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Today: 66 articles and 187 comments as of 13:20.
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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
US airstrike wipe-out ISIS hideout in Nangarhar, leaving 13 dead
Today's Headlines
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Page 6: Politix
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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Steerage: Google's de-ranking of RT in search results is a form of censorship and blatant propaganda
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/26/2017 14:17 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well written article, therefore the author is not a real "journalist"! Clearly reasoned and written is so last century. Maybe it was done with an AI driven software program and besides , Russia, right?
Google's newest slogan, "Don't let them know they are being harmed".
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 11/26/2017 17:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Given that Russia Today is a propaganda outlet of the Russian government as well as a news outlet, the indignation seems a bit forced.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/26/2017 19:09 Comments || Top||

#3  Google isn't really a "search" engine anymore. More like a guide to correct thinking.
Posted by: Iblis || 11/26/2017 19:38 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
US wants to divide Sudan into 5 parts -- president
Golly — Gaul only got three parts. But this sounds like someone is projecting.
[RT] Washington is eager to divide the already-split Northern African country of Sudan into 5 parts, the country’s President Omar al-Bashir has said. The President told RIA Novosti agency of his concerns during his visit to Russia. "We have information that the US desire is to divide Sudan into five states if we don't find protection," al-Bashir said in an interview. The Sudanese leader added the country faces “great pressure” from the US, which he blames for “ravaging the Arab world” citing the situations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen as examples.

Sudan has requested Russian fighter jets and can further ask for S-300 air defense system as the country currently uses old Soviet ones, according to the president.

“We requested Su-30 [fighters] because they cover the Sudanese airspace, as well as Su-35. We have no intentions to carry out aggression abroad, we want to protect our country,” al-Bashir stated.
Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan

#1  No, dude, that's the Calexit.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/26/2017 7:25 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Media falls for fake Chad intervention story following CNN auction report
[Libya Herald] Media across Africa have fallen for a story claiming that in the wake of the CNN investigation into sub-Saharan African migrants colonists being auctioned in Libya Chad is planning to intervene in the country.

Publications from the Comoros to Mali, Benin to Senegal
... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees...
, and even further afield, have published the story in which a Chadian army spokesperson was quoted supposedly saying that his country’s forces would free the migrants colonists and deal with "the slavers who keep them".

"Demonstrations in front of Libyan embassies and indignation on social media will not change anything," a certain Colonel Fader Amel was quoted as saying in the local media. "Two battalions of our valiant soldiers and the problem will be solved in a few days."

Social media in Libya, too, ran with the report.

The story was in fact a joke and originated in an online satirical publication called State Afrique. A little checking would have revealed that the colonel was previously quoted by the same French-language site saying that in the wake of the Paradise Papers revelation, Chad was prepared to invade and annex tax havens such the Caymen Islands, the Isle of Man and Bermuda, and, even earlier, would invade North Korea.

However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth...
in the furore since the CNN investigation, a calm and composed reaction has not been particularly evident.

Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s ‘unshakeable position against extremism is based on Shariah’
[ARABNEWS] Mohammed bin Amin al-Jeffery, deputy chairman of Shoura Council, stressed that Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
’s position on terrorism and extremism is a firm one deriving from the Islamic Shariah, the source of the Kingdom’s statutes and regulations.

Al-Jeffery was speaking on Friday at the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
Parliamentary Assembly Joint Seminar of the Mediterranean and Middle East Special Group and the Sub-Committee on Transatlantic Defense and Security Cooperation at the Italian Parliament headquarters in Rome.

Al-Jeffery underlined the Kingdom’s efforts in fighting terrorism, including the establishment of the Islamic Military Alliance, hosting the historic Arab-Islamic-American Summit in May 2017 and adopting historic and strong decisions to fight terrorism in all its forms and stop its finance, as well as the establishment of the Ideological War Center in Riyadh to combat extremism.

He also pointed out that the Kingdom has signed and ratified the UN resolutions fighting terrorism and the terror-financing sources, enacted many regulations fighting this scourge, criminalized any participation in hostilities, and adopted a blacklist of the terrorist organizations around the world, including ISIS, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and the Houthis.

Al-Jeffery added: "Saudi Arabia is a target for the terrorist organizations. Since 1992, more than 100 terrorist operations have attacked the Kingdom. However,
nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits...
the Kingdom has foiled 260 terrorist operations and helped save many lives in friendly states by sharing intelligence, participated in every international effort against this scourge and supported the UN with a generous amount of $100 million."

Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni opened the forum, saying that NATO has a lot of responsibilities in ensuring stability and security around the world. NATO and other friendly states are facing many challenges, the main one being terrorism. He also stressed the importance of international cooperation in standing united against this scourge.

On the sidelines of the forum, al-Jeffery met with Paolo Alli, chairman of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

Al-Jeffery stressed that the Kingdom is keen to promote bilateral relations in all organizations, to collaborate in clarifying the Kingdom’s position on issues of common interest, and to participate in every effort aiming to promote security and stability in the world.

On his side, Alli stressed the importance of the Kingdom’s role on the regional and international map, and its great efforts that contribute directly in supporting the world’s security and peace.

The Saudi delegation at the meeting included two members of Shoura Council, Mohammed al-Matiri and Dr. Ali al-Naim, the Saudi Ambassador to Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and Head of the Kingdom’s Mission to the EU, Abdulrahman bin Suleiman al-Ahmad.

Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia

#1  of course the Saudi financing of thousands of mosques and madrassas complete with terrorism friendly imans and teachers was also based on Shariah
Posted by: lord garth || 11/26/2017 0:23 Comments || Top||


Muslim World League chief on mission to wipe out extremist ideology
[ARABNEWS] Dr. Mohammed al-Issa, head of the Moslem World League (MWL), told Rooters during a European tour that his organization will no longer sit by and let Islam be taken hostage by myrmidons.

The push for a more moderate Islam underscores Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to modernize the Kingdom.

"We must wipe out... myrmidon thinking through the work we do," al-Issa said. "We need to annihilate religious severity and extremism which is the entry point to terrorism. That is the mission of the Moslem World League."

He said the MWL will be much more hands-on now, and aims to tackle any sign of extremism wherever it is found, including schools, centers and mosques.

He added that part of his work is to address the difficulties Moslems may have in adapting their religion to non-Moslem nations.

"We want to offer the real interpretation of the sacred texts that have been taken hostage and interpreted in a wrong way," al-Issa said.

"We have a common objective to end hatred. The Moslem World League really believes that we can accomplish that, and religions are very influential in doing that."

Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia

#1  We shall see.
Posted by: newc || 11/26/2017 0:45 Comments || Top||

#2  That would have been nice 20 years ago.
Posted by: Herb McCoy7309 || 11/26/2017 6:26 Comments || Top||

#3  Starting to notice the wrath they are generating among the civilized world? Coincidence with the destruction of ISIS Caliphate and the plague of local terrorism it sparked in its short existence?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/26/2017 8:04 Comments || Top||

#4  Would have been nicer 800 years ago, Herb.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/26/2017 8:12 Comments || Top||

#5  Taqiya uber alles
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/26/2017 8:25 Comments || Top||

#6  At least they are moving on it now. I do see a change.
And things feel calmer.
Posted by: newc || 11/26/2017 10:26 Comments || Top||

#7  With the rise of fracking, Arabs and Muslims are more bother than not. They're just not worth it
Posted by: Frank G || 11/26/2017 10:57 Comments || Top||

#8  Pretending to be peaceful heretics, to cover the fundamentalist jihad. I'm calling complete BS.
Posted by: Woodrow || 11/26/2017 11:12 Comments || Top||

#9  I do not see it as BS. I see it as a sea change.
With Sisi, Salman, and the majority of Sunni banding together and showing action in this front.

From the Princes detained at the Ritz to the pressure on Qatar and the increased activity with Israel and Lebanon.
Posted by: newc || 11/26/2017 12:01 Comments || Top||

#10  With the rise of fracking,

Supporting jihad mercenaries isn’t cheap, though it must be less expensive than a proper army. But in a time of tightening belts, it’s an unnecessary luxury. They’re making a virtue of necessity.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/26/2017 12:03 Comments || Top||

#11  The geo-strategic insanity of the Salafi and Shia Jihads has become apparent to some big turbans. Economics and military both factors in this "awakening" at least by some on the Salafi side (e.g., some Sauds).

(Paks, obviously, have not gotten the message, so they will have to switch their funding from Saud to Xi.)

Also, Donald Trump. Never forget the omni-directional impact for novelty and good a moral man who loves freedom and his country has when in position of responsibility for affairs. Last time I remember such a condition was that around GOA MacArthur.

Al-Sisi said it well, something along the lines of, "We trust this man and know he can get these things done that need doing [taking down the Jihads], opening MENA to modernization."

Domestically, we see "conservative" Never-Trumpers, some at least, realizing opportunities glimmering around this moral man, opportunities to accomplish law-abiding and government simplifications they have long wanted but, hobbled by their own moral cowardice, feared impossible.

Good men remove fear. And without the drag of fear, history becomes good people's open field running, gradually, but picking up speed. The sense of grandeur returns and with it cheer and invention.
Posted by: TopRev || 11/26/2017 14:48 Comments || Top||

#12  So blame the social change on Trump pressure or the ruling dynasty shift or fracking and falling oil prices or forecast of failing reserves. We will see multigenerational change in our lifetimes.
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/26/2017 20:34 Comments || Top||


UN humanitarian aid workers return to Yemen as Sanaa airport reopens
[ARABNEWS] Humanitarian aid workers arrived in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Saturday, after a nearly three-week blockade by the Saudi-led military coalition, an official at the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) said.

"First plane landed in Sanaa this morning with humanitarian aid workers," WFP’s regional spokeswoman Abeer Etefa said in an email on Saturday.

Officials at Sanaa airport said two other UN flights had arrived on Saturday.

The coalition fighting the armed Houthi
...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 Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. 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 ...
movement in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
said on Wednesday it would allow aid in through the Red Sea ports of Hodeidah and Salif, as well as UN flights to Sanaa, but there has been no confirmation of any aid deliveries yet.

International aid groups have welcomed the decision to let humanitarian aid in, but said aid flights are not enough to avert a humanitarian crisis. About 7 million people face famine in Yemen and their survival depends on international assistance.

A front man for the Saudi-led coalition was quoted on Friday as saying that 42 permits have been issued for international aid flights to Sanaa and naval shipments to Hodeidah.

Officials at the port said on Saturday that no ships have arrived yet and they were not expecting any to dock soon.

The US-backed coalition closed air, land and sea access on November 6, in a move it said was to stop the flow of arms to the Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen, from Iran.

The action came after Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
intercepted a missile fired toward Riyadh. Iran has denied supplying weapons.

Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Dubai security chief calls for bombing of Al Jazeera
[Al Jazeera] A senior security official in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has sparked outrage after calling for the bombing of Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based media network.

In a series of posts on Twitter on Friday, Dubai Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan launched a scathing attack against Al Jazeera, accusing it of provoking a bomb and gun assault on a mosque in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula earlier in the day.
Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Qatar (MB)


Europe
France media attacker jailed for 25 years
[ARABNEWS] A French court has sentenced a man who maimed a photographer in a shooting in 2013 to 25 years behind bars, in a case that predated the string of turban attacks that has since struck the country.

Abdelhakim Dekhar, now 52, was incarcerated
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
in November 2013 following a major manhunt after he broke into the headquarters of the BFMTV channel.

There, he threatened journalist Philippe Antoine with a shotgun, and said: "Next time, I won’t miss."

Three days later, still on the run, he managed to stage a shooting attack at the offices of left-wing newspaper Liberation, also in Gay Paree, that left a photographer’s assistant seriously hurt.

There was also a separate incident where shots were fired at the headquarters of the Societe Generale bank.

The court found him guilty of attempted murder of Philippe Antoine, now chief editor at BFMTV, and Cesar Sebastien, the maimed photographer’s assistant at Liberation.

Prosecutor Bernard Farret had argued that "spite" had been Dekhar’s main motive, adding that the shooter harbored "resentment against society, the state and capitalism."

Dekhar, sentenced on Friday, was considering filing an appeal, his lawyer Hugo Levy said.

Of the total, Dekhar will only be eligible for parole once he has served two thirds of his sentence.

During his trial, Dekhar repeatedly evoked political arguments, raising topics such as La Belle France’s colonization of Algeria and social problems in the French suburbs.

He had also claimed he was suicidal and "desperate" for the police to end his life.

Dekhar had been incarcerated
Please don't kill me!
in the 1990s for his role in a "Bonnie-and-Clyde" style multiple murder and left rambling letters denouncing conspiracies and media manipulation.
Monsieur Dekhar had in 1994 supplied the gun to spree killers Florence Rey and Audry Maupin, who went on to murder three police and a cabbie. He claimed he was innocent because he was acting in the orders if the Algerian secret service.
The case predated the January 2015 turban attack on the premises of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo
...A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority if the active testicles left in Europe...
, which left 12 people dead.

On Nov. 13 that year, button men and jacket wallahs left 130 people dead in a coordinated attack targeting several Gay Paree locations including a concert hall.

The attacks profoundly shook La Belle France, triggering a state of emergency that was lifted only this month after President Emmanuel Macron signed a controversial new anti-terror law.
Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


German judge compares Israel to state sponsors of terror Iran, North Korea
[Jpost] German judge Wolfram Sauer, who ruled last week in Frankfurt that Kuwait Airways can bar an Israeli passenger from flying on the Gulf country's airline because of his nationality, juxtaposed the Jewish state with the US classified state-sponsors of terrorism, Iran and North Korea, to justify his legal decision.
Well, mein herr, you know to whom we compare you.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  You know what?

Never do I want to hear about the Hun and their phony morality.

You are fired, and I AM tired of you. SHUT UP
Posted by: newc || 11/26/2017 0:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Excellent pistols, very poor judges.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/26/2017 5:29 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Trump calls for crushing terrorists with military means
[ARABNEWS] US President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
denounced the deadly mosque attack in Egypt and reached out to its president, asserting the world must crush bully boyz by military means ‐ and insisting the US needs a southern border wall and the travel ban tied up in courts.

"Need the WALL, need the BAN!" Trump tweeted Friday before calling Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. "God bless the people of Egypt."

The attack’s aftermath played out as Trump mixed work and play in sunny Florida, golfing ‐ quickly, he claimed ‐ with pros Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson, speaking with foreign leaders and tweeting briskly.

Trump spoke with Ottoman Turkish President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
... The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey...

before his attention turned to the attack in Egypt, where more than 300 people were killed when bully boyz attacked a crowded mosque during prayers in the Sinai Peninsula, setting off explosives and spraying worshippers with gunfire.

"The world cannot tolerate terrorism," Trump tweeted in response. He added, "We must defeat them militarily and discredit the krazed killer ideology that forms the basis of their existence!"

In his call with El-Sisi, the White House said Trump condemned the attack and "reiterated that the United States will continue to stand with Egypt in the face of terrorism."

"The international community cannot tolerate barbaric terrorist groups and must strengthen its efforts to defeat terrorism and extremism in all its forms," the White House said.

Trump also used the attack to renew his call for a wall along the southern border with Mexico and his efforts to bar people from certain Moslem-majority countries from coming to the US.

"We have to get TOUGHER AND SMARTER than ever before, and we will," he wrote. "Need the WALL, need the BAN! God bless the people of Egypt."

Trump’s original travel ban sought to temporarily suspend the US refugee program and block the entry of nationals from seven majority-Moslem counties into the US The order sparked chaos at airports and a flurry of lawsuits, which led to the order’s suspension. The administration has since made several attempts to revise the order to try to better hold up to legal scrutiny.

Trump spent more than four hours at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, where he’d earlier tweeted that he would be playing "golf (quickly) with Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson" before returning to his private Mar-a-Lago club "for talks on bringing even more jobs and companies back to the USA!"
Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
News channels go off air, Facebook and YouTube blocked in parts of Pakistan
[DAWN] The Pakistain Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) on Saturday afternoon issued a notification prohibiting live coverage of the operation to end the Faizabad sit-in, following which most private news channels were taken off-air in Islamabad and other parts of the country.

The Pemra notification ordered channels to abide by Clause 8 (8) of the Electronic Media (Programmes and Advertisement) Code of Conduct 2015, to show "utmost sensitivity" and refrain from coverage of the operation.

"This channel is suspended on orders of Pemra," read a message appearing on multiple news channels.

Additionally, Facebook, YouTube, DailyMotion, Twitter and Instagram have been blocked in some parts of the country. No notice has been issued about this development.

There are reports that the federal government is mulling temporarily suspending mobile phone signals ‐ a now-common practice during security situations.
Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Cutting off modern media makes it a bit harder to recruit / mobilize reserve forces for riots & such.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 11/26/2017 0:19 Comments || Top||

#2  My Direct TV went off air too... Any coincidence
Posted by: bbrewer126 || 11/26/2017 14:00 Comments || Top||

#3  What about live leak?
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/26/2017 20:37 Comments || Top||

#4  Or FAX machines?
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/26/2017 21:58 Comments || Top||


Islamabad protesters 'contacted India', claims Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal
[DAWN] Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Saturday claimed that religious parties protesting in Islamabad had 'contacted India', and that the government was investigating the matter.

Speaking to DawnNews, Iqbal said: "They are not your average citizens. We can see that they have various resources at their disposal. They have fired tear gas shells [at security forces], they also cut the fibre optic cables of cameras that were monitoring their protest."

The interior minister said the protesters had also "contacted India".

"Why they did it, we are looking into it. They have inside information and resources that are being used against the state."

The interior minister reiterated that the government was attempting to clear the sit-in as part of its legal obligations after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered the capital administration to evict protesters from Faizabad last Friday.

"Our administration is acting on the court's orders and we are completely supporting them," he said.

"We have made all peaceful efforts, but we are forced to act as the group has not budged. These people do not know that anti-Pakistain elements are using this to spread malice against Pakistain."

Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  "These are not true Pak Nutters!"
Posted by: Frank G || 11/26/2017 11:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Call Center? Asking why their protest selfies show only imbeciles?
Posted by: John frum || 11/26/2017 12:45 Comments || Top||


US warns of 'damage to bilateral ties, Pakistan’s reputation' over Hafiz Saeed's release
[DAWN] The White House has called Pakistain's release of Jamaat-ud-Dawa
...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba...
(JuD) leader Hafiz Saeed
...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat...
a "step in the wrong direction" and said a refusal to re-arrest him would damage bilateral ties and Pakistain's reputation around the world.

In a statement on Saturday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the US "strongly condemns" the release of Hafiz Saeed from house arrest. She urged his "immediate re-arrest and prosecution".

"Saeed's release, after Pakistain's failure to prosecute or charge him, sends a deeply troubling message about Pakistain's commitment to combatting international terrorism and belies Pak claims that it will not provide sanctuary for holy warriors on its soil," she said.

"If Pakistain does not take action to lawfully detain Saeed and charge him for his crimes, its inaction will have repercussions for bilateral relations and for Pakistain's global reputation," Sanders said.

On Friday, Washington had urged Pakistain to re-arrest Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
(LeT) leader Hafiz Saeed and charge him with the crimes he was accused of committing.

Saeed was released before dawn on Friday after a three-judge panel in Lahore High Court ended his detention in Lahore. Saeed's front man Yahya Mujahid called it a "victory of truth."

Addressing a sermon at Lahore's Jamia Masjid Al Qadsia a day after walking free, Saeed said he was "fighting for the freedom of Pakistain and Kashmire."

The move outraged both US and Indian authorities.

"India is outraged that a self-confessed and a UN proscribed terrorist is allowed to walk free and continue with his agenda," Raveesh Kumar, India's foreign ministry front man, told news hounds at a weekly briefing in New Delhi.

Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba

#1  Stop the checks
Posted by: Frank G || 11/26/2017 11:20 Comments || Top||


JI, PTI lambast federal govt for failing to maintain its writ
[DAWN] Expressing concerns over the deteriorating law and order situation in the federal capital, PTI chairman Imran Khan
... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree...
and Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
chief Sirajul Haq
...current head of the Pak Jamaat-e-Islami. Siraj was born in 1962 and entered politics shortly after that...
insisted that instead of launching an armed operation the government should have tried to reach a solution through dialogue.

On Saturday police and Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel conducted an operation against the protesters camped out on Faizabad Interchange for the past three weeks.

The cricketer-turned-politician said the matter of Prophet Muhammad's (PTUI!) finality was a sensitive issue for every Moslem. However,
a lie repeated often enough remains a lie...
he urged the participants of the protest to remain peaceful.

Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
US reverses move to close Palestinian office in DC
[Al Jazeera] The United States has backtracked on an announcement that Paleostinian offices in Washington, DC would be closed, following Paleostinian threats to sever all communication with the Americans as they work on a new Middle East peace plan.

The US order last week to close the Paleostine Liberation Organisation (PLO) office was in response to efforts by Paleostinians to indict Israeli officials at the international court, over illegal settlement expansion and violent crimes.

However,
some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves...
the US State Department announced the reversal on Friday, saying the PLO office in the US capital would be allowed to operate for at least the next 90 days.

The US had "advised the PLO Office to limit its activities to those related to achieving a lasting, comprehensive peace between the Israelis and Paleostinians", State Department front man Edgar Vasquez told news hounds.

Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: PLO

#1  "... following Paleostinian threats to sever all communication with the Americans as they work on a new Middle East peace plan."

And no one, while formulating the initial closure plan, saw that coming? Really?!
Posted by: Anomolous Sources || 11/26/2017 13:45 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
End of peace talks offers Duterte new beginning in Communist areas
[ARABNEWS] "It’s about time." That was international security analyst Stephen Cutler’s "first reaction" to Thursday’s news that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had formally terminated peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and communist rebels the National Democratic Front-Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (NDF-CPP-NPA).

Cutler, who was formerly the legal attaché of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Manila, told Arab News, "In my view, this is a long overdue action by the Philippine government."

Peace talks with the Death Eaters ‐ who have been waging war against the GRP for nearly half a century ‐ have been going on, albeit intermittently, for more than two decades.

Since they began, in 1986 during President Corazon Aquino’s regime, more than 40 rounds of talks have been conducted between the GRP and the NDF-CPP-NPA, according to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

But, as Cutler pointed out, the rebels do not recognize the legitimacy of the GRP, and have for years displayed a lack of sincerity in dealing with the government. In fact, Cutler suggested, their recent activities have shown that they are more interested in full political power in the Philippines.

"That’s why there’s no way to negotiate with them," he explained. "So why even go through the charade ‐ except to have the government pay for free trips wherever they hold the negotiations? The communists are not sincere. There’s no way that they’re going to agree to anything that the government says."

He added that Duterte’s Proclamation No. 360 (announcing the cessation of the peace talks) is "a statement of reality."

Cutler warned, though, that it would be no surprise if the NPA ‐ the armed wing of the CPP ‐ were to step up its attacks on government troops, police, and civilians in retaliation.

All units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are already on high alert for such eventualities, according to AFP spokesperson Maj. Gen. Restituto Padilla.

However,
a woman is only as old as she admits...
even if such attacks take place, Cutler said they would only validate the president’s decision. "So they run the risk of either reinforcing what (the president) has done, or having to accept it."

And with peace talks officially terminated, Cutler said, Duterte is no longer constrained by the need to ensure the rebels would still participate in the grinding of the peace processor, meaning the GRP can now pursue the rebels more aggressively.

So now, he said, the government can really go after the rebels, take them to court, and arrest them, especially if they kill people and commit other criminal offenses.

"It’s not for political advantage. It’s for criminal offense," Cutler said.

The security analyst adds, though, that fighting the rebels ‐ whether physically or in court ‐ cannot be the sole focus of the government’s response.

"I think what the government needs to do is (launch) a social-reform program where they are providing good schools, credible elections, and credible government services in areas that are heavily (influenced) by the NPA," Cutler said. "By doing that, you are destroying the NPA’s argument, which is essentially that the government is illegitimate and can’t do what the state ought to be doing," he continued.

"Drugs and corruption," Cutler suggested, are two of the key things "that allow the NPA to move forward." So Duterte "is going to have to start doing some work with anti-corruption."

Ultimately, Cutler sees the official termination of the talks as a great opportunity for the president.

"This is across the board offering, or allowing, (Duterte) to change the way he governs in the NPA areas," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  So now, he said, the government can really go after the rebels, take them to court, and arrest them kill them in masses, especially if they kill people and commit other criminal offenses.
Posted by: Frank G || 11/26/2017 11:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Fighting Fred Funston and the 20th. Kansas Vol. Infantry not available.
Posted by: bman || 11/26/2017 17:00 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria War Has Killed More Than 340,000
[AnNahar] Syria's grinding war has killed over 340,000 people since it broke out in 2011, including more than 100,000 civilians, a monitor said on Friday.

The corpse count increased as key international powers step up diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the brutal conflict, and just days before a fresh round of peace talks in Geneva.

The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP it has documented 343,511 deaths in Syria between the eruption of an anti-government uprising in mid-March 2011 and the start of this month.

Among them are 102,618 civilians, including nearly 19,000 children and 12,000 women.

More than 119,000 pro-government forces have been killed, including 62,000 Syrian troops, tens of thousands of loyalist militiamen, and 1,556 fighters from Lebanese movement Hezbollah, according to the estimate.

Another 59,000 fighters from rebel groups, Islamist factions, and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces were also killed.

Jihadist groups suffered the biggest blow, with the more than 62,200 deaths representing an increase of 4,000 since the Observatory published its last toll in July.

Overall during the past four months, nearly 12,000 people died across the country -- including 3,001 civilians.

A "de-escalation deal" agreed in May of this year has brought relative calm to some of Syria's bloodiest battlefields, but violence has ratched up elsewhere.

Russian-backed Syrian troops and US-backed militia waged parallel but separate offensives against the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group, including in two major cities: Raqa and Deir Ezzor.

"Although the de-escalation agreements brought a drop in civilian deaths, the fierce offensives against IS in other areas made it so that civilians were dying at the same pace," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

The Observatory relies on a network of sources across Syria that includes gangs, government sources, medics, and activists.

The conflict broke out with peaceful protests against strongman Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Horror of Homs...
, but his crackdown paved the way for a fully-fledged war.

A multitude of regional and foreign powers have since intervened in the maelstrom, which has destroyed much of the country's infrastructure and displaced millions.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/26/2017 00:30 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A majority of the dead are Moslems. And Syria is a Moslem country.

The bright side though is, it isn't Chicago.
Posted by: Chavimp Elmuper2684 || 11/26/2017 4:44 Comments || Top||

#2  Another Obama legacy.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/26/2017 4:50 Comments || Top||


#4  Among them are 102,618 civilians, including nearly 19,000 children and 12,000 women.

So that leaves 71,618 males standing around not warring. Sounds a lil disproportionate too me.
Posted by: bbrewer126 || 11/26/2017 13:58 Comments || Top||

#5  Humanity is much better off
Posted by: Regular joe || 11/26/2017 16:07 Comments || Top||


Hezbollah positions affecting Arab allies are unacceptable: Lebanon's Hariri
[Al Ahram] Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said on Saturday that he will not accept Iran-backed Hezbollah's positions that "affect our Arab brothers or targets the security and stability of their countries", a statement from his press office said.

Hariri announced his resignation from his post on Nov. 4 in a televised statement from Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
After returning to Leb this week, he shelved the decision on Wednesday at the request of President Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah
...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
...

.

On Saturday, he said that his decision to wait instead of officially resigning is to give a chance to discuss and look into demands that will make Leb neutral and allow it to enforce its "disassociation" policy.

"Disassociation" is widely understood in Leb to mean its policy of staying out of regional conflicts.

Top Lebanese Druze politician Walid Wally Jumblat
... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
on Saturday called on Saudi Arabia to enter dialogue with Iran and said that the kingdom’s modernisation plans could not work while Riyadh was engaged in a war in Yemen.

Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


What is the future of the Syrian Democratic Forces?
[Al Jazeera] Two Syrian groups are at odds over the sudden departure of a high-ranking Syrian commander who reportedly left for neighbouring The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
last week.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, and the Ottoman Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA), a loose entity of opposition rebel groups, have presented different versions of the reasons behind General Talal Silo's departure.

Silo served as the SDF's spokesperson, and his parting marks the first major defection among the forces' top ranks. While the SDF refuses to acknowledge the departure as an official resignation, the FSA says his defection has been "in the works for a very long time". Silo, who belongs to the Turkmen ethnicity, previously served as a high-ranking general within the FSA when the group was first created.

"We had several options in front of us, so the best and most feasible one was for Silo to break away from the SDF towards [Turkey]," Abou al-Farouk, an FSA spokesperson and lieutenant in the north, told Al Jazeera.

The FSA aided Ottoman Turkish authorities in facilitating Silo's departure via northern Syria, from where he was ushered to Turkey, according to Abou al-Farouk.

There has been no official comment from Turkey, which perceives the SDF, led by the Kurdish Peoples' Protection Units (YPG), as a security threat for its alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatists inside Turkey. The PKK has waged an armed campaign since 1984 that has killed more than 40,000 people.

"In a nutshell, the SDF, who call themselves democratic, have been claiming that they are the representatives of the people - of all the minorities and races - from Arabs to Kurds to Turkmen," Abou al-Farouk said.

"So when we work on pulling out people like our brother Silo from the SDF, we would have succeeded in making them lose the diversity tactic that they promote," he added. "In this case, they used Silo's Turkmen origin to promote that they are representatives of a minority and not just Kurds."

Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Walid Jumblatt calls for Saudi-Iranian discussions
[Al Jazeera] Top Lebanese Druze politician Walid Wally Jumblat
... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
has has called on Saudi Arabia to enter dialogue with Iran and said that the Kingdom's modernisation plans could not work while Riyadh was engaged in a war in Yemen.

Lebanon was thrust back onto the front line of a regional power tussle this month between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The two regional powers back competing factions in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, the last of which has become a central arena of the proxy battle.

"A settlement at minimum with the Islamic Republic (of Iran) gives us in Lebanon more strength and determination to cooperate to enforce the policy of disassociation," Jumblatt wrote in a post on Twitter on Saturday.

"Disassociation" is widely understood in Lebanon to mean its policy of staying out of regional conflicts, which Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has been stressing since his resignation, in reference to Hezbollah, whose regional military role is a source of deep concern in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi policy of confronting Iran more aggressively around the region has been spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also attempting to push through difficult and extensive internal reforms.

Saudi Arabia has played a role in Lebanon in the past, helping to broker the end of its civil war in 1990 and invested in the reconstruction afterwards.

But the extent of its role in the November 4 resignation announcement by Hariri has been widely debated in Lebanon and led some Lebanese to fear that Riyadh sought to destabilise their country.

Addressing Mohammed bin Salman, Jumblatt said: "The challenges are tremendous and the modernisation of the Kingdom is an Islamic and Arabic necessity, but this mission cannot be successful while the Yemen war continues."

The Druze are a minority religious sect present in Syria, Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Lebanon.
Posted by: Fred || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia

#1  ....Ol' Wally better be careful - when the Iranians write a check, they expect results.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 11/26/2017 17:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Don't worry about Wally, he's a survivor - like a cockroach.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/26/2017 17:31 Comments || Top||


The Syrian Civil War, timelapse of every day from March 2011 to October 2017
Best watched at 2x speed, with the sound off. Click the gear icon to change the speed.
Posted by: Herb McCoy7309 || 11/26/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  A helpful visualization. Thank you, Herb McCoy7309.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/26/2017 12:13 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
32[untagged]
5Govt of Pakistan
5Islamic State
4Govt of Saudi Arabia
2Moslem Colonists
2Govt of Syria
2al-Shabaab (AQ)
1Govt of Iran Proxies
1Govt of Qatar (MB)
1al-Qaeda in North Africa
1Govt of Sudan
1Hezbollah
1Houthis
1al-Nusra
1Lashkar e-Jhangvi
1Lashkar e-Taiba
1PLO
1Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)
1Taliban
1Arab Spring
1Commies

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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.
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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2017-11-26
  US airstrike wipe-out ISIS hideout in Nangarhar, leaving 13 dead
Sat 2017-11-25
  Mnangagwa, the ‘Crocodile,’ sworn in as Zimbabwe president
Fri 2017-11-24
  More than 54 85 235 dead in Sinai Bombing, shooting attack
Thu 2017-11-23
  Rouhani declares end of IS
Wed 2017-11-22
  Former Saudi military man gets 23 years for recruiting Daesh fighters, traveling to Syria
Tue 2017-11-21
  Huge amounts of Islamic State’s weapons seized, southwest of Mosul
Mon 2017-11-20
  Arrested Ansar al-Islam militant confesses to killing blogger Avijit Roy
Sun 2017-11-19
  Police Confirm Multiple Suicide Bombings in Borno, As Death Toll Rises
Sat 2017-11-18
  Iraq Forces Retake Last IS-Held Town in Country
Fri 2017-11-17
  Iraqi troops destroy ISIS HQ in Diyala
Thu 2017-11-16
  Zimbabwe’s Military, in Apparent Takeover, Says It Has Custody of Mugabe
Wed 2017-11-15
  Mall of America Stabber Identified as Mahad Abdiaziz Abdirahaman
Tue 2017-11-14
  Pakistani militants among 4 killed in US drone strike in Nangarhar
Mon 2017-11-13
  At least 50 dead in artillery fire, Russian strikes in Syria
Sun 2017-11-12
  US Drone Strike In Somalia Kills ‘Several’ Al-Shabaab Militants

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