[Tolo News] Officials of the Hizb-e Islami party have confirmed that the party has engaged in talks with the presidential candidates and exchanged letters with their electoral teams to mediate the two camps in hopes of pushing the election process forward.
The word of Hizb-e-Islami's interaction to mediate between the candidates has now reached the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the U.S. 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...
Ghairat Baheer, who is in charge of the political committee of the party, stated that since the prolongation of the electoral process is not in the interest of the country, Hizb-e-Islami's leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil... tried to mediate between the candidates to settle the disagreements.
"We are in regular contact with the two electoral teams and our delegation has gone to Afghanistan on the principle stance to persuade the two candidates to halt brawls," Baheer said. "They must not protest and claim fraud if they lose or claim transparency if they win; that could push the country toward a crisis."
In addition, in his interview with TOLOnews, Baheer said that people's votes must be respected and the election process must be led by Afghans themselves.
"Those responsible for the brawls will pay the price," Baheer added. "The good thing about democracy is that it is a matter of majority and minority. Those who gain the majority votes will have the right to form the next government."
Ahsraf Ghani-Ahmadzai's team has expressed optimism about Hizb-e-Islami's recent statements.
"Five parts of Hizb-e-Islami have already endorsed the charter of the 'Convergence and Continuity' team. They—including one of their candidates—have announced their support for us," member of Ghani-Ahmadzai's electoral camp, Moeen Marastyal, said. "Now if they accept the charter of our team, there would not be any problems in their participation in the 'national unity government."
This is while Hizb-e-Islami's authorities as well as motives have been questioned in its attempts to mediate the electoral situation. Currently, the party does not have an official political presence in the country and majority of its members live outside the country, particularly in Pakistain.
Hizb-e-Islami had talked about negotiations with the Afghan government in the past too. However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... the government remained skeptical, claiming that the party had attacked the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) on several occasions.
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[Tolo News] Over the past two months, intense murderous Moslem offensives in Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... and Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province have tested the mettle of the Afghan cops and raised security concerns just months before NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... troops withdraw. According to top Afghan security officials, support from local communities and the air have proven the keys to victory.
Hostilities in Sangeen district of Helmand, and Hesarak district in Nangarhar, while both part of the same summer Taiban offensive, have played out very differently. While in Sangeen the violence rages on, over a month after it began, in Hesarak, turban groups were completely thwarted within a matter of days.
The Defense and Interior ministries have attributed their success in Hesarak to support they received from the local community.
"In Sangeen and two other districts in Helmand, only the Afghan forces are facing the murderous Moslems, but in Hesarak district, people have had a harsh response to the enemy and the snuffies faced a public uprising," Interior Ministry front man Najibullah Danish said.
There are also those who have suggested the determining factor in the success or failure of a counterinsurgency strategy is the presence of air support. With foreign troop winding down in Afghanistan and the NATO coalition taking an increasingly hands-off approach, many have voiced concerns about the Afghan air force and whether or not it is prepared to fill the void that is being left by the western coalition.
"Overall, the foreign forces provided us air support," MoD front man Zahir Azimi acknowledged.
But the security officials remained adamant that it was public support, not foreign aircraft, that made the difference. "It is said that foreign forces also provided air support to the Afghan cops, but public contribution in defeating the snuffies can't be ignored," Danish said.
Security tactics and results have become a bigger focus as the presidential election process slogs on and the fighting season picks up. President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... has received widespread criticism from Afghan politicians and policy experts over his approach to the Taliban, which many consider weak and conciliatory. Chief among those policies have been his ongoing support for the early release of suspected snuffies from prison as well as his recent order that the Afghan forces refrain from using heavy weaponry in fighting turbans.
"All decisions made by the president were against the national interests of Afghanistan, it supported the enemy, and paved the way for the efforts of the enemy and murderous Moslems," military analyst Jawed Kohistan ...a backwoods district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa distinguished by being even more rustic than is the norm among the local Pashtuns.... i told TOLOnews. He added that the recent halt on nighttime raids was advocated for by Karzai and has caused trouble for the country's counterinsurgency efforts.
According to official reports, the battle in Sangeen has led to the deaths of more than 200 civilians and 100 Afghan military personnel. In Hesarak, there have been no civilian casualties reported, but 10 Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers have been killed.
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[An Nahar] The attendance of nearly every African nation at an unprecedented summit in Washington on Monday is "abnormal" as long as Sudan is excluded, Khartoum says.
Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it. , who is wanted for alleged war crimes, is one of only four leaders not invited by U.S. President Barack Obama If you like your coverage you can keep it... for the three-day meeting focused on building economic ties between the two continents.
"It was abnormal that Africa accepts to go to this meeting while one of its very important members was not invited", Sudan's Foreign Minister Ali Karti said in comments published Monday by Sudanese newspapers.
Islamist-run Khartoum has been under U.S. economic sanctions since 1997 over what Washington said were human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... violations and other issues.
In 2009 and 2010 the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Bashir for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide allegedly carried out in Sudan's Darfur region.
Fifty African heads of state were sent invitations to the summit, the greatest ever concentration of African leadership in Washington.
Zim-bob-we's Bob Muggsy Mugabe Octogenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case... , Eritrea ...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age... 's Issaias Afeworki and the Central African Republic's transitional leader Catherine Samba Panza were also left off the guest list.
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[An Nahar] A leading Sudanese opposition party on Monday called for a transitional government to help resolve multiple crises in the impoverished, war-ravaged nation.
Reform Now, in a joint statement with several smaller political parties, said the transitional administration should put into effect the outcome of a national political dialogue called by President Omar al-Bashir Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it. in response to Sudan's problems.
Elections, announced by the government for next year, must also be part of the discussions among parties and not imposed, Hassan Osman Riziq, Reform Now's deputy leader, told news hounds.
"We are not committed to this election and the elections have to be agreed in the national dialogue," he said, reading the parties' statement.
They have participated in preliminary talks with Bashir about his dialogue but now say their demands for a transitional administration and a discussion about the 2015 ballot must be met if the political talks are to continue.
"If these conditions are not met we will withdraw from the national dialogue," Al-Tayeb Mustafa, of the Just Peace Forum party, said at the same press briefing.
Mustafa is an uncle of Bashir but opposes the regime which he has called a "military dictatorship".
Riziq did not provide details of the proposed transitional administration except to say it should include capable, independent cabinet ministers.
Bashir, who governs with his National Congress Party, seized power 25 years ago in an Islamist-backed coup.
The government hinted at greater political liberties in Sudan after he announced the dialogue in January.
But the arrest of political figures and continued press censorship has raised questions about the regime's commitment to change.
Reform Now in early July said the dialogue had reached "a dead end."
The Popular Congress Party led by veteran Islamist Hassan al-Turabi, a key figure behind the 1989 coup, remains involved in the dialogue with Bashir and did not attend Monday's news conference.
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[DAWN] Pakistain's embassy in Tunisia is making arrangements for Paks trapped in Libya to evacuate the turmoil-hit country through the Tunisian border, the foreign office said Monday. "Nah. I'm from Karachi. This don't bother me."
"The Pak Embassy has already registered a large number of Paks and referred their documents to Tunisian authorities for visa on arrival," the statement read. "Kinda like it here after Darra Adamkhel."
Since no Libyan airport is functioning due to the ongoing strife, the Pak embassy in Tunis has been assigned to facilitate visa on arrival at the Tunisian border from where the Pak nationals will be able to fly home.
The Pak Embassy in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... has indications that the number of Paks who may have to be evacuated is between 3,000 to 6,000, said the foreign office statement.
The foreign office and the Pak embassy in Tripoli have directed Pak nationals to contact embassy personnel for further assistance.
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[An Nahar] Libya's new parliament held its first formal session Monday in the eastern city of Tobruk, as festivities rocked the capital Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... and divisions between Islamists and nationalists deepened.
Anti-Islamist MPs insisted on meeting in Tobruk, 1,500 kilometers (1,000 miles) from Tripoli, because of deadly festivities in the capital, some of the worst since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed dictator Muammar Qadaffy ...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland and was then murdered by his indignant subjects 42 years later...
State television broadcast footage of the session, showing MPs being sworn in at a ceremony attended by representatives of the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... , the United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The deputies were to meet again in the evening to elect a speaker, said MP Abu Bakr Biira, who is chairing the session.
Islamist MPs and their allies from the western city of Misrata boycotted the Tobruk ceremony, branding it "anti-constitutional".
Islamists dominated the outgoing parliament, the General National Congress, and believe that its former chief Nuri Abu Sahmein should have called the meeting of the new assembly.
In a show of defiance, Abu Sahmein invited MPs to Tripoli for a parallel "handover of power" on Monday but the session was later canceled.
Analysts believe the Islamists are trying to make up for their poor electoral performance by gaining influence through military might.
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[Modern Ghana] Washington (AFP) - South African President Jacob Zuma voiced outrage Monday over civilian deaths in Israel's campaign in the Gaza Strip but distanced himself from calls to expel the Israeli ambassador. "Distanced himself", wisely so I might add.
"We are outraged by the killing of civilians by Israel, some in United Nations shelters," Zuma told a news conference in Washington where he was attending a US-Africa summit.
"We call upon all sides to lay down arms and work towards a negotiated solution that will lead to an internationally recognized and supported two-state solution," he said. Similar to the highly unsuccessful Volkstaat [Afrikaner homeland] I take it ?
Zuma also condemned the killings of Israeli civilians by the Palestinian militant movement Hamas and voiced skepticism over calls within his African National Congress party for the Pretoria government to kick out Israel's ambassador.
"It cannot just be a quick thing," Zuma said when asked about South Africa's response to the Gaza crisis. Ja, dit is reg! Successful transition to a 'one party system' and communism entails a slow, deliberate process.
Zuma, without explicitly ruling out the expulsion of the ambassador, said that South Africa needed to act in a way "that will benefit both countries of the Middle East in the long end, and as a country we do have to take a bigger picture." Translation: Wat am I to do, eat these diamonds and minerals myself? Not to mention our arms industry which, thanks to our former colonial masters, makes us arse loads of money.
[ALLAFRICA] ISLAM should not be linked to the terror attacks that have been gaining momentum in Tanzania and in other areas in the world, the Dar es Salaam Region Chief Sheikh, Alhad Musa Salum, said in the city on Tuesday. E pur se muove, bub.
He pointed out that a Moslem found to have participated in any terror operation should be judged individually instead of connecting the act with his faith.
Speaking at the Idd el-Fitr prayers held on Tuesday at national level at the Mnazi Mmoja Grounds in Dar es Salaam, Sheikh Salum noted that Islam is a religion of peace, and preaching peace has been a top item on its agenda.
He observed that recent kabooms that rocked several parts of the country must be condemned in the strongest terms possible.
"There is a thick line between Islam and terrorism; they are not the same. Being a Moslem does not mean you are a terrorist, this is a thing that we must all understand," he stressed.
Mr Salum observed that the religion has been preaching love, unity and respects to all people regardless of their religious affiliations.
"It is a misguided mentality... linking Islam and these kabooms or any other kind of terror activity. Doing so is not correct. We hate terrorism and we are in the forefront in opposing it, we will always do this," he vowed.
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#6
It's a truism that repressed people use non-standard warfare techniques...
And those who aim those techniques at the military oppressing them are legitimate guerrillas. But those who aim those techniques at civilians are terrorists... while those who make excuses for them are the scum of the earth.
[ALLAFRICA] The Moslem Students' Society of Nigeria (MSSN) has urged the Federal Government to honestly and quickly find political solutions to the 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... insurgency instead of relying solely on military option.
A statement signed by the MSSN National Secretary General Alhaji Ibrahim Giwa said this would help the government to identify criminals operating under the guise of the Boko Haram crisis and bring them to book.
The statement said the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary in the country should immediately work together harmoniously in lines with the rules of engagement for the good of the common man rather than pursue selfish and personal political agenda.
The Moslem students further advised all stakeholders in the country, especially past leaders, religious leaders and civil society organizations to prevail on all parties to exercise restraint in all their utterances and actions.
"The insurgency, which is taking unprecedented and devastating dimensions, especially with the abduction of the Chibok girls for more than 100 days now, the attempted liquidation of Rtd General Mummamadu Buhari and increasing and seeming uncontrolled cases of bombings which is becoming a daily occurrence in the country, need urgent, immediate and credible steps to stop these killings and insecurity forthwith," the statement added.
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[An Nahar] Britannia is reviewing licenses to sell arms and military goods to Israel in the light of ongoing operations in Gazoo, Prime Minister David Cameron ... 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 ... 's office said Monday.
Britannia's government has approved licenses for the sale of military goods to Israel worth at least 42 million ($71 million, 53 million euros) since 2010, according to government figures obtained by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT).
These are mostly to supply weapons control and targeting systems and components for ammunition, drones and armored vehicles.
"We are currently reviewing all export licenses to Israel to confirm that we think they are appropriate," said a Downing Street spokeswoman.
"Clearly the current situation has changed compared to when some licenses will have been granted, and we're reviewing those existing licenses against the current situation, but no decisions have been taken beyond going back again and reviewing," the spokeswoman said.
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[An Nahar] A Frenchie suspected in the shooting deaths of four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels was remanded in jug for a month Monday on charges of "murder in a terrorist context."
Mehdi Nemmouche, 29, who spent more than a year fighting with Islamic bully boyz in Syria, was extradited from La Belle France to Belgium last week for questioning over the May 24 shooting.
A statement from the Belgian prosecutor's office said the Brussels pre-trial chamber "has ordered further detention on remand of NM by one month."
One of his lawyers, Sebastien Courtoy, said there was no proof of his presence that day at the museum, so "it is totally premature to condemn him at this stage."
The Frenchie of Algerian descent is being questioned over the deaths of an Israeli couple, a Frenchwoman and a Belgian man by a gunman who shot up the downtown museum in broad daylight on a Saturday afternoon.
The shooting -- the first such attack in Brussels in three decades -- raised fears of a resurgence of anti-Semitic violence in Europe and of terror attacks from imported muscle returning from Syria.
Nemmouche was tossed in the slammer Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! in the southern French city of Marseille days after the attack after being spotted on a bus from Brussels.
A revolver and Kalashnikov rifle were found in his luggage, resembling weapons caught on a museum video camera, as was a camera.
Nemmouche, who is being held in prison in the city of Bruges, is being defended by two lawyers who have been photographed with controversial French comic Dieudonne, attacked for sketches deemed anti-Semitic.
A photo shows Courtoy and Henry Larquay along with Dieudonne making his trademark "quenelle" salute -- a stiff-arm gesture described by critics as a disguised Nazi salute.
Nemmouche has been sentenced seven times in La Belle France, including for armed robbery, and has spent seven years in jail where he was notably found proselytizing Islam.
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Dozens of Turkish police officers were detained on Tuesday in a widening probe of wiretapping allegedly targeting Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, and he said operations against his foes within the state apparatus were just beginning.
Police took 33 of their colleagues into custody on Tuesday in Istanbul, Ankara and across southeast Turkey, NTV said, days ahead of the country's first presidential election which opinion polls forecast Erdogan will win.
More than 100 officers were detained in July in the same investigation, aimed at what Erdogan calls a "parallel structure" within the police, judiciary and other institutions loyal to U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Erdogan accuses Gulen, a former ally, of being behind a plot to oust him and has vowed to "go into their lairs" and carry out a "witch hunt" to catch those involved.
"The structure in the parallel police has started to emerge," Erdogan said in an interview with Kanal 24 late on Monday, accusing Turkey's main opposition parties of operating in tandem with Gulen.
"God willing this will come to an end. But I have to say that we are just at the beginning of this business," he said, describing Gulen's movement as a threat to national security. "The judiciary has now started to do what is necessary."
Gulen and his Hizmet, or 'Service', movement denies scheming against Erdogan, but the alliance between Hizmet and the government has crumbled in recent years.
Of the 115 officers detained in July, 31 have been remanded in custody pending possible trial. Many of them have said the case against them was politically motivated.
The arrests follow a stream of purges targeting the police, judiciary and other state institutions this year which government critics have condemned as a symptom of Erdogan's tightening grip on power.
Gulen, whose followers say they number in the millions, is believed to have built up influence in the police and judiciary over decades and leads a powerful worldwide Islamic movement from his self-imposed exile in the United States.
"COUP ATTEMPT"
Those detained on Tuesday were largely low ranking officers, according to media reports. Senior anti-terror squad chiefs were among those held previously.
"I worked day and night and this is what I get for it," one of the suspects was reported as saying by CNN Turk as he was led away by plain-clothed police from the organised crime squad.
Police declined to comment on the investigation.
The breakdown in relations between the government and the Gulen movement burst into the open in December, when corruption investigations targeting Erdogan and his inner circle became public, leading to the resignation of three cabinet ministers.
Erdogan described those investigations, which have effectively been quashed, as part of a failed "coup attempt", casting nationwide protests against the government in the summer of 2013 as part of the same plot.
The officers held in July were accused of concocting an investigation into an alleged terrorist group linked with Iran as a pretence to tap the phones of Erdogan, ministers and the country's top spy.
The alleged terrorist investigation, which targeted 251 people, was dismissed due to a lack of evidence after a three-year inquiry.
#2
of course, he'll succeed in removing capable police, military and installing his incompetent corrupt Islamo-Toadies. When a real coup happens, it usually happens quickly and they should put this window-licker to the knife
Posted by: Frank G on the road ||
08/05/2014 15:38 Comments ||
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h/t Gates of Vienna
On Sunday's State of the Union on CNN, Perry said the "historic record highs" of individuals from "countries that have substantial terrorist ties" threaten America's national security. Yep, but think of all the fun you can have later condemning Israel for the deaths of "american citizens" in Gaza and Judea
#2
No worries! They'll be apprehended by the FBI and DoJ during private pilot license training. We'll be looking for those doing poorly in the descent and landing phases of the training.
[IsraelTimes] WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama Ready to Rule from Day One... signed a bill granting an additional $225 million in funding for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.
The defense system has been highly effective in the current round of violence between Israel and Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, intercepting hundreds of rockets headed toward major population centers in Israel. Israeli officials say it has a success rate as high as 90 percent.
The US has provided hundreds of millions of dollars for Iron Dome in the past. The new package is intended to replenish Israel's capabilities.
Congress approved the money last week before politicians left for their annual summer break. Obama signed the bill late Monday in the Oval Office with a handful of photographers present.
During a marathon session devoted largely to passing immigration legislation, the House of Representatives had voted late Friday night by a landslide majority to provide the funding.
"Israel is our friend and Israel's enemies are our enemies," House Speaker John Boeher tweeted shortly after the measure passed its final legislative hurdle by a vote of 395-8. Four Republicans and four Democrats voted against the funding, and an additional 29 did not vote.
No debate was held on the bill, which had passed the Senate earlier Friday with unanimous consent.
Israel requested the additional $225 million for the partially US-funded project, which is credited with saving dozens, possibly hundreds, of lives. The Iron Dome has intercepted hundreds of rockets during Operation Protective Edge, but is notable for its high operating costs which have heretofore largely been covered by the US.
After Israel requested more aid for the missile defense system, the Department of Defense approved the request.
Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL) said shortly after the resolution's passage that the additional funding "is crucial to the defense of Israeli citizens from Hamas terrorism" as well as "a testament to the United States' long standing and deep friendship with Israel."
Iron Dome intercepts over the course of Operation Protective Edge have likely cost Israel tens of millions of dollars.
For much of the past week, it seemed as though the additional funding would be tied up in partisan bickering, but on Friday, senators agreed to support a standalone bill that did not tie the funding to other budgetary allocations.
A number of organizations which had pushed Congress to approve the additional funding before it left for a month-long recess greeted the bill's passage with enthusiasm.
The American Jewish Committee expressed "heartfelt appreciation to the United States Congress for approving additional funding for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system."
"Iron Dome has been a genuine life-saver for Israelis enduring round-the- clock barrages of Hamas rockets and missiles from Gazoo," said AJC Executive Director David Harris in a statement late Friday evening. "Thankfully, Congress, in the spirit of its long support for the U.S.-Israel relationship, recognizes the essence of the ruthless Hamas threat to Israelis of all ages. And Israel's experience with this system will also no doubt prove invaluable to the U.S. and other democratic countries that may face the threat of violence from both state and non-state actors."
Shortly after the resolution's passage, AIPAC circulated an email to supporters suggesting that they launch a letter writing campaign to thank members of Congress individually for their support of Iron Dome.
#3
Guess Harry got the message to decouple the legislation from what ever he wanted to pass with his own agenda [that is, other Donks senators felt the heat of the mid-terms enough to tell him to move it].
#5
Guess Harry got the message to decouple the legislation from what ever he wanted to pass with his own agenda
No, Harry got what he wanted, which was to place the GOP in a bad light with the initial 'no' vote. Hence little to no news coverage of passage and signature of the "new" bill.
#6
That basically works with those who are going to vote Donk anyway who are only looking for excuses to do so. If those among the masses haven't figured out that the LSM is just lying sockpuppets for the Inner Party by now, they're never going to find the truth, if they ever were concerned about doing so anyway.
[DAWN] After shadowing and harassing 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.... workers, the capital police have started issuing threats to PTI leaders to pre-empt their Azadi March planned for August 14, the party said on Sunday.
"I received a call this morning from the Special Branch (of police) asking me to shift my family from my house by 5pm for I could be put under house arrest anytime," Shireen Mazari, big shot and information secretary of the PTI, told a presser here.
She said someone introducing himself as Saqlain Bajwa delivered the threat to her.
"How can I push out my family from my house, and why should I," she asked, adding, "I am not the only one who received the call. Naeemul Haq, staff officer to PTI Chief Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer... , also received a similar call."
Senior Superintendent of Police Mohammad Ali Nekokara had denied to Dawn on Saturday that the police had been visiting the homes of PTI activists and menacingly demanding information about the party workers mobilising support for the march.
But SSP Nekokara meaningfully added that the police had "only been collecting contact numbers" of the party workers, in accordance
with the Standard Operating Procedure, for conveying them government's messages in case of an emergency.
In reply to a question, Ms Mazari said the PTI has decided not to seek permission from the Ministry of Interior or the District Administration for holding its Azadi March.
"We know about the threats to Imran Khan but he has never tried to hide behind bulletproof shields. There will be same security for workers and leaders," she said.
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[DAWN] 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.... Chairman Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... has warned that his party will paralyse the entire country if the government tries to put him under house arrest.
"If I am put under house arrest by police on the government's order, the PTI will seal the entire country. We will hang those coppers who even touch peaceful PTI workers," he said while addressing a convention of the party's Lahore chapter on Sunday.
"We will surely march on Islamabad on August 14 because we believe that the 2013 general elections were massively rigged," Zulifqar, a PTI activist, told Dawn as he waited for his party's chief, along with other charged workers in Gulberg.
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[DAWN] A man enjugged Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! by rangers from 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... 's Pir Elahi Bakhsh (PIB) Colony area early on Monday confessed during initial interrogation to 12 murders, including those of three coppers, a blurb issued by Sindh Rangers said. 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) leader Farooq Sattar, however, has raised questions about the authenticity of this claim.
The MQM staged a walk-out from National Assembly over the alleged raid on Farooq Sattar's residence. Moreover, party workers and leaders also staged protests outside Karachi Press Club.
The statement identifies the man as Shamshad Ali and maintains that the man is linked to a political party as a 'right-hand' man of a party leader. It accuses him of leading a murder ring that has killed 35 people on his orders.
The statement says that the scope of the investigation would be expanded to include leaders of political parties, who have allegedly received proceeds from extortion and other illegal activities carried out by Shamshad.
Shamshad was arrested along with two others by Rangers personnel from the PIB Colony.
The arrests were made near the residence of Farooq Sattar, who said that the law enforcement agency had carried out a raid in his neighbourhood and removed his security detail.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] 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... vowed Tuesday to defend democratic values and human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... as he met civil society groups ahead of a major U.S.-Africa summit.
On the eve of a summit attended by several leaders with checkered records, Kerry told activists gathered in Washington that the United States hoped to help Africa build strong institutions rather than to bolster individual leaders.
"Strong civil society and respect for democracy, the rule of law and human rights -- these are not just American values, they are universal values. They are universal aspirations and anyone who reads history and knows history understands that," Kerry said.
"Diversity is always a better predictor of success than uniformity. Because strong institutions are always more effective, more durable and more predictable than strong men or women," he said.
Citing the example of South Africa's late anti-apartheid champion Nelson Mandela, Kerry said that most Africans supported limiting their leaders to two terms in office.
"We will urge leaders not to alter national constitutions for personal or political gain," Kerry said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Citing the example of South Africa's late anti-apartheid champion Nelson Mandela, Kerry said that most Africans supported limiting their leaders to two terms in office.
He neglected to mention that term limits are quite meaningless in a one party system.
Use the bureaucracy to suppress the political opposition.
Stuff the ballot box.
Invite a couple million in to the country to make it happen when it looks like just looting the Treasury to buy votes can't go on forever.
TEL AVIVAt 8 p.m. on July 12, Hamas forces in Gaza announced that in one hour they would destroy the city of Tel Aviv.
Even for a war that has played out in the bravado of hashtag campaigns, terror-group music videos, and Israeli-military propaganda memes, such a statement was unprecedented. Hamas had never issued warnings before firing missiles at Israel. So Ehud Yaari, the Israeli television journalist who is a fixture on the nations Channel 2 news, broke immediately from his regular coverage and reported the threat.
In the exact moment that he did, however, viewers of the Hamas-run television station Al-Aqsa TV were also watching him in Gaza. Thats because on July 12, as on so many other nights of this nearly month-long conflict between Israel and Gaza, Al-Aqsa was carrying Channel 2 live on air.
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/05/2014 19:03 ||
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Prime minister, secretary of state spoke on Sunday, but the conversation was ended due to 'communications issue' according to State Department; Kerry not planning to attend Cairo talks.
#1
Reminds me of POTUS Bill Clinton being cut-off before his own comments about his Presidency being illegitimate had his Dem Party + aligned hanged from the nearest tree, WIDOUT TRIAL.
A month of fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip will cost the Palestinian territory at least $4-6 billion in damages, deputy economy minister Taysir Amro said Tuesday. Don't you mean that you are hoping for another $4-6B of boodle from the rest of the world?
Amro told AFP the figure included only "direct damages" to the Gaza economy and warned it could climb further once additional impacts on the 1.8 million population are taken into account.
A more precise assessment would be carried out once calm returns permanently to the overpopulated sliver of territory where more than 1,850 people were killed and nearly half a million displaced, he said.
Amro said international suckersenablers donors were expected to meet in Norway in September, but gave no further details.
A 72-hour truce, brokered by Egypt and the United States, came into effect at 8:00 am (0500 GMT) on Tuesday as the last Israeli troops left the battered enclave.
The fighting began on July 8 and expanded into an Israeli ground offensive on July 17.
Hundreds of homes were destroyed and last week the Gaza Strip's only power plant was shelled, imposing total blackouts.
The Palestinian territory, under blockade by Israel and Egypt, suffers from chronic water and power shortages.
Even before the latest fighting, Gaza suffered power cuts of eight to 12 hours a day, hampering militant bases hospitals, armories schools, rocket factories businesses and rocket launching facilities water treatment centres.
After being accused of "hypocrisy" regarding "collateral damage," State Dept. spokeswoman says Israel must "keep itself to a high standard." I guess Bibi is just not as good as Obama at killing people.
#1
Did wunderkind Psaki get her youthful mush-filled head out of the sand? Or did she find that the tunnels that the Gazookians have so diligently built with Western and Muzzie aid led to Hamas hospitals, UN schools, mosques and storage centers? Moreover, that the tunnels that are used by these Hamas terrorists (the term her beloved administration and dear leaders are so loathe to use) are used to ferry arms, terrorists, rockets, and explosives to kill Israelis.
[Aypee] Hamas is able to fire missiles into Israel because Tehran provided weapons technology to the militant group to defend itself against Israeli attacks, a senior Iranian official said Monday.
Officials from Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards have said in the past that Fajr-5 missiles are part of Hamas' Gaza Strip arsenal, whose technology has been supplied by Iran and produced locally without needing direct shipment.
"Palestinian resistance missiles are the blessings of Iran's transfer of technology," the Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council, Mohsen Rezaei, was quoted as saying by Al-Alam, the Arabic channel of Iran's state TV. "We need to transfer defensive and military technology to Palestinians so that they can build weapons under the blockade and defend themselves," he added. And of course, the transfer of nuclear weapon technology and manufacturing to Iran follows a similar defensive strategy and justification.
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Friday broke his silence on the Gaza conflict, which started in early July, by condemning the conflict and the inaction of the international community.
"This [international] community, which has observed silently what is happening in the whole region, was indifferent to what is happening as if what is happening is not its concern," Abdullah said in a statement on Saudi state-run television.
Despite describing the situation in Gaza as "war crimes against humanity," the Saudi monarch stopped short of calling for action against Israel.
Wonder what stopped him short? That he might be cheering on the ebil Juice from the coldest cockles of his fibrillating heart?
The Gaza conflict has highlighted a growing rift in the Arab world which has pitted Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia against Turkey and Qatar, who both support the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, whose government proposed a cease-fire that was rejected by Hamas, has been similarly quiet on the Israel-Hamas conflict and has largely kept Egypt's border with Gaza shut, despite the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Additionally, in an apparent reference to the bloodshed in Iraq and Syria, King Abdullah slammed the killing of innocent people and the mutilation of bodies, which he deemed contrary to Islamic values, and called on Middle East leaders and religious scholars to prevent Islam from being hijacked by extremists.
Especially Saoodi extremists looking to overthrow the Kingdom...
Egypt and Saudi Arabia correctly view the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, as well as other Islamic extremist groups like Hezbollah and the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), as threats to the stability of the region.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/05/2014 00:00 ||
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So, Abdullah, how about calling all "western" politicians on your payroll---telling 'em to lay of Israel?
[The Grid] The Israeli Defense Forces recently discovered the Hamas manual on "Urban Warfare," which notes in part the benefits for Hamas when the IDF destroys civilian homes.
[An Nahar] Russia said Monday it had called on Israel to agree to a humanitarian ceasefire in Gazoo, in a phone call between the foreign ministers of the two countries.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also told his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman that the foes "should reach an agreement that excludes the return to violence in which mostly innocent civilians suffer".
The Russian foreign ministry statement did not mention whether Lavrov had brought up the Paleostinian casualties suffered during three attacks on U.N.-operated schools and refugee centers in Gazoo that the snuffies and most Western leaders blame on Israeli troops.
Moscow supported the Paleostinian cause in the Soviet era but established warmer ties with Israel in the past two decades.
But its influence in the region has dropped off substantially and Moscow no longer plays an important mediating role between the two sides.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Civilian airliners could even be shot down if things can't be calmed a bit, right Sergei ?
As I recall, while Apple very tightly controls the apps it allows to be sold, Google apps just appear out of the ether, so to speak. So it oughtn't be expected the lovely, unbiased folks at Google headquarters would have any idea what's available to their users. Nonetheless, now that they know, it may disappear -- so get it while you still can!
[An Nahar] Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, a member of AMAL, a not very subtle Hizbullah sock puppet... has warned that the "fate of the nation was at stake," saying the Lebanese army should be equipped with an effective arsenal to confront terrorists.
In remarks to several newspapers that hit the newstands on Monday, Berri said: "The country ... does not tolerate blurred choices."
He expressed confidence in the army and called for full support despite his concern over the festivities between soldiers and forces of Evil in the northeastern town of Arsal.
Berri said he was worried that terrorist networks would take advantage of the gunbattles in Arsal and stir trouble in other areas.
The early signs of his warning emerged in the northern city of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... on Saturday night when cashes erupted between the army and masked gunnies.
The state-run National News Agency said that a fierce fighting broke out when gunniesshot up army positions on Syria Street, the Starco, Brad al-Bisar, al-Ghoraba, Talaat al-Omari, and al-Qobbeh areas.
"We exerted strong efforts to achieve stability in Tripoli but unfortunately some MPs who are eager to preserve their parliamentary seats made statements that harm Leb and instigate strife," Berri told the newspapers.
The politicians, whom he did not name, "harmed the military institution rather than supporting it at this sensitive stage," he said.
The speaker reiterated that around 5,000 new soldiers should be recruited and the army should be better equipped.
"It is not enough to provide it with invaluable assistance," he said.
Berri described the Arsal festivities as "a battle in defense of the nation" and expressed satisfaction with statements made by several residents in support of the army.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... movement leader Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. has expressed full support for the Lebanese army and security forces, saying he stood by them to regain control of the northeastern border town of Arsal.
"Neither the state nor us would stand idle to the destructive plots of Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed... groups," Hariri told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published on Monday.
The former prime minister said the turbans "have no choice but to withdraw from the town," which has been witnessing severe gunbattles between the Lebanese army and Syria-based terrorists.
Arsal is home to 40,000 residents and 120,000 Syrian refugees.
The attack began Saturday as the rebels made a cross-border raid into Arsal, some 90 kilometers from Beirut, after the army detained Syrian Imad Ahmed Jomaa, who identified himself as a member of the terrorist al-Nusra Front.
The Front is one of the most powerful groups fighting to overthrow the rule of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... .
"Al-Mustaqbal movement considers the Lebanese army and the rest of the security forces a red line," Hariri told the newspaper. "The attack on them is prohibited."
"We hold onto our stance from the takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... groups," he added.
Hariri said he stood by the army and security forces "to regain control of the town of Arsal which has remained steadfast ⦠because its residents have no option but the state."
Hariri is expected to issue a detailed statement on the Arsal fighting soon, al-Mustaqbal sources said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil called on Monday on the international community to support Leb and offer aid to the Lebanese army to confront terrorism, considering the region to be stuck between Islamist groups and Israel.
"Terrorism is moving from an area to another but it will surely be buried on Lebanese territories," Bassil said during a meeting for the Paleostine Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Tehran.
He pointed out that the developments in the Gazoo Strip, the Iraqi city of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... and the northeastern border town of Arsal are the same.
"The region has fallen between ISIL (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... ) and Israel," Bassil told conferees.
"They have the same principles," he added.
Bassil vowed that Leb will break the connection between them.
"Killing in the name of religion is never justified and as Lebanese we settled our choices since the creation of our country," he told officials gathered in Iran, noting that "there is no room for any unilateral decision in the world."
The FM accused Syrian refugees without naming them of aiding gunnies in the town of Arsal.
"Instead of thanking the residents of Arsal, who welcomed them, they are assisting" gunnies.
Arsal is home to 40,000 residents and increased to 120,000 after Syrians fled the war raging in their country.
The Sunni-majority area is sympathetic to the uprising against Bashir al-Assad, whose regime has regularly launched air raids in the area that it says target opposition fighters holed up in the mountainous region around Arsal.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2014 00:00 ||
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[Breitbart] As of July 20, 2014, 1,443 individuals from China were caught sneaking across the porous U.S. border this year alone, with another 1,803 individuals either turning themselves in to U.S. authorities at official ports of entry, or being caught attempting to illegally enter at the ports of entry. This comes amid a massive crackdown by Chinese authorities of Islamic terrorists
[emphasis added - UP]
in the Communist nation.
It's not about the suffering children, but about getting a more amenable citizenry, ignoring the jihadis among them.
#1
Key here is to avoid clustering and media targeting. Get them redistributed and assimilated quickly using unmarked contract busses and airplanes. Entitlement exploitation can begin later.
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.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
[Tolo News] Over the past two months, intense
International Criminal Court
David Cameron
Dozens of Turkish police officers were detained on Tuesday in a widening probe of wiretapping allegedly targeting Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, and he said operations against his foes within the state apparatus were just beginning.
[An Nahar] Secretary of State 
A month of fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip will cost the Palestinian territory at least $4-6 billion in damages, deputy economy minister Taysir Amro said Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Friday broke his silence on the Gaza conflict, which started in early July, by condemning the conflict and the inaction of the international community.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Breitbart] As of July 20, 2014, 1,443 individuals from China were caught sneaking across the porous U.S. border this year alone, with another 1,803 individuals either turning themselves in to U.S. authorities at official ports of entry, or being caught attempting to illegally enter at the ports of entry. This comes amid a massive crackdown by Chinese authorities of Islamic terrorists 
