[MYRGV] United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement contract employee was arrested for allegedly transporting 39 people illegally present in the country utilizing an All Valley Charters bus Friday, according to a criminal complaint.
Nancy Fernandez Luna, born in 1989, and the driver, Juan Torres Ayala, of Mexico, who was born in 1982, are both charged with transporting individuals illegally present in the U.S. from McAllen to Falfurrias.
On Friday, a white Prevost bus registered to All Valley Charters, LLC., entered the Falfurrias checkpoint where Fernandez told Border Patrol agents she was a government contract employee for MVM, a government contract transport company, the complaint said.
At the primary inspection area, Fernandez stated she works with ICE and that she escorts undocumented people northbound and provided her ICE personal identification verification contracting card as proof of her authority, according to the complaint.
During a secondary inspection, Fernandez advised that she was transporting juveniles who were all COVID positive and then, as agents were contacting the Centralized Processing Center regarding the validity of the bus, the bus departed.
"Agents conducted a traffic stop on the bus and instructed it to return to secondary inspection," the complaint said.
Agents then requested the manifest and found inconsistencies such as not all the occupants of the bus being juveniles.
The Central Processing Center then advised the agents that they had no transport buses currently operating.
During an interview with authorities, Torres stated he knew all 39 individuals were illegally present in the country and were being transported illegally. He added he was going to be paid $1,800 for the trip, had picked up the bus rental and knew that the manifest Fernandez produced was fraudulent.
Two of the individuals being transported told authorities that they were provided with gray hoodies and medical masks to wear when they approached the Falfurrias checkpoint. The two stated that Fernandez told them to act asleep.
Both Fernandez and Torres were scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nadia S. Medrano in McAllen federal court for their preliminary examinations and detention hearing Tuesday morning.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] In recent months, the Israeli army and intelligence services have launched a real hunt for the leaders of pro-Iranian groups that are part of the âAxis of Resistance.â
Since the high-profile assassination of Hamas Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in August 2024, more than a hundred high-ranking resistance figures in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Palestine have been eliminated one after another. Among them was Lebanese Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, whom the Israelis had been hunting for two decades.
At the same time, the Yemeni Houthis (the Ansar Allah movement) remain almost completely outside the scope of the Israeli liquidatorsâ activity. Of course, the Israeli air force and coalition forces periodically strike the movementâs infrastructure â the port city of Hodeida and the capital city of Sanaâa, occupied by the Houthis, have suffered from the raids. However, the frequency and scale of these operations are incomparable to the Israeli actions in the Lebanese and Syrian directions.
It seems as if Israel is "forgetting" about the Yemeni rebels, although they are the ones who are causing the greatest damage to its economy with their naval blockade. Tel Aviv has a slightly different opinion on this matter.
How is Houthi Yemen doing without oil or a working electrical power plant after the last round of Israeli airstrikes?
ARABS ARE NOT EAGER TO HELP
The restraint towards Ansar Allah is largely due to Yemen's territorial remoteness - Israel does not have a common land border with this country, which significantly reduces the operational capabilities of the army (IDF).
Despite the fact that Israel has already clearly demonstrated its readiness to âreach outâ to Yemeni territories (Operation Long Arm, July 2024), every such attack is impossible without the use of the airspace and airfields of Arab allies - primarily the monarchies of the Persian Gulf.
The prospect of becoming a âbouncing groundâ for Israeli operations does not inspire enthusiasm among the Arabs, especially considering that the main burden of repelling Ansar Allahâs retaliatory strike will fall on them. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, which experienced the consequences of the conflict with the Houthis on their oil and gas infrastructure a couple of years ago, are now looking for any excuse to avoid participating in such adventures.
Moreover, Yemenâs neighbors â even those relatively loyal to Tel Aviv â are reluctant to publicly support âIsraeli aggression,â since such an alliance is guaranteed to undermine their position in the Arab world and undermine all efforts to reduce tensions between Arab countries and Iran. Trading three years of diplomatic work for the destruction of several oil terminals in Yemen does not seem like an equal trade-off.
In many ways, Israel's zeal is also restrained by the United States, for which maintaining the status quo in Yemen is important for the implementation of a larger geopolitical combination. Washington hopes to use the "inter-Yemeni settlement," where the Houthi leaders act as a fairly "handshakeable" force, to stabilize the situation on the Arabian Peninsula as a whole. This is one of the unspoken conditions for Saudi Arabia's return to negotiations on normalizing relations with Israel, and the White House is making efforts to fulfill its promise.
At the same time, the US, together with Great Britain, continues to carry out missile and bomb strikes on the Houthi infrastructure â however, they are aimed more at âdemonstrating the involvementâ of Tel Avivâs Western allies in the conflict than at preparing for more serious operations.
True. But thatâs their choice â they could be much more effective if they wanted.
Finally, Israel simply does not have enough objective data on the opponentâs routes. The current leader of Ansar Allah, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, is known for rarely staying in one place and interacting with visitors exclusively online via video link. Israeli intelligence spent several decades tracking down the previous such opponent, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
At the same time, official Tel Aviv clearly does not want to conduct an âoperation for the sake of an operationâ: any attack of this kind against the Houthi leadership will be perceived as a threat to the movement as a whole and will only increase the frequency of Ansar Allahâs strikes on Israeli targets. Especially since after the death of the movementâs founder, Hussein al-Houthi, in 2004, the image of al-Houthi Jr. became practically inseparable from the image of Ansar Allah.
NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
Although Tel Aviv is so far keeping a close eye on the Houthi actions, this does not mean that it has completely abandoned the idea of âârevenge for the economic and image damage. However, preparation for the attack will require much more time - especially since a significant part of the resources is diverted to preparations for an expanded operation against Hezbollah, which is a more significant priority for the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Israeli strategy will be largely influenced by the results of the US presidential elections. A victory for the Democrats does not promise major changes in the tactics of Israeli forces against the pro-Iranian "Axis of Resistance". Tel Aviv will continue "pin strikes" aimed at disuniting Iranian proxy groups.
At the same time, the triumph of the Republicans in the US will open up opportunities for lobbying for more daring operations: Tel Aviv will be able to use Washingtonâs authority to âopenâ the airspace of the Arabian monarchies for its military aviation and thereby increase pressure on Yemenâs infrastructure.
In both cases, the main target will still be the oil terminals. By destabilizing the energy sector, Israel hopes to stir up the population in the Houthi-controlled territories and provoke an uprising in the rear. Thus, making it easier for itself to fight Ansar Allah.
However, this does not go beyond the current format of the struggle. In order to move on to a targeted âhuntâ for the Houthi leaders, Tel Aviv needs a more compelling reason, since the blockade of the Red Sea and indirect support for the interests of Palestine do not pose an existential threat to the country (unlike the incessant strikes of Hezbollah on the northern regions of Israel), no matter how much the Israeli âhawksâ try to prove it.
Such a reason could be, for example, the full-fledged joining of Ansar Allah in Operation True Promise 3, which official Tehran announced recently in response to Israeli threats of a âretaliatory strike.â
In this sense, Israel does not limit itself to any âstatute of limitationsâ and is ready to fight pro-Iranian forces in stages.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Viktor Bout, a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Ulyanovsk Region, called the publication in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that he allegedly participated in negotiations with the Yemeni Houthis on arms supplies a hoax.
The WSJ article noted that the talks took place in Moscow in August and resulted in an agreement to supply the Houthis with AK-74 assault rifles. The purpose of this article is to raise the publication's rating, Bout said in an interview with Izvestia.
"In the absence of significant media personalities, American media outlets are using the brand of "arms baron" that they once promoted, known to the masses, and my name. And it is clear that all this is being done in order to attract more public attention to their publication and raise the publication's ratings, which have apparently sagged," Bout said.
He also noted that the article, whose title mentioned Vladimir Putin, was published on the Russian president's birthday, which is hardly a coincidence. The WSJ has become a biased publication, and the episode with the publication about the Houthis on the president's birthday could be mentioned in a fictional series that is currently being prepared in Russia, Booth added.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, previously noted that the Kremlin had studied this WSJ publication and was inclined to classify it as fake or informational attacks on Russian deputies.
Bout returned to Russia in December 2022 following a prisoner swap with the United States. American authorities had previously sentenced him to 25 years in prison for allegedly intending to engage in arms trafficking and supporting terrorism. In September 2023, Bout was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Ulyanovsk Region from the LDPR.
Reports about the participation of Ulyanovsk Legislative Assembly deputy Viktor Bout in selling weapons to Yemeni Houthis are fake, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told journalists on October 7.
He reported that the Kremlin had become familiar with the publication on this topic.
âWe are inclined to classify this as a fake or information attack on our elected representatives,â Peskov said.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Bout, who was previously convicted in the United States on arms trafficking charges, allegedly participated in negotiations with Yemen's Houthis. The talks were said to have taken place in Moscow in August and resulted in an agreement to deliver AK-74 assault rifles to Yemen.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, Bout returned to Russia in December 2022 after a prisoner exchange with the United States. American authorities had previously sentenced the Russian businessman to 25 years in prison for intending to engage in arms trafficking and supporting terrorism. Bout was pardoned in Russia. In September 2023, he was elected as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Ulyanovsk Region from the LDPR party.
[FoxNews] Metropolitan Police of Greater London reportedly paid ÂŁ10,000 in damages and legal costs to UK evangelist Hatun Tash
A female Christian evangelist in the United Kingdom who was arrested and strip searched by the police after conversing with Muslims in a famous free speech area, has reportedly won ÂŁ10,000 in damages from the police for her ordeal, according to a press release from legal advocacy group Christian Concern.
Hatun Tash, a former Muslim who converted to Christianity, has preached the Bible and debated Muslims at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, London, for over 10 years. On June 26, 2022, Tash was setting up her camera at Speakers' Corner, when a man ran up and stole her copy of the Quran, according to a legal threat sent by Tash's lawyer to The Metropolitan Police after her arrest. Tash used a Quran with holes in it during her preaching as a visual aid.
Another man reportedly held Tash's tripod and prevented her from chasing the thief. After Tash's friends called the emergency line, officers arrived and forcibly removed the preacher from the area as a growing crowd of men pursued her and shouted, "Allahu Akbar" while making attempts to assault her, the lawyer's letter said. The 2022 incident was also captured on video and recently made public on YouTube.
Tash's belongings were allegedly left by police at the scene. Her lawyer argued police violated her human rights after they "wrongfully detained" her for 15 hours, strip searched her, took her glasses and questioned her in the middle of the night.
Police told the Christian preacher she had been arrested for "criminal damage" due to her Quran, even though it was her property, as well as "intention to stir up racial hatred by use of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior, or displays any written material which is threatening, abusive or insulting," because she was wearing a Charlie Hebdo t-shirt which depicted the Prophet Mohammed, according to the lawyer's letter.
Tash's lawyers argued that her rights to freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion had been breached under Articles 9 & 10 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). They sought damages for assault, wrongful arrest, unlawful imprisonment and harassment and legal fees, as well as an apology and agreement that the police would not "continue to harass her."
A settlement was recently reached, according to the Christian Legal Centre, and the Metropolitan Police.
"The Metropolitan Police has reached a settlement in relation to a proposed civil claim brought in relation to an arrest in 2022. We are not prepared to discuss details of the proposed claim or settlement further," a Met spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Tash told Fox News Digital this isn't the first time she's experienced similar incidents with law enforcement at Speakers' Corner.
The former Muslim-turned-evangelist runs a ministry called "Defend Christ, Critique Islam." She has over 690,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel where she argues for Christianity and against the Islamic religion.
But her boldness in sharing her faith has made her a target for extremists. She has been stabbed, been the target of a terrorist plot, and wrongfully arrested multiple times at the free speech location over the past few years.
In her experience, the police have been lenient toward those who've threatened her and she says that has only emboldened more extremists to come after her. Like some others in Britain, she feels like there's an emerging "two-tier" justice system in the UK.
"Once Muslims kind of figured out, okay, nothing is happening, [once] they overstepped the law, then they started coming as mobs. So, like a group of ten, 20 of them simply would come and just harass me, making sure that I don't use my freedom of speech, making sure that I do not talk," she told Fox News Digital. "And every time there was tension, police would be the one concerned that they moved me or arrest me. None of those individuals ever were told off or told to be stopped. Police's approach was it is easier to remove me so that Muslim people can continue what they are doing."
"It's not only at Speakers' Corner. We get to see the same thing in schools," she said, explaining about a teacher who is still reportedly in hiding after showing a Mohammed cartoon to his class in 2021.
Despite these circumstances, she remains steadfast in her commitment to keep preaching.
"As long as the Lord gives me breath, I'm planning to preach the gospel because I think even though there are lots of negative things that are happening. For me, the solution is Jesus Christ. I saw how he transformed me. He will transform these individuals," she said.
Tash says she engages with imams at mosques and has seen approximately 20 imams who've left Islam and become Christians, as well as approximately 1,000 Muslims in England. On her YouTube platform, her ministry disciples hundreds of people from Muslim majority countries, she says.
"We are open to debates and discussions," she said. "It gives people to make their own choices, whether they want to be Muslim or they don't want to be Muslim, whether they want to become a Christian or not. So I have been someone who has been put in a place of privilege to see how my God steps in and changes and transforms lives. So, in that sense, I'm so grateful to the Lord."
[X] Thatâll be the political cadres and the moneymen, I imagine. The military leaders are busy getting themselves killed on the ground (or underground) in Gaza.
Israeli Channel 13 is reporting that Senior Hamas Leaders have fled from Lebanon and Iran in recent weeks, due to fears of Assassination by Israel; with most having taken Refuge in both Qatar and Turkey.
[KhaamaPress] Officials in Kandahar province report that 60 families were expelled from Pakistain and have entered Afghanistan through the Spin Boldak border.
The registration and refugee identification committee at the Anjargi camp in Kandahar stated that 60 families, consisting of 323 individuals, returned to the country through Spin Boldak over the past two days.
The same committee also mentioned that these Afghan families have received financial assistance from the relevant institutions and have been referred to aid organizations for further support.
The expulsion of Afghan refugees from Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... and Pakistain has intensified recently. Iranian authorities, in recent months, have increased the deportation of undocumented Afghan migrants colonists, detaining and expelling them from the country.
Recently, restrictions against Afghan refugees in Iran have also significantly increased. A local official in Islamshahr recently announced that Afghan migrants colonists are only permitted to be employed in hard labor jobs, adding that even legal Afghan migrants colonists can only work in such jobs and are prohibited from working in food production and sales centers.
This ongoing trend of forced deportations, coupled with rising restrictions on job opportunities for Afghan refugees, highlights the growing challenges faced by displaced people from Afghanistan.
International humanitarian organizations are increasingly called upon to address these urgent needs and assist with reintegration efforts.
#1
Was this the 2 million that they were talking about yesterday? Seems like large families.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
10/08/2024 8:47 Comments ||
Top||
#2
The 2 million are to be sent home from Iran, ed. Pakistan has a churn thingy going on â they filter across the Af-Pak border to join the teeming masses, then in a decade or two or three theyâre sent back, along with the children whoâve got more education and big city polish than they would have back home.
[KhaamaPress] The Tehrik-e-Taliban ...Arabic for students... Pakistain (TTP) has announced a five-day ceasefire in honor of the Pashtun tribal Jirga, which will take place in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Friday, October 11. The TTP recently expressed its support for the Jirga, showing solidarity with the event.
Emboldened by the Afghan Taliban’s control over Kabul, the TTP has intensified its attacks in the past three years. However,
you can observe a lot just by watching... the group declared a temporary halt in its attacks on Pak security forces during the Jirga period out of respect for the tribal gathering.
The Pak government, however, opposed the Jirga and, in recent weeks, launched security operations against the event’s organizers in the Khyber Valley. Dozens of members from the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) were arrested as a result of these operations.
The TTP’s support for the Pashtun tribal Jirga comes as the Pak federal government recently banned the PTM, placing it on a list of prohibited organizations, which has sparked widespread opposition.
Many in Pakistain, including former Senator Afrasiab Khattak, condemned the government’s decision, labelling it a "colonial" move. Khattak argued that this decision would only strengthen the Pashtuns’ resolve in their fight for justice.
The ceasefire announced by the TTP marks a significant moment amidst ongoing tensions between the group and the Pak government.
The Jirga remains a critical event for the Pashtun community, drawing national attention to their ongoing struggles. Despite government opposition, the Pashtun movement continues to gain momentum, highlighting the deep-rooted issues of political and social justice in the region.
Cum grano salis... Like Houthi missiles, the important thing is the intention upon take-off â the landing being entirely subject to Allahâs will.
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
A big news has just come which will disturb #Israel...
[Rudaw] An Iran-backed Iraqi armed group said on Sunday that Israel may launch “limited” attacks on Iraq but the strikes will differ from those against Lebanon, amid fears of a wider regional spillover against the backdrop of the Israel-Gaza war.
“Israel may attack Iraq, however the attacks will be limited and different from those in Lebanon because Iraq’s situation, nature, and geography are different,” Kadhim al-Fartusi, spokesperson for the Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, part of the government-linked but Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, told Rudaw.
The IRI being the name the PMF puts on, false-nose-and-mustache style, when shooting missiles in the general direction of Israel. They take it off again immediately, of course, because false mustaches are itchy.
Fartusi said that the Islamic Resistance in Iraq does not speak on behalf of the Iraqi government and is not coordinating with it, but “represents the people and is the voice and will of the people.”
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war a year ago, Baghdad has struggled to keep the delicate balance between maintaining relations with pro-Iran militias and keeping them at bay, and protecting the diplomatic and military interests of Western countries, particularly the United States.
“We are in the face of a war, a historic war, one fought with pride and honor, reflecting the battles of glory and heroism. Whatever the cost for Iraq, it does not cause concern, and it should not be based on mere political or diplomatic calculations,” Fartusi stressed, adding that the Muslim world is under “barbaric attack.”
“Iraq must act and take the initiative before events escalate into a war, for which it is unprepared,” he said.
The Washington Institute think tank in 2021 called Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada “a splinter of Kataib Hezbollah” - another pro-Iran Shiite militia group - that works under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Both groups are part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of shadow Iraqi militia groups backed by Iran that has launched hundreds of rocket and drone strikes against US military installations in Iraq in retaliation for Washington’s support for Israel in its war against Gaza.
Abu Alaa al-Walaei, secretary general of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, said in a statement on Monday that Iraq has become the “first support front” for Lebanon and Gaza, on the first anniversary of the war.
You go ahead and pretend you're important, dear. It won’t make any difference, but you’ll feel better about yourself.
He accused regional powers Saudi Arabia and the UAE of providing “financial cover” for the bombardment of Gaza.
“These sponsoring regimes are in the circle of direct responsibility for the innocent blood that is being shed and it will not make them immune from punishment,” Walaei said, referring to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
What innocent blood? Hamas just admitted that 80% of the 41,000 they say Israel killed are Hamasniks and their families. And the other 20% are unadmitted human shields, so international law says Hamas owns responsibility for that blood, too.
An Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut late last month killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, marking a significant escalation and greatly inflaming tensions between Israel and neighboring Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq - countries where Iran’s “axis of resistance” has considerable sway.
Meh. Maybe the whole axis will have a mass stroke from the tension and fall over dead.
The conflict in Gaza has intensified since October 7 of last year, when Palestinian Hamas militants launched a large-scale incursion into southern Israel - killing more than 1,170 people, according to Israeli figures. Israel responded with a massive ongoing offensive in Gaza, killing over 40,000 people, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Israel has also escalated its strikes in Lebanon and parts of Syria over the past year, targeting Hezbollah and Iranian commanders.
With even more to come. Enjoy your increasing tension.
On Tuesday, Iran launched around 180 ballistic missiles toward Israel.
…none of which accomplished anything of note. How mortifying for Iran.
The IRGC said the attack was in response to the killing of Hezbollah secretary general Nasrallah, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and IRGC commander Abbad Nilforoushan.
On Sunday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani called on world leaders to intensify their efforts to spare the Middle East from a wider conflict.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Two people who were in camps in Iraq have been repatriated to Azerbaijan, the Foreign Ministry reported.
As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, Azerbaijan periodically organizes the return of its citizens from camps in Syria and Iraq. Thus, on June 4, six Azerbaijani citizens (a woman and five children), who were held in camps in Syria, were repatriated to their homeland.
They would have been an ISIS wife and children â possibly all hers, possibly some orphans.
Today, two Azerbaijani citizens were repatriated from Iraq to their homeland, and earlier, on September 18, six citizens who were in Syria, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported today.
But coming from Iraq they could be ISIS, Al Qaeda in Iraq, or something more exotic that was caught and imprisoned somewhere along the way. badanov's news sources really dislike saying, so unless one of our other sources is more forthcoming, this is all we know.
Before repatriation, the location, identity and Azerbaijani citizenship of these people were first established. Azerbaijani citizens in Syria were taken to Turkey, then representatives of the Azerbaijani authorities were sent to Turkey and Iraq, a preliminary medical and psychological examination of the repatriates was conducted, after which they arrived in Baku accompanied by delegations, the report, translated into Russian by a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, says.
The report does not specify the gender and age of the repatriates. It was not possible to get comments from the Foreign Ministry, a correspondent for the "Caucasian Knot" reported.
In recent years, about 470 people have been returned to Azerbaijan from Syria and Iraq, these are mainly family members (wives, children) of people who went to fight as part of illegal armed groups in conflict zones in the Middle East, an employee of the Azerbaijani government apparatus told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent today.
Let us recall that on February 21, two women and five children who were in camps in Syria were returned to Azerbaijan. In October 2023, a woman and nine children were returned to Azerbaijan from Syrian camps, and in August of the same year - three women and 13 children.
At least 120 women from Azerbaijan remain in Iraq, Turan agency observer Tofig Turkel reported in June 2023. In November 2022, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry estimated the total number of its citizens repatriated from Syria and Iraq over the years of work at 409 people.
[IsraelTimes] The United States has spent a record of at least $17.9 billion on military aid to Israel since the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... began and led to escalating conflict around the Middle East, according to a report for Brown Universityâs Costs of War project, released on the anniversary of Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... â attacks on Israel.
An additional $4.86 billion has gone into stepped-up US military operations in the region since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, researchers say in findings first provided to The News Agency that Dare Not be Named. That includes the costs of a Navy-led campaign to quell strikes on commercial shipping by 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... âs Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...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 legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. 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 Americaâą, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... s, who claim to be carrying them out in solidarity with the fellow Iranian-backed terror group Hamas.
The financial costs were calculated by Linda J. Bilmes, a professor at Harvardâs John F. Kennedy School of Government, who has assessed the full costs of US wars since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and fellow researchers William D. Hartung and Stephen Semler.
Much of the US weapons delivered in the year were munitions, from artillery shells to 2,000-pound bunker-busters and precision-guided bombs.
Expenditures range from $4 billion to replenish Israelâs Iron Dome and Davidâs Sling missile defense systems to cash for rifles and jet fuel, the study says.
Unlike the United Statesâ publicly documented military aid to Ukraine, it was impossible to get the full details of what the US has shipped Israel since last Oct. 7, so the $17.9 billion for the year is a partial figure, the researchers say. "Really, a Wild-Assed-Guess"
They cited Biden administration "efforts to hide the full amounts of aid and types of systems through bureaucratic maneuvering."
#3
Rafael to unveil short range laser defense for ground force Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. Announced on Tuesday that it will be showcasing its latest defense capabilities at the defense AUSA exhibition October 14-16 in Washington D.C., including a new Lite Beam laser-based interception system integrated into the Trophy multitasking defense platform.
While not as much of a watershed moment as when Israel can finally deploy its Iron Beam laser defense system, the Lite Beam is still a powerful example of Israel succeeding in using layers, at least for short-range defense.
Defense sources told the Jerusalem Post that the Lite Beamâs operational capabilities have been proven, though they declined to disclose exactly when and how the IDF has used such capabilities in the field in Gaza or Lebanon.
#4
I think Lite Beam is mainly to protect tanks and personnel carriers.
I am hopeful the IDF will eventually be able to mount Iron Beam on a UAV with long air time. If it could do that it could destroy Hamas or Hezbollah or Houthi or Iran missiles in the boost phase. Seems to be impossible to me but perhaps the IDF will find a way.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
10/08/2024 18:49 Comments ||
Top||
[IsraelTimes] Speaking from Qatar, senior terror leader warns of ‘ticking time bomb’ in Mideast ‘as long as the occupation exists’; Hamas military spox hails ‘successful’ Oct. 7 attack, ‘humiliating defeat’ of IDF
Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... leader Khaled Mashaal said the Paleostinian terror group would rise "like a phoenix" from the ashes despite heavy losses during a year of war with Israel, and that it continues to recruit fighters and manufacture weapons.
One year after the devastating Hamas attack that triggered the war, the 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... -based Mashaal framed the conflict with Israel as part of a broader narrative spanning 76 years, dating back to what Paleostinians call the "Nakba" or "catastrophe," of the Jewish state’s founding in 1948.
"Paleostinian history is made of cycles," Mashaal, 68, a senior Hamas figure under overall leader Yahya Sinwar, told Rooters in an interview.
"We go through phases where we lose deaders (victims) and we lose part of our military capabilities, but then the Paleostinian spirit rises again, like the phoenix, thanks to God."
Mashaal, who survived an Israeli liquidation attempt in 1997 after he was injected with poison and was overall Hamas leader from 1996-2017, said the Islamist terror group was still able to mount ambushes against Israeli troops.
Hamas also fired four missiles at central Israel on Monday morning, the anniversary of the October 7 atrocities, in which Paleostinian forces of Evil killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seized 251 hostages.
"We lost part of our ammunition and weapons, but Hamas is still recruiting young men and continues to manufacture a significant portion of its ammunition and weapons," said Mashaal, without providing details.
Oh? Do go on.
Mashaal remains influential in Hamas because he has played a crucial role in its leadership for almost three decades, and is widely seen now as its diplomatic face. His comments appear intended as a signal that the terrorist group will fight on whatever its losses, Middle East analysts said.
"Overall I would say (Hamas is) alive and kicking still and ... will probably come back at some point in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... ," said Joost R. Hiltermann, Middle East and North Africa Program Director of the International Crisis Group. He said Israel had not spelled out a plan for Gaza when the war ends, and this could allow Hamas to re-establish itself although perhaps not with such strength or in the same form.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declined comment on Mashaal’s remarks.
"As long as the occupation exists, the region remains a ticking time bomb," Mashaal warned.
Also Monday, the front man of the Hamas’s military wing, known only as Abu Obeida, gave a speech praising the attack the terror group carried out one year ago, and the unity of the fronts opened by Iran-backed proxy organizations across the Middle East against Israel over the past 12 months. He further called for "military, financial and logistical support" as well as media campaigns against Israel.
And was he standing in front of a cheering crowd in the fresh air and sunshine when he spoke, or was he hiding in a dank hole in the ground somewhere, surrounded by 10/7 hostages and praying that the Israelis weren’t already on their way with their robots and their dogs?
Abu Obeida also discussed the hostages still in Gaza, and said that it would be "unreasonable" for Hamas to kill them, but that dozens of them may be held in captivity for a long time and may never be returned.
That also is unreasonable. They have to be fed for no return, if they aren’t traded for something, and they’re only useful as human shields until suddenly they aren’t.
"The fate of the hostages is tied to the actions of their government," Abu Obeida said. "The longer [the military operation in Gaza] persists, the greater the risk to the hostages."
Abu Obeida boasted that October 7 was "the most professional and successful commando operation in the modern era,"
…not at all professional, no — and given what Gaza looks like now, and the number of dead and maimed Hamasniks, not any kind of success, either…
and added that it inflicted a "humiliating defeat" on the IDF. He made the baseless allegation that it was a "preemptive strike" to avert a major operation planned by Israel against Hamas in Gaza.
It rather looks like Israel pulled off a major operation against Hamas thereafter. You’re batting a perfect goose egg, bro.
The front man claimed that October 7 was a response to alleged Israeli violations at the Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem, the expansion of settlements, abuses against Paleostinian security prisoners, and the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
And yet Israel has even tighter control of the Temple Mount/Al Aqsa, there are many more Palestinian security prisoners, and the blockade of Gaza is even tighter. Your win is looking awfully Pyrrhic.
He addressed Hezbollah, saying: "We are confident in your steadfastness and courage in inflicting heavy losses on the forces of the Zionist enemy, as the martyr His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...> promised."
Forty-one thousand dead Gazans vs a couple hundred dead Israelis. I know y’all want to die for your god but this level of lopsided suggests your god doesn’t like you at all.
The terror leader also mentioned Maher al-Jazi, the Jordanian citizen who carried out a shooting attack at the Allenby Bridge Crossing on September 8 in which three Israeli citizens were killed, saying that he opened an "authentic Jordanian front" in addition to the existing ones.
One example does not a front make.
Abu Obeida lashed at the US for supporting Israel, and claimed that Islamist terror operatives in the Gaza Strip, from Hamas and other factions, "persist in their steadfastness and their heroic fighting in every inch of the Strip."
True….
Commenting on the recent killing of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, Abu Obeida said that "the policy of liquidations of our leaders is a good outcome, a sign of victory for us, and a source of regret and disappointment for the aggressors."
I’m pretty sure Israel doesn’t regret those deaths one bit.
"A leader is succeeded by 10, and a fighter by a thousand," he added. "This land produces resistance fighters as it produces olives."
#1
Kind of interesting from Britannica:
What is the phoenix bird in the Quran?
In Islamic mythology the phoenix was identified with the ÊżanqÄÊŸ (Persian: sÄ«morgh), a huge mysterious bird (probably a heron) that was originally created by God with all perfections but thereafter became a plague and was killed.
#5
Fyi Qatar to buy a quarter of Virgin Airways, Australiaâs budget carrier.
Muslim brotherhood buy corporate influence not just US universities with their energy money
Mashaal, who survived an Israeli liquidation attempt in 1997 after he was injected with poison
Beyond that, Israel has lots of people to kill, so perhaps it isnât yet his turn, or perhaps they donât want him to die on Qatari soil for some reason.
#8
Great links, Grom. Interesting about the Phoenix, penguin and interesting points TW
I read that state dept page and i am horrified
Qatar pumps billions into US partnered with exxonmobil to buy big influence
This is a disaster
What is the point of having a security ally in the ME that is your absolute worst enemy trying to destroy your (and my) societies from within
They want us taken over by sharia courts that is their goal
Why does State Dept think it can manipulate and use them?! They are putting us all in danger. You cannot keep this enemy close. Nuke them! They want to poison the entire planet with their horrible religious ideology.
They and the Saudis are playing us like a cheap violin! It is Al Jazeera owned by Qatar / muslim brotherhood that pushes the mass migration propaganda like baby aylan - remember that?
It is them behind the mass migrations so they can get their fifth column of breeders in. They donât accept any migration themselves - not UAE not Qatar and not Saudi. Your work contract ends and you are out in 2 weeks.
#10
Link saved to my Islamic History file. Thanks, Anon1 â I knew about it, and had read key provisions, but somehow never added the actual thing to my collection.
Come the apocalypse, when the internet dies and we have no electricity, Iâll be totally screwed. :-)
[IsraelTimes] One of six Thais believed to be held hostage by Hamas, Watchara Sriaoun had worked in Israel with his brother to repay the family debt and cover his father’s medical bills.
Naim Kassem, Nasrallahâs former deputy, admitted Hezbollahâs military distress by calling for an unconditional ceasefire. He demanded Israel halt its fire first, with details to be discussed laterâ a move⊠pic.twitter.com/CDvMpAP5xB
Taqiya. Itâs not unconditional if he requires Israel to stop first. Iâll believe him when all his fighters first put down their weapons, strip down to their skivvies, and walk out in the open with their hands in the air. Still, itâs a sign that he thinks open deceit has become necessary.
It would have been helpful if the article gave us actual names for our records, it was enough to start searching. Scroll down to the bottom to see what popped up on the first pass
[IsraelTimes] Treasury secretary vows to ‘relentlessly’ pursue funding of terror group; says Hamas may have drawn as much as $10 million a month from donations, with Europe key source of funds
The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on an international Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... fundraising network, accusing it of playing a critical role in external fundraising for the terror group, in action marking the first anniversary of the October 7 massacre.
The US Treasury Department in a statement said it imposed sanctions on three people and what it called a "sham charity" that it accused of being prominent international financial supporters of Hamas, as well as on the al-Intaj Bank in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... that it said was controlled by the terror group.
Also targeted was a longstanding Hamas supporter, a 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... i national living in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... , and nine of his businesses, Treasury said.
"As we mark one year since Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack, Treasury will continue relentlessly degrading the ability of Hamas and other destabilizing Iranian proxies to finance their operations and carry out additional violent mostly peaceful acts," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in the statement.
"The Treasury Department will use all available tools at our disposal to hold Hamas and its enablers accountable, including those who seek to exploit the situation to secure additional sources of revenue."
The Treasury on Monday said: "Hamas has exploited the suffering in Gaza to solicit funds through sham and front charities that falsely claim to help civilians in Gaza," adding that as of early this year, the group may have received as much as $10 million a month through such donations. The Treasury said Hamas considers Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... to be a key source of fundraising.
Monday’s action targeted an Italia-based Hamas member the Treasury said established the sham Charity Association of Solidarity with the Paleostinian People, which it accused of helping bankroll Hamas’s military wing.
Also targeted was a senior Hamas representative in Germany and a Hamas representative in charge of the group’s activity in Austria.
Hamid Abdullah Hussein al Ahmar (al Ahmar), a Yemeni national living in Türkiye, is one of the most prominent international supporters of Hamas. He is a key member of Hamas’s once-secret investment portfolio, which at its peak managed over $500 million worth of assets enabling Hamas’s leaders to live in luxury outside the Palestinian territories despite the real humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza. Since at least 2013, Al Ahmar has also been the chairman of the Lebanon-based Hamas sham charity Al-Quds International Foundation, which OFAC designated in October 2012 for being controlled by Hamas.
OFAC is also designating the following nine entities pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for being owned, controlled, or directed by, directly or indirectly, al Ahmar:
Al Ahmar Trading Group, based in Yemen.
Al Ahmar Oils Supply and Distribution, based in Yemen.
Sama International Media, based in Yemen.
Al Salam Trading and Agencies General Establishment, based in Yemen.
Saba, Trade & Investment S.R.O., based in Czechia.
Sabafon International SAL (Offshore), based in Lebanon.
Sabaturk Dis Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, based in Türkiye.
Vivid Enerji Yatirimlari Anonim Sirketi, based in Türkiye.
Investrade Portfoy Yonetimi Anonim Sirketi, based in Türkiye.
EUROPE-BASED HAMAS FUNDRAISERS
Mohammad Hannoun (Hannoun) is an Italy-based Hamas member who established the Charity Association of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, or Associazione Benefica di Solidarietà con il Popolo Palestinese (ABSPP), a sham charity in Italy which ostensibly raises funds for humanitarian purposes, but in reality helps bankroll Hamas’s military wing. As an executive at ABSPP, Hannoun has sent money to Hamas-controlled organizations since at least 2018. He has solicited funding for Hamas with senior Hamas officials and sent at least $4 million to Hamas over a 10-year period.
Majed al-Zeer (al-Zeer) is the senior Hamas representative in Germany, who is also one of the senior Hamas members in Europe and has played a central role in the terrorist group’s European fundraising.
Adel Doughman (Doughman) is in charge of Hamas activity in Austria and is another one of the most prominent Hamas representatives in Europe. Doughman participates in conferences and delegations on behalf of Hamas and works with other institutions designated by the United States for their affiliation with Hamas, to include Union of Good and the al-Quds International Institution.
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.
...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 
...Arabic for 
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
