev, Bashir Magomedaliev, Alibeg Ramazanov, Roosevelt Tagirov, Magomednabi Shaikhslamov. On December 16, 2024, the court sentenced Tagirov to eight years in prison, the rest of the defendants - to seven years.
Mass riots at Makhachkala airport occurred on October 29, 2023, due to a report of the arrival of a plane with passengers from Israel. More than 20 people were injured in the riots, including nine police officers. A total of 1,200 people were brought to administrative responsibility.
The Soviet District Court of Stavropol Krai sentenced five more residents of Dagestan. They were found guilty of participating in mass riots (Part 2 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and of failing to comply with transport safety requirements causing major damage (Part 3 of Article 263.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), the regional prosecutor's office reported.
According to the investigation and the court, on October 29, 2023, Jamal Gadzhiev, Vagab Gadzhiev, Vadim Gadzhiev, Nazhmutdin Gadzhiev and Alibek Gadzhiev took part in mass riots at the Uytash airport, accompanied by violence and destruction of property, on the basis of national and religious hatred and hostility towards Israeli citizens.
"The airport's property was destroyed and damaged to the amount of more than 24 million rubles, the requirements of transport and aviation security were violated, which led to a complete blocking of the airport's operations, the delay and cancellation of regular flights, and their redirection to other airports. Illegal actions were committed against 30 government officials, 23 of whom suffered bodily injuries of varying severity," the prosecutor's office said in a statement on its website.
The court sentenced five residents of Dagestan to imprisonment for a term of seven to eight years in a general regime penal colony.
[Cleveland.com] A California-based defense technology company plans to build a 4,000-job facility in central Ohio to manufacture “autonomous weapons systems” for the U.S. and its allies, a development state officials say represents the largest single job creation project in state history.
Anduril Industries plans to invest more than $900 million to build the facility on 500 acres in Pickaway County near Rickenbacker International Airport, a civil-military public airport south of Columbus, according to a Thursday press release from Gov. Mike DeWine’s office.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Victor Vasiliev
[REGNUM] One of the main newsmakers of the beginning of 2025 in Africa has become the Republic of Chad. Its young leader Mahamat Deby, who visited Moscow a year ago, gives tough ultimatums to the French military, becomes the target of an armed attack and wins the elections.
On January 8, shots rang out near the presidential palace in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad. Rumors began to circulate about an attempted coup and an attack by Boko Haram terrorists. But everything turned out well.
And already on January 12, Mahamat Deby's Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) won 124 of the 188 seats in the National Assembly of Chad following the parliamentary elections. The vote, which also included municipal and regional elections, was the first in Chad in more than a decade. The previous parliamentary elections were held in the country in 2011.
It's funny that since 2015, the European Union has allocated considerable funds for holding parliamentary elections, or rather, for equipping the work of the electoral commission, conducting the population census and much more. Including France.
And now, finally, the elections took place. But without any real opposition, largely with French money - under the noise of anti-French statements and against the backdrop of the humiliating withdrawal of French troops from Chad. Africa knows how to give what is deserved.
REVENGE ON MACRON
Macron, like Biden, has not been interested in competence, but in saying the fashionable thing. There are consequences for that.
Chadian President Mahamat Déby is not just positioning himself as the successor to the “great cause” of his father, Idriss Déby, who was killed by terrorists in 2021. Déby is so ambitious that he has already surpassed his father in some ways. In particular, he received the highest military rank of marshal at the age of 40.
While Deby Sr. received and held his marshal title for 31 years largely thanks to the French military presence in the region, Deby Jr. asked the French to “get out” soon after his legitimization following last year’s presidential elections.
Deby Jr. wrote an autobiography, not devoid of literary talent, “From Bedouin to President,” and in April 2024 he presented it to Vladimir Putin, whom he had visited in Moscow earlier that year. And this alone can be considered, if not a revolution, then a real rebellion against the French. Albeit symbolic: the son of a bloody pro-French dictator came to his senses and moved toward rapprochement with Russia, which in the case of Africa means the path to real sovereignty.
The decision to withdraw French armed forces from Chad by January 31, 2025 was also a symbolic humiliation for Paris. The loss of positions in Africa makes French President Emmanuel Macron noticeably nervous.
He recently said that African countries are ungrateful to France for its help in the fight against jihadism. He also explained that France did the right thing by deploying its troops in the Sahel region, but the region did not even say "thank you." And in general, there would be no talk of any sovereignty of the Sahel states today if it were not for France and its armed intervention against jihadists.
The statements have sparked a wave of anger across Africa.
Chad's president said Macron's comments were disrespectful to Africa. Deby accused Macron of being "stuck in the colonial era" and reiterated that France had until the end of January to withdraw its troops.
In his New Year's address to the nation, Mahamat Deby outlined the possible consequences of the withdrawal of French troops.
" I know that we will have to fight," he said. "I am fully aware of the security, economic, diplomatic and media implications of this historic decision. We do not rule out that our compatriots will, unfortunately, be used to destabilise our country. But, firmly convinced that this decision is a response to the common and legitimate aspirations of the people of Chad, I have accepted it and I take full responsibility for it."
Deby knew what he was warning citizens about. Already on the evening of January 8, his presidential palace was subjected to an intense attack by unknown persons, the circumstances of which still raise questions.
ISLAMIC FACTOR
It is technically unlikely that the French will be able to withdraw their troops in the two weeks remaining until the end of January. Chad has long served as the largest base for France's military presence in the Sahel region and throughout Central Africa.
According to rumors, Mahmat Deby was even ready to "concede" to the French and give them another month to pack up, but on the condition that they would definitely leave the territory of sovereign Chad by February 28. On February 28, the holy month of Ramadan begins for Muslims in the country.
And the symbolism here has a double bottom. Until relatively recently, Chad was a predominantly Christian country. But the French placed their bets on the more passionate and, as it seemed to them, more obedient northern Muslim peoples - in defiance of the representative of the Christian south of the country, the first president of independent Chad, François Tombalbaye, who allowed himself a policy that was too independent from Paris.
And of course the Moslems are ever so much more romantic than everyday, boring, bourgeoise Christians of any skin tone. How were the French authorities to resist such a charming idea?
Already in 2014, the French tried to use semi-Islamist and semi-gangster formations to expel François Bozizé, who had been playing at independence, in the neighboring Central African Republic and unleashed a civil war there. They tried to use these same gangs repeatedly against the Wagner Group when they began to restore order in the CAR at the end of 2017.
And now the Islamic factor is turned against the French themselves.
Mahamat Deby is rumored to be an extremely vindictive person. His attitude toward former colonizers is due to the fact that it was Macron who questioned the legitimacy of his rise to power. One of his informal conditions for supporting Chad and the current government after the death of Idriss Deby was the renunciation of the presidential ambitions of Deby Jr.
However, this development of events called into question the future of the entire "Debi clan" and the dominant Zaghawa ethnic group.
The contender for power after the dictator's death was his beloved wife, the daughter of the Chadian ambassador to the United States, a representative of the Arab Tunjur tribe, Hinda Itno, who became a successful conductor of Washington's influence and, at the same time, an effective negotiator with international institutions in favor of her husband.
Under the threat of this internal coup, the entire numerous "Deby clan" united and nominated the most legitimate leader - Deby's eldest son Mahamat. He came to power largely unexpectedly for himself and on the wave of fateful events. The fact is that, legally, power in Chad after the death of the leader should have passed to the head of parliament, but not to the former commander of the main department of the security service of state institutions, a major general of the army and the son of the deceased president.
The political model of Chad is extremely fragile in its foundations. To understand: the East Saharan ethnic group Zaghawa, having a 1% share in the total population of the country, has concentrated 99% of power and resources in its hands. The ruling "Déby clan" belongs to it, all officers of the Chadian army and special services. A classic example of ethnocracy, formalized as a political dictatorship.
In essence, the political and power center in Chad has been constantly shifting vertically since its independence from the predominantly Christian and densely populated agricultural South to the sparsely populated Muslim pastoral North. This is the main geographic axis, the historical pattern and, frankly speaking, the tragedy of Chad's political system.
Given the limited resources (and Chad remains one of the poorest countries on the Black Continent), this state of affairs cannot but cause discontent. And there have always been those who take advantage of this discontent.
But the authorities are usually challenged by the same representatives of the more militant northern and northeastern nomadic peoples. For example, the most implacable opponent of Idriss Deby's rule, the rebel Front for Change and Accord (Front pour l'Alternance et la Concorde au Tchad, FACT), at whose hands Deby died three years ago, consists mainly of the Goran ethnic group. This Muslim ethnic group from the border with Libya has been the main competitor to the privileged position of the Zaghawa for many years.
That is why, despite the apparent stability of the regime, its durability is questionable. And young Deby, to his credit, is well aware of this. This explains his attempts to use the pan-African agenda and play on the patriotic feelings of young Chadians. This is how he finds additional support.
No matter how formal the recent presidential and parliamentary elections were for Chad, the current authorities are still trying to turn the prevailing mood in society to their advantage.
And they are, to put it mildly, anti-French. But it is not only President Deby who would like to take advantage of this.
THE FAILURE OF THE AMERICANS
The only serious political opponent of Mahamat Deby in the recent presidential elections was the leader of the political party "Transformers" Sukse Masra. And it is no coincidence that he focused on the socialist and pan-African agenda, appealing to the ideas of justice and patriotism.
Some even note the complete external and ideological similarity between Sukse Masra and the leader of the successful opposition party PASTEF in Senegal, Ousmane Sonko. At the same time, American money and technology stood behind both political projects.
The very fact of the return of oppositionist Masr to N'Djamena directly from New York and his subsequent appointment as Prime Minister of Chad in January of last year meant nothing less than certain behind-the-scenes agreements between the "Deby clan" and the Americans.
The Americans have been in Chad for a long time. At the same time, their interests here differ significantly from the French. The US quite openly supports the opposition here. During the presidential campaign itself, already in April-May of last year, Western English-language media did not hide their sympathies specifically for Masra "in defiance" of the French.
But the latter, apart from populism, did not have any decisive team, so his political ambitions failed. But the Americans' hope to realize their own influence at the expense of their yesterday's ally in Paris also failed.
It was the American military contingent that was the first to be expelled from Chad, back in April of last year. The fate of the American military in Chad was decided at the same time as the American military contingent in Niger (which literally replaced the "Africa Corps" of the Russian Defense Ministry).
The phenomenal nature of the situation is that, despite the apparent coordination of the actions of the authorities of Chad and Niger and the obvious benefit for Russia, the reasons and circumstances for the expulsion of the Americans are completely different. In the case of Niger, the Americans were counting on remaining in the region until the very end and were clearly implementing their own strategy, somewhere even pushing their "strategic partners", the French, in the back.
This had its risks and, judging by the fact that a year ago there was a significant correction of the American strategy of presence in the region (the bet on coastal locations), it can be assumed that the Americans allowed for the scenario of complete failure and calculated alternative options. And they were not at all embarrassed by either the material or strategic losses associated with leaving Niger.
In the case of Chad, the demands of local military authorities for the withdrawal of the task force of US military advisers and special forces (100 people in number) came as a complete surprise and a harsh reputational slap in the face for Washington.
At an informal level, this decision of the Chadian authorities was supported by the French side. It was a kind of retaliation for the unfriendly actions of American "allies" in a number of locations of traditional presence and influence of Paris.
But, like the Americans in Niger before them, the French are in for a nasty surprise after just over six months. They, too, are forced to abandon the military bases they have occupied since 1976.
The collapse of Françafrique and the withdrawal of French troops from Chad is an event that is not without approval from the Republicans of the Trump administration. This is another illustration of how complicated things are in the African direction in the relations between yesterday's allies.
And all of these are quite positive processes that Russia, among others, can take advantage of.
CHAD AND RUSSIA
The fact is clear, and few can argue with it now. N'Djamena is now moving from a policy of being a conductor of Paris' interests (the "French gendarme" in Africa) in the Sahel and Central Africa to an independent foreign policy.
The place left by France will not remain empty. And if the US could not fill it, then, by breaking relations with Paris, N'Djamena is simultaneously creating a new defense alliance with Ankara.
Turkey and Chad recently signed an agreement that provides for training of Chadian military personnel by Turkish instructors. In addition to the defense agreements, the Turkish armed forces will train the Chadian army. Turkey has been providing military assistance to Chad for several years, including modern training of military personnel and the supply of weapons. The cooperation is aimed at strengthening Chad's defense capabilities and its ability to fight terrorism.
Chad has been and remains an extremely important space for the implementation of geopolitical interests of a number of major powers, if only due to its geographical location.
Chad is a crossroads of multidirectional and complex interests: the Sahel, Central Africa, influence on North Africa (Libya), and North-East Africa (Sudan), etc., etc. Whoever controls Chad has influence over vast areas both in the interior of the African continent and on its outskirts.
Russia is an active player in this area.
Recently, the military authorities of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have turned away from the West in favor of Russian military support. The Central African Republic has been stabilized since 2017 with the help of Russian military instructors. Let us also note the Russian presence in Libya.
All these countries are neighbors of Chad. In this context, the mentioned visit of Deby to Moscow is not just a symbolic story, but also a geopolitical necessity.
It was one thing when Chad was behind the attempted rebellion of the “Coalition of Patriots for Change” in the pro-Russian Central African Republic in 2020. And it was quite another when in the summer of 2023 N’Djamena took a position of demonstrative neutrality against the backdrop of a pro-Russian military coup in neighboring Niger. Although Paris tried to persuade Chad to join ECOWAS in the blockade of Niamey and a military invasion to restore the status quo and free pro-French ex-President Mohamed Bazoum (the latter, by the way, is still in prison).
One cannot help but recall the words of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov : "I can assure you that our friendship with the Republic of Chad will not affect its relations with France. We never ask anyone to choose their friends, but France has a different approach. In Paris's opinion, either you are with us or you are against us."
Chad was the last stop on the Russian Foreign Minister's African tour last June. But it was perhaps the most significant. During the visit, Lavrov prudently avoided making harsh anti-colonialist statements and focused on economic cooperation with the Central African Republic.
Chad has already significantly diversified its military cooperation over the past 5 years at least: along with France, N'Djamena also focused on the UAE, Turkey and Hungary. Now Russia can join this ranks on equal terms.
There are already obvious advantages for us at the level of foreign policy cooperation.
Immediately after Lavrov's June visit, the head of the Chadian Foreign Ministry made a statement that N'Djamena sees no point in a peace conference on Ukraine without Russia's participation. Now Chad is becoming a neutral and friendly party for the pro-Russian "Confederation of Sahel States." The long-standing tension on the border between Chad and the Central African Republic, when jidahids and armed opposition found refuge in their northern neighbor, is also completely removed.
Was Russia making a deliberate effort in this direction? No. It was simply geopolitical luck and, if you like, a historic chance for Russia to get even with the West.
The current situation, the current tectonic changes in the Sahel, are more a result of a series of accidents and changes within African communities themselves than the result of our own game.
The request for cooperation and an "open door" regime for Moscow comes from African countries - and for us this is somewhat unexpected. As it turns out, we are not particularly capable of the famous "security case", nor do we know how to back it up with anything.
We need to learn, and as quickly as possible. Because we have serious competitors.
[NYPOST] A senior Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... leader praised the Oct. 7 terror attack as a ''miraculous military and security achievement,'' while promising ''justice'' for those who committed so-called ''genocide'' in a stunning speech just after the cease-fire deal was announced.
Khalil al-Hayya's televised remarks were delivered from Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... on Wednesday just hours after a long-awaited and widely celebrated cease-fire deal was reached between Israel and Hamas.
''What occurred on October 7 — a miraculous military and security achievement by the elite Qassam Brigades — will remain a source of pride for our people,'' al-Hayya said in the speech, according to a translated video shared by Israeli diplomat David Saranga.
"It struck the heart of the enemy and will lead, Allah willing, to the restoration of all our rights," he said — accusing the Jewish state of "genocidal wars, Nazi crimes, and acts of inhumanity," according to the translation.
"We will never forget or forgive those who participate in this genocide ... Justice will be served to these criminals, even if delayed" he was quoted saying.
"Our enemy will see no moment of weakness or surrender from us."
The Hamas leader, who also serves as the terror group’s top negotiator, also hailed the cease-fire hostage deal as a "historic moment."
The breakthrough peace deal was struck Wednesday after an intense 96 hours of negotiations brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States. It was briefly scuttled Thursday due to a "last-minute blackmail attempt" by Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, but the deal got the go-ahead again later in the day.
The three-phase agreement will halt fighting for 42 days with 33 Israeli hostages incrementally freed from captivity in exchange for the release of hundreds of Paleostinians imprisoned by Israel.
#Iraq is trying to convince powerful armed factions in the country that have fought #US forces and fired rockets and drones at #Israel to lay down their weapons or join official security forces, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein says.https://t.co/TbKmFNrqGE
The head #Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), Farhat Bengdara, has resigned due to “health issues,” and Masoud Sulaiman has been appointed as acting chief, the state oil company says.https://t.co/FxM78fGhIf
Text taken from the Telegram Channel of ZalaAero
[ColonelCassad] To date, more than 2,800 episodes of the destruction of Ukrainian Armed Forces equipment by the Lancet have been openly published both on the line of combat contact and in the enemy's rear.
The main targets remain tanks, armored vehicles, towed and self-propelled artillery, air defense, communications equipment, electronic warfare stations, special equipment and even aircraft and watercraft of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
We present to your attention a selection of the 100 most striking moments of the use of the ZALA Lancet in 2024.
#2
Jeepers, did that idiot really get 175k views by pretending to be stupid enough to bust SpaceX for poking fun at euphemism through humorous-ish use of euphemism? Maybe I do belong on Twitter. Or is it a Titania thing and I'm missing the joke?
[IsraelTimes] Police and the Shin Bet indicted a 16-year-old from southern Israel on charges of “security offenses inspired by terrorist groups,” says a police spokesman.
Law enforcement arrested him in December last year on suspicion of planning to join the Islamic State terror group and manufacture explosives to use in terror attacks.
Police say the suspect planned to move abroad and join ISIS, but also considered staying in Israel to create a “military squad that would carry out attacks against Jews.”
The youth also “carried out activities for the purpose of preparing explosives,” the police say.
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Thirty-three people have died in #Istanbul after having drunk tainted #alcohol while 48 others have received hospital treatment, #Turkey’s state news agency Anadolu reports.https://t.co/xTE3u8K4GM
#9
A knock-kneed Caucasian in khaki
Roared, deep in his cups, "Pour! More raki,
Mohammed be, er... [E.F. Hutton] Salaamed!"
Okay, I'm stuck. But lookit, "raki" [cue theme] kinda almost rhymes with "sake."
[PostMillennial] The report doesn’t break down the number by country but the Biden previously increased the refugee cap from 18,000 set in the last year of the Trump administration to 125,000.
According to DHS reports, the number is much higher than the 2,085 in FY 2023. That year was higher than the 603 waivers distributed in FY 2022, 191 in FY 2021, and 361 in FY 2020.
Foreign nationals can be deemed inadmissible from entry into the US and for immigration benefits if they have associated with, supported, or worked with terrorist organizations, but the DHS secretary can exempt certain foreign nationals if they provided support under duress, provided medical care, or meet other standards for exemptions.
This doesn’t mean they all are terrorists, of course, but it is concerning.
(KRON) — Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is now facing criminal charges, according to a San Francisco Chronicle report published Thursday. The Chronicle, citing anonymous sources, reports Thao has been criminally indicted by a federal grand jury.
The indictment comes after last year's FBI raid of Thao's Oakland home. Thao was recalled in November's election after serving two years as Oakland's mayor. Thao's final day in office was in December.
Since the FBI raid back in June, Thao has repeatedly claimed her innocence and said she is not the target of the investigation. In her exit interview as mayor last month, Thao told KRON4, "I'm innocent. I've done nothing wrong."
------------------ Toward the end of her mayorship, her spokesman and her lawyer quit. This may have to do with some bounced checks that were to pay for direct mail attack fliers. The FBI will be making some kind of announcement on this on 17 January or shortly thereafter
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] An economic crisis could engulf the United States by the end of 2025 if the United States Congress does not take urgent measures. This was stated on January 16 by the candidate for the post of US Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent.
He also warned that if the situation does not change, the country will face a $4 trillion tax increase.
"This will be the largest tax increase in the history of this country, and its consequences will be devastating," he said in a speech he decided to deliver before the Senate Finance Committee.
The text of the document is quoted by Bloomberg. According to Bessent, due to large budget expenditures, the US government faced a deficit of funds, which amounted to 7% of GDP, which is the highest value in the last four years.
The candidate for Treasury Secretary called for putting finances in order and cutting unnecessary spending, which increased by 40% during the specified period. Bessent believes that the United States should prioritize investments that would help economic growth.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, on January 15, candidate for the post of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that excessive commitment to globalism to the detriment of national interests has weakened the economy and security of the United States. He also expressed the opinion that other countries have learned to manipulate this order in their own interests, harming the US.
In early January, American investor Jim Rogers warned that the world will face a global economic crisis in 2025. He believes that the reasons for a deep global recession will be the record high government debt of the US, Japan, China and Germany, as well as the longest period of American economic stability since 2009.
At the end of December, it became known that the US national debt for 2024 had grown by $2.4 trillion, and this amount exceeded the total debt of the Russian Federation by more than eight times. In total, the US national debt then amounted to $36 trillion.
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]Is child porn going to be this generation’s caught for tax evasion? Not that I object, but all of a sudden there are an awful lot of influential people caught in the headlights for this.
NEW: Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post cartoonist and Trump hater Darrin Bell arrested for AI child p*rn.
Bell was allegedly in possession of AI generated graphic child p*rn.
He is the first person in California to be charged under their new AI law.
… The creep was well known for hating how Republicans would label pedos as ‘groomers.’
“In a search of Bell's home, investigators found 134 videos of child p*rnography linked to an account owned and controlled by Bell as well as computer generated/artificial intelligence child p*rnography,”NBC reported.
In a recent interview, Bell blasted Trump supporters as “racists.”
Darrin Bell, the cartoonist who made this, was just arrested with child porn on his computer pic.twitter.com/lVuUVhRfB0
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#1
I don't feel sorry for Darrin Bell but AI generated child p-rn doesn't actually exploit children the way actual p-rn does. So the reason behind the law may be a problem.
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Well, that and the videos.
It is an interesting question. What if it is modeled after a real child? If this counts, then what about Jamie Lee Curtis' painting of a naked child?
TW, one possibility is that all these people getting exposed were dirty open secrets people were forced to get along with, and with a democrat election day victory would become the forced norm for at least the next 4 years because the alphabet mafia held key positions. They are also very rude people who likely cheesed off normies just wanting to clock in clock out go home. Well, now the culture has officially shifted.
Wait until we find out how wild the Diddy list is. See Neil Gaiman most recently. Strangely, the Newscum law forbidding the sale of fire property is going to keep a lot of incriminated celebrities from just disappearing.
Thank you, Frank G. Ugh. I didn’t pick up anything like that from his books, though whether that’s me being oblivious or him not putting it into his novels, I couldn't say. His short stories strike me as uninterestingly self-indulgent because that is not his natural length, but that’s a different question.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Syria has agreed to deploy UN peacekeeping forces in the buffer zone on the Golan Heights near the border with Israel, the head of the country's new administration, Ahmad al-Sharaa, said on January 16, Al-Jazeera reports.
"We are ready to accept UN forces in the buffer zone so that the situation returns to the state that existed before the Israeli advance," al-Sharaa said during talks with a Qatari delegation in Damascus.
He added that Israel no longer has arguments for advancing deeper into the buffer zone.
As reported by Regnum news agency, in early December the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began deploying troops in the buffer zone on the Golan Heights near the border with Syria.
The IDF has previously tightened restrictions in towns near the Syrian border. Schools were cancelled in four Druze villages, farmers were banned from cultivating fields in the area, and checkpoints were set up in the Golan Heights. The Times of Israel reported that the IDF intends to declare the state's border areas with Syria a "closed military zone."
Russia expects that the agreement between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will create conditions for sustainable stabilization of the situation in the region, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said earlier.
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BREAKING: Georgia State Senator Colton Moore was pushed to the ground and arrested while trying to attend the State of the State session
"Senator Colton Moore, who exposed and defeated corrupt District Attorney Fani Willis last year, has been arrested by the Anti-Trump Speaker… pic.twitter.com/X0Bb0G82Pi
This story was updated at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, with additional reaction to Moore’s arrest.
[GeorgiaRecorder] A right-wing Republican state senator was arrested Thursday morning while attempting to enter the House chambers to attend the State of the State address by GOP Gov. Brian Kemp.
Controversial Trenton politician Colton Moore was handcuffed and removed from the Capitol by state police following an altercation with staff members and law enforcement as Moore made several attempts to enter the House chamber floor for the annual governor’s address.
Moore was banned from entering the House chamber last year by GOP House Speaker Jon Burns after speaking ill of the late House Speaker David Ralston while the Blue Ridge Republican was being posthumously honored in the Senate. Moore took to the well and spoke about allegations that Ralston had used his position as speaker to benefit his law firm.
Calling the comments "some of the vilest that you can make about a good man," current speaker Burns instructed the House doorkeeper not to allow Moore to set foot in the chamber.
The doorkeeper made good on that Thursday when Moore tried to enter the chamber along with his Senate colleagues for a joint session to hear from the governor.
The doorkeeper asked Moore to step aside and watch the governor’s speech from outside the chamber.
Moore tried to push his way in, but was stopped by the doorkeeper and other staff.
Moore insisted he was legally and constitutionally entitled to enter the chamber, but the doorkeeper disagreed, and so did the multiple Capitol coppers stationed outside the House awaiting Moore’s arrival. Moore had announced on social media earlier his intention to challenge the ban.
After several minutes of pushing and shoving, Moore fell to the ground. After more arguing, officers told Moore he was under arrest, cuffed him and led him away to a squad car.
The Georgia State Patrol released a statement Thursday afternoon that said Moore was arrested on an initial charge of misdemeanor obstruction of law enforcement officers after Moore created a public disturbance prior to the State of the State address. Moore was booked into the Fulton County jail before being released Thursday afternoon.
According to the state police, Moore ignored several warnings after troopers at the Capitol tried to calm him down as he "persisted in his attempts to disrupt official proceedings" inside the chamber.
"The disturbance escalated further when Senator Moore pushed into troopers multiple times," the statement said. "The Georgia State Patrol, in an effort to maintain peace and ensure the safety of everyone involved, arrested Sen. Moore without further incident,"
Several hours after his arrest Moore posted a video on X inside Emory Midtown Hospital, where he said was being treated for injuries that included a swollen left hand.
He thanked the people across Georgia who supported his commitment to his legislative duties and said he would return to the Capitol for Friday’s session.
"I appreciate all of your support, all of the warm comments from all over the country, all over the state of Georgia," Moore said. "I’m proud to represent the people from Northwest Georgia today. They took my freedom and liberty away as I was fighting for your liberty and freedom. But I tell you what, I still have a constitutional obligation to do work. I’ll still be in that legislature come tomorrow morning."
Moore has been a controversial figure in the Senate. He was previously booted from the GOP caucus after politicians said he posted contact information for colleagues to social media and urged people to call them to urge a special session to target Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for arresting former president, now President-elect Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... Moore is the vice-chair of the right wing Georgia Freedom Caucus, one of several state caucuses formed in 2024 as an extension of the U.S. Congress House Freedom Caucus.
State Freedom Caucus Network President Andrew Roth sent an email blast Thursday claiming Moore was wrongfully arrested for trying to attend the governor’s speech.
"This move to arrest Colton was unconstitutional and wholly unnecessary and unconstitutional, but expected. Swampy Georgia Republicans dislike Colton because he continually exposes them for supporting bloated budgets and big government programs," Roth wrote in the fundraising email.
Several other legal experts and political figures have raised questions regarding the legality of Moore’s arrest, as well as the ethical reasoning for blocking Moore from entering the House chamber.
Georgia law prohibits politicians from being arrested during the General Assembly session, with the exceptions of felony offenses, breach of peace, and treason.
Burns released a statement calling the situation unfortunate while he defended the decision to ban Moore for breaking the rules of House decorum.
Burns also praised state representatives for standing firm Thursday by honoring the legacy of Ralston.
Burns’ counterpart in the Senate disagreed with the decision to arrest Moore. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Butts County Republican, said politicians have the right to attend an official Legislative session matter.
"There is real work to be done this session, and the focus should be on delivering for the people of Georgia instead of personal grievances and egos," Jones said in a statement.
Majority Leader Chuck Efstration told news hounds after the speech that Burns did his duty to maintain order in the House chamber.
"The senator caused a very dangerous situation today with law enforcement, doorkeepers, staff and other individuals that were present," he said. "I think House members that were standing behind the doors in the chamber were focused on the governor’s State of the State address and the important work to be done this legislative session, and that’s where the focus should be."
Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... have been content to watch the intraparty feuding from the sidelines.
"When elephants are fighting, get out of the way," House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley, a Columbus Democrat, told news hounds afterwards.
Moore is the third Georgia politician arrested inside the Capitol in the last few years.
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, an Atlanta Democrat, was among a group of people arrested in 2018 while protesting the ballot counting in the 2018 governor’s race.
In 2021, state Rep. Park Cannon, an Atlanta Democrat, was arrested on the same charges as Williams for knocking on Kemp’s office doors during the signing of controversial election law overhaul Senate Bill 202.
The charges against Williams and Cannon were dropped by prosecutors later. However,
women are made to be loved, not understood... their attorneys argued at a Georgia Supreme Court hearing in May that the laws that were used to arrest them are vague, overly broad, and violate their constitutional rights as free individuals.
In November, the state Supreme Court found the arrests of Cannon and Williams were legal, but advised the Legislature to clarify the types of disruptions that are prohibited under law.
Gerald Griggs, the president of the Georgia NAACP and Atlanta lawyer, posted a thread on X citing the Georgia Constitution which protects politicians from arrest during sessions except in very limited circumstances. Griggs was Cannon’s lawyer when Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis decided not to pursue criminal charges against Cannon for the incident that occurred a few weeks prior.
Griggs posted Thursday that Moore’s arrest wasn’t the "first time people tend to ignore the law." Griggs said that while disorderly conduct is the usual criminal charge connected to a breach of peace, Georgia law protects elected politicians from being arrested for trying to attend meetings and legislative floor sessions inside the chambers.
He also said that the Georgia Constitution holds more legal weight than House rules like the ones used to justify blocking Moore from entering the House chamber.
The Georgia Legislature’s new-two year session started Monday.
"Wouldn’t an elected official have the right to be in a joint session of the legislature? At what point was his right taken away by an order of the court or the will of the people."
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] The head of an organized human trafficking group received 13 years in prison in Stavropol, the prosecutor's office reported.
According to the department, in 2019, a resident of Stavropol created a criminal community of four organized groups that operated in the Izobilnensky, Trunovsky, Shpakovsky districts and in the city of Nevinnomyssk.
In October 2021, in the village of Verkhnerusskoye, the defendant met a man who was in a difficult situation and needed money. He moved him to Mikhailovsk and took his documents, promising work and free housing. Then the convicted person entered into a purchase and sale agreement and transferred the man to a livestock farm, the Stavropol Territory Prosecutor's Office reported.
A resident of Stavropol was found guilty under Part 1 of Article 210 of the Criminal Code of Russia (management of a structural unit (organized group) and Part 3 of Article 127.1 of the Criminal Code of Russia (human trafficking). The court sentenced him to 13 years in a maximum security penal colony. The organizer of this criminal group was previously convicted. The case against the rest of its members is pending in court, according to a statement on the department's website.
[PUBLISH.TWITTER] Tom Homan, incoming head of ICE, has already said his final word on that subject. I’m looking forward to the shockwave after the first arrests, to be followed by rapid capitulation.
BREAKING: Minneapolis police chief Brian O'Hara says his department will not participate in immigration enforcement.
"Any participation in immigration enforcement would have a chilling effect on our commitment to bias-free, community-oriented policing." pic.twitter.com/mA0g64efSa
#6
I'd be completely fine if we wished to sell or trade Minnesota. I know that would be seen as "collective punishment" since the more rural parts would pay for the sins of the twin cities, but there's a price to be paid for allowing evil to flourish.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas have reached a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. This was reported on January 16 by the Al Arabiya TV channel.
"All parties have signed the agreement. It is designed for six weeks and will come into force on Sunday, January 19," the journalists said.
It is noted that the document was concluded after the final amendments were made. The deal was on the verge of collapse, and the intervention of mediators helped to achieve the signing of the agreement. After the disagreements were resolved, the Israeli delegation left the capital of Qatar, Doha.
The agreement will be implemented in three stages. First, the IDF will gradually begin to withdraw its troops from the enclave. In turn, Hamas will release 33 hostages. The second stage should see the release of the remaining Israeli prisoners and a permanent ceasefire. Israel will completely withdraw its troops and release more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners. The third stage involves an exchange of bodies. Then, reconstruction work will begin in the Gaza Strip under the supervision of Egypt, Qatar and the UN.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on January 15, during negotiations between Israel and Hamas with the participation of mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States, an agreement was reached on a temporary truce in the Gaza Strip. It is assumed that the truce will be in effect from January 19 for 42 days.
Russia will welcome any settlement that leads to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov commented on January 16. The Kremlin representative called for not rushing to congratulate the parties and to wait until the process is finalized. Peskov also clarified that Russia did not take part in the negotiation process.
Russia expects that the agreement between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will create conditions for sustainable stabilization, noted the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova. The diplomat also expressed hope that this agreement will lead to an "improvement" of the overall situation in the Middle East, including not only Palestine, but also Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
The difference is that the Egyptians, like most humans, have self-interest while the Paleos will go out of their way to make things worse for themselves.
#8
It is claimed that Gaza was a troublesome city-state during Roman empire times, which would make them part-time Egyptians whenever the kingdom expanded north to the Mediterranean coast.
[FoxNews] 'There's a little bit of a concern that this might be setting the stage for something worse,' a US official told Reuters
President-elect Trump’s transition team has reportedly asked three senior career diplomats to step down from their roles, according to Reuters.
Dereck Hogan, Marcia Bernicat and Alaina Teplitz, the career diplomats who were allegedly asked to leave their roles, oversee the State Department’s workforce and internal coordination. This request could signal the Trump team’s desire to implement major changes within the department.
"There's a little bit of a concern that this might be setting the stage for something worse," a U.S. official familiar with the matter told Reuters. "Worse" as defined by whom?
All three of the career diplomats named in the report have worked under Democratic and Republican administrations, Reuters noted. Unlike political appointees, diplomats do not typically resign when a president leaves office.
Throughout his political career, Trump has gone after the "deep state," and this move could be seen as part of his efforts to fundamentally change the government on a bureaucratic level.
"It is entirely appropriate for the transition to seek officials who share President Trump's vision for putting our nation and America's working men and women first. We have a lot of failures to fix and that requires a committed team focused on the same goals," Trump’s team told Reuters in response to a request for comment.
#1
This is concerning. Dems regularly just fire GIVERnment officials who do not align with their vision and the media does not even write a story. The notion of asking someone to resign instead of just firing them is somehow concerning.
My concern is that the number (3) asked to resign was so low. It should be in the 1000s
#7
It sounds like those three positions are the ones that control staffing assignments. The positions not the people are needed for the proposed house cleaning. If they are Plum Book positions, those people will be fired if they refuse to move laterally.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/17/2025 13:37
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[X] Two days ago we learnt that Jamie Mannina spilt his guts to a pretty undercover reporter about plotting with some retired generals to undermine President Trump here and was fired by the Pentagon here. Yesterday we saw the follow-up ambush interview here. Is there a single Progressive miscreant left who doesn’t diddle little children? Ugh.
Whoa…. 🤯
The Senior Pentagon Official James O’Keefe just caught on Camera talking about Sabotaging Trumps Inauguration —— was busted in 2021 for Soliciting an Underage Girl for S*x
How in the hell was Jamie Mannina a Top Senior Pentagon Official after this?
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Russkaya compressor station in Krasnodar Krai, which supplies gas via the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, could have been carried out on a tip from the United States, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on January 16.
“There is reason to believe that the terrorist attack on the compressor station, we are talking about the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, this is the Krasnodar region, on January 11… was carried out on a tip from Washington,” she said at a briefing.
The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the United States and Ukraine are working together to stop the supply of Russian blue fuel to Europe and clear the way for expensive American liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Zakharova added that Moscow and Ankara will take measures to prevent other similar attacks.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, on January 13, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that on January 11, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted to attack the Russkaya compressor station using nine unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which were shot down by Russian air defense forces.
When fragments from one of the destroyed drones fell, the building and equipment of the gas measuring station were slightly damaged. Specialists were able to quickly restore the damaged equipment. Failures in the station's operation were avoided.
On January 14, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the United States was giving the go-ahead for terrorist attacks against energy infrastructure. He added that Washington had plans to destroy Turkish Stream.
Residents of the EU and NATO countries should start learning Russian now. This was stated at a briefing on January 16 by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, commenting on the words of the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Mark Rutte, who threatened to study Russian in the EU in case of refusal to increase defense spending.
"You can [study] for free, or for a percentage of your countries' GDP, as you wish <…> He (Rutte. - Ed.) did say the right thing: learn Russian. It's a wonderful language," the diplomat noted.
At the same time, the representative of the Foreign Ministry emphasized that learning Russian "should not be out of fear, but for self-enrichment." Zakharova recalled that this language is one of the official languages of the UN, and works that are an integral part of world artistic classics are written in it. The diplomat noted that Russia will help everyone who wants to learn the language and the Foreign Ministry will assist everyone in this matter.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, Rutte said on January 14 that residents of European countries will be forced to learn Russian if they refuse to increase defense spending above the current 2% of GDP. According to him, if this is not done, then in 4-5 years they will have to take Russian language courses or go to New Zealand.
According to the alliance's secretary general, security "cannot be free". He called on MEPs to use their influence and play a key role in the debate on the urgent need to increase military spending at the expense of cutting social benefits.
On March 6, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov advised foreigners to study Russian and Russian history. According to him, this will help them understand what is happening in the country. The Kremlin spokesman recalled that Russian is one of the most difficult languages in the world because it has a huge number of exceptions, and foreigners find it difficult.
#1
the United States and Ukraine are working together to stop the supply of Russian blue fuel to Europe and clear the way for expensive American liquefied natural gas (LNG)
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Archival documents about the Nazi executioner from Austria Martin Feuerbach, who took part in the executions of people during World War II, were declassified by the Public Relations Center (PRC) of the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia.
The materials indicate that the Soviet military counterintelligence service SMERSH searched for Nazi war criminals and their accomplices, including prisoners, during the Great Patriotic War. In March 1944, Staff Corporal Martin Feuerbach, who participated in executions in Austria, Poland, Yugoslavia and the USSR, was captured in Kerch.
During interrogations, he confessed that he personally hanged 120 people, beheaded 80, cut off the limbs of a dozen people, and nailed at least two people by the arms and legs. Before the executions, he was given extra cigarettes, and after the atrocities, he was given vodka, rum, and meat dishes.
According to the executioner, he had a pocket calendar at home, where he wrote down the number of people he executed. Feuerbach reread these records every evening, thanks to which he was able to remember most of the numbers.
Feuerbach was born in 1915 in Würzburg. He joined the Austrian National Socialist Party and was sentenced to seven years in prison for organizing an illegal Nazi meeting. After Austria was incorporated into Germany, he served in the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). In the army, Feuerbach formed "mobile units" to fight partisans. In 1941 and 1943, he also participated in reprisals against Austrian anti-fascists.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, in August 2024, the German Defense Ministry added Wehrmacht officers who were members of the NSDAP and the paramilitary wing of the SS to the list dedicated to Germany's military tradition, confirmed the official representative of the department, Arne Kollatz. According to him, in Germany, along with the participants in the resistance to the Nazi regime, the memory of some members of the Wehrmacht who, after the fall of the Third Reich, helped create a new German army and openly distanced themselves from their past will be honored.
The world community must respond to the German Bundeswehr's inclusion of former Nazis in the list of those who should serve as an example of military superiority, urged Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that there is no sympathy for Nazis in Russia and there never will be. The newest Ukrainian neo-Nazis resemble their own ideological ancestors who collaborated with Hitler during the Great Patriotic War, the head of state noted.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Kirill Semenov
[REGNUM] Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas agreed on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on January 15. The agreement could end a devastating 15-month Israeli offensive in the enclave that has killed nearly 50,000 Palestinians. But there are many obstacles to not only implementing the agreement, but even getting it off the ground.
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman bin Jassim al-Thani announced the deal on Wednesday, January 15, at a press conference in Doha, saying the ceasefire would begin on January 19. The Qataris, along with the Egyptians, helped Hamas reach an agreement with Israel, while the new US administration led by President-elect Donald Trump tried to pressure the Israelis.
"PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH"
Now everything depends on whether Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet ratifies the deal.
Trump has already been quick to praise the agreement, calling it “epic,” and stressing that it would not have happened without his return to the White House. That statement raises hopes that the two sides can move forward with at least the first phase of a deal.
It is the disputes within the Israeli government that are causing concern. Netanyahu's rejection of the deal would be perceived by Trump as an attempt to steal his administration's first victory and cause reputational damage.
“This monumental ceasefire agreement could only have been achieved as a result of our historic victory in November, as it showed the world that my administration will pursue peace and negotiate to ensure the safety of all Americans and our allies,” Trump wrote on the TruthSocial platform.
Trump singled out the efforts of his national security team's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, to broker a deal, and also emphasized the allied nature of relations with Israel and the desire to "never again make Gaza a safe haven for terrorists."
“We will continue to advance the idea of peace through strength throughout the region,” Trump concluded.
THREE STEPS TO PEACE
In the first phase of the deal, which will last 42 days, Hamas must release 33 prisoners: minors, women (both civilians and soldiers) and civilian men over 50.
In exchange, Israel will release 30 Palestinian prisoners for every civilian hostage and 50 for every female soldier.
Israeli forces will withdraw from densely populated areas to the outskirts of the Gaza Strip, additional UN aid will be sent to the enclave, and displaced Palestinians will begin to return home.
On the 16th day, negotiations are expected to begin on the implementation of the second stage, which is also planned to last 42 days and will include a declaration of “sustainable calm.”
At this stage, Hamas is to release the remaining male captives (soldiers and civilians) in exchange for an as yet unagreed number of Palestinian prisoners and the beginning of a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, which is to be completed by the end of the second stage.
In the third stage, the bodies of the dead Israeli hostages will be exchanged for the bodies of the dead Hamas members. The reconstruction plan for Gaza will be implemented, and the border crossings for entry and exit from the Strip will be opened.
The draft ceasefire agreement also provides for negotiations on a post-conflict governance and reconstruction structure for Gaza, but since there is no consensus on these issues, the possibility of a prolonged military occupation of the territory by Israel remains, up to and including a resumption of hostilities in the near future.
In addition, the deal does not include political negotiations to resolve the core conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
As Igor Subbotin, an international observer and expert on the Middle East, told Regnum, the agreed deal between Israel and Hamas partially eliminates the hostage problem, which formally underlay the military operation in Gaza that lasted more than a year, but does not stop the full-scale conflict itself and the underlying causes that lie at its origins.
According to him, Israel agreed to limit the operational activity of its troops in Gaza, but pushed Hamas to agree to something that had long been controversial: the establishment of buffer zones and the maintenance of a contingent on the isthmus between Gaza and Egypt.
This is not about withdrawing troops from the enclave, but rather a trigger for the armed wing of Hamas to begin regrouping and rebuilding its forces instead of demobilizing.
In turn, as Subbotin notes, Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20 can only electrify the atmosphere around Gaza. Those close to the Republican say that he will seek "autonomy for the Palestinians" on the model of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated US territory in the Caribbean Sea.
An important aspect of this concept will be that it will be based on the principle of "peace for peace" rather than "land for peace," those close to the idea explain. And this is unlikely to be enthusiastically received by supporters of the "resistance."
Netanyahu himself had motives to make a deal, since it became obvious that the current stage of his military campaign in Gaza had reached a dead end. Therefore, he needs a pause at least to resolve the problem with some of the hostages, which would reduce the internal pressure on his cabinet to a certain extent and allow him, if necessary, to gather his strength and resume military operations.
It is clear that the Hamas movement has evolved from a centralized organization into an equally effective guerrilla movement that has been able to restructure itself and continue to inflict significant damage on Israel.
The Sheikh al-Qassam Brigades, the movement's military wing, after emptying its arsenals, launched a successful mine war against the IDF, mining roads where Israeli soldiers are blown up almost every day.
The number of Israelis killed in Gaza in recent months, starting in the fall, has been not fewer, but more than before. Israeli experts themselves write about this, also emphasizing that there have been no major military achievements in Gaza for six months now.
It is concluded that the deal could have been concluded back then - and all the heads of the special services and security agencies spoke about it. This would have saved the lives of soldiers and hostages.
However, this scenario misses an important detail.
It is quite possible that Netanyahu does not have the goal of bringing the agreement to a third or even a second stage and intends to resume hostilities.
And then the current deal is just a certain concession to the Americans, despite the fact that the US administration itself did not play any significant role in it. Despite Trump's loud statements, it was unable to force the Israeli leadership to make concessions, while Qatar, on the contrary, was able to put the necessary pressure on Hamas and force it to accept the deal.
ISRAEL DOES NOT RULE OUT CONTINUATION OF THE WAR
Netanyahu and his far-right government, from draft to draft of the agreement, included in each text the possibility of permanently occupying part of the Gaza Strip territory in the first two stages, so that they could return to military operations at any time.
This also applies to the latest, approved version. That is why some analysts have already called the approved agreement “staged.”
In particular, Professor Andreas Krieg from King's College London and journalist for the Israeli publication Haaretz Zvi Barel believe that the agreement itself is a diplomatic ploy: the Israeli government does not even intend to move on to the second stage and will seek to resume hostilities after the release of the first batch of prisoners.
But even in the second stage of the agreement, Netanyahu has every opportunity to continue the military campaign.
As experts familiar with the agreement, including Krieg, note, the IDF will not completely leave the sector, but will only limit its presence to forward operating bases. Relying on them, the Israelis can quickly resume military operations when they need to.
Only in the third stage, based on a political framework agreement on governance and reconstruction, will it be possible to talk about a complete withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza. However, this stage is unlikely to be achievable even in the medium term.
Other escalation scenarios cannot be ruled out.
Netanyahu could take advantage of the lull in fighting in Gaza to launch a full-scale military campaign in the West Bank, while increasing pressure on Washington to back military action against Iran's nuclear program.
HAMAS - A SUCCESS WITH CAVEATS
On the other hand, it is interesting to see how Hamas and the representatives of the “Axis of Resistance” are trying to present a very shaky deal without any guarantees for the Palestinian movement as their own success.
Radical Zionists such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are in full agreement with them in their assessments. They speak of an agreement that could allow Netanyahu to save face in the current situation as a “capitulation.”
In particular, Smotrich, who heads the Religious Zionism party, called the deal a “disaster for national security” and said his party would not support it. The leader of another far-right party, Otzma Yehudit, Ben-Gvir, called on Smotrich to work together to block the agreement.
If the Religious Zionism party, which has 7 seats in the Israeli Knesset, and the Otzma Yehudit party, which has 6 seats, cooperate, they could gain a majority sufficient to overthrow Netanyahu's cabinet. The government needs at least 61 seats in the Knesset to retain power, and the current coalition has 68 mandates out of 120.
However, it is clear that for the far right, disagreement with the deal is simply populism, detachment from reality and a refusal to acknowledge the situation that has developed “on the ground.”
The very admission that Hamas still rules part of Gaza and is a party to the deal is unacceptable to radical Zionists who want Hamas to be completely destroyed and Israeli settlements to return to Gaza – with all Palestinians expelled from there.
The current agreement, although it leaves open the possibility of returning to this plan of the radicals, carries with it the threat of prolongation and may ultimately lead to the implementation of the peace plan embedded in it.
Based on this, Hamas also has certain motives to declare success, albeit with certain reservations.
It should be emphasized that after 15 months and 50,000 deaths of Palestinian civilians, Hamas is still capable of launching rockets and attacking the IDF rear, Israeli prisoners have not yet returned home, Israeli casualties in Gaza are not only not decreasing but are growing, and Israel is politically isolated.
This is how Israel's strategic failure looks against the backdrop of its tactical successes. Hamas certainly surprised many military experts and analysts, unlike Hezbollah, whose military capabilities were somewhat overestimated.
***
Thus, the current deal, despite all the risks of continued military action and the presence of introductory elements that are certainly advantageous for Israel, confirms that the IDF has not been able to achieve a convincing victory over Hamas, and even if the agreements are disrupted, it is unlikely to be able to change anything radically.
On the contrary, Hamas, having agreed to accept conditions that are at first glance unfavorable to itself, related to maintaining the Israeli presence in Gaza, is still recognized as an active player with whom it is necessary to reckon and negotiate. A player that retains the prospect of a political future.
And for the people of Gaza, any ceasefire and access to humanitarian aid is like a breath of fresh air.
#2
All the Palestinian strategy guys are taking a dirt nap. The rules of strategic success probably account for living in the set of a post-apocalyptic wasteland as well.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/17/2025 13:50
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Denis Davydov
[REGNUM] The UK's 100-year partnership agreement with Ukraine, signed in Kiev on 16 January during an "unscheduled visit" by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, is nothing special.
The document, immediately published on the website of the President of Ukraine, consists of a set of general phrases about how the parties will build “strong ties between the two countries across the entire spectrum of relations: from trade, security and defense to science and technology, education, culture, and more.”
The preamble, in which they are “determined” and “recognize,” is only slightly shorter than the main part, in which the signatories promise to deepen defense cooperation, integrate Ukraine into NATO, and make efforts to eliminate long-term systemic threats and challenges to maritime security in the Baltic, Black, and Azov Seas. And there was no particular need to go into detail: this is already the fourth Ukrainian-British agreement since the beginning of last year.
Although Zelensky, with all the necessary pathos, hastened to announce: "Today is truly a historic day. Relations between Ukraine and Great Britain are closer than ever. We have reached a new level, this is more than a strategic relationship."
The British government also noted that the 100-year partnership is “an important step in supporting Ukraine’s long-term security,” ensuring that “it will never again be vulnerable to the kind of brutality inflicted on it by Russia.” After all, the agreement commits Britain to stand side by side with sovereign Ukraine for a century!
As a confirmation of the seriousness of his intentions, Starmer promised 150 new artillery guns, a mobile air defense system and $3 billion from frozen Russian assets in the near future.
But when it comes to details, the real system of relationships between completely unequal partners becomes more understandable.
In April 2024, when the agreement on defence industrial cooperation was signed, BAE Systems arrived in Kyiv among representatives of 29 British defence companies. This company signed a contract with the UK Ministry of Defence for the maintenance and repair of L119 light guns provided to Ukraine.
As the Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine Oleksandr Kamyshin stated on this occasion, "it was Great Britain that was the first country to sign the Agreement on Cooperation in the Sphere of Security with Ukraine, and it was British defense companies that were the first to open their offices here after the outbreak of the Great War. Our partnership is developing, and today we are one step closer to British manufacturers being the first to start producing their weapons in Ukraine."
In other words, the British government (represented by the Minister for Trade Policy) is loading up its arms manufacturers and the defense industry as a whole with orders. This is what the much more detailed than the “hundred-year” agreement on cooperation in the security sphere, signed on January 12, 2024, is based on.
In particular, paragraph three of part three of section two contains the very important words that the United Kingdom will encourage its defence industry to work with Ukraine “to support the localisation of repair, maintenance and production of UK defence products in Ukraine”.
War is a business, and the British have always been successful in it. And for current tasks, in August last year, an agreement was adopted to abolish import duties and tariff quotas in trade with Ukraine until 2029. No one knows what exactly the great Ukrainian economy can sell to the British (especially since the new rules do not yet apply to eggs and poultry). But it is known for sure what Britain sells: vehicles, some machines and mechanisms, chemical and pharmaceutical products.
But business can be done not only on this, so the “centenary treaty” also strengthened the British position in control of the grain trade and made them priority partners of Ukraine in the energy sector, the extraction of critical minerals and the production of “green” steel.
"In essence, this means long-term lease, practically for free. The figures for the return benefits clearly do not correspond to the volume of Britain's participation in the Ukrainian economy, especially since we are talking about 100 years. That is, even if the extraction of minerals and metallurgy are risky investments, they will be "recouped" in six months, a year at most. And, by the way, the signing of this agreement means how much longer the West plans to hold out in Ukraine in order to receive its profit," explainspolitical science doctor Alexander Semchenko to IA Regnum.
At the same time, according to him, this is a "bookmark", a time bomb under a future Ukraine as part of or under the control of Russia, since on the basis of this agreement Britain will be able to make claims similar to those made to Russia by holders of credit obligations of the tsarist government. That is, it is a bargaining tool - both economic and political.
But it is clear that no one can look a hundred years ahead. Therefore, quickly indicating their rights to this territory, the British are looking at least a year ahead. This was indirectly stated in official reports containing the strange formula "support Ukraine on the eve of Trump's inauguration."
According to political strategist Mykhailo Pavliv, the plan is to get Zelensky and his inner circle out of trouble that a change of team in the White House promises, and also to hold out until the US congressional elections in 2026. There, the Democrats, who are in complete solidarity with the British regarding the need to continue to keep Ukraine in the role of a tame crocodile, are counting on revenge.
And then it will be possible to reverse any of Trump’s peace projects.
"The Labour Party, represented by Starmer, understands that their rating is falling sharply, and nothing good will happen to them in the upcoming elections - any, no matter what. At the same time, they see how the Trumpists, specifically Elon Musk, are pushing through the same Nigel Farage and his Reform UK party. That is, of course, they need some kind of foothold, a point of application of efforts in order to actively sell this in their own country: look at our successful case on the external perimeter," Pavliv comments on the situation to IA Regnum.
Zelensky, his office chief Andriy Yermak (who made a series of quick trips to the US and Britain in December) and the collective “95th Quarter” understand that if they go to the elections that Trump demands of them, it will be a failure. Therefore, it is better to sit out the troubled times in London and put forward Valeriy Zaluzhny, who has retrained from commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to ambassador, to the forefront. He will take on all the negativity associated with the conclusion of the peace agreement, the post-war devastation and a host of all sorts of problems - if, of course, he agrees to such an unpleasant role.
"In London, the current government will be in opposition, almost under the patronage of the British, they will form some kind of shadow cabinet, an alternative government that will criticize the situation in Ukraine. Zaluzhny enters according to this scheme, becomes president and essentially accumulates all the problems. The plan of the British and "95th quarter" is to hang all the illnesses, hardships and difficulties of the consequences of the peace agreement and the guaranteed difficult socio-economic and political situation in Ukraine on Trump. And then triumphantly return to power," Pavliv is sure.
While Trump "turns off" the Ukrainian case and deals with the problem of China, taking his opponents out of the big game, the topic will be picked up by the British, who, of course, have their own interests. And for the general audience, this is called beautiful words about mutual support "for renewal, restructuring and reforms for future generations."
And, of course, all the “unprecedented agreements” will be easily thrown into the trash bin when they cease to be beneficial to the main beneficiaries.
As Ukrainian opposition political scientist Kost Bondarenko rightly noted, there is nothing more short-term than “hundred-year” or “eternal” agreements.
"Imagine that Great Britain signed a certain treaty with a certain country 100 years ago, at the beginning of 1925. During this time, Britain has had five monarchs and 24 prime ministers, Britain survived World War II, seven economic crises, lost its colonies, and ceased to be an empire. How many treaties signed by London in 1925 have not lost their relevance?" the expert asks rhetorically.
Therefore, the "100-year treaty" is rather an artistic device, corresponding to the laws of the stage genre and PR. And at its core is an attempt by the anti-Trump coalition to tie Zelensky, turn Ukraine into an instrument for achieving the goals of globalists in modern processes and secure an agreement on continuing the war under the protectorate of London. Regardless of any de-escalation processes and the torn country's exit to normal peaceful development.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] The year 2025 should be decisive in the issue of the conflict in Ukraine. This is the opinion of the authors of the majority of Western media, who expect the imminent start of peace negotiations. They are reportedly to be organized by the elected US President Donald Trump.
However, while Trump's entourage and supporters are talking about ending the conflict, the outgoing but still current administration of Joe Biden is considering the possibility of continuing military operations - provided that Kiev makes a number of concessions.
In particular, Ukraine will have to decide whether to lower the age of mobilization to 18, Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview with Bloomberg. Otherwise, Ukrainian troops may lose support from the United States.
"Ultimately, this is a sovereign decision that Ukraine must make. Even if we do everything we can to provide them with the ammunition they need," Sullivan said.
It is not yet known whether the statement reflects only the position of the previous administration or whether it is the American vision as a whole. But in any case, the words of the American official were perceived critically in Kiev. In response to Sullivan's statement, Volodymyr Zelensky demanded that Ukraine be provided with even more military equipment and weapons. According to him, there are "more than 100 brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces" on the battlefield that need to be staffed.
However, very soon Zelensky signed a law that obliges 17-year-old Ukrainians to register for military service. However, such a step is unlikely to motivate the West to deploy armored vehicles not in homeopathic doses, but in the volumes requested by Kiev, military expert, retired colonel Anatoly Matviychuk told IA Regnum.
"The US is soberly assessing the situation on the battlefield. Recently, the White House voiced the idea that the US has a problem - there are not enough Ukrainians for the war. They need soldiers who will resolve the situation on the battlefield. NATO has no soldiers to send to the front, they are running out of soldiers. The principle is put forward: "money in the morning - chairs in the evening. At the same time, they are shifting responsibility for supplying the Armed Forces of Ukraine to Europe," the expert notes.
According to Matviychuk, Washington is acting sensibly in believing that deliveries of weapons for which there are no trained crews cannot change the situation at the front. Therefore, Kyiv's rearmament ultimately comes down to field testing of weapons.
THE TEST SITE CONTINUES TO OPERATE
In early January, the US Congress allocated a new package of military aid to Kyiv. Officially, the list of supplies included ammunition, spare parts and equipment for servicing military equipment - that is, Washington did not announce the supply of armored vehicles and offensive weapons.
In turn, Kiev's European allies are not shy about announcing deliveries in the press and through official channels. In early January, it became known that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had received a modern Lynx infantry fighting vehicle manufactured by Rheinmetall, the head of the concern, Armin Papperger, said.
“It is currently undergoing testing in the armed forces in order to go into serial production as soon as possible,” he noted.
The Lynx IFV is a promising model of a new generation of German armored vehicles. It was first presented in 2016. The vehicle exists in two versions - KF-31 and KF-41. The KF31 modification can be equipped with a 30-mm or 35-mm automatic cannon, and the KF41 is equipped with a Lance 2.0 turret. The IFVs are also equipped with Israeli Spike anti-tank missile systems and/or drone launchers.
On January 14, the German Aid to Ukraine project reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had received a batch of vehicles for testing in real combat conditions. After the tests are completed, serial production and deliveries to Ukrainian troops are planned to be launched. The German government has undertaken to finance the delivery program.
On the same day, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius officially presented the RCH 155 self-propelled artillery unit based on the Boxer armored personnel carrier. According to the official, this is the first of 56 self-propelled guns promised to the Ukrainian Armed Forces by the German government.
"Ukraine can count on us. Germany is ready to take responsibility for security in Europe," Pistorius said.
We are talking about the first ever wheeled self-propelled artillery unit of German production. The unit is equipped with a gun of the "standard" NATO caliber of 155 mm. In the future, Germany plans to deploy deliveries of other armored vehicles based on the Boxer APC, equipped with a module with a 30-mm rapid-fire gun.
At the same time, it is not disclosed when exactly serial deliveries of both models of armored vehicles will begin. In 2024, when deliveries of the Lynx IFV were announced, it was reported that 10 vehicles would be produced by the end of the year. Now, however, we are talking about one delivered vehicle and uncertain plans for the future.
Regarding the RCH-155 self-propelled gun, it is known that the first “ready” vehicle will be used for training crews at training grounds in Germany, and deliveries of the guns to the Ukrainian Armed Forces will presumably begin in April.
In both cases, we are talking about prototypes that German armored vehicle manufacturers are counting on, planning to export them around the world, military expert and author of the Telegram channel “Russian Engineer” Alexey Vasiliev told Regnum news agency.
"The Lynx IFV is a good modern vehicle. Rheinmetall is preparing it for delivery to the Bundeswehr to replace the Marder 1A5, which the Ukrainian Armed Forces are currently receiving. We are talking about field tests to check the vehicle in combat conditions, identify and eliminate any shortcomings. The same applies to the RCH-155 self-propelled guns. The equipment was transferred for testing, not for the front," the expert notes.
At the end of 2024, Vasiliev recalled, unconfirmed reports appeared on the Internet that Germany would transfer a batch of "kinetic defense vehicles" (Kinetic Defense Vehicle) to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Presumably, this refers to a promising air defense system manufactured by Diehl Defense.
The system consists of the R400S combat module on the Enok MBB chassis. The module is equipped with a radar station designed to search for and detect the most popular models of drones, as well as a machine gun for destroying identified targets.
The manufacturer of the complex could not find a buyer for its weapons for a long time until the delivery of a trial batch to the Ukrainian Armed Forces was agreed upon at the expense of the German government.
Thus, Ukraine continues to play the role of a testing ground for NATO countries, testing cutting-edge developments at the front. The Ukrainian military is relegated to the role of guinea pigs.
THEY PROMISE A LOT, BUT DELIVER LITTLE
Throughout the Ukrainian conflict, the US and its allies have tried to avoid large-scale arms deliveries, citing the scarcity of their own stockpiles and high production costs. For example, the US has supplied only about 200 of the not-so-modern Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, no more than 30 Abrams tanks, and around 100 Stryker armored personnel carriers.
Therefore, the new announced deliveries, especially if we take into account European countries, are unlikely to be large-scale.
"The same Lynx IFVs turned out to be very expensive for the Bundeswehr, so they decided to test them and check them in action. And we are talking about very small quantities, which in any case will not be enough to somehow change the situation on the battlefield," Alexey Vasiliev is sure.
At the same time, serial deliveries of promising models of armored vehicles are planned for spring or even the second half of 2025. By that time, the situation at the front for the Ukrainian Armed Forces threatens to become completely critical. Moreover, Kiev may not wait for serial deliveries, admits Anatoliy Matviychuk.
"Kiev cannot make a decision regarding the mobilization age. If it is lowered, as the US wants, a real wave of indignation will rise, although there are already many people dissatisfied with the "busification". But it is also impossible not to raise it - they risk being left without equipment. Kiev may be left without both the military and weapons at the same time," notes the interlocutor of the IA Regnum.
Therefore, Ukraine must be content with the role of a testing ground for NATO countries. Perhaps this will please the Ukrainian Armed Forces command, but it will not help the exhausted brigades at the front.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 20:45 Russian Ministry of Defense:
Russian Aerospace Forcesthey cutenemy supply routes by striking the bridge in Constantinople
The Russian Aerospace Forces' aviation destroyed a reinforced concrete bridge near the settlement of Konstantinopol (west of the city of Kurakhovo) with strikes from three FAB-500 aerial bombs, making it difficult to deliver ammunition and rotate personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units.
19:40 Operators of combat drones with a system for dropping ammunition from the North group of troops hit the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Khar'kov region, –video.
18:42 Soldiers of the 150th Motorized Rifle Division of the 8th Guards Army of the Russian Armed Forces successfully blew up a dugout with Ukrainian soldiers, –video.
17:49 Servicemen of the Sever group destroyed a Ukrainian infantry fighting vehicle and its landing force with a Lancet loitering munition in the border area of the Kursk region, –video.
16:55 Krasnoarmeyskoye direction: fighters of the "Center" are destroying enemy positions, –video.
During combat operations, FPV drone crews of the Atlant battalion of the 35th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Center group of forces destroyed a Leopard tank made in Germany, as well as a stronghold of Ukrainian militants. After that, the assault units cleared the dugouts and continued their advance.
15:25 Airborne unmanned aircraft units have identified a concentration of Ukrainian infantry in a forest. Having received the target coordinates, a 122mm BM-21 Grad MLRS crew fired a precise salvo at the designated square, destroying the enemy infantry, –video.
15:03 An FPV drone crew destroyed a Ukrainian Armed Forces vehicle, –video.
11:55 Russian Army begins storming the last defensive nodes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Toretsk – the mines on the outskirts.
10:49 Crews of 152mm 2S5 self-propelled guns "Giatsint-S" of the Guards combined arms army of the "West" group destroyed camouflaged positions, artillery guns, automatic grenade launcher crews and Ukrainian Armed Forces manpower.
9:26 Telegram channel «WarGonzo»:
Frontline report for the morning of 16.01.2025:
Zaporizhzhya Front. No significant changes in LBS. Long-range weapons are actively working on both sides.
Donetsk Front. In the area of Velyka Novosilka, Russian troops will continue to expand their zone of control in several areas. Fighting continues in the area of Novy Komar and Neskuchnoye. West of Kurakhovo, the Russian Armed Forces continue to improve their positions and seek to inflict fire damage on the Ukrainian Armed Forces garrison, which has found itself in a "pocket".
Also, the Russian Armed Forces are putting pressure on the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of Dachnoye. Fierce fighting continues in the Pokrovsk direction. Russian troops are advancing on a broad front, getting closer and closer to the city, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are actively defending themselves.
Particularly many problems are caused by the drones of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, on which a large part of the Ukrainian defense is built. In Dzerzhinsk, the Russian Armed Forces continue to push the Ukrainian garrison to the outskirts of the city, but it is too early to talk about its imminent liberation, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have enough forces and means for further defense.
Chasovoyarsk direction. It is reported that the Severny microdistrict has come under the control of Russian troops, but there have been no confirmations from the ground yet. Fighting continues on the territory of the refractory plant, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are putting up serious resistance and trying to carry out counterattacks.
8:17 During the past night, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed. 27 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles.
A total of 15 UAVs were destroyed over the territory of the Belgorod region, seven over the territory of the Voronezh region, three over the territory of the Tambov region and two over the territory of the Kursk region.
8:05 Mi-28NM crew as part of a mixed tactical group hit Ukrainian troops, preventing the rotation of Ukrainian Armed Forces units in the border area of Kursk Oblast.
During the combat sortie, the pilots destroyed armored vehicles and concentrations of enemy manpower.
0:28 Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation:
In response to strikes from Ukrainian territory deep into Russian territory by US-made ATACMS long-range missiles and British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles, as well as an attempt to attack the Russkaya compressor station in the settlement of Gai-Kodzor (Krasnodar Krai) with the aim of disrupting the supply of gas through the Turkish Stream pipeline, on the morning of January 15 of this year, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a group strike with high-precision weapons against critically important gas and energy infrastructure facilities in Ukraine.One of the successfully hit targets was the ground infrastructure of the largest underground gas storage facility in the city of Stryi in the Lviv region.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to constantly monitor the situation and any provocations by the Kyiv regime will not go unanswered.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[LB] Part of Neskuchny is held by Ukrainian fighters.
by Vera Perun
After a certain pause and regrouping of forces, the Russians are actively continuing to exert pressure towards Velyka Novosilka. Currently, the occupiers' attention is focused on the Neskuchne-Vremivka settlement section.
This is reported by Deep State analysts.
The invaders have occupied the northern outskirts of Neskuchny and continue to continuously send infantry in this direction.
"Recently, the Katsaps published footage of the flag raising in that area, but the report about the complete occupation of the village is not true, because the rest of the village is held by the Defense Forces fighters," Deep State noted.
The Russians are also pressing from landings on the western side of Neskuchny, and on January 15, several enemy groups of 2 to 5 people were detected.
"If the Muscovites manage to accumulate a certain group on the northern outskirts of Neskuchny and gain a foothold, then the situation of leaving the SOU fighters in an unfavorable situation, as was the case in Makarivka, may repeat itself. We hope that an after action review has been conducted and this will not happen," the analysts noted.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on the same day that the enemy once tried to break through the defense of our defenders in the area of the settlement of Vremivka in Novopavlivske. The battle was ongoing as of 4:00 p.m.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 18:56 The Russian army has lost the initiative on the front in its northern part, namely in the Kharkiv, Sumy and Kursk regions. This was reported by President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to him, Ukraine is ready to completely stabilize the situation and take "the initiative into its own hands" in some areas of the front, the president assured.
18:22 Russia has ruled out possible concessions to Ukraine in potential negotiations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recalled the ultimatum issued in June 2024.
17.29 In 2024, the provision of defense forces cost approximately $100 billion. This data was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to him, of this amount, $40 billion was allocated by Ukraine, and the rest by partner countries.
17.03 Since the beginning of the current day, 89 combat clashes have already occurred on the front. Most of the battles were recorded in the Pokrovsk and Kursk directions, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in an operational report as of 16:00.
16:35 Russian aggressors will receive a "hello" from Ukraine in response to the drone attack on Kiev on Thursday, January 16. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky at a briefing. The attack occurred during his talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
16.21 In Kharkov, on the evening of January 16, an enemy UAV hit was recorded in the Slobodsky district. There are casualties as a result of the enemy attack. This was reported by the head of the Kharkov OVA Oleg Sinegubov on Thursday, January 16.
16.04 A special commission has been formed in the Ukrainian Air Force to check the process of transferring servicemen to other branches and types of the Armed Forces. This was reported by the press service of the Armed Forces on Thursday, January 16.
14.44 A traitor deputy of the Akhtyrka District Council of the Sumy Region from the banned party Our Region received 15 years of imprisonment for calling on Ukrainians to surrender to the Russian invaders during the battle for Sumy.
13:04 The situation on the battlefield in Ukraine is still quite complicated. This is especially true for the eastern part of the country, where Russian aggressors have concentrated a significant group of troops. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with Polish media.
12:32 A Russian air defense officer was sent to prison for shooting down a Mi-8 over Crimea. Due to a series of mistakes, the Russian concluded that there was a Ukrainian drone in the air and gave the order to shoot it down. The helicopter crew of three was killed.
12:02 Russian agents blew up railway tracks during the movement of a military train in the Rivne region. The perpetrators were detained. The SBU reported the details .
11:39 Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto has arrived in Kiev on an official visit. This was reported by the Italian Embassy in Ukraine. The official has a number of "institutional meetings" planned.
10:51 Ukrainian military personnel captured 27 Russian servicemen during an operation in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. This was reported by the Airborne Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
10:25 The State Bureau of Investigation has reported suspicion to the former commander of one of the territorial defense brigades and his three subordinates, who helped the brigade commander's wife receive more than 922 thousand hryvnias in additional compensation. The official arranged for his wife to work as a shooter in the brigade he headed in order to arrange for her increased payments.
9:58 Air defense destroyed 34 Shahed-type attack UAVs and other types of drones launched by Russia on the night of January 16. In addition, 18 UAVs were lost without negative consequences.
9:39 The situation on the front as of January 16 remains tense. Over the past 24 hours, 124 combat clashes have been recorded. This is evidenced by the report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
9:25 The fall of debris from downed Russian drones caused damage to energy infrastructure in the Poltava region. There were no casualties in the incident.
8:57 Ukrainian military continue to repel Russian assaults along the entire front line. This time, the enemy was eliminated in the Kurakhiv direction. This was reported by the Airborne Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
8:26 Ukraine has once again attacked the Tambov Gunpowder Plant of the Russian Federation. This was reported by the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council Andrey Kovalenko.
7:59 The Ukrainian underground has discovered and conducted reconnaissance of the location of a division of Russian invaders' boats in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Russia plans to use these watercraft for future operations in the Kherson direction.
7:47 The Russian army lost 1,480 soldiers on the front over the past 24 hours from January 15 to 16. This is evidenced by data from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
7:26 Russia's attempts to de facto annex Belarus create strategic risks for the United States, NATO and Ukraine. This was stated by experts from the Institute for the Study of War.
[NYPOST] Former House Speaker Nancy San Fran Nan Pelosi Congresswoman-for-Life from the San Francisco Bay Area, born into a family of professional politicians. On-again-off-again Speaker of the House. It's not her fault when they lose, but it's her accomplishment when they win. Noted for her heavily botoxed grimace and occasional senior... uhhh... moments... plans to skip President-elect Donald Trump ...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!... 's inauguration next week, while former Presidents Bill Clinton ...former Democratic president of the U.S. Bill was the second U.S. president to be impeached, the first to deny that oral sex was sex, the first to have difficulty with the definition of the word is... , George W. Bush and Barack Obama How much damage could he do in four years?... Eight, then... are not expected to attend the post-swearing-in luncheon at the US Capitol.
Pelosi (D-Calif.), 84, an ardent foe of Trump who is recovering from hip replacement surgery, had attended the 45th president's inauguration in 2017.
Her spokesperson confirmed the decision, first reported by ABC News, to multiple outlets and did not provide an explanation.
Pelosi joins a handful of House Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... , including Bronx and Queens Rep. Alexandria Boom Boom Ocasio-Cortez Dem Congressgirl from da Bronx in Noo Yawk and leader of the Mean Girl Caucus in Congress. One of the Great Minds of the 21st Century, she is known as much for her innaleck as for her dance moves. She is all in favor of socialism, even though she's fuzzy on the details. She was the inventor of the Green New Deal, though she doesn't talk about it much anymore , who will give the Jan. 20 festivities a miss.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/17/2025
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[X] Bernie Sanders also thinks Stalin was one of the good guys.
BREAKING: Senator Bernie Sanders just proclaimed President Biden as one of the most successful Democratic Presidents since FDR. He’s right. pic.twitter.com/MyJFER3YqT
[FoxNews] A network of organizations in the ‘Woke Army’ of socialists and Islamists plan to protest Trump’s inauguration
This past July, as anti-Israel crowds took to the streets of Washington, D.C,, to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu address to Congress, Zaid Mohammed Mahdawi, 26, climbed atop a monument at Columbus Circle in front of Union Station and allegedly spray-painted an ominous message: 'HAMAS IS COMIN''. He punctuated the warning with the red, inverted triangle that the terrorist organization uses as a symbol to mark its targets.
Nearby, demonstrators pulled down and burned a U.S. flag to ashes, tackled U.S. Park Police officers trying to arrest agitators and spray-painted other menacing graffiti, including ‘DEATH 2 AMRIKKKA,’ on memorials.
At 3:26 p.m., the U.S. Park Police pulled the protest permit, which had been issued to the ANSWER Coalition, a Washington-based, self-declared socialist organization. Later, the FBI charged Mahdawi and other protesters with destruction of government property.
"The permit holder failed to answer his phone and the call went directly to voicemail," an FBI agent wrote in a fascinating affidavit that revealed that someone at a gym Mahdawi used sent the FBI a tip on his identity.
Nearly six months later, the ANSWER Coalition is poised to get a new permit to host another protest on Monday, according to a copy of the application I obtained from the National Park Service. The event name: "For Peace & Justice - Free Palestine." The target is obviously the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Past behavior indicates the protests will bring mayhem to the capital's streets. Yet, National Park Service spokesman Michael Litterst told me that current legal precedent makes it difficult to deny permits based on prior incidents.
Critics, like leaders of the Clarity Coalition, a network of Muslims, ex-Muslims and allies who oppose extremism, say it’s long past time to deny the permits. At a minimum, the public must have its eyes wide open about who is behind these protests.
As the protests unfold, media coverage will likely frame them as ‘organic,’ ‘grassroots’ activities. But make no mistake: These events will be part of a larger, well-funded operation. The demonstrators are aligned with adversaries to the U.S., including Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and Hamas, and are united in an unholy alliance that blends socialism with Islamism, or political Islam.
This coalition, which I call the "Woke Army," operates as a red-green alliance, the red symbolizing socialism and communism and the green representing Islam. These are the same groups that stoked the encampments of the so-called campus intifada around the country last year. Their ultimate goal is to dismantle American democracy and replace it with a socialist, anti-capitalist order. The first way to counter this threat is through transparency, vigilance and a commitment to truth.
The application lists the same "Person in Charge of Event," as it did in July: Brian Becker, the self-proclaimed Marxist founder of the ANSWER Coalition.
Protest organizers say they have at least 50 "endorsing" groups, and their motives are far from grassroots. I’ve created a public database as part of my work at the Pearl Project, a nonprofit journalism initiative, and, according to my analysis, 25 of the groups are self-described socialist organizations, five are Muslim, Arab or Palestinian, and the final 20 are "socialist adjacent."
The "red" in this alliance includes:
ANSWER Coalition: A Marxist-Leninist group infamous for organizing protests that amplify anti-American and anti-Israel rhetoric.
Code Pink: An anti-Israel group funded by Neville Roy Singham, a Shanghai-based American billionaire tied to China’s Communist Party, according to New York Times reporting.
Party for Socialism and Liberation: Advocates for dismantling capitalism and aligning the U.S. with socialist regimes.
The People’s Forum: A socialist group that serves as a proxy for Singham’s pro-China agenda, as also documented by the New York Times.
Democratic Socialists of America: The largest socialist organization in the U.S. and a big supporter of anti-Israel campaigns.
The "green" of this axis includes:
Students for Justice in Palestine: Founded by University of California at Berkeley academic Hatem Bazian, this controversial group has fomented many of the anti-Jew campus protests, banned now on many campuses.
Palestinian Feminist Collective: Committed to "Palestinian liberation & beyond."
Palestinian Youth Movement: Dedicated to a "strategy of mobilization, agitation and confrontation."
U.S. Palestinian Community Network: Organized days of protests in Chicago to disrupt the Democratic Party’s convention.
Muslim American Society: Created a "Survive Pack," with tips on building campus "Liberation Zones" and a resource from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, whose co-founder, Nihad Awad, said he was "happy" about the Oct. 7 incursions by Hamas into Israel.
In July, I went to the corner of C Street NW to report who had rented buses to ferry protesters to the first "HAMAS IS COMIN’" protest. It was the Party for Socialism and Liberation. This time, if you go to the "We Fight Back" website’s donation page, you’ll see who is getting the donations for the Jan. 20 protests. It’s The People’s Forum, whose logo and tax ID number appear on the donate page.
On Nov. 5, four days after Trump’s electoral victory, an anonymous person bought the website domain wefightback2025.org. Now the protest’s digital hub, it features an embedded Google Map geo-locating 80 planned "actions" across the country.
It even includes a "J20 media kit" with pre-designed Instagram graphics, a Canva template and printable protest posters emblazoned with slogans like "Stop the Genocide in Palestine" and "Defeat Extreme-Right Trump’s Billionaire Agenda!"
The kit even provides social media captions, complete with a megaphone emoji. They have their right to protest, but the world must have eyes wide open about who is behind the megaphones.
#12
So much more difficult for potential assassins…
A hard to secure weather alternative.
Anybody see the Senate chamber video?
Place is wide open if you have a secure pass.
Ah'm gonna assume the HVAC is already monitored for radiologicals and bios, sarin.
Won't work for binary toxins mixed on the spot.
Common exit is a good point for aerosol dispersal, outside the sensors.
Like spraying a herd for ticks.
[FoxNews] In recent weeks, the FBI took steps to close the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), effective by December 2024," the agency told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
The agency didn't specify why it had closed the office, although many Republicans have been critical of it prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion, saying that had overshadowed national security.
Earlier this month, Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray claiming that "radical" DEI practices had "endangered" Americans following the New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans.
I am deeply concerned that—under your leadership—the Bureau has prioritized Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives over its core mission of protecting the American people," Balckburn wrote in the Jan. 3 letter after referencing the attack.
After the announcement, Blackburn said in a post on X: "The question is why were they allowed to be focused on DEI in the first place? The FBI should be focused on catching criminals, not winning participation trophies."
President-elect Trump also commented on its closure, writing on Truth Social: "We demand that the FBI preserve and retain all records, documents, and information on the now closing DEI Office—Never should have been opened and, if it was, should have closed long ago. Why is it that they’re closing one day before the Inauguration of a new Administration? The reason is, CORRUPTION!"
The FBI page on diversity and inclusion – that was still on its website as of Thursday – says the agency is "committed to cultivating a diverse and inclusive workforce. In 2015, the FBI added diversity as one of the organization's core values.
It continued: "We believe that differences in thought and belief, in race and religion, in orientation, and in ability contribute to more effective decision making, drive innovation, and enhance the employee experience. We know that a more diverse workforce allows us to connect with and maintain the trust of the American people. We also understand we have work to do. We stand committed, as today’s FBI, to fostering a culture of inclusivity and diversity."
Former FBI special agent and Fox News contributor Nicole Parker told Fox News Digital: "I appreciate all forms of diversity. Make no mistake of that. What I do not appreciate is when there is a constant push for social justice weaponization at the FBI whose top priorities are to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution."
She added that FBI Director Christopher Wray has made it clear that threats across and against the nation are "at an all-time high. ‘Flashing red lights,’ as he has stated in congressional testimony. There is no time for clubs, groups, or social agendas that divert time, attention and resources away from the mission of the FBI to protect the American people."
"DEI is a dangerous distraction," she continued. "I have no issue in celebrating whatever you would like regarding your heritage or gender or religion. But that should be done on your own time and not with the U.S. taxpayers' dollars while on official Bureau time."
Parker added, "The FBI needs to focus on hiring the best and brightest based solely on meritocracy. Americans deserve the best. I have never been on an operation or heard of a civilian calling into the FBI and requesting an individual of a certain race or gender provide them with assistance in solving their problem or stopping a crime they've fallen victim to. Americans simply want to be safe."
"The FBI should be focused on being one in fighting crime, not various groups and divisions that divide," she said.
Parker also noted that there are numerous other groups within the FBI aside from the DEI office, including the American Indian and Alaska Native Advisory Committee, Asian Pacific American Advisory Committee, Black Affairs Diversity Committee, Bureau Equality, Hispanic Advisory Board, Near and Middle East Advisory Committee, Persons with Disabilities Advisory Committee, Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee, and the Women's Advisory Committee.
She said the bureau also has numerous resource groups, including Blacks in Government, FBI African American Millennials, FBI Family, FBI Jewish Americans, FBI Latinos for Empowerment Advancement and Development, FBI Pride, Federal Asian Pacific American Counsel, Federally Employed Women, From Boots to Suits and the Toastmasters Club.
Wray announced in December that he planned to resign with nearly three years left in his term, citing Trump's desire for a change in leadership at the agency.
This is President Biden's last week in office. President-elect Trump will take office on Monday.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Kash Patel, Trump's pick to lead the FBI, for comment.
The FBI’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion was created in 2012 during the Obama administration with its goal to provide "guidance and implement programs that promote a diverse and inclusive workplace that allows all employees to succeed and advance."
In 2021, after Biden took office, Scott McMillion became the FBI’s first chief diversity officer, saying that he planned to spearhead a "cultural shift" at the agency.
[FoxBusinessNews] Supporters say provisions in existing trade agreements give US businesses too much power to interfere with foreign governments' policies
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is calling on the Biden administration’s trade representative, Katherine Tai, to cease what they have described as "secret negotiations" with foreign trade partners.
In a letter Wednesday led by Sen. Mike Crapo, R–Idaho, the Senate Finance Committee chair, and signed by 18 of his Senate colleagues, the group accused Tai and the Biden administration of circumventing Congress and failing to consider adequate input from business leaders in their push to "rush" changes to two of the country’s major free trade agreements with Mexico, Canada and Columbia.
The changes would serve to amend the interpretation of investor protection provisions for U.S. businesses embedded in the government’s trade deals with these countries.
"Unfortunately, USTR is pursuing substantive changes to congressionally approved trade agreements on an abbreviated timeline, out of the view of the public, and without meaningful congressional consultation," the senators' letter asserted. "Robust consultations with Congress and stakeholders are critical to ensuring that affected companies and their workers understand what is being proposed and how it may impact operations at home and abroad."
The negotiations taking place are tied to interpretations of investor protection provisions in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement.
Currently, U.S. businesses operating internationally can enlist third-party tribunals to mediate disputes over business practices with other countries. The current investor protections that permit third-party mediation in these trade agreements have resulted in large damage claims against governments, according to Reuters.
A group of nearly 40 Democrats in the House of Representatives last month said in a different letter, spearheaded by Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, that they were happy to hear reports about the potential updates to the investor protection sections, arguing the process of using a third-party mediator serves to give businesses too much power to interfere with legitimate government actions.
The letter called the action a "wise move," arguing the investor protection mechanisms allow "foreign corporations" to weaponize international tribunals to circumvent a nation's domestic policies and prioritize business interests at the expense of those countries' workers, consumers, small businesses and the environment.
"We strongly encourage you to act urgently to eliminate or drastically reduce the ability of multinational corporations to use Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) tribunals as a tool to attack legitimate government actions and extract unlimited sums from countries’ taxpayers over the laws, actions, or court rulings of sovereign nations that the corporations claim conflict with their special ISDS rights and privileges," the letter stated.
In an op-ed for The Washington Times, GOP senators Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Katie Britt of Alabama and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama raised an example of a U.S. construction company, Vulcan Materials, that for decades built infrastructure to source limestone in the Yucatán. But it has recently faced a campaign by politicians in Mexico to seize its property. The campaign resulted after the country's government declared in September the land Vulcan was using to source its limestone was part of a protected nature reserve that belonged to Mexico.
#1
I’m not sure that his words will make much of a difference.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/17/2025 13:56
Comments ||
Top||
#2
This is just maneuvering. Giving my crystal ball a rub...
Greenland declares independence. Denmark happily loses a big drain on their treasury. Greenland and the USA form a Compact of Free Association and everyone lives prosperously ever after.
Linked article is available only through a VPN.
[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
In Kharkov direction, the Sever Group of Forces's units hit formations of one motorised infantry brigade of the AFU close to Volchansk (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 40 troops, two motor vehicles, and one artillery gun.
The Zapad Group of Forces' units improved the situation along the front line, delivered strikes at manpower and hardware of three mechanised brigades and one infantry brigade of the AFU near Dvurechnaya, Zapadnoye, Zagoruykovka, Boguslavka (Kharkov region), Novoyegorovka (Lugansk People's Republic), and Torskoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to more than 470 troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, 18 motor vehicles, one Croatian-made RAK-SA-12 MLRS launcher, and four field artillery guns. One electronic warfare station and three ammunition depots have been neutralised.
The Yug Group of Forces' units captured more advantageous lines and positions, defeated formations of six mechanised brigades and two assault brigades of the AFU near Kramatorsk, Minkovka, Chasov Yar, Alekseyevo-Druzhkovka, Konstantinovka, Sribnoye, and Dachnoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 260 troops, one tank, four armoured fighting vehicles, five pickup trucks, and seven artillery guns, to include two U.S.-made 155mm M-777 howitzers.
The Tsentr Group of Forces' units continued advancing into the depths of the enemy's defence, inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of seven mechanised brigades, one motorised infantry brigade of the AFU, three national guard brigades, and the Lyut Assault Brigade of the National Police of Ukraine close to Dzerzhinsk, Shcherbinovka, Petrovka, Vozdvizhenka, Lysovka, Novovasilevka, Tarasovka, Novoyelizavetovka, Petropavlovka, and Slavyanka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to more than 580 troops, three tanks, to include one German-made Leopard tank, three armoured fighting vehicles, to include one U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carrier, five motor vehicles, and three field artillery guns.
The Vostok Group of Forces' units improved the tactical situation and defeated formations of four mechanised brigades, one air assault brigade of the AFU, and three territorial defence brigades near Bogatyr, Konstantiopol, Alekseyevka, Vremevka, Novoselka (Donetsk People's Republic), and Gulyai Pole (Zaporozhye region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 240 troops, one tank, one U.S.-made Stryker armoured personnel carrier, nine motor vehicles, and three field artillery guns, to include one German-made 155mm Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery system. One electronic warfare station was eliminated.
The Dnepr Group of Forces' units have engaged manpower and hardware of one mechanised brigade, one infantry brigade, one mountain assault brigade of the AFU, one marine brigade, and one territorial defence brigade close to Malaya Tokmachka, Novodanilovka, Lobkovoye, Kamenskoye (Zaporozhye region), and Daryevka (Kherson region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 85 troops, eight motor vehicles, and three field artillery guns. Two electronic warfare stations and one ammunition depot were eliminated.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces delivered strikes at infrastructure of military airfields, UAV workshops and depots, as well as engaged manpower clusters and military hardware in 152 areas.
Air defence units shot down three French-made Hammer guided aerial bombs, 12 U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectiles, and 95 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 652 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 40,575 unmanned aerial vehicles, 590 anti-aircraft missile systems, 20,554 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,510 MLRS combat vehicles, 20,706 field artillery guns and mortars, and 30,352 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise an enemy group, which broke into the territory of Kursk region.
The Sever Group of Forces' units have engaged formations of one tank brigade, one heavy mechanised brigade, four mechanised brigades, two air assault brigades, one naval infantry brigade, and three territorial defence brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Viktorovka, Guyevo, Gornal, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Malaya Loknya, Makhnovka, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Nikolsky, Novaya Sorochina, Pogrebki, Sverdlikovo, Sudzha, and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye. One counter-attack launched by AFU units was repelled.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation and artillery strikes engaged AFU manpower and hardware near Bondarevka, Zamostye, Zaoleshenka, Kositsa, Kruglenkoye, Loknya, Martynovka, Mirny, Yuzhny as well as Basovka, Belovody, Veselovka, Vodolagi, Zhuravka, and Miropolye in Sumy region.
Over the past 24 hours, over 210 troops, two infantry fighting vehicles, one armoured fighting vehicle, six motor vehicles, one U.S.-made M-777 howitzer, and eight mortars have been neutralised.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, the AFU losses amounted to more than 52,330 troops, 305 tanks, 231 infantry fighting vehicles, 170 armoured personnel carriers, 1,567 armoured fighting vehicles, 1,486 motor vehicles, 367 artillery guns, 44 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and six of MLRS made by the USA, 16 anti-aircraft missile launchers, eight transport-loading vehicles, 93 EW stations, 14 counter-battery warfare radars, four air defence radars, 30 units of engineering and other materiel, including 15 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, eight armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
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.
..always the voice of sweet reason...
[IsraelTimes] A mysterious airstrip being built on a remote island in Yemen is nearing completion, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show, one of several built in a nation mired in a stalemated war threatening to reignite.
The Tuesday and Wednesday strikes targeted some of the terror leaders that the PA has been operating against for over a month. Six people were killed in each strike, including civilians, according to Palestinian media reports.
[IsraelTimes] Hundreds at Times Square demonstration chant for ‘intifada,’ vow to keep protesting even after hostage agreement
..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency said Thursday that Israel "escalated" its strikes across the territory following the announcement of the deal; the agency said that at least 80 people were killed and hundreds more 
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
US President-elect 
...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 nonprofit organization "Jewish Voice for Peace" is neither pro-Israel nor an advocate for peace. Rather, it is an anti-Zionist, pro-Paleostinian group founded by several undergraduate students at the University of 
When an investigation found that JVP was primarily engaged in political activities, JVP maintained that “any misstatements in this application were inadvertent” as opposed to being knowingly fraudulent. Because the government was not able to prove the claims were made willfully, JVP was only ordered to pay back double the original loan amount – $677,634 – to settle the allegations.
[White House] Today, I am commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses who are serving disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice. With this action, I have now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history.
[REGNUM] One of the main newsmakers of the beginning of 2025 in Africa has become the Republic of
[IsraelTimes] Police and the Shin Bet indicted a 16-year-old from southern Israel on charges of “security offenses inspired by terrorist groups,” says a police spokesman.
...every time you hear the phrase 
President-elect Trump’s transition team has reportedly asked three senior career diplomats to step down from their roles, according to Reuters. .jpg)
...every time you hear the phrase 
[FoxNews] In recent weeks, the FBI took steps to close the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), effective by December 2024," the agency told Fox News Digital on Thursday. 
In a letter Wednesday led by Sen. Mike Crapo, R–Idaho, the Senate Finance Committee chair, and signed by 18 of his Senate colleagues, the group accused Tai and the Biden administration of circumventing Congress and failing to consider adequate input from business leaders in their push to "rush" changes to two of the country’s major free trade agreements with Mexico, Canada and Columbia. 
