[TWZ] The push for new authorization to engage drones comes as Mexican cartels are increasingly using them over the border for surveillance and smuggling.
The general in charge of defending U.S. skies from drone incursions wants the authority to be able to shoot them down near the Mexican border. Current law greatly restricts U.S. military counter-drone responses, which you can read more about in our deep dive here.
Air Force Gen. Gregory M. Guillot testified to the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that since President Donald Trump took office, he “proposed…a change to the rule of force.” It would “allow us to shoot down or bring down drones that are surveilling over our deployed and mobile troops…not just that are in self-defense, but anything that’s surveilling and planning the next attack on us within five miles of the border.”
“Because they’re mobile,” U.S. troops on the border are not allowed to take down drones under current law, Guillot, the commander of U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) and the joint U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), added.
His testimony came as Mexican drug cartels have been steadily increasing their use of weaponized uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), as well as unarmed types for surveillance and smuggling. The issue has been so concerning that the U.S. Army recently deployed ground-based radars along the border to help spot and track drones as part of the continued build-up of U.S. military support there. You can read more about that in our in-depth story here. The Trump administration has made border security one of its major priorities.
The issue of drones flying over the border is not new. As we have reported in the past, pilots have reported seeing and having near misses with them in the skies near Arizona ranges and military bases for years.
Guillot also repeated his call to enable all continental U.S. bases to take action against drones. He also wants to increase the range at which those actions can take place. At present, only about half of the 360 bases in the U.S. – considered “covered installations” – even have permission to defend against drones.
“We’re working with the services and with the [Defense] Department to increase not only the capability but also to expand the authorities,” Guillot explained. “We have to knock out not only aircraft or UAS that are a direct threat, but also that are surveilling over the installation. I’d like to even see it expanded beyond the installation to ensure they can’t see anything sensitive on our bases.”
Expanding the perimeter where counter-drone actions can take place also increases the chances of identifying and capturing the drone operators, Guillot explained.
Guillot testified that he wants increased ability to take action granted under a federal law known as “130(i).” The subsection of Title 10 of the U.S. Code (10 USC 130i) covers current authorities for the “protection of certain facilities and assets from unmanned aircraft,” including through the use of kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities. It contains a number of specific stipulations and where and when those authorities can actually be employed, which you can read more about here.
Any change in those authorities, which Congress is considering, would be on top of the Pentagon’s counter-drone strategy released in the last days of the Biden administration, which you can read more about here.
As we previously reported, the U.S. is not fielding kinetic and directed energy capabilities, such as laser and high-power microwave weapons, surface-to-air interceptors, and gun systems, to defend domestic bases and other critical infrastructure from rapidly growing and evolving drone threats. Instead, the focus is on electronic warfare and cyber warfare, and other ‘soft-kill’ options, at least for now.
[KhaamaPress] Pakistain has urged the UN Security Council to take action against the growing illicit arms trade flourishing in Afghanistan.
Like that would ever work.
Pakistain has urged the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... Security Council to halt terrorists’ access to weapons in Afghanistan. The request comes amid rising concerns about the proliferation of arms to various Death Eater groups.
Pak media reported on Saturday, April 5, that weapons have been supplied to the Tehrik-e-Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... Pakistain (TTP), Baloch Liberation Army, and the Brigades of Majid from Afghanistan. These groups are actively involved in insurgencies across Pakistain.
Sayed Atif Reza, a representative from Pakistain’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, raised alarms at the UN Security Council about the increase in arms trafficking. He urged the council to take serious measures to curb the growing black market for weapons in Afghanistan.
This statement follows a report from a Geneva-based organization, which highlighted a surge in the illegal arms trade in eastern and border regions of Pakistain. The report documents a rise in both light and heavy weapon sales, particularly in areas affected by militancy.
The report, titled "Documenting Access to Weapons in Afghanistan," sheds light on the continued arms trafficking in the region. It shows that weapons from the Soviet era and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... are easily available in informal markets, posing a significant security threat.
The situation in Pakistain has been further complicated by the growing tension between the Taliban and Pakistain. Increased cross-border violence has led to a sharp rise in casualties, particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... . March recorded the highest number of casualties in a decade, raising alarms about the stability of the region.
The escalation of Death Eater activity in these regions has made security operations more challenging for Pak authorities. The Taliban’s growing influence in Afghanistan, coupled with its support for Lions of Islam targeting Pakistain, is contributing to the destabilization of the border areas.
This ongoing conflict is straining Pakistain’s security forces, as the influx of weapons from Afghanistan exacerbates the situation. The situation calls for urgent international cooperation to curb the illegal arms trade and address the rising Death Eater threats to Pakistain’s stability.
[IsraelTimes] Washington is revoking all visas for South 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... ese passport holders and blocking new arrivals, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration... says, complaining that the African nation is not accepting its nationals expelled from the United States.
”We don’t want ‘em — we have troubles enough of our own. Drop ‘em in the sea for all we care.”
The State Department "is taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and prevent further issuance to prevent entry," Rubio says in a statement.
It is the first such measure singling out all passport holders from a particular country since Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... returned to the White House on January 20, having campaigned on an anti-immigration platform.
Rubio accuses the transitional government in Juba of "taking advantage of the United States," saying that "every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country... seeks to remove them."
Washington "will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation," Rubio adds.
The world’s newest country and also one of the poorest, South Sudan is currently prey to tensions between politicians. Some observers fear a renewal of the civil war that killed 400,000 people between 2013 and 2018.
South Sudanese nationals had been granted "temporary protected status" (TPS) by the administration of Trump’s predecessor Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. We get to suffer the consequences... , with the designation set to expire on May 3, 2025.
The United States grants TPS, which shields people against deportation, to foreign citizens who cannot safely return home because of war, natural disasters or other "extraordinary" conditions.
There were about 133 South Sudanese in the United States under the TPS program, with another 140 eligible to apply, the Department of Homeland Security said in September 2023.
[TVCNEWS.TV] The UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Leonardo Santos Simão, expressed concern about Niger's decision to withdraw from the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which combats armed Islamist groups in the Lake Chad region of West Africa.
Leonardo Santos Simão, also the head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), emphasised the importance of the military coalition in the region to the Security Council on Thursday.
He stated that partners at the Lake Chad Basin Governors' Forum in Maiduguri, Nigeria, ''stressed the importance of continuing diplomatic efforts and also financial support'' for the force.
According to Santos Simão, the MNJTF is now the region's only functioning security mechanism.
The alliance, which includes Benin, Cameroon, Chad, and Nigeria, was formed to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency.
In his report back on the situation in the region, Santos Simão said that while things are improving in the region on the socio-economic front, security is essential for stability.
Boko Haram’s violence—including the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls in Borno State, Nigeria, in April 2014—brought international condemnation and in February 2015 provoked a large regional CT offensive against the group that displaced it from the majority of its strongholds in Nigeria. Nonetheless, Boko Haram remains resilient, conducting attacks in neighboring Cameroon, Chad, Niger, as well as Nigeria, emphasizing the threat it poses to Western and regional interests.
[HodhodYemen ...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... News] Despite weeks of US Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s and $200 million in munitions, Ansarullah’s missile capabilities remain largely intact, officials told the New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... US efforts to destroy Ansarullah’s vast arsenal of missiles, drones, and bombers have had limited success, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing Pentagon officials.
According to three congressional and allied officials who spoke to the newspaper, the Yemeni movement Ansarullah has reinforced many of its hideouts and strategic sites, making it difficult for US forces to significantly disrupt missile attacks.
"In closed briefings in recent days, Pentagon officials have acknowledged that there has been only limited success in destroying the 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 America™, 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’ vast, largely underground arsenal of missiles, drones and launchers, according to congressional aides and allies," the report noted.
The paper also highlighted the financial and operational costs of the US campaign.
"In just three weeks, the Pentagon has used $200 million worth of munitions, in addition to the immense operational and personnel costs to deploy two aircraft carriers, additional B-2 bombers and fighter jets, as well as Patriot and THAAD air defenses to the Middle East," the report said, citing an official.
According to the sources, the US air campaign against Ansarullah could last at least six months.
"The total cost could be well over $1 billion by next week, and the Pentagon might soon need to request supplemental funds from Congress," the Times said.
The officials confirmed that "Trump administration officials say the air and naval strikes are intended to pressure the Houthis (Ansarullah — PC) to halt attacks that have disrupted international shipping lanes in the Red Sea for more than a year."
#1
the Pentagon has used $200 million worth of munitions
Street prices. It is cheaper wholesale, plus there is a quantity discount. Still, the Hoots should be flattered we care about them enough to spend all that money blowing them up.
I wonder how much Iran has invested in this adventure so far.
[KhaamaPress] The UK will resettle 300 citizens of Afghanistan under its national resettlement program, offering them permanent housing and support services.
The Bracknell Forest Council in the UK announced plans to resettle around 300 citizens of Afghanistan under the national Afghan resettlement program. These individuals fled Afghanistan after the Taliban ...Arabic for students... ’s takeover, with many having previously worked with British missions or facing direct threats from the Taliban. The resettlement program is part of the UK’s continued support for citizens of Afghanistan who are at risk.
The council’s announcement, made on Friday, April 4, clarified that those resettled will receive permanent residency in the UK, ensuring they are not classified as refugees or illegal migrants colonists. These Afghan nationals are eligible for permanent settlement in Britannia and will receive support under the UK’s Afghan resettlement initiative, which has been actively assisting those displaced by the Taliban’s rule.
The Afghan citizens will be relocated in three stages during the spring of 2023. Initially, they will reside in temporary accommodation for up to nine months while permanent housing arrangements are made. The exact locations of these temporary housing facilities have not been disclosed to ensure the safety and mental well-being of the residents.
Bracknell Forest Council chair, Mary Temperton, emphasized the importance of community solidarity. She urged local residents to welcome these Afghan families with "kindness, dignity, and respect." Temperton highlighted the community’s historical solidarity with war victims, calling on residents to provide a safe and welcoming environment for the newcomers.
The UK government is funding the resettlement program, and the financial burden will not fall on local residents. The scheme will also have no impact on the waiting list for housing for British citizens. The Defence Ministry and the Bracknell local council are collaborating to ensure a smooth process, which also includes healthcare services through the NHS Frimley for the new arrivals.
Following the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, thousands of Afghan citizens who had worked with Western nations, particularly the UK, were at risk of persecution. The UK government swiftly initiated evacuation and resettlement programs to assist these individuals, and thousands of Afghan families have since been settled across various UK cities.
The resettlement plan has received praise for its comprehensive approach, ensuring that Afghan families have access to both shelter and essential services during their transition. It also reflects the UK’s commitment to supporting those in need due to the geopolitical crisis caused by the Taliban’s return to power.
Because only Israel is not permitted to decide who will enter their country and who will be barred. What consummate British asses.
[IsraelTimes] Britain’s top diplomat condemns Israel’s decision to bar entry to two UK lawmakers after questioning at Ben Gurion Airport.
The Labour Party MPs, Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang, were barred entry after questioning revealed that the purpose of their visit was “to document Israeli security forces and spread hateful rhetoric against Israel,” the population authority has said.
“It is unacceptable, counterproductive and deeply concerning that two British MPs on a parliamentary delegation to Israel have been detained and refused entry by the Israeli authorities,” UK Foreign Minister David Lammy says in a statement.
“I have made clear to my counterparts in the Israeli government that this is no way to treat British parliamentarians, and we have been in contact with both MPs tonight to offer our support,” Lammy continues.
“The UK government’s focus remains securing a return to the ceasefire and negotiations to stop the bloodshed, free the hostages and end the conflict in Gaza,” he further adds.
That’s nice. Learn your place, which isn’t dictating to Israel.
Mohamed and Yang landed in Israel at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on a flight from Luton, England, along with two of their aides.
While being interrogated, the two MPs — who both call for boycotting Israel — claimed to arrive as part of an official delegation on behalf of the UK parliament, but the claim was found to be false as no Israeli entity verified the arrival of such a delegation. Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, therefore, decided to deny entry to all four individuals “in accordance with the law and ordered their removal from Israel,” said the population authority.
Next time file the paperwork first, just like everyone else.
[israelTimes] Washington Post says Rabbi Shenor Segal was target of Iranian plot, had $200,000 placed on his head; Segal says he only learned of matter through media, still feels safe
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... recruited a Georgian narco to assassinate an Azerbaijani rabbi as part of a plot that was foiled in January, according to a report published Saturday morning.
The Washington Post said the scheme was launched last fall when Iran’s Quds Force, the overseas arms of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, met with Agil Aslanov, a prominent drug kingpin from Georgia, recruiting him to facilitate the liquidation.
The Quds Force reportedly promised the would-be hitman $200,000 for killing Rabbi Shenor Segal and attacking an education center.
The newspaper said Aslanov recruited an Azerbaijani local and began surveilling the rabbi.
The plot was discovered by Azerbaijan’s security services, and Aslanov and the local accomplice were arrested in January, the report added, citing unnamed security officials from the Middle East and Western countries.
The two were charged with conspiring to commit a terrorist act.
Azerbaijan’s state security service said in a statement that Aslanov "worked to collect information about a member of a religious community, and sent the location of his residence and workplace to a representative of a foreign special service agency via the appropriate mobile phone application."
The statement did not name Segal as the target, but his identity was widely reported in the local press.
In response, Segal told The Washington Post that he’d only learned about the plot after it was reported in the media. He added that he still feels safe in Azerbaijan, despite the Iranian attempt to have him killed.
"We live here peacefully. I walk on the streets here, and there is no fear," Segal said.
Segal is not the first rabbi to be targeted in recent months, as Rabbi Zvi Kogan, a Chabad rabbi based in the United Arab Emirates, was kidnapped and murdered late last year as part of a reported plot to transport him to Oman and keep him hostage there.
After the plan went awry, Kogan was murdered and his body was discovered days after he was reported missing.
The UAE is holding three people over the murder — Olimpi Toirovich, Makhmudjon Abdurakhim and Azizbek Kamlovich — all of them Uzbek nationals who were arrested in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire... . The three were handed death sentence ...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead... s last week for their roles in the kidnapping and murder.
There were some reports that Iran was involved in that attack too, though according to Kan, Israeli officials believe that Kogan’s killing was not necessarily carried out on behalf of Tehran.
Iran is known to have targeted Israeli and Jewish targets around the world over the years as part of its efforts against the Jewish state. In January, the Israeli National Security Council revealed that Iranian proxies attempted to lure an Israeli businessman to Dubai under the pretext of an interview.
In recent months, Israel has also uncovered a significant number of plots of Iranian proxies recruiting Israelis online to carry out espionage against Israeli figures and facilities. Since September 2024, Israeli authorities have announced arrests in many cases involving individuals or cells suspected of spying or plotting attacks on behalf of Iran. In some, Tehran tried to trick Israelis online into carrying out missions for it. In other cases, individuals are alleged to have knowingly operated on Tehran’s behalf for money.
[TOWNHALL] Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ... governor of Texas. Abbott is a Republican. His 2014 Dem opponent, state senatrix Wendy Davis, thought the absolute, most pressing, most important issue facing the state was abortion. Abbott beat the pantyhose off her. His 2018 opponent, Lupe Valdez didn't dwell too heavily on abortion, but she lost too... (R) blocked the construction of a proposed Moslem-majority ''city'' in the Lone Star State. The development, which was reportedly backed by a group of Islamic investors, aimed to create a self-contained community with its own set of laws and governance. Abbott's intervention underscores his commitment to preserving the state's traditional values and upholding U.S. constitutional principles. Supporters are applauding Abbott for taking a stand against what they see as an attempt to undermine the nation's unity and identity.
This week, Governor Greg Abbott announced that the East Plano Islamic Center's (EPIC) plans to construct a proposed Moslem neighborhood have been halted due to legal complications. Abbott has directed the developers to confirm within seven days that they are immediately halting any project construction he deemed illegal.
EPIC has advocated for building a brand new 1,000-home settlement just 40 minutes from Dallas. The community would include a mosque, faith-based school, community college, shopping center, and sporting facility.
Abbott launched more than a dozen state investigations into the Moslem-dominated development, claiming that EPIC City officials plan to impose Sharia law within the community. However,
there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... EPIC City developer's newly-hired attorney, Dan Cogdell, is claiming that the governor is ''racial profiling.''
''It's because they're Moslem. It's just that simple,'' Cogdell claimed.
However,
there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... Abbott said that EPIC failed to obtain proper authorization and the permits needed for their construction project.
''The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality found that the group behind the proposed EPIC compound did not submit the required permits to begin construction,'' Abbott said. ''They must confirm within seven days that they are immediately ceasing any construction of their illegal project or face the full weight of the law. The State of Texas will enforce its laws and protect our communities from unlawful actions or threats posed by EPIC or its affiliates.''
#5
Yeah discriminatory real estate covenants are kind of illegal and I'm sure this new 'community' wouldn't allow anyone in other than a certain religious subset of a larger worldwide religion, especially not those who look down wells for their lost spiritual leader.
Or anyone else, for that matter.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
04/06/2025 17:38 Comments ||
Top||
A taste:
[GatewayPundit: The DOJ immigration lawyer repeatedly apologized to the judge during Friday’s hearing and apologized for the Trump Administration’s actions. ...and then AG Bondi then gave said Lawyer a "Time Out".
[Breitbart] Officials of the Department of Homeland Security are looking to use FEMA funding allocated for housing migrants for immigration enforcement instead.
The funds were directed to the Shelter and Services Program (SSP) back in 2019, but the program was a target of Republican ire and identified by Elon Musk’s DOGE as wasteful funding.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has since terminated grants under the reasoning that the program payments “no longer effectuate the program goals or agency priorities,” according to CNN.
Acting FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton noted that the now cancelled funding would be an enticement to more illegal aliens.
“The individuals receiving these services often have no legal status and are in the United States unlawfully, such as those awaiting removal proceedings. This, in turn, provides support for illegal aliens and is not consistent with DHS’s current priorities,” Hamilton said.
Even with the cancellation, though, there is reportedly still $800 million of unspent funds.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin noted that Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem is putting controls on federal spending for migrants, and added, “The open borders gravy train is over, and there will not be a single penny spent that goes against the interest and safety of the American people.”
Hamilton also said that SSP is no longer in keeping with the federal government’s goals.
“SSP in no way aligns with FEMA’s core mission of helping people before, during, and after disasters,” Hamilton said, adding that FEMA “would also support the Department goal of reducing waste while in an austere budget environment.”
But advocates for illegals claim that the rules for the funding a too vague to support illegals and could, instead, be used to deport them.
“The legislative authority for this grant program is extremely broad,” an advocate for illegals told CNN. “Their interpretation is that providing shelter for an immigrant is tantamount to a detention bed.”
Several weeks ago, the administration began cutting off SSP funding across the nation. Officials in Pima County, for one, reported that funding had been cut for its spending on migrant housing.
FEMA sent a letter to Pima officials early in March informing that the funding had been cancelled, according to AZ Central.
[Red State] When White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt reacted by saying, "We suggest the Judge contact [El Salvador’s] President [Nayib] Bukele because we are unaware of the judge having jurisdiction or authority over the country of El Salvador," it struck me, and many others, as the kind of remark you can make if you are in no danger of facing the judge in a courtroom. As it turned out, she perfectly captured the tone of the administration's request for a stay of her order.
High Points
The first response was that the judge's order is impossible to comply with.
The district court’s order—a command to "facilitate and effectuate" Abrego Garcia’s return from a foreign country by midnight on Monday—is unlawful. There is no likelihood that it would survive review on appeal.
The order below is neither possible nor proper. As noted, Abrego Garcia is an El Salvadoran national, being held in El Salvador, at the hands of the El Salvadoran government.
Because the United States has no control over Abrego Garcia, however, Defendants have no independent authority to "effectuate" his return to the United States—any more than they would have the power to follow a court order commanding them to "effectuate" the end of the war in Ukraine, or a return of the hostages from Gaza. And then
Even putting aside these fundamental defects, the order below also runs into a statutory bar. Section 1252(g) strips district courts of jurisdiction to review "any cause or claim by or on behalf of any alien arising from the decision or action by the Attorney General to ... execute removal orders 11 against any alien" under the INA, except as otherwise provided in § 1252. 8 U.S.C. § 1252(g) (emphasis added). This is such a suit. The district court thus lacked jurisdiction over this case, and lacked authority to issue its order.
Final Word
The government's brief conclusively takes apart every aspect of Garcia's case. He had a deportation order; he had MS-13 connections that make him ineligible to enter the US; and the judge not only doesn't have the clout to make El Salvador send him back to the US, she isn't legally allowed to hear the case.
This case is headed to the Fourth Circuit, where we can hope they will give Judge Xinis's desire to possess magical powers short shrift.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/06/2025 11:09 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11134 views]
Top|| File under: MS13
#1
Oops. THis appears to be a duplicate of Fred's Page 2 posting.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/06/2025 11:35 Comments ||
Top||
#2
It appears the Obama-Biden judiciary appointment lack basic understanding of law and statutes. "What is a women?" was clear evidence they lacked credibility.
[REDSTATE] The Justice Department filed an application for an emergency stay of an order requiring an adjudicated MS-13 member be brought back the United States that stopped within inches of calling the district court judge who issued the order a moron. In a tersely worded brief that demolished the entire proceeding, the Justice Department's brief ridiculed the order by Obama-appointed Judge Paula Xinis to ''facilitate and effectuate'' Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return to the US by Monday night, saying: "Because the United States has no control over Abrego Garcia, however, Defendants have no independent authority to ''effectuate'' his return to the United States—any more than they would have the power to follow a court order commanding them to ''effectuate'' the end of the war in Ukraine, or a return of the hostages from 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... ;" see Judge Orders Trump to Return Deported Man Sent to El Salvadoran Prison, Sets Up a Massive Showdown — RedState.
Garcia, a citizen of El Salvador, who is portrayed as a "Maryland father" in most news reports, entered the US illegally in 2011. In 2019, he was arrested on allegations of membership in the violent mostly peaceful Salvadoran gang called Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13. At that time, he applied for political asylum, which was denied. He was given an order of removal, but a judge put his deportation on hold on the grounds that he might be in danger if he returned to El Salvador. In early March, Garcia was arrested and put on a plane to El Salvador and the Terrorist Confinement Facility, CECOT.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/06/2025 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11142 views]
Top|| File under: MS13
Consequences guide choices, even after Uncle Sugar stopped paying for the thing.
[IsraelTimes] Diplomats say US lobbying succeeds in blunting Pakistani effort to set up highest-level UN investigation on Israel’s actions in the West Bank and Gaza
Two months after US President Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... announced a halt to American engagement with the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Human Rights Council, Washington is influencing its work by applying pressure publicly and behind the scenes, seven diplomats and rights workers said.
The United States left its seat empty during a six-week session of the 47-member council ending on Friday, but its lobbying and pressure had some success, the sources told Rooters.
They said the US, which has accused the council of an anti-Israel bias, had focused on blunting a proposal by Pakistain on the creation of an International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM),
…the name most definitely not being an accurate description of the thing, but the Pakis were a tad overexcited and the words just erupted…
the most rigorous type of UN investigation, on Israel’s actions in the West Bank and 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... The version of Pakistain’s proposal that was passed on Wednesday by the council, whose mission is to promote and protect human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... worldwide, did not include the creation of the IIIM.
The council already has a commission of inquiry on the Paleostinian Territories, but Pakistain’s proposal would have created an additional probe with extra powers to gather evidence for possible use in international courts.
A March 31 letter sent by Brian Mast, Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, and James R. Risch, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, cautioned against voting the proposal through.
"Any HRC member state or UN entity that supports an Israel-specific IIM...will face the same consequences as the ICC faced," the letter said.
It appeared to be referring to sanctions approved by the House of Representatives on the International Criminal Court in protest at its arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and former defense minister over Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
The final version of Pakistain’s proposal referred only to an invitation to the UN General Assembly to consider an IIIM in the future.
Two Geneva-based diplomats said they had received messages from US diplomats before the change of wording asking them to oppose the new investigation.
"They were saying: ’back off on this issue’," said one, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Rooters could not establish whether the revision was a direct result of US actions.
A US State Department spokesperson said it was complying with the executive order signed by Trump on Feb. 4, withdrawing the US from the council and would not participate in it, adding: "As a matter of policy, we do not comment on private diplomatic conversations."
Pakistain’s diplomatic mission in Geneva did not respond to a request for comment.
"The US seems to be trying to have it both ways. It doesn’t want to pay for or participate in the UN but it still wants to boss it around," said Lucy McKernan, Deputy Director for United Nations at Human Rights Watch’s Geneva office.
The US was once the top donor to the UN rights system, but Trump has said the UN is "not being well run," and aid cuts by his administration have forced scalebacks.
The US and Israel are not members of the council but, like all UN member states have informal observer status and a seat in the council’s meeting chamber.
#3
When was the last time the USA did something for the UN
United Nations Foundation
Making history in September 1997, Turner announced his historic pledge of $1 billion to the United Nations Foundation (UNF) to support the goals and objectives of the United Nations to promote a more peaceful, prosperous and just world.
[IsraelTimes] The Saudi Al-Hadath channel reports that the US has transferred a second THAAD battery to Israel amid rising tensions over Iran’s nuclear program.
The battery was apparently delivered yesterday.
Flight tracking websites showed that an American C-5M Super Galaxy, the US Air Force’s largest transport plane, landed at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel and remained there for around eight hours before taking off again.
The THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, is an advanced anti-missile system.
The THAAD system deployed to Israel has been used to intercept several missiles fired at Israel by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, including in recent weeks.
Last week, US President Donald Trump threatened Iran with “bombing” and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.
The first THAAD battery was rushed to Israel last year, and around 100 US troops are thought to be deployed to operate the system, which is considered complementary to the Patriot system but can defend a wider area, capable of hitting targets at ranges of 150-200 kilometers (93-124 miles).
Last year, Israel carried out a wave of retaliatory airstrikes on Iran after Tehran carried out a second missile attack on Israel.
Israeli jets targeted Iranian air defenses as well as its ballistic missile program, striking factories, storage sites, launchers and research facilities, and targeting one facility believed to be used for the regime’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s nuclear sites are also widely seen as more vulnerable, with many of Tehran’s proxies now weakened.
[IsraelTimes] Both captives’ families ask Israeli media not to publish the clip itself; official says PM ‘updated’ on video, recently spoke with the families
The terror group Hamas released on Saturday a propaganda video featuring hostages Bar Kupershtein and Maxim Herkin in the first sign of life from both men since they were abducted by terrorists on October 7, 2023.
Herkin’s relatives said earlier Saturday that they had recognized his voice after Hamas initially published a blurred clip from the video.
The families have asked Israeli media not to publish the footage or details on its contents.
Hamas has previously issued similar videos of other hostages it is holding, with Israel scorning such videos as psychological warfare.
Herkin and Kupershtein are among the 24 hostages believed to still be alive of the 59 total hostages that remain in captivity in Gaza.
Both hostages were kidnapped by terrorists from the Nova music festival near Re’im.
Herkin, a dual Russian-Israeli citizen, was 35 at the time of his abduction, has a three-year-old daughter, and was the primary provider for his mother and 11-year-old brother. He attended the Nova festival by chance, invited by friends at the last minute. It was the first time he had gone to a rave.
In February, Hamas said that Herkin would be prioritized during the second stage of the hostage deal, if it were to be signed, as a gesture to the Russian government. However, the agreement between Israel and Hamas fell apart after its first stage, with Israel renewing the fighting in Gaza last month.
Kupershtein, a 22-year-old from Holon, was working as a guard and paramedic at the festival. Until then, he had been financially supporting his mother, Julie, his father, Tal, and his four younger siblings.
Kupershtein was working as a guard at the festival to earn money for his family, his cousin told The Times of Israel in an interview last month.
BLUF: This is about Hamas misbehaviour getting themselves killed back in March, and the UN and the New York Times trying to stir up trouble.
[IsraelTimes] Military says it’s looking into discrepancy between soldiers’ account and video from medic’s phone, but asserts forces didn’t try to hide incident, denies any executions took place
The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged on Saturday evening that it had been incorrect in its initial account of an incident in southern 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... ’s Rafah last month during which troops fired on Paleostinian emergency vehicles, killing 14 or 15 medics whose bodies were later recovered from a mass grave.
On Saturday, the army detailed the initial findings from its investigation of the incident, which it said was ongoing. It asserted that at least six of those killed had been posthumously identified as Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... operatives, denied that any of those killed had been executed, and said troops had not attempted to hide the incident but rather had informed the UN of the location of the grave.
After the incident came to light, the military, which accuses Hamas of embedding itself in civilian infrastructure, had initially said the vehicles were without headlights or emergency lights, were uncoordinated, and arrived on the scene shortly after a group of terror operatives. As such, the IDF said soldiers deemed them "suspicious" and opened fire.
On Saturday, however, The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... published a video that appeared to show the emergency vehicles were clearly marked and had their emergency lights on when the IDF opened fire.
UN officials have said that 15 medics were killed by Israeli fire, while the military said that 14 people were killed and one survived.
Paleostinians have accused Israeli forces of attempting to cover up the incident by burying the bodies in a mass grave. Claims have also emerged that some of the bodies had their hands tied and were seemingly rubbed out from close range.
Following the emergence of the video Saturday, the military said that Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor would be re-investigating the incident. The complete findings will be presented to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Sunday.
FINDINGS TO BE HANDED TO IDF CHIEF
According to the military’s findings, the incident began on March 23 amid the resumption of fighting in Gaza, and a new offensive in Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood.
Golani soldiers, who were operating under the 14th Armored Brigade, had set up an ambush on a road in Tel Sultan at around 4 a.m. At that time, the military said, several ambulances and civilians passed by without incident.
At around 4:30 a.m., a Hamas police vehicle drove through the area, and the Golani soldiers exchanged fire with the operatives inside, killing one and capturing two others, the IDF said. The Hamas vehicle remained on the side of the road.
At around 6 a.m., a convoy of ambulances arrived in the area, and the IDF soldiers opened fire, perceiving them as a threat. Drone operators flying a UAV overhead had reported to the Golani soldiers that the vehicles were moving toward them in a suspicious manner.
The initial investigation claimed that the soldiers were surprised by the convoy stopping on the road, next to the abandoned Hamas vehicle, and by several "suspects" jumping out of the convoy and running. The soldiers were said to have been unaware that the suspects were, in fact, unarmed medics.
The IDF acknowledged that based on the video, its initial statement asserting that the ambulances had had their lights off appeared to be incorrect, noting that it was based on the testimony of soldiers involved in the incident.
The new IDF investigation is examining that discrepancy.
The military also said that at least six of the bodies were identified by intelligence officials as Hamas operatives. It was expected to detail the names of the six operatives once the probe was concluded.
The initial findings rejected claims that the soldiers had intentionally targeted the medics from close range or carried out executions.
INFORMING THE UN
The IDF also rejected the assertion that troops had buried the bodies in an unmarked mass grave without informing anyone.
Paleostinian Red Islamic Thingy chief Dr. Younis al-Khatib had said on Friday that the aid workers were "targeted from a very close range" and that Israel had "kept us for eight days in the dark" as to the whereabouts of the bodies.
According to the military’s initial probe, a deputy battalion commander in Golani and his troops collected the bodies in one spot, covered them with sand, and marked the burial spot.
The army said that burying bodies in this way was an approved and regular practice during fighting in Gaza, to prevent wild dogs and other animals from eating the corpses.
The United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... was promptly notified of the burial spot, the IDF said, and was told to come and collect the bodies. The following day, however, the UN was unable to find the location, and the forces were unavailable to assist as they were busy with another task.
The UN was then called to return several days later to collect the bodies, and the bodies were eventually recovered in coordination with the IDF, the initial military probe found.
The UN has said that the mangled ambulances were found buried alongside the bodies.
Officials from the Paleostinian Red Islamic Thingy have said that they will submit the video of the attack, filmed on the phone of one of the slain medics, to the UN Security Council.
The IDF first acknowledged that it had fired on the ambulances and fire engine on March 28, five days after the incident occurred.
The bodies of the medics, who worked for the Red Islamic Thingy, the United Nations, and the Hamas-linked Paleostinian Civil Defense, were recovered from the mass grave on April 1.
The International Federation of Red Thingy and Red Islamic Thingy Societies said that the incident was the single most deadly attack on Red Thingy or Red Islamic Thingy workers anywhere since 2017.
According to the United Nations, at least 1,060 healthcare workers have been killed in the 18 months since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, during which some 1,200 people were killed, and roughly 250 were taken hostage by terrorists.
The IDF says that Hamas operatives regularly operate from within medical facilities.
The incident in the Tel Sultan neighborhood came five days after Israel restarted intense bombing of Gaza on March 18 and then launched a new ground offensive, shattering a nearly two-month ceasefire in the war with Hamas.
#1
a video that appeared to show the emergency vehicles were clearly marked and had their emergency lights on when the IDF opened fire.
Pardon my cynicism, but...
Of course the vehicles were clearly marked. They are ambulances after all, commonly used for fighters and weapons.
As for the lights, adding extra lights to a recorded scene is nephew-grade VFX. Thanks to modern technology, you do not need to be Industrial Light & Magic for such trickery.
I am not claiming the video is fake. I have not seen it. But we live in an age where photographic evidence ain't, so color me skeptical.
[IsraelTimes] Over 100 chemical weapons sites are suspected to remain in Syria, The New York Times reports.
The report cites estimations by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
The sites are thought to have been for the development and research of chemical weapons under the regime of deposed Syrian leader Bashar Assad, the Times says. Some of the sites could be hidden in caves or other hard-to-identify locations, the report says.
The newspaper notes that the chemical weapons stockpiles could include the sarin nerve agent, as well as chlorine and mustard gas.
Experts tell the newspaper that there are concerns that the chemical weapons could fall into the hands of extremists and terror groups.
Syria agreed to give up its chemical weapons stockpile in 2013, after the government was accused of launching an attack near Damascus that killed hundreds of people. However, it is widely believed to have kept some of the weapons and was accused of using them again in subsequent years.
Israel has said it struck suspected chemical weapons sites and long-range rockets in Syria, saying it did so in order to prevent them from falling into the hands of hostile actors.
[IsraelTimes] Lebanese officials describe talks with US deputy Mideast envoy Morgan Ortagus as ‘positive’ and ‘constructive,’ say meetings focused on southern Lebanon, implementation of ceasefire
US deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus met Saturday with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Beirut, and the two discussed the fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah in talks that were described by Lebanese officials as "positive."
The visit came as Israel and Leb ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects.... have agreed to hold talks on settling their land border dispute, following the war between Israel and Hezbollah, as the US has urged the Lebanese government to disarm the terror group to ensure calm is maintained along the border.
The United States chairs a committee, which also includes La Belle France, that is tasked with overseeing the ceasefire that ended more than a year of hostilities, including two months of all-out war, between Israel and Hezbollah.
Senior Lebanese officials said Saturday’s talks with Ortagus were "positive," and the president’s office said that the two discussed "south Lebanon, the work of the international monitoring committee, and the Israeli withdrawal" from Lebanese territory, characterizing the talks as constructive.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s office, in a statement, also said the discussions with the envoy were "positive."
Ortagus and Salam discussed the Lebanese army’s work in implementing United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and formed the basis of the November truce, his office said.
The resolution says Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only forces in south Lebanon, and called for the disarmament of all non-state gangs. It went largely unenforced for long years, enabling Hezbollah to build up its forces along Israel’s border to an unprecedented scale prior to the recent war.
Ortagus also met on Saturday with parliament speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians... , a key Hezbollah ally, and army chief Rodolphe Haykal.
On her first visit in February, Ortagus sparked anger among Hezbollah supporters by saying the group had been "defeated by Israel," declaring "the end of Hezbollah’s reign of terror."
The Iran-backed terror group was heavily weakened during the war with Israel but remains active.
Last month, Ortagus told Lebanese TV channel al-Jadeed that the US and La Belle France had set up working groups that would address the border disputes between the two countries, as well as Israel’s continued presence in south Lebanon.
"We want to get a political resolution, finally, to the border disputes," Ortagus had said.
Last month, an Israeli official said that Jerusalem is aiming to establish full diplomatic relations with Beirut, adding that the talks could begin as soon as April.
"The goal is to reach normalization," said the official.
However,
we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by... a few weeks after news broke that Israel was looking to normalize ties with Lebanon, the Lebanese prime minister said that "no one in Lebanon wants normalization with Israel" and that "everyone opposes it."
Israel and Lebanon do not recognize each other and have officially been in a state of war since Israel’s founding in 1948.
A November 27, 2024, truce in Lebanon largely halted more than a year of hostilities initiated by Hezbollah, including two months of full-blown war during which Israel sent in ground troops.
The fighting began with attacks by the terror group on the Jewish state on October 8, 2023, in support of ally Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... , which had invaded Israel from 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... a day earlier. Persistent rocket fire from Lebanon displaced some 60,000 Israeli civilians.
In September of 2024, Israel launched a major offensive, killing most of Hezbollah’s top leaders and devastating its capabilities.
Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Lebanese territory since the truce agreement took effect, saying it is acting against Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire.
In February, Israel withdrew all its forces from southern Lebanon, except from five strategic points, saying it had received a green light from the US to remain at those posts and citing the need to prevent Hezbollah from returning to the area and threatening Israel.
Lebanon’s army has been deployed in areas the Israeli military has withdrawn from.
The ceasefire also required Hezbollah to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
[FoxNews] The Islamist revolutionary newspaper that is widely considered the voice of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> on Saturday stoked a targeted liquidation of President Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... According to the Persian language article published in the mouthpiece Kayhan newspaper of Khamenei, "He’s way out of line! Any day now, in Dire Revenge for the blood of Martyr Soleimani, a few bullets are going to be fired into that empty skull of his and he’ll be drinking from the chalice of a cursed death."
Trump ordered a dronezap in January 2020, which eliminated the U.S. global Iranian regime terrorist Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani . 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... has repeatedly vowed Dire Revengeliquidations targeting Trump and former officials from his first administration.
According to the Trump administration, Soleimani oversaw the murders of more than 600 American military personnel.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
04/06/2025 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11137 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
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.
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
...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...
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the 
...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 
... governor of Texas. Abbott is a Republican. His 2014 Dem opponent, state senatrix Wendy Davis, thought the absolute, most pressing, most important issue facing the state was abortion. Abbott beat the pantyhose off her. His 2018 opponent, Lupe Valdez didn't dwell too heavily on abortion, but she lost too...
[Breitbart] Officials of the Department of Homeland Security are looking to use 
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
