[KhaamaPress] Afghanistan's Caped President, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money... warned about the negative consequences of the remaining Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... prisoners who are said to be involved in drug trafficking, kidnapping and mass murders.
"If the remaining prisoners of Taliban get released, a wave of narcotics may enter Britannia", Ghani warned speaking in an exclusive interview with the UK Times.
Ghani said that incase of an increase of narcotics trade in the United Kingdom and Europe, the responsibility would go to the United States and other members of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... "If amphetamines reach the shores of the United States, we must know that it is a consequence of the release of these prisoners, and if these people commit crimes, they will have a joint international responsibility," Ghani said.
This comes as President Ghani signed a decree ordering the release of 400 remaining Taliban detainees following the approval of the Ground Council (Loya Jirga).
The process of releasing these prisoners halted after some countries including Australia and La Belle France objected saying the murderers of their soldiers and citizens must not get released.
On the other hand, the Afghan government announced that the remaining Taliban prisoners will not get released until they do not free those Afghan commandos who are in Taliban custody.
[ToloNews] The Afghan Air Force Special Operations Command and the ground forces of the Afghan National Army (ANA) on Thursday conducted a military exercise in Kabul to demonstrate their capabilities as the nation celebrates its 101st anniversary of independence.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Alamo, Davy was wondering if Buck was okay. He suspected he wasn't... the Afghan acting Minister of Defense Assadullah Khalid said that the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) have the capability to suppress enemies of the country by conducting complex and sophisticated operations even in the most remote regions of the country.
In the exercise, the ANDSF forces displayed their capabilities using modern light and heavy weapons during the exercise.
President Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money... in a video message to the ANDSF commended the services of the nation and said that the ANDSF have offered major sacrifices in the fight against terrorism.
President Ashraf Ghani said: "You fight at the front line against terrorism and it is because of your sacrifices that the invaders have been severely defeated each time."
"It was a demonstration of strength of the Afghan cops," said Assadullah Khalid, the acting Minister of Defense.
"We want the people of Afghanistan to know that they got this achievement and we will protect this achievement at any cost," said Hamdullah Mohib, the National Security Adviser.
"This is something that originated in reality and is demonstrated here," said Massoud Andarabi, the acting Minister of Interior.
According to the official statistics, there are 350,000 soldiers serving in the ranks of the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF).
The Afghan Air Force (AAF) has 206 military aircraft, including dozens of Blackhawk helicopters.
The US has pledged to deliver 159 Blackhawk helicopters to the Afghan forces until the end of the year.
The military exercise comes amid diplomatic efforts for a political settlement of the conflict in the country.
On Thursday, President Ashraf Ghani in a message to the ANDSF said that "all barriers and excuses have been removed" ahead of the intra-Afghan talks.
He also urged the Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... to reduce violence and to be a part of the grinding of the peace processor, saying: "Peace with dignity and long-lasting peace will come."
However, if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... the Afghan government has also stated that it will not continue releasing the rest of the high-value Taliban prisoners--thus opening the way for intra-Afghan talks--until the Taliban release Afghan pilots and commandos.
[AlAhram] 'By making this intervention, we have put Mali first,' Goita said in a broadcast that showed him meeting with the top officials of government ministries and urging them to resume work Thursday.
A colonel in Mali's army says he's now in charge of the West African country, declaring himself chairman of the junta that forced the democratically elected but unpopular president to resign.
Col. Assimi Goita, one of the five military officers who announced this week's coup on the state broadcaster ORTM, declared himself chairman of the junta now in power.
``By making this intervention (the coup), we have put Mali first,'' Goita said in a broadcast that showed him meeting with the brass hats of government ministries and urging them to resume work Thursday.
``Mali is in a sociopolitical and security crisis,'' he said. ``There is no more room for mistakes.''
Across Africa and around the world, leaders have strongly condemned this week's coup, calling for an immediate return to civilian rule and the release of ex-President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and his prime minister, Boubou Cisse.
The two leaders were detained by mutinous soldiers on Tuesday after they surrounded the president's private residence in Bamako and fired shots into the air. Under duress, Keita later announced his resignation on state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
, saying he did not want any blood to be shed to keep him in power.
Observers fear the political upheaval will allow Islamic snuffies in Mali to expand their reach. A power vacuum after a previous coup in 2012 allowed al-Qaeda-linked Lions of Islam to take over major towns in northern Mali where they implemented their strict interpretation of Islamic law. Former colonizer La Belle France, which maintains strong economic and political ties to Mali, later led a military intervention to oust them from power in 2013.
But those jihadists have since regrouped and launched relentless attacks on the Malian military, as well as U.N. peacekeepers and regional forces trying to stabilize the volatile country. The snuffies have moved southward, inflaming tensions between ethnic groups in central Mali.
Goita, the new strongman, had been head of a special military unit based in central Mali. He also had taken part in the annual Flintlock training organized by the U.S. military to help Mali and other Sahel countries better fight holy warriors.
Keita won the 2013 election in a landslide, emerging from a field of more than two dozen candidates to get more than 77% of the vote. He won reelection five years later, but his political fortunes have tumbled in the past year.
While Mali's Islamic insurgency started before Keita took office, many felt his government did not do enough to end the violence. The snuffies only expanded their reach, infiltrating the central part of the country where they inflamed tensions between ethnic groups. Attacks have dramatically increased over the past year.
Opposition to Keita's government rose further after legislative elections earlier this year that dozens of candidates disputed. In a conciliatory gesture, Keita said he was open to holding the vote again in contested areas. But by June, demonstrators were taking to the streets en masse calling for his ouster.
Analysts said there were few signs that opposition leaders were aware of the coup plot, though they now stand to benefit through an opportunity to serve in any transitional government that emerges.
[EN.ALGHADEER.TV] The junta that overthrew Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on Tuesday and promised to lead the country to elections has provided little information about its membership.
Most members of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP) appear to be colonels, including Assimi Goita, who presented himself to reporters late on Wednesday as its leader.
Following are details about members drawn from the junta’s public comments, other open sources and sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
COLONEL ASSIMI GOITA:
Goita is one of the commanders of Mali’s Autonomous Special Forces Battalion (BAFS), which is active in the fight against jihadists linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, two security sources told Reuters.
Video of Keita being escorted onto the military’s base after being detained on Tuesday shows soldiers wearing BAFS kit.
A former U.S. army officer posted a photo on a blog post last year showing himself with Goita at the Flintlock exercises that the U.S. military runs annually in West Africa to train regional armies.
“While at Flintlock, I was able to catch up with Lt. Col. Assimi Goita, a key partner and friend that I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside since 2016. Together, we fought violent extremism in Mali,” the officer, Andy Duhon, wrote.
In 2016, Goita was hosted by the George C Marshall European Centre for Security Studies, according to a photo posted by the centre on Twitter that year, which shows Goita receiving a certificate.
COLONEL MODIBO KONE:
Kone served as head of the National Guard in central Mali near the border with Burkina Faso, an epicentre of jihadist and inter-ethnic violence, according to a source who follows the military and has met Kone.
A post last year on the Malian army’s Twitter account includes a photo of Kone receiving a visit by the defence minister while in charge of a command centre in central Mali.
The source said Kone was opposed to the implicit sub-contracting of security operations by the army to ethnic Dogon militiamen, who have battled the jihadists but also been repeatedly accused by local residents and rights groups of massacring Fulani herders.
National Guard forces have also been accused of committing atrocities against civilians in the area – charges the government had promised to investigate.
COLONEL ISMAEL WAGUE:
Wague, the junta’s spokesman, read the statement on national television on Wednesday morning that confirmed the military’s takeover.
He has been based in Sevare in central Mali, according to the source who follows the military.
COLONEL MALICK DIAW:
A security source confirmed Diaw’s involvement in the junta but had no further information about him.
COLONEL SADIO CAMARA:
A security source confirmed Camara’s involvement in the junta but had no further information about him.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2020 00:00 ||
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The poor darlings will be less able to donate to their pet jihadis.
[Finance.Yahoo] Kuwait has 2 billion dinars ($6.6 billion) worth of liquidity in its Treasury and not enough cash to cover state salaries beyond October, Finance Minister Barak al-Sheetan warned parliament, as political wrangling again delayed efforts to return to international bond markets.
Other Gulf states facing similar predicaments have come to count more on borrowing, and S&P analysts say the region will borrow a record amount this year. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar have all largely relied on debt to cover their deficits.
The government is withdrawing from its General Reserve Fund at a rate of 1.7 billion dinars a month, meaning liquidity will soon be depleted if oil prices don’t improve and if Kuwait can’t borrow from local and international markets, he said.
As energy-rich Gulf states see their finances hammered by the collapse in oil prices and the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
Continued on Page 49
#1
So operating income is little tight. Dip into the piggy bank.
The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund, managing body, specializing in local and foreign investment. It is the 5th largest sovereign wealth fund in the world with assets exceeding $592 billion.
[Jpost] Grants designed to preserve the Palestinian identity of east Jerusalem with the aim of promoting it as the capital of a future State of Palestine were handed to a number of NGOs in the region.
The European Union spent close to €5.5million in 2019 on grants to NGOs dedicated to promoting Palestinian culture and preserving Palestinian identity in Jerusalem's Old City and surrounding areas, a report into EU spending in the region has revealed.
In late June, the Commission updated its financial transparency system, filing details of the grants handed to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 2019. Analysis of that data by NGO-Monitor has revealed that out of 42 grants issued for projects in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, totaling €37.15 million in grant funds, seven of those, at a total value of €11.8 million were for projects focused on Jerusalem.
Continued on Page 49
[Jpost] Some comments called for the harm of the riders, alluding to "a sniper on the Tour," referring to it "'bird shooting' as they do in Paleostine."
French-Israeli member of the French National Assembly Meyer Habib condemned a recent campaign launched by the BDS organization Paleostine Will Win, which ridiculed and named the French riders of Israel Start-Up Nation (ISN) - the Israeli professional cycling team - claiming that by participating in the 2020 Tour de La Belle France they are in turn supporting "Israeli apartheid through sport."
The campaign, shared reluctantly to Habib's official Facebook account, called on the public to personally comment and shame the French riders - notably Rudy Barbier, Hugo Hofstetter and Alexis Renard - for participating in the 2020 Tour, under Israeli colors.
"These three French riders will compete in the Tour de La Belle France under the colors of the 'Israel Startup Nation' group 'To promote the Israeli apartheid through sports. Do not hesitate to write a comment on each of their private pages in order to ask them not to participate in this scandalous activity," the campaign stated.
Some comments called for the harm of the riders, alluding to "a sniper on the Tour," referring to the act of gunning down Israel Start-Up Nation riders as "'bird shooting' as they do in Paleostine."
Another BDS organization, AFPS-BDSF, wrote on their official Facebook page that "twenty organizations of Paleostine Collective 63,
...in French Collectif Palestine 68 ...
work for justice and peace between Israelis and Paleostinians. They will distribute flyers on and around the track, and will promote a number of actions in order to condemn the Israeli crime laundering enterprise, and the cooperation of the Tour de La Belle France in this matter."
"While the United Arab Emirates have reached a historic peace agreement with Israel, and many Arab countries are aiming for normalization, the BDS launches a campaign of hatred and threats, just days before the start of the 2020 Tour de La Belle France, against the Israel Startup Nation team," Habib said.
"The Tour de La Belle France is a national institution. Since 1903 it has been a celebration of cycling, a French celebration due to its diversity, the pleasure of being together and watching exceptional performances. There is no room for stigma and hatred. Hate ranging from calling for sabotage to physical aggression and even murder on the backdrop of Islamic-leftist antisemitism," he added. "Some examples out of hundreds of responses: 'Sniper on the track,' 'wildlife to be slaughtered,' 'They want to be everywhere like sewer rats,''throwing nails on the road,' and more."
Habib noted that he is currently writing to the Interior Minister, and copying the prime minister, on a request to provide "concrete measures" against BDS to address the issue and ensure the safety of the Israel Start-Up Nation riders - who he sends wishes of good fortune to.
"Should the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics be mentioned? For years I keep warning: BDS feeds an atmosphere of antisemitic hatred. It actually influences and encourages the transition. That same hatred is directed against Israel, against the Jews of La Belle France, the police, the republic, the state and its symbols," Habib concluded.
#1
I'm not sure they're even going to hold the event (it's supposed to start next weekend):
If two cases of COVID-19 are discovered in a team at the Tour de France, the whole team and staff will be removed but the race will continue.
As the days countdown to the Grand Départ in Nice next week, Tour de France organiser ASO has confirmed that strict decision and explained its COVID-19 medical protocol to the 22 teams, with French law and COVID-19 rules the basis for the latest race protocol.
France revealed there had been 4,771 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, the highest increase since the end of the French lockdown in May. Hospital and intensive care admissions remain stable due to a lower average age of the cases as well as the lesser impact of the virus on young people.
[Twitchy] @CAIRNational
Our sister @lsarsour is an outspoken advocate of justice for all, including the Jewish community. Smearing her and other American Muslims as anti-Semitic for supporting Palestinian human rights is predictable, despicable and unacceptable. Our political leaders must stop doing it.
interesting Twitter feed below this
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/21/2020 09:32 ||
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#1
"When your enemy is in the process of destroying himself, stay out of his way." Sun Tzu
[ALMASDARNEWS] A picture published by the Greek newspaper Kathimerini on Wednesday revealed the damage sustained to the right side of the stern of the Ottoman Turkish "Kamel Rais" ship after it collided with a Greek frigate on August 12th.
"The collision occurred when the ship, the Kamel Rais, sought to obstruct the Greek frigate, Lemnos, which was monitoring the movements of the Ottoman Turkish survey ship over the Greek continental shelf in the eastern Mediterranean," the newspaper said.
Greek defense sources told the newspaper that the attempt to obstruct the Greek ship forced them to turn around in order to avoid a head-on collision and in the meantime, the stern of the Ottoman Turkish frigate at the bow of the ship was destroyed.
The same sources added that Lemnos suffered some damage near the pumping room of the Ottoman Turkish ship.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wrecked scow, a single surviver held tightly to the smashed prow... Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos on Tuesday congratulated the captain of the Greek frigate during a short conversation over radio waves, and the Greek ship’s captain, Ioannis Salyaris, assured the Minister of Defense that he had done his duty during the incident.
The minister also spoke by phone with his German counterpart, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, explaining that Greece is ready to enter into dialogue with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... within the framework of international law in the event that Turkey immediately withdraws its warships and seismic research ships from the Greek continental shelf.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2020 00:00 ||
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[KhaamaPress] Three bully boy groups in Pakistain got reunited to jointly fight against the Pakistain government, Washington Post reported.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar
...”Assembly of the Free”, they were very active purveyors of suicide and car bombs inside Pakistan after the 2014 split, sometimes teamed with ISIS-K. They slowed down in 2018...
and Hezb-ul-Ahrar
...split from JuA in 2018 over JuA’s ungentlemanly behaviour and choice of targets. Shortly after the split they released their very own soundtrack...
were the two splinter groups that split years ago from Tahreek Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... Pakistain(TTP) announced rejoining TTP on Monday.
The news was confirmed by the TTP spokesperson on Monday saying the leaders of the two factions have officially announced their allegiance to Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, the TTP Chief.
TTP front man Mohammad Khurasani said that Maulvi Omar Khalid Khurasani ...intel chief of the Jamaatul Ahrar TTP splinter group, or whatever it's calling itself these days... , Jamaat-ul-Ahrar leader and Mukkarram Khurasani aka Omar Khurasani, the chief of Hezb-ul-Ahrar pleaded allegiance to the TTP chief Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud aka Abu Asim Mansoor.
Khurasani did not disclose when and where the meeting had taken place, but Taliban sources told The News that they had gathered somewhere between the Pakistain and Afghanistan border.
The bully boy groups combined when the Pak Army announced operations against the murderous Moslems were a huge success.
Pak officials said in a formal statement that operations included clearance of 46000 square kilometers of terrorist areas resulting in 18000 dead murderous Moslems and seizure of 40 tons of explosives, VOA reported.
Golly. That sounds like an awful lot — what are the real numbers?
TTP and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar are both included in the American blacklist, it is noted in UN analytical that Pak murderous Moslems pose threat to both Afghanistan and Pakistain with an estimated 6000 to 6500 forces that some of them have affiliated with the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... Khurasan.
However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... Pakistain has accused Afghanistan many times before for covertly supporting the insurgency in Pakistain which Afghan officials deny these accusations instead accuses Islamabad of sheltering and supporting terrorism waging deadly insurgencies in Afghanistan.
The new alliance is said to have been a fresh set of threats to Pakistain that can lead to more attacks over the governmental troops and suicide kabooms.
[Rudaw] The United States on Thursday formally began the process of reactivating United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... sanctions against Iran, a move that was immediately condemned by European signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo submitted a letter to Indonesia’s UN ambassador, who holds the presidency of the Security Council, and to UN Secretary-General António Guterres ...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years... , notifying them "that the United States is initiating the restoration of virtually all UN sanctions on Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... lifted under UN Security Council Resolution 2231. This process will lead to those sanctions coming back into effect 30 days from today," he said in New York.
"Our message is very, very simple. The United States will never allow the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism to freely buy and sell planes, tanks, missiles, and other kinds of conventional weapons. These UN sanctions will continue the arms embargo," said Pompeo.
Washington is attempting to invoke a "snapback" mechanism described in the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that restores United Nations sanctions against Iran that were lifted under the agreement. The US withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018.
The foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, La Belle France, and Germany issued a joint statement responding to Pompeo’s letter. They noted the US has withdrawn from the nuclear deal. "We cannot therefore support this action which is incompatible with our current efforts to support the JCPOA," they stated.
"We remain committed to the JCPOA despite the significant challenges caused by US withdrawal," the ministers stating, urging dialogue to address concerns.
Russia has requested a Security Council meeting on Iran on Friday, Rooters reported.
Iran describes the Trump administration’s attempt to initiate the "snapback" sanctions as an "extreme case of bad faith."
"The Iranian people expect the UN Security Council to bring the United States to account for the irreparable harm inflicted on the entire Iranian nation merely for reasons of personal aggrandizement or domestic political expediency," read a statement published by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif ...Persian foreign minister, Mouthpiece of Mullahs, good friend of John Kerry and similar exemplars of Merkin values... .
[Rudaw] The family of a Kurdish policeman held hostage by the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) group says his captors will release him in exchange for the wife of one of their leaders in the custody of Erbil authorities.
Jalal Baban, 40, worked as a policeman for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Diyala province until he was captured ten months ago near the multiethnic town of Qara Tapa.
Baban and his cousin Hassan Bali were kidnapped while cultivating their farmland in the vicinity of their village, Naren, in the district of Khanaqin. The cousin was freed by the terrorist group after the family paid a large ransom.
"Three days into our abduction, they told me 'since you are not working for the government, you will be released and can go back to your parents, but not your friend, because he works for the government,’" Bali, recounted, saying he was released for the hefty sum of $57,500.
After ten months of captivity, his family says the murderous Moslem group is forcing Baban to send them voice messages via the popular Telegram messaging application, saying his only chance of survival is the prisoner exchange.
In his third and latest voice message, which his family has forwarded to Rudaw, the abductee calls on his family to persuade authorities to release the woman in KRG custody.
"I am Jalal Baban Ibrahim. To all of my family members from the Geci tribe; the Islamic State is informing you and giving you a 10-day-ultimatum to end this issue [prisoner exchange], if not they will kill me and you will be guilty for my death," Baban says in the voice note, in what appears to be a prepared script.
"I have been in the hands of the Islamic State for 10 months now. Yet, my issue has not been solved. I am calling on my whole family to intervene and help save my life," he goes on to say in Arabic.
Baban’s mother says the woman is incarcerated in the capital of the Kurdistan Region. Rudaw has reached out to local authorities, who confirmed the woman in question was in their custody, but would not comment further.
Kurdish authorities have consistently said they do not negotiate with forces of Evil and that no prisoner exchange has taken place between the Region and ISIS or any other similar murderous Moslem group.
Despite this, the family urges the KRG to accept ISIS’ terms, which they hope will save the life of their son.
"All they want is a woman held by the Asayesh,"" Baban's cousin Izzadin Karim told Rudaw Wednesday, referring to the Kurdish security forces. "If the prisoner exchange is not done, I do not know what will happen to him.
"I want Jalal back," Baban’s distraught mother added.
The woman ISIS is fighting to free is allegedly the wife of an ISIS leader, the family says the group has told them. According to her documentation seen by Rudaw, she is a 23-year-old Yezidi woman from Shingal (Sinjar in Arabic), where ISIS committed genocide against the ethno-religious minority, and took many woman and girls into captivity.
[AnNahar] The United States announced fresh sanctions on Thursday against several senior political, military and financial figures in the Syrian regime as part of the Caesar Act, which punishes any company that works with Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... The sanctions target first and foremost Yasser Ibrahim, described as the Syrian leader's "henchman" in a statement issued by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Pompeo said Ibrahim was being targeted "for his efforts to prevent or obstruct a political solution to the Syrian conflict" that began in 2011.
"Using his networks across the Middle East and beyond, Ibrahim has cut corrupt deals that enrich Assad, while Syrians are dying from a lack of food and medicine," the U.S. chief diplomat said.
The sanctions freeze any assets the targeted individuals may have in the United States, block them from accessing the U.S. financial system, and bar them from entering U.S. territory. Assad has been under U.S. sanctions since he began to crush an uprising in 2011.
The sanctions also target Luna al-Shibl, the Syrian leader's media advisor, and Mohamad Amar Saati, a bigwig of the ruling Baath Party who allegedly "led an organization that facilitated the entry of university students into Assad-backed militias."
Several heads of military units were also added to the long list of Syrians under U.S. sanctions "for their efforts to prevent a ceasefire in Syria."
"These bigwigs lead the same Syrian military that has killed children with barrel bombs and used chemicals weapons against communities like Ghouta" seven years ago, said Pompeo, noting that the attack killed "more than 1,400 Syrians."
"Today’s sanctions reinforce our commitment to hold Assad’s generals and militia commanders accountable for their violations and abuses," he said.
It marked the third wave of sanctions since the Caesar Act came into force in mid-June in an attempt to prevent Assad's normalization without accountability for human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... abuses.
The act is named after a Syrian former military photographer who fled the country at great personal risk with 55,000 images of brutality in Assad's jails.
His incognito testimony before the U.S. Congress in 2014 was the basis for the legislation that now bears his name and which took five years to pass.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
[Jpost] Grants designed to preserve the Palestinian identity of east Jerusalem with the aim of promoting it as the capital of a future State of Palestine were handed to a number of NGOs in the region.
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
...Persian foreign minister, Mouthpiece of Mullahs, good friend of John Kerry and similar exemplars of Merkin values...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
