The times, they are a-changing. May she not be the last forced to change with them.
[IsraelTimes] Claudine Gay has announced her resignation as president of Harvard University.
"It is with a heavy heart but a deep love for Harvard that I write to share that I will be stepping down as president. This is not a decision I came to easily... after consultation with members of the Corporation, it has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual," Gay wrote in an email sent out to Harvard staff, students and alumni.
In recent weeks, Gay had faced accusations of plagiarism, which surfaced after increased scrutiny of her published works in the wake of her controversial early December testimony about antisemitism on US university campuses.
Harvard President Claudine Gay will resign Tuesday afternoon, bringing an end to the shortest presidency in the University's history, according to a person with knowledge of the decision.
University Provost Alan M. Garber '76 will serve as Harvard's interim president during a search for Gay's permanent successor, the Harvard Corporation — the University's highest governing body — announced in an email on Tuesday.
Harvard spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain declined to comment on Gay's decision to step down.
#8
@#5. The previous mayor of Chicago is at Harvard. They always pick someone worse so the right does not spike the ball. See current Mayor of Chicago as a recent example.
[SUDANTRIBUNE] Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Head of the Sovereign Council of Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... , has denounced the ongoing atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and urged nations harbouring their leader to cease interfering in Sudan’s affairs.
In his Independence Day address, al-Burhan lamented the destruction wreaked by the militia under Mohammed Hamdan Daglo "Hemetti’s" command, describing their actions as "assassinating civilians, plundering their possessions, occupying their homes, violating their dignity, displacing them, and committing ethnic cleansing."
He attributed these heinous acts to the support of "traitors to the people and power-hungry individuals" and certain foreign countries, that, he claimed, harbour ulterior motives despite Sudan’s suffering.
"Therefore," al-Burhan asserted, "I urge nations harbouring these murderers to refrain from meddling in our affairs. Any hospitality extended to the leadership of this rebel group constitutes complicity in their crimes and collaboration in the killing and destruction of the Sudanese people. Moreover, hosting any party hostile to the state and its government is considered overt hostility, and the state has the right to take measures to safeguard its illusory sovereignty and security."
[AFRICANEWS] Chadian politician Succès Masra was named the first Prime minister under the nation's newly adopted 5th Republic Constitution.
The announcement was read on national television on January 1st by minister Mahamat Ahmad Alhabo.
"Through decree 012024 signed on January 1st, 204 by general Mahamat Idriss "Little" Deby Itno, transitional president, president of the Republic [of Chad], head of state, president of the Cabinet, Dr. Succès Masra is named Prime minister, head of the transitional government."
The "Les Transformateurs" party leader has yet to react to his nomination.
It comes after Saleh Kebzabo's government resigned on December 30.
One day prior, on December 29, military ruler Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno promulgated a new Constitution which was passed in a referendum on December 17.
Longtime opposition leader Succès Masra returned to Chad on November 3rd.
He had left the Sahelian nation along with other opposition leaders after demonstrations held last year to protest military rule were violent mostly peacefully repressed.
Officially about 50 people were killed in protests last year. The opposition and independent observers said at least 300 had been killed on October 20 after Transitional president Mahamat Deby went back on his word to hold elections.
Masra returned home after reaching an agreement with the military regime. The rest of Chad's opposition, many of whose leaders remain in exile, denounced the deal which allegedly includes an amnesty for those responsible for killing demonstrators last year.
But that was in English. How much did they boast of the connection in Arabic?
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] 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... ’s Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf has categorically rejected US claims about Iran’s role in helping Yemen strike Israeli-owned and -bound ships in the strategic Red Sea, saying the decision was purely by the Yemeni government and armed forces in support of the Paleostinians in the besieged Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip.
"The Yemeni government in Sana’a is the one who has taken that decision and that decision was based on solid grounds not to allow the Israeli aggression to continue on our brothers in Paleostine, in Gaza and in different areas of the occupied land," Sharaf said in an exclusive interview with Press TV’s Face to Face program aired on Saturday.
Sharaf underlined that Yemen is "not a threat to anyone," describing the Yemeni forces as "peaceful."
"Any ship that is not going to the Zionist regime and any ship that doesn’t carry an Israeli flag or is not owned by Zionists is safe from the Yemeni attacks," he stated.
The top diplomat hailed the recent Yemeni attacks on Israeli ships in the Red Sea as a "show of solidarity" and said they were the "beginning steps" to the liberation of Paleostine.
Sharaf referred to the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea as "our sea" and said, "Those who came to that area don’t know what is going on there... we defend our territories... we want the siege on Gaza to be over; we also want all kinds of necessities to go into the occupied land."
The foreign minister said it was Yemen’s duty to contribute to the liberation of Paleostine through all means available, including demonstrations and military action.
"We put Paleostine as the central issue Yemen is fighting for," he said. "If we don’t stand by them at this critical moment, doing something the world would listen to, then no one would."
Sharaf also appreciated Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... for its support of Yemen, including in the health sector, saying, "If not for the Iranians’ support for Yemen, no one would now hear the stories coming from Yemen."
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] A member of the Supreme Political Council, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... , cautioned any nation aligning with the Americans in attacks against 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... , highlighting the jeopardy such involvement poses to their interests and maritime safety.
Al-Houthi reiterated Yemen’s prior advisory stance, urging countries to abstain from association with the US, emphasizing the heightened inclination of the US to embroil others in their actions.
Addressing the US assault on Yemeni naval vessels engaged in their official duties to secure maritime routes and uphold humanitarian obligations by blocking ships linked to the Israeli adversary or specifically bound for occupied Paleostinian ports, al-Houthi underscored the attack’s context within the ongoing genocidal actions perpetrated by the Zionist enemy against Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... ’s residents, including the enduring blockade and suffering of children and women.
He squarely blamed the US for the harsh ramifications and fallout resulting from this egregious criminal attack.
Al-Houthi affirmed that despite this assault, the Yemeni people, Armed Forces, and official establishments remain resolute in their mission of solidarity with the oppressed Paleostinians.
He reaffirmed Yemen’s steadfast commitment, considering this endeavor a sacred mission for the sake of Allah, the Almighty.
Furthermore, he emphasized that the American aggression would only fortify the determination and resilience of the Yemeni populace
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine condemned on Monday, in the strongest terms, the American aggression against Yemeni forces in the waters of the Red Sea.
“This confirms that the American administration is the one managing the region’s wars and bears full responsibility for the massacres in our region,” the movement said in a statement.
“The American administration that is waging the war against our people in Gaza, with this aggression, has become militarily involved in the war on the side of the Zionist entity and aims to punish the dear Yemeni people for their courageous stances in confronting the siege on Gaza by imposing a siege on Zionist ships,” the statement added.
The movement expressed its full solidarity with the Yemeni people, calling on the people of the Arab and Islamic nations to confront the American aggression against Yemen by all possible means.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2024 00:00 ||
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[31 views]
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#1
Good for Islamic Jihad for continuing to keep track of the broader picture while they are totally getting their asses kicked in Gaza. Kind of like a Miami Dolphins player confusing to scoreboard watch to calculate their playoff landing spot throughout their Sunday debacle.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/02/2024 6:03 Comments ||
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Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin.
[ColonelCassad] The Houthis have announced their readiness to strike all US bases in Western Asia.
Starting today, an unprecedented war against the Zionist-American enemy will begin, and American bases will become the target of our armed forces.
If the United States and Western allies take action, the Yemeni Ansar Allah is ready to launch a missile attack on US bases in Western Asia.
That would certainly become interesting for all involved. Especially the Houthis.
A picture with target bases has been attached.
Same thing tonight.
Iranian proxies launched a missile attack on an American base near the Conoco plant (northern part of Deir ez-Zor province).
They act according to the principle - not a day without attacks on US bases. The United States, as a rule, does not disclose the real consequences of such arrivals. We can expect both continued attacks on American bases in Syria and Iraq, and US attacks on Iranian proxies in Syria and Iraq. You can play this game for a long time.
[GEO.TV] British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said that the United Kingdom was willing to take "direct action" against 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... 's Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... s, Al Jazeera reported.
"We are willing to take direct action, and we won’t hesitate to take further action to deter threats to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea," wrote Shapps in The Daily Telegraph newspaper.
"The Houthis should be under no misunderstanding: we are committed to holding malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks," he said.
On Sunday, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron ...Empty suit Brit pol, former PM, has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel... said that he sought Iran's help in stopping the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The third group of refugees from Palestine has arrived in the Republic of Ingushetia. The head of the region, Mahmud-Ali Kalimatov, announced thison his Telegram channel.
“The third group of citizens who were forced to leave Palestine arrived to us. The group consists of 14 people, 11 of them are children. Social passports will be issued for each arrival in order to determine the needs for the number of places in kindergartens and schools,” wrote Kalimatov. "You. The one with the beard. Are you sure you're a Kindergartner?"
The head of the region added that the republican authorities will resolve issues of further employment and training of refugees.
As Regnum reported, at the end of December the first group of evacuated Palestinian residents who arrived in Dagestan received passports of Russian citizens. As the representative of the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Dagestan clarified, among those who received a passport there were 26 men and 19 women. Among them are seven minors, the youngest is 14 years old.
In addition, on the evening of December 18, the final group of Russian citizens and their families evacuated from the Gaza Strip arrived in Moscow on a special flight of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Il-76 plane delivered 73 citizens, including 45 children of different ages, from Cairo to Domodedovo Airport.
In total, Russian rescuers removed 1,124 people from the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, 518 of them children.
The evacuated citizens were provided with “emergency humanitarian assistance” - hygiene kits, toys for children and hot meals were distributed.
In addition, medical assistance was provided, and rescuers prevented the death of evacuees three times, and psychological assistance had to be provided 480 times.
A third group of 14 Palestinian refugees, including 11 children, arrived in Ingushetia. It is planned to offer newcomers jobs and training in kindergartens and schools, the head of the republic said.
As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, 73 displaced people from Palestine were accommodated in comfortable hotel rooms in Nazran, they were provided with medical care, representatives of the authorities of Ingushetia reported on December 14, 2023. The authorities voiced their readiness to resolve issues of employment of adult refugees and education of children.
On December 5, 2023, the head of Ingushetia, Mahmud-Ali Kalimatov, said that the republic was ready to accept 100 refugees from Palestine, and the authorities would take care of their accommodation and employment. On December 12, the first group of 55 refugees from the Gaza Strip arrived in Ingushetia, and on December 13, another 18 refugees arrived.
Another group of 14 Palestinian refugees arrived in Ingushetia, they were met by representatives of the republican government, the Ministry of Nationalities of the Republic reported today in its telegram channel. “The arrivals will be accommodated at the Assa hotel in Nazran,” the message says.
The publication is illustrated with a video, the footage of which shows how government officials greet people exiting a railway carriage, including children, and Emergency Situations Ministry employees help those arriving to remove their luggage from the carriage.
This is the third group of displaced people, Mahmud-Ali Kalimatov reported in his Telegram channel. “The third group of citizens who were forced to leave the territory of Palestine has arrived to us. The group consists of 14 people, 11 of them are children,” he wrote.
A social passport will be issued for each arrival in order to determine “the needs for the number of places in kindergartens and schools,” the head of Ingushetia noted. “In the future we will resolve issues of their employment and training,” he added.
Let us remind you that students from Palestine who arrived in Ingushetia expressed a desire to continue their studies at local universities. The government has been instructed to find an opportunity for this, the head of the republic announced on December 21.
#1
Move them to the places that all the other migrants are leaving. A lot of their services may still be active the first month. If some folks from Chad book it in the middle of the month, move the Palestinians in. Free cable at least for a couple of weeks.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/02/2024 5:58 Comments ||
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[PJ] A Swedish member of the European Parliament (MEP) ripped apart a "batsh*t crazy" colleague who falsely accused Israel of terrorism and apartheid. The Israel-hating left "does not belong in any elected chamber," the MEP argued.
Researcher Dr. Eli David shared a clip on Dec. 31 from the European Union’s Parliament, featuring Sweden’s Sara Skyttedal calling out an Irish MEP’s anti-semitism. Even as the Irish people angrily protest the woke globalism ruining their country and filling it with violent Muslims, Ireland MEP Mick Wallace is spewing lies about Israel. As Israel continues to fight Hamas after the horrific and heinous Oct. 7 attack that left over 1,400 Israelis brutally massacred, many Western leftists still pretend Gaza is the victim and Israel is the eeeevil aggressor. Skyttedal had had enough of Wallace’s propaganda, however.
"I am deeply concerned about my Irish colleague from the left group," Skyttedal began. "Anti-Semitism is on the rise throughout Europe, and an elected official continues to spread anti-Semitic messages." It’s a dangerous prejudice, liable to lead to violence.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Kamran Hasanov
[REGNUM] If we talk about the history of Turkey as a whole, then, probably, none of the events that happened in 2023 will compare with the fact that the country celebrated its 100th anniversary. This is a long time. Considering that the very preservation of the current borders was in doubt due to the Treaty of Sèvres , even supporters of Pan-Osmanism should be satisfied with 780 thousand square kilometers.
The outgoing year for Turkey was largely built around three pillars: presidential and parliamentary elections, the financial crisis and the stabilization of relations with the outside world.
RELATIONS WITH THE WEST ARE STABLE
Unlike previous ones, the 2023 elections have proven to be very difficult for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP). After all, not only traditional oppositionists from the Republican People's Party (CHP), but also former comrades Ahmet Davutoglu and Ali Babacan spoke out against him in May .
In parliament, the AKP and its junior partner, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), were opposed by a coalition of six parties. But Erdogan survived, although victory was given to him only in the second round. The success of his party coalition was even more confident.
Erdogan's triumph was achieved against all odds. Despite the financial crisis, the fall of the lira and double-digit inflation. Despite the largest earthquake in the 21st century in the east, which claimed the lives of 30 thousand citizens. And, of course, despite foreign pressure.
Western media and politicians did not hide the fact that they wished the victory of the secular opposition, which would save the West from Erdogan’s constant blackmail on issues of migration and NATO expansion. What can I say, even Joe Biden, back in his election campaign, announced the goal of removing the Turkish president through elections.
Türkiye is too strong to ignore, much less isolate.
Having understood these realities, the West was forced to accept and recognize Erdogan’s victory. American credit institutions upgraded Turkey's rating, and the economy began to breathe again. Turkey's GDP looked quite decent due to export growth. Its rise in the third quarter accelerated to 5.9% and turned out to be better than forecast.
Partly, there is a role for the West in this.
After all, at the July NATO summit, Erdogan unexpectedly supported Sweden’s membership in NATO and even invited Ukraine there - even Biden and Olaf Scholz did not dare to do the latter .
Well-known journalist Seymour Hersh
...forever chasing the feeling of getting a prestigious award for whatever it was he got right that first time, except ever since he’s been neglecting the getting right part. But he hates America, which is all that matters for some people...
reported that Biden promised Turkey $11-13 billion “for Sweden.” The information is confidential, but what is known for sure is Biden’s agreement to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ankara. However, both issues - the transfer of the F-16 and Sweden's entry into NATO - are still blocked by the American and Turkish parliaments.
For the sake of the economy, Erdogan made another concession to the globalists - he allowed his Central Bank to raise the key rate. As a result, inflation in the country fell from 80 percent to less than 40 percent.
RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA ON THE RISE
Turkey’s relations with Russia this year were as pragmatic as in all recent years. Trade turnover grew and reached a record $60 billion. The Akkuyu NPP project is being successfully implemented - the first reactor is already ready for launch.
On September 5, the long-awaited meeting between Vladimir Putin and Erdogan took place in Sochi - an important moment given that Putin has seen few foreign leaders in the past two years. Erdogan showed understanding and came to Russia himself.
A certain chill in relations appeared after the NATO summit. In addition, in addition to agreeing to expand the alliance, Turkey gave the “Azovites” to Ukraine (“Azov” is an organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation).
But joint projects - trade, a new nuclear power plant in Snopa, a gas hub, “synchronizing watches” in Transcaucasia and the Middle East - maintain a partnership level of relations.
True, Russia refused to extend the grain deal, which Erdogan strongly insisted on. But at the same time, in March, for the sake of his victory in the elections, Russia already extended the deal by 60 days.
Due to the focus on internal problems, post-earthquake recovery and efforts to rehabilitate the economy, Turkey had less and less energy for an active foreign policy this year.
If at the initial stage of the NWO it was Ankara that seized the initiative from everyone in mediation, now it has serious competitors.
The Saudis held their summit in Jeddah, Xi Jinping proposed a 12-point formula, and African countries, India and Brazil are coming forward with peace initiatives.
RELATIONS IN THE REGION ARE SUCCESSFUL
Where Erdogan's success is most convincing is in the Middle East.
This year, relations with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which had been shaken due to the events in Syria and Libya, were finally restored. Immediately after winning the elections, Erdogan went to Abu Dhabi. UAE President Emir Mohammed bin Zayed warmly received his colleague and concluded a deal with him worth more than $50 billion. As part of that tour, the Turkish president visited Saudi Arabia, which contributed $5 billion to the Turkish Central Bank.
Relations with Egypt are also being restored. In November, amid events in Gaza, Erdoğan met again with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi . Erdogan’s relations with Egypt were even more strained than with the UAE and KSA, since the Turkish leader supported Al-Sisi’s direct opponents in the person of the Muslim Brotherhood (an organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation).
The attitude towards Hamas in the KSA, UAE and Egypt, although not as positive as that of Erdogan’s party, still the tragedy and death of thousands of Palestinians creates a kind of Muslim unity, which brings Turkey even closer to its former rivals.
The return to the “zero problems” policy with neighbors was also taking place on other fronts.
Erdogan recently visited Athens, the second visit by a Turkish president to Greece in 70 years. The two countries have been on the brink of war in recent years over disputed islands in the Aegean Sea, exploration in the Mediterranean and Cyprus. But the leaders found the strength to go to peace.
A certain positivity can be observed this year in relations with Iran. Tehran has softened its tone towards Ankara's ally Baku. Although at the beginning of 2023, there was a hint of conflict on Iran’s northern borders after an attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran.
Iran has come to terms with the defeat of Armenia and the complete transfer of control over Karabakh to Azerbaijan. Tehran and Baku agreed to create their own “Zangezur Corridor”. In October, a meeting was held in Tehran at the level of the foreign ministers of Iran, Turkey, Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. After the creation of the 3+3 format, fears of Iran's isolation in the region were dispelled.
Iran also did not like the fact that Turkey was restoring ties with Damascus through the mediation of Moscow. But there is progress here too.
In May, Moscow hosted the foreign ministers of four countries, including Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Abdollahian . Against the backdrop of the Gaza crisis, Turkey and Iran have become closer, as they are more active in supporting Hamas than others. However, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi still canceled his visit to Ankara. According to rumors, due to its demands on the Turkish side to more actively support Palestine.
The resolution of the Karabakh issue contributes to the rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia. In June, Erdogan confirmed that he would continue efforts to normalize bilateral relations.
If it were not for the war in Gaza, there would not be a single country with which Turkey would not have found a common language this year. However, Erdogan could not look indifferently at the death of more than 20 thousand Palestinians in Gaza and the defeat of his ideological ally Hamas.
He canceled his visit to Israel, declared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal and assembled an army of international lawyers to bring the leaders of the Jewish state to justice.
How’s that going?
Thus, based on the results of the past year, the economic crisis in Turkey has been partially brought under control. At the same time, Turkey needs to spend half of its GDP to eliminate the consequences of the earthquake and other natural disasters. Relations with the West have stabilized somewhat, with Russia they are progressing, and neighboring countries, with the exception of Israel, no longer sharpen their grudge against Erdogan.
The main domestic political result of the year is Erdogan’s confident retention of power.
Of course. All his possible rivals are in prison or fled, and his people aren’t having babies because who would want to in that totalitarian society he created?
Posted by: badanov ||
01/02/2024 00:00 ||
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[30 views]
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#1
A real feel good underdog story for 2023. Evil megalomaniac overcomes steep odds to maintain power over a population that prefers someone more demented.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/02/2024 6:39 Comments ||
Top||
#1
I find it difficult understanding how the students would choose to enter a warzone at times like these. OTOH a local church group arrived in Israel by air on Oct 7 just as the attacks became known. They were promptly put on buses, sent to Jordan by road and returned to the USA ASAP.
#2
Israel quickly regained control in the south from the marauding Gazans, Gromble Dribble4342. They’re now letting the kibbutzniks move back, except for those closest to the border. The Golan is more problematic — they won’t be letting residents move back until Hezbollah is pushed back significantly, which won’t be seriously addressed until Gaza needs less manpower. But the rest of the country is fine, the concerns being the slowing rate of rocket warnings and the occasional knife/car attack.
There are regular articles about American Jewish students concluding that Israel is safer than their American college campus nowadays, not to mention parents being unwilling to send their precious high school seniors to unsafe Ivy League schools. I’m not sure what the statistics look like, though — it could be reporters excited about a juicy story rather than a strong trend.
[GEO.TV] The Human Rights Commission of Pakistain (HRCP) said Monday that all political parties, including 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.... (PTI), deserved a level-playing field as the electioneering ahead of the February 8 polls faces gags.
"The election atmosphere is being spoiled [...] free and fair elections should be held, and all parties should be given a level playing field," the commission’s members said during a presser in Islamabad.
The PTI has been voicing strong reservations against the "state machinery" as major of its bigwigs — founder Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who anti-establishment Pak premier, who was hounded out of office, arrested, jailed, and will likely be hung by his political opponents... and Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi ...a Pak political shape-changer. He is undistinguished except for his habit of periodically needing to have his lips reattached... — had their nomination papers for the February 8 elections rejected — and the party’s iconic "bat" symbol also could also be taken away.
The PTI founder, who stepped down as the party chairman last year due to a conviction in a corruption case, is also behind bars and his release seems uncertain as he is being arrested in cases back-to-back, which could prove fatal for PTI as Khan is the party’s voter driving force.
In the presser, HRCP Co-char Munizae Jahangir said one political party — an apparent reference to the PTI — was facing different treatment compared to other parties.
"The reason behind holding elections it to allow people to inform their representatives about their problems. If the voter wants to vote a specific person, it is their due right," Jahangir, who is also a senior journalist said.
[GEO.TV] Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar Monday slammed "elements" who were backing armed hard boyz under the guise of supporting Baloch protesters — who were subjected to police brutality in Islamabad.
The prime minister's comments during a presser in Lahore as Baloch families protest in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... against "extra-judicial killings" and enforced disappearances.
PM Kakar asserted that the state won’t accept those elements who were supporting bandidosmurderous Moslems and armed hard boyz involved in the killing of Balochistan people including doctors, lawyers, and teachers.
PM Kakar, referring to criticism by a section of media, said that the protest of the Baloch families in Islamabad was being painted wrongly and in sharp contrast to realities as the Baloch people stood with the state.
The premier said that there was no restriction on freedom of expression and every citizen has the right to protest within constitutional limits. "The families have the right to protest for their beloved ones but others are just launching baseless criticism."
He, however, the state won’t allow elements backing and spreading the narrative of hard boyz and terrorists. The prime minister added that it was not his mandate to respond to those criticising him on social media.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2024 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[30 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
A real feel good underdog story for 2023. Evil megalomaniac overcomes steep odds to maintain power over a population that prefers someone more demented.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/02/2024 6:38 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Wrong benighted goatopolis. I was trying to besmirch Erdogan.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/02/2024 6:40 Comments ||
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[YNET] In an unprecedented move, Israel plans to present its case at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, aiming to dismiss South Africa's petition for an interim order demanding the immediate suspension of Israeli military actions in Gaza, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told Ynet on Monday.
...South Africa claims that Israel's actions constitute "genocide in nature," thereby violating its commitment under the Genocide Convention. South Africa has a bit of a domestic crisis: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2023/06/15/cf-south-africas-economy-loses-momentum-amid-record-power-cuts
[IsraelTimes] Military to allow those from communities at least 4 kilometers from northern part of border to return; soldier killed in Strip’s north, bringing ground op toll to 173.
Israeli military officials said Monday they were preparing for residents of some Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... border communities that have largely been empty since October 7 to begin returning home soon, amid indications the fighting was shifting into a lower gear in the northern part of the Strip after three months of punishing all-out war.
The announcement by the Home Front Command came a day after the Israel Defense Forces said it was drawing down some forces in Gaza, as it prepared to shift toward a lengthy, lower-intensity stage of the conflict.
While Paleostinians reported seeing tanks withdraw from some parts of northern Gaza, fighting continued to rage in other parts of the Strip.
On Sunday, the IDF said it was withdrawing five brigades from Gaza — three brigades usually tasked with training other forces and two reserve brigades — but said the war against Hamas ...a regional Iranian catspaw,... would likely last throughout all of 2024.
Israelis in communities within seven kilometers (4.3 miles) of Gaza were mostly evacuated in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 assault on southern Israel by the terror group, which rules the Strip, when faceless myrmidons massacred 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped some 240 people to Gaza.
While some have returned since then, many have stayed away due to the intense fighting nearby and fears of a fresh mass infiltration, as well as daily rocket attacks, with evacuees hosted at hotels or at kibbutz guesthouses in other parts of the country.
The communities closest to Gaza will remain closed for the time being, with some of the hardest hit largely uninhabitable, but those at least four kilometers (2.5 miles) away from the northern part of the Strip, where the IDF says it has largely defeated Hamas, will start bringing residents back, the Home Front Command said Monday, without announcing a timeline.
Residents of Mavki’im, Gvar’am, Dorot, Yachini, Bror Hayil, as well as Kibbutz Yad Mordechai — which is three kilometers (two miles) away, but had requested to return — will be the first to return, according to the announcement.
While faceless myrmidons reached as far as Ofakim, some 22 kilometers (14 miles) from the Strip, during the October 7 onslaught, most of the communities heaviest affected were within three or four kilometers of the Strip.
Rocket fire on the area has lessened since the start of the war, though there are still near-daily attacks.
Some have expressed reluctance to return to their homes in once-placid agricultural communities with war still close at hand. The military said it would attempt to reposition some artillery batteries to cut down on noise, and would bolster local security teams with better equipment and training.
Israel responded to the October 7 massacres with a military campaign — including a major ground incursion — aimed at destroying Hamas, removing it from power in Gaza, and rescuing the hostages.
Visiting Kibbutz Be’eri, where the burnt-out husks of homes testify to the horrors visited upon the community during the October 7 onslaught, 13-year-old Oran Sharabi said on Monday she was afraid to be in the kibbutz where she grew up, but wanted to raise awareness for the 129 hostages still being held.
"I’m coping with the fear because the scariest thing to me is that my dad, Yossi, who’s being held hostage in Gaza, is still there," Sharabi told a few dozen journalists gathered there Monday.
Raaya Rotem, who was among 105 civilians released during a weeklong truce, recalled the scarcity of food.
"We divided [a single orange] among ourselves. Each of us got a tiny slice," she said.
[IsraelTimes] Israeli settlers killed at least 10 Paleostinians and torched dozens of homes in the West Bank in 2023, making it the "most violent mostly peaceful" year on record for settler attacks, an Israeli watchdog says.
Numerous West Bank attacks were carried out by large groups of settlers, and the violence spiked after Hamas ...not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... ’s October 7 attacks on Israel, says the Yesh Din organization.
Violence has surged across the West Bank over the past year and a half, with a rise in Paleostinian shooting attacks against Israeli civilians and troops, near-nightly arrest raids by the military, and an uptick in Dire Revenge attacks by turban Jewish settlers against Paleostinians.
This tiktoker harassed a McDonald’s employee because their packaging was blue and white. He calmly explained they changed it a few months ago and it has nothing to do with Israel. She insisted it does. He stayed cool throughout. Give this man a raise! pic.twitter.com/5DaNngF0Fc
[IsraelTimes] In 8 vs 7 decision, justices rule that reasonableness law undermines Israel’s democratic character; 13 justices assert court’s right in principle to strike down Basic Laws.
In a deeply controversial landmark decision, the High Court of Justice struck down the government’s reasonableness limitation law on Monday, annulling for the first time in the country’s history one of its quasi-constitutional Basic Laws.
The court split almost down middle over the highly contentious legislation, the only law from the government’s polarizing judicial overhaul package to have been passed, with eight justices ruling to strike down the law and seven to uphold it.
But fully 13 out of the full 15-justice panel that heard the case wrote in their opinions that the court did have the authority to review Basic Laws. And of the five justices who asserted this right but declined to strike down the reasonableness law, three expressed deep concern over the legislation and wrote that it should be interpreted in a narrow manner to preserve aspects of the reasonableness standard.
In what is perhaps the most significant outcome of the decision, the court fully actualized in legal precedent the argument made in previous rulings by former Supreme Court justice Esther Hayut that it does have, in limited circumstances, the right to annul Basic Laws if they undermine the key characteristics of the State of Israel as a Jewish and a democratic country.
The ruling marks the culmination of a year-long battle between the government and the judiciary over the nature of Israel’s democracy, and the question of which branch of government has ultimate say over its constitutional character.
The reasonableness limitation law was advanced after the government backed down from far-reaching and extreme judicial overhaul legislation that many legal scholars said would have severely if not mortally damaged Israel’s democracy, including laws that would have given the ruling coalition near-total control over almost all judicial appointments, and which would have almost totally annulled judicial review over Knesset legislation.
Instead, the current high court members have significant say over appointments, which has caused the court to move ever further left over the decades.
This, said Hayut, "does the most severe harm possible to the principle of the separation of powers and the principle of the rule of law," which constitutes "a severe blow to two of the most explicit characteristics of Israel as a democratic state."
As such, the law must be annulled, she wrote.
Justice David Mintz, in an opinion for the minority, slammed Hayut’s ruling, describing her doctrine of the unconstitutional constitutional amendment as "something out of nothing," which "undermines basic democratic principles including the separation of powers."
Mintz, a strongly conservative justice, contended that the court’s ability to review and strike down even regular legislation was "not based on strong foundations" and said that as such there was "for sure no authority allowing for the court to deliberate on the validity of a Basic Law" or to strike one down.
"Annulling a Basic Law based on an amorphous doctrine and an undefined formula carries a heavy price from a democratic point of view, certainly when it comes to an issue about which the court itself is in an ’institutional conflict of interest,’" wrote Mintz.
He argued further that the law does not prevent the court from reviewing government and ministerial decisions with other judicial doctrines, and "does not give them [the government] complete and total discretion, and does not grant immunity for their decisions."
Justice Yael Wilner, a more moderate conservative figure than Mintz, adopted a more nuanced position, and wrote that the High Court does have the right to review, and, in extreme cases, strike down Basic Laws, while also expressing concern about the reasonableness limitation law.
Unlike Hayut and other liberal justices, Wilner based this authority not on the Declaration of Independence, but on Basic Law: The Judiciary, which empowers the court to give legal relief "for the sake of justice."
As such, she wrote that the doctrine of "existing interpretation" should be used to interpret the law more narrowly and allow for the reasonableness standard to be used in cases where an administrative decision is extremely unreasonable, but allow the law to stand for cases where that is not the case.
"Given the aforementioned interpretation, the amendment does not seriously harm the democratic identity of the State of Israel... in light of the fact that the amendment does not detract from the duty of the government and the ministers to act legally; and does not prevent effective judicial review, given the existence of additional grounds for judicial review," she said.
Wilner wrote that although the law would mean that there are cases when there could be no judicial remedy for an apparent injustice done by an administrative decision, such decisions would still have to be taken in accordance with judicial standards of legitimate authority, valid administrative process, good faith, non-pertinent considerations, proportionality, arbitrariness, and discrimination.
Justices Alex Stein and Gila Canfy Steinitz made similar arguments in their written opinions, upholding the right of the court to strike down Basic Laws, and voicing concern over the reasonableness law, but ruling to more narrowly interpret that law so as not to strike it down in its entirety.
Justices Hayut (ret), Acting Supreme Court President Uzi Vogelman, Isaac Amit, Daphne Barak-Erez, Anat Baron (ret), Ofer Grosskopf, Chaled Kabub, and Ruth Ronnen ruled to strike down the reasonableness law.
Wilner, Stein, Steinitz, and Yechiel Kasher all wrote that although they opposed annulling the reasonableness law, the court did have the right to review and strike down Basic Laws, while Yosef Elron concurred that the court should not strike down the reasonableness standard, but wrote more circumspectly that the High Court could strike down a Basic Law only in extreme situations in which fundamental individual rights are harmed, and as a last resort.
Only Mintz and fellow conservative Noam Sohlberg argued that the High Court had no authority whatsoever to annul Basic Laws.
Although, in some cases, the losing party in a High Court decision can request a new hearing with a larger panel of justices, in this case all 15 justices of the court heard the petitions against the law, so there is no prospect for another hearing.
In theory, the government could re-legislate the law in the knowledge that the decision to strike down the legislation was 8 to 7 and that two of the justices who ruled in the majority — former Supreme Court president Esther Hayut and Justice Anat Baron — have now retired. This means there is now a majority against striking down the law, but it seems doubtful that the government would want to adopt such a divisive and controversial process, at least now, during perhaps the worst security crisis Israel has faced in half a century.
The government could also in theory say it does not view the decision as valid and that, should the court reverse a government or ministerial decision based on the reasonableness standard, it would not respect such a ruling. Such a step would create an unprecedented constitutional crisis where the institutions of state would not know who to obey — the government or the court. But creating such constitutional chaos, certainly during the current war, would be an extreme reaction.
No doubt. But up until now it was verboten to say so in public, lest those who most deserved it feel accused of causing Hamas to run amok, mostly over them.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the Hamas ...not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... terror group may have launched its onslaught on October 7 partially due to its belief that Israeli society was in chaos, due to the controversial judicial overhaul.
"These things will become clear in the in-depth investigation that we will carry out, but the answer is that it is likely that the characteristic of a rift [in society], the readiness of the army, perhaps in [Hamas’s] perception, was one of the characteristics" the terror group took into account, Hagari says in response to a question at a presser.
The insistence of air force pilots, and other military groups to publicly proclaim their refusal to fight if ordered by a Netanyahu government might possibly have something to do with Hamas’s perception. The pilots, et al, were repeatedly warned that this was a risk, but they insisted on persisting, encouraged by their American donors. No doubt Hamas would have broken out anyway — the IRGC had trained them for it for two years, after all, but perhaps not on that particular day.
"I think that now in the fighting... [Hamas] is meeting a determined, functioning army," he says.
[GEO.TV] An Israeli minister on Monday called for the return of settlers to Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... and said Paleostinians should be encouraged to leave, a day after similar remarks by another far-right politician.
"We must promote a solution to encourage the emigration of Gaza's residents," Israel's firebrand ...firebrands are noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments... National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said as war with the Gaza Strip's Hamas ...a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... rulers rages on.
Israel unilaterally withdrew the last of its troops and settlers in 2005, ending a presence inside Gaza that began in 1967 but maintaining near complete control over the territory's borders.
The government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not officially suggested it has any plans to evict Gazooks or to send Jewish settlers back to the territory since the current war broke out on October 7.
But Ben Gvir argued that the departure of Paleostinians and re-establishment of Israeli settlements "is a correct, just, moral and humane solution".
"This is an opportunity to develop a project to encourage Gaza's residents to emigrate to countries around the world," he told a meeting of his ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit, or "Jewish Power", party.
Posted by: Fred ||
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The project that is more important is to encourage other countries to accept potentially vicious and incorrigible refugees.
[IsraelTimes] Santiago Sanchez Cogedor was arrested not long after entering the country after embarking on a monthslong foot journey to Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... for the World Cup last year
The idiot is lucky Darwin wasn’t looking too closely in his direction.
Iran’s Embassy in Spain said Sunday that it had released the last Spanish national detained in the country, a tourist who was arrested shortly after he entered Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... Continued on Page 49
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.
[IsraelTimes] Claudine Gay has announced her resignation as president of Harvard University.
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the 
...a Pak political shape-changer. He is undistinguished except for his habit of periodically needing to have his lips reattached...
...a regional Iranian catspaw,...
...not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
...not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
...a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
