Hi there, !
Today Thu 06/06/2019 Wed 06/05/2019 Tue 06/04/2019 Mon 06/03/2019 Sun 06/02/2019 Sat 06/01/2019 Fri 05/31/2019 Archives
Rantburg
531701 articles and 1855993 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 60 articles and 154 comments as of 14:48.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Houthi rebels launch a drone attack on a military parade for Saudi-led coalition forces in the port city of Aden
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 2: WoT Background
3 20:26 Elmeck Jamp5019 [1] 
5 17:47 Chereting Pelosi1889 [2] 
4 11:00 NoMoreBS [1] 
5 20:46 Glenmore [1] 
1 07:47 Mercutio [] 
3 12:21 Dron66046 [] 
6 23:21 trailing wife [1] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
0 [1] 
1 11:50 Abu Uluque [] 
4 07:32 Frank G [2] 
4 20:19 746 [1] 
0 [1] 
0 [1] 
0 [2] 
2 04:19 Skidmark [] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
5 15:28 swksvolFF [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
10 14:34 Skidmark [] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
0 [1]
1 09:48 Frank G []
1 07:38 Frank G []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
4 23:19 trailing wife []
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
0 []
0 []
Page 3: Non-WoT
4 21:16 Besoeker []
4 13:36 rjschwarz [1]
3 16:03 49 Pan [2]
2 15:51 Dron66046 [1]
14 23:42 Snineter Sloluck3077 []
5 11:14 trailing wife []
12 16:31 SteveS []
17 23:39 Snineter Sloluck3077 []
1 15:36 gorb [2]
1 12:08 M. Murcek []
0 []
9 21:44 Herman Phomomble6584 []
2 12:11 lord garth []
Page 4: Opinion
2 21:41 Herman Phomomble6584 [1]
9 16:07 49 Pan []
Page 6: Politix
10 22:01 Frank G []
-Land of the Free
Feds: Only 11 Employers Prosecuted for Hiring Illegal Aliens in Last Year
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/03/2019 06:51 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  (1) Seriously prosecute those that hire illegals.
(2) Companies stop hiring illegals.
(3) Word spreads to Latin America
(4) Illegal immigration drops to a trickle.

If they are not going after companies they are not serious.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 06/03/2019 13:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Trying to remember if it was Reagan who removed the criminal prosecution for these scum.
Posted by: Woodrow || 06/03/2019 17:07 Comments || Top||

#3  E Verify - then they will not have to guess.
Posted by: Elmeck Jamp5019 || 06/03/2019 20:26 Comments || Top||


Trump warns Mexico's negotiators to offer a plan to stop illegal immigration as June 10 deadline for new tariffs approaches and White House chief of staff says president is 'deadly serious' and Obrador hints he might 'reinforce' border security
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/03/2019 04:44 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  World leaders learning the hard way that the Pres is not "Barry the balless Bold".
Posted by: Woodrow || 06/03/2019 6:53 Comments || Top||

#2  "Surely, you can't be serious..."
Posted by: SteveS || 06/03/2019 9:12 Comments || Top||

#3  As Dr. Strangelove said, "It requires only the will to do so..."
Posted by: M. Murcek || 06/03/2019 9:57 Comments || Top||

#4  “Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.” Yoda
Posted by: Texhooey || 06/03/2019 18:12 Comments || Top||

#5  Tariffs as an economic policy are not a good thing, but as a political negotiation tool they have utility.
Posted by: Glenmore || 06/03/2019 20:46 Comments || Top||


Aid worker faces 20 years in prison for giving food, water and clothing to undocumented migrants crossing the U.S. southern border in Arizona
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/03/2019 04:40 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Antifa

#1  Slap on the wrist and a place on the Democratic ticket in 5...4...
Posted by: Mercutio || 06/03/2019 7:47 Comments || Top||


The first large group of 116 migrants from AFRICA are caught on video wading across the Rio Grande to illegally enter the U.S.
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/03/2019 04:38 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Weeeeelllll. They got into Mexico somehow. Via Central America? Via the Carribean? If they paid to get in, who did they pay. Follow the money.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 06/03/2019 11:21 Comments || Top||

#2  No need to follow the money. Just shoot 'em as they wade.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 06/03/2019 11:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Can't the traffickers or passage facilitators be rigged instead ? Keep them paid to ... err, dispose their cargo instead of delivering it ?

We do it with bangladesh.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 06/03/2019 12:21 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Tunisia Stops Rescued Migrants from Coming Ashore
[AnNahar] Tunisian authorities were on Saturday stopping 75 migrants colonists saved at sea from coming ashore, according to a rights group and the captain of the ship which rescued them.

The migrants colonists were adrift in international waters in a boat with a broken engine when an Egyptian tug boat brought them aboard, the captain said on condition of anonymity.

After notifying authorities in Italia and Malta, the crew headed for the southern Tunisian port of Zarzis where authorities refused to allow the ship to dock.

"We're in a critical situation, we're nearly 100 on board and we don't have more than two days of supplies of water and food," the captain told AFP by phone.

Tunisian rights organization FTDES said the regional governor demanded government support before accepting the migrants colonists, following an increase in new arrivals from neighboring Libya in recent months.

Tunisian authorities did not respond to AFP's requests for comment.

The crew of the tug boat rescued 64 Bangladeshis, nine Egyptians, one Moroccan and one Sudanese,
...none of whom could possibly be considered legitimate refugees...
who had departed from Zuwara in western Libya, according to FTDES.

Last month, around 60 migrants colonists, most from Bangladesh, drowned off the coast of Tunisia after leaving Libya on a boat bound for Europe.

There has been a significant reduction in rescue vessels operating in the Mediterranean Sea in recent months, with humanitarian boats facing legal woes as countries such as Italia impose a hardline migration policy.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


At least two migrants die, 25 missing in boat accident off Libyan coast
[AlAhram] At least two migrants colonists died and around 25 others were missing after their inflatable boat capsized off the western Libyan coast, a front man for the coastguard said on Sunday.

A total of 73 migrants colonists were picked up by a coastguard patrol about 14 miles off Qarabulli town, some 49 km (30.5 miles) east of the capital Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, front man Ayoub Qassem said.

The bodies of a woman and a child were recovered, he added.

The migrants colonists included 40 men, 25 women and eight children from Sudan, Kenya, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.

"A wrecked and inflatable boat was found without an engine and the illegal migrants colonists were found clinging to it," Qassem said.

According to the UN migration agency IOM, 2,297 migrants colonists died or went missing in the Mediterranean last year out of a total of 116,959 people who reached Europe
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
by sea.

Libya's western coast has become a main departure point for migrants colonists as smugglers exploit the county's chaos since the toppling of Muammar Qadaffy
...a proud Arab institution for 42 years, now among the dear departed, though not the dearest...
in 2011.

But since July 2017, smuggling networks inside Libya have been disrupted under an Italian-backed deal with local authorities in a former smuggling hub of Sabratha town in western Libya.

The coasties has stepped up patrols after receiving new boats from Italia as part of efforts by the right-wing government there to stop migrants colonists reaching Italian shores from Africa.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1 
Libya's western coast has become a main departure point for migrants colonists as smugglers exploit the county's chaos since the toppling of Muammar Qadaffy in 2011. Thanks, Nick!
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 06/03/2019 11:50 Comments || Top||


Navy senior commander of Libyan army: We're foiling attacks by Haftar's forces
[Libya Observer] The commander of the naval frontline of "Volcano of Rage" Operation of the Libyan Army under the Presidential Council's command Rida Essa said they had tasked navy personnel to foil any attacks by Khalifa Haftar
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
's forces, in addition to doing their job regarding illegal immigration.

Rida Essa denied in a joint presser on Saturday with navy front man Ayoub Qassim that they had named the area from Sirte to Ras Ajdair a military operations' zone.

"We're not afraid of facing any assaults by Haftar's forces from the sea." He added.

"We have done over 70 search operations from Sirte's coast to Zuwara's, near the Tunisian border. We have intercepted foreign frigates smuggling off the Libyan coast. We have also intercepted over 1700 immigrants colonists since the start of the Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
offensive." Essa indicated.

Navy front man Ayoub Qassim hailed the role of the forces thwarting Tripoli attacks and said the naval forces are well prepared in positions on the maritime frontline.

"We're doing our best to foil fuel smuggling in the sea despite lack of capabilities. Hence, these operations have been halted for now." Qassim said.

He added that the migrants colonists' route to Europe
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
via Libya has become very difficult as Libyan coastguards are well-positioned off the coast shutting down the northern gate to Europe.

"We have rescued 2475 migrants colonists off the Libyan coast so far this year, thus making a great drop in illegal migration since July of last year." Qassim explained.

Posted by: Fred || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Algeria's constitutional council cancels presidential election
[Al Jazeera] Algeria's constitutional council has said it will be impossible for it to hold elections to choose a successor to ousted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
... 10th president-for-life of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term. Maybe it's the fifth....
early next month as planned after the only two candidates were rejected.

The council said in a statement on Sunday that it rejected "the candidates' applications" and subsequently declared "the impossibility of holding presidential elections on July 4".

It did not set a new date for the presidential election, asking interim President Abdelkader Bensalah to organise a vote at a later date, state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said.

The move will likely extend the rule of the interim president, who was meant to stay only until the vote to elect a new president after Bouteflika ended his 20-year rule in the wake of mass protests.

Bensalah, the former upper house speaker, had been appointed as interim leader until July 9.

Demonstrations have since continued, with protesters demanding Bensalah's resignation and an end to the dominance of the elite who have ruled Algeria since it won independence from La Belle France in 1962.

"Algerians have protested for 15 weeks, we are heading towards a sixteenth week of protests so the issue here is Bensalah has to listen to the protesters," said Mohammed Kirat, professor of media studies at Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
University.

"Because with the current government and Bensalah and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui still in power, there is no way that Algerians will go to vote for a new president," added Kirat.
Posted by: Fred || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Arabia
‘We will have surprises for you!’ Yemen warns aggressors
[PRESSTV] Yemen’s Defense Minister Mohammed Nasser al-Atifi says the country has made great strides in the defense sector and will "surprise" Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
and those of its allies that are waging a war on the impoverished nation.

Speaking at the committee on Yemen’s defense doctrine in the capital, Sana’a, on Saturday, Atifi said that the military had developed advanced weapons as well as technology that met the country’s need to defend its illusory sovereignty, unity, and independence.

He stressed that Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
had surprises in store for aggressor regimes.

"We have surprises for... [them] that they can never see coming," the Yemeni defense minister said.

Yemeni armed forces are moving forward with manufacturing missiles as well as armed and offensive unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), rockets, and other kinds of weapons, Atifi said.

The Yemenis are currently in the final stages of developing various air defenses, he added.

The Yemeni forces would free the whole country and defend its territorial integrity, he said, emphasizing that they are now capable of launching attacks deep inside Saudi Arabia and targeting its vital facilities.

Yemeni fighters regularly target positions inside Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the Saudi-led war, which began in March 2015 in an attempt to reinstall the former regime and eliminate the 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 ...
Ansarullah movement.

While those strikes often target Saudi Arabia’s border areas, a number of dronezaps were carried out deep inside Saudi territory on May 14. The drones used in the attacks flew undetected until they reached the designated target, namely two oil pumping stations, disrupting the flow.

Yemen has warned that it would carry out more such attacks.

Posted by: Fred || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Houthis

#1  ...I hope it's birthday cake. I LOVE birthday cake.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 06/03/2019 5:09 Comments || Top||

#2  A stink that won't wash off, most likely...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 06/03/2019 6:49 Comments || Top||

#3  So , since this is from Iran I supposed it means that the Houthi are in charge?
Posted by: AlanC || 06/03/2019 7:28 Comments || Top||

#4  #1 - LOL, Mike
Posted by: Frank G || 06/03/2019 7:32 Comments || Top||


Britain
Home Secretary Sajid Javid pledges £1bn to put an extra 20,000 bobbies on the beat after admitting there IS a link between budget cuts and soaring crime rates
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/03/2019 04:58 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Last year, the Home Secretary and Tory leadership candidate claimed in a TV interview there was no connection between the rise in crime and a fall in police numbers.

Would make a great Chicago mayor.
Posted by: Woodrow || 06/03/2019 6:51 Comments || Top||

#2  Sajid, sounds like an old English name. I'm guessing he comes from a long line of Etonians and Oxbridge.


/sard if necessary
Posted by: AlanC || 06/03/2019 7:18 Comments || Top||

#3  From the evidence, I'd say Sajid Javid is Urdu for Fox Butterfield.
Posted by: SteveS || 06/03/2019 8:35 Comments || Top||

#4  I’m old enough to remember when there was an East Pakistan instead of Bangladesh. England is rapidly earning the West Pakistan nickname. Tragic cultural suicide by the mother country.
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 06/03/2019 11:00 Comments || Top||


Europe
German Antisemitism Commissioner Seeks End Of Tax Breaks For BDS Groups
[Jpost] Uwe Becker, commissioner of the Hessian federal state government for Jewish life and the fight against antisemitism, announced in late May that pro-BDS charities and NGOs should not receive favorable tax reductions, demanding a public review of their nonprofit status.

In a statement sent to The Jerusalem Post titled, "Antisemitism must not be regarded as charitable: Hesse’s antisemitism commissioner demands review of associations," Becker said: "If associations in our country support the work of antisemitic organizations, then these may not be privileged fiscally."

Becker added that "For example, the association ’Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East’ is an official supporter of the antisemitic BDS movement and resolutely supports its goals."

The newly appointed commissioner, who served as the deputy mayor and treasurer for Frankfurt, said "The BDS movement supports the demand for boycotts, disinvestments and sanctions against Israel, and has been aggressively exerting pressure on artists, scientists and companies for years to prevent any cooperation with the Jewish state."

In April 2018, Becker told the Post that the Cologne
...the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth populated city in Germany....
-based Bank for Social Economy was banned from conducting business with Frankfurt ‐ Germany’s financial capital ‐ because of the bank’s account with the pro-BDS group Jewish Voice.

The city of Frankfurt will, in the future, only work with banks that do not maintain business relations with the antisemitic BDS movement, and, accordingly, with BDS organizations," said Becker at the time.

Becker said in his statement as commissioner to combat antisemitism: "I am convinced that when an association joins forces with antisemites, it cannot be considered a privileged nonprofit organization. The association Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East does not only appear as a committed supporter of the antisemitic BDS movement, only recently the association has also supported the appearance of the convicted terrorist Rasmea Odeh in Germany. Anyone who acts in this way must not be privileged by the state, which is why I am in favor of a restrictive examination of the privileged nonprofit status of such associations."

The removal of the favorable tax status of BDS groups could impact their fund-raising situation and cause banks to close BDS accounts. Germany’s federal parliament classified BDS as antisemitic in May.

Numerous Post queries to Harald Schmitz, CEO of the Bank for Social Economy, were not returned. The Simon Wiesenthal Center included the Bank for Social Economy in its 2018 top-10 list of worst outbreaks of antisemitism because the bank enables BDS.

The US and Israeli governments have repeatedly urged Schmitz to end the bank’s BDS business.

In 2018, the German branch of Keren Hayesod-UIA (United Israel Appeal) and the German LGBT organization Magnus Hirschfeld Foundation closed their accounts with the Bank for Social Economy to protest the bank’s BDS business.

In May, a front man for Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, commissioner for combating antisemitism in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia where the Bank for Social Economy has its headquarters, told the Post that she believes the bank should close the account of Jewish Voice.

The Post asked German organizations that claim to fight BDS ‐ Berlin’s Jewish community and the Central Welfare Board of Jews in Germany ‐ if they plan to follow the lead of the 27 US states and the French Jewish community that have divested their business from BDS entities.

Gideon Joffe, head of the Berlin Jewish community, declined to comment.

Aron Schuster, executive director of the Central Welfare Board of Jews in Germany (ZWST), a part-owner of the bank, also declined to comment. Schuster wrote an opinion article in December that ZWST plans to fight the bank’s BDS activities from within the financial organization. The Bank for Social Economy has repeatedly snubbed Schuster.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/03/2019 01:01 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Polio programme decides to implement IMB report
[DAWN] After a delay of about seven months, Pakistain has finally decided to implement the recommendations of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) on polio
...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set...
to eradicate the virus of the crippling disease for good.

The IMB’s 16th report, released in October 2018, stated that the Pakistain Polio Programme was fooling itself into thinking that it had made any progress at all since 2017 and suggested to eradicate the virus in the sewage because it (virus) could bounce back any time.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Adviser to KP chief minister forms 9-member jirga to discuss Khar Qamar clash
[DAWN] Adviser to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister on merged districts, Ajmal Wazir, on Sunday announced he has formed a nine-member jirga to hold discussions on the Khar Qamar clash.

The advisor, during a visit to Miram Shah, met the tribal elders of North Wazoo and agreed to constitute a jirga to determine the way forward following the clash which took place a week ago between Army soldiers and a group of protestors in which three people were killed and 15 were maimed.

Wazir said that a meeting of the jirga is scheduled for Monday in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 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.
. "Peace will be maintained in North Waziristan at each cost," he assured the jirga.

He added that he is aware of tribal customs and norms to settle disputes in the interest of erstwhile Fata, and that the tribal districts will be kept onboard for peace as well as development in the region.

The jirga comprises chief of Waziristan, Malak Nasraullah Khan; chief of Dawar tribe, Malak Khan Zeb Khan; Malak Shah Nawaz Khan Madakhel; Malak Khan Marjan Dardoni; Malak Habibullah Darpakhel; Malak Jan Faraz Khan Dardoni; Malak Mir Qadar Khan Darpakhel; Malak Ghulam Khan Madarkhel and Malak Peer Aqal Zaman Tapi Dawar.

The jirga also distributed compensation cheques to a few affected families, announced a day earlier by the provincial chief minister, Mahmood Khan.

Posted by: Fred || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Iraq
Southern Iraq's religious tourism falls as Iranian wallets lighten
[Rudaw] Despite the removal of visa fees between both neighboring countries, the number of Iranian religious tourists to Iraq's southern holy cities has plummeted, concerning local vendors.

"Some 70-80 percent of tourists came from the neighboring Iran. However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly...
due to the financial conditions in Iran and sanctions, the arrival of Iranian tourists to Najaf and Karbala has dramatically dropped, Khuzair Jabouri, the head of Najaf Provincial Council told Rudaw in late May.

Najaf, Karbala and Kufa are three holy cities in Iraq whose shrines and holy sites are visited by millions of Shiite every year.

Tourism is Iraq’s second largest source of income after oil exports.

Iran’s economy has been harmed by US sanctions on oil, energy, and trade under the administration of Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
Iran has increased efforts to keep its economic relations with Iraq. Several Iranian officials have visited Iraq recently, including President Hassan Rouhani.

Both governments have removed visa fees and Iran no longer stamps passports when entering from Iran, instead they stamp a slip of paper.

However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly...
efforts by Baghdad and Tehran have not yet helped the businesspeople in Iraq's holy cities who fear bankruptcy.

There are more than a thousand hotels in both Najaf and Karbala. They have halved prices due to the guest shortage, but to no avail.

According to Iraqi statistics, 4 million tourists visited Najaf and Karbala through Najaf International Airport in 2018, but that has dropped by 60 percent in the first five months of 2019.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
IDF Using New Intelligence System To Decrease Surprise Attacks On Troops
[Jpost] The IDF has begun to use a new system to alert troops to suspicious movements by Paleostinians in the West Bank, in an attempt to decrease the chance of troops being caught by surprise.

The system includes analytics and visual intelligence, which are all connected to one main system in an operations room. It was established as part of the project the military hopes will assist in foiling attacks in real time, and prevent manhunts of Death Eaters who get away following an attack.

The military has understood that many soldiers are slow to respond to surprise attacks, and that troops must decrease the time it takes them to act. Therefore in the coming months troops stationed in the West Bank will receive smartwatches that will alert them to approaching threats in an attempt to decrease surprise attacks.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/03/2019 01:01 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "We have a new intelligence system to combat surprises. We figured the most intelligent thing to do when a paleostinian was in sight, is to shoot 'im. Nothing as unsurprising as a dead 'un."

Jokes aside, it's always an education for India, when our friend Israel innovates, since we have the same problems. Eagerly awaiting results.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 06/03/2019 3:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Smartwatches?
Somebody call PEO soldier!
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/03/2019 4:17 Comments || Top||

#3  it's always an education for India, when our friend Israel innovates, since we have the same problems.

You’re Indian, Dron66046? I had no idea. You’re doubly welcome then. :-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/03/2019 11:43 Comments || Top||

#4  Thanks.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 06/03/2019 12:26 Comments || Top||

#5  I miss John Frum
Posted by: Frank G || 06/03/2019 14:14 Comments || Top||

#6  John Frum still pokes his head in from time to time, Frank G. Mostly when he has news from India that he believes we would appreciate properly.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/03/2019 23:21 Comments || Top||


Israeli paper betrays scandalous details of 'deal of century'
[PRESSTV] US President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
's "the deal of the century" wants Paleostinian refugees to be naturalized and settled in several countries, including Leb, Syria, Jordan and Iraq, Israeli daily Haaretz reports.
Accepting the reality that’s been so since 1948? Good idea.
As the world marked the International Quds Day on Friday, politicians warned of mysterious aspects of the much-touted US plan and its ramifications for the future of Paleostinians.

Iran's Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said one definite prospect is that the plan seeks to do away with the issue of returning 6 million refugees to their homeland.

"To realize this goal, America is about to arrange an economic deal and get its money from the miserable Persian Gulf countries," he said in Tehran.

Haaretz said Washington is thought to be pressing Leb to grant citizenship to Paleostinian refugees living in the country.

"In the process, this is seen as defusing the issue of a right of return of refugees to Israel, which has been a major obstacle to resolving the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict," the paper said.
In other words, Israel will never agree, which really gets in the way of those stupid juices surrendering as Allah requires.
According to UNRWA, the UN's Paleostinian refugee agency, about 450,000 Paleostinian refugees live in Leb.

Other reports have put the figure lower, prompting Lebanese groups to say that the census had been conducted under US pressure designed to underreport the real numbers because that way Leb could absorb a modest-sized population.

The Lebanese constitution, however, provides that the country's territory is indivisible and that refugees living there are not to receive citizenship.

The official reason for this is that the absorption of Paleostinian refugees would impair their claim to a right of return.

However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all...
the US has sugarcoated the plan with a lifeline to extract Leb from its economic crisis, where the country's debt is estimated at more than $85 billion (about 155 percent of GDP), Haaretz said.
Posted by: Fred || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: PLO

#1  the miserable Persian Gulf countries

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH !
Posted by: Dron66046 || 06/03/2019 2:50 Comments || Top||

#2  This is the only deal that could possibly work, short of a "Trail of Tears" solution and moving them to central Sudan or something.
Posted by: Vernal Hatrick || 06/03/2019 10:14 Comments || Top||

#3  and moving them to central Sudan or something

Those folks have enough problems already.

The Gobi Desert is nice this time of year, plus they'd feel right at home, stagnant Bedouins that they are.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 06/03/2019 17:03 Comments || Top||

#4  as an added benefit,the Chinese would keep a sharp eye on them in the Gobi
Posted by: 746 || 06/03/2019 20:19 Comments || Top||


Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka police chief blames president for failing to prevent Easter Sunday terror attacks
[DAWN] Sri Lanka's suspended police chief has petitioned the Supreme Court, accusing President Maithripala Sirisena of failing to prevent the Easter bombings that killed 258 people.

In a 20-page complaint, Inspector General Pujith Jayasundara disclosed serious communication gaps between intelligence agencies and security arms of the government, all which fall under Sirisena.

In the petition submitted to court last week and seen by AFPon Sunday, Jayasundara said the country's premier spy agency, the State Intelligence Service (SIS), ordered him last year to stop ongoing police investigations into suspected Islamist krazed killers.

The SIS, which reports directly to Sirisena, wanted the police Terrorist Investigation Department to stop all inquiries into krazed killer factions, including the National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ), which was blamed for the Easter Sunday bombings.

Jayasundara said the head of the SIS, Nilantha Jayawardena, did not take seriously the intelligence shared by neighbouring India which warned of an impending attack by the NTJ.

Jayasundara said despite the SIS not sharing information warnings with the police department, he had initiated action to alert his senior men, but he had no input from the main spy agency.

Sirisena suspended Jayasundara after he refused to accept responsibility for the deadly attacks. The Attorney General has asked for a full bench of the apex court to decide the case.

Jayasundara said he was offered a diplomatic post if he took the fall and stepped down, but he refused as he said he was not responsible for the catastrophic intelligence failure.

He said he had been sidelined by the president since a political rift between the President and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe emerged in October.

Posted by: Fred || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Of course, it's the govt's fault.

Yeah, India gave them intel three months in advance, of rapid mobilization and infiltration by IS modules into Srilanka home and civil admin. Even if they didn't want to listen to India, whom everybody considers a bigot and racist but secretly lauds for the check on islamist influence, they could at least have paid heed to their own local intelligence, and majority groups.

SriLanka should be a prime example of what happens when you leave the muslim communities in your country to govern themselves with their own laws and disregard the opinions of your own majority.

A democracy is supposed to be representation elected by the majority. If you do not consider your major electorate important, and appease the minority - you undermine your own mandate.


Posted by: Dron66046 || 06/03/2019 3:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Well said.
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/03/2019 4:19 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Tens of Syrian Refugees Return Home from Lebanon
[AnNahar] Tens of Syrian families returned on Saturday to their hometowns in Syria through several border crossings, the latest group to return to Syria from its western neighbor, the National News Agency reported on Saturday.

The General Security pursued the process of helping tens of displaced Syrian nationals who wish to return to their Syrian towns and villages.

Dozens of Syrian families carrying their luggage arrived at border crossing points between Leb and Syria. Several buses carrying scores of people crossed the border into Syria in the early morning.

Names of the refugees were checked by the General Security in the presence of UNHCR's representatives.

Leb is home to some 1 million Syrian refugees, a large number for a country of 4.5 million people.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Netanyahu: Iran gives Hezbollah $700 million annually
[TWITTER]

Posted by: Fred || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies


US says ready to talk but Iran dismisses the offer as 'word-play'
[Al Jazeera] Washington is willing to speak with Iran "with no preconditions", US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday, but Iran dismissed the offer as "word-play".
"Jedi Mind Tricks!"
"We are prepared to engage in a conversation with no preconditions. We are ready to sit down with them," Pompeo told a joint news conference in Switzerland
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.

"The American effort to fundamentally reverse the malign activity of this Islamic Theocratic Republic, this revolutionary force, is going to continue," Pompeo added.

Iran's foreign ministry front man Abbas Mousavi responded by saying: "The Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran does not pay attention to word-play and expression of hidden agenda in new forms."

Meanwhile,
...back at the abandoned silver mine, the water was up to Jack's neck and still rising. And then he smelled the smoke...
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani presented the offer of talks with no pre-conditions as a sign of Iran's strength.

Posted by: Fred || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


US official said to show Lebanon gov’t photos, maps, of Hezbollah weapons sites
[IsraelTimes] Official said to present details during talks on maritime border with Israel; report in Arab paper says this led to recent uptick in threats by terror group leader Nasrallah.

A senior US diplomat has shown Lebanese government officials photographs and maps of sites used by the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group to store precision missiles, according to a report Sunday.
Leb: "you missed a couple"
The London-based al-Hayat newspaper, owned by a Saudi prince, said that David Satterfield, US acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, told the Beirut officials that the US government could neither overlook the findings nor hold Israel back from acting to deal with them, and that it was up to the Lebanese government to resolve the situation.

The report also said that the passing on of that information explained the uptick in threats by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in comments he made late Friday night.

Appearing on a large screen to a crowd of supporters in the southern Beirut Dahiye district, Nasrallah acknowledged that his group had precision weapons but said it did not yet produce them.

"So far in Leb there are no factories for precision missiles," he said.

But he warned that if the US continued to focus on the organization’s precision missiles, he would establish factories to produce them.

Many shipments of advanced missiles are said to have been bombed by Israel on the way from Iran to Leb, mostly through Syria.

In April, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly conveyed to Leb a message from Israel warning Beirut of action by Iran and Hezbollah to covertly construct a new missile production facility in the country.

Pompeo visited Beirut after Israel, using the trip to highlight his concerns about Hezbollah, which is targeted by US sanctions as a terror group, but holds three cabinet posts in Leb.

In a September 2018 speech at the United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
General Assembly, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu displayed a map pinpointing the location of the Hezbollah missile sites near Beirut’s airport, and accused the terror group of "deliberately using the innocent people of Beirut as human shields."

Netanyahu later said that Hezbollah closed the facilities he had revealed to the United Nations.

Satterfield is in the region to mediate between Leb and Israel on the issue of demarcating the countries’ land and maritime borders.

The aim is to hold formal negotiations under United Nations auspices and US supervision.

The outcome of the talks will have important implications for the two countries’ offshore oil and gas exploration.

In late May, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said the two countries were close to establishing a framework for negotiations. Israel said it, too, is willing to engage in the talks. Israel and Leb each claim some 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of sea as within their own exclusive economic zones.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Terror Networks
ISIS claims it could buy its first nuclear weapon from #Pakistan within a year.
[Twitter]


Posted by: 3dc || 06/03/2019 05:42 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  they would have to overthrow the current Pakistan govt to do that

wait a minute, uh.. oh...
Posted by: lord garth || 06/03/2019 7:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Could have bought from russians and satellites a few years ago - what's new?
Posted by: Mercutio || 06/03/2019 7:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Loose lips sink rowboats.
Posted by: Dale || 06/03/2019 10:47 Comments || Top||

#4  I've heard about the Pak nuclear program. It blows.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 06/03/2019 10:50 Comments || Top||

#5  The response has been thought out long ago. Pakistan could expect a terrible retribution.
Posted by: Chereting Pelosi1889 || 06/03/2019 17:47 Comments || Top||


US-led coalition kills 1300 civilians “unintentionally” in Iraq and Syria
(IraqiNews) The US-led international coalition announced killing over 1300 civilians unintentionally by air strikes in Iraq and Syria, since starting its operations against 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....
in 2014.

The coalition said in a statement that it carried out 34502 air strikes between August 2014 and end of April 2019.

During this period and based on the available information, it is likely that at least 1,302 civilians were unintentionally killed as a result of coalition air strikes, the statement added.
So that’s a rate of 3.8% of total strikes...
It further explained that there are still 111 reports of civilian deaths being considered.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shattered spaceship, Fffflirgoll the Arcturan slithered stealthily toward the control room, where the humans had barricaded themselves...
the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that more than 3,800 civilians, including about 1,000 children, have been killed in raids by the international coalition in Syria only. However,
by candlelight every wench is handsome...
the international coalition affirmed taking the necessary measures to reduce the risk to the lives of civilians.

The US-led international coalition, which include more than 70 countries, started its mission against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria in the summer of 2014.
...or 0.5% per country since we got involved. One doesn’t really calculate it that way, but it does put the whole thing into perspective.
In Iraq, the coalition provided air coverage to government forces, while backed the Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria.

It is noteworthy that the International coalition, in a statement on Friday evening, referred to seven reports about the killing of civilians in raids on Baguoz between 11 and 24 March. The statement described the reports as "unreliable".
Unreliable? Yes, that would be a bit of an issue when affixing blame, or even determining how much blame there is to affix.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  It's called war sweetheart. It's not a 'police action'. People die.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 06/03/2019 7:52 Comments || Top||

#2  In an air campaign lasting 56 months, the coalition has killed a maximum of 1,413 civilians (assuming all 111 are counted). That comes to 25 people a month, or less than 1 a day. Spread out over two countries.

The Germans during WWII would have been overjoyed at that kind of bombing.

Al
Posted by: Frozen Al || 06/03/2019 11:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Heck, TW. I thought 'Herb' posted this.

Dron takes Snark O'The Day
Posted by: Dron66046 || 06/03/2019 12:13 Comments || Top||

#4  Articles serve two purposes here, Dron66046: as information, from a local viewpoint if possible, and as the substrate for umm... commentary. This article generously provides both.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/03/2019 14:17 Comments || Top||

#5  So when a big turban gets thumped, its Iraqi Defense Forces; but civilian casualties is US Led.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 06/03/2019 15:28 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Nearly 900 migrants found at Texas facility with 125-person capacity: DHS watchdog
[Yahoo] In a report out Friday, the Homeland Security inspector general has found “dangerous overcrowding” and unsanitary conditions at a Customs and Border Protection facility in El Paso, Texas, where hundreds more migrants were being housed than the center was designed to hold.

“Border Patrol agents told us some of the detainees had been held in standing-room-only conditions for days or weeks,” the office of inspector general wrote.
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/03/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  America is full you idiots. NO ONE on the planet can take in a Million Migrants a Quarter. Talk to the GODDAMNED Cursed worthless democrats about all of this. Those fucking pieces of shit are masters and commanders of all this bullshit.

Talk to the democrats you democrat asshole.
Posted by: newc || 06/03/2019 2:04 Comments || Top||

#2  Fix your own shit your created over your precious narrative, you hobbits.
Posted by: newc || 06/03/2019 2:05 Comments || Top||

#3  Meanwhile, congress does nothing to address the problem.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/03/2019 2:06 Comments || Top||

#4  Should change the inspector general. Simple.

Posted by: Dron66046 || 06/03/2019 3:24 Comments || Top||

#5  Change him to someone who doesn't give a rat's ass.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 06/03/2019 3:25 Comments || Top||

#6  Illegal immigrants
Undocumented workers
Migrants

Shit who can keep up with the Orwellian PC bullshit. Soon they will be called the long lost Americans or something.
Posted by: Woodrow || 06/03/2019 7:01 Comments || Top||

#7  Don't like being over crowded, stop coming. We're under no obligation to provide nice housing for invaders.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 06/03/2019 7:09 Comments || Top||

#8  POW camps should be erected and guarded to take in the invaders. I'm sure there are some old mothballed bases and camps that have not transitioned to productive civilian uses, that can be employed.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 06/03/2019 7:55 Comments || Top||

#9  Democrats want to impeach the only one in our government who is doing anything about this crisis. Well, we know that Democrats love crises.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 06/03/2019 11:53 Comments || Top||

#10  POW camps should be erected and guarded to take in the invaders.

FEMA camps conspiracy theory
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/03/2019 14:34 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
26[untagged]
8Islamic State
4Govt of Pakistan
3Commies
3Arab Spring
2Taliban
2Govt of Iran
2Govt of Syria
2Houthis
2Moslem Colonists
1Hezbollah
1PLO
1al-Nusra
1Govt of Pakistain Proxies
1Antifa
1Govt of Iran Proxies

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2019-06-03
  Houthi rebels launch a drone attack on a military parade for Saudi-led coalition forces in the port city of Aden
Sun 2019-06-02
  Al-Quds rally rejects ‘deal of the century’
Sat 2019-06-01
  Islamic Jihad chief says Gaza groups can fire 1,000 rockets a day at Israel
Fri 2019-05-31
  COAS endorses death sentence for retired brigadier, a civilian for 'espionage, leaking information'
Thu 2019-05-30
  IDF Destroying Hezbollah's Last, Largest Cross-Border Attack Tunnel
Wed 2019-05-29
  22 Released from 'Islamic State Kidnapping' in DR Congo
Tue 2019-05-28
  IS claims responsibility for a Bangladesh explosion
Mon 2019-05-27
  Gunmen raid Burkina Faso church, kill four
Sun 2019-05-26
  Sri Lanka Troops Launch Major Hunt for Islamists Linked to Suicide Attacks
Sat 2019-05-25
  3 killed, 19 wounded in blast inside Quetta mosque ahead of Friday prayers
Fri 2019-05-24
  Emir of Al-Qaeda allied Ansar Ghazwatul Hind, Zakir Musa, has been officially killed
Thu 2019-05-23
  Algeria Army Chief Says Has ‘No Political’ Ambition
Wed 2019-05-22
   'American Taliban' released
Tue 2019-05-21
  8-10 Somali Teens Armed With Hammers Attack Bystanders at East Bank Rail Station in MN
Mon 2019-05-20
  Houthi's launch IRBM at Mecca!

Better than the average link...



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.
18.232.62.134
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (20)    Non-WoT (13)    Opinion (2)    (0)    Politix (1)