[Ynet] An Egyptian disciplinary court ordered 41 judges into compulsory retirement on Saturday for supporting the outlawed Moslem Brüderbund, judicial sources said, the latest move in a sweeping crackdown on political dissent.
The government has implemented a harsh crackdown on Islamists as well as secular political opponents since then army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sissi ousted Islamist President Mohammed Mursi in July 2013 following mass protests against his rule. The Disciplinary Council headed by judge Nabil Zaki did not immediately release the reason for its decision, but the judicial sources said 31 of the judges were sent into compulsory retirement for signing a statement that condemned the removal of Mursi.
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03/15/2015 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] A Tebu militant serving with IS has urged his fellow Tebu to acknowledge IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and to abandon their support for the government and the armed forces commander Khalifa Hafter . . . Remainder is paywalled. We can guess at its content.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2015 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... said Washington will decide "very soon" about a restoration of hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Egypt which was suspended after the military takeover of the country in 2013.
For a given value of soon that means precisely as long as the president thinks he can get away with not actually making a decision. As we have seen with the Keystone pipeline, this can mean years.
Kerry said Saturday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, that restoring military aid depends on Cairo's progress in democratic reforms.
"With respect to aid and assistance, I really expect a decision very soon," Kerry told news hounds in response to a question on when Washington planned to release the aid.
The B.O. regime suspended more than $700 million of the $1.3 billion in annual American military aid to Egypt after former president Mohammed Morsi's overthrow by the military two years ago.
"The US is committed to strengthening the partnership with Egypt," Kerry said.
The US has provided about $1.5 billion in aid to Egypt annually, including $1.3 billion in military aid, following a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel in 1979.
This makes Egypt the second largest non-NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... recipient of US military aid after Israel.
Egypt has been trying to get F-16 fighter jets, tanks and other military equipment to combat the ISIL terrorist group that is spreading to the Sinai Peninsula and Libya.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
My estimate for how "soon": 3 days after Egypt-Russian weapons deal is announced.
U.S. citizens are urged to take precautions in Saudia Arabaia and U.S. consular services in the country have been canceled for Sunday and Monday due to heightened security concerns, the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh said on Saturday.
In a statement on its website, the embassy said consular services in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran would be canceled and it urged all U.S. citizens to take extra precautions when traveling in Saudi Arabia. The statement did not indicate the nature of the threat.
Fox News, citing an intelligence source, said the threat is serious enough that the facilities will have only essential staff over the next two days. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the embassy statement or the Fox News report.
On Friday, the embassy warned that Western oil workers in Saudi Arabia may be the target of militant attacks. The message did not identify the militants.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/15/2015 00:00 ||
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[YEMENONLINE.INFO] Opponents of Yemen's Houthi ...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 Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. 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 ... militia announced the formation of a national alliance on Saturday to restore the authority of the state, in a major shakeup of Yemen's political landscape.
Shi'ite Moslem Houthis invaded Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in September and dissolved parliament last month. That created a political vacuum which is threatening to push the towards a civil war.
The coalition, called the National Salvation Alliance, formally unites players from across Yemen's regional and ideological divides. It may strengthen their hand in ongoing United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... -backed talks for a unity government.
"Its goal is to protect the state from collapse and disintegration while seeking to build a federal, democratic Yemen which rejects militias no matter whose side they may be on," Manea al-Matari, a former protest organizer and a member of the bloc, told Rooters.
The seven parties include activists, Islamists and members of Yemen's former ruling party, who back President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi from his base in the country's South.
It replaces the Joint Meetings Party, an opposition umbrella group founded in 2005. It joined many of the same groups that opposed Hadi's predecessor, veteran autocrat President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... , until he was swept from power by Arab Spring protests in 2011.
There was no immediate comment from the Houthis or from U.N. mediator Jamal Benomar during an interview with pan-Arab channel Al Jazeera aired on Saturday.
"The ball is in the court of the political factions and parties. They have to be more serious this time, because the situation is very dangerous," Benomar said.
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03/15/2015 00:00 ||
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CARACAS, Venezuela -- Soldiers rolled out shoulder-fired missiles, fighter planes and armored trucks Saturday for the first of 10 days of military exercises that the president of socialist-governed Venezuela says are needed to protect against a looming threat from the U.S. Nearly 100,000 members of the Venezuelan armed forces began conducting exercises at points all over country.
Good excuse as any to roll the military out to crush the citizens. Venezuela has turned itself into one giant gulag.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez inaugurated the exercises at Fort Tiuna in Caracas, the largest military installation in Venezuela. He said U.S. sanctions constitute "an imminent danger for us" and the armed forces must ready themselves to ensure the country's independence.
Venezuelan sailors performed drills in the Caribbean while soldiers defended the oil-producing country's biggest refinery from a simulated attack. Thousands of civilians wearing the red shirts of the socialist revolution started by the late President Hugo Chavez 15 years ago paraded in a complementary exercise.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/15/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
and two rolls of TP for them all to use
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/15/2015 9:23 Comments ||
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#2
Good excuse as any to roll the military out to crush the citizens. Venezuela has turned itself into one giant gulag.
The ultimate state of Socialism. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
#4
Maduro is rolling out the last page in the play book of a failed command economy tyrant. Phony threat and war drums. He needs to watch out. At some point the army may think there is a better way than being governed by idiots.
CARACAS -- An opponent of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro committed suicide in jail, where he had been locked up on charges of fomenting street violence against the socialist government, the Interior Minister said on Friday.
An outraged Venezuelan opposition demanded details surrounding the death of commercial pilot Rodolfo Gonzalez, 64, who was imprisoned in April on accusations of seeking to overthrow the government via massive demonstrations. He had not yet been sentenced.
"Rodolfo Gonzalez took his life by hanging himself," said Interior Minister Gustavo Gonzalez. The state prosecutor's office said it is investigating the death.
I'm sure they are. Have to cover the traces...
The pilot's daughter said he had been anxious about an upcoming transfer to a common Venezuelan jail. Such jails typically are rife with gangs, weapons, drugs and violence.
Reports of a jail transfer are false, said Interior Minister Gonzalez, whom the United States sanctioned earlier this week for alleged human rights violations as head of state intelligence service Sebin.
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03/15/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
"He was found hanging by a rope, and had managed to tie his geet together and tie hands behind his back and then kick the chair from underneath him as well"
And the spokesman added "Had he access to a firearm, he would have shot himself several times in the head for good measure".
[Ynet] Germany's highest court has struck down a state's ban on teachers wearing headscarves as unconstitutional, saying that it violates guaranteed religious freedoms.
The Federal Constitutional Court ruled Friday in favor of two female Moslem teachers from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in a decision that will also apply to other states.
The state's law banned headscarves on grounds they could call into question a teacher's neutrality and cause classroom disruptions. But the court ruled a school would need to show "not only an abstract but a sufficiently specific risk" to justify a ban.
The court also said a clause excepting "Christian and Western educational and cultural values or traditions" from the state's ban violated the constitution's protection against discrimination on religious grounds.
[Hurriyet Daily News] A five-member delegation will meet Abdullah Öcalan, the placed in durance vile Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), March 14 on Imrali Island where Öcalan is serving a life sentence.
The delegation includes People's Democratic Party (HDP) deputy parliamentary group chair Idris Baluken and Ceylan Bagriyanik, a women's rights activist and writer, who held talks March 13 with executives of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), a supra organization that includes the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the Kandil Mountains in northern Iraq..
The other members of the delegation are HDP deputy parliamentary group chair Pervin Buldan, HDP politician Sirri Sureyya Önder and Hatip Dicle, the co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK).
Baluken and Bagriyanik are expected to convey the message they received from Kandil to Öcalan during the meeting.
Discussions between parties involved in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's Kurdish grinding of the peace processor accelerated in the run-up to Nevruz, March 21, which the government has highlighted as a potential milestone for the bid ahead of June 7 parliamentary elections.
The wording of a message to be sent by Öcalan, to be read out during March 21 festivities Diyarbakir, is vital for both the government and PKK bad boys.
The HDP insists that Öcalan's message should be visual if he is to call the PKK to bid farewell to arms.
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03/15/2015 00:00 ||
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[Hurriyet Daily News] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... is facing unfair accusations over the flow of imported muscle into Syria even though it has been doing its best to close its borders, Turkey's foreign minister has said, urging the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... to share more intelligence over potential recruits to Death Eater jihadists.
"We are taking our measures and we have also established detection centers. And we are yielding results. But we can only end or reduce this problem through cooperation. Our cooperation has been strengthened recently. But there are still serious shortcomings with regard to intelligence sharing. We need to overcome this," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told news hounds at a joint presser with visiting Macedonian Foreign Minister Nicola Poposki on March 13.
Cavusoglu singled out the failure of European Union countries in stopping the travel of imported muscle without leaving their origin countries and called on them to intensify intelligence sharing with Turkey on imported muscle. "To be frank, their justifications on this are not valid for us," Cavusoglu said.
Providing updated information about Ankara's actions to halt the infiltration of imported muscle, he said: "Turkey is doing more than it has to do. We have issued travel bans on 12,519 persons. The number of persons we have detained and deported is 1,154."
Cavusoglu's remarks came a day after he revealed that three missing British girls who are believed to join the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're 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 the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) received assistance from a Syrian national serving for one of the anti-ISIL coalition countries. The country is believed to be Canada although there has been no official confirmation. Cavusoglu repeated his claim March 13 without specifying the country in question.
Turkey has become a transit country for imported muscle who want to join ISIL and it was only natural for other countries to call on Turkey to take measures to stop it, he said, but added: "We are a democratic country, we can't restrict people's right to travel. But there are some questions in this regard: Is there an intention? This is a complicated situation and there are people who provide assistance to those people."
Recalling that a 17-year-old South Korean citizen was believed to have crossed into Syria after receiving assistance from people who are working for both ISIL and coalition countries' secret services, Cavusoglu said: "There is such a complicated situation, but it is always Turkey being criticized. This is this picture we are rising against."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2015 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] The US Secretary of State has blasted an open letter to Iran by Republican senators as "incorrect", saying Congress cannot revoke a possible nuclear deal with Iran.
John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... , speaking Saturday in Egypt, stressed that US President Barack Obama Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though.... has the power to implement any agreement reached with Iran, despite intense opposition from Republican politicians in Congress.
"As far as we're concerned, Congress has no ability to change an executive agreement," Kerry told a news conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, where he was attending an economic conference.
"From our point of view, this letter is incorrect in its statements," the top US diplomat said, adding that the American politicians were "wrong."
An open letter signed last week by 47 Republican senators warned Iran that any nuclear deal may last only as long as President B.O. remained in office. The move was a highly unusual intervention in US foreign policy.
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03/15/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm really surprised Obamas thugs haven't lit the Reichstag ( oh sorry) the capitol building on fire yet.
Posted by: chris ||
03/15/2015 1:03 Comments ||
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#2
Those things have to be staged very delicately Chris. And timed just right. So the proper enemies can be blamed and the appropriate actions (martial law, suspensions of elections, etc...) and the media and talking heads need to be properly vetted, coached or threatened just right to set the appropriate narrative,
#4
The Senators' letter was not incorrect - it did not say they could revoke the deal - it said the deal was only in effect for as long as the Executive chose it to be, and that could change in less than two (longggg) years.
#7
Congress cannot revoke a possible nuclear deal with Iran. We may see. Congress is trying to restore the balance of power. They may get frisky and flex their muscles.
[DAWN] The Sindh High Court on Friday disposed of a petition seeking suspension of a death warrant for Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... worker Saulat Ali Khan, better known as Saulat Mirza, after the petitioner's counsel withdrew it.
Mirza's sister, Sumera Wajahat, had petitioned the SHC against the issuance of a black warrant on the ground that an appeal against her brother's conviction was still pending disposal before the Supreme Court, hence he could not be executed.
While issuing the black warrant for the convict, an antiterrorism court had fixed March 19 for the hanging of the MQM activist, who was condemned to death by an ATC on May 24, 1999 for killing the then managing director of the Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... Electric Supply Corporation, his driver and his guard on July 5, 1997 in Defence Housing Authority.
The petitioner's counsel submitted that a criminal miscellaneous application regarding the death sentence of convict Mirza was pending disposal in the apex court and the ATC could not issue a black warrant for his execution till the disposal of the application.
A two-judge bench comprising Justices Abdur Rasool Memon and Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro observed that the apex court might be approached if the matter was pending disposal there.
Later, the bench disposed of the petition when the petitioner's counsel withdrew it.
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03/15/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The Islamabad High Court's (IHC) decision to quash Mumbai attack accused Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi's detention under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) on Friday led to a diplomatic spat between Pakistain and India with both countries summoning each other's diplomats.
Pakistain's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit was first summoned to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs where he was conveyed Delhi's concerns over High Court's decision to set Mumbai accused Lakhvi free.
Lakhvi has already been granted bail in the Mumbai attack case. He was currently being detained under the MPO, a law that the government has often used to detain people suspected of posing a threat or causing unrest, for a specified period after overriding standard legal procedures and due process of law.
Mr Basit was told that the Indian government expected Pakistain to take all legal measures to prevent Lakhvi's release.
In response to Mr Basit's summoning in Delhi, Indian deputy high commissioner was summoned to the Foreign Office to protest the hype being created by India over the IHC decision.
The Foreign Office, however, did not make a formal demarche.
While protesting India's reaction over court orders, Director General (South Asia) Nafees Zakaria reiterated Pakistain's commitment to take the Mumbai case to its logical conclusion, but reminded the Indian diplomat that legal process would take its own course.
The Indian reaction was viewed by the Foreign Office as "irrational" and "immature", a source said.
The Indian diplomat was assured that IHC's decision to cancel Lakhvi's detention orders would not impact the Mumbai attack trial being conducted by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi.
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03/15/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Corps Commander Lieutenant General Hidayat-ur-Rehman on Saturday said Middle Eastern terrorist group Daesh (also self-styled as the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're 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 the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... ) poses no threat to Pakistain.
Speaking to journalists alongside Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Governor Mehtab Khan Abbasi, Gen Hidayat said there was no need to fret about Daesh or its potential emergence in the country.
"For us it's just a change of name, and there is no need for Paks to worry. There are several defections in the Taliban now, which are becoming part of Daesh. But we're well aware of the situation and are able to tackle them effectively," said the Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. Corps Commander.
Gen Hidayat rebuffed the perception that the terrorist group was silently spreading across the country, saying that the army and security forces were in control of the situation.
He added that security forces had been dealing with the Taliban for over 12 years, and Daesh was no different to the TTP.
He also said bully boy havens have been destroyed with the help of public support, and that the Taliban would not be allowed to hide anywhere.
The Corps Commander revealed that the army was involved in several other operations against bully boys, apart from operation Zarb-e-Azb ..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)... .
Daesh-- or Islamic State-- had recently announced it was setting itself up for operations in Pakistain and Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
"remember the 'IS' in 'ISI' "
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/15/2015 13:12 Comments ||
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[DAWN] Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali on Saturday lashed out at Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) for what he said was use of "inappropriate language" with regards to the Pakistain Army and Rangers.
Nisar said MQM had in the past acknowledged army's and Rangers' sacrifices in combating terrorism in the country, adding that the party's condemnation of the army and Rangers following the Nine Zero raid was unacceptable.
The federal interior minister went on to say that the MQM had itself appealed for an army-backed operation in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... . "Altaf Hussain and other MQM leaders have time and again insisted that the army be used to wipe the city clean from hit mans and terrorists," he said.
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[ABCNEWS.GO] Iraqi and Kurdish forces have reclaimed more than 25 percent of ISIS-held territory inside Iraq, according to a U.S. assessment that also determined that Kurdish fighters are responsible for the majority of the territory retaken from ISIS in northern Iraq.
"We assess ISIL's front lines have been pushed back in northern and central Iraq," Pentagon front man Col. Steve Warren said at a Pentagon briefing today, referring to the murderous Moslem group also known as ISIS. "ISIL no longer has complete freedom of movement in roughly 25 percent of populated areas of Iraqi territory where they once operated freely."
The recaptured areas represent an area between 4,100 and 5,200 square miles or 11,000 and 13,500 square kilometers, Warren said. At its peak, ISIS was in control of 55,000 square kilometers in northern and western Iraq, Pentagon officials said.
"ISIL lost large areas where it was once dominant in the governance of Babil, Diyala, Nineveh, Salahadin and Kirkuk, ... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time... " Warren said.
Warren said the term "freedom of movement" equates to losing territory "if they don't have freedom of movement they don't control it." I
The assessment that 25 percent has been recaptured is a significant increase from previous assessments released in January that Iraqi and Kurdish security forces had retaken 700 square kilometers.
"Their caliphate is in the process of shrinking," Warren told news hounds, noting that areas represented in the assessment were of populated areas that had been taken from ISIS control.
But he cautioned that the assessment was "not an exact science," pointing to what he described as the "fluid battleground" inside Iraq.
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03/15/2015 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] Kurdish government says it has evidence organization used illegal chemical weapons against peshmerga forces.
Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government said on Saturday it has evidence Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're 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 the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... used chlorine gas as a chemical weapon against Kurdish peshmerga forces.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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#1
I'm sure protest marches of condemnation are already underway in the West by the usual suspects. /sarc off
According to Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida, as reported by Israel Hayom, the Joint Arab List and Labor-Hatnua have been in touch regarding the aftermath of upcoming elections.
The report claims that "feverish" talks have been taking place between senior Joint Arab list officials and the intimates of Labor leader Yitzhak Herzog. How unexpected.
[Ynet] Although all unit members were killed during last summer's infiltration attempt at Zikkim, Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, always the voice of sweet reason, viewed this as a massive achievement and subsequently trained a new force whose role will be to carry out mass attacks on the Israeli home front.
Paleostinian Islamist organization Hamas has completed the reconstruction of its naval commando force, consisting of dozens of trained divers, in order to hit strategic sites, Israeli and others', in the Mediterranean Sea.
With the development of its underwater unit, Hamas aims to compensate for the failure of the offensive tunnels from the Gazoo Strip, which it rules, which were supposed to reach into Israel. From just a handful, the force has grown into many dozens of fighters trained to strike the Israeli home front via abductions and killings.
Continued on Page 49
[IsaelTmes] As reconciliation flounders, terror group says Ramallah directing operatives to use bombs, shootings and car burnings to destabilize Strip
The Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,-held interior ministry in the Gazoo Strip on Saturday accused security forces reporting to the rival Paleostinian Authority of being behind a wave of violence in the coastal enclave.
Spokesman Iyad al-Bozum accused "members of the former security establishment in Gazoo" of "exploiting the difficult conditions, especially since the last war, to spread chaos and confusion with kabooms, car burnings and shootings".
The war to which he referred was last summer's conflict with Israel.
Paleostinian Authority security forces were ousted from Gazoo in 2007 by fighters from the Islamist Hamas movement's armed wing.
Bozum did not elaborate, but kabooms have targeted vehicles used by Hamas in recent months, as well as some owned by members of PA president the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... 's Fatah party.
He told a news conference investigations had shown the incidents were "the result of plans by security chiefs in Ramallah" -- the headquarters of the PA in the West Bank.
Bozum said they were aimed at "spreading chaos in Gazoo in order to cover up the government's failure and absolve (Abbas) from any responsibility."
Bozum told news hounds several suspects have been locked away Please don't kill me! and played recordings he said were of them, their voices distorted and images blurred.
Bozum said they were members of the PA security services in Gazoo before 2007 claiming to have carried out the attacks after receiving orders from Ramallah.
WAFA, the official Paleostinian news agency, issued a statement from Fatah rejecting the accusation.
It reported Fatah front man Osama al-Qawasmi as dismissing "Hamas lies that nobody believes because everyone knows it imposes its will by force."
Qawasmi accused Hamas itself of "being behind kabooms and car burnings."
Since last spring, when Hamas signed a reconciliation deal with the PA, it has accused the government created under the agreement of abandoning Gazoo.
In return, the PA accuses Hamas of raising obstacles to the work of the government in the enclave, where it is reluctant to transfer power.
Relations between Fatah and Hamas have been further strained since November, when a series of blasts targeted the homes of a dozen Fatah officials in Gazoo, causing damage but no casualties.
[IsraelTimes] Main Paleostinian faction, which is committed to agreements with Israel, is also working on rocket development, commander says
Fatah's armed wing in Gazoo carried out a military exercise last Friday simulating the takeover and bombing of IDF positions, the Lebanese TV station al-Mayadeen reported Sunday.
The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades ended their training course, named after deceased Fatah official Ziad Abu Ein, with a show of force including a military march over an Israeli flag and a shooting range with a poster of Israel Defense Forces Arabic-language front man Avichay Adraee as the target.
During Operation Cast Lead, Fatah's armed wing grabbed credit for firing rockets at the Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Sderot, alongside Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... . Abul Abed, the commander of al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Gazoo, told al-Mayadeen that his men were not only bettering their combat skills but also improving their rocket launch capabilities.
"With regard to the development of rockets, there have been serious developments and serious experiments carried out daily," Abul Abed said.
The training focused on physical exercise, combat skills, and Islamic doctrine, the TV report said.
Fatah, the movement of Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... , which dominates the Paleostinian security apparatus in the West Bank, declared its intention to halt security cooperation with Israel in response to the death of movement official Ziad Abu Ein in an altercation with IDF soldiers during a peaceful tree-planting protest in the West Bank last December.
[IsraelTimes] Senior IDF officer reportedly says group has internalized the inefficacy of its longer-range projectiles
Faced with the high success rate of Israel's Iron Dome defense system against mid-range rockets, Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, in the Gazoo Strip has reportedly been redoubling its efforts to produce shorter-range projectiles, which proved deadlier during its summer 2014 war with Israel.
According to a report in the Hebrew-language newspaper Makor Rishon over the weekend, Hamas's decision to focus on producing and testing -- by firing out to sea -- rockets with a range of up to 30 kilometers is also due to a shortage in explosives.
"Almost all of the tests that are aimed at the sea are of short-range rockets," a senior IDF officer was quoted by the report as saying. "They've recently been putting a lot of effort into short-range rockets."
Hamas, the anonymous officer said, had likely "drawn its conclusions" from the war in Gazoo, and realized that Iron Dome had limited its ability to inflict casualties on Israel through the use of mid-range and longer-range rockets.
According to official IDF figures, Iron Dome intercepted roughly 90 percent of the projectiles it targeted during the war, including rockets fired at Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv region.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... refuse to specify the number of rockets they currently possess, but they were severely depleted by the Israeli assault, which included fierce ground combat.
Israel's ground invasion was also aimed at destroying the hundreds of tunnels Gazoo's Islamist groups had built, both for smuggling supplies and for attacks on soldiers inside Israel.
"The fact is," the Israeli officer was quoted as saying, "it's also harder to smuggle munitions into the Strip, and the tunnels along [the border with Egypt] are almost completely closed."
In recent months, Egyptian soldiers have destroyed virtually all smuggling tunnels under the Gazoo-Egypt border, and in October, they began razing parts of the Egyptian border town of Rafah.
Last week, in a rare public appearance, the head of Hamas's military wing said that although his group was not actively seeking another round of violence with Israel, it had continued to stockpile rockets in anticipation of a future war.
Marwan Issa, a top commander for Hamas' Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, made the comments during a conference organized by a Hamas-linked think tank, his first public appearance in over three years, Ynet reported.
"We are not seeking confrontation with Israel, but we continue to strengthen our capabilities by producing more rockets" he said, and assured participants that "Israel's statements on this matter are of no interest to us."
More than 2,000 Paleostinians were killed during the summer war, according to UN figures, which said most of them were civilians. Israel said some 1,000 of the fatalities were Hamas operatives and other gunnies, and blamed Hamas for all civilian casualties, arguing that the group attacked Israel from within residential areas.
Hamas and other terror groups fired over 4,500 rockets and projectiles at Israel, and staged several deadly attacks against IDF soldiers through cross-border tunnels. Seventy-three people on the Israeli side, 66 of them soldiers, were killed during the operation.
[AnNahar] The Gazoo Strip's sole power plant has halted production, the Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,-run energy authority said Thursday, following a dispute with the West Bank-based Paleostinian Authority over fuel tax.
Hamas pays the PA for fuel imported to besieged Gazoo, but is short of cash and had been unable to cover the additional costs in tax.
In December, Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... stepped in and donated $10 million (nine million euros) to the PA to cover the tax, effectively exempting Hamas from paying it.
But that money has dried up, and the PA is insisting Hamas begin paying the tax again, the Islamist movement says.
"The power plant stopped producing electricity during the night, after funds from Qatari donations to cover fuel costs ran out," the Hamas-run Gazoo energy authority said.
"We are unable to pay for the fuel because of the taxes on purchasing it."
Gazoo is blockaded and controlled by Israel on two of its crossings, and isolated by Egyptian closure of a third.
Israel facilitates the entry of fuel supplies.
A crisis-hit Hamas is unable to pay its own government and security employees due to the blockade and Egypt's closure of the border, with financial restraints hurting the group.
The plant requires 550,000 liters (145,000 gallons) of fuel per day to produce at capacity, the energy authority says.
Even with the plant running, Gazoo suffers 12 hours of power outages each day, and that is expected to increase to 18 hours after the plant's shutdown.
Many individual homes have their own generators, and households can purchase, expensively, fuel that comes into Gazoo for private consumption.
Hamas and the Paleostine Liberation Organization, which dominates the PA, signed a unity deal in April that was to see the West Bank-based government take over administration and security of the Gazoo Strip.
But pending various disputes, including over the payment of Hamas' security forces, the deal has yet to be implemented, and Hamas remains in control of Gazoo.
The two sides agreed on a government of independents in June, but progress on reconciliation to fix a years-old split was further delayed by Hamas' war with Israel in July and August.
[Hurriyet Daily News] CIA Director John Brennan said on March 13 the United States does not want to see a chaotic collapse of the Syrian regime as it could open the way to Islamist bandidossnuffies taking power.
The spy agency chief said Washington had reason to worry about who might replace Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... if his government fell, given the rise of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're 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 the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other jihadists in Syria.
"I think that's a legitimate concern," Brennan said when asked if the U.S. government feared who might succeed Assad.
Speaking at an event at the Council on Foreign Relations, he said that "extremist elements" including ISIL and Al-Qaeda veterans are "ascendant right now" in some parts of Syria.
"The last thing we want to do is allow them to march into Damascus. That's why it's important to bolster those forces within the Syrian opposition that are not hard boys," Brennan said.
The U.S. military is funding the training and arming of "moderate" Syrian rebel forces but the effort is only now getting off the ground. Washington's stance is that Assad should have no role in Syria's future but
President Barack Obama I am not a dictator!... 's administration and other governments wanted to see a political solution that would ensure a representative government, he said.
"None of us, Russia, the United States, coalition, and regional states, wants to see a collapse of the government and political institutions in Damascus," Brennan said.
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[ARA] On Friday, festivities renewed between the joint forces (of the People's Protection Units 'YPG', FSA and the Peshmerga) and faceless myrmidons of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're 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 the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group (IS/ISIS) in the vicinity of the Qara Qozak bridge southwest of Kobane, military sources reported.
Speaking to ARA News, FSA fighter Abu Ali Osman said that at least 30 Islamic State bad boyz were potted during festivities near the Qara Qozak bridge, while four fighters from the joint forces bit the dust.
Osman also pointed out that some Arab communities were displaced and headed to the Qabr Imo village of the city of Manbij (10 km southwest of the Qara Qozak Bridge).
In the meantime, the YPG's Media Center announced an emergency Friday among Kurdish people to confront IS attacks on Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), Tel Temir and the surrounding villages in northeastern Syria.
Redoor Khalil, the YPG's official front man, said that the IS group is trying to regain power after its heavy defeats in Tel Hamis, bringing in additional reinforcements from Aleppo, Raqqa and even from Iraq.
"The gunnies are trying to compensate for their losses in Tel Hamis by attacking Sere Kaniye and Tel Temir, where they committed atrocities against Assyrian and Kurdish communities," he said.
To counter this attack, Khalil called on the Kurdish youth to join the ranks of the YPG forces.
The YPG front man also appealed to the U.S.-led international coalition to take part in the battle of Tel Temir, similar to their support to the Kurdish forces in Tel Brak and Tel Hamis.
Kurdish sources said that in the last four days, the coalition's warplanes did not attack any IS targets in the vicinity of Tel Temir and Sere Kaniye in Hasakah province.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/15/2015 00:00 ||
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[ARA] Qassem Soleimani, Commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, appointed an Iranian military leader as his deputy to lead the Revolutionary Guard forces in the southern areas of Syria against the Syrian armed opposition, Iranian sources reported on Saturday.
Gen. Soleimani is no longer the direct military commander of the Iranian forces in Syria's south, he appointed an Iranian military leader as his deputy on those forces, while Soleimani is still the general supervisor of the Iranian forces and militias in the Syrian territory, according to the Italian agency AKI.
"The newly appointed Iranian military commander has absolute authority over all the pro-Assad military factions in southern Syria, including the Syrian regime's army, the National Defense Army militia, the Lebanese militia of Hezbollah, and the Iraqi Shiite militias stationed in those areas," AKI reported.
The recent fighting in the so-called "Triangle of Death" --the region linking the northwestern countryside of Daraa with the northeastern countryside of Quneitra and western countryside of Damascus-- led to the death of several officers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces, as well as soldiers from different nationalities, the most notably was Soleimani's deputy himself, a prominent commander of the Afghan militia fighters, according to the armed opposition forces in southern Syria.
Noteworthy, Ali Khamenei, Supreme Fearless Leader of the Islamic Revolution ...Iran's doddering head theocrat... in Iran, had called earlier in 2015 upon Iranian youth groups to head to Syria in order to "help peers in their war against terrorism".
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A sensitive leak investigation of a former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has stalled amid concerns that a prosecution in federal court could force the government to confirm a joint U.S.-Israeli covert operation targeting Iran, according to current and former U.S. officials.
Federal investigators suspect that retired Marine Gen. James E. “Hoss” Cartwright leaked to a New York Times reporter details about a highly classified operation to hobble Iran’s nuclear enrichment capability through cyber-sabotage — an effort not acknowledged by Israel or the United States.
Prosecutors will have to overcome significant national security and diplomatic concerns if they want to move forward, including pitting the Obama administration against Israel if that ally were opposed to any information about the cyber-operation being revealed in court.
The United States could move forward with the case against Israel’s wishes, but such a move might further harm relations between two countries, which are already frayed because of a disagreement over how best to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Administration officials also fear that any revelations could complicate the current negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.
The case captures the tension between national security concerns and the desire of prosecutors to hold high-ranking officials to account for leaking classified secrets. The Obama administration has been the most aggressive in U.S. history in pursuing those suspected of leaking classified information.
The Justice Department has offered no clues to whether it intends to proceed with a case against Cartwright, who helped design the cyber-campaign against Iran under President George W. Bush and was involved in its escalation under President Obama.
Spokesmen for the Justice Department, the White House and the FBI declined to comment for this article.
#1
[Stuxnet leak] could force the government to confirm a joint U.S.-Israeli covert operation targeting Iran, according to current and former U.S. officials. Does anyone really think otherwise?
#2
These are the same officials who declare that a certain installation outside of Las Vegas doesn't exit, even with satellite imagery to confirm to everyone else it does.
#3
From Wiki: The military investigated Cartwright in 2009 and 2010 for possible misconduct involving a female Marine captain, and investigators recommended administrative action for "failure to discipline a subordinate" and "fostering an unduly familiar relationship". Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, however, reviewed the evidence and found it insufficient to warrant corrective action for even the lesser offenses. He stated, “I do not agree with the conclusion that General Cartwright maintained an ‘unduly familiar relationship’ with his aide. Nor do I agree that General Cartwright’s execution of his leadership responsibilities vis-à-vis his aide or any other member of his staff was inconsistent with the leadership requirements”.[12] "[Q]uestions about how he oversaw his staff", however, were mentioned as a reason Cartwright had fallen out as favored candidate of President Obama for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2011. Army chief Gen. Martin Dempsey was named to the post.
[Mediaite] A new report from The New York Times' Matthew Rosenberg published Saturday reveals details about a 2010 deal between Afghan officials and Al Qaeda that resulted in $1 million of CIA money funding the terrorist group.
According to the report, Al Qaeda demanded $5 million for the release of an Afghan diplomat held hostage in 2010 and the Afghan government ended up using $1 million from a secret fund that the CIA provided them in monthly cash installments delivered directly to the Kabul palace of former President Hamid Karzai.
Rosenberg quotes letters sent between Osama bin Laden and one of his deputies after the Afghans raised the rest of the money from other countries and completed the deal:
The newspaper said letters about the ransom payment were found in the 2011 raid by US Navy SEALS who killed bin Laden at his compound in Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... , Pakistain. The communications were submitted as evidence in the trial of Abid Naseer, who was convicted this month in New York of supporting terrorism and plotting to bomb a shopping center in Manchester, England.
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.
[Iran Press TV] US Secretary of State 
[YEMENONLINE.INFO] Opponents of Yemen's 
[DAWN] The Islamabad High Court's (IHC) decision to quash Mumbai attack accused Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi's detention under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) on Friday led to a diplomatic spat between Pakistain and India with both countries summoning each other's diplomats.
[DAWN] Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali on Saturday lashed out at Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) for what he said was use of "inappropriate language" with regards to the Pakistain Army and Rangers.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Mediaite] A new report from The New York Times' Matthew Rosenberg published Saturday reveals details about a 2010 deal between Afghan officials and Al Qaeda that resulted in $1 million of CIA money funding the terrorist group.
