[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday declined to appear publicly before a U.S. Senate committee to discuss national security threats, provoking the ire of the panel's Democratic chairman.
In a statement, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Gary Peters called their refusal to publicly testify a "shocking departure" that runs counter to 15 years of precedent.
"Their choice to not provide public testimony about their departments´ efforts to address wide-ranging national security threats robs the American people of critical information and the opportunity for public accountability of what the federal government is doing to keep Americans safe," Peters said in a statement.
In a statement, the FBI said the bureau remains "committed to sharing information about the continuously evolving threat environment facing our nation," but that the FBI believes the committee "would benefit most from further substantive discussions and additional information that can only be provided in a classified setting."
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Traditionally for more than a decade, top officials from the FBI, DHS and the National Counterterrorism Center have appeared publicly before both the House and Senate homeland security committees to discuss threats facing the United States.
Earlier this week, the House Homeland Security Committee announced that its own hearing on the subject, featuring Wray and Mayorkas as witnesses, was being postponed until December.
These hearings would have marked the first time that Wray and Mayorkas appeared before Congress since Republican Donald Trump won the election on Nov. 5.
Trump has vowed to shake up both agencies once he takes office on Jan. 20.
#5
They are kind of busy right now. Only 2 months to implement whatever anti-Trump schemes they have in the works, plus they need to sanitize incriminating computer files and documents.
#12
Marokas and Wray blew off the meeting. A spox was reported at Axios as saying: "An FBI spokesperson said in a statement that the agency's leaders have "testified extensively in public settings about the current threat environment and believe the Committee would benefit most from further substantive discussions and additional information that can only be provided in a classified setting." Judging from other presentations by this pair, it would have a worthless use of time. The only value would have been to subpoena them before Congress and hang a contempt charge on them if they didn't show up.
#13
Shouldn't the public know about threats facing the US (other than the Orange Man destroying democracy)?
Or is this 'why should we just verify what the conspiracy theorists have been saying all along'?
#14
current threat environment
Has been internalized
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/22/2024 18:43 Comments ||
Top||
#15
I think Grom has it, or worse trip up and get plugged for perjury. Either way, the cat gets out of the bag.
Either way, much easier and safer to flip the bird and downsplain that you already know enough because we told you so, even if it is a show the ass move.
But I think for us here, it all but confirms everything except the exact number of FBI agents involved in the Jan 6 crowd and the bus full of sappers. What they don't want is normies to catch on.
#17
With respect, and with no disrespect with the term 'Normie*', no you are not. By simply lurking at Rantburg before participating, I changed. Then I had a front row seat to a national issue with The Greensburg Tornado and started calling Bullshit!
At times I miss being a Normie 20 some years ago, but then I come across someone who has a dear issue and I can participate and surprise the hell out of my company.
I present the current cultural and political climate prior to and post election as evidence that there are fewer Normies.
*And there is nothing wrong with just doing your life, getting home and doing home things, and going with the flow. BUT....Education is Freedom. "Letting it Ride" is how we get California, or New York, Chicago, so on.
[Modernity] During a discussion with Joe Rogan, former Green Beret Evan Hafer, noted that if president-elect Trump decides to go to war with the cartels he could opt to use US Special Forces to destroy them.
Does this mean inside American borders, which runs into posse comitatus, or in Mexico and points south, which would be an act of war?
Hafer noted "if we declare war on the cartel, these dudes are not going to understand what the fuck is going on,"
"They are in for a world of ultra violence they’ve never actually felt before because you know, obviously this is a very capable violent organization," Hafer added.
He continued, "They have fucking no clue if we organize these tier one units against them this is gonna be — what I would be doing if I was down there... I’d be getting ready to retire right now,"
"That’s what I would be doing. Because if Delta Force is hunting me bro, I would be so terrified," Hafer further urged.
“I thought about this for a long time where I’m like if they turn loose Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 on cartels and pedophiles, we could just kind of like erase the problem in about two years. It’d be gone,” Hafer, the founder of Black Rifle Coffee Company, emphasised.
#5
Mexico is already in a de facto war with the USA due to corruption and bureaucratic laziness and collusion. I worry a bit about the retirees in Mexico, but it was their choice.
WRT posse comitatus, just declare war on illegals and their gangs. Hand wringing won't solve the problem. Kill them as they cross the river, all of them. I will be a bit sad about the corpse count, but that won't last more than a few days.
I hope and pray the despicable UN tries to get involved. UN out of USA.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
11/22/2024 7:49 Comments ||
Top||
#6
..in Mexico and points south, which would be an act of war?
One of the Hague conventions stipulates that if a belligerent is in a neutral country, that country must expel the belligerent. If that country can not, the other belligerent may take necessary actions.
In the 1880s there were several punitive expeditions into Mexico in hot pursuit of Apaches who were raiding Texas and the New Mexico Territory. Mexico refused to take action to end the raids.
The Pershing Expedition following the raid upon Columbus New Mexico in 1916 is another precedent.
If the government of Mexico is so compromised or unable to eliminate the cartels, they put themselves in the position of having to deal with the use of force by the American government.
The real danger is the cartels going terrorists upon American communities they have been allowed to infiltrate so deeply.
* If you are with a group of people in one of those long meetings and:
* You fart, and the others hear it, and smell it, and they know you are the one who did it -- that's OVERT.
* You fart, and the others hear it, and smell it, but they have absolutely no idea who did it -- that's COVERT.
* You fart, and the others hear it, and smell it, and they think you did it, but they are not positive -- that's LOW VISIBILITY.
* You fart, and the others don't hear it or smell it; i.e. they don't even know it happened -- that's CLANDESTINE.
* You fart, and all the signs point to someone else having done it, or at least they don't point to you -- that's PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY.
* You plan to fart, and the others are going to hear it, and smell it, but you don't look like the kind of guy who would do that in public -- that's COVER FOR STATUS.
* You are going to fart, and the others are going to hear it, and smell it, but you don't want them to hear it, so you cough at the same time as you fart -- that's COVER FOR ACTION.
* You fart, and the others hear it and smell it, but you turn to your neighbor and say "My God, what have you done!?" -- that's TACTICAL DECEPTION.
* You propose to fart, and you think the others should hear it and smell it, but you have to get someone to validate it -- that's OPERATIONAL REVIEW.
* You want to fart, and you don't care who hears it, or who smells it but the lawyers argue about who has to concur, authorize and approve it -- that's LEGAL REVIEW.
* You want to fart, and you don't know whether it's better for others to hear it, or smell it, or both, so the intelligence weenies study the feasibility of it -- that's TECHNICAL REVIEW.
* You plan on farting, but you delay to consider the potential of the effect of your fart on others in the room and how pissed off everyone will be at you - that's RISK ASSESSMENT.
* You mitigate the risk by moving over by an open door and farting outside- that's RISK MANAGEMENT.
* You fart and others hear it, smell it, and the TMO representative smells your butt to make sure you really did it AND that you didn't eat the expensive chili to cause it -- that's OVERSIGHT.
* You're going to fart, and you must know what course of action the others will take when they hear it and smell it, all based on your current seating arrangements -- that's a VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT.
* You're going to fart, and you must know how much the others will hear and how much they will smell, so you check your butt placement, air currents, and your exact distance from the others within the surrounding area -- that's an OPSEC SURVEY.
#11
B. - I think covert ops have a place but maybe not the front and center method. The fear of God needs to be pervasive. Pour encourager les autres as it were. No one dared touch a Roman citizen fearing that entire villages would be leveled and salted fields ensured no food and a constant remembrance. Oderint dum metuant.
#15
Superb explanation V, but the redundant use of flatulence as a teaching technique gives rise to questions about your fixation on either your eating habits or time spent at the Silver Bullet's JBAB Furnari Taco Bar?
[FoxNews] Texas has offered a massive tract of land in the Rio Grande Valley sector to aid the incoming Trump administration's mass deportation plans, but the move is inviting questions over what the space will be used for.
"Using this land for deportation purposes is just part of a multitude of strategies that we're involved in," Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, told "America's Newsroom" on Wednesday.
"One is, as we speak right now, there are more orange buoys that are being put into the Rio Grande River to deny illegal entry. The second thing is we are working to make sure that we are going after the criminals… That's why I declared Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization, so that we would be able to muster every single law enforcement tool in the state of Texas to go after them and arrest them.
"We've made hundreds of arrests of Tren de Aragua,
…impressive!
which is working to expand across the country, but we're making it clear that Tren de Aragua made a mistake when they tried to put a foothold in the state of Texas," he continued.
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham offered the incoming administration a tract of more than 1,400 acres in Starr County.
In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Buckingham wrote to Trump that her office is "fully prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the United States Border Patrol to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history."
The prospect of nationwide mass deportations has not come without scrutiny, however.
Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and Boston Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu have pushed back, stating their refusal to cooperate with the effort. Los Angeles city lawmakers voted Tuesday to formally adopt a sanctuary city ordinance and prohibit any city resources or personnel to be used to help federal enforcement of immigration laws.
Abbott said the Democratic officials are "doubling down" on reasons their party was handed a resounding defeat in the 2024 election.
"What the Americans demanded were safe communities and to stop the illegal immigration into our country, especially of those who pose great dangers, and whether it be in Arizona, whether it be in Massachusetts or other places across the country where they're not going to be cooperating with ICE, with the borders, or with any effort to remove very dangerous criminals, they're going to see more crimes in their cities and they're going to see more losses at the ballot box because Americans are angry about this and these office holders, they have to be responding to that anger."
#4
Any state, county or city not following federal law on immigration should get no federal dollars for any program including Medicare, Medicaid, Education, Transportation,,,,,
[ShabelleMedia] The 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.... terror group’s small but influential affiliate in Somalia is growing, thanks in part to what the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... describes as an "influx of imported muscle."
A new report this week by the U.N. Sanctions Monitoring Team for Somalia warns that fighters, including some from countries in the Middle East, have helped the Islamic State’s Somali affiliate, also known as IS-Somalia, to more than double in size to between 600 and 700 fighters.
"Foreign fighters arrive in Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... [Somalia] using both maritime and overland routes," according to the report, which is based on intelligence estimates from U.N. member states.
The imported muscle "have expanded and enhanced the group’s capabilities," the report said, strengthening IS’s presence in Somalia’s Puntland region while also helping it take territory from its key rival, al-Qaeda-linked terror group al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... Intelligence sources described the IS-Somalia advance, especially in Puntland’s Cal Miskaad mountains, as a "drastic change," crediting the imported muscle for IS-Somalia’s change in fortune.
The U.N. report said the IS imported muscle have come from at least six countries: Syria, 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... , Æthiopia, Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... , Morocco and Tanzania. It also said some captured imported muscle have reported working with trainers who have come from parts of the Middle East.
The new report builds on previous warnings from U.S. and Somali officials, including the commander of U.S. Africa Command, in Germany, who told VOA last month that IS-Somalia had grown "twofold" over the past year.
Somali officials have likewise warned of hundreds of imported muscle flocking to Somalia to join the ranks of the IS affiliate.
"This reporting on an influx of foreign terrorist fighters in Africa is concerning," said Austin Doctor, the director of counterterrorism research initiatives at the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center.
And while the flow of imported muscle to Somalia pales in comparison to the tens of thousands of fighters who flocked to join IS in Syria and Iraq during the height of the terror group’s self-declared caliphate, Doctor told VOA the trend is likely to continue.
"A number of factors present in the Horn [of Africa] and other Africa regions as well will likely appeal to aspiring travelers looking to join the rank and file of an bad boy bully boy organization," he said. "Global and local security forces should prepare to see more of this in the near term."
There are likewise concerns about IS-Somalia’s growing prominence on the global stage.
Since 2022, Somalia has been home to al-Karrar, one of nine regional Islamic State offices established to help sustain the terror group’s global capabilities.
The U.N. report cautions that despite some leadership losses, the al-Karrar office has become both more powerful and more decentralized, making it more difficult to disrupt its activities.
And the report confirms that former IS-Somalia leader Abdulqadir Mumin, who escaped a U.S. Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... this past June, has been elevated to head of the Islamic State’s general directorate of provinces, "placing him in a leadership role over [IS] affiliates in Africa.
IS-Somalia, according to the report, is now being led by Mumin’s former deputy, Abdirahman Fahiye Isse, with Abdiwali Waran-Walac running IS-Somalia’s finances. And the group’s finances appear to be in good shape.
"Given the relatively small size of [IS]-Somalia, the group can sustain itself and generate additional revenue for other [IS] affiliates through the al-Karrar office," the report said.
The Islamic State terror group’s small but influential affiliate in Somalia is growing, thanks in part to what the United Nations describes as an “influx of foreign fighters.”
A new report this week by the U.N. Sanctions Monitoring Team for Somalia warns that fighters, including some from countries in the Middle East, have helped the Islamic State’s Somali affiliate, also known as IS-Somalia, to more than double in size to between 600 and 700 fighters.
“Foreign fighters arrive in Puntland [Somalia] using both maritime and overland routes,” according to the report, which is based on intelligence estimates from U.N. member states.
The foreign fighters “have expanded and enhanced the group’s capabilities,” the report said, strengthening IS’s presence in Somalia’s Puntland region while also helping it take territory from its key rival, al-Qaida-linked terror group al-Shabab.
Intelligence sources described the IS-Somalia advance, especially in Puntland’s Cal Miskaad mountains, as a “drastic change,” crediting the foreign fighters for IS-Somalia’s change in fortune.
The U.N. report said the IS foreign fighters have come from at least six countries: Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia, Sudan, Morocco and Tanzania. It also said some captured foreign fighters have reported working with trainers who have come from parts of the Middle East.
The new report builds on previous warnings from U.S. and Somali officials, including the commander of U.S. Africa Command, who told VOA last month that IS-Somalia had grown “twofold” over the past year.
Somali officials have likewise warned of hundreds of foreign fighters flocking to Somalia to join the ranks of the IS affiliate.
“This reporting on an influx of foreign terrorist fighters in Africa is concerning,” said Austin Doctor, the director of counterterrorism research initiatives at the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center.
And while the flow of foreign fighters to Somalia pales in comparison to the tens of thousands of fighters who flocked to join IS in Syria and Iraq during the height of the terror group’s self-declared caliphate, Doctor told VOA the trend is likely to continue.
“A number of factors present in the Horn [of Africa] and other Africa regions as well will likely appeal to aspiring travelers looking to join the rank and file of an extremist militant organization,” he said. “Global and local security forces should prepare to see more of this in the near term.”
There are likewise concerns about IS-Somalia’s growing prominence on the global stage.
Since 2022, Somalia has been home to al-Karrar, one of nine regional Islamic State offices established to help sustain the terror group’s global capabilities.
The U.N. report cautions that despite some leadership losses, the al-Karrar office has become both more powerful and more decentralized, making it more difficult to disrupt its activities.
And the report confirms that former IS-Somalia leader Abdulqadir Mumin, who escaped a U.S. airstrike this past June, has been elevated to head of the Islamic State’s general directorate of provinces, “placing him in a leadership role over [IS] affiliates in Africa.
IS-Somalia, according to the report, is now being led by Mumin’s former deputy, Abdirahman Fahiye Isse, with Abdiwali Waran-Walac running IS-Somalia’s finances.
And the group’s finances appear to be in good shape.
“Given the relatively small size of [IS]-Somalia, the group can sustain itself and generate additional revenue for other [IS] affiliates through the al-Karrar office,” the report said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/22/2024 2024-11-22 02:02 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[10325 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
[IsraelTimes] Prosecutors say Christopher Brown, 23, expressed support for Nazism; was caught after Jewish security group passed along threatening online posts to law enforcement
A man who was arrested in Penn Station in 2022 while preparing to carry out a terror attack against Jewish New Yorkers was sentenced to 10 years in state prison on Wednesday.
Christopher Brown, 23, had traveled to New York City after posting antisemitic messages on social media. Brown was arrested at Penn Station on November 18, 2022, along with Matthew Mahrer, with whom he had planned to carry out an attack and to whom he had paid $650 to buy a firearm in Pennsylvania.
After the arrest, police found a knife, a swastika armband, and a ski mask in Brown’s backpack.
In September, Brown pleaded guilty to the charge of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree as a crime of terrorism. It is a Class B felony.
In a statement, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg called the sentence “a significant prison term” and added, “I know that the Jewish community in Manhattan is continuing to face rising antisemitism and violent threats, and I want everyone to know that we are using every tool possible in coordination with our law enforcement partners to keep them safe.”
The attack had been thwarted in part thanks to a tip from the Community Security Initiative, a local Jewish security agency. The group discovered threatening posts by Brown on Twitter, and brought that information to law enforcement.
On the platform, Brown had expressed intent to “shoot up a synagogue,” saying, “This time I’m really gonna do it,” court records and the district attorney’s office said.
Mitch Silber, the director of CSI, said Brown’s sentencing “underscores the critical importance of vigilance and collaboration in protecting our communities.”
“While justice has been served, this case serves as a stark reminder of the persistent threats our community faces,” Silber said in a Wednesday statement.
Brown also expressed support for Nazism, and considered getting a swastika tattoo over his heart, the district attorney’s office said. He also indicated a desire to imitate the 2019 white supremacist mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Brown’s co-defendant, Matthew Mahrer, is Jewish and the descendant of a Holocaust survivor. Mahrer’s attorney has said that he would not want to harm his own people. His case is still pending.
Brown’s sentencing comes amid a surge in antisemitic hate crimes since the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in Israel. The rate of anti-Jewish attacks has abated somewhat in recent months compared to a year ago, but Jews remain the group most targeted in hate crimes in New York City.
Not every hate crime reported to police results in an arrest or prosecution. The legal standard for proving bias is high, making prosecution difficult. Lengthy prison sentences like Brown’s are rare.
In a separate case, a man who allegedly demanded that “Zionists” identify themselves and leave a crowded subway car in June had some of his charges dismissed in the Manhattan criminal court on Tuesday. That incident took place on the same day as an anti-Israel protest of an exhibit commemorating the Nova music festival massacre.
Anti-Zionism is a modern manifestation of antisemitism.
Example:
An Anti-Zionist declaring on a NYC subway car: “Raise your hands if you’re a Zionist. This is your chance to get out.”
Anyone threatening to purge “Zionists” (i.e. most Jews) from public places is an… pic.twitter.com/e3Wh6Ztp32
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) June 12, 2024
Anas Saleh, 24, had been charged with coercion and attempted coercion for the incident. Those charges were dismissed, but a charge of disorderly conduct remains. Under New York law, coercion involves a person forcing another to do something against their will, usually under threat.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office expressed disappointment with the decision to drop the coercion charges.
“Manhattan must be a safe and welcoming space for the Jewish community, and this alleged conduct contributed to the climate of fear that many Jewish New Yorkers currently feel on a daily basis,” a spokesperson said. “We are disappointed with this decision and are reviewing our legal options.”
[IsraelTimes] Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says he will inform the security cabinet this evening that he is considering not transferring this month’s batch of Palestinian tax revenues that belong to Ramallah following today’s ICC decision to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
Israel is required under the Oslo Agreements to transfer the tax revenues that it collects on the PA’s behalf. The US has gone as far as to accuse Smotrich of theft when he has refused to do in the past.
Smotrich is also considering not extending the corresponding banking agreement between Israel and the PA, which expires at the end of this month.
“These steps would deal a severe blow to the PA’s economy, which could lead to its collapse,” his office says in a statement.
Smotrich will also demand in tonight’s meeting that the government implement a series of other sanctions against the PA — including the stripping of “VIP” permits allowing senior Palestinian officials to transit through West Bank crossings — which the cabinet authorized in June, his office says.
[IsraelTimes] Measures applies to 24 entities depositing money with Lebanon’s Al-Qard Al-Hassan, which Defense Ministry says directly funds terror group’s activities and weapons purchases
Israel placed sanctions on dozens of clients of a bank closely tied to the Hezbollah terror movement in Leb ...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... , Defense Minister Israel Katz’s office said Thursday.
The measures were applied to 24 entities using the al-Qard al-Hassan Association, a nonprofit financial institution affiliated with Hezbollah.
"We will lay our hands on all those who support terror, on every front and with every means," Katz said in a statement, describing the sanctions as part of efforts to "collapse the terror networks and hit those who provide them economic oxygen."
The Defense Ministry did not name the targeted entities or explain how the sanctions would be applied, making it difficult to assess whether the move would have any significant real-world ramifications.
Israel and the US say al-Qard al-Hassan, which has over 30 outlets across Lebanon, is used by Hezbollah for money laundering and terrorism financing, assertions the group denies.
On October 21, Israeli warplanes carried out a series of Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s on at least 15 al-Qard branches across Lebanon. Israel said it issued evacuation warnings ahead of the strikes. Many ordinary Lebanese keep their savings at the financial institution.
According to Defense Ministry, the sanctions are part of an ongoing financial campaign against Hezbollah and were made at the recommendation of the National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing of Israel.
The targeted groups are clients who "deposited significant amounts with the association, which directly funds the activities of the declared terror organization Hezbollah," the ministry said.
The deposited funds are used, among other things, to purchase weapons, provide loans, and pay wages of Hezbollah members, it said.
The ministry said the sanctions program, led by the counter-terror financing bureau in cooperation with the Military Intelligence Directorate and other security bodies, was part of a "broad economic campaign to damage and thwart the finance routes of terror groups."
The sanctions will assist in "locating and foiling international financial activities of these entities and the bodies associated with them," said bureau chief Paul Landes.
Al-Qard al-Hassan is officially a nonprofit charity institution operating outside the Lebanese financial system and one of the tools with which Hezbollah entrenches its support among the country’s Shiite population.
In addition to its military wing, Hezbollah has branches that run schools, hospitals and low-price grocery stores, as well as al-Qard al-Hassan, from which hundreds of thousands of its supporters benefit.
The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on al-Qard al-Hassan since 2007, saying it is "used by Hezbollah as a cover" to manage the krazed killer group’s financial activities "and gain access to the international financial system."
Founded four decades ago, soon after Hezbollah’s inception, the association, whose name in Arabic means "the benevolent loan," offers interest-free loans and allows people to deposit gold as collateral in return for the credit, enabling them to pay for school fees and weddings, buy a car or open a small business. People can also open savings accounts.
#2
The article prose is a bit muddy, Grom, I agree. Perhaps sometime during the day it will be clarified. Though the impression I have is this is a prelude to another round of bombs, possibly after a random hacker emptied the accounts and scrambled the records on the server.
The International Criminal Court is for countries that do not have a strong and independent judiciary and are members. Israel does not fit any of those criteria.
[IsraelTimes] Republicans in US Congress threaten to sanction international court, as human rights NGOs welcome PM’s new status as ‘officially a wanted man’
In the hours after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday, European officials said they were prepared to obey the decision. American politicians panned it, calling to sanction the court instead.
Possibly the ICC has overreached this time.
The decision to issue the warrants, granted unanimously on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes during Israel’s campaign against the Hamas ..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,... terror group 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... , marked the first time the ICC has ever issued arrest warrants against leaders of a democratic country.
Both Netanyahu and Gallant will be liable for arrest if they travel to any of the more than 120 countries that are party to the ICC. The court also issued an arrest warrant for slain Hamas military leader Mohammad Deif, noting it could not confirm his death.
The EU’s outgoing foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Thursday that the decision was not a political one but made by a court and thus should be respected and implemented, writing on X, "These decisions are binding on all States party to the Rome Statute, which includes all EU Member States."
The Netherlands’ foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said his country was prepared to act upon the warrants, Dutch news agency ANP reported. Veldkamp was expected to visit Israel on Friday.
Does he expect to be welcomed warmly after that choice? Or is he bringing the left ears of all the Dutch Muslims who partook in the recent Jew hunt, with proof of their involvement and other nefarious connections, to make up for it?
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris, in a statement, said that "Ireland respects the role of the International Criminal Court. Anyone in a position to assist it in carrying out its vital work must now do so with urgency."
Harris’s statement also called for "an immediate ceasefire, release of all hostages, and unhindered access for humanitarian aid in Gaza," calling the situation in the enclave "an affront to humanity."
La Belle France’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said the French reaction to the warrants would be "in line with ICC statutes" but declined to say whether
.style='border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:gray;' title='France'>La Belle France would arrest the leaders if they came to the country. "It’s a point that is legally complex," he said.
Not really. Either the ICC has jurisdiction and is correct that Bibi and Israel are irredeemably evil, with a supine court system, or the ICC does not and is wrong.
”Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani likewise hedged his response, saying, "We support the ICC, while always remembering that the court must play a legal role and not a political role. We will evaluate together with our allies what to do and how to interpret this decision."
The foreign ministers of Sweden and Norway both expressed confidence in the court, but did not say explicitly whether they would execute the arrest warrant if in a position to.
In the United States, by contrast, leaders on both sides of the aisle condemned the decision.
US President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. We hold these truths to be self-evident. All men and women created ... by the — you know — you know, the thing... ’s administration, which had publicly denounced the initial request for arrest warrants, "fundamentally rejects" the decision, a White House National Security spokesperson told The Times of Israel.
"We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision," the spokesperson added.
When the ICC prosecutor announced his decision to request the arrest warrants in May, the US said at the time that he had failed to provide Israel with the opportunity to investigate the claims itself.
Stephanie Hallett, US deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Israel, said Thursday that the ICC "does not have jurisdiction in this instance," because "the complementarity principle has absolutely not been applied," referring to the principle that if a state is capable of investigating crimes committed there on its own, the international court does not have jurisdiction.
She added that ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan "absolutely had an opportunity to get on a plane to come here and engage with Israel. Instead, he chose not to get on the plane."
Well said.
Hallett said Thursday morning that an official response from Biden to the arrest warrants would be coming shortly, describing the imminent comments as "very strong."
While the Biden administration has spoken against the ICC and ICJ cases against Israel, it has to date rejected calls from Republican politicians to sanction the court as President-elect Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... did in his first term.
But GOP congressman Michael Waltz, whom President-elect Donald Trump has said he will appoint as his national security advisor, said: "You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC & UN come January."
Ritchie Torres, among the most pro-Israel Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... in the US Congress, also called to sanction the court. In a lengthy post to X, the representative from New York said the arrest warrants represented "the weaponization of international law at its most egregious," calling it "persecution posing as prosecution."
"The ICC ignores the cause and context of the war," Torres said, adding that not only did the Hamas terror group start the war with its October 7, 2023 attack — in which murderous Moslems invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages — the group also "carefully constructed a battlefield designed to maximize the loss of civilian life" in Gaza.
"None of that context seems to matter to the kangaroo court of the ICC, which cannot let facts get in the way of its ideological crusade against the Jewish State," he said.
He is rapidly becoming one of my favourite Democrats.
In June, the House passed a bill that, if it became law, would cancel the US visas of ICC officials, restrict entry of, and place financial restrictions on any of the court’s officials who are seeking to detain or prosecute allies of the United States.
Another thing to look forward to in January.
US President Joe Biden said at the time he was "strongly opposed" to the legislation which passed with a majority of 247-155, including with the support of 42 Democrats.
It has not been taken up by the US Senate, however, though Majority Leader Chuck Schumer ...Senator-for-life from New York, renowned for his love of standing in front of cameras and microphones. Schumer has been a professional politician since 1975, when disco was in flower, which is 48.96282 years. Senate minority leader as of 2017... , of New York, called the initial request for arrest warrants "reprehensible."
On Wednesday, roughly a third of Senate Democrats voted in favor of three failed bids to block the sale of offensive weapons to Israel, underscoring the internal divide among Democrats on the issue.
Republican Senator John Thune, who is set to succeed Schumer in January, vowed that if the ICC does not reverse its decision, the Senate will "immediately pass sanctions legislation, as the House has already done on a bipartisan basis," at the start of the next Congress.
Centrist Susan Collins and vocally pro-Israel Democrat John Fetterman also expressed their opposition to the arrest warrants, with the latter posting to X a headline about the decision, captioned, "No standing, relevance, or path. Fuck that."
Another of the good ones — a classic Democrat of the old school.
Also denouncing the warrants was Argentina ...a country located on the other side of the Deep South. It is covered with Pampers and inhabited by Grouchos, who dance the Tangle. They used to have some islands called the Malvinas located where the Falklands are now. They're not supposed to cry for Evita... ’s president, Javier Milei, who posted on X that his country "declares its deep disagreement" with the decision, which he said "ignores Israel’s right to self-defense against the constant attacks by terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.’
International human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... organizations praised the decision and urged states to execute the arrest warrants.
Of course they did — they always enjoy a chance to pile on Israel, the details being utterly unimportant.
In the Middle East, several states were quick to welcome the decision.
Jordan and Turkey reared up on their hind legs to say stupidly nasty things.
The ICC’s warrants came some thirteen months after the Hamas terror group invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
[IsraelTimes] Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Thursday said he had canceled a planned visit to Israel next week by his Dutch counterpart, Caspar Veldkamp, after the latter said the Netherlands would obey arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ex-defense minister Yoav Gallant.
“Minister Sa’ar expressed his disappointment, in the name of the government of Israel and the people of Israel, over his announcement in the Dutch parliament following the decision of the International Criminal Court in the Hague,” Sa’ar’s office said in a statement following a discussion between the two men.
“In the discussion, it was agreed that the visit by the Dutch foreign minister to Israel that had been planned for next Monday — would not take place,” the statement said.
Hebrew media outlets reported Thursday that Israel suspects there may be more arrest warrants on the way, including in relation to activities in the West Bank, especially in light of expected decisions by the UN and the International Court of Justice regarding Israel’s policy there.
#6
The German government has not yet decided how to deal with the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit announced that the resulting “domestic steps” would be carefully examined.
Further steps would only be taken when a visit to Germany by Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant was on the cards, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit announced in Berlin. “It's hard for me to imagine that we would carry out arrests on this basis,” Hebestreit continued.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
11/22/2024 11:22 Comments ||
Top||
[IsraelTimes] Following PM’s offer of $5 million and free passage out of Gaza, Israel launches site with images of hostages and contact channels
During a tour of 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... on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a $5 million reward for anyone who can assist in the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... and other terror groups. The offer also included safe passage out of Gaza.
"Whoever brings us a hostage will find an open door for himself and his family to leave, and we will also give a $5 million reward for each hostage," the premier said. He had previously suggested Israel would pay "several millions" for their recovery.
To facilitate the provision of intelligence information, Israel has launched a rudimentary Arabic-language website called Machtoffin ("captives" in Arabic)ץ
The site features the names, pictures and ages of the hostages, along with links to WhatsApp and Telegram channels, and two phone numbers for contacting Israeli forces.
"Call us to provide information on the captives in the Strip and receive a financial reward — contact us on WhatsApp or Telegram," the webpage reads.
For unclear reasons, the site includes 136 hostages, including some who have already been recovered, either alive or dead (terror groups are now thought to be holding 101 people). For instance, at the very top of the page is a picture of Farhan al-Qadi, who was rescued by IDF troops in August.
The site also lists Noa Argamani, rescued in June, and six hostages whose bodies were discovered in a Gaza tunnel in August: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi.
It was not clear whether the inclusion of such individuals was an error or an effort to glean more information that may prove helpful in locating other captives.
This is not the first time that such an initiative has been launched. Last month, former SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum offered $100,000 to anyone who could return living hostages to Israel.
In a video with Arabic subtitles, the entrepreneur addressed Gazooks directly, promising the reward and immunity and providing a WhatsApp and Telegram contact number. His offer was valid for only five days.
Such reward-based initiatives do not appear to have yielded tangible results thus far.
According to Channel 12, the ostensible failure of these reward plans is due to the inaccuracy of the intelligence provided or difficulties in conducting rescue operations.
It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. The bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
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 Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
