[NYT] WASHINGTON ‐ Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reviewing a recommendation to fire the former F.B.I. deputy director, Andrew G. McCabe, just days before he is scheduled to retire on Sunday, people briefed on the matter said. Mr. McCabe was a frequent target of attack from President Trump, who taunted him both publicly and privately.
Mr. McCabe is ensnared in an internal review that includes an examination of his decision in 2016 to allow F.B.I. officials to speak with reporters about an investigation into the Clinton Foundation. The Justice Department’s inspector general concluded that Mr. McCabe was not forthcoming during the review, according to the people briefed on the matter. That yet-to-be-released report triggered an F.B.I. disciplinary process that recommended his termination ‐ leaving Mr. Sessions to either accept or reverse that decision.
Lack of candor is a fireable offense, but like so much at the F.B.I., Mr. McCabe’s fate is also entangled in presidential politics and the special counsel investigation. He was involved from the beginning in the investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. He is also a potential witness in the inquiry into whether Mr. Trump tried to obstruct justice.
Mr. Trump’s supporters have tried to cast Mr. McCabe as part of a "deep state" that operates in secret to undermine the administration. Mr. Trump has goaded Mr. Sessions into taking action against him.
h/t Instapundit
After six minutes of sustained hissing for everything from economic growth to sanctions, hecklers at the University of California ‐ Los Angeles (UCLA) accused Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin of "bullying North Korea" and sentencing 9 billion children to death.
As Mnuchin gave his prepared remarks about the importance of sanctions for "eliminating nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula," a young woman shot up and started yelling, "What you're doing is bullying North Korea who is developing nuclear weapons for this very purposes!"
"This is what the U.S. does all over the world," the young woman continued. "You're talking about being a beacon for hope and freedom and democracy, that's bullsh*t! We know that's bullsh*t. We know that this tax bill and what that represents is sentencing people to death, including children. Nine billion children who are going to be left without healthcare." (There are fewer than 9 billion people on earth, and approximately 1.9 billion children.)
Question for the 'Burg - if this happens, how much of his pension will he get? Please tell me it's 0%...
[Zero Hedge] - Cruel and unusual? Perhaps. But The NY Times reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reviewing a recommendation to fire the former F.B.I. deputy director, Andrew G. McCabe, just days before he is scheduled to retire on Sunday.
As a reminder, McCabe stepped down in late January, though reports suggested McCabe was reportedly forced to step down. According to Fox News, McCabe was "removed" from his post as deputy director, "leaving the bureau after months of conflict-of-interest complaints from Republicans including President Trump."
[Right Scoop] The website Memri, known for monitoring and translating the Middle East, has uncovered a doozy for us in recent days and it goes right along with what we’ve been saying about Erdogan’s plans to resurrect the fatally wounded head of the Ottoman Empire.
First allow me to set the scene.
On December 6, as you well know, Trump changed US policy recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and set in motion a plan to move our embassy there from Tel Aviv. That brought about outrage and protests in the Middle East ‐ some violent ‐ and condemnations from all over Muslim world of Trump’s decision. Even the UN tried unsuccessfully to get Trump to undo his decision.
Then Erdogan steps up and takes charge of this issue on behalf of the Muslim world, making ominous threats against Israel that sound akin to invasion while leading the OIC to recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
That’s the backdrop.
Six days after Trump made this recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, one of the top news websites in Turkey ran an article entitled "What If an Army of Islam Was Formed against Israel?" They ran it on both their newspaper (below) and on their website.
#2
I'm okay with exterminating Turkey and any other country helping this army and giving the land to Israel. There needs to be a price for evil actions
So many ways to approach this Turkish hashish-dream occur to me, and I lack the military backgrond to really do this properly:
1) Recall how the vaunted Arab armies of Iraq and Syria responded to the ISIS expansion in 2014-15 — and the Iraqis even had years of American training and weapons. Then there was what a few American advisors recently did to the hundreds of Russian mercenaries who intended to embarrass President Trump by overrunning their position...
2) As a comment on the Turkish army’s ability to execute battle plans, wasn’t the conquest of Afrin supposed to be a walk in the park for the Turkish army and its Syrian irregulars? After all, the foe is a just a bunch of poorly armed amateurs trying to defend a large number of civilians, much like the Juices in 1948. So how is that going, Turkey?
3) What on earth leads this clever Turkish military advisor to think that President Trump would sit idly by while the military build up was occurring? Perhaps a nice table of American military might versus the Ummah is in order. Then compare and contrast the performance of the mighty Iraqi army of Saddam Hussein versus Iran and then versus either President George H.W. Bush or George W. Bush.
4) Tactics, strategy, logistics. All those terrifying numbers of men and material — how are they to be transported to the battlefield across multiple countries and terrains, not to mention through unpacified or only partly pacified territory in Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Nigeria, Sudan, Libya, Mali, etc... does anyone believe Iran will open its borders for Sunni armies to flow through? Not to mention that most of those Muslim nations need their armies at home to face serious local problems.
5) Israel and American would be ideally positioned to execute a hammer and anvil thingy against the Muslim forces.
[Daily Caller] Massachusetts’ anti-fossil-fuel policies are the primary reason why the state has relied on natural gas imports from a Russian oil company the Department of State sanctioned during the Obama-era.
Officials in Massachusetts and neighboring New Hampshire blocked financing in 2016 for the $3 billion Access Northeast Pipeline, which would have helped the state weather an energy crunch this winter. The state’s decision to rely principally on green energy hiked gas prices and forced it turn to Russian oil imports.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey concluded in 2016 that "no new pipelines are needed" and that we "can maintain electric reliability through 2030 even without additional new natural gas pipelines" Healey also joined New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s investigation into ExxonMobil’s alleged willingness to hide internal documents about climate change.
#13
"no new pipelines are needed"
Only a few small parts of Mass. can use natural gas due to lack of pipelines. The rest of them need to burn $$$$ No. 2 fuel oil to keep warm every winter. They could save a huge amount of $$$ by allowing pipelines built, but they are too stupid to do that. This is the key part of this issue which is seldom made clear in articles like this one.
[Breitbart London] Emigration from countries of Sub-Saharan Africa has risen dramatically in recent years and the region currently accounts for eight of the 10 fastest growing international migrant populations, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.
Analyzing the latest United Nations data on the number of people living outside their country of birth, Pew found that the rate of emigration from these eight African nations‐South Sudan, Central African Republic, Sao Tome and Principe, Eritrea, Namibia, Rwanda, Botswana, and Burundi‐grew by more than 50 percent, and in some cases as much as 200-300 percent. The number rises to 9 of the top 10 if Sudan‐much of which is sub-Saharan‐is included.
As Pew notes, sub-Saharan Africa comprises all countries and territories in continental Africa except Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara. Sub-Saharan Africa also includes a number of islands: Cape Verde, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, and St. Helena.
The worldwide average increase in international migration for the same seven-year period was 17 percent, just over half the average increase in emigration among all sub-Saharan African nations (31 percent).
[IsraelTimes] Ankara says troops blocking all exits from Afrin in major offensive against YPG militia, as elsewhere civilians evacuated from besieged Eastern Ghouta
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... said Tuesday its army and allied rebels had surrounded the Kurdish city of Afrin in northern Syria, raising the prospect of another devastating siege in the country’s long conflict.
In a statement Tuesday, the Ottoman Turkish military said it had completely encircled Afrin city, home to some 350,000 people and defended by a well-armed Syrian Kurdish militia, the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Birusk Hasakeh, a YPG front man inside Afrin, denied the city had been totally besieged but said the last route leading out of it was being shelled heavily.
"If they do encircle the city, we will be ready for a long fight. We will resist," he told AFP.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Ottoman Turkish forces had moved to within firing range of that last access route, which leads to a pair of regime-held towns ‐ essentially encircling Afrin and 90 villages to its west.
’Exit route’ for civilians?
Sealing off Afrin city would be a key step in Turkey’s "Olive Branch" operation, launched on January 20 and aimed at ousting the YPG, a vital partner for a US-backed coalition 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, but seen by Ankara as "terrorists."
It remains unclear what Turkey’s next move will be, but it may lay siege to Afrin while allowing civilians to leave to avoid a high-casualty offensive.
The Britannia-based Observatory said Ankara was seeking to push civilians into either rebel-held or Syrian regime territory to allow for a "speedy military operation."
Abu Jaafar, a commander in the pro-Ankara forces waging Operation Olive Branch, said rebels were considering leaving an "exit route" for civilians.
"We will allow civilians... to leave so they will not be hurt in case [Kurdish] fighters hold out in the villages, neighborhoods, or buildings inside Afrin," he told AFP.
Hundreds of civilians were seen fleeing Afrin on Monday, with cars and buses piled high with personal belongings heading to regime-held areas further east.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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#1
Perhaps "unknown fighter jets" need to pound the Turks back a bit?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2018 8:38
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We'll find out soon enough whether Tillerson was behind the non-response to Operation Olive Branch.
[Ynet] A Ottoman Turkish prosecutor on Tuesday sought a life sentence for a US pastor over alleged links to a failed coup attempt in 2016, Dogan news agency reported, a move that threatens to undermine efforts to mend bilateral ties.
Washington believes Andrew Brunson, who has been in jail since December 2016, is one of several Americans unjustly detained in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... . During a visit to Ankara last month, former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for him to be freed.
The Christian pastor from North Carolina has been living in Turkey for 23 years and running a church, according to an online petition seeking his release.
The prosecutor charged him with being an "executive" of the group that Ankara holds responsible for the failed coup, the news agency said. Turkey blames the network of Fethullah Gülen ... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world... , a US-based Moslemholy man who denies all involvement.
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#1
You mean the false flag coup that Erdoğan staged to consolidate power?
Payback will be a b*tch.
Posted by: Vespasian Protector of the Hatfields9991 ||
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Erdogan to US: “The U.S. wants a pastor from us. You have a pastor of your own; you give him to us, then we return pastor to you,”
An open admission of hostage taking in September of 2017.
[WashingtonPost] A federal judge in Brooklyn handed down a 45-year prison sentence Tuesday to a Texas native convicted last fall of supporting al-Qaeda and conspiring to murder Americans.
Muhanad Mahmoud al-Farekh, 32, of Houston, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian M. Cogan in the Eastern District of New York.
Farekh’s case renewed a lengthy debate in the B.O. regime over whether it was legally and morally permissible to target and kill a U.S. citizen overseas without a trial. Though U.S. authorities nominated him to be placed on a terrorism kill-list, he was captured in Pakistain and eventually brought to the United States for prosecution.
"With the sentence handed down today, al Qaeda terrorist Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh is being held accountable for his crimes," Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said in a statement Tuesday.
Farekh had traveled overseas, joined al-Qaeda, and conspired to kill Americans, including through an attack using bombs on a remote U.S. military base in Khost, Afghanistan, in 2009, prosecutors said.
Farekh was detained in Pakistain in 2015, transferred to U.S. custody, questioned and then secretly flown to New York to face terrorism charges. In September, he also was convicted on charges of conspiracy to bomb a U.S. facility and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.
Farekh, who was raised in Dubai, served in al-Qaeda’s external operations unit from 2007 to 2014, prosecutors said. In March 2007, Farekh and two fellow students from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, traveled to Pakistain intending to fight American troops, they said. Before leaving, the men watched videos encouraging violent jihad and listened to sermons by Anwar al-Awlaki ... Born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, zapped in Yemen, al-Awlaki was a dual citizen of the U.S. and Yemen. He was an Islamic holy man who was a trainer for al-Qaeda and its franchises. His sermons were attended by three of the 9/11 hijackers, by Fort Hood murderer Nidal Malik Hussein, and Undieboomer Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He was the first U.S. citizen ever placed on a CIA target list... , a charismatic preacher and operational leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ...the latest incarnation of various Qaeda and Qaeda-allied groups, including the now-defunct Aden-Abyan Islamic Army that boomed the USS Cole in 2000... ‐ and a U.S. citizen ‐ who was killed in a U.S. dronezap 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... in 2011.
Before Awlaki’s killing, the B.O. regime engaged in intense, internal debate over whether the lethal targeting of a U.S. citizen overseas without judicial process was lawful and sound policy. In the wake of Awlaki’s death, the administration imposed new rules that, among other things, directed that the Pentagon, rather than the CIA, should carry out lethal strikes against Americans overseas suspected of terrorism.
On Jan. 19, 2009, al-Qaeda operatives drove two trucks loaded with explosives to the gate of Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost, Afghanistan. The first truck blew up, wounding several bystanders, including a U.S. serviceman and a pregnant Afghan woman. The second truck hit the blast crater left by the first truck and failed to explode.
Farekh, prosecutors said, helped build the second truck bomb. Forensic technicians recovered 18 latent fingerprints from the device that matched Farekh’s.
Farekh’s lawyer, David Ruhnke, said that Farekh would appeal his conviction.
Security researchers said Tuesday they discovered flaws in chips made by Advanced Micro Devices that could allow hackers to take over computers and networks.
Israeli-based security firm CTS Labs published its research showing "multiple critical security vulnerabilities and exploitable manufacturer backdoors" in AMD chips.
CTS itemized 13 flaws, saying they "have the potential to put organizations at significantly increased risk of cyberattacks."
The report comes weeks after Intel disclosed similar hardware-based flaws dubbed Meltdown and Spectre, sparking widespread computer security concerns and a congressional inquiry.
CTS said the newly discovered flaws could compromise AMD's new chips that handle applications in the enterprise, industrial and aerospace sectors, as well as consumer products.
In a 20-page white paper, the researchers said the AMD Secure Processor, the gatekeeper responsible for the security of AMD processors, contains "critical vulnerabilities" that "could allow malicious actors to permanently install malicious code inside the Secure Processor itself."
#3
The four classes of vulnerabilities—dubbed Masterkey, Ryzenfall, Fallout, and Chimera—were described in a 20-page report headlined "Severe Security Advisory on AMD Processors." The advisory came with its own disclaimer that CTS—the Israeli research organization that published the report—"may have, either directly or indirectly, an economic interest in the performance" of the stock of AMD or other companies. It also discloses that its contents were all statements of opinion and "not statements of fact." Critics have said the disclaimers, which are highly unusual in security reports, are signs that the report is exaggerating the severity of the vulnerabilities in a blatant attempt to influence the stock price of AMD and possibly other companies. Critics also faulted the researchers for giving AMD just 24 hours to review the report before it went public and using a dedicated-website to bring attention to the flaws.
#6
There has been a lot of unusual AMD puts buying the last few days. We now know why. If the SEC is not asleep, an investigation of CTS Labs and friends should lead to a lot of fines and indictments.
BTW, the only way to exploit these flaws is to first have the root password. In that case, you are already F'd.
[Guardian] Insiders say all trails lead back to Moscow, suggesting a deliberate act to incite row with UK
The response from the Kremlin has been uncompromising. The foreign ministry described Theresa May’s accusation against Moscow as a "circus show". Its boss Sergei Lavrov said there was no proof the poison used against Sergei Skripal came from Russia. And the embassy in London promised an "equal and opposite reaction" to any UK measures.
Beneath this bluster, however, is cool calculation. Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in Salisbury with a Moscow-made military nerve agent, developed during the 1970s and 1980s during the cold war. Whoever wanted to murder him might have used a subtler weapon. Instead, his assassins picked novichok. How it was deployed remains unclear.
One former employee of the Russian special services said nerve agents were used only if the goal was to draw attention. "This is a very dirty method. There’s a risk of contaminating other people, which creates additional difficulties," he told the Kommersant newspaper, adding: "There are far more delicate methods that professionals use."
In other words, novichok was a gruesome calling card. As those who organised the hit must have known, the trail goes directly back to Moscow. The incident even took place down the road from Porton Down, the government’s military research base, which swiftly tested and identified the toxin.
All of which means Vladimir Putin and his FSB spy agency have probably sought to engineer a confrontation with the UK. Why now?
[MAIL] Whitehall sources last night said Mr Skripal was poisoned when he touched the door handle of his car, which had been smeared with a deadly nerve agent.
Detectives said the pair arrived in the city at about 1.40pm but officers want CCTV from 1pm.
Mr Skripal’s home is a ten-minute drive from where he parked, raising questions about what they were doing in the meantime.
Speaking at Scotland Yard, Mr Basu said: 'The public are going to continue to see a great deal of police activity in and around the city, including potentially more cordons being erected, but please don't be alarmed.
On Twitter: Russian writer & dissident Boris Akunin lays out a theory gaining traction with some Russian observers: Moscow sees the wealthy & independent Russian community in London as a threat & Skripal attack was designed to goad UK into destroying it: Facebook story in Russian
#2
Spy poisoning: why Putin may have engineered gruesome calling card
Because he became an idiot - I see no other reason I find convincing.
On the other hand, I just wonder: would Ukrainians, or Baltics, or anybody else wishing Russia to look bad (like certain people in, ahem) have Soviet nerve agents from 50 years ago?
p.s. What really worries me about the whole story is Muzzies getting ideas.
#3
Spy poisoning: why Putin may have engineered gruesome calling card
Most tyrants have their own brand of Jim and Susan McDougal, Arkansas real estate scandal. Fraudulent gains, stolen money, people in need of becoming dead, that sort of thing.
#4
Because he could, he did. And the West will show once again how impotent they are. The same West that welcomes the Islamic threat into their own living rooms.
#5
I dunno. Somehow the pieces don't seem to fit together quite so tidy, not the least of which is the way Teresa May has jumped right into it. Makes me feel like someone is trying to sell me something.
I do like the last para in the article: Anyone thinking of cooperating with Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating collusion, will think twice. Well, sure.
Because RUSSIANS!
The reason I don’t write much about Russia’s demographics nowadays is that there isn’t much point to it.
Up until the early 2010s, the Western media was brimming with misinformation about the subject – what we now call #fakenews – so refuting it was both profitable and easy. Incredibly easy. You didn’t really have to do anything much more complicated than taking a few minutes to browse through Russia’s national statistics database, but apparently that was beyond the capabilities of most Russia journalists.
However, by now a critical number of Western pundits have apparently acquainted themselves with at least the Wikipedia article on Russia’s demographics. In the longterm, reality wins out, and so with a lag time of about a decade, references to Russia’s “plummeting population” and “sixth wave of emigration” have steadily petered out (the last major holdouts of Russia demographic doomerism was Barack Obama in this 2014 interview with The Economist, and Michael Rubin for Commentary in 2015,).
We can now finally say that the “Dying Bear” meme has fulfilled lived up to its own name.
#4
Russia had a good decade of high oil prices before their invasion of Ukraine. That's done with for the foreseeable future. Sanctions will only get tighter w/ trade and technology cut off. The people will respond by pulling in their heads (big and little) as KGB Poisoner Putin kills off Cuddle-Me Putin.
[BBC] Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76, his family has said.
The British theoretical physicist was known for his groundbreaking work with black holes and relativity, and was the author of several popular science books including A Brief History of Time.
His children, Lucy, Robert and Tim, said: "We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today.
"He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years."
Obituary: Stephen Hawking
They praised his "courage and persistence" and said his "brilliance and humour" inspired people across the world.
"He once said, 'It would not be much of a universe if it wasn't home to the people you love.' We will miss him forever," they said.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
[DAWN] A seven-year-old boy's post-mortem examination report — a copy of which is available with DawnNewsTV — confirmed that he had been raped before being killed. Police officials at Shaikh Maltoon Police Station said that they have launched an investigation and taken some suspects into custody.
The boy was last seen playing in front of his house in the Tambulk area on Saturday before he went missing. Early on Sunday morning, an unidentified suspect dumped a gunny sack with the child's body in the fields behind the family's home and fled.
The boy was the son of a labourer who earns daily wages by loading and unloading vehicles at a nearby vegetable market, police said.
When the child's body was returned to his family after post-mortem, residents of the area blocked the Mardan-Nowshera Road with the body in protest, demanding the suspect's arrest.
The incident has caused a wave of fear, anger and grief to spread through locals. At least two similar cases have already been reported in Mardan this year, in which minors who went missing and were recovered dead were believed to have been subjected to sexual assault.
As many as 17,862 cases of sexual assault against children have been reported throughout the country in the last five years, according to data presented to lawmakers in the National Assembly.
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[DAWN] An eight-year-old hearing-impaired girl was raped in Bakshally area of Mardan, family and police said on Tuesday.
Police said a case has been registered and the nominated suspect has been locked away Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! .
The father of the victim accused his neighbour of raping his daughter. He told the media at a local hospital that he had brought his daughter for treatment a few days ago after he found her bleeding. Subsequent medical tests confirmed that she had been raped, said the father.
The victim, he said, had pointed to one of the neighbours.
The father, a farmer, demanded the government to provide him justice. According to him, police were reluctant to file a case and only took action after the media approached them for their version on the case.
A doctor at the hospital, requesting anonymity, confirmed to DawnNewsTV that the girl had been raped.
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[ARABNEWS] Iran on Tuesday placed in durance vile Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! Hamid Baghai, a vice president under former hard-liner Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad, following his conviction for corruption, media reports said.
"Police officers apprehended and transferred the convict to prison," the Tehran prosecutor’s office said, cited by the Fars news agency.
Baghai was sentenced in December to 15 years in jail for embezzlement and illegal business transactions.
He is very close to Ahmadinejad, serving as his deputy before becoming chief of staff during the populist former president’s second term.
The 48-year-old had been investigated for irregularities while in office and was imprisoned for seven months in 2015, although the reasons for this were never made public.
Ahmadinejad and Baghai both hoped to stand in the May 2017 presidential election, but the conservative-dominated Guardians Council rejected their candidacy.
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Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The world chemical weapons watchdog declared on Tuesday that Iraq had met its obligations toward the eradication of its chemical arms, granting Baghdad a certificate of recognition in that regard.
On its website, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said "the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Ahmet Üzumcu, congratulated the Government of Iraq on the completion of the destruction of the country’s chemical weapons remnants". The statement explained that the declaration came during today’s visit of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Iraq, H.E. Dr Abdulrazzaq Al Jaleel Essa.
"I welcome this notable achievement and congratulate the Iraqi Government for their efforts in ensuring the proper destruction of these dangerous chemicals and for fulfilling its obligations deriving from the Chemical Weapons Convention," Üzumcu said.
According to OPCW’s website, Iraq’s initial declaration, submitted in March 2009, referred to remnants of chemical weapons stored in two storage bunkers at the Al Muthana site.
"Owing to the hazardous conditions within the bunkers, Iraq was not able to conduct a detailed on-site inventory immediately after the initial declaration. Destruction activities started in 2017, once the on-going security situation had been addressed," it said.
"In November 2017 and February 2018, OPCW’s Technical Secretariat confirmed that the four former chemical weapons production facilities in Iraq were completely destroyed,’ said the organization.
It added that one former chemical weapons production facility in Iraq remains subject to inspection until 2028, which will be used for activities not prohibited by the OPCW as part of a joint plan with Iraq.
OPCW, enforcing the 1997, 192-signatory Chemical Weapons Convention, oversees the global efforts to permanently eliminate chemical weapons.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2018 7:01
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Ow!
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/14/2018 7:41
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...but, but, but, I was told by the usual (un)reliable sources (Legacy Infotainment Enterprises) that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
[CNN] A series of deadly package bombs delivered to homes in Austin has shaken residents and cast suspicion on one of life's common occurrences -- getting a package delivered to your doorstep.
Three package bombs have exploded at homes in the Texas capital over 10 days -- including two Monday -- killing two people and injuring two others. Investigators say they believe the incidents are related, and residents have responded anxiously in the past day.
Austin police have received 150 calls about suspicious packages, Chief Brian Manley said Tuesday on Twitter, though police haven't indicated any subsequent check revealing anything alarming.
Here's what we know so far
• The first blast happened March 2, killing Anthony Stephan House, a 39-year-old African-American man.
• A bombing early Monday killed a 17-year-old African-American male, whom CNN is not naming because authorities haven't identified him yet. A woman was also hurt in that blast with injuries not considered life-threatening, police said.
• Both House and the slain teenager are relatives of prominent members of Austin's African-American community, The Washington Post reported. House was the stepson of Freddie Dixon, a former pastor at a historic black church in Austin, the Post said. Dixon is friends with the grandfather of the teen who was killed Monday, according to the newspaper.
• Another explosion around noon Monday severely wounded a 75-year-old Hispanic woman. She was in critical condition Tuesday morning, Manley told KXAN, the CNN affiliate.
• Police have not decided if these are hate crimes but said that's considered a possibility because the victims are African-American and Hispanic. Adler said it is still too early to know the motive.
• The residents found the packages outside their houses, but none was delivered by the US Postal Service or delivery services such as UPS or FedEx, police said.
• The explosions were not in the immediate vicinity of the ongoing South by Southwest festival, and authorities said the bombings don't appear connected to that event.
[DAWN] One Rangers man was martyred and three others injured when a personnel of the paramilitary force came under attack by suspected hard boyz in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... 's Lyari ...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot.... neighbourhood on Tuesday evening.
A Rangers contingent was on a routine patrol in Lyari's Ali Mohammad Mohalla when suspected hard boyz attacked the security personnel with hand grenades and automatic weapons at around 8:15pm, said a blurb issued by the force.
In the ensuing exchange of fire, Rangers Sepoy Fawad was martyred while three others sustained injuries, who were shifted to Civil Hospital Karachi.
At least one holy warrior died in retaliatory firing by the Rangers personnel, the statement said.
Sources told DawnNewsTV that law-enforcement personnel had started an operation against suspected criminals of Lyari gang war before a heavy exchange of fire started.
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[DAWN] A woman gave birth to a baby in her home's bathroom after she was refused entry at a hospital in Punjab's Raiwind area on Tuesday, DawnNewsTV reported.
The woman, wife of a labourer, was taken to the Rural Health Centre Raiwind on Monday evening after she started experiencing labour pains, her relatives said.
But the staff at the health centre refused to admit her, reportedly because of a lack of facilities, and told the woman to return to the hospital in the morning, saying she would not give birth until then.
The family requested the staff to allow them to spend the night at the hospital as they could not afford the transportation cost of coming back. But the staff refused and forced them to leave the hospital.
The woman was then taken home where she ended up giving birth in a bathroom.
The baby boy born fell ill soon after birth and the family had to bring him to the hospital again. He was admitted and is recovering at the health centre.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has officially entered the al-Qadam District in southern Damascus after a long absence due to the ongoing war.
According to a military source in Damascus, the rebel forces in al-Qadam handed over their last positions to the Syrian Army, despite the fact they were under attack by the so-called 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.... (ISIS).
ISIS was able to claim at least 30 percent of al-Qadam, primarily the eastern neighborhoods, before the Syrian Army entered on Tuesday.
The Syrian Army now controls at least 70 percent of al-Qadam, which is considered one of the largest districts in southern Damascus.
In the coming hours, the Syrian Army will attempt to clear the Islamic State gunnies from the eastern neighborhoods of al-Qadam, while they finalize preparations for their upcoming Yarmouk Camp offensive.
Al-Qadam borders the Yarmouk Camp from its western axis; this will be a launching point for the Syrian Army and their Paleostinian allies.
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[DAWN] Perennial Presidential Campaigner Hillary Crooked Hillary Clinton ... former first lady, former secretary of state, former presidential candidate, Conqueror of Benghazi, Heroine of Tuzla, formerly described by her supporters as the smartest woman in the world, usually described by the rest of us as The Thing That Wouldn't Go Away... told an audience in India that the United States did not "deserve" 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... ’s presidency and these are "perilous times."
The 2016 Democratic presidential candidate spoke over the weekend at a conference in Mumbai.
Clinton said the Republican president has "quite an affinity for dictators" and said Trump "really likes their authoritarian posturing and behavior". But she said she thinks it’s "more than that" with Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... and Russia.
India likes Russia. Associating Trump with Russia only improves Trump's image in India.
Clinton was critical of the reality campaign tactics of her opponent and questioned whether she should have provided more entertainment to voters who responded to Trump’s brash style.
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I won't comment on that, but - as an Israeli (i.e. somebody who needs strong & wealthy, and rational USA) - I find Trump's presidency quite congenial. And that's aside from considering what a presidency by that mad witch would've been like.
#5
"I won't comment on that, but - as an Israeli (i.e. somebody who needs strong & wealthy, and rational USA) - I find Trump's presidency quite congenial. And that's aside from considering what a presidency by that mad witch would've been like."
I would also to retain Bibi for much longer term if you would so kindly.
I do not see much leadership in the wings as of now and he is doing correctly his duty.
But it would be nice to find a another Virtue laden Leader for the House of David
#7
Nice pick grom. How about next election? Or you would like him now?
I still prefer to keep Bibi for now but it is Your Country.
I especially like the Sovereign talk "He suggests a tripartition of the Palestinian territories. Thus, Israel should unilaterally annex Area C, authority over the Gaza Strip should be transferred to Egypt, while Area A and Area B would remain with the Palestinian National Authority, but under the security umbrella of the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet to "ensure quiet, suppress Palestinian terrorism, and prevent Hamas from taking over the territory". Area C constitutes 62% of the area, and approximately 365,000 people live in Israeli settlements. The Palestinians that live in this area would be offered Israeli citizenship or a permanent residency status (between 48,000, according to Bennett, or as many as 150,000, according to other surveys).[33] Finally, Israel would invest in creating roads so Palestinians can travel between Areas A and B without checkpoints, and invest in infrastructure and joint industrial zones, because "Peace grows from below - "
Judeah and Sumariah belongs to Israel, addressing Gush Katif is useful too. Sinai is the outlet. Very nice.
Also a plus wikipedia hates him. Let's open a door for him soon, no?
#8
Hillary = Hubris personified. Of course she only means the unhinged radical left doesn't deserve Trump. She also means she was supposed to be POTUS. WTF is that Gong show hook that pulls this evil witch off the stage?
#10
Well, if Hill hadn't been running, we probably wouldn't have got Trump. Maybe a third of Trump's voters were people who couldn't stand the notion of Hillary Clinton as president.
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03/14/2018 8:48
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#11
She just don't get this democratic republic thing does she?
#14
#7 I don't know if I've a preference newc. Or, to put it more precisely.
The major job of successive Israeli governments since Oslo is buying time. Bibi is the best at this. Bennett might be best for then the time comes - which isn't yet. On the third hand, Iran must be taken care of, and soon. And, I kinda, don't think Bibi is up to it.
#15
Seems to me there used to be a sort of a gentlemen's agreement to the effect that partisanship stops at our shorelines. But then, Democrats these days are not gentlemen.
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03/14/2018 14:31
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#16
They haven't been for a long time Abu. See also Reagan and Teddie boy.
#21
Half the country doesn't deserve Trump but they'll still get the lift provided by his tax cuts and removing excessive regulation. Might give CA a few more years before the pension crisis explodes.
[DAWN] Justice Sajjad Ali Shah of the Supreme Court on Tuesday remarked that "verbal divorce" has no legal value and a divorce is only finalised after completion of the due procedure.
"Divorce is a sensitive issue; how can it be finalised verbally?" Justice Shah asked while hearing a case at the Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... SC registry against a woman seeking expenditure from her former husband. The husband had approached the apex court to turn down an earlier ruling ordering him to pay monthly expenditures to his ex-wife.
"Divorce can't be finalised without fulfilling legal prerequisites," said the judge upon finding out that the man had divorced his wife only verbally and did not have any documents to prove the dissolution of marriage.
The SC rejected the man's petition, saying that receiving monthly expenditure after divorce is the woman's right.
Divorce process
Senior lawyer Liaquat Ali told Dawn.com that as per Moslem family laws of the country, a husband, who wants to end the marriage contract, is bound to send a "written divorce" or Talaq Nama, bearing his and two witnesses' signatures, to his former wife. He is also bound to utter the verbal divorce in the presence of two witnesses, the lawyer said.
As per the law, the husband will also intimate the relevant union council about his decision. "According to section 7 of the Moslem Family Law Ordinance 1961, the husband must mention the address of the woman, so the council could approach the woman and subsequently issue a certificate of divorce."
He said that the divorce takes effect after completion of iddat. Liaquat Ali said that the law is aimed at securing the rights of women.
"At least two witnesses are mandatory for divorce, according to both the law and Sharia," he said.
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[JimmyDore] Being in the unelected government isn't enough, so now they're trying to take over the elected government. Get out there and vote, people! Take friends with you to vote!
According to Wikipedia, Mr. Dore is a comedian and political commentator, one of Cenk Uygur‘s Young Turks. Politically he is a Bernie Bro turned Independent, and has opined that the Trump presidency would split the Republicans, possibly not having noticed that Senator Sanders has already split the Democrats.
#2
Dore split with TYT some time back and is being demonitized and attacked by YouTube for being a leftist who dares criticize the left. This is a big no-no. No friends to the right, no enemies to the left, is the slogan.
[DAWN] Iraqi authorities said on Tuesday they were lifting a nearly six-month air blockade imposed on Iraqi Kurdistan in response to its holding of an independence referendum.
Federal authorities imposed the blockade in September after Iraqi Kurdistan voted overwhelmingly for independence in a non-binding referendum rejected as illegal by the central government.
It was extended in December for two months and renewed in February for another possible three months. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a statement the airports of Kurdish regional capital Arbil and second city Sulaimaniyah would again be "open to international flights".
The decision to lift the flight ban was made "after local Kurdish authorities accepted that central authorities retake control of the two airports," the statement said.
The formal lifting of the blockade will take place in the next few days, Abadi's front man Saad al-Hadithi told AFP.
"This will depend on how long it takes for employees of the central government to start working in the airports," he said.
Iraqi Kurdish prime minister Nechirvan Barzani told a presser shortly after the announcement that he "thanked Baghdad and Prime Minister Abadi because it is he who decided to reopen the airports".
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[IsraelTimes] Report on inner-workings of anti-Semitic group reveals that Greta Berlin belatedly acknowledged 'crazy' Ken O'Keefe seized IDF commando's gun, sparking fight in which 10 Turks died
A leading pro-Paleostinian campaigner involved in the flotilla that attempted to enter Gazoo in May 2010 has appeared to corroborate Israel’s version of the events which led to the bloody confrontation on board the Mavi Marmara.
Ten Ottoman Turkish activists died after IDF commandos boarded the ship ‐ the largest in the six-vessel convoy ‐ as it sailed towards the Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,-ruled coastal enclave in defiance of an Israeli security blockade designed to prevent the terror group importing weapons.
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[DAWN] The United States gave the Philippine air force its first surveillance drone system on Tuesday, as the two nations step up cooperation in the battle against murderous Moslems.
Washington has been boosting its backing for Philippine counter-terror efforts since supporters of 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 seized parts of the southern city of Marawi last year, sparking a deadly five-month battle.
The unmanned aerial vehicle system, which includes six drones and is worth $13.2 million (10.7 million euros), is the latest US military assistance to Philippine troops.
"Assets like the ScanEagle will significantly improve the (Philippine military's) ability to detect terrorist activities, piracy activities, territory encroachment," US Ambassador to Manila Sung Kim told news hounds, referring to the drones.
Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the system, equipped with cameras and aircraft that can fly for 24 hours, would support operations against turbans in the south.
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Not really new for Rantburgers, but it’s nice to have it all in one place with some estimates of numbers. I did not expect the claim of 10,000 ISIS fighters in Afghanistan, for instance,
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#1
What's that Siberian stuff? I've never heard of an ISIS invasion of Russia other than the Caucasus.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Mohammad Ishaq Rahgozar has been appointed as the new governor of the northern Balkh province of Afghanistan after months of controversie between the government and Jamiat-e-Islami over the controversial removal of Ata Mohammad Noor.
Provincial government sources in Balkh confirm the appointment of Mr. Rahgozar as the successor of Ata Mohammad Noor for the provincial political leadership of Balkh province.
The National Unity Government officials have not formally commented in this regard so far but sources privy of the development had earlier said that the government and Jamiat-e-Islami have reached to an agreement and the new governor for Balkh province will be introduced in the near future.
But the top government officials including Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and the Minister of Interior Wais Ahmad Barmak had earlier informed that the issue over Balkh political leadership will be resolved in coming days.
The Office of the President, ARG Palace, announced over three months ago that President Ghani has approved the resignation of the Balkh governor Ata Mohammad Noor.
Noor admits had submitted his resignation as a guarantee to the government that he will step down if the demands of Jamiat-e-Islami are met by the government.
However, he says the government has approved his resignation as negotiations were underway insisting that none of the conditions and demands of the party have been met.
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[ARABNEWS] Moroccan customs officials said Tuesday that they had seized 240 kilograms of hashish squeezed into orange juice cartons destined for export at the port city of Casablanca.
Authorities said the stash was found after a check of the supposed shipment of fruit drink showed up some "discrepancies."
After a search, bricks of cannabis resin totaling 240 kilograms (530 pounds) were found "carefully concealed inside cartons of orange juice from a local brand," said a statement by the customs authorities carried by local media.
In a bid to outfox officials the smugglers had added sand to the shipment to make it weigh the same as a consignment of juice, it said.
North African nation Morocco is the biggest producer of hashish in the world and one of the major exporters of cannabis resin, which is mainly shipped to Europe, according to the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... Office on Drugs and Crime.
Some 50,000 hectares of agricultural land were used for the production of cannabis, mostly in the impoverished northern Rif region, statistics from 2015 said.
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[ARABNEWS] Yemen’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Ahmed al-Misri confirmed the country’s legitimate government would cooperate with the new UN envoy, saying they would provide all possible support for his mission, Saudi state-news agency SPA reported.
During his meeting in Aden with the head of the international team of experts Mohammed Jendoubi, al-Misri stressed that the Iran-backed 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 ... militia was determined to continue the war in order to implement the Iranian agenda without any consideration for the interests of the Yemeni people.
He continued saying that the legitimate government was seeking peace through concessions made in negotiations in Geneva and Kuwait.
During the meeting, the Yemeni official reviewed the crimes committed by the Houthis against civilians and their intention to bomb residential neighborhoods in provinces and areas under their control and while using civilians as human shields to avoid air strikes.
Al-Misri said the government’s progress against the Houthis could be faster, but that its commitment to human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... meant the process would take longer.
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Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraq’s security media service has denied reports saying that 11.000 people who were tossed into the calaboose by Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... murderous Moslems in Nineveh remain missing.
The Security Media Center said "some media outlets circulated fabricated, inaccurate news about the so-called missing people in Nineveh". The center particularly criticized Saudi-owned al-Arabiya for quoting an officer from Nineveh police whose name, the center said, does not exist among personnel.
Fog of war... or of peace, or of Arab counting. Perhaps The Lancet can figure it out.
News reports have recently quoted the officer saying that Iraqi government forces, though having run into numerous graves of IS victims, have failed to find out the whereabouts of those particular 11.000 people.
[TruePundit]. Special counsel Robert Mueller is getting the cooperation of a Lebanese-American businessman with ties to Arab royalty in his probe of foreign influence on the Trump presidential campaign, including the possibility of a back channel between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team.
George Nader testified last week to the Mueller grand jury.
Mr. Nader is an adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates. According to The Times, Mr. Mueller is investigating whether Emirati money found its way to the Trump campaign, which would be illegal.
That sounds very official and all but perhaps Mueller might ask his new star witness in the Trump investigation what he was doing partying on an exclusive island resort with Bill Clinton.
Especially when The Clinton’s have been caught helping fund the bogus Trump dossier which helped launch Mueller’s probe.
#11
To whom do I send the invoice for my replacement keyboard?
Sorry, Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, but that is a known risk for reading Rantburg comments — or many of the articles, for that matter. I have a fund set aside, as it’s a regular expense. I’ve had to give up Starbucks, but it’s worth it. ;-)
[Bloomberg] Backed by a Russian billionaire, Anthony Milewski started stockpiling the metal in 2015.
Anthony Milewski was among the first investors to realize that if electric-vehicle sales take off the way automakers expect, the world is going to need a lot more cobalt—an essential ingredient in lithium-ion batteries.
But the market for cobalt isn’t very big, and there aren’t many easy ways for investors to bet on prices. The metal is a minor byproduct of copper and nickel mining, and only a few places produce meaningful quantities. More than half the world’s supply comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, an impoverished country in central Africa mired in corruption scandals and political unrest.
So, in 2015, backed by a Russian billionaire, Milewski started buying metal from mining companies and putting it in warehouses. At the time, it was cheap because most industrial commodities were stuck in long slumps. Today, the company Milewski runs, Cobalt 27 Capital Corp., holds almost 3,000 metric tons, the largest private stockpile on the planet. (Only China has more.)
Cobalt traded on the London Metal Exchange has gone from $21,750 a ton in February 2016 to a record $84,250 on March 8.
[Norsk Hydro] Preliminary findings from internal task force:
The internal expert task force established to review the Alunorte alumina refinery after the flooding in February has reported preliminary findings.
The status report has the following main findings:
Discharge of water overflowing from the adjacent waste-water holding pond into the internal open drain, Canal Velho, in addition to the already communicated rainwater release.
A release of diluted caustic soda inside the plant due to a power failure on February 17. This was mixed with rain water from the factory area before entering the waste-water holding pond, with overflow into Canal Velho.
Based on the preliminary findings of the task force, Hydro has no indications of leaks or overflow from the bauxite residue deposit areas.
In addition, an inspection has detected cracks in a pipeline, leading effluent from the DRS1 deposit area to the water treatment station. Current information indicates that the effluent was contained in a containment box.
Hydro has been ordered by the public prosecutor of Pará to within 48 hours take measures, including repairing the cracks and to block the entrance to Canal Velho. Corrective actions are being taken within the deadline.
“The preliminary findings from the internal task force show that we do not have the full overview of the situation and the course of events. I will evaluate the situation thoroughly and revert with more information in due time,” says Hydro’s President & CEO Svein Richard Brandtzæg.
The full report, together with findings from the first phase of the independent review conducted by the environmental consultancy SGW Services, will be presented first week of April.
Hydro is South America’s biggest aluminium company after acquiring Brazilian mining company Vale’s aluminium assets in the northern state of Pará in 2011. Alunorte is the world’s largest alumina refinery, employs around 2,000 people and has a nameplate capacity of an annual 6.3 million tonnes. Hydro owns 92.1 percent of Alunorte.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The local officials in eastern Kunar province ... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country..... say dozens of artillery shells were fired on Dangam district from the other side of the Durand Line.
The district administrative chif of Dangam Mohammad Rahman Danish said more than 200 rounds of artillery shells landed on Dangam district late on Sunday night.
He said the shelling started late on Sunday night and continued for several hours causing damages to the properties of the local residents.
Danish said the shelling did not incur any casualty to the local residents but some agricultural fields received damages due to the artillery shells impact.
This comes as the cross-border shelling on Kunar province had stopped during the recent weeks.
The provincial governor of Kunar province Wahidullah Kalimzai said last month that the national defense and security forces have received instructions to respond to the cross-border incursions.
He said hundreds of rounds of artillery shells were fired on Kunar province from the other side of the Durand Line and the issue has been repeatedly shared through diplomatic channels.
Kalimzai also claimed that the Afghan forces have started to respond to the shelling and target the areas from where the shelling takes place.
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[ARABNEWS] Actor Ziad Itani has been released by the Lebanese military judiciary without bail after being confined for 110 days on a charge of spying for Israel.
His arrest shocked the Lebanese public, and there was further upset when an Internal Security Forces officer and a hacker were tossed in the clink Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! for fabricating the case against Itani.
Continued on Page 49
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[Wash Times] A senior Obama State Department official gave the green light to an FBI agent in 2016 to meet with dossier writer Christopher Steele, a new book says.
The two met at Mr. Steele’s London office, touching off a relationship that would fuel the ongoing investigation into possible Donald Trump-Russia election collusion that shows no sign of ending.
Mr. Steele’s sensational charge that prompted an FBI wiretap on Trump volunteer Carter Page was sourced to the girlfriend of an unidentified Kremlin figure, according to the book. Republicans have roundly criticized the bureau for relying on the unverified, Democratic Party-financed dossier to ask a judge to approve a year of surveillance in 2016 and 2017.
John O. Brennan, Mr. Obama’s CIA director, worked behind the scenes before the election to get his suspicions about Trump and Russia into the news media.
These disclosures, including that Victoria Nuland, then at State, started the FBI-Steele marriage is contained in "Russian Roulette." The book, which was released Tuesday, was authored by two longtime Washington media figures: Yahoo News reporter Michael Isikoff and Mother Jones magazine’s David Corn.
[IsraelTimes] On sidelines of huge Juniper Cobra air defense exercise, American and Israeli ground troops trade know-how and practice beach landings, urban combat, desert warfare
Israeli paratroopers and US marines completed a series of exercises over the past week and a half aimed at sharing techniques and knowledge on beach-landings and aspects of urban warfare, as part of the joint Juniper Cobra exercise, officers said.
For the Americans ‐ specifically the US Marine Corps’ 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment ‐ it meant learning how to fight in tunnels, something marines haven’t had to do since the Vietnam War, said battalion commander Lt. Col. Marcuz Mainz.
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#3
"The Marines brought their armored vehicles and artillery. We brought our knowledge of how to fight in underground tunnels," Semel said.
The past years there has been a parade of robots coming out of Israel for urban warfare that could be used for this sort of mission. Why send a *squishy* human when you can send a robot (with its own hand grenade)?
#6
I like how you think, Siletbrick. Of course, almost any heavier than air gas might work.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
03/14/2018 18:41
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#7
CO2 Sequestration
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2018 20:07
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#8
#4 Being just a bit disingenuous, magpie - you know perfectly well robots don't win wars?
?What? The French demonstrated in WW1 that the Attaque à outrance doesn't trump the machine gun... If you feel a need to poke around in an underground meatgrinder, instead of flooding it with gas, send in the robots first.
[IsraelTimes] Israeli border officials block truckload of fatigues, fleeces, hats, bags and belts from reaching Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, terror group
Israeli border officials prevented a shipment of IDF uniforms from being smuggled into the Gazoo Strip via the Kerem Shalom border crossing Tuesday.
The clothes, found in the back of a truck, included dress uniforms and battle fatigues, fleeces, hats, bags and belts. The uniforms bore the insignia of IDF units.
Officials suspect the uniforms were meant to be used as part of an attack against Israel by Gazook terror groups.
Tuesday’s discovery is the latest action by customs inspectors to thwart the Hamas terror group, which controls the Gazoo Strip, in its goal of obtaining weapons and military gear.
Last month a shipment of uniforms from China was confiscated at the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
Kirkuk (Iraqinews.com) – Pro-government troops of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) announced on Tuesday killing Seven Islamic State (IS) militants in a military operation southwest of the oil-rich Kirkuk province.
In a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Alghad Press, the PMFs said that “four of those killed in the military operation were clad in explosive belts as they sought to blow themselves up to block the troops’ advancement towards al-Rebza village in southwestern Kirkuk.”
“The troops killed three other IS militants in the operation as well,” according to the statement, adding that the military operation will go on as scheduled to eliminate all IS cells across Kirkuk.
Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Eight Islamic State members were killed in an ambush set up by the pro-government paramilitary troops, southwest of Kirkuk, a source was quoted saying on Tuesday.
Speaking to AlSumaria News, the source from al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) said troops, in collaboration with Federal Police in Shalaka village in Riyad town, southwest of Kirkuk “carried out an operation leaving eight IS members killed.”
The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said, “targeting the militants was based on accurate intelligence information that helped to set up the ambush for the militants and destroy the rest house they were hiding inside.”
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Saw somethng, said something. This time, at least, it worked.
[IndyStar] A man in the country illegally has been charged with a federal crime after two gun scares, including one involving an AR-15-styled rifle equipped with a scope and bump stock outside a downtown Indianapolis hotel on the day of the Women's March with thousands of attendees.
Ahmed Alaklouk, described in federal court documents as a Tunisian native and 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... n citizen, has been living in Indiana on a terminated student visa. Federal law prohibits someone in the country illegally from possessing guns or ammo, but court records say police found him with weapons on two occasions in January.
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#1
Federallaw prohibits someone in the country illegally from possessing guns or ammo, but court records say police found him with weapons on two occasions in January.
Obviously we need MOAR laws. So he wasn't deported the first two times they had a chance? Tell me more
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03/14/2018 8:34
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#2
I'd like to know if his AR-15 had the chainsaw bayonet attached.
#3
Hotel security saw several firearms inside Alaklouk's truck parked at the hotel: six handguns in the back seat, and a rifle in the front seat... Police told him to secure his weapons in a hotel safe or out of sight in his vehicle because leaving them in the open could result in a break-in.
Sounds like the police didn't want to be bothered.
[IsraelTimes] 'If the PA is unwilling to, or unable to, implement the projects, then we would have to proceed without them,' administration official says
While the White House would like to work with the Paleostinian Authority on its initiatives in Gazoo, it will move on without them if they’re unwilling to cooperate with the Trump administration, senior administration officials said Tuesday shortly after completing a conference with Israeli, Arab and European officials on the battered coastal enclave.
Apparently there were national security officials from 20 countries at the conclave. The Jerusalem Post lists the following: Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Canada and various European countries.
Claiming that many of the projects discussed earlier in a six-hour summit could be easily carried out without the PA governing the Gazoo Strip, a US official said that would not be "the ideal situation."
Continued on Page 49
Bahrain, Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, the EU, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, the Quartet, Qatar, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, and the United Nations.
[AFP] Philippine police have arrested an Abu Sayyaf rebel who allegedly helped guard a group of tourists kidnapped in 2001, including an American missionary who was later killed.
Hood Abdullah is accused of guarding hostages including American citizen Martin Burnham, who was killed and his wife injured in the crossfire during a botched rescue attempt in June 2002. Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said, "Burnham, an American hostage, was always handcuffed to Abdullah...especially on the move."
Burnham died 13 months after Abu Sayyaf gunmen kidnapped a group of 20 tourists at an upscale western Philippine resort, including the Burnhams and another U.S. citizen, who was later beheaded. While Abdullah did not take part in the resort raid, he guarded the Burnhams when several groups of hostages including the missionary couple were put together in one detention area, Aguirre said. The other hostages were plantation workers and Jehovah's Witnesses — two of whom were rescued and helped to identify Abdullah, the justice secretary added.
Abdullah was arrested on February 27 in Zamboanga City, where Aguirre said he was believed to be scouting for fresh victims while working as a motel security guard. On February 28, authorities arrested a second Abu Sayyaf rebel, Jimmy Bla, elsewhere in Zamboanga. Bla owns several powerful motorboats and is believed to have been providing “fast sea transport” to kidnappers.
Posted by: ryuge ||
03/14/2018
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Salahuddin (Iraqinews.com) – Suspected Islamic State (IS) militants have detonated a mosque on a road between Salahuddin and Kirkuk provinces, a move that is seen by commentators as a new escalation against worship places in Iraq, a security source was quoted as saying.
Speaking to Alsumaria News on Tuesday, the source said, “Armed men believed to be members of the Islamic State group have sneaked into al-Mustafa mosque in al Alam district in Tikrit and detonated it.”
“The explosion caused material damage to the mosque but no human casualties were reported,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, pointed out.
The source noted that a security force rushed to the blast site and opened a probe into the attack.
Salahuddin (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi army, backed by pro-government troops, killed on Tuesday four Islamic State (IS) militants while trying to infiltrate into al-Shirqat district in northern Salahuddin province via western borders, a security source was quoted as saying.
Speaking to Knooz Media, the source said, “A group of IS militants tried to infiltrate into the Sunni-dominated al-Shirqat district coming from western borders, but troops of the Iraqi army and al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) managed to foil their plot and killed four of them.”
The source affirmed that the security situation “in the district is now under control.”
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) The Shiite militia of Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades) have accused the protection guards of Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi of attacking the personnel deployed between Samarra and Tikrit in Salahuddin, which sparked confrontations that caused the death of the guards commander, Brig. Gen. Sherif Ismail Ebeid.
Speaking to Baghdad Today website, Mohannad al-Azzawi, media official of the militias in Samarra, said, “a parade from the cabinet, including big number of troops, was coming from Baghdad to Samarra. As it arrived at the central checkpoint in Samarra, the troops refused the measures taken by the security troops, composed of federal police and three personnel of the brigades.”
The troops of the parade, according to Azzawi, “opened fire against police and beat the brigades personnel and confiscated their weapons.”
A security source previously said commander of the 57th brigade of Abadi’s protection guards was killed, while two others were injured in armed confrontations with Saraya al-Salam near Samarra.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/14/2018
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#1
So, putting all the stories together and re-arranging would the following be a proper analysis?
The Shite Militia blew up an empty Sunni mosque then got into a firefight with the Iraqi PM's guards killing a Brig. Gen. Then all parties agreed to blame ISIS.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
03/14/2018 7:02
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#3
Unstable and explosive is no way to go through life, son
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2018 7:09
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#4
The Shite Militia blew up an empty Sunni mosque then got into a firefight with the Iraqi PM's guards killing a Brig. Gen. Then all parties agreed to blame ISIS.
[twitter] New test video of Blue’s 550K lbf thrust, ox-rich staged combustion, LNG-fueled BE-4 rocket engine. The test is a mixture ratio sweep at 65% power level and 114 seconds in duration. Methane (or LNG) has proved to be an outstanding fuel choice.
#1
Exciting, it looks cool but the burn is in an O2 rich environment.
First the methane burns: CH4+O2⟶CO2+2H2
Then the hydrogen burns: 2H2+O2⟶2H2O
I think in a sparse or forced oxygen environment the primary reaction will complete but the competing secondary reaction will have insufficient O to complete resulting in an overall reaction of CH4+O2⟶CO2+H2O+H with hydrogen as a unregulated waste product.
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) ‐ Five non-combatants were killed and injured on Tuesday in a kaboom near a popular market in northern Baghdad, a security source was quoted as saying.
Speaking to Alghad Press, the source said, "An explosive charge went off near a busy street market in al-Taji district in northern Baghdad."
"The kaboom left a civilian killed and four others maimed," the source said, adding that a security force cordoned off the blast site.
The source added that the "ambulances carried the body to the forensic medicine department, and the injured to a nearby hospital for treatment."
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Three Islamic State members were killed in an airstrike launched by the U.S.-led Coalition, west of Anbar, a source from Anbar Operations Command announced on Tuesday.
“Coalition jets shelled an Islamic State tunnel in the desert, southwest of Rutba,” the source told AlSumaria News.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said, “the shelling left a tunnel destroyed and three militants, who were hiding inside, killed.”
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Six Islamic State members were killed as the U.S.-led Coalition launched an airstrike in west of Anbar, a security source said on Tuesday.
“Fighter jets of the U.S.-led Coalition shelled a vehicle of Islamic State in Wadi al-Qathf region in Rutba, west of Ramadi,” the source from Anbar Operations Command told AlSumaria News.
“The shelling left six militants killed and the vehicle destroyed,” the source, who preferred anonymity, added.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/14/2018
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[Daily Caller] State Department employees were seen crying in their cars after hearing the news President Donald Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Tuesday, according to a report.
The morale was reportedly so low after the announcement that many employees, including "seasoned diplomats," were seen crying in their cars outside of the building, CNN State Department correspondent Michelle Kosinski reported.
The news comes as Tillerson’s tensions between the two continued to rise since Tillerson took the job in 2017. The secretary of state was reportedly asked Friday to return to Washington from a trip abroad and told he would be fired.
#2
The morale was reportedly so low after the announcement that many employees, including "seasoned diplomats," were seen crying in their cars outside of the building
#12
Were they weeping because Rex Tillerson is out, or because of the man who chosen to replace him, a man who will, from their perspective, be even worse?
Mr. Tillerson’s mandate was to downsize and refocus the state department. The incoming gentleman will not be a return to historic practices, so there should be even more retirements in the near future.
[Dhaka Tribune] Six officers stationed at the Air Traffic Control Tower who witnessed the US-Bangla plane crash in Kathmandu have been shifted to another department to "minimize shock of the accident," reports Nepali newspaper My Republica.
A flight of US-Bangla aircraft carrying 67 passengers and four flight crew crashed outside Tribhuvan International Airport on Monday. It was flying from Dhaka to Kathmandu.
"This is a standard procedure to release stress after fateful incident. They witnessed a huge disaster and they are shocked. Hence, we’ve transferred them to other departments to reduce their stress post-crash," Rajan Pokharel, Deputy Director General of Civil Aviation Authority said.
Pokharel clarified that the transfer was not due to the leak of audio talk between ATC and the pilot before the impact.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2018
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[Ynet] French counterterrorism police have detained five people suspected of helping jihadis who left La Belle France to join the battlefields of Syria and Iraq.
A judicial official told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that four men and one woman were jugged You have the right to remain silent... Tuesday in the southeastern Isere region on suspicion of taking part in a criminal terrorist association and of providing financial support to a terrorist undertaking.
Investigators believe that the five are linked to jihadis in combat zones in Syria and Iraq and are suspected of giving them money.
The official said the five will remain in jug until a judge decides on whether to file preliminary charges. He requested anonymity to speak about an ongoing investigation.
French authorities said last month that two potential murderous Moslem attacks have been thwarted in La Belle France since January.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/14/2018
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[DAWN] The Taliban ...Arabic for students... captured a district in western Afghanistan as security continued to deteriorate in the war-ravaged state, the US media reported on Monday.
The fall of the district, Anardarah district in Farah province, came days after Afghan cops suffered heavy casualties in another district in the same province, the reports added.
Farah is a strategically important province, as it borders Iran and is linked to the country’s lucrative drug routes.
The New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... warned that these setbacks could further deteriorate the security situation in Afghanistan, "as the US military finds itself drawn deeper into the war".
Dadullah Qani, a member of the Farah provincial council, told NYT that Taliban fighters stormed Anardarah district, which used to be a safe area, and overran a number of government compounds in the district centre early on Monday.
"The district governor’s compound and police headquarters are near the southern entrance of the district, and both are overrun by the Taliban," Mr Qani said. "There are casualties to the police, but we lost contact with them and we have no idea about their condition, including the police chief of the district."
Mohammad Naseer Mehri, a front man for the governor of Farah, told NYT that the attack began around 4am and the Taliban had managed to enter the governor’s compound and seize it.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2018
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[DAWN] 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.... Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab... was elected the PML-N president unopposed at a convention of the party's General Council on Tuesday.
Addressing the council's meeting in Islamabad after his election, Shahbaz said he was honoured to have been chosen as the party president but that no one, including himself, could even think about taking the place of Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf, then by the courts... , who was removed as party president by the Supreme Court but was later rechristened as the party's 'leader for life'.
"I believe Nawaz Sharif is the only Pak politician and leader that can be called Jinnah's political heir," he told a roaring crowd chanting party slogans. "We are lucky to have been blessed with a Quaid [leader] like Nawaz Sharif."
Nawaz made Pakistain's defence "invincible" through atomic weapons, rejected $5 billion aid from the US and built motorways, he said. History will also remember Nawaz for eliminating terrorism through the sacrifices of armed forces and nearly eliminating scheduled power outages, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2018
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[Libya Observer] The "dirty money" of the United Arab Emirates and 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... is being paid to recruit African mercenaries to occupy Libya's south and that money could lead to the division of the country if it was not blocked, Libya's Mufti, al-Sadiq al-Ghariani ...Libyan Moslem Brüderhood Grand Mufti since 2012. Issued a fatwa forbidding Libyan women from marrying foreign men. Issued a "fatwa against a UN Commission on the Status of Women's report because it urged governments to protect women and girls against violence" Aligned with the GNC govt... said Monday.
In a new published article, the Mufti said UAE and Saudi Arabia leaders are stuffing their enemies' bank accounts with money so they can buy some of their weapons and thus achieve development in their factories, pointing out that it is shameful that they don't buy with that money arms to fight the enemy but rather to kill Libyans and Yemenis or to oppress revolutions in Arab countries.
"Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... , using the arms bought with UAE money, killed over 15000 persons in Benghazi, left over 20000 crippled persons and displaced over 100.000 of Benghazi residents after he had destroyed it." The Mufti explained.
"Always the UAE and Saudi Arabia money is used in plots and schemes that are made to harm the Moslem nation." He added.
He also said that the UAE and Saudi Arabia should have spent the money given to "the enemies" on the construction, education and scientific research in the Moslem nation in Africa, or for the wellbeing of the Moslems in Burma or the besieged population of Gazoo.
"Instead, the money was spent on oppressive intelligence agencies." The Mufti remarked.
He also pointed out that UAE and Saudi Arabia betrayed the "cause" and are taking the side of the enemy against Moslems, adding that they are helping the Zionists crack down on the resistance movement Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, in Paleostine, placing the "Mujahideen on terror lists."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2018
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The trial continues. Herewith some of his side of the story, however airbrushed it might be. The rest can be read at the link.
[DailyMail] The Parsons Green bomber has told a court he made up a story about being kidnapped by Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... because he wanted to study in Britannia to become the new David Attenborough.
Ahmed Hassan
...the problematic foster child who gave his name in full to the court as 'Ahmed Hassan Mohammad Ali'. Several months before leaving a bomb on the train, the known wolf was referred to a government de-radicalization program...
arrived in Britannia in October 2015 and told immigration officials he had been forced to train 'to kill' by Isis, the Old Bailey has heard.
But the 18-year-old Iraqi asylum seeker has now told jurors that he was never taken prisoner by Isis and had not had any contact with the terror group.
Asked why he made up the story, the media student told the court: 'Because I came from a wealthy, safe area in northern Iraq in Kurdistan and if I told the truth, my only reason to leave the country was to further my studies ... I felt I had to make up something strong.
'In the Jungle in Calais, people used to talk about these things and make up stories. I never came across a refugee who said he would tell the truth when he arrived in the country.
Hassan said he never intended the bomb to kill, adding: 'The idea of killing another human being never crossed my mind at all, never in my life.
He said the device was intended to burn rather than explode and added: 'My final destination was home. That was the fantasy in my head. I would be chased and I would not be caught and I would be on the news and I would go home.'
[Townhall] Gina Haspel, Trump's new nominee for CIA director, was a key figure in former President George W. Bush's enhanced interrogation program.
Haspel's leading role in the program was first spotlighted last year after she was named as the CIA's deputy director. The New York Times reported on how she supposedly helped torture two people suspected of terrorism.
As a clandestine officer at the Central Intelligence Agency in 2002, Gina Haspel oversaw the torture of two terrorism suspects and later took part in an order to destroy videotapes documenting their brutal interrogations at a secret prison in Thailand.
The New Yorker published a similar profile, with additional details about the techniques she helped employ against suspected terrorists.
From 2003 to 2005, Gina Haspel was a senior official overseeing a top-secret C.I.A. program that subjected dozens of suspected terrorists to savage interrogations, which included depriving them of sleep, squeezing them into coffins, and forcing water down their throats. In 2002, Haspel was among the C.I.A. officers present at the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, an Al Qaeda suspect who was tortured so brutally that at one point he appeared to be dead.
Her participation in that program is an area of great concern for Edward Snowden. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor notorious for exposing information about U.S. surveillance programs and living in exile in Russia because of it, is asking the Trump administration how they can live with themselves over this choice.
#4
I was unaware we were signatories to any treaties that made al'Qaeda anything but unlawful combatants unprotected by any law. They chose to fight in ways that exempted them from all protections.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
03/14/2018 6:28
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#5
Oh Christ, now we have to relive all that BS from post 9/11 proggie traitors.
I've already given up sports because of the politics. I gave up the MSM decades ago. Am I going to be forced to give up blogs now?
[FOX] Tragedy struck on a United flight from Houston to New York City, when a dog in a TSA-compliant pet carrier died after a flight attendant forced its owner to store the animal and its carrier in an overhead bin for the duration of the four-hour Monday flight.
First reported by travel blogger The Points Guy, United has since claimed full responsibility for the "tragic accident."
According to passenger Maggie Gremminger, she and others heard the black French bulldog barking initially during the flight, and were horrified to learn the animal had passed away later in the trip, she told People.
#5
If the dog is in a carrier in the seat next to the owner the dog has the same amount of space as if the dog is in the overhead bin. There isn't much light and the air circulation isn't as good but usually those things don't kill dogs.
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/14/2018 13:54
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[ARABNEWS] Paleostinian Prime Minister Rami al-Hamdallah survived an liquidation attempt during a rare visit to Gazoo on Tuesday when a roadside kaboom detonated next to his convoy.
The prime minister was unhurt in the blast and continued with some of his official duties, but six of his guards were slightly maimed.
The attack happened in northern Gazoo, just a few hundred meters from the Erez crossing to Israel.
The convoy, which had just crossed into Gazoo, included the head of the Paleostinian intelligence service Majid Faraj.
Three cars were damaged in the kaboom and the six injured guards were taken to the West Bank where they were treated in hospital in Ramallah.
Al-Hamdallah and Faraj continued on to the opening ceremony of the internationally funded sewage treatment plant but left Gazoo soon after without meeting any Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbung millipede, leaders.
Hamas has been in control of Gazoo since 2007, after seizing the territory in festivities with the rival Fatah faction, which controls the West Bank.
The two sides reached an Egyptian-brokered deal in October, which was supposed to see Hamas hand over powers to the Paleostinian Authority.
But after giving up security oversight of the Gazoo border crossings in November, the deal has faltered and Hamas maintains full control of the territory. Yesterday’s bombing is expected to further derail prospects of Paleostinian unity, which many feel is essential for any progress in peace talks with Israel.
"What happened is a disgraceful act and will only increase our determination to serve the Gazoo Strip," al-Hamadallah said at the opening ceremony of the wastewater plant.
The bombing "will only increase our resolve to continue our work in the service of the Gazoo Strip and end the division, and we will continue to work with determination to complete our government projects," he said.
Hamas condemned the attack, accusing "Israel and its agents" carrying it out.
"This crime is an integral part of the attempts to tamper with the security of the Gazoo Strip and to strike any efforts to achieve unity and reconciliation," the group said.
Hamas’s Interior Ministry in Gazoo said it had opened an urgent investigation into the incident and incarcerated Please don't kill me! a number of suspects.
Major General Tawfiq Abu Naim, commander of the internal security forces in Gazoo, said "There will be an investigation.
"I have had three inspection tours of the place to secure the road since yesterday. This incident serves only the occupation," he added, referring to Israel.
Witnesses said the bomb was planted under an electricity pole on Gazoo’s main north-south road. The device went off shortly after Hamdallah’s 20-vehicle convoy had entered through the crossing, AP reported.
"I could not see anything because smoke and dust filled the air. When the smoke cleared, the kaboom was followed by heavy gunfire, apparently from police securing the convoy. When the dust cleared, I saw people running everywhere, and police were running around," said a witness.
Two vehicles were badly damaged and could not continue. One had bloodstains on the door. At least two bodyguards were slightly maimed.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2018
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[Breitbart] The Austrian of Egyptian origin who was rubbed out over the weekend after attacking a soldier with a knife outside the Iranian ambassador’s residence in Vienna had Islamist sympathies, authorities said Tuesday.
Preliminary indications suggest that the 26-year-old man "clearly had sympathies with political Islam", Michaela Kardeis, head of public security, told a news conference in Vienna.
Material seized at his home and his social media activities would be further analysed in the coming days, Kardeis said, but for now there were no more details about his background or possible motives.
The defence ministry said meanwhile that during his Austrian military service in 2012 the man was registered as a devout Moslem, giving him the right to pray five times a day and grow a beard.
The Kurier newspaper reported that the man, who lived with his parents in a working-class area of Vienna, followed on Facebook the German Salafist preacher Pierre Vogel.
In addition the Vienna-born man was a fan of a Facebook group that agitated for the "release of Sunni prisoners in Iran", Kurier reported.
Police said on Monday that he may also have had mental health problems.
‐ Four shots ‐
The man named by police as Mohammed E. attacked the soldier outside the Iranian envoy’s residence just before midnight (2300 GMT) on Sunday, stabbing him several times as they wrestled on the ground.
The soldier tried to use pepper spray to immobilise his attacker but later used his gun, firing at least four shots and killing the attacker at the scene, according to police.
The soldier escaped relatively unscathed with a wound to his upper arm. He was also suffering from shock.
Police have ordered reinforcements around all diplomatic missions in the city.
Iran is one of the main international backers of the Syrian regime, and has sent military advisers and thousands of "volunteers" to battle 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.... Lions of Islam in both Syria and Iraq.
Last June, IS grabbed credit for two attacks on Iran’s parliament and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that killed 17 people and maimed dozens.
Iran has since tracked down and killed several suspected jihadists, and over the past few months authorities have announced the arrest of dozens of IS suspects in several regions.
Austria has been spared the spate of Islamist holy warrior attacks suffered in recent years by other European countries like La Belle France, Belgium, Germany and Britannia.
However the small and wealthy EU member ‐ outside the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure.... military alliance and officially neutral ‐ punches above its weight when it comes to Islamic holy warriors.
Last year authorities said that 300 people from 8.7-million-strong Austria had travelled to Syria since the civil war there began, one of the highest numbers per capita in the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... .
Around half of the departees are from Austria’s 30,000-strong Chechen minority, one of Europe’s biggest. Many also have links to western Balkans countries.
[ARABNEWS] America should create its own separate military space force, 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... mentioned in an offhand remark Tuesday that would change the course of US space policy.
But don’t expect Captain Kirk ordering phasers set on stun, Battlestar Galactica or ray guns blazing in orbit in the near future, space experts said. And some said a military space force may make it harder to keep Earth’s orbit a place of peace.
Saying his national security strategy "recognizes that space is a war-fighting domain, just like the land, air and sea," Trump said at a San Diego Marine Corps base that he’s considering "a space force" that would be the equivalent of the Air Force, Army and Navy.
Trump said at first he wasn’t serious when he floated the concept, but "then I said what a great idea, maybe we’ll have to do that."
This is more about boosting reconnaissance and cybersecurity than fighting in orbit, said Sean O’Keefe, who was both NASA administrator and Navy secretary under President George W. Bush.
Trump’s own defense secretary and Air Force secretary argued vociferously against it when members of Congress pushed it last year, O’Keefe said. You can emphasize more help for the military in space without going to the massive organizational change and expense, he said.
It could be a bureaucratic nightmare, said O’Keefe, a professor at Syracuse University.
He said some people may argue that a space force would "compromise the sanctity of considering space to be off limits from warfare."
SpaceNews dot com on SpaceForce.
Trump's real reason appears to be that money allocated for Space Resources by the President or Congress is always redirected to the USAF pet projects and the space effort is starved. So this is Trump's F-U to the Air Force. It's not new to Trump. Obama, Bush, Clinton and others have played with the concept over time. Trump just got upset and put the option play in play.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2018
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#4
well, we could use some shield to protect our e-infrastructure from solar storms and EMP and if we get a shield we could have a shield generator
although maybe not have it sited on the ewok planet
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/14/2018 9:12
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#5
This is more about boosting reconnaissance and cybersecurity than fighting in orbit, said Sean O’Keefe, who was both NASA administrator and Navy secretary under President George W. Bush.
The great Green Weenies can't come up with 'alternative' disposal of their waste, so they just dump on everyone else. Maybe its a indication you have stuffed too many people into one spot.
#5
Since New York City pays for dumping it's waste in Alabama it was considered a money maker for the state of Alabama. Mo money in the state coffers, dontcha know.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/14/2018 11:12
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[CNBC] Malaysia and Indonesia both have upcoming elections, and Islamic parties could play a central role in both.
The two countries boast significant Muslim populations — Indonesia has the world's largest — and they have histories of pluralism and tolerance. But some political candidates are catering to Islamists in order to win over conservative voters, a move that could grant hard-liners greater influence in the future. If extremists are emboldened politically, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur risk endangering democratic norms as well as their strategic ties with the United States.
A growing belief that Muslims are "victims of economic and political injustice" has empowered Islamist entities lately, risk consultancy Eurasia Group said in a brief. Represented by names such as Indonesia's Islamic Defenders Front (FDI) and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), those factions advocate Sharia law, and seek to roll back protections for minorities.
Indonesia's vote — scheduled for 2019 — will likely see incumbent President Joko Widodo , or Jokowi, face off against former Lieutenant General Prabowo Subianto for the second consecutive time. Anthony Nelson, director at consultancy Albright Stonebridge Group's East Asia and Pacific practice, explained, "Prabowo was defeated by Jokowi in 2014, so he has begun to lay the groundwork for expanding his coalition by reaching out to Islamist groups."
Subianto has not yet declared his candidacy, but has reportedly allied with the FDI. The group led 2016 Jakarta protests against Christian politician Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. Subianto, who fronts the Gerindra party, is trying to portray himself as more receptive to poorer Muslims and take advantage of Jokowi's perceived lack of religious credentials, said Vedi Hadiz, professor of Asian Studies at the University of Melbourne.
It's a similiar story in Malaysia, where an election must be called by August 2018. Prime Minister Najib Razak's ruling coalition — the United Malays National Organisation or UMNO — has been warming to PAS, a group that aims to increase the power of Sharia courts and impose Sharia-based punishments for some criminal offenses. The alliance claims to represent Malay Muslims and depict detractors as "anti-Malay, anti-Muslim or foreign puppets," according to Hadiz.
[Dhaka Tribune] The court has also acquitted 16 others, including prime accused BNP leader Mahtab Uddin Chowdhury Minar. A Feni court sentenced 39 people to death on Tuesday for the audacious 2014 killing of Fulgazi upazila chairman, Ekramul Haque.
The verdicts were handed down at the District and Sessions Judge Court in Dhaka by Judge Aminul Haque, who acquitted 16 others including the prime accused BNP leader, Mahtab Uddin Chowdhury Minar.
Ekramul was rubbed out in broad daylight in Feni town on May 20, 2014, while travelling to his upazila office from his Masterpara residence.
His attackers intercepted the microbus he was on and fired at him from close range before setting the vehicle on fire. They expeditiously departed at a goodly pace only after confirming the death of Ekramul, who was also the president of the local Awami League unit.
The next day his brother, Rezaul Haque Jasim, filed a murder case against BNP leader Minar and 30-35 unidentified people with Feni model cop shoppe.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2018
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#3
"There is no nullification. There is no secession. Federal law is 'the supreme law of the land.' I would invite any doubters to Gettysburg, and to the graves of John C. Calhoun and Abraham Lincoln."
Very sad that this must be revisited, but it clearly illustrates the short memories of democrats.
#3
The Shield Act does not cost much money and we need to be serious about securing our critical infrastructure as our Logistics and much more is tied to it.
We are complacent and do not even shield critical power stations from EMP or even hacking attacks for that matter. It is the most pressing issue aside from the debt. And it will hit home one day if we keep ignoring it. Not all sunspots can be controlled away from this dear planet.
[DAWN] Bangladesh’s High Court on Monday granted bail for four months to opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who was placed in durance vile Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! for five years on a corruption conviction and is awaiting an appeal.
Despite the decision, it was not immediately clear if or when Zia would be freed from jail.
Mahbubey Alam, the country’s attorney general, said after Monday’s ruling that a move against the bail order would be made in the High Court on Tuesday.
Lawyers said a two-member panel of judges considered the 72-year-old Zia’s age and health condition in granting the bail. Zia has had various health complications in the past.
A court convicted Zia on Feb 8 on charges of misusing her power and embezzling about $250,000. The conviction means that Zia, the arch rival of Prime Minister the loathesome Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. , can be barred from running in December elections.
The court also sentenced Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman ...the elder son of former President of Bangladesh Ziaur Rahman Bir Uttam, and Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. He is the Senior Vice Chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). His nickname is Pino. There are allegations that Pino took a rakeoff from every foreign investment into the country while Mom was in office... , and four others to 10 years in prison for involvement in the case. Rahman lives in London and was tried in absentia.
Bangladesh law says anyone imprisoned for more than two years cannot run for office for the next five years, but Law Minister Anisul Huq has said the final decision rests with the higher courts. Zia faces more than 30 other charges, ranging from corruption to sedition.
Posted by: Fred ||
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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.
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.
[Breitbart London] Emigration from countries of Sub-Saharan Africa has risen dramatically in recent years and the region currently accounts for eight of the 10 fastest growing international migrant populations, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.
... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world...
... Born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, zapped in Yemen, al-Awlaki was a dual citizen of the U.S. and Yemen. He was an Islamic holy man who was a trainer for al-Qaeda and its franchises. His sermons were attended by three of the 9/11 hijackers, by Fort Hood murderer Nidal Malik Hussein, and 
...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...
[DAWN] A seven-year-old boy's post-mortem examination report — a copy of which is available with DawnNewsTV — confirmed that he had been raped before being killed. Police officials at Shaikh Maltoon Police Station said that they have launched an investigation and taken some suspects into custody.
[DAWN] An eight-year-old hearing-impaired girl was raped in Bakshally area of Mardan, family and police said on Tuesday.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has officially entered the al-Qadam District in southern Damascus after a long absence due to the ongoing war.
Perennial Presidential Campaigner Hillary 
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
. Special counsel Robert Mueller is getting the cooperation of a Lebanese-American businessman with ties to Arab royalty in his probe of foreign influence on the Trump presidential campaign, including the possibility of a back channel between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team.
[Norsk Hydro] Preliminary findings from internal task force:
[Wash Times] A senior Obama State Department official gave the green light to an FBI agent in 2016 to meet with dossier writer Christopher Steele, a new book says.
[AFP] Philippine police have arrested an Abu Sayyaf rebel who allegedly helped guard a group of tourists kidnapped in 2001, including an American missionary who was later killed. 
[Dhaka Tribune] Six officers stationed at the Air Traffic Control Tower who witnessed the US-Bangla plane crash in Kathmandu have been shifted to another department to "minimize shock of the accident," reports Nepali newspaper My Republica.
...Pak dynastic politician, brother of PM Nawaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab...
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf, then by the courts...
...Libyan Moslem Brüderhood Grand Mufti since 2012. Issued a fatwa forbidding Libyan women from marrying foreign men. Issued a "fatwa against a UN Commission on the Status of Women's report because it urged governments to protect women and girls against violence" Aligned with the GNC govt...
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
[Townhall] Gina Haspel, Trump's new nominee for CIA director, was a key figure in former President George W. Bush's enhanced interrogation program. 
[CNBC] Malaysia and Indonesia both have upcoming elections, and Islamic parties could play a central role in both.
[Dhaka Tribune] The court has also acquitted 16 others, including prime accused BNP leader Mahtab Uddin Chowdhury Minar. A Feni court sentenced 39 people to death on Tuesday for the audacious 2014 killing of Fulgazi upazila chairman, Ekramul Haque.
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as 
