[Al Ahram] The Moslem Brüderbund group has created a "jihadist ideology" now utilised by all Lion of Islam groups worldwide, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Friday.
In comments to the state news agency MENA, Shoukry urged the international community to combat all terrorist groups, not only the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group which has seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq and is expanding its presence in Libya.
"Egypt calls for a comprehensive terrorism-combating operation that targets all terrorist organizations whether Islamic State, [Nigeria's 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... ] or [Syria's Al-Qaeda branch] the Nusra Front or any other group," Shoukry said on the sidelines of a ministerial conference in Beirut.
"These groups should be dealt with equally firmly and with the same determination of the international coalition fighting Islamic State," he said
The US along with a number of Western and Arab states have been carrying out air strikes on Islamic State fightersfor nine months, which Washington said have killed over 10,000 IS krazed killers.
But the Egyptian minister said that it is equally necessary to focus on using political, cultural and economic means to confront to the ideologies of Lion of Islam groups, on top of which is the Moslem Brüderbund.
The minister said the group, which Egypt designated as a terrorist organization in 2013, was behind "this exclusionary jihadist ideology" now used by all Lion of Islam groups in the world.
"There is no group less terrorist than the other. Terrorism is terrorism," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
why didn't bambi realise this when he was cosying up to them?
Posted by: paul ||
06/27/2015 15:25 Comments ||
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[Al Ahram] Tunisia cannot stand up to the jihadist threat alone, President Beji Caid Essebsi said Friday after a gunman killed 28 people at a tourist resort, calling for a unified global strategy.
"We note that Tunisia faces an international movement. It cannot respond alone to this. On the same day at the same time La Belle France has been the target of such an operation, and Kuwait too," Essebsi told AFP.
"This proves the need for a global strategy, and that all democratic countries must now join forces."
"This is worse than terrible," he said of the attack at a beach resort in Sousse, about 140 kilometres (87 miles) south of Tunis, packed with holidaymakers.
"We thought we were protected from that."
"I hope this is the last time, because we are determined to take the most painful measures to deal with an even more painful scourge."
Tunisia, the birthplace of the Arab Spring, has seen a surge in radical Islam since veteran president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted in the 2011 revolution.
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06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stressed in a phone call to the emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabahand and to Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi the necessity of combating extremism following terrorist attacks that killed dozens in their countries on Friday, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.
El-Sisi condemned the terrorist attacks that killed 25 people in a suicide kaboom targeting a Shia Moslem mosque in Kuwait and the other attack that killed at least 27 people, including foreigners, in a mass shooting at a Tunisian beach resort.
The Egyptian president renounced all forms of violence and terrorism including that which targets economic interests with the ambition of destabilising the Arab region.
He also extended his condolences to the leaders of the two countries for the people who died in the attacks.
Earlier, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry condemned as "vile" three separate myrmidon attacks in Tunisia, Kuwait and La Belle France on Friday that killed dozens of people.
Spokesperson to the Egyptian presidency Alaa Youssef said in a statement that Egypt will make all the necessary efforts to combat "terrorism and extremism" that have not only threatened the security of Tunisia and Kuwait but also of the whole region.
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06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] The United Nations ...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense... Security Council and U.N. aid chief Stephen O'Brien on Thursday pushed for more aid and commercial access to Yemen, where a near total blockade by Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... has slowed shipments to the war-torn Arabian Peninsula country to a trickle.
O'Brien said 80 percent of Yemen's 25 million people needed help and half the country was just one step from famine. Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... imports nearly all its goods and O'Brien said commercial shipments had dropped to 15 percent of the pre-crisis levels.
In a statement, the 15-member U.N. Security Council "stressed the urgent need for ongoing commercial supplies to enter Yemen as a humanitarian imperative because of the heavy dependence of Yemen and its people on imported food and fuel."
The council backed U.N. Secretary-General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... 's call for a humanitarian pause in fighting to allow aid delivery.
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06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[RFE/RL] Party members and regional heads of Tajikistan's Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP) are suddenly leaving the party in droves. Dozens have announced their departures from the IRP recently, often by way of online videos in what appears to be a coordinated campaign. Most of the videos were posted online on June 18.
Some blamed the party's poor performance in the parliamentary elections last March, which left the IRP with no parliamentary seats for the first time since 2000. Others said they were dismayed by a series of sex videos involving party officials. Still others simply thought that there was no need for an Islamic party in Tajikistan. Many of the online announcements end with statements of support and gratitude for the policies of President Emomali Rahmon.
IRP leaders have blamed its current crisis on "government pressure" that has helped lead to the closure of regional offices across the country. In one video, Dilafruz Sharofiddinova said, "I'm the only one left in the ranks of the IRP in the town of Konibodom."
After expressing her disappointment with the party for not doing "anything concrete for Islam," Sharofiddinova goes on to praise the government for opening new Islamic schools and mosques, as well as for the "prosperous economy".
At the end of her clip, she announces, "I'm resigning from the party and I will join the ruling People's Democratic Party tomorrow."
One video shows a conference in northern Asht district in which the IRP's activities there are officially ended. An official is seen declaring, "The party claimed to have 1,567 members in Asht. Now it has only 30-32 members left."
In another video, it is declared, "We decided to end the party's activity in [western] Aini district after party members resigned, disheartened by IRP's poor performance in the elections [and] the scandalous videos that appeared online last year."
Aside from the sex scandals, the video cited "atrocities committed abroad by certain groups that associate themselves to the religion."
That mention highlights party members' reluctance to be associated with Tajik Islamists who left the country to join the Islamic State.
Party officials are trying to put on a brave face amid the crisis. IRP representative Muhammadali Hait claimed, "These resignations were submitted under pressure and these videos were recorded under pressure by authorities," arguing that the resignations are thus not legally valid.
Hait says the relationship between the IRP and the government soured after the IRP won more than 8 percent of the vote in 2010. He alleged that the government, which he says does not "tolerate any criticism," fears the party's "rising popularity."
The ruling party, Rahmon's People's Democratic Party, won by a landslide in the March 1 elections that were marred by violations, disputed by opposition parties, and criticized by international monitors. IRP leader Muhiddin Kabiri subsequently left the country amid widespread speculation that the party would be shut down by authorities.
[Al Ahram] French President Francois Hollande was to return home early from an EU summit on Friday after a suspected Islamist attack on a factory in eastern France, officials said. "He will return early this afternoon and is in constant contact with Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and the security services," the official said, adding that he would make a statement to the press in Brussels before 1100 GMT.
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06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] A 35-year-old man jugged Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! in connection with the attack Friday on a French gas factory was investigated nine years ago for radicalisation and has links to the Salafist movement, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.
"He was investigated in 2006 for radicalisation, but (the probe) was not renewed in 2008. He had no criminal record," Cazeneuve said.
He identified the suspect as Yacine Salhi, 35, who was known to have lived around Lyon, La Belle France's second largest city, near the site of the attack.
"This individual has links with the Salafist movement, but had not been identified as having participated in activities of a terrorist nature," added the minister who rushed to the scene in eastern La Belle France.
Salhi had remained on intelligence authorities' radar, Cazeneuve said.
Salafism is an murderous Moslem, puritanical form of the majority Sunni branch of Islam.
One person was killed and two injured during the attack in the small town of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, around 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Lyon. A decapitated head was found pinned to the gates of the factory.
Cazeneuve said a local firefighter who rushed to the scene had overpowered and "neutralised" Salhi. "[KICK!] Prendrez-vous là , M. le Islam!"
"Mes testicles!"
The minister said he had shown "courage and kept a cool head". ... and wore a size 14 boot.
"I would like to offer my deepest thanks to the firefighter and his colleagues who came to the scene for their promptness and effectiveness."
Police have taken an unknown number of people into custody for questioning in connection with the case, but it was not immediately clear if any of them played a role in the attack, Cazeneuve said.
Authorities were still working to identify the victim of the beheading, but he is believed to be a local businessman.
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06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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Three French officials said the decapitated man ran a local transportation company that employed Salhi. The victim’s name was not released. One official said he was believed to have been killed before the attack on the factory and was not killed by the explosion.
[Al Ahram] The wife of a man suspected of carrying out an attack on a gas factory in La Belle France, during which a decapitated head was put on display, has been taken into police custody, a legal source said.
Police are currently also holding her husband, Yassin Salhi, 35, and another person who was seen driving up and down the gas site in a suspicious manner but has not been formally linked to the attack.
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06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Italia raised its terror alert level on Friday after deadly attacks in La Belle France, Tunisia and Kuwait.
"No country is without risk, we have raised the level of alert to re-sensitise those units charged with protecting sensitive places," Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said.
"Today has seen three attacks with dozens of dead carried out in three different places around the world, linked by one thing: violence and terror," he said.
Italia had raised its alert level to the third-highest in January, after the jihadist attacks in Gay Paree.
Alfano did not specify to what grade he had increased the level on Friday, after a massacre at a beach resort across the Mediterranean in Tunisia and a grisly Islamist attack in southeast La Belle France.
At least 37 people were killed and 36 maimed when a gunman opened fire on holidaymakers on a beach in the Tunisian resort town of Sousse.
Meanwhile in La Belle France, a businessman was found decapitated with Arabic inscriptions on his body at a gas factory near Lyon, while further afield in Kuwait, a suicide kaboom at a mosque claimed by Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... jihadists killed 25.
Alfano shot down claims that would-be jihadists may be entering Italia via migrant boats crossing the Mediterranean from Libya, hidden among the over 60,000 people who have washed up on the country's shores so far this year.
"We will win the terror challenge only if we do not allow ourselves to be conditioned by fear," he said, adding that "there is no proof that there has been a rise in crime as a consequence of the rise in immigration".
Earlier Friday, a Pak accused of organising a 2009 kaboom on a Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. market that killed more than 130 people was detained in Italia.
Italian anti-terrorism detectives believe the man to be part of a jihadist network based in Italia, which was plotting terror attacks on Rome and possibly the Vatican to be carried by jacket wallahs from Pakistain.
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06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[ISRAELNATIONALNEWS] Immigrant Absorption Minister Ze'ev Elkin on Friday called on French Jews to make aliyah to Israel following the beheading attack in the country.
"Come home! Anti-Semitism is growing, terrorism is on the rise and the sickly ISIS activists carry out murders in the light of day. We are prepared to accept the Jews of La Belle France with open arms," he said.
"All the forecasts are expecting waves of immigration. I am very glad that the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption centers at the Ben Gurion Airport will be working overtime this summer. The government has provided special budgets and will double them if necessary, this is a primary national mission," added Elkin.
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06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's pro-Kurdish party described an Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... attack on the Syrian border town of Kobani as a massacre and blamed it on Turkish state support for the hard boys, comments which will fuel tension in Ankara amid attempts to form a government.
Islamic State fighters launched simultaneous attacks against the Syrian government and Kurdish militia overnight, with at least one boom-mobile in an area near the border crossing with Turkey. Hospital officials said at least 15 people were killed and 70 maimed.
"The Turkish government has supported ISIL for years. Today's massacre is a part of this support," said Figen Yuksekdag, the co-leader of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), referring to Islamic State.
The pro-Kurdish HDP entered parliament for the first time after clearing a 10 percent threshold in the June 7 elections.
Its success helped to deprive the governing AK Party founded by President Tayyip Erdogan of a majority for the first time in over a decade. The AKP now needs to find a coalition partner.
"The remarks of Turkish politicians are null and void for us. It is up to the Turkish government to prove it does not support ISIL," she added.
Turkey, a Sunni Moslem nation with a secular constitution, is a member of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, although its partners have urged it to do more.
Yuksekdag also told news hounds there was a "high probability" that the attackers on Thursday had entered Kobani from Turkey. Ankara has denied such allegations and said the attack was staged from Jarablus, to the west of Kobani.
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06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Local source I have says the attackers "quite certainly" came from the Turkish side
[Al Ahram] The Turkish military has ordered the dishonourable discharge of a soldier who was briefly kidnapped in January by Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (IS) forces of Evil after he went missing on the border with Syria, media reported on Friday.
Ozgur Ors, a non-commissioned officer, went missing during an army operation against smugglers but then was rescued by a mission coordinated by The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's spy agency.
A probe was then opened against the soldier over his conduct. But the full details of the case have been kept tightly under wraps and it has never been made fully clear how he violated military rules with his behaviour.
Ors was dismissed for "failure to resist ISIS, being an instrument for the organization's propaganda in the media and harming the reputation of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK)," the Hurriyet newspaper reported, using a variant abbreviation for IS.
It said the order was issued by an army disciplinary board earlier this week.
The Turkish military had in March launched disciplinary proceedings against the soldier for failing to resist the IS fighters.
The soldier went missing after he crossed the border into Syria on January 1 from the southeastern Turkish province of Kilis in an operation to capture a group of smugglers.
Media speculated that he might have been kidnapped by IS forces of Evil -- a claim which was confirmed neither by the government nor the army at the time.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced on January 5 that the soldier was brought back home after a "successful operation" carried out by the Turkish spy agency the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT), without providing further details.
In June last year, IS seized 49 Turks, including diplomats and their children, from the Turkish consulate in the Iraqi city of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... .
Posted by: Fred ||
06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Ozgur Bergdahl Ors?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/27/2015 9:42 Comments ||
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[PJ Media] The State Department's new Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014 essentially supports Iran's faulty reasoning for why the U.S. has no jurisdiction over the case of an American hostage.
The Iran section of the report also doesn't refer to the U.S. hostages by name, though it names some Iranians who have likewise fallen victim to Iran's judicial system.
"A dual citizen Christian pastor has been detained in Iran since September 2012 on charges related to his religious beliefs. According to public statements by the pastor's family and international groups, he was not provided adequate medical treatment and his health further deteriorated in 2014," the report says of Saeed Abedini.
"A dual citizen held in Evin Prison since 2011 and whose 'confession' was broadcast by state media during the same year remained in prison at year's end. According to public statements from his family, he learned in April 2014 that a court had tried him and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. He has been denied access to consular visitation," the report says of Amir Hekmati.
Hekmati, a decorated Marine veteran who served in the Iraq war, was born in the United States and is considered a dual citizen only by Iranian law as his father was born in Iran. He was visiting extended family for the first time in August 2011 when he was seized and sentenced on trumped-up espionage charges.
As he knew Iran has been using this as a reason to tell the U.S. government they have no jurisdiction over the case, in March Hekmati wrote to the Iranian Interest Section in Washington, D.C., to make clear he is 100 percent American and renounce his Iranian citizenship. Releasing GITMO terrorist detainees and the pending Iranian nuke deal take priority. It's a POTUS legacy issue. Besides, he's a Marine and likely quite conservative in his political views. No sense alienating our new coalition partners against ISIS.
[PJ Media] WASHINGTON -- The director of the Office of Management and Budget maintains that her agency has taken "significant steps" to protect sensitive cyber data but recent security breaches clearly establish that efforts to guard against future hacking attempts must "dramatically accelerate." No, what 'recent security breaches' indicate is that your "significant steps" FAILED !
Katherine Archuleta, who assumed her post 18 months ago, told members of the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee that her office is under "constant attack by evolving and advanced persistent threats and criminal actors" who are "sophisticated, well-funded and focused." Given that, steps must be taken not only on behalf of those individuals whose personal information has been accessed "but also as a matter of national security."
These cyberattacks, she told the panel, "will not stop. If anything, they will increase." Emphatically concur! As in 9/11, the attacks will target our financial and business communities, which are quite vulnerable at the moment.
OPM announced early in June that over the past year hackers stole personnel records of about 4.2 million federal employees. Subsequently, it was revealed that the attack was actually far greater and involved some of the most sensitive data the federal government maintains on its employees, and likely, many more records, perhaps as many as 18 million.
The massive data theft is considered one of the largest -- if not the largest -- security breach within the federal government to date. One internal OPM assessment, disclosed to Congress by the FBI, said the hacking likely was conducted by a Chinese intelligence-gathering operation. Actually, it's gone a bit beyond simple 'intelligence gathering.' It's referred to in the cyber community as "Computer Network Attack" or CNA. The term of reference was "cyberattack" right? The next phase is likely the shutting down of strategic systems. (See para 2, above) Some lawmakers, including Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, have called for Archuleta's resignation because of the security failure.
"It is hard to overstate the seriousness of this breach," said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the committee chairman. "It has put people's lives and our nation at risk."
OPM has been hacked five times in the past three years and the agency "still has not responded to effectively secure its network," Johnson said, asserting that cybersecurity "must be a top priority."
"Cybersecurity on federal agency networks has proved to be grossly inadequate," Johnson said. "Foreign actors, cyber criminals and hacktivists are accessing our networks with ease and impunity. While our defenses are antiquated, our adversaries are by comparison proving to be highly sophisticated. Meanwhile, agencies are concentrating their resources trying to dictate cybersecurity requirements for private companies, which in many cases are implementing cybersecurity better and more cheaply."
Archuleta said she became aware of OPM's security vulnerabilities within what she characterized as "the agency's aging legacy systems" when she assumed office and made the modernization and security of the network and its systems a priority. Yet another way to ask for money and resources....the standard big government solution to virtually everything.
Regardless, Archuleta said two kinds of data found in two different systems -- personnel records and background investigations -- were affected in two recent incidents. While the agency has placed the number of records involved in the personnel data breach at 4.2 million, it continues to analyze the background investigation data to determine what was compromised.
"We are not at a point where we are able to provide a more definitive report on this issue," she said. The Chinese can evidently collect volumes of sensitive computer data on millions of OPM employees, but 13 Clinton e-mails remain elusive. I think I get it. If I were not such a positive, upbeat old bastid, it would be easy to become quite cynical.
#3
Next up, all your medical files under Obamacare. Hell, why don't we just directly outsource the records to the Chinese if they're going to get them anyhow. (Yeah, I know, 'where's the graft in that?')
[Al Ahram] US President Barack Obama If you like your coverage you can keep it... has been briefed on a spree of bloody terror attacks hitting Tunisia, La Belle France and Kuwait on Friday, a White House official said.
The trio of Ramadan-time attacks in three countries across three continents has been blamed on radical Islamic groups.
In La Belle France, a man was beheaded at an American-owned gas factory in the southeast of the country.
A gunman shot up tourists visiting a Tunisian beach resort, leaving at least 27 people dead, including foreigners.
In Kuwait City, a jacket wallahwent kaboom! during prayers at a Shia mosque killing more than a dozen people, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
FORE!
Come left, come left, come left.
Fuck!
Gimme a light.
[Al Ahram] The White House condemned "heinous attacks" Friday in La Belle France, Kuwait and Tunisia, expressing solidarity and efforts to "fight the scourge of terrorism." A pledge of solidarity and about four bucks will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
"We stand with these nations as they respond to attacks on their soil today and we have been in contact with appropriate counterparts in all three countries to offer any necessary support," a statement said.
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06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
"Solidarity".... an empty, meaningless term used by speakers down at Local-1299 following a pancake breakfast. Nap at 11:00.
[NATION.PK] Awami Moslem League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid has claimed that former president Asif Ali Zardari, left the country on the advice of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... While talking to news hounds today, Rashid said "Nawaz while rejecting the Iftar-dinner invitation of Zardari, sent a clandestine message to him assuring him of continuing the reconciliation policy."
He said that Nawaz advised Zardari to leave the country immediately, before he got into trouble.
Rashid said that the army was tightening the noose around corrupt politicians and babus bureaucrats 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... , which has panicked them. The AML chief demanded that the government formed a commission, to investigate the allegations broadcasted by the BBC against the MQM.
He said that the Sharif brothers have been exposed, after their claim of launching energy projects flopped.
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06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[NATION.PK] Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... has tasked his diplomatic corps led by Sartaj Aziz ...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in good jihadis and bad jihadis as a matter of national policy... and Tariq Fatemi to engage in back channel talks to improve ties with the United States as growing ties with China have become an irritant in relations with United States, official sources said.
"The two top diplomats have been assigned the task to bring the ties back to normal. Pakistain's diplomats in the US and UN have also been asked to use their offices and skills to improve confidence level with Washington," a close aide of Prime Minister Sharif told The Nation.
"The US is seemingly not happy with the way Pakistain is engaging China. The contacts with Russia are also worrisome for them," he said. The close aide of the premier said that in the coming days, the senior diplomats will work 'on this assignment' and try to bridge the gaps.
The fast growing US-India ties prompted Pakistain to remind Washington that it also has a powerful strategic ally in the region - China. Barrack Obama's visit to India this year, his second since assuming the office, showered many favours on New Delhi.
The US' guaranteeing nuclear concessions and NSG waiver to a non-signatory of NPT, gaining access to Indian market economy, offering $4 billion loans and investments, inking 10-year defence agreement and reiterating its support for India's ambitions to seek permanent membership of UNSC clearly reflected discriminatory policy of US towards Pakistain, notwithstanding Pakistain's enormous contribution to US led war on terror.
Pakistain is relying on China for its vast investment in energy, trade sector and its support on Kashmire issue at international forums. China deems Pakistain as an important ally to counterbalance Indian and US influence in the region. Besides this, China needs Pakistain to counter regional terrorism and to gain access to the Middle East and the Indian Ocean via Gwadar Port. Moreover, the Silk route running through Pakistain is suits China best to reach Central Asia and Europe.
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06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[NATION.PK] A report by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Home Department states that incidents of terrorism have decreased in the province, after military operations were launched in North Wazoo and Khyber Agency.
The report compared the first three months of 2014 to that of this year. According to the report, incidents of terrorism decreased by 64 per cent in the province, while suicide kabooms decreased by 83 percent.
Target killing in the province dropped by 50 per cent and kidnapping for ransom, decreased by 77 per cent. Deaths of security personnel saw a drastic decrease of 77 per cent, according to findings of the report.
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06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] Pakistain's Foreign Ministry has categorically denied claims made by the Afghan National Directorate of Security ...the Afghan national intel agency... (NDS) earlier this week that the Pak intelligence service (ISI) was involved in coordinating the attack on the Afghan Parliament building last week.
Qazi Khalilullah, the Pak's Foreign Ministry front man, denounced the allegations that an ISI officer had helped the Haqqani Network plan and execute the attack, which left five civilians dead and dozens injured. Qazi maintained that Islamabad is committed to fostering an inter-Afghan dialogue that will lead to peace.
"The allegations have been leveled against the ISI and its offices in the past as well," he said Khalilullah said on Friday. "We rejct these allegations, Pakistain is a well-wisher of Afghanistan, and we are committed to our good neighborly relations."
According NDS front man Haseeb Sediqi, the leader of the Haqqani Network's military arm, Mawlawi Sheerin, was the criminal mastermind of the attack. However, a clean conscience makes a soft pillow... an ISI officer named Bilal is thought to have provided financial and logistical support for the Haqqani Network.
"This attack by the Haqqani group was organized with major support from someone named Bilal, an officer of the ISI," Sediqi said on Wednesday. "In this operation, the attackers were provided with approximately 7.5 million Pak rupees."
Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Kinnison began his slow infiltration of the sewer system... political analyst have speculated that the objections of many MPs to the Memorandum of Understanding between the NDS and ISI are what likely led to the attack.
"The people of Afghanistan and the world are aware that Pakistain's civilian government has always offered the hand friendship, but they never supported an honest friendship," Parliament's Internal Security Commission deputy Mohammad Faisal Sami said Friday. "They always targeted the people of Afghanistan from behind."
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[ARABNEWS] Islamabad will formally ask Britannia for assistance in investigating claims by the BBC that a leading Pak political party received money and military training from India, the interior minister said Thursday.
The report, published Wednesday and citing an "authoritative Pak source," said members of Pakistain's Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... (MQM) party had received military training at camps in northern and north-eastern India over the past 10 years.
India is regarded with deep suspicion and hostility by many Paks, and claims of collusion can be highly damaging.
According to the BBC report, MQM members had been given training in "explosives, weapons and sabotage" by New Delhi.
It was vehemently denied by New Delhi and by the MQM, which has its power base in the southern city of 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... and which critics accuse of ruling using violence and extortion. Speaking to news hounds Thursday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan ...Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz Uncle Fester Sharif. He is noted for his vocal anti-American railing in the National Assembly. However (comma) Khan told the U.S. ambassador that he was in fact pro-American but he and the PML-N would have to be critical of US actions in order to remain publicly credible. Khan cited his wife and children's US citizenship as proof, which means he's lying to one side or the other and probably both. He wears a wig, but you probably guessed that. since hair doesn't grow naturally in that shape or texture... said: "I am going to address a letter to the British government on behalf of our government tomorrow to officially ask them to give Pakistain access to the BBC report, the facts and the investigation."
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[ECONOMICTIMES.INDIATIMES] NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today condemned the "cowardly" terror attacks in Kuwait, Tunisia and France, saying the progress of humanity lies in peace and brotherhood instead of hatred and mindless violence. "My thoughts & prayers are with the families & loved ones of those who lost their lives in the cowardly attacks in France, Kuwait & Tunisia," he tweeted.
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
[Al Ahram] UN Secretary-General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... strongly condemned the "appalling" attacks on Friday in La Belle France, Kuwait and Tunisia and said those responsible should face justice. The Kuwait, French, or Tunisian authorities catch the perps and give them appropriate sentences--the kind that involve rope or firearms--and the same UN SecGen will hand them a note of tut-tuttery.
One person was decapitated in southeastern La Belle France while in Tunisia gunnies killed at least 28 people at a beach resort, while 25 people died in a suicide kaboom claimed by Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... jihadists in Kuwait.
Ban condemned "in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks in Tunisia, Kuwait and La Belle France today," said a statement from his front man.
"Those responsible for these appalling acts of violence must be swiftly brought to justice."
Ban vowed that the "heinous attacks" will not weaken international resolve to fight terror but rather strengthen the commitment to defeat "those bent on murder, destruction and the annihilation of human development and culture."
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06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Salafists
#1
How effective have previous UN condemnations been in the past? I would argue the perpetrators probably use it as indication of success.
[Al Ahram] Iraqi pilot Rasid Mohammed Sadiq was killed when his F-16 fighter plane crashed during a training mission in the United States, the Iraqi defence ministry said Friday.
Search teams found the body of Sadiq, a brigadier, at the site of the crash in the state of Arizona, said a statement mourning the death.
The accident, which took place Wednesday, happened during an aerial refuelling manoeuvre, a US defence official said.
The US embassy in Baghdad said Sadiq "was in the final days of his training, and he was looking forward to returning to his home."
Washington agreed to sell 36 F-16s to Iraq, but the purchase has been a source of contention, with Baghdad repeatedly complaining that they have not been delivered quickly enough.
Insecurity in Iraq, where the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group overran major territory last June, has delayed the delivery of the jets, with the first batch being sent to Arizona, where Iraqi pilots have been training.
When they arrive in Iraq, the F-16s will be a significant boost for the country's air force, both in terms of air defence and ground attack.
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq
#1
That's at least one that the Iranians won't get shortly.
[Al Ahram] Israel voiced dismay Friday at the Vatican's first accord with Paleostine and warned the move would harm efforts to renew peace talks. The foreign ministry expressed its "regret regarding the Vatican decision to officially recognise the Paleostinian Authority (PA) as a state, in the agreement signed today," front man Emmanuel Nahshon said in a statement.
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Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] A coalition of some 81 human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... and aid groups blasted the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... Security Council on Thursday for a "woefully inadequate" response to the killing of civilians in Syria, and urged it to ensure that those responsible will be punished.
The 15-member council has been largely deadlocked over how to deal with the four-year war in Syria. Syrian ally Russia, backed by China, has vetoed several resolutions threatening action against Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... 's government.
The coalition, which includes Amnesia Amnesty International, CARE International, Human Rights Watch ... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge.... , International Rescue Committee and Save the Children, said it was outraged at the unchecked brutality in Syria.
The United Nations says some 220,000 people have been killed in Syria and 12.2 million people need help, including more than 5 million children. About 7.6 million are internally displaced and more than 4 million have fled Syria.
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] A new leaked document from the lot published on WikiLeaks, shows that relationship between Bashir al-Assad and Farouk al-Sharaa worsened after the Syrian revolution, as he had expressed his opinion in what had been happening in the country during his meeting with Bashir al-Assad, which caused anger for Assad.
The document describes al-Sharaa as "helpless".
The first page of the 4-page document shows that al-Sharaa was eliminated from the Political Committee consists of "Bashir al-Assad, Walid al-Moalim and Ali Mamlouk" responsible for directing the country's situation.
The fourth page, detailed that al-Sharaa, had visited Bashir al-Assad and after the visit he returned to his office and told his office director that relationships between him and al-Assad was very bad because he honestly gave his opinion of what was happening in the country, which caused anger to Assad and the meeting finished badly.
The leaked document published on wikiLieaks mentioned that al-Sharaa was "helpless" and requested from Mohammed Nasif, the security consultant for Bashir al-Assad, to mediate to reduce the tension and Bashar's anger in order to prevent tension from going any further.
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Iranian state media say thousands of people have attended the funerals for eight Iranian volunteers killed in fighting against ISIS gunnies in Syria, AP reported.
Thursday's report by the official IRNA news agency says three of the volunteers were buried in the capital, Tehran, and the rest in the northeastern city of Mashhad. IRNA gave the names of the eight volunteers but did not provide their ranks or other details. Photos of the eight released by the semi-official Tasnim news agency show them in civilian clothes.
The Shiite-majority Iran says it has sent military advisers to assist in the fight against ISIS both in Syria and in Iraq but denies sending combat forces.
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Champ, ValJar and Brennan sent a nice floral arrangement and thoughtful note to the families.
[Al Ahram] Efforts to finalise a historic nuclear deal with Iran remain stuck on several issues, diplomats from both sides said Friday as US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... headed to Vienna for crunch weekend talks.
"Some major problems exist which are still blocking the work... but in other areas we have made good progress," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
from the Austrian capital, four days before a deadline for a deal.
"Overall, the work is moving ahead slowly and with difficulty," he added, without going into details.
This was echoed by a Western diplomat involved in the talks, who said that several key issues including future UN inspections and the timing of sanctions relief remain "extremely problematic".
"The most difficult issues need to be resolved in the coming days: transparency, inspections, PMD (possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear programme), sanctions... On the major issues there is major disagreement," the diplomat said.
The envoy, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... , said that the June 30 deadline may be missed but only by a few days, echoing comments from other figures.
Iran's IRNA news agency meanwhile quoted a source as saying that the remaining gaps "all involve issues of substantial and essential divergence".
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06/27/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
"Some major problems exist which are still blocking the work...
Yes, the primary problem, he's dealing with Iranians.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Al Ahram] The 
[Al Ahram] Tunisia cannot stand up to the jihadist threat alone, President Beji Caid Essebsi said Friday after a gunman killed 28 people at a tourist resort, calling for a unified global strategy. 
[Al Ahram] Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stressed in a phone call to the emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabahand and to Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi the necessity of combating extremism following terrorist attacks that killed dozens in their countries on Friday, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported. 
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] The 
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
[Al Ahram] French President Francois Hollande was to return home early from an EU summit on Friday after a suspected Islamist attack on a factory in eastern France, officials said. "He will return early this afternoon and is in constant contact with Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and the security services," the official said, adding that he would make a statement to the press in Brussels before 1100 GMT.
[Al Ahram] A 35-year-old man 
He identified the suspect as Yacine Salhi, 35, who was known to have lived around Lyon, 
[Al Ahram] The wife of a man suspected of carrying out an attack on a gas factory in 
[Al Ahram] 
[ISRAELNATIONALNEWS] Immigrant Absorption Minister Ze'ev Elkin on Friday called on French Jews to make aliyah to Israel following the beheading attack in the country.
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] 
[Al Ahram] The Turkish military has ordered the dishonourable discharge of a soldier who was briefly 
[PJ Media] WASHINGTON -- The director of the Office of Management and Budget maintains that her agency has taken "significant steps" to protect sensitive cyber data but recent security breaches clearly establish that efforts to guard against future hacking attempts must "dramatically accelerate."
[Al Ahram] US President 
[Al Ahram] The White House condemned "heinous attacks" Friday in 
[NATION.PK] Awami 
[NATION.PK] Prime Minister 
[Tolo News] Pakistain's Foreign Ministry has categorically denied claims made by the Afghan 
[ARABNEWS] Islamabad will formally ask 
Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz 
[Al Ahram] Iraqi pilot Rasid Mohammed Sadiq was killed when his F-16 fighter plane crashed during a training mission in the United States, the Iraqi defence ministry said Friday. 
[Al Ahram] Israel voiced dismay Friday at the Vatican's first accord with Paleostine and warned the move would harm efforts to renew peace talks. The foreign ministry expressed its "regret regarding the Vatican decision to officially recognise the Paleostinian Authority (PA) as a state, in the agreement signed today," 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] A new leaked document from the lot published on WikiLeaks, shows that relationship between Bashir al-Assad and Farouk al-Sharaa worsened after the Syrian revolution, as he had expressed his opinion in what had been happening in the country during his meeting with Bashir al-Assad, which caused anger for Assad.
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Iranian state media say thousands of people have attended the funerals for eight Iranian volunteers killed in fighting against ISIS 
[Al Ahram] Efforts to finalise a historic nuclear deal with Iran remain stuck on several issues, diplomats from both sides said Friday as US Secretary of State 
