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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Arab coalition thwarts Houthi boat bomb targeting commercial ships off Yemen
Today's Headlines
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
Russia hosts Taliban in bid for greater influence in Afghanistan
[ARABNEWS] They may be arch rivals but now the Talibs and Russia have a common enemy and purpose ‐ to see departure of the US troops from Afghanistan after more than 17 years of war that has spread of extremism and deep mistrust of the presence of American forces.

As part of its effort to revive influence in its former backyard, Moscow plans to hold a regional conference on the Afghan grinding of the peace processor on Sept. 4, a gathering that is highly likely to feature discussion on the fate of American soldiers in the country.

The Taliban
...Arabic for students...
has confirmed it will attend the meeting, but Afghanistan's Caped President Ashraf Ghani
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
has refused to participate.

ISIS’s affiliates, despite numerous offensives by Afghan and US troops in recent months, have stepped up their attacks and conducted far more sophisticated strikes in major cities, including northern areas close to the border with Central Asia.

"Any debate held in regional or other countries about Afghanistan, especially about the grinding of the peace processor, needs to be structured under the auspices of the Afghan government. We are not attending," Afghan Foreign Ministry front man Sibghat Ahmadi told Arab News on Thursday.

Posted by: Fred || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Meanwhile the Taliban are the muscle for the folks cooking the heroin sold on Russian streets. Russians are taking a play out of the game book use by Obama in Benghazi. Good luck with that.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/24/2018 6:15 Comments || Top||

#2  Mostly illiterate Oral Tradition Culture that still tells stories about Alexander the Great and Tamerlane the Great Mongol Scourge as if it happened in the Great-Grandfather's lifetime... Sure, the Russians will gain plenty of access -- as long as their golden bribes lasts and not a second more.
Posted by: magpie || 08/24/2018 14:39 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Libya refuses to take migrants rejected by Italy
[AlAhram] Libya has refused to take in a group of 177 migrants colonists stranded on an Italian coastguard boat off a Sicilian port after Rome insisted they would not be allowed to disembark.

Italia's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini threatened earlier this week to return the migrants colonists to the North African country unless other European governments offered to take some of them in.

But Mohammed Siala, foreign minister of the UN-backed Libyan unity government, said that "Libya does not accept this unjust and illegal measure because it already has more than 700,000 migrants colonists" on its territory.

In a statement late Wednesday, he called on the international community "to put pressure on the countries of departure to repatriate their nationals", adding that Libya had only served as a transit point.
A reasonable request, especially for a country trying to fix the chaos caused by Europeans targetting Libya’s erstwhile tyrant, Moammar Khadaffy...
The Italian boat "Diciotti" arrived on Monday night off the Sicilian port of Catania.

Plunged into chaos following the fall and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Qadaffy in a 2011 NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
-backed uprising, Libya has become a prime transit point for sub-Saharan African migrants colonists making dangerous clandestine bids to reach Europe.

The country takes in migrants colonists whose boats are intercepted in its waters by the Libyan coastguard, but it has repeatedly rejected those rescued by foreign navies or by humanitarian organizations off its coast.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Human Trafficking


China-Japan-Koreas
Residents of Korea's Jeju island talk about Yemeni refugees
[Al Jazeera] More than 550 Yemeni nationals have arrived on South Korea's Jeju Island since April seeking asylum and refugee status.

Unlike mainland South Korea, Jeju offered visa-free arrival for various nationalities, including Yemenis, to boost tourism.

But the arrival of Yemenis, mostly from Malaysia - to which they fled from war-torn 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...
- sparked an online outcry and protests on the island, as well as the capital, Seoul.

The refugees are barred from leaving Jeju and entering mainland South Korea and are only permitted to work on farms, the sea or restaurants, often doing long hours of manual labour. Some complain of not being paid after working for more than a month.

More than 700,000 South Koreans filed an online petition urging the government to stop its visa-free policy for Yemen.

Protesters demanded the government to refuse asylum and deport the Yemenis.

A recent survey of more than 500 Jeju residents revealed almost 90 percent felt insecure about going outside since the arrival of the Yemenis.

Posted by: Fred || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


Europe
European rights court says Hungary must feed asylum seekers on border
[AlAhram] Hungary must provide food to asylum seekers held in detention camps on its border with Serbia whose applications have been rejected by Budapest but who are appealing the decision, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said on Thursday.

Human rights groups say that Hungarian authorities have refused food to some asylum seekers held in the two detention camps on the border, which are open towards Serbia, while they await the outcome of their court appeal.

Hungary's parliament in June passed laws that criminalise giving some kinds of help to illegal immigrants colonists. Hungary also said it would not accept asylum applications from migrants colonists arriving via a country where they are deemed safe from persecution or harm, or where an adequate level of protection is provided.

As all the asylum seekers have come via Serbia, which is classed by Hungary as a safe country, their applications can now be rejected. The European Commission says the changes do not comply with EU law and has launched a procedure against Hungary.

The Helsinki Committee, a rights group, said in an Aug. 17 statement it had asked the Strasbourg-based ECHR to intervene over what it described as "inhuman" treatment on the border.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  Hungarian authorities have refused food to some asylum seekers held in the two detention camps on the border, which are open towards Serbia
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/24/2018 4:07 Comments || Top||

#2  Maybe they should call it an entitlements court, as this is certainly not a right.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 08/24/2018 6:07 Comments || Top||

#3  Extorting Hungarian taxpayers to feed foreign criminals who will not leave is actually inhuman.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 08/24/2018 6:08 Comments || Top||

#4  China apparently now have some surplus hog meat available. Hungary can feed the migrants various pork dishes if they can get the hog meat.
Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance || 08/24/2018 9:24 Comments || Top||

#5  Don't feed strays, they'll never leave.
Posted by: Regular joe || 08/24/2018 13:56 Comments || Top||

#6  Free dog food for everybody!
Posted by: gorb || 08/24/2018 18:41 Comments || Top||

#7  The Sheriff Joe Arpaio Menu beckons.
Posted by: Frank G || 08/24/2018 19:18 Comments || Top||


Trying to keep nuclear deal alive, EU unveils Iran aid
[IsraelTimes] The European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
is announcing its first financial support package to help bolster Iran’s flagging economy, part of the bloc’s commitment to keep the Iran nuclear deal alive.

The European Commission unveils Thursday a first tranche of 18 million euros ($21 million) ‐ 8 million for the private sector, 8 million to cope with environmental problems and 2 million for drug abuse.

It’s part of a wider 50-million-euro effort to help Iran cope with economic and social challenges.

The EU considers the nuclear deal vital for global security. It’s tried to keep the agreement alive since 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...
removed the US in May. The move triggered sanctions that hit some European companies doing business in Iran. Tehran announced Monday that French oil company Total SA had left.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  They are of course free to throw good money after bad.
Posted by: Tom || 08/24/2018 14:04 Comments || Top||

#2  So the Iranians are getting their money back courtesy of taxes on EU citizens. Nice.
Posted by: gorb || 08/24/2018 18:44 Comments || Top||


Row widens after German police blocked TV crew at PEGIDA rally
[Al Jazeera] A scandal about German coppers obstructing a TV crew at a far-right rally has escalated after it emerged that the protester at the centre of the incident was an off-duty police staff, raising further concerns about entrenched right-wing sympathies among the police and attacks on press freedom.

Authorities in Saxony confirmed on Wednesday that the police employee had attended a march by anti-Islam and anti-migrant group PEGIDA in the state capital, Dresden, on August 18 and had reported journalists covering the rally to police, who detained them for 45 minutes.

Video footage showed a well-built man in sunglasses and a hat in the colours of the German flag confronting the crew working for public broadcaster ZDF, waving his hands at the camera, telling them not to film and reporting them to the police.

The ZDF news hound, Arndt Ginzel, accused police of effectively acting as the "executive" arm of PEGIDA.
Posted by: Fred || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


The Grand Turk
US urged to respect Turkey’s judicial independence
[ARABNEWS] The front man for President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey...
has slammed what he said was the US disregard for The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
’s legal process, adding Washington had made arbitrary comments and demands in the case of a detained pastor.

In a statement to Rooters, Ibrahim Kalin called on the US to respect Turkey’s judicial independence, one of Ankara’s most pointed responses yet to criticism over its detention of evangelical Christian pastor Andrew Brunson.

"There is rule of law in Turkey and the Andrew Brunson case is a legal issue. There is an ongoing legal process related to this individual," Kalin said.

"It goes without saying that we find unacceptable the disregard of the legal process by the United States, which has been making certain demands."

His comments came after 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...
’s National Security Adviser John Bolton earlier said that Turkey made a "big mistake" in not releasing Brunson.

Brunson, who has lived in Turkey for two decades, has been detained for 21 months on terrorism charges, which he denies, and is now under house arrest.

Trump, who counts evangelical Christians among his core supporters, has become a vocal champion of the pastor’s case, making him an unwitting flashpoint in the tension between two NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
allies. "Every day that goes by that mistake continues, this crisis could be over instantly if they did the right thing as a NATO ally, part of the West, and release (him) ... without condition," Bolton said. Kalin, dismissed those statement as "arbitrary" comments and demands. He also hit back against the US over an investigation into state-owned lender Halkbank for potential Iran-sanctions busting. Turkey wants the US Treasury to halt the investigation. Halkbank has said all of its transactions were legal. A US court this year sentenced one of its executives to 32 months in prison for involvement in a scheme to avoid Iran sanctions.
Posted by: Fred || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  Turkey still owes Motorola and Nokia and the World Court agrees. Neither are the same anymore but their ex-employees, stockholders and creditors deserve what even the World Court and US courts and EU courts agreed was just settlement. So one must assume that for the Turkish people the only court due respect is that of the Turkish Despot.
Posted by: 3dc || 08/24/2018 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  The US should circulate a condemnation of the Armenian genocide in the UN.
Posted by: ruprecht || 08/24/2018 8:40 Comments || Top||

#3  https://www.theguardian.com/.../march-for-turkeys-jailed-judges-highlights-purge-on-...Jul 7, 2017 - Erdoğan accused of crippling democracy with hundreds from judiciary, media and civil service still detained after coup attempt.
Posted by: Hupusing Claitch6798 || 08/24/2018 10:07 Comments || Top||

#4  Would be nice if Muzzie Caliph-Pretend did as well
Posted by: Frank G || 08/24/2018 20:25 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
American woman detained by SDF charged with supporting ISIS in Syria
[Rudaw] An American woman who claimed her late husband tricked her into going to Syria has been tossed in the slammer
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on two counts of supporting ISIS.

On Thursday, the US Department of Justice announced charges against Samantha Marie Elhassani of "conspiring to provide material support to [ISIS]" and "aiding and abetting individuals in providing material support" to the group.

"Under both charges she is alleged to have procured tactical gear and provided funds," stated the justice department, which added the charges stemmed from actions in the Fall of 2014 through the Summer of 2015.

"The charges against Ms. Elhassani illustrate that actions of providing support to ISIS have serious consequences, and should serve as a reminder to American citizens that providing assistance to terrorist organizations or individuals aligned with terrorist entities will not be tolerated," stated Special Agent in Charge Grant Mendenhall of the FBI’s Indianapolis Division.

In July 2018, Elhassani was transferred from the custody Syrian Democratic Forces to US law enforcement. The SDF is the mostly Kurdish partnered ground force of the US-led international anti-ISIS coalition in the country.

The 32-year-old Elhassani, also known as Samantha Sally
... that’s the name used in the single entry in our archives, but some reports elsewhere refer to her by her married name, Samantha Elhassani...
, is formerly of Elkhart, Indiana.

She told CNN in an interview in April in SDF custody that her late husband, Mousssa Elhassani, told her she was going to live a cheaper life in Morocco. He then forced her to choose between abandoning her daughter to ISIS to save her son or follow her husband to ISIS-held areas.

"I will do anything to get my kids back where they belong," Elhassani said. "If I have to spend 15 years in prison, it's better than anything here."

She told CNN they entered Syria through The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire....
in 2015. Her son, age 7 at the time, was used in ISIS propaganda videos.

"Maybe I would never have seen my daughter again ever, and how can I live the rest of my life like that," she told CNN that reports Moussa Elhassani died in an air strike in 2017.

"I was like a prisoner," claimed Elhassani, who said she spent $10,000 "to help" a teenage Yezidi girl named "Soad."

The Yezidi girl was repeatedly raped by her husband, who then bought another "slave" for $7,500 named "Bedrine," who was younger than Soad. The wife told CNN she was protecting the girls.

She will face court proceedings in the United States.

"My office is committed to aggressively pursuing and prosecuting those who support designated terrorist organizations such as ISIS," US Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana Thomas L. Kirsch II said. "This indictment is an example of that commitment."

Heavy.com: 5 Fast Facts on Samantha Sally Elhassani
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


India-Pakistan
Islamabad says US readout on PM Khan-Pompeo call ‘factually incorrect’
[DAWN] The Foreign Office on Thursday took exception to the "factually incorrect statement issued by the US State Department" regarding the discussion during the phone call between Prime Minister Imran Khan
... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer...
and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo earlier in the day.

A readout issued by the US State Department, attributable to spokesperson Heather Nauert, said: "Secretary Pompeo raised the importance of Pakistain taking decisive action against all bully boyz operating in Pakistain and its vital role in promoting the Afghan grinding of the peace processor."

However,
alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk...
Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal clarified through his statement that there was "no mention at all in the conversation about bully boyz operating in Pakistain".


Posted by: Fred || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


International-UN-NGOs
Having pulled out of UNHRC, Bolton says US will now cut its funding
[IsraelTimes] In latest blow to United Nations
...a formerly good idea gone bad...
bodies, Trump's national security adviser says administration will 'de-fund' council accused of anti-Israel bias and office of UN rights chief


US President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
’s national security adviser, John Bolton, said Thursday that the United States will cut funding for the UN Human Right Council and for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in the administration’s latest blow against the United Nations.

"We are going to de-fund the Human Rights Council," Bolton said in an interview with the News Agency that Dare Not be Named, while warning that other UN agencies could also be up for cuts in US funding.

The Trump administration pulled out of the 47-member body in June, accusing it of anti-Israel bias and of allowing countries with poor human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
records to be among its members.

The move announced by Bolton would mean the Human Rights Council will lose one of its largest donors.

Bolton, a frequent critic of the United Nations, served as US ambassador to the UN under George W. Bush’s administration.

Bolton rejected claims by some UN officials who insist the council gets its funding through the regular UN budget ‐ meaning that its operating expenses can’t be specifically targeted.

The United States pays about 22 percent of the UN budget ‐ its largest single donor ‐ as part of what’s known as an "assessment" based on economic weight and other factors.

"We’ll calculate 22 percent of the Human Rights Council and the High Commissioner’s budget, and our remittances to the UN for this budget year will be less 22 percent of those costs ‐ and we’ll say specifically that’s what we’re doing," Bolton said. "We expect that impact to occur on the Human Rights Council."

In June, the US announced its decision to leave the council, condemning the "hypocrisy" of its members and its "unrelenting bias" against Israel.

The Geneva-based body was established in 2006 to promote and protect human rights worldwide, but its pronouncements and reports have often infuriated the US ‐ in particular, the council’s relentless focus on Israeli policies toward the Paleostinians.

Israel is the only country that has a dedicated agenda item at council meetings, one defended in particular by the Arab bloc of countries.

Israel, which isn’t a member of the council, welcomed the US decision at the time, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling the UN Human Rights Council a "biased, hostile, anti-Israel organization."

"Instead of dealing with regimes that systematically violate human rights, the UNHRC obsessively focuses on Israel, the one genuine democracy in the Middle East," Netanyahu said.

The US exit was the first time in the council’s history that a member state quit voluntarily, while Libya was kicked out seven years ago.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Absolutely awesome!
Posted by: Frank G || 08/24/2018 8:26 Comments || Top||

#2  Hooboy. Now the dems will tell every country in the turd world they need to send new illegal voters to the US to get funding restored.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/24/2018 9:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Let Soros pay for it...
Posted by: magpie || 08/24/2018 14:48 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
IDF: Gaza sniper worked for Doctors Without Borders
[Ynet] Israel seeking explanation from international aid group after learning that the terrorist who shot up IDF soldiers on Monday and was killed worked as a nurse for Doctors Without Borders.

The Paleostinian terrorist who shot up IDF soldiers earlier this week and killed when they returned fire was a nurse working for Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), the IDF said on Thursday, adding it was seeking an explanation from the international aid group.

The IDF named the Paleostinian as Hani Majdalawi
...alternatively Hani al-Majdalawi...
and said he was rubbed out on Monday after shooting and throwing a grenade at soldiers.

"We have reached out to Doctors without Borders for clarification regarding the matter," an IDF front man said.

The organization did not immediately reply to phone and email queries by Rooters. Its website says that the group runs three burns and trauma centres in Gazoo, whose Islamist Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, rulers have fought three wars against Israel in the last decade.

Gazoo authorities did not confirm Majdalawi's death, saying that would require having his body, which they believed was being held by Israel. The IDF said they could not immediately confirm this.

No Paleostinian terror factions claimed Majdalawi as a member.

Responding to Israeli media reports on Majdalawi's killing, his brother, Osama, described the married 28 year old on Facebook as a "martyr" who had "bought the weapon with his own money" and acted "completely independently."

The Facebook post said Hani Majdalawi had worked for Doctors Without Borders and that he had been "the most socially, psychologically and economically stable among his brothers."
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  I'll bet they all knew right upto the top.

Fake charities and GONGOs are the fakest things going.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 08/24/2018 5:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Just a co-incidence, I'm sure.
Posted by: Hupaish Ghibelline2954 || 08/24/2018 11:56 Comments || Top||

#3  A real sniper, or a guy with a gun and a grudge?

If he's a real sniper, I wonder if he didn't shoot some of the Paleostinian doctors during the riots.
Posted by: gorb || 08/24/2018 13:51 Comments || Top||

#4  The Facebook post said Hani Majdalawi had worked for Doctors Without Borders and that he had been "the most socially, psychologically and economically stable among his brothers."

Doesn't say much for the rest of this Paleo-trash family
Posted by: Frank G || 08/24/2018 14:05 Comments || Top||

#5  Unexpectedly™...
Posted by: magpie || 08/24/2018 14:41 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
British Airways, Air France suspend flights to and from Tehran
[ARABNEWS] British Airways and Air La Belle France on Thursday said they would suspend flights to Tehran from next month for commercial reasons, as US sanctions against Iran start to bite.

"We are suspending our London to Tehran service as the operation is currently not commercially viable," BA said.

The last outbound flight to Tehran will be on Sept. 22, and the last inbound flight from Tehran will be on Sept. 23, it added.

The airline said the decision had nothing to do with US President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
's imposition of new sanctions on Iran, which has affected foreign businesses operating in the country, with many pulling out altogether.

Air La Belle France, which had run connections to the Iranian capital via its low-cost operator Joon, told AFP it would axe the route on Sept. 18, blaming "poor commercial viability."

The French carrier had already cut down on its Gay Paree to Tehran connections from three a week to just one earlier this month.



Dutch carrier KLM, part of the same group as Air La Belle France, said last month that it was also suspending Tehran flights due to "negative results and financial outlook."
Posted by: Fred || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


More about Russia’s military experience in Syria
More on this report from yesterday.
[AlMasdar] According to the Kremlin, the Russian military tested at least 231 types of weapons during their three year long campaign inside Syria.

The Kremlin added that the Russian Aerospace Forces conducted approximately 39,000 sorties that destroyed at least 121,466 terrorist targets.

This statement by the Kremlin marks the first time that Moscow has referenced the total number of Russian military personnel that took part in the Syria campaign.

However,
ars longa, vita brevis...
since the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has retaken most of the country, the Russian military has scaled back the total number of personnel they have inside the country.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
I think they use recycled 16 year old Chinese batteries in their calculators. These numbers are not believable.
Posted by: Roger29 Palms || 08/24/2018 14:30 Comments || Top||

#2  How many German warplanes did the US Army Air Force claim, on paper, that they had destroyed in the air? Two or three times the count of every German aircraft ever built? *Snort* Paper claims...
Posted by: magpie || 08/24/2018 14:47 Comments || Top||


Bolton: U.S. sanctions on Iran more effective than expected
[Jpost] Sanctions that the United States reimposed on Iran have been more effective than expected, 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...
's national security adviser said, although he noted the continuation of regional activity by Tehran opposed by Washington.

The Trump administration slapped back sanctions this month after withdrawing from the 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran, which Washington regards as insufficient for denying Tehran the means to make an atomic bomb and as a spur for its meddling in neighboring Middle East countries.

The US turnaround outraged Iran, which has taken a defiant stance, and has rattled other world powers where some businesses have been debating whether to divest from the Islamic Theocratic Republic.

"Let me be clear, the reimposition of the sanctions, we think, is already having a significant effect on Iran's economy and on, really, popular opinion inside Iran," National Security Adviser John Bolton told Rooters during a visit to Israel.

The Iranian economy has been beset by high unemployment and inflation and a rial currency that has lost half its value since April. The reimposition of sanctions could make matters worse.

Thousands of Iranians have protested in recent weeks against sharp price rises of some food items, a lack of jobs and state corruption. The protests over the cost of living have often turned into anti-government rallies.

"I think the effects, the economic effects certainly, are even stronger than we anticipated," Bolton said. "But Iranian activity in the region has continued to be belligerent: what they are doing in Iraq, what they are doing in Syria, what they are doing with Hezbollah in Leb, what they are doing in Yemen, what they have threatened to do in the Strait of Hormuz."

The Strait is a strategic waterway for oil shipments which Iran's Revolutionary Guards have threatened to block in response to Trump administration calls to ban all Iranian oil exports.

US LOWERS SANCTIONS BOOM
Washington imposed new sanctions on Iran in August, targeting its trade in gold and other precious metals, purchases of US dollars and its car industry. Trump has said the United States will issue another round of tougher sanctions in November that will target Iran's oil sales and banking sector.

Germany called on Tuesday for Europe
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
to set up payment systems independent of the United States if it wants to save the Iran nuclear agreement.

European powers have been scrambling to ensure Iran secures enough economic benefits to persuade it to stay in the deal. This had proven difficult, with many European firms wary of far-reaching financial penalties by the Trump administration. French oil group Total pulled out a major gas project in Iran.

"We expect that Europeans will see, as businesses all over Europe are seeing, that the choice between doing business with Iran or doing business with the United States is very clear to them," Bolton said.

"So we will see what plays out in November. But the president (Trump) has made it very clear - his words - he wants maximum pressure on Iran, maximum pressure, and that is what is going on."

He added: "There should not be any doubt that the United States wants this resolved peacefully, but we are fully prepared for any contingency that Iran creates."

The pact between Iran and world powers lifted international sanctions that had been throttling the Iranian economy. In return, Iran accepted restrictions on its nuclear activities, increasing the time it would need to produce an atomic bomb if it chose to do so. It has long denied having any such intent.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  And Europeans have absolutely no problem with doing business with a fascist theocracy that sponsors terrorism all over the place. Some allies we have!
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 08/24/2018 5:15 Comments || Top||

#2  Actually being enforced this time, are they?
Posted by: ed in texas || 08/24/2018 7:13 Comments || Top||

#3  And Europeans have absolutely no problem with doing business with a fascist theocracy that sponsors terrorism all over the place. Some allies we have!

That's because Iran bribed key European politicians and probably has evidence. At least I hope it's not worse than that.
Posted by: gorb || 08/24/2018 13:49 Comments || Top||


Iran: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe temporarily released from prison
[Al Jazeera] A British-Iranian woman tossed in the calaboose
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
in Tehran for more than two years for allegedly plotting to overthrow Iran's government has been released for three days.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has vehemently denied the allegations.
No, no! Certainly not!
against her, was reunited with family members - including her four-year-old daughter - after being freed from the capital's Evin Prison.

The "Free Nazanin" campaign group, run by her husband Richard Ratcliffe, welcomed the temporary release but called for her permanent freedom.

"Furlough is not full freedom - we want her home, not just on holiday from prison - but it is still such a good step. We will keep campaigning until she is home in the UK," the Free Nazanin group said in a statement on Facebook.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was warned not to attempt to leave the country while on temporary release, or conduct interviews with local or international media, it added.
The Times of Israel adds:
Bail for her temporary release was set at 1 billion rials ($23,840, 20,590 euros), with her family’s home in Tehran used as collateral, according to the campaign.
Posted by: Fred || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Terror Networks
UN team, approved a year ago, starts work on Daesh crimes in Iraq
[ARABNEWS] A UN investigative team that will collect and preserve evidence of acts by ISIS in Iraq that may be war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide started work this week, nearly a year after the Security Council created it.

At last September’s annual UN gathering of world leaders, the council unanimously adopted a British-drafted resolution ‐ after a year of talks with Iraq ‐ asking UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to create the team "to support domestic efforts" to hold the bandidos turbans accountable.

UN experts had warned in June 2016 that ISIS was committing genocide against the Yazidis in Syria and Iraq to destroy the minority religious community through killings, sexual slavery and other crimes.

Guterres notified the 15-member Security Council in a letter that the UN team, led by British lawyer Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, would start work on Aug. 20.

Guterres announced in May that he had appointed Khan after the Security Council approved the scope and limitations for the team in February. He said in the letter, released on Thursday, that Khan visited Iraq earlier this month.

Use of evidence collected by the team in other venues, such as international courts, would "be determined in agreement with the Government of Iraq on a case-by-case basis." Evidence is for primary use by Iraqi authorities, followed by "competent national-level courts," according to the 2017 UN resolution.

International human rights
...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
lawyer Amal Clooney and Nadia Murad, a young Yazidi woman who was enslaved and raped by ISIS fighters in djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
, have long pushed Iraq to allow UN Sherlocks to help.

ISIS, which until last year controlled large areas in Syria and Iraq, has since been driven into the desert by successive defeats in offensives by international allies in both countries. The UN investigative team’s mission does not include Syria.

The move comes after ISIS related media sites have published what they claim to be a recording of His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
...the head of ISIS, or what remains of it, and a veteran of the Abu Graib jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us. So far he has been killed at least four times, though not yet by a stake through the heart...
on Wednesday. If verified, the audio would be the first speech heard from the bully boy group’s leader in nearly a year.

An Iraqi intelligence official said in May that Baghdadi remains alive in Syria near the Iraqi border, AFP reported. Baghdadi was said to move around with only a small group of followers.

Posted by: Fred || 08/24/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  This is going to be a tough assignment as I am sure this UN group is going to try to blame everything on Israel and the US...which will be a tough sell to normal rational functioning people...but we ARE talking about the UN you know
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 08/24/2018 9:54 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2018-08-24
  Arab coalition thwarts Houthi boat bomb targeting commercial ships off Yemen
Thu 2018-08-23
  Syrian Army cuts all supply lines to ISIL’s last stronghold in southern Syria
Wed 2018-08-22
  ‘IS militants’ launch attacks in Chechnya; five killed
Tue 2018-08-21
  U.S. Rejects Turkey's Offer to Release Ransom Pastor, Report Says
Mon 2018-08-20
  ‘Allahu Akbar!': Knife-Man Shot Dead After Attacking Spanish Police
Sun 2018-08-19
  Yemeni army inflicts heavy casualties on Houthi militants in Taiz
Sat 2018-08-18
  HTS executes 6 people accused of being ISIS members in Idlib
Fri 2018-08-17
  American Couple Dies Tragically While Biking Through ISIS Territory Trying to Prove Evil Does Not Exist
Thu 2018-08-16
  ISIS Killer Caught in Sacramento
Wed 2018-08-15
  101st Airborne, US Special Forces Called Into Ghazni Battle
Tue 2018-08-14
  Islamic State member sentenced to death over killing security personnel in Nineveh
Mon 2018-08-13
  The FBI Finally Makes Peter Strzok Redundant
Sun 2018-08-12
  Antifa to Protest ‘Alt-Right’ in D.C.: Abolish ICE, No Borders, Close Prisons
Sat 2018-08-11
  Iraqi cleric "Tater" Sadr wins election vote recount
Fri 2018-08-10
  Report: Ceasefire reached between Israel and Hamas

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