[AlAhram] In Kenya's rural northeast, roadside kabooms and beheadings that killed two dozen people last month appear to be part of a troubling escalation of violence by al-Qaeda-linked Islamists, analysts say.
A regional economic powerhouse and a popular tourist draw, Kenya has not suffered a high-profile jihadist attack since 2019, when 21 people bit the dust at a hotel and surrounding offices in Nairobi.
The recent attacks have been small-scale and focused on minor targets, but have raised fears that al-Shabaab ...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa... jihadists, who have been blamed for the assaults, are turning their attention to Kenya as they suffer losses in their native Somalia.
Estimated to have between 7,000 and 12,000 fighters, al-Shabaab has in recent months faced a multi-pronged counterterrorism offensive by the Somali National Army and US-trained "lightning" commandos supported by clan militias known as "macawisley".
The holy warriors, who have waged war against the fragile government in Mogadishu for over 15 years, have recently carried out several attacks along Kenya's long and porous frontier with Somalia. Twenty-four people, including 15 security officers, were killed in six separate attacks last month alone.
The remote forested mainland is not normally a stopover for tourists visiting the nearby popular Indian Ocean island of Lamu, but the gruesome killings are a signal to Kenya, analysts say.
The attacks are a way for "Al-Shabaab to say that despite being under pressure, they still have the firepower and are a force to be reckoned with," said Nicolas Delaunay, International Crisis Group director for East and Southern Africa.
"It could also be a way of warning Kenya who has pledged to participate in the Somali government's offensive against the al-Shabaab," he told AFP.
RISK OF REGIONAL SPILLOVER
Kenya is no stranger to the long-running Islamist insurgency in Somalia and has been repeatedly targeted by al-Shabaab since it sent troops into the country in 2011 as part of an African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... force.
The bandidosgunnies appear to have been emboldened by the changes in Kenya's security leadership following the election of President William Ruto last August, said Roland Marchal, an Africa specialist at Sciences Po university in Gay Paree.
"There is relative disorganization at the border," Marchal said, adding that al-Shabaab was seizing the chance to take "Dire Revenge" against Kenya for deploying troops in rural central and southern Somalia where the bandidosgunnies remain entrenched.
The violence has also threatened to spill into Æthiopia, as the bandidosgunnies try to make their presence felt in Africa's second most populous country. Addis Ababa said last month that it had foiled an attack by the jihadists in the border town of Dollo.
Al-Shabaab fighters were chased out of Mogadishu in 2011 by an African Union mission which has been in Somalia since 2007.
The bandidosgunnies have also lost some ground in the countryside after Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud last year launched an "all-out war" against the group, describing the jihadists as "bedbugs".
But while the gains of the Somali offensive have been significant, the "situation still remains very fragile," African Union Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat warned last weekend.
Hassan Khannenje, director of The Horn International Institute for Strategic Studies in Nairobi, told AFP that al-Shabaab was "on the back foot in Somalia".
"There is a desire on their part to demonstrate continued relevance and resilience."
More background in the sausage-making than usual, but I share for those interested in such details in Somalia. Enjoy!
[Garowe] Former Hiran regional Governor Ali Jeyte Osman has for the first time opened up about his feud with HirShabelle President Ali Gudlawe Hussein, over a month after the duo fell out, leading to concerns over possibility of al-Shabaab ...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... taking advantage to regain ground.
For several months, Ali Jeyte Osman was the face of the war against al-Shabaab, mobilizing several militia who worked closely with the Somali National Army [SNA], US Africa Command and the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS], in a revolution which neutralize al-Shabaab within central Somalia.
On Saturday, Jeyte said he differed sharply with Gudlawe Hussein over the approach in al-Shabaab war, leading to their fall out. President Gudlawe Hussein consequently, sacked the regional governor, leading to outbursts from members of the community.
"We fought each other on matters of people's development; it was not about anything else. Our dispute did not revolve around the topics the Somalis have been discussing," said the former governor, who now claims is the regional president of "Hiiraan state".
"Unfortunately, Hirshabelle was unwilling to drive the enemy out of the country. Evidence shows that Ali Guudlawe refrained from acknowledging our victories against al-Shabaab until we reached the Adan Yabal district in the Middle Shabelle region," said Jeyte.
According to him, both Gudlawe Hussein and his deputy Yusuf Damaged lack "essential skills and techniques" to lead HirShabelle state. He accused the two of failing to tame al-Shabaab, questioning their ability to liberate remaining areas from the al-Shabaab bad boys.
Jeyte was replaced by Abdullahi Ahmed Maalin Sufurow but has persistently maintained that he is the defacto leader of Hiran region. The former governor is also opposed to centralization of taxation in HirShabelle, arguing that such a move would further give al-Shabaab an opportunity to regain control of the troubled region.
Somalia has been fighting al-Shabaab for the last 16 years and the mobilization of the clan militia by Jeyte was termed as "historical" as thousands of Somalis took weapons against the bad boys. al-Shabaab group has been fighting to topple the fragile UN-backed federal government of Somalia.
[Garowe] Questions have been asked over the recent statement by Mandera Governor Mohammed Adan Khalif over alleged control of al-Shabaab ...... the personification of Somali state failure... in the country, raising doubts over Kenya's ability to fight violent mostly peaceful extremism, which has sadly led to loss of lives and property in the country.
At a security meeting, Governor Khalif was quoted claiming al-Shabaab had taken over 60% of land mass in Mandera County, a significant portion which could affect the country's war against terrorism. According to the governor, the presence of al-Shabaab had made it difficult to deliver services to the people.
"Mandera County, for example, 60 per cent is controlled by al-Shabaab. We cannot offer services and are only confined at the County Headquarters," he said.
Over the last two months, Mandera has been a major target for the al-Shabaab who have also been pressing hard to take over neighboring counties of Wajir, Garissa and Lamu. The murderous Moslems intensified the attacks, forcing Kenya to drop plans to reopen Kenya-Somalia border.
But in a another statement, Khalif now claims he was quoted out of context, arguing that "during the conference, I explicitly stated that "Al-Shabaab presence and sightings are more than 60%." "Regrettably, the media misquoted me, falsely claiming that I said "Al-Shabaab controls 60% of Mandera county." This misrepresentation is entirely false and misleading."
"I want to emphasize that I did NOT make any reference to al-Shabaab's control over any specific percentage of Mandera County. My statement merely focused on the presence and activities of the group in the region," added Khalif, who is also a former speaker of the county assembly of Mandera.
He urged the media to rectify "this error" and provide an accurate account of "my original statement" to foster a better understanding of the situation. "Let's work together to ensure that the public receives reliable information," said the governor.
Kenya is building more Forward Operating Bases along the border which will house the Kenya Defense Forces [KDF] who are responsible for external operations and defense of the country. The KDF is also expected to withdraw from Somalia in compliance with Somali Transition Plan [STP].
Worse than herding cats — this lot will say anything, then keep on exactly as they have been since the 1960s, with ever-decreasing success. But Egypt must be the leader of the Arab world, so they keep trying to lead.
[AlAhram] Head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service (GIS) Abbas Kamel met on Saturday with a delegation from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Paleostine (PFLP), the second largest faction within the Paleostine Liberation Organization (PLO), reported al-Arabiya.
The two officials met ahead of a meeting between Paleostinian factions’ secretary generals scheduled to be held in Cairo on 30 July. They discussed the requirements for making the meeting successful and the importance of ending the division and restoring Paleostinian national unity.
Important, yes. Likely? Unfortunately never.
Kamel met with the delegation headed by Deputy Secretary-General of the PFLP Jamil Mezher, where they reviewed the faction’s position with regard to the current challenges and dangers facing the Paleostinian cause.
They also discussed means of bolstering Paleostinian people’s resilience and achieving their national rights.
*BUMP* So sorry — I fell off my chair, laughing.
Kamel affirmed Egypt's support for the Paleostinian people as well as its keenness to make the upcoming conference a success.
No doubt.
The GIS chief added that Egypt will provide all facilities to ensure the conference’s success.
For its part, the PFLP delegation affirmed its appreciation for Egypt's efforts and support for the Paleostinian people and their rights, hailing Egypt’s continuous role in seeking to end the division.
*Kow tow* *Kow tow* *Kow tow*
The meeting is being held in response to a call by Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....
He’s still alive? I could have sworn he’d passed away quietly in a corner somewhere, unnoticed until the cleaning crew came through the next day.
following the deadly Israeli attack on the Jenin camp in the West Bank.
WIDENING RIFT
Leaders of several Paleostinian factions welcomed the invitation to attend the conference, which aims to discuss the recent Israeli attacks.
Whoo-hoo! Food, drink, dancing girls!! And no IDF hunting parties waking everyone up in the middle of the night!
However, a clean conscience makes a soft pillow... the Paleostinian factions have a widening rift over whether to attend. Both Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw, and the Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... (PIJ) have accused the Paleostinian Authority of detaining their members in the West Bank.
And so they are. The alternative is to let them drive the PA out of power, so it’s clear which they’d choose.
PIJ Secretary General Ziyad al-Nakhala has warned that the Paleostinian Authority’s arrest of his movement’s members in the West Bank places the planned meeting in Cairo at risk of failure.
Bummer. No dancing girls?
On Sunday, al-Nakhala said in press remarks that the PIJ would not attend unless the Paleostinian authority releases the detainees.
ACHIEVING NATIONAL UNITY
Unity. Riiiiiiiiiight.
Hamas, however, announced Sunday that it will participate in the meeting, affirming that the movement will spare no effort to make it a success.
They can wait until the West Bank falls like a ripe plum into their lap.
Hamas Political Bureau member Khalil al-Hayya said the Cairo meeting represents a "great chance to advance the situation in Paleostine and achieve national unity."
Egypt has previously hosted a number of meetings to foster unity between Paleostinian factions.
...every single one of which failed. Clearly Allah does not want unified Palestinians. Or else He wants Egypt to fail...
Egypt has also brokered several ceasefire deals between Israel and the Paleostinian factions over the past years against the backdrop of Israeli aggression.
Each case of Israeli aggression being a response to Palestinian misbehaviour, but never mind. Were Israel not there, the events would not have happened, so by Middle Eastern Moslem definition it is indeed Israel’s fault.
Ahead of the meeting, the Paleostinian Ambassador to Cairo, Diab al-Louh,
...he shows up in the Rantburg archives, but I have no memory of his existence. I assume he just represents the West Bank, Hamas in Gaza taking care of their own representation...
has urged all Arab allies to aid in reconstructing the Jenin camp that was damaged by recent Israeli attacks.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shootout, bullets whapped! around Butch as he tried to tie his scarf around his shoulder as a tourniquet...... the ambassador reaffirmed the State of Paleostine’s commitment to the Arab Peace Initiative and the two-state solution.
Some state. They don’t pay their bills, they don’t control their own people, and their presidential election is about sixteen years overdue. The Times of Israel adds:
Ziyad al-Nakhala, Secretary-General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, announced on Sunday that the movement will boycott a meeting of Palestinian factions scheduled to take place in Cairo on July 30.
Al-Nakhala said in a statement that the boycott is motivated by the arrest of a number of PIJ members by the Palestinian Authority. “We will not go to the meeting as long as our mujahideen brothers are detained in the prisons of the Palestinian Authority,” he said.
The meeting of the general secretaries was announced on July 3 by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, in response to the latest Israeli operation in Jenin, and it is scheduled to include 14 Palestinian factions, most notably Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular and Democratic Fronts for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Palestinian People’s Party, according to a report in al-Quds news.
For its part, Hamas responded positively to Abbas’s invitation. During a public meeting held in Gaza on Sunday, Khalil al-Hayya, a prominent member of the Hamas political bureau, said that the group intends to take part in the Cairo talks and will do “everything it can for the success of the meeting.” The talks will explore the possibility of forming a new Palestinian National Council through elections, or to find an agreement for the formation of a transitional national council and a joint government with Fatah.
It would be impressive if they actually accomplished it, but they won’t.
There are however doubts as to the efficacy of the talks, and concerns that they will only deepen the disagreements and divisions among different Palestinian groups and exacerbate popular discontent and loss of confidence.
Hamas confirmed its participation after the release of one of its leaders in the northern West Bank last Thursday. Mustafa Abu Arra (63) was detained last Thursday in his home village of Tubas, between Jenin and Nablus, on charges of slandering PA officials, and was released on Sunday following calls from Hamas activists and a deterioration of his health condition, according to Palestinian news website Palinfo. Hamas had qualified Abu Arra’s arrest as “political.”
Relations have been tense between the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority on one side and Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the other in the weeks following the IDF Jenin operation. The PA arrested a number of members of both terror groups, which have been eroding Ramallah’s authority in the northern West Bank for the past two years.
[AlAhram] At least 80,000 people have been displaced in three months of intercommunal violence in a north central Nigerian state, a local official said, as the army reinforced security to end the festivities.
Since May, Plateau State has seen surge of attacks among mostly Moslem nomadic herders and Christian farming communities in violence the local state government says has left around 300 people dead.
Nigeria's military chief of staff, Major-General Taoreed Lagbaja visited Mangu, in Plateau State, on Saturday to mark the start of special operations to "stamp out" the crisis.
The festivities are just one of the major security challenges facing new President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Nigeria, where armed forces also battle jihadists, heavily armed bandit gangs and separatist tensions.
Mangu district has been one of the epicentres of the recent violence with villages ransacked and farmland destroyed.
"There are an estimate of 80,000 internally displaced persons, within 11 various camps in the local government area," said Markus Artu, a top official in Mangu district.
About 18,000 of the displaced were being sheltered in one of the camps situated at a primary school in Mangu.
One of the camp coordinators Yamput Daniel gave AFP a similar estimate.
State emergency response agency officials have delivered aid, but they have yet to give their official report on the number of displaced in the crisis.
The local cattle herders' association said some of their communities have also been displaced by attacks.
FARMLAND DESTROYED
At the school, displaced victims were packed into classrooms, some dilapidated and with broken roofs, surviving on meagre supplies and maize donations from local churches.
"The crisis has rendered us homeless, our farmland has been destroyed and we are left to manage our lives here in this primary school," said Grace Emmanuel, 70, one of the displaced.
"It has not been easy, we have no food to eat, we fetch water from the well to drink, at times the water isn't enough for thousands of us here."
The regional commander of Plateau's Operation Safe Haven campaign has relocated its headquarters temporarily to Mangu and deployed an extra 300 troops to the district with armoured vehicles.
"Work with the communities. You are the people's army when they make distress calls you must respond as soon as possible," army chief of staff General Lagbaja told troops.
Plateau sits on the dividing line between Nigeria's mostly Moslem north and the predominantly Christian south and has for years been a flashpoint for tensions.
It was unclear what triggered the most recent flareup of attacks in Plateau. Tensions between herders and farmers over land and resources often spiral into tit-for-tat village raids by armed gangs who kidnap, loot and kill.
"We are tired of being here, we appreciate the security coming, but it would be best if the government would deploy most of the security to the villages, so that we can get back," said Mary Ishaya, another displaced woman in Mangu district.
"But we are left here, with our children, no food, no medicine and the children are not going to school."
Direct Translation via Google Translate Edited.
[KavkazUzel] The practice of public repentance for misdeeds existed earlier in Chechen society and is provided for by Muslim law, Islamic scholars Alexander Arutyunov and Igor Alekseev pointed out. Chechen traditions do not provide for compulsion to make public apologies to the authorities, Oyub Titiev, a human rights activist from Chechnya, objected.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that residents of Chechnya are regularly subjected to public censure and public apologies for various misdeeds and for criticizing the authorities. The report of the international crisis group " Chechnya: Internal Abroad ", published in June 2015, noted that such apologies are the result of pressure and threats.
[Breitbart] The U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott threatening legal action if the State does not remove the recently installed floating border barrier. Governor Abbott responded on Twitter, saying, "We will see you in court, Mr. President."
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim and U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Jaime Esparza sent a letter to Governor Abbott claiming the State illegally installed a floating border barrier in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas. The letter claims the buoy barrier was installed without the approval of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The DOJ also claims the barrier violates the Rivers and Harbors Act by creating a hazard to navigation on the river.
Governor Abbott responded on Twitter and declared, "Texas has the sovereign right to defend our border, under the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution." The governor added that President Joe Biden’s refusal to secure the border "encourages migrants to risk their lives crossing illegally through the Rio Grande, instead of safely and legally over a bridge."
[OneIndia] A man has been arrested by the cops in Ghaziabad for allegedly raping a woman after befriending her.
He got into touch with her through Facebook using his fake identity in 2020. In the initial days, they used to interact less but gradually it increased. He then asked her to meet her before raping her, according to a report in India Today
He then blackmailed her using those videos and pictures and raped her several times.
After six months, they met at his insistence. Later, they met several times. The Ghaziabad woman stated that she became pregnant after the incident but was compelled by the man to undergo an child sacrifice abortion.
It was during this time that she discovered the man's true identity as Khalid and realized that he had hidden his original religion.
The woman has alleged that the accused had been forcing her to convert to his religion. He then took her to Nizamuddin mosque in Delhi where she was converted to Islam.
"On his birthday, Khalid even got his name tattooed on my waist. He forced me to eat the meat of cows and other animals. Khalid asked me to wear Hijab always. He forced me to convert to Islam and even changed my name," OpIndia quoted the victim as saying.
The cops have said that they arrested the accused based on the complaint near Vijay Nagar railway station and filed the case under the IPC Sections 376, 313, 323, and 509.
#3
Although AKA Joe is not a fan of America, culturally, no American woman would commute to her third raping. Also it would be unusual for an American dude to strong arm their girl into an abortion as a precursor to marriage. In totality, you could not even pitch this script to the producers of Melrose in their final season. Jerry Springer might have been interested, though, may he rest in peace. BTW I don’t believe in reincarnation. If I am horribly mistaken, may Jerry be reborn in India or Pakistan, a target rich environment for him.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/24/2023 20:17 Comments ||
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Golly, he sure feels strongly about this — goodness knows he’s mentioned it often enough.
[IsraelTimes] President Biden urges Netanyahu and his coalition not to move ahead with the imminent legislation of the first bill in the planned judicial overhaul.
In a statement to Axios and Walla! journalist Barak Ravid,
...in other words, a news site Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu — not to mention the rest of Israel’s voters — would never see. Talk about ineffective communication!
Biden says, "It looks like the current judicial reform proposal is becoming more divisive ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled... , not less."
"Given the range of threats and challenges confronting Israel right now, it doesn’t make sense for Israeli leaders to rush this — the focus should be on pulling people together and finding consensus," the president says.
More from a longer Times of Israel article on the subject:
Just last week, Biden issued a statement to The New York Times in which he said, “This is obviously an area about which Israelis have strong views, including in an enduring protest movement that is demonstrating the vibrancy of Israel’s democracy, which must remain the core of our bilateral relationship.
The protest movement endures because of US State Department support on the orders of the Biden administration. Take away that support and it would collapse like a sand castle during an earthquake.
“Finding consensus on controversial areas of policy means taking the time you need,” he continued. “For significant changes, that’s essential. So my recommendation to Israeli leaders is not to rush. I believe the best outcome is to continue to seek the broadest possible consensus here.”
But Netanyahu did not alter course and told Biden in a phone call a day before the president gave the statement to the Times that the opposition isn’t interested in compromise and that he would be going ahead with the legislation curtailing judicial review without the broad consensus he once assured Washington that he would secure.
“We won. Get over it.”
The Israeli premier told Biden, however, that he would seek more widespread support for subsequent parts of the overhaul, which would be passed later this year.
It took until last week’s phone call for Biden to agree to meet with Netanyahu, following seven months of refraining from such a sit-down due to the administration’s ongoing displeasure with the judicial overhaul plans and Jerusalem’s policies in the West Bank.
Seven months of spleen-venting, to no avail. Way to demonstrate how important America is in your watch, President Biden!
Amid the growing protests within the military, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was said to working to try and delay the Knesset vote on the reasonableness bill and work toward a "wide consensus" that will "ensure the security of the State of Israel, while leaving the IDF separate from political discourse."
The defense minister was instrumental in getting the controversial overhaul paused in late March. After calling for a halt to the legislation in a public address, he was fired by Netanyahu, leading to massive protests, a nationwide labor strike and the shuttering of Ben Gurion airport. Netanyahu temporarily suspended the legislation, agreed to talks with the opposition under Herzog’s aegis that have since broken down, and eventually reinstated Gallant.
This time, Channel 12 reported Friday, Gallant was trying to work within the political system to try and defuse the crisis.
In a follow-up report on Sunday, Channel 12 said Netanyahu immediately called Defense Minister Yoav Gallant after his efforts on a compromise were reported by the network on Friday and angrily told the defense minister to back off.
"You think your proposal can be beneficial but it does great harm. Stop acting like you’re the prime minister. I’m handling the incident, stop interfering," Netanyahu was reported by Channel 12 to have told Gallant during their call.
#3
^ It's utterly subjective. One man's reasonableness is another's utter insanity.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/24/2023 9:46 Comments ||
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#4
The job of a judge is to see that the law - as written - is followed scrupulously. Making it up as you go along is not that at all.
If a law is unconstitutional, let the supreme legal authority of the land strike it down. If the legislature wants to reinstate it, let them retool it to meet the requirements of constitutionality.
The death penalty in the US is a textbook example of the process from start to finish.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/24/2023 9:49 Comments ||
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#5
"Democracy" is not unelected individuals unilaterally pulling the rug of the constitution out from under the electorate on a whim.
So, all the screeching is in fact a case of "You keep using that word. I do not think that word means what you think it means."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/24/2023 9:52 Comments ||
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#6
MM, I got my degree, more than 50 yrs ago, in Government / Poli Sci. So I'm "reasonably" familiar with the general issue.
What I don't understand is, in Israel, who is trying to sand-bag whom.
#7
I thought it wasn't good to interfere in other countries' internal affairs? What exactly is Joe's standing in all this?
Posted by: Tom ||
07/24/2023 15:51 Comments ||
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#8
In all I've read about this I still have no idea about what the problem with "reasonableness" is.
in Israel, who is trying to sand-bag whom.
Israel’s judiciary is primarily leftwing, AlanC, and they’ve been very pro-active about blocking government initiatives when Bibi Netanyahu and the center-right are in power. That’s part of the reason they keep having elections.
As far as I can tell, the reasonableness thing is a requirement that judges rule on actual texts of the law, not what they from their leftwing perspective believe to be how the law ought to have been written.
What exactly is Joe's standing in all this?
The powerful president of America, and the claim of being Israel’s only supporter in the entire world — a warning that support will be withdrawn if Israel does not do as it is told.
The 64-0 vote, with all members of the right-wing bloc voting for the amendment and all members of the opposition boycotting the vote, was to curb the nation’s “reasonableness standard.” That standard enabled judges in Israel to apply a “reasonableness standard” to block decisions by elected officials that they believe are beyond the scope of what a responsible and reasonable authority would do.
The standard thereby gave the justices a de facto veto on most if not all government policies. The Israeli Supreme Court has always been dominated by leftists, and unlike the United States and other Western countries, enables justices on the court to pick their successors, thus giving the Left permanent control of the judiciary and thus control over government decisions.
This bill is the first step toward giving control to a government elected by an increasingly conservative citizenry.
#12
^ Thank you. I think many of us that support Israel figured that the bad crew was on one side of this. I was trying to determine which side Netanyahu was on. Often the leftists are the ones fiddling with the courts. This is an unfiddle. You have cleared it up.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/24/2023 18:30 Comments ||
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#13
Never play the other guy's game. Never play a game where you never get to shuffle cut or deal. Never play a game where the rules are like trying to nail down a blob of mercury.
Leftists love "democracy" until the vote does not go their way. I believe here in America, if everything was decided by plebiscite, the leftists would be horrified by the results most of the time.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/24/2023 18:34 Comments ||
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[FBIgov] Section 1: Description of the Information System
The Guardian Program, managed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Counterterrorism Division (CTD), Guardian Management Unit (GMU), provides a proven methodology for reporting, sharing, tracking, and mitigating a large volume of counterterrorism-based incidents. The Guardian Program encompasses two systems, the classified Guardian Threat Tracking System (Guardian), which resides on FBINET, and an unclassified companion, the eGuardian system, which is available and utilized in the daily operations of state, local, tribal, territorial, and federal law enforcement partners as well as the national fusion center network. The Guardian and eGuardian systems, even though they reside on different classification networks, have a bi-directional communication ability that facilitates sharing, reporting, collaboration, and deconfliction among all law enforcement agencies.
The FBI has expanded the best practice of addressing counterterrorism threats, utilizing the Guardian system, to other national threat program areas. The FBI will leverage existing technology and existing law enforcement partnerships to address not only counterterrorism threats, but also cyber and criminal threats and suspicious activities, with minimal cost, minimal expenditure of resources, and minimal time needed to place the technology and business process into operation.
By providing a common platform to law enforcement for the reporting and sharing of the threats delineated above, the FBI will be able to provide a universal reporting system for all law enforcement, while concurrently eliminating the jurisdictional and bureaucratic impediments to sharing information which results in degradation of our national security posture.
This Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) amends the previous eGuardian PIA, dated November 25, 2008, and specifically examines the eGuardian system as it accounts for privacy concerns while creating an environment that will continue to address the need to share suspicious activity and threat information as mandated by the National Security Presidential Directives.
The eGuardian system’s primary purpose is to facilitate the reporting, tracking, and management of threats to determine whether a particular matter should be closed or opened as a predicated investigation. The eGuardian system also facilitates pattern and trend analysis of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) information. The original eGuardian system was designed in consultation with legal, privacy, and security personnel in the Department of Justice (DOJ) and elsewhere to ensure that privacy protections and security controls were integrated into system development and to the eGuardian system’s functionality.
#1
How very curious that the feds love the E-Guardian system for the depth of reporting and local awareness, yet all but shun EVerify, which would define illegal alien criminals using false identity information to secure employment. Makes a curious statement about the dichotomy of "rule of law" oratory flowing endlessly from gaslighting podiums in this administration!
[IsraelTimes] Iranian authorities have banned a film festival that put out a publicity poster featuring an actress who was not wearing a hijab headscarf, state media reports.
The ban comes after the Iranian Short Film Association (ISFA) released a poster for its upcoming Short Film Festival featuring Iranian actress Susan Taslimi in the 1982 film "The Death of Yazdguerd."
"The culture minister has personally issued an order to ban the 13th edition of the ISFA Film Festival, after using a photo of a woman without a hijab on its poster in violation of the law," state news agency IRNA reports.
The festival had been scheduled to be held in September.
Wearing a hijab, covering the head and the neck, has been compulsory for women in Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... since 1983, shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... Iranian women have increasingly flouted the strict dress code since mass protests began last September calling for an end to compulsory hijab.
The months-long protests were triggered by the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested by the morality police for allegedly breaching the strict Islamic dress code.
Earlier this month, police said patrols have been relaunched to catch the increasing number of women ignoring the law.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/24/2023 00:00 ||
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[OneIndia] The NIA has filed a chargesheet against three "individual terrorists" associated with banned Khalistani outfits BKI and KTF, exposing their international nodes involved in the recruitment and handling of India-based terror operatives, an official said on Sunday.
Six other associates working for the Babbar Khalsa International and Khalistan Tiger Force were also named in the chargesheet filed before a special court on Sunday, also highlighting a complex mechanism of fund raising for the two outfits, a spokesperson of the agency said.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said it is also investigating the links of 16 other absconding and arrested accused associated with the BKI and KTF. The spokesperson said the three notorious gangsters-turned-bandidosmurderous Moslems and drug-smugglers -- Harwinder Singh Sandhu alias 'Rinda', Lakhbir Singh Sandhu alias 'Landa' of BKI and Arshdeep Singh alias 'Arsh Dala' of KTF -- are based outside the country and have created their own networks of operatives there to carry out terror activities in India.
"Through this complex network of operatives based abroad, they have been recruiting, motivating and handling their associates in India to carry out terrorist activities, extortion and cross-border smuggling of weapons and drugs into India.
"They also have linkages with major gangs operating in north India, including local gangsters, organized criminal syndicates and networks," the spokesperson said. According to the NIA, Rinda is a very important BKI member and Khalistani operative.
"In the year 2018-19, he fled to Pakistain illegally and is currently living there under the patronage of ISI, and is involved in the commission of terrorist activities against India. "Rinda is involved in various offences like smuggling of arms, ammunition explosives and drugs into Indian territory from Pakistain, recruitment of BKI operatives, murders, raising funds for BKI through extortion in the states of Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... and Maharashtra," the spokesperson said.
The official said Rinda has been involved in many terrorist activities, including the RPG attack on the Punjab Police Intelligence headquarters in May 2022, and was declared an "individual terrorist" along with Dala and Landa by the centre, the agency said.
Moga resident Dala is an infamous gangster who left for Canada sometime back and came in contact with Hardeep Singh Nijjar who was the chief of proscribed terrorist organization KTF, according to the spokesperson.
The duo engaged in the recruitment of youth and formation of terrorist gangs for carrying out extortion for raising funds for KTF and for carrying out assassination of businessmen and leaders of particular communities in Punjab, the spokesperson said.
The official said Landa of Tarn Taran was initially involved in criminal and gangster activities and left for Canada in 2017 where he came in contact with Rinda. Landa started working for the BKI and emerged as the main accused in a number of terrorist incidents, including the RPG attack on Punjab Police Intelligence headquarters and RPG attack on Sarhali Police station in Tarn Taran in December, 2022.
He was also the criminal mastermind of the conspiracy to kill Punjab Police Sub Inspector Dilbagh Singh in August last year, the spokesperson said.
The agency said other foreign-based chargesheeted operatives of BKI include Harjot Singh who is currently in the USA, Kashmir ...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there.... Singh Galwaddi, who is absconding in the Nabha Jailbreak case and suspected to be presently in Nepal, and Landa's brother Tarsem Singh, currently in Dubai.
Gurjant Singh, who is hiding in Australia, is amongst the foreign-based nodes of KTF who has been chargesheeted, the spokesperson said, adding other accused chargesheeted are Deepak Ranga and Lucky Khokhar alias 'Denis', who were recruited by foreign-based handlers for carrying out terror activities in India.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa...
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....
AlAhram] At least 80,000 people have been displaced in three months of intercommunal violence in a north central Nigerian state, a local official said, as the army reinforced security to end the 
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
[OneIndia] The NIA has filed a chargesheet against three "individual terrorists" associated with banned .jpg "Kashmir")
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it 
