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IDF warns resident of three Gaza regions to evacuate to central Gaza City
Today's Headlines
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Africa Horn
Somali PM announces more troops to Mogadishu
Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, the Prime Minister of the Somali Federal Republic reported to the media in Mogadishu that the government troops that are currently operating in Mogadishu will be backed up by reinforcements, apparently because the current troops are not doing enough to safeguard the security.

Mr. Ahmed said that the troops that are to be deployed in Mogadishu will be brought in international countries, some that have been trained by EUTM on the outskirts of Mogadishu and a fleet of soldiers that have just finished training in Sudan.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister commemorated that Al-SHabaab have been disguising in government soldiers’ uniform to stage insecurity attacks, and for that reason, he pledged that in the coming days the government will issue a notice regarding soldiers’ uniform.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
ICC "will not hesitate to prosecute" over Tripoli and Benghazi fighting
[Libya Herald] Those responsible for the violence against civilians in the Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
and Benghazi fighting could face prosecution in the Hague, the International Criminal Court
... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ...
has warned.

The ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said: "We will not hesitate to investigate and prosecute those who commit crimes under the Court's jurisdiction in Libya irrespective of their official status or affiliation". She added that the court had the right under UN Security Council resolution 1970 of 2011, to indict and prosecute any act of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime committed within the territory of Libya since 15 February 2011.

Bensouda's statement follows the visit last week to the court by Justice Minister Salah Al-Marghani. It appears that the minister sought the backing of the court, to give weight to government demands that the fighting cease, along with the killing of civilians and and damage to state property.

Bensouda said that she was deeply troubled
...meaning it might require more than two 'tuts'. If the other side responds at all it's known as a 'tut for tat' and it's worth 20 diplomatic points..
by the escalating violence. "Recent reports of alleged attacks carried out against the civilian population and civilian objects in Tripoli and Benghazi are a cause for great concern, she said, adding, "Such deplorable acts of violence must immediately cease".

She demanded everyone involved in the conflict stop targeting civilians or civilian sites or committing any criminal act that might fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC. "I further urge all parties to the conflict to be vigilant and to take all necessary measures to prevent the commission of such crimes" she said.
Posted by: Fred || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Africa Subsaharan
Shekau's kingdom: Boko Haram control more than half of Borno
[SUNNEWSONLINE] Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
holy warriors are daily becoming more daring in their attacks, moving into strategic towns and villages, killing, maiming and sacking residents in northeast Borno State.

The holy warrior group has widened its tentacles and is now in control of more than half of the entire communities in the state.

"The more we thought the security situation would become better, the more the attacks on communities," says Abba Kakami, Borno State chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Kakami's view only captures the feelings of Borno residents and others in the two North-east states of Adamawa and Yobe where Boko Haram exert more presence. "Each day is like traveling on a long lonely road in apprehension with a faulty vehicle that could break down anytime," a resident of Maiduguri who did not want his name in print told Sunday Sun, adding that residents had been living in perpetual fear.

"About a year ago, our hope was brightened when young men with sticks tossed in the calaboose
You have the right to remain silent...
Boko Haram holy warriors. We thought the end has come but it is clear now we haven't seen the end," he added. The residents lamented that their initial optimism was gradually waning especially as Boko Haram had found safe havens in southern part of Borno and neighbouring Bauchi state to launch more attacks.
Posted by: Fred || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram

#1  Where is the Nigerian army in Borno?

Can they not beat these terrorist or do they need Western/African help like Somalia?
Posted by: Paul D || 07/28/2014 4:18 Comments || Top||

#2  Where is the Nigerian army in Borno?

Making a point to be elsewhere as often as possible,Paul D. But they do look pretty in their uniforms.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/28/2014 12:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Or else at the Boko Haram training camp.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 07/28/2014 12:41 Comments || Top||

#4  The Nigerian army is like petty Russian princes in face of the Mongols. Armed palace guards (cause they have military uniforms unlike most gangs) used to define power among the players in Nigeria but really not an army in the sense of Western professional definition. They balance out each other, as 'commands' are parceled out as favors in the power game, but are rather deficient when needed to do real 'army' stuff.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/28/2014 14:09 Comments || Top||


Arabia
'Reject extremism, defeat terrorism'
[ARABNEWS] King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah congratulated Moslems on the successful completion of Ramadan on Sunday.

On the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr, the king said: "Eid brings joy to the hearts of Moslems after having engaged in worship during the month of Ramadan," he said. "Allah will reward Moslems who have abstained from indulgence," he said.

The king's speech was issued by Culture and Information Minister Abdulaziz Khoja.

The king said: "The Moslem nation is facing tough realities as a result of conflict and fanatic rhetoric. The enemies of Islam have preyed on groups who have become easy tools for killing innocent people through perverting the essence of Islamic law to serve their goals and personal interests."

Posted by: Fred || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well stop funding terrorist groups would be a start.

There is a reason why UAE,Kuwait and Qatar are never attacked as they also fund golbal jihad.
Posted by: Paul D || 07/28/2014 4:35 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Pudgy does inspection tour of rocket drill
North Korean leader Fat Boy Kim Jong-un guided a rocket firing drill pointed at U.S. forces based in South Korea on Saturday, a day before the 61st anniversary of the signing of the Armistice Agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, Pyongyang's state media said Sunday.

The North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Pudgy Kim guided a drill staged by the strategic force, without elaborating on the exact time and place.

"He examined a firing plan mapped out in consideration of the present location of the U.S. imperialist aggressor forces' bases in South Korea and under the simulated conditions of the battle to strike and destroy them before guiding the drill," the KCNA said in an English dispatch.

The South Korean military said the North fired a short-range missile into the East Sea Saturday evening, the latest in a series of its missile and rocket firings in recent weeks. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North is believed to have fired a Scud-type missile with an estimated range of 500 kilometers from Jangsan Cape on its western coastal region, located just north of the tensely guarded western maritime border.

Saturday's firing is the 15th rocket launch, and the sixth ballistic missile launch, by the North this year. The communist regime claimed it has fired several rocket firing drills recently to develop its "rocket science and technology and firing methods."

During the drill inspection, Suet Face Kim said the U.S.' harsh hostile policy toward Pyongyang has not changed at all, warning "whoever dares challenge" is bound to meet "a final ruin," the KCNA said.

In North Korea where the armistice day is celebrated as "Victory Day of Fatherland Liberation War," Pyongyang reiterated its victory in the Korean War and praised founder Kim Il-sung's achievement in the three-year conflict.

Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, said in a front-page editorial that North Korea should succeed "history of victory" through the military-first policy and strengthened self-defense capability.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Commies


India-Pakistan
Bomb Threat In Mumbai Over Gaza Operation
[IsraelTimes] Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria received a letter allegedly penned by terror operatives, threatening to carry out bombing attacks in retaliation for the Israeli operation in the Gazoo Strip, The Times of India reported on Sunday.

The letter, sent on July 25, was signed by the terrorist group Indian Mujahideen (IM).
A locally recruited auxilliary of Pakistain's Lashkar-e-Taiba, designed to give a domestic patina to Pakistain's terror war against its bigger neighbor...
"We will take Dire Revenge" for Gazoo," the letter said, according to the Hindustan Times.

"Maria you were lucky in 1993 to have escaped the wrath but this time you will not. Now we are going to carry a blast and it is a challenge for you if you can stop, stop it. Mujahideen," it continued, referring to a series of 13 bombs that went kaboom! in Mumbai, then called Bombay, and that killed over 250 people. Maria was involved in the investigation and subsequent arrest of suspects in the case.

Maria launched an inquiry into the origins of the letter and raised a security alert.

"We are not taking any chance," he said. "All cop shoppes, crime branch units and ancillary branches have been alerted."
Update:
Mumbai city police received a letter threatening to bomb Jewish sites in the city in retaliation for Israel's operation in Gazoo.

The letter, reported by Indian news outlets on Sunday, reportedly had threatened to launch the attacks on Friday, the last Friday of the Moslem holy month of Ramadan. The letter was signed by the Indian Mujahideen
A locally recruited auxilliary of Pakistain's Lashkar-e-Taiba, designed to give a domestic patina to Pakistain's terror war against its bigger neighbor...
On March 12, 1993, a series of kabooms throughout Mumbai killed 257 people and injured 713. Organized crime groups were responsible for the blasts.

In November 2008, six Jews were killed at a Mumbai Chabad House as part of attacks on several sites throughout the city by an Islamist Pak group that left 166 dead and hundreds maimed.

Mumbai police reportedly are on high alert through the end of the Ramadan holiday later this week.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Indian Mujaheddin

#1  INDIA = NEW DELHI is concerned, + fearing, the numbers of young Muslim Indians allegedly fighting in the ME on all fronts, most recently wid the ISIS/ISIL.

Ditto CHINA = BEIJING vee Uighurs from Xinjiang.

* TOPIX > CHINA'S MUSLIM EXTREMISTS ARE POSSIBLY FIGHTING IN IRAQ, OFFICIAL SAYS.

China ME Envoy Wu Sike.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 07/28/2014 23:40 Comments || Top||


'Govt ill-advised to seek army help'
[DAWN] LAHORE: Opposition parties believe that some 'hawks' are behind the PML-N government's decision to call in army in Islamabad apparently to prevent the PTI from holding 'Azadi March' on Aug 14.

"It appears there is confusion in the ranks of the PML-N about calling in the army. It is a bad decision and it is expected that sanity will prevail and the prime minister will withdraw it on his return from Saudi Arabia," PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi said.

Speaking to Dawn, Mr Qureshi asked why the PML-N government was dragging the army into politics. "The army is performing its duty on borders and engaged in an operation in North Waziristan. The government wants to drag it into politics, which is a bad move," he said.

He said the government could not curb fundamental rights by invoking article 245.

"The PML-N leadership should have taken this decision after analysing its repercussions. Calling the army under article 245 of the Constitution means the government has admitted its failure to run the country," PPP's Navid Chaudhry said.

He said the decision was showing extreme nervousness of the government and it might backfire. Now there would be demands from the provinces to call in the army to control law and order situation, he added.

Pakistan Awami Tehreek chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri said the government had admitted its failure to run the country by calling in the army in Islamabad. "How can a government run the country when it cannot safeguard a capital," Qadri wondered.
Posted by: Fred || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Raiwind 'terrorist' denied burial at hometown
[DAWN] SAHIWAL: Residents of Pakpattan's 57/SP denied burial of Zulfiqar Nazir, an alleged terrorist who was killed by law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) during a raid at a hideout in Raiwind, Lahore.

Zulfiqar's mother Naziran Bibi and other members of the family received his body this past Friday and faced resistance in burial wherever they went. Eventually, they laid him to rest at an undisclosed place.

The residents of 57/SP insisted that a terrorist could not be buried in the village graveyard and his body should be sent to the place where he was killed.

Later, his mother took the body to her ancestral village 21/4-L in Okara, where they again faced resistance.

LEAs raided a house at Ariyan village along Raiwind Road on the night between July 16 and 17 and conducted an operation when one of the occupants shot dead a security official. The LEAs shot dead Zulfiqar Nazir, one of the suspects, during a 10-hour long operation.

Raiwind house owner held for questioning

The agencies picked up his brother Iftikhar Nazir and Tariq, Iftikhar's brother-in-law, and took them to an undisclosed location for identification of Zulfiqar's body. Iftikhar identified the body and LEAs allowed them to take it for burial after investigation for a few days.

Nazirain Bibi claimed that no prayer leader agreed to lead his funeral prayers.

A village lumberdar and some elders asked the family to bury Zulfiqar either in ancestral village or in Lahore, where he had been living with his family for the last two years.

Malik Hans SHO Mahar Nowsher Kathyia confirmed to Dawn that the family faced resistance in burial of Zulfiqar as some people took the plea that it would become a cause for contention in future.It is learnt that Zulfiqar was also involved in a bomb blast at the shrine of Baba Farid Ganjshakar a few years ago.
Posted by: Fred || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Time for talks with govt over, says PTI
[DAWN] The Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
made it clear on Saturday that time for talks with the government to find a common ground on its demands for electoral reforms and audit of election results was over. The party said it would go ahead with its march slated for Aug 14 with "full force".

At the same time the PTI core committee also warned the government against invoking Article 245, arguing that using the army for political purposes was dangerous and if the decision was not reversed, the party reserved the right to challenge it in the Supreme Court.

"Now the time for such approaches is over. The core committee concluded that now the decisions will be made after the arrival of the Azadi March in Islamabad on Aug 14," the PTI declared after a meeting, presided over by Imran Khan
... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight...
.

Talking to Dawn, a member of the PTI core committee said till now a few people in the party were in favour of talks with the government, instead of going ahead with the long march, if it was willing to accept PTI's demands on recount of votes and electoral reforms. "However,
if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning...
the entire party leadership decided unanimously on Saturday to use all its resources to make the Azadi March a success," said the PTI leader, who is also a member of the National Assembly.
Posted by: Fred || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Pillion riding banned for Eid in Karachi
[DAWN] KARACHI: Sindh government on Sunday decided to impose a five-day ban on riding double in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
starting from from today Sunday, July 27 to ensure security on the occasion of Islamic festival of Eidul Fitr.

Sindh home department, in a notification issued today said that the ban on riding double will remain in effect till midnight August 1.

Provincial Home Secretary Niaz Abbasi said the ban would come into effect immediately.

Security agencies had asked the city administration to impose riding double ban to avert any untoward incident due security threats ahead of Eid.

There were reports of terror activity ahead of the holy festival, sources said. Senior citizens, journalists, women and personnel of law enforcement agencies will be exempted from the ban.
Posted by: Fred || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Iraq
Cost of living rises after Isil's takeover of Mosul
As the euphoria dissipates after the Islamic State's capture of the city, the costs of living in the heart of their newly declared "caliphate" are starting to pile up.

When Islamic State fighters first seized Iraq's city of Mosul, life improved for many residents. But some now say the economic and cultural cost of militant rule is beginning to bite.

The bomb attacks, shootings and kidnappings that kept many residents of Iraq's second city in a constant state of fear all but stopped when IS took control six weeks ago. The many streets closed off by Iraq's Shia-dominated security forces were reopened. Checkpoints were dismantled and heavy-handed policing toned down.

"When the army left and the gunmen came it was the first time we could breathe. Before I had to wait two hours in traffic just to get to work because of all the checkpoints. Now I can get to my shop in 10 minutes," said Mohammed Azhar, 32.

But as the euphoria dissipates after the Islamic State's previously known as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) June 10 capture of the city, the costs of living in the heart of their newly declared "caliphate" are starting to pile up. Fuel is becoming scarce, electricity intermittent at best, and goods that violate the militants' version of Shariah are disappearing from the shelves.
Drive away a lot of people who are industrious, know how to do things, and have the capital to make things happen and your economy flounders. Who knew, besides Heinlein?
Harsh rules are gradually being imposed, which in recent weeks have resulted in the expulsion of Mosul's Christian community and other minorities that for generations had called the cosmopolitan city home.

Residents who have not already fled now wait in fear of yet more restrictions on their lifestyle. "As time goes on we're surprised by new laws. For example jeans are banned, any fashion is banned. T-shirts with numbers and letters on them are banned. Women must cover their heads, and dark colours are preferred for clothes," said a civil servant who declined to be identified.

Islamic State has taken an incremental approach to enforcing its writ.
They'll boil the frog slowly...
There have so far been no verified reports of brutal public executions of the kind IS has carried out in the Syrian half of the "caliphate". Small groups of black-clad IS members patrol Mosul's streets on foot, while others cruise around in vehicles appropriated from the Iraqi police, with a new "Islamic Police" logo.

Playing cards and dominoes has been prohibited and hookah pipes have been banned, the civil servant said. Smoking is also forbidden, but according to multiple sources the rule is not strictly enforced, although new deliveries of tobacco into the city have been blocked.

So far, one of the most painful aspects of the militants' occupation has been economic.

"The gunmen told me and other neighbouring shops to quickly sell our products, which are women's clothes of different styles, fabrics, colours and not to display them at the front of the store," said Zayed Mahmoud, 30.

"We've lost a lot of money as we've been forced to sell very cheap. I've lost about $30,000 (22,000 euros)."

Now all he is allowed to sell are face veils and different types of all-enveloping abayas, for which there is — at least for now — little demand in Mosul.

Further depressing the economy, the fuel shortage combined with security problems has hampered trade with other Iraqi regions and nearby Turkey and Syria, a painful development for a city that has long been a commercial hub.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Cost of living rises after Isil's takeover of Mosul

The impact of which should soon by offset by strict school lunch rationing, food stamps, free healthcare, and other urban public assistance programs. No worries.

Posted by: Besoeker || 07/28/2014 3:54 Comments || Top||

#2  Maybe they can apply for foreign aid from the US, UN and Europe.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 07/28/2014 16:00 Comments || Top||

#3  "When the army left and the gunmen came it was the first time we could breathe. Before I had to wait two hours in traffic just to get to work because of all the checkpoints. Now I can get to my shop in 10 minutes," said Mohammed Azhar, 32

"I have only been decapitated twice"
Posted by: Frank G || 07/28/2014 21:42 Comments || Top||

#4  Contrast with nearby Kurdistan.
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/28/2014 22:34 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Obama threatens Israel over Kerry treatment
Posted by: DarthVader || 07/28/2014 16:22 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Look at the bright side...

They didn't throw him out wrapped in an Israeli flag with a hunk of cheese in his ass.

So they were pretty respectful to a worthless and slimeball SecState, IMHO.
Posted by: DarthVader || 07/28/2014 16:24 Comments || Top||

#2  The IRS strike team is coming here?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/28/2014 16:26 Comments || Top||

#3  Blame it on Bush, but, wait a minute, stop treated Bush like that! Right?
Posted by: Thineng Angailet7166 || 07/28/2014 17:23 Comments || Top||

#4  Did they walk him through the metal detector like the Egyptians?
Posted by: tu3031 || 07/28/2014 18:53 Comments || Top||

#5  I wonder how far both parties Congress will support the President on this
Posted by: Chantry || 07/28/2014 18:59 Comments || Top||

#6  The Two-State Solution is effec useless as long as Egypt + Jordan claim sovereignty over Gaza + West Bank, i.e. alleged so-called "Paleo/PA territory".

What is POTUS Bammer + SecState Jaawhn doing to resolve this dee-lemma vee the Paleos + Mutual Peace???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 07/28/2014 20:44 Comments || Top||


US Source: Israeli Reports On Our Ceasefire Efforts Were Inaccurate And Insulting
[Ynet] An American official said Sunday night that, "There were a few reports regarding our efforts that weren't accurate and included distortions of Kerry's strategy. These were serious attacks with very insulting accusations including betrayal of Israel."
That lot do like finding insult.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I wouldn't doubt if something said off the record was repeated publicly and now the Kerry team are crying foul.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 07/28/2014 0:23 Comments || Top||

#2  With ISIS building up momentum around the corner, Israel had best knock Hamas out for a while so they will no longer be a major distraction when Israel deals with other enemies.
Posted by: Thineng Angailet7166 || 07/28/2014 1:54 Comments || Top||

#3  US Source: Israeli Reports On Our Ceasefire Efforts Were Inaccurate And Insulting

Sounds like a statement one might see coming out of the Kremlin.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/28/2014 4:31 Comments || Top||

#4  Inaccurate (moderated by order of magnitude) I'm willing to accept.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/28/2014 5:00 Comments || Top||

#5  C'mon, Kerry betrayed the US, how hard is it to believe he'd betray Israel?
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 07/28/2014 8:28 Comments || Top||

#6  A bunch of Gun-Toting, Torah Thumping, Bitter People, John? Maybe they don't like it to be told they have to accept the constant assault* from those who cry for their death and then go hide behind mommy's skirt when payday comes.

* which by the flow of money, seems to be encouraged, even in the form of Danegeld, to put blood on their financiers hands which would include your people at State.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/28/2014 9:11 Comments || Top||

#7  Kerry had a strategy??
Posted by: Pappy || 07/28/2014 10:33 Comments || Top||

#8  Oh booo hooo. Most of what you idiots put out is inaccurate and insulting to the US public.
Posted by: DarthVader || 07/28/2014 11:23 Comments || Top||

#9  These were serious attacks with very insulting accusations including betrayal of Israel.

Well, then we both agree that any efforts like those detailed in the accusations would have been those of an idiot. Correct?
Posted by: gorb || 07/28/2014 11:24 Comments || Top||

#10  Who am I suppose to believe the Israelis or those who blamed Benghazi on a Youtube video? Hard choice there./sarc off
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/28/2014 12:00 Comments || Top||

#11  The devil cannot stand to be mocked. Neither can empty suit narcissists.
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/28/2014 14:13 Comments || Top||


Channel 10 News: 87% Want Op To Continue, 69% Want Hamas Destroyed
[Ynet] A survey conducted by Channel 10 news indicated that 87 percent of Israelis supported the continuation of Operation Protective Edge in Gazoo while 69 percent were in favor of the complete overthrow of Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  87% of Israeli's get it. So does that mean that Israeli Arabs make up 13% of the population?
Posted by: rjschwarz || 07/28/2014 0:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Huh, and I thought it was just me!
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/28/2014 4:51 Comments || Top||

#3  No. Actually Israeli Arabs make 20% of the population. You think they're dumber than Egyptians?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/28/2014 4:54 Comments || Top||

#4 
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/28/2014 5:11 Comments || Top||

#5  Was there a "both" option in the survey?

Arabs ala Palestinians and others do have representation in the Knesset--a concept alien to Muslim countries.
Posted by: JohnQC || 07/28/2014 12:41 Comments || Top||

#6  No, Arabs make up more like 20% of Israel's population.
Posted by: djk || 07/28/2014 14:13 Comments || Top||

#7  87% of Israeli's get it. So does that mean that Israeli Arabs make up 13% of the population?

Actually ~70% of Israeli Arabs support Operation Protective Edge. Which is kind of shocking.
Posted by: Frozen Al || 07/28/2014 14:14 Comments || Top||

#8  Not really shocking, Al, unless Hamas rockets never hit anywhere Israeli Arabs live (which I'm sure they never do, since they're so accurate and all).

Plus, maybe the Israeli Arabs have noticed how much nicer their lives in Israel are than the lives of the Arabs under Hamas' rule.
Posted by: Barbara || 07/28/2014 15:33 Comments || Top||


Palestinians do not coexist with occupiers: Hamas
[Iran Press TV] Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, Political Bureau chief Khaled Meshaal has demanded Israel lift its blockade of Gazoo, warning that "Paleostinians cannot coexist with the occupiers."

"I do not coexist with the occupiers," Meshaal said in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

He added that the Paleostinians are not fighting Israelis because they are "Jews," saying, "We are not actually fighting the Jews because they are Jews per se. We do not fight any other races. We fight the occupiers."

Israel unleashed its offensive on the Gazoo Strip on July 8. Over the past 20 days, Israeli warplanes have been hitting numerous sites in the besieged Gazoo Strip, demolishing houses and burying families in the rubble.

Israel also began a ground offensive against the impoverished enclave on July 17.

The Paleostinian corpse count from 20 days of aerial and ground assaults on Gazoo now stands at 1,062, with more than 6,000 people injured.

The Tel Aviv regime confirms that 43 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the Gazoo war. However,
it was a brave man who first ate an oyster...
Al-Qassam Brigades, which is the military wing of Hamas, says Paleostinian resistance fighters have killed at least 90 Israeli soldiers.
Posted by: Fred || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  It has been my experience that you get five or six times as many wounded as you do killed. But wounded can mean that you are just out of it for a couple of days while you heal up enough and then they put you back in. Most wounds are unpleasant but not as bad as all that. You got a mark or two to show in later years. You might have a Purple Heart if someone does the paperwork. I got some gravel shrapnel in the elbow once, but I didn't qualify for a medal for that.

The Vietnamese wanted to give me their third class Medal of Honor for rescuing three of their soldiers who were already dead, but I wrecked a Jeep ( theirs ) and they decided I wasn't really worth it.
Dead and wounded , its a toss up, you never get much from numbers.
Posted by: Big Thromoth3646 || 07/28/2014 8:16 Comments || Top||

#2  ...you never get much from numbers.

A cogent point, Big Thromoth3646. Or rather, useful information can be gotten from numbers, but one needs to do a good deal of digging underneath the totals. For instance, what is the age and sex distribution of the dead and of the wounded compared to the general population? How do these distributions compare to previous wars involving Israel and in general? Where did the deaths and injuries occur? F'r instance, if many of them took place near Israeli targets, one might suspect fighters defending/occupying the target, or human shields constrained or volunteering to protect sites, etc. But raw numbers mostly tell us that, for whatever reason, people did not flee when advised to by the Israelis.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/28/2014 12:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Paleostinians cannot coexist with the occupiers

You don't have to. Ask the Canaanites or Philistines.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/28/2014 16:23 Comments || Top||

#4  So where's he hanging out now? Damascus? Qatar? It sure as shit ain't Gaza.
Posted by: tu3031 || 07/28/2014 19:25 Comments || Top||


Top Palestinian Official Warns Israel: "The BIG EXPLOSION Is Coming" (Video)
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  That's why God created napalm, Charlie Stupid.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 07/28/2014 15:00 Comments || Top||

#2  IMO this "big explosion" will be per the USA, notsomuch Israel.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 07/28/2014 20:39 Comments || Top||

#3  Speaking of Big Boom thingys ... ...

* INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > NORTH KOREA THREATENS NUCLEAR STRIKE ON WHITE HOUSE, + Pentagon, over recent criticisms of NOKOR by the US.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 07/28/2014 23:16 Comments || Top||


"Windbreaker" - Israeli Defense System That Has Hamas Asking For Cease-Fire
I had my doubts about this, considering the source, but Washington Free Beacon's carrying it, too.
Posted by: Flick Snore3762 || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Point defense for tanks. That's pretty cool. Interesting that it works at short engagement ranges, which means the peril of urban combat is greatly reduced.

Although from the name, I was sort of hoping for giant fans that blew vast clouds of fart-smell across Gaza. It's a rather small place, you know, despite being the hive of scum and villainy that it is.
Posted by: SteveS || 07/28/2014 1:13 Comments || Top||

#2  Does this defeat the Hell Fire and similar missiles? Appears so.
Posted by: Thineng Angailet7166 || 07/28/2014 2:02 Comments || Top||

#3  I was sort of hoping for giant fans that blew vast clouds of fart-smell across Gaza

But Steve, why would you want to improve the atmosphere in Gaza?

I was hoping that this was pumping the tunnels full of methane.
Posted by: AlanC || 07/28/2014 7:11 Comments || Top||

#4  So why would Israel give them five days to re-group?
Posted by: Bobby || 07/28/2014 11:53 Comments || Top||

#5  So why would Israel give them five days to re-group?

Good question. A lull in the fighting provides the terrorists an opportunity to move about, communicate, and be monitored by 'overhead' and other collection platforms and systems.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/28/2014 12:02 Comments || Top||

#6  So, how does it work?
Posted by: KBK || 07/28/2014 12:17 Comments || Top||

#7  Silliness.
Trophy, it is good but doesn't change much in Hamas account.
For Hamas military resistance is not crucial: being able to harrass and win media support is their war.
Posted by: Zorba Fleresh4606 || 07/28/2014 12:24 Comments || Top||

#8  Maybe they should try throwing rocks.
Posted by: gorb || 07/28/2014 13:05 Comments || Top||

#9  "blew vast clouds of fart-smell across Gaza"

What makes you think they'd notice?
Posted by: Barbara || 07/28/2014 15:20 Comments || Top||

#10  Palastinians are excellent rock throwers, very accurate!
Posted by: 746 || 07/28/2014 15:24 Comments || Top||


'Freedom Flotilla II' set to sail for Gaza from Turkey
Amid Israel's Operation Protective Edge to stop Hamas rocket fire from Gaza, a "Freedom Flotilla" was being organized in Turkey to bring humanitarian aid to the Hamas controlled Palestinian coastal enclave. The flotilla being organized, called the "Freedom Flotilla II," is the successor of the Mavi Marmara flotilla that sought to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip in May 2010.

The new flotilla is being organized by the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief" (Insani Yardim Vakfi), otherwise known as the IHH, the same organization behind the Mavi Marmara ship, which Israel Navy commandos boarded, killing nine aboard who attacked them.

Israel and the US have both correctly labelled the IHH a terrorist organization.
Rather tells you where Erdogan and the Turkish government are these days, doesn't it...
IHH chairman Bulent Yildrim told local Turkish media last week that the activists will set sail as they had received permission from the authorities in Ankara and that the Turkish Navy will provide protection.
Does that mean the Turkish Navy will follow the flotilla into the exclusion zone?
Diplomatic officials said Jerusalem was following the reports carefully, but stressed that it was not clear whether the flotilla would ultimately set sail. So far there has only been a declaration of intent, with no firm date set, one official said.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yeah, look at me! I'm the Whizz! I am Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey (and I want to be recognized as a mover and shaker in the Islamic world). So I will add to Israel's troubles. That will do it.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 07/28/2014 1:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Yet another opportunity for the posting of an old favorite, the.... "Not this shi*t again" graphic.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/28/2014 4:12 Comments || Top||

#3  That Erdogan sees himself as the Caliph!
Posted by: Paul D || 07/28/2014 4:21 Comments || Top||

#4  That Erdogan sees himself as the Caliph! Posted by Paul D


Obviously in error. Everyone knows the Caliph follows western basketball and golf.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/28/2014 4:27 Comments || Top||

#5  Freedom Flotilla? Are they heading for Darfur whee fifteen thousand people die yearly at the hands of the Islam-fascist and Arabo-fascist government? Are they heading for Nigeria where hundreds of people die weekly at the hands of the Gulf-funded Boko Haram? Are they heading for the Islamis capliphate where Christians afe being crucified end women sexually mutilated?

Noà? Then sink them.
Posted by: JFM || 07/28/2014 5:05 Comments || Top||

#6  Maybe Egyptians will be interested.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/28/2014 5:07 Comments || Top||

#7  You F#$% with the Bull and you get the Horn.

Some people are too stupid to get to be old.
Posted by: Big Thromoth3646 || 07/28/2014 8:23 Comments || Top||

#8  this is just bluster so far

if Turkey does do this, the Israeli Navy will make sure the vessels land at Israel ports or are taking on water by the time they get close to gaza
Posted by: lord garth || 07/28/2014 12:30 Comments || Top||

#9  Nothing an Apache can't handle.
Posted by: gorb || 07/28/2014 13:07 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Judge finds North Korea, Iran liable for missile damages
A federal judge on Wednesday found North Korea and Iran liable for damages caused by a series of missile attacks on Israel in 2006.
Not that the plaintiffs are likely to seize Nork and Iranian assets, as Champ and ValJar will find a way to keep that from happening, but the decision (link below) does make very clear the canoodling between the two countries.
The two countries are liable because they “provided material support and assistance to the Hezbollah terrorists who fired the rockets at Israel,” U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth concluded. A special master will now be assigned to determine the amount of damages that will be assessed; collecting the money owed, of course, will be a different matter.

In his 18-page decision, Lamberth said “there can be no doubt that North Korea and Iran provided material support” to Hezbollah.

“North Korea provided Hezbollah with advanced weapons, expert advice and construction assistance in hiding these weapons in underground bunkers, and training in utilizing these weapons and bunkers to cause terrorist rocket attacks on Israel’s civilian population,” Lamberth wrote, “and Iran financed North Korea’s assistance and helped transport weapons to Hezbollah.”
Hezbollah benefited. Hamas has also benefited from Nork experts on tunneling and missile technology. And both groups, and their Syrian and Iranian masters, have benefited from shipments of Nork weapons over th years.
“Hezbollah members began travelling to North Korea for specialist instruction as early as the late 1980s,” Lamberth noted. “Hezbollah General-Secretary Hassan Nasrallah himself visited North Korea for training purposes during this time.”

Lamberth added that Among other noted Hezbollah members who underwent training in North Korea was Mustafa Badreddine, who served as the movement’s counter-espionage chief in the 2006 war, as well as the head of Hezbollah’s security and intelligence service.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/28/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Commies



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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2014-07-28
  IDF warns resident of three Gaza regions to evacuate to central Gaza City
Sun 2014-07-27
  Israel resumes Gaza offensive after Hamas rockets break cease-fire
Sat 2014-07-26
  Islamic Jihad number 3 killed in Gaza
Fri 2014-07-25
  Key Taliban commander among five killed in Orakzai blast
Thu 2014-07-24
  295 Suspects Arrested For Jerusalem Riots
Wed 2014-07-23
  Clashes in Libya's Benghazi kill 16, injure 81
Tue 2014-07-22
  At Least 572 Palestinians Killed During Gaza Operation
Mon 2014-07-21
  'Islamic State' Kills 270 in Syria Gas Field Takeover
Sun 2014-07-20
  Battle for Syria gas field after jihadists execute hundreds
Sat 2014-07-19
  IS-led Militants Storm Iraqi Air Base near Tikrit
Fri 2014-07-18
  Insurgents Attack Kabul Airport
Thu 2014-07-17
   IDF starts Gaza ground invasion
Wed 2014-07-16
  20 militants killed in US drone attack in Pakistan
Tue 2014-07-15
  Israeli airstrikes kill 40 Palestinians in 24 hours
Mon 2014-07-14
  "Libya Dawn" Islamist movement orders Qaaqaa and Sawaq brigades to leave Tripoli


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