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Happy 4th of July
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Happy 4th of July
Barbecue dead animals. Read the Declaration of Independence. Ignore the dipshits who hate us. Resist the petty tyrants trying to misrule us now.

  1. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

    Speak freely. Assemble as you damn well please. Go to the church, synagogue or even mosque of your choice, or don't if you don't feel like it.

  2. A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

    Keep your guns and ammunition. Vote the poltroons who want to confiscate them or tax them out of existence out of office. Shooting deer, rabbits, squirrels, and hogs is just practice. No one has the right to tell you how many guns you can own. We achieved our free state because the people did keep and bear arms.

  3. No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

    At least we're past the point where the government might try to quarter troops in our houses. It would be nice if the other amendments were so well accepted.

  4. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

    The Feds starting with the Feebs, have no right to go snooping around your home or effects (that would seem to cover your online conversations, no matter how distasteful) without a warrant and that that a warrant is only issued on probable cause. Should Feds, starting with the Feebs, violate this provision there should be heavy penalties applied. No more Elian Gonzales incidents. No more Ruby Ridges. The organization's existence should be hostage for its own good behavior.

  5. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

    You and your ham sandwich have the right for your case to go to a grand jury. The idea is for the jury to act as the tribune of the people, tossing frivolous or politically motivated prosecutions. It's not up to the Soros-owned DA to make the decision. That's working well, huh?

    Nor should a federal charge be brought for a charge that's been heard in a state court or vice-versa. You have the right to keep yer mouth shut, Buggsy, and let them prove the case against you. And if your car's confiscated because it smells like somebody smoked weed in it, you oughta sue the pants off the crooks who're trying to keep it.

  6. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

    A "speedy and public trial" shouldn't last more than a week, at the outside. Motions, counter-motions, quibbles, and plea bargains should all be punished by contempt of court citations. I know they never will, but they moved a lot faster than today even in the heady days of my youth, when a traffic citation went to a justice of the peace the same night. In India there were instance of court cases being handed down for generations.

  7. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

    You have the right to call a jury if your case involves more than twenty bucks, which was a substantial sum back in those days. Still, twenty bucks is twenty bucks, even if it is inconvenient for the DA to call a jury. That also sez that a higher court can't overturn a finding of fact by a jury, only a point of law. Maybe the glove didn't fit because it shrunk and they still acquitted; The higher court can't toss that piece of silliness.

  8. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

    That doesn't say "no bail." There are bail bondsmen who make a good living guaranteeing your presence in court. Current practice also includes putting child molesters among the general population, resulting in a short life expectancy for Uncle Teddy, punctuated by periodic thumpings and falls down the stairs.

  9. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

    Just because they're not listed doesn't mean there aren't any more rights. This is where they find the ephemerae and and penumbrae and emanations and such to make the Constitution a "living document" that sometimes violates its own provisions.

  10. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

    That doesn't take a lot of interpretation, does it? Misinterpretation led to the Civil War. Prima faciae, it means Texas can build its own border wall, Florida can send police to help control the border, and Georgia can write its own damned voting laws.

Posted by: Fred || 07/04/2021 4:30:37 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  You're a gem, Fred, a gem. Happy Independence Day!
Posted by: Bobby || 07/04/2021 17:05 Comments || Top||

#2  It's hard to resist the evil tyrants who misrule us when supposedly sane people keep electing them.

Posted by: jpal || 07/04/2021 17:20 Comments || Top||

#3  Thanks Fred. Just a drive by in somewhat troubled times for us, but thank you sincerely. Avery Happy Independence Day to you and yours!
Posted by: Cesare || 07/04/2021 17:50 Comments || Top||

#4 
Posted by: Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589 || 07/04/2021 20:03 Comments || Top||

#5  Watching the fireworks in the town park, which started after we all stood together to sing the national anthem. In addition to the music choreographed by one of the local FM stations, we have a lighted dancing drone corps. Amazing!
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/04/2021 22:13 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
John Adams - God Save America (HQ) Independence Speech
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/04/2021 10:12 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  God Bless America
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/04/2021 11:19 Comments || Top||

#2  It has a different impact when seen and heard than when written. John Adams knew what he was about.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/04/2021 11:22 Comments || Top||

#3  "Republic of laws, not of men..."

Of late, we have strayed away from Adam's concept.

Posted by: JohnQC || 07/04/2021 11:59 Comments || Top||


-Land of the Free
A Unanimous Statement Signed by All of Congress Today; Officially Your World Has Changed, Mark This Date.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

(The Brave Men: Signers of the Declaration of Independence )


Georgia

Button Gwinnett

Lyman Hall

George Walton



North Carolina

William Hooper

Joseph Hewes

John Penn



South Carolina

Edward Rutledge

Thomas Heyward, Jr.

Thomas Lynch, Jr.

Arthur Middleton



Massachusetts

John Hancock

Maryland

Samuel Chase

William Paca

Thomas Stone

Charles Carroll of Carrollton



Virginia

George Wythe

Richard Henry Lee

Thomas Jefferson

Benjamin Harrison

Thomas Nelson, Jr.

Francis Lightfoot Lee

Carter Braxton



Pennsylvania

Robert Morris

Benjamin Rush

Benjamin Franklin

John Morton

George Clymer

James Smith

George Taylor

James Wilson

George Ross

Delaware

Caesar Rodney

George Read

Thomas McKean



New York

William Floyd

Philip Livingston

Francis Lewis

Lewis Morris



New Jersey

Richard Stockton

John Witherspoon

Francis Hopkinson

John Hart

Abraham Clark



New Hampshire

Josiah Bartlett

William Whipple



Massachusetts

Samuel Adams

John Adams

Robert Treat Paine

Elbridge Gerry



Rhode Island

Stephen Hopkins

William Ellery



Connecticut

Roger Sherman

Samuel Huntington

William Williams

Oliver Wolcott



New Hampshire

Matthew Thornton
Posted by: John Hancock1776 || 07/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Pirates

#1  I think I will get out my DVD of 1776..."New York abstains, courteously."
Posted by: magpie || 07/04/2021 0:46 Comments || Top||

#2 
In darkest time we sing of home
and remember what used to be.
Mayhap we shall see again
victory for me and thee,
and the Lord will turn his wrath
away, and this captivity. Amen.

Happy 4th of July to my American brothers and sisters.

Posted by: Dron66046 || 07/04/2021 0:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Message from a 20th Century Patriot & 40th President of the United States of America:

Ronald Reagan stated, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. And those in world history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.”

And for a 4th of July Speech he said:

Ronald Reagan Quote "Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people.
Posted by: Grearong Clunk1850 || 07/04/2021 3:07 Comments || Top||

#4  From London this appears to be obviously a manifesto of white anti-government terrorists. (do I really need to put a /sarc on that?)
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/04/2021 6:42 Comments || Top||

#5  Josiah Bartlett from NH. So that's where "West Wing" came up with Martin Sheen's character's name.
Posted by: Mercutio || 07/04/2021 8:01 Comments || Top||

#6  He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

Still working on that one. But great post. Happy 4th!
Posted by: Matt || 07/04/2021 10:03 Comments || Top||

#7  A suggestion, ladies and gentlemen, let us first no longer use "the Fourth of July" as a synonym for that which we reflect upon and celebrate. It is Independence Day, a day of significant positive meaning to The United States of America.

All peoples of the earth, whether aware of or not, have a "4th of July." Ours, however, represents something which is ours.

Or at least it should.
Posted by: Anomalous Sources || 07/04/2021 23:16 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
US: Taliban is shutting down media organizations to conceal their violence
[KhaamaPress] The US is concerned about the media operations in Afghanistan as the Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
are trying to shut down media organizations or use them as a propaganda tool for their military missions, US Charge D’affaire in Kabul said.

"I am disturbed by reports that the Taliban is shutting down media organizations in the districts they assault", Ross Wilson, Charge D’affaire of the US Embassy in Kabul tweeted.

He added that the Taliban are shutting down the media organizations, attempting to conceal their violence.

Interference in reporting has caused the media organizations in Samangan to stop operating.

Sima e Sulha Radio and a Cable Network, the two media outlets in Aibak city, have stopped broadcasting due to insecurity and interference of government officials as claimed by them.

"We and our colleagues have always tried to convey the events and incidents to the people," said Sayed Ismail Sadat, the media director of this media organization, in an interview with Shahrvand Radio-television.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As if Americans are witnessing any reality from Afghanistan from the MSM.
Posted by: Airandee || 07/04/2021 7:31 Comments || Top||

#2  sounds like the Democrats and Antifa
Posted by: 746 || 07/04/2021 10:07 Comments || Top||


13 Districts Fall to Taliban in 24 Hours: Sources
[ToloNews] Sources said Saturday that the control of 13 districts — 11 districts in northeastern Afghanistan, one in the east and one in the south — have fallen to the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
in the last 24 hours, the highest number of areas falling to the group in a day.

The districts include Kishm, Darayim, Tishkan, Tagab, Wardooj, Shahr-e-Bozorg, Raghistan, Jorm and Yaftal in Badakhshan, Kalafgan and Farkhar districts in Takhar, Zurmat district in Paktia and Shah Wali Kot district in the southern province of Kandahar.

In Badakhshan, three other districts — Yumgan, Arghanjkwah and Khash — recently fell to the Taliban.

Some residents of Faizabad city, the center of Badakhshan province, said that festivities between security forces and the Taliban have reached closer to the city, leaving the people with concerns about their safety.

"This is the 10th district that collapses one after another. The local government and the central government have forgotten them and are not paying attention to them," said Saed Hayatullah, a resident of Faizabad.

Amidst concerning situation in Faizabad, the police chief of Badakhshan, Khalil-ur-Rahman Jawad is under treatment in Kabul as he has tested positive for COVID-19.

"What we should do is to mobilize the elders of the ’resistance region’ and create history for the second time by the second generation of the resistance," said Nilofar Ibrahimi, an MP from Badakhshan.

"They are faced with lack of logistics. The Air Force cannot address all areas. This is concerning," said Sayed Muqaddam Amin, a former military officer.

Meanwhile,
...back at the desert island, Bert was realizing to his horror that he'd had only one bottle for one message, and he'd forgotten to include a return address...
sources from Takhar said that with the fall of Kalafgan and Farkhar districts, only Taluqan city and Worsaj districts have remained under government control in the province.

"We have 16 administrative units. All collapsed one after another. The security situation in Taluqan is sensitive," said Abdul Kabir, a resident of Taluqan.

"People are worried in Taluqan. There are displaced people on Taluqan’s streets and people are in a difficult situation," said Mohammad Azam Afzali, member of Takhar provincial council.

But the Ministry of Defense said that 224 Taliban were killed in government forces operations in nine provinces in the last 24 hours. The ministry said that efforts will be made to retake the areas that have fallen to bully boys.

"The security and defense forces of Afghanistan will not spare any efforts," said Fawad Aman, a front man for the Ministry of Defense.

Taliban attacks have increased after the start of the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan. On Friday, the US forces left Bagram Airfield, which was the largest military base for American troops in the country.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  fwiw,

Afghanistan has 34 provinces and about 400 districts.
Posted by: Lord Garth || 07/04/2021 1:13 Comments || Top||


Gen. McKenzie to Lead US’s Mission in Afghanistan
[ToloNews] US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved a new command structure in Afghanistan that includes the transition of US military mission from warfighting to two new objectives: protecting a continuing US diplomatic presence in Kabul and maintaining liaison with the Afghan military, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said on Friday.

The plan calls for the top US and NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
forces commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, to transfer his combat authorities to the head of US Central Command, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie.

"General Miller will remain in theater in coming weeks to prepare for and to complete the turnover of these duties and responsibilities to General McKenzie," Kirby said. "Importantly, General McKenzie will retain all existing authorities as Commander of US Forces in Afghanistan."

He said that Gen. McKenzie will continue to exercise authority over the conduct of any and all counterterrorism operations needed to protect the homeland from threats emanating out of Afghanistan.

The News Agency that Dare Not be Named reports that a two-star Navy admiral will head a US Embassy-based military office, dubbed US Forces Afghanistan-Forward, to oversee the new mission of providing security for the embassy and its diplomats.

A satellite military office based in Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
and headed by a US one-star general will be established to administer US financial support for the Afghan military and police, plus maintenance support provided for Afghan aircraft from outside Afghanistan, AP report says.

"A safe, orderly drawdown enables us to maintain an ongoing diplomatic presence, support the Afghan people and the government, and prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a safe haven for gunnies that threatens our homeland," Kirby said on Friday.

This comes as the US military has left the Bagram Airfield in central Afghanistan and has handed it over to Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, the Ministry of Defense confirmed on Friday.

At its peak, the airfield, located 69 kilometers north of Kabul in the central province of Parwan, saw more than 100,000 US troops pass through its compound.

The handover of the airfield to Afghan forces shows that last of the roughly 2,500 to 3,500 US troops have left Afghanistan.

Ahead of leaving the base, dozens of trailer trucks loaded with scrap from destroyed vehicles and equipment that belonged to American troops were leaving the Bagram Airfield on a daily basis.

Those who purchase the material say that so far, the scrap has been worth millions of dollars.

Some residents of Bagram said that such equipment should have been handed over to Afghan forces instead of being scrapped by the US military. But US forces have said the equipment will be scrapped so it does not fall into enemy hands.

The Afghan government has said that equipment worth $1 billion will be handed over to the Afghan forces.

Bagram Airfield has been the biggest airbase of the US military in Afghanistan over the last 20 years. US forces started a withdrawal on May 1, a process that is expected to be completed earlier than the given deadline — Sept. 11.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "General Elphinstone, the last helicopter out is ready!"
Posted by: magpie || 07/04/2021 2:41 Comments || Top||


Africa North
At least 43 migrants drown in shipwreck off Tunisia, Red Crescent says
[AlAhram] At least 43 migrants colonists drowned in a shipwreck off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italia, while another 84 were rescued, the Tunisian Red Islamic Thingy told Rooters on Saturday

The boat had set off from Zuwara, on Libya's northwest coast, carrying migrants colonists from Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea
...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age...
and Bangladesh, the humanitarian organization said.

In recent months, several drowning incidents have occurred off the Tunisian coast, with an increase in the frequency of attempted crossings to Europa
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
from Tunisia and Libya towards Italia as the weather has improved.

"The navy rescued 84 migrants colonists and 43 others drowned in a boat that set off from Libya's Zuwara towards Europe," Red Islamic Thingy official Mongi Slim said.

Hundreds of thousands of people have made the perilous Mediterranean crossing in recent years, many of them fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.

Arrivals in Italia - one of the main migrant routes into Europe - had been falling in recent years, but numbers picked up again in 2021.

Almost 19,800 migrants colonists have arrived since the beginning of the year against just over 6,700 in the same period last year, Italian interior Ministry figures show.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Human Trafficking


Africa Subsaharan
Niger vows to 'cleanse' Islamist militants infested border area
[AlAhram] Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
has gained a foothold in at least two villages, Bazoum said at the end of a three-day tour of the southeastern region that has been plagued by jihadist violence since 2015.

Niger President Mohammed Bazoum on Saturday pledged to "cleanse" villages of Islamist Death Eaters that have expanded their reach in the southeast of the country near Nigeria.

He described another village as being "infested", while Boko Haram are able to cut off roads from their bases in other settlements, he said.

"We will give instructions for these villages to be cleansed," he said, adding that joint operations with Nigeria will clear out jihadists operating on both sides of the border.

Boko Harem, Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
and groups affiliated to al-Qaeda are a growing menace for a number of countries across the continent -- sparking protests as people demand leaders restore security.

Bazoum gave no start date for the military operations.

"On the military level, we have a good balance of power... but the enemy is reorganising itself, and has a lot of capacity," he said, adding the government would remain "very vigilant".

Boko Haram have widened their area of operations, Bazoum said.

The jihadists are operating "increasingly to the west and south" of the Diffa region, far from their usual range around Lake Chad, a security source confirmed to AFP.

In the first six months of the year, there were nine attacks on Niger's security forces in two towns that are not bordering the lake, including the regional capital Diffa, according to the United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
The Diffa region is home to 300,000 Nigerian and displaced refugees fleeing jihadist violence since 2015, according to the UN.

Niger is also fighting jihadists from the Sahel in its western region, including the Islamic State in the Great Sahara.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram (ISIS)


Fifth Column
At the antifa riot in Los Angeles today, a shirtless Latino man smacks an antifa in the face with a rosary
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 07/04/2021 03:07 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Antifa/BLM

#1  That's not how you kill a vampire!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/04/2021 5:26 Comments || Top||

#2 
"The power of Christ com-[SMACK!]-pels you!"
Posted by: Dron66046 || 07/04/2021 5:35 Comments || Top||

#3  So Antifa is all for "monmy's skirt".
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/04/2021 6:45 Comments || Top||

#4  Call me Latinx, will you?! Smack!
Posted by: Mercutio || 07/04/2021 7:57 Comments || Top||

#5  And LA "LE" were on hand to watch the entire incident develop and then move in to make their show-arrest. The notion of an "Independence Day" at this point is pretty much a joke. Rather, today should be marked with solemn, quiet reflection and maybe some gun cleaning.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 07/04/2021 12:18 Comments || Top||

#6  I’d like to think the police extracated the man and released him safely away from the situation. Sadly I believed that was not the case.
Posted by: Lowspark || 07/04/2021 15:37 Comments || Top||

#7  Defund these Commie loving cops
Posted by: Judge Smailes || 07/04/2021 19:31 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Iraqi counter-terror forces arrest ISIS members in coordination with Sulaimani Asayish
[Rudaw] A number of Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) snuffies have been arrested by the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (ICTS), it announced on Saturday, with two arrests made in coordination with internal security forces (Asayish) in Sulaimani.

Two ISIS members were arrested "in coordination with the Asayish of Sulaimani province" it said in a statement. Six arrests were also made in Anbar and Kirkuk.

There have been numerous arrests of ISIS-linked members across the Kurdistan Region before.

Erbil and Baghdad agreed in May to coordinate on security in the disputed areas by forming joint cooperation centers and launching joints operations. Several centers have already been opened.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Palestinian fatally shot amid clashes near another illegal West Bank outpost
[IsraelTimes] Military says Mohammad Farid threw explosive object at forces before being hit; dozens clash near town of Qusra, next to Esh Kodesh outpost.

A Paleostinian youth was shot and killed Saturday after being struck by Israeli soldiers near the West Bank Paleostinian town of Qusra, close to Nablus, amid a "violent mostly peaceful confrontation" between Israeli settlers of an illegal outpost and Paleostinians. The military said the youth threw a suspicious object from the roof of a building that went kaboom! near the forces, who opened fire.

Some 100 Paleostinians and 30 settlers from the nearby illegal Esh Kodesh outpost clashed on Saturday evening near the West Bank town, according to media reports.

The military said its soldiers in the area responded to "a violent mostly peaceful confrontation between tens of Paleostinian and Israeli settlers [that] developed adjacent to the village of Qusra... during which both sides hurled rocks at each other".

"During the operation, a suspect was identified [after he] threw a suspicious object from the roof of a building that went kaboom! near the forces. IDF soldiers responded by firing toward the suspect to remove the danger," the military said in a statement.

There were no reports of Israelis hurt in the incident.

The Paleostinian Health Ministry identified the dear departed Paleostinian as 20-year-old Mohammad Farid.

According to the Ma’an News Agency, Farid was transferred to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva for medical treatment before succumbing to his wounds.
So the Joos tried to save his life after he tried to kill them?
The hospital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Qusra residents and Israeli settlers sporadically clash in the area. There have been multiple incidents where settlers and armed off-duty soldiers from the Esh Kodesh outpost try to enter Qusra. In some cases, the incursions resulted in the settlers being attacked with rocks, but in others they were detained by local Paleostinians and handed over to Israeli security forces.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/04/2021 01:13 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israeli Air Force attacks two Hamas targets in Gaza
[JPost] This is the second time this week that the IAF has targeted Gaza. On Thursday, an IAF aircraft struck a Hamas weapons manufacturing facility in Gaza.

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) attacked targets in Gaza on Saturday in response to incendiary balloons launched from the Gaza Strip throughout the weekend, Israeli media reported.

IDF aircrafts attacked a Hamas rocket launching pad and weapons manufacturing facility following a bushfire that broke out on Saturday afternoon in the Eshkol Regional Council near the Gaza border. A spokesperson for Israel Fire and Rescue Services reported that the fire was caused by an incendiary balloon launched from Gaza.

This is the second time this week that the IAF has targeted Gaza. On Thursday, an IAF aircraft struck another Hamas weapons manufacturing facility in Gaza in response to incendiary balloons that were launched earlier that day, causing four fires to break out in several Jewish localities in the Eshkol Regional Council close to the Gaza, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit reported.

Tensions have been rising this week after Israel demolished a Palestinian shop in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on Tuesday, triggering clashes between police and protesters who accused authorities of discriminatory enforcement of building permits in the holy city.

A bulldozer escorted by Israeli police flattened a butcher shop in the neighborhood which is overlooked by the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest shrine in Islam and the most sensitive site in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Meanwhile, settlers evacuated the West Bank Evyatar outpost on Friday after an agreement was reached that an IDF army base will be set up on the site. The legal status of the land will be decided within six months of evaluation by The Civil Administration.

Palestinians from the village of Beita and Yatma claim that the land belongs to them. But the Samaria Regional Council and the Nahala Movement, which spearheaded the Evyatar initiative, have disputed that claim and have argued that it can be classified as state land.
Video of the attack at the link.
The Times of Israel adds this amusing detail:
Amid the strikes, Gaza-based terror group members fired machine guns toward southern Israel, which did not set off alerts, according to the military. Palestinian media reports said the gunfire was aimed at Israeli aircraft. There were no reports of injuries or damage from the gunfire.
Posted by: Frank G || 07/04/2021 00:06 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  Kind of tragic really. Both targets were turning their lives around and one of them, the rocket launching pad, had been accepted at community college.
Posted by: SteveS || 07/04/2021 0:14 Comments || Top||

#2  /\ ...and the manufacturing facility was the SpaceX of Gaza. (The booster rockets mostly return to Gaza after lift-off, right?)
Posted by: magpie || 07/04/2021 2:44 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian regime shelling kills 8, mostly children, in last rebel enclave
[IsraelTimes] Rescue group says artillery fire struck several families’ homes in Idlib; civil defense center, water station hit in Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s.


Artillery fire from government-controlled territory and airstrikes Saturday killed at least eight civilians in Syria’s last rebel enclave, most of them children, and destroyed a civil defense center and a water station, rescue workers and a war monitor said.

The shelling in Ibleen, a village in southern Idlib province, hit the home of Subhi al-Assi, killing him, his wife and three of his children in their sleep, according to the rescue service known as the White Helmets and Idlib’s Health Directorate. al-Assi was an administrator in a local health center.

Shelling also struck the home of a volunteer for the White Helmets, also known as the Syria Civil Defense, killing his two children. The volunteer, Omar al-Omar, and his wife were maimed, according to the White Helmets. In a nearby village, another child was killed and four others from the same family were maimed, according to the White Helmets.

The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the shelling and casualties. The Observatory said the shelling was followed by airstrikes by suspected Russian warplanes that hit areas west of Idlib city. The White Helmets said one of its centers was targeted and destroyed in the air raid, putting it out of service. Five volunteers were slightly maimed. A water station in the area was also hit and put out of service, the White Helmets said.

The area has seen rising violence in recent weeks between government forces and bully boyz on the edge of the last rebel stronghold in the northwestern province of Idlib, despite a truce brokered last year.

The truce was negotiated between The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
, which supports Syria’s opposition, and Russia, the Syrian government’s main backer. At the time, it halted a crushing Russian-backed government air and ground campaign aimed at retaking the region where nearly 4 million people, most of them displaced, live.

Residents of the enclave are dependent on humanitarian aid brought in from across the border with Turkey. The region is dominated by krazed killer groups. Dominant among them is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
, a group once linked to al-Qaeda.

Posted by: trailing wife || 07/04/2021 02:19 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


Power outages push workshops in Syria's Damascus to close
[NPASYRIA] Ahmed Hadi could not continue working and closed his shop after power cutoffs continued for more than ten hours in his neighborhood, al-Sheikh Sa’d in al-Mazza area in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

The hours of electricity in Damascus and other government-held areas has declined, as rationing hours reached more than ten hours in some areas of Damascus and its suburbs.

Residents of the villages of Rif-Dimashq said that they receive electricity only two hours a day.

Hadi works at a sewing workshop with five other workers, who have been jobless and with no source of income for a week.

"Our job depends on electricity and it is unavailable; a lot of unpaid work has piled up," Hadi told North Press.

On June 27, Syrian Minister of Electricity Ghassan al-Zamil told a local radio station that high temperatures caused increased rationing hours.

The decrease in gas imports for power stations and high temperatures caused some of these stations to go out of service, according to al-Zamil.

Stations that are out of service need maintenance that take months due to high costs of maintenance and unavailability of spare parts. In addition, the improvement of electricity is linked with the increase of gas quantities imported to the stations, al-Zamil pointed out.
Posted by: Fred || 07/04/2021 00:40 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Residents of Syria’s Idlib say Hayat Tahrir al-Sham now operates not unlike the moral police of ISIS
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 07/04/2021 00:37 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


Government bans Kurds in regime-held areas to pressure AANES: Syrian politician
[NPASYRIA] Procedures implemented against Kurdish citizens at the crossings with the Syrian government are attempts by the latter to pressure the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) and destabilize the area, member of the Relations Committee of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) Ali Rahmoun said.

The crossings of al-Tayha in Manbij, Tabqa, and Abu Asi in Raqqa link Syrian government-held areas with those of the AANES.

With Russian support, the Syrian government "is going ahead and implementing these procedures after realizing that the AANES is a democratic alternative that can replace it and can be implemented across Syria," Rahmoun told North Press.

He pointed out that there is a Russian-Ottoman Turkish-Iranian alliance with the Syrian government "in order to tighten the screws on the AANES and put an end to it."

Since June 24, government checkpoints have been preventing the Kurdish travelers from passing into the government-held areas, according to passengers who were stopped at these checkpoints.

Since March 21, the Syrian government has restricted civilian movement and trade through crossings that link their areas of control with those of the AANES, allowing only humanitarian cases, students, and babus government employees.

Rahmoun indicated that "it is necessary to internally strengthen Syria’s northeast and achieve the continuation of the AANES’ experience."
Posted by: Fred || 07/04/2021 00:36 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Israeli cargo ship hit by unidentified weapon in Indian Ocean; UPDATE: Not Israeli anymore
[NY Post] Who oh who could it be?
An Israeli cargo ship was struck by an unidentified weapon Saturday in the Indian Ocean, according to reports.

The Hyperion Two sustained only minor damage and there were no casualties in the attack, which Israeli defense forces say may have been ordered by Iran, according to a report in the Israeli daily Haaretz.

The ship was not flying an Israeli flag. A Hezbollah-affiliated network said that a fire broke out on the ship after the attack.

The incident occurred after the ship left the port of Jedda in Saudi Arabia, en route to the United Arab Emirates.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, and there was no official statement from Israel. The attack comes on the heels of increased tensions at sea between Israel and Iran, the newspaper reported.
It’s ok. According to The Times of Israel, it only used to be Israeli. Somebody didn’t do their research:
A fire broke out on Saturday aboard a cargo ship, previously owned by a company belonging to a prominent Israeli businessman, as it sailed in the northern Indian Ocean.

According to multiple reports on Saturday, the fire was a result of an attack from an unknown source. Israeli officials believe Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
is behind the attack, according to the Ynet news site.

The ship, identified as the Liberia-flagged CSAV Tyndall, departed from the port of Jeddah in 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...
and was headed toward the Jebel Ali port in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, according to the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese TV station al-Mayadeen.
I think it’s safe to assume Iran had something to do with a story that interests Hezbollah...
An earlier version of this report, citing Hebrew-language media, noted that the vessel was owned by Zodiac Maritime, a London-based company belonging to Israeli tycoon Eyal Ofer. The vessel was indeed previously owned by the company, but was sold several months ago.

"Following reports in the media, we can confirm that the vessel CSAV Tyndall is not owned or operated by Zodiac Maritime, which is a UK ship management company," the firm said in a statement released Saturday.
Not Israeli AND the attack didn’t work. Those Iranians assuredly do not have Allah in their corner
Posted by: Frank G || 07/04/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  LOL thanks for the update, TW!
Posted by: Frank G || 07/04/2021 0:04 Comments || Top||

#2  Liberian cargo ship. It was even flying a Liberian flag.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 07/04/2021 0:13 Comments || Top||

#3  thanks for the update, TW!

It was amazing, Frank G — there was this article you’d already prepared. and then I opened the Times of Israel website to see the highly amusing update on the subject. Easiest article I’ve done in a while. Teamwork!
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/04/2021 0:22 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
35[untagged]
3Sublime Porte
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2Antifa/BLM
2Hamas
2Islamic State
1Commies
1Boko Haram (ISIS)
1Human Trafficking
1Taliban
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1Devout Moslems
1Govt of Iran

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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2021-07-04
  Happy 4th of July
Sat 2021-07-03
  Standoff Between Heavily Armed Men And Police Shuts Down Part Of I-95 In Wakefield
Fri 2021-07-02
  Rape and domestic abuse suspect shot by police, is seeking tens of thousands of dollars from the city of Kenosha
Thu 2021-07-01
  Government forces target Zayzun power station in Ghab Plain, west of Hama
Wed 2021-06-30
  Donald Rumsfeld dead at 88
Tue 2021-06-29
  Unidentified persons killed two Syrian IDP sisters in al-Hole
Mon 2021-06-28
  Somalia's Puntland region executes 21 al-Shabab fighters
Sun 2021-06-27
  Massive Manhunt Ends Up at Black Nationalist Encampment
Sat 2021-06-26
  Car-bomb attack wounds 15 UN peacekeepers in north Mali
Fri 2021-06-25
  Somali army bombs Al-Shabaab hideouts, 17 confirmed dead
Thu 2021-06-24
  Attack on Iranian nuclear site damaged centrifuge production facility
Wed 2021-06-23
  Taliban capture Afghanistan's main Tajikistan border crossing
Tue 2021-06-22
  Suicide car bomber has attacked French troops patrolling in central Mali, wounding six soldiers
Mon 2021-06-21
  Clashes Reach Gates of Faryab's Capital in Northern Afghanistan
Sun 2021-06-20
  Two Districts Fall to Taliban in North as Clashes Continue

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