[THEGUARDIAN] Russian authorities have detained a man who built a fake frontier post in the woods near the country’s border with Finland and promised migrant workers he could smuggle them into the Europe ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... an Union.
The man erected mock border posts and charged four men from south Asia more than $10,000 to take them to EU member Finland, the Russian border guard service said on Wednesday.
"The man never planned to carry out his promises," Interfax news agency said.
Authorities did not specify the nationalities of the would-be migrants colonists involved in the incident, which took place on Thursday last week.
He installed sham fence posts purportedly marking the state border between Russia and Finland and took the group on a circuitous route in the Vyborg region by car and on foot, at one point marching around a lake with an inflatable boat, "just in case". All five were later detained.
Video footage showed men standing in the darkness among fir trees, their hands up in the air.
On Wednesday, a court in Saint Petersburg fined the migrants colonists and ordered their deportation.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2019 00:00 ||
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He installed sham fence posts purportedly marking the state border between Russia and Finland and took the group on a circuitous route in the Vyborg region by car and on foot, at one point marching around a lake with an inflatable boat, "just in case".
By arrest, I hope they mean detained in a girlie bar overnight and fed vodka.
[MAIL] Washington has resumed talks with the Taliban in Qatar today, a US source said.
It comes three months after President Donald Trump abruptly halted diplomatic efforts that could end America's longest war.
'The US rejoined talks today in Doha. The focus of discussion will be reduction of violence that leads to intra-Afghan negotiations and a ceasefire,' said the source briefed on efforts to end almost two decades of war in Afghanistan.
#2
"The focus of discussion will be reduction of violence that leads to intra-Afghan negotiations and a ceasefire,' said the source briefed on efforts to end almost two decades of war in Afghanistan."
And what, exactly, have we accomplished in those two decades? And what have we accomplished in Iraq?
I'd like to hope that if nothing else, we'll end up learning a simple lesson: no more of this "nation building" crap, because Islam cannot be de-toxified by injecting it with Western-style democracy.
Delenda est Islam.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
12/07/2019 12:54 Comments ||
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Fewer visas, actually, unless the things are physically smaller.
[ToloNews] Pakistain's embassy claims it has issued 450,000 visas in last nine months.
Some Afghan visa applicants in Kabul on Friday claimed that Pakistain’s embassy in the city has reduced the issuing of visas to Afghan nationals, stating that the embassy is providing visas only to those having illness and those paying money in exchange for a visa.
They said that the Pak embassy has made the decision following recent tension between the two countries.
"It's three days now that I am coming to the embassy, my father is very ill, he is a cancer patient. We want to take him to Lahore for treatment," said Mohammad Ali, an applicant.
"We call on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the president, the chief executive officer to put aside your differences," said another applicant Hazrat Gul, asking the government leaders to focus on the issues facing the people rather than engaging in internal rifts.
"I have an eye problem, so I want to go to Pakistain for treatment," said Babrak, an applicant.
But Pakistain’s ambassador to Kabul, Zahid Nasrullah Khan, has said that over the past nine months, the embassy has issued 450,000 visas to Afghan citizens.
He also rejected rumors of corruption.
The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs meanwhile said that efforts are underway to address the problems facing Afghan nationals seeking the Pak visas.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on different occasions raised the issue in various meetings so that it got the attention of the Pak government towards this matter, to settle this issue," said Geran Hewad, front man for the Minisry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan.
Last month, Pakistain’s embassy in Kabul stated that its consular section will be closed from November 4 until further notice, due to security reasons.
On November 4, The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement protested the summoning of the Afghan chargé d’affaires by Pakistain’s Foreign Ministry over reports of "harassment" made by Pak diplomats in Kabul.
Pakistain’s Foreign Ministry last month summoned the Afghan chargé d’affaires in order to convey serious concerns over the safety and security of the diplomatic personnel of the Pak embassy in Kabul and its sub-missions.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/07/2019 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] In an unprecedented incident, a six-member Appellate Division bench expressed embarrassment and left the courtroom yesterday, after a three-hour-long chaos caused by pro-BNP lawyers over the rescheduling of bail hearing in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case.
The lawyers became agitated and started protesting in the courtroom after the Supreme Court bench fixed December 12 to hear the petition seeking bail for incarcerated BNP Chairperson the loathesome Khaleda Zia ...Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, Pak foil, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... Yesterday's proceedings had started at 9am, and the bench, headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, around 10am heard Khaleda’s bail plea.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Allegations about Russian military presence in Libya are nothing else but rumors, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday commenting on remarks by US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker.
Schenker had claimed earlier that Russian mercenaries were fighting for the Libyan National Army (LNA).
"As for the rumors spread by our American counterparts, [they] for some reason appear somehow around the world, elsewhere. If we speak about the Mediterranean, let us take Syria. How many are there service members from NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... countries’ armies who have not been invited there?," Lavrov said at the Mediterranean Dialogues international conference.
"However, there's more than one way to skin a cat... as soon as something happens somewhere, some sort of Bellingcat or any other non-governmental organization would provide materials that Russia is doing something wrong somewhere."
"I have read that a Russian spy nest was tracked up in La Belle France’s Savoie. Further in the text, they wrote that no spy activity was detected but it is all the same a spy nest," the minister added commenting on the Le Monde publication claiming that a group of 15 members of Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, had stayed in the French department of Haute-Savoie.
So now @facebook@fbnewsroom is making money on sponsored ads in #Iraq calling for “death to USA” ran by professional militia bloggers , is this approved policy by #Facebook? The sponsored smearing and death threats and political propaganda against protesters, journalist in #Iraqpic.twitter.com/buXL0pqDTa
[IsraelTimes] The three officials are part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a Shiite militia movement close to Tehran.
The United States on Friday announced sanctions on three Iranian-linked Iraqi militia leaders for allegedly assisting the crackdown on demonstrations that have swept the country.
"The Iraqi people want their country back. They are calling for genuine reform and accountability and for trustworthy leaders who will put Iraq’s national interests first," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
The United States imposed sanctions on three Iraqis ‐ Qais al-Khazali, Laith al-Khazali, and Hussein Falil Aziz al-Lami ‐ who are part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, or Hashed al-Shaabi, a Shiite militia movement close to Iran.
Some 430 people have died across Iraq as authorities cracked down on protests, which eventually led to the resignation of prime minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, a close ally of Iran.
The three militia leaders were designated under a US law that will ban them from travel to the United States and seize any assets they have in the country.
The United States also placed sanctions on an Iraqi politician, Khamis Farhan al-Khanjar al-Issawi, on bribery charges.
David Schenker, the top US diplomat for the Middle East, warned that more sanctions could come, including against government officials.
[Rudaw] Sari Kani and Gire Spi, Syrian towns recently occupied by The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... , were assigned new mayors by the Ottoman Turkish government.
Abdullah Erin, the governor of Turkey’s Sanliurfa province, which borders Syria, said that Turkey has appointed mayors for both Gire Spi and Sari Kani "in order to create a coordination" in the areas.
Ottoman Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies launched the ironically titled Operation Peace Spring against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on October 9 and took control of both Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) and Gire Spi (Tal Abyad) after weeks of fierce fighting.
Governor Erin visited both towns on Thursday, meeting with Ottoman Turkish military and intelligence officials as well as the commanders of pro-Turkey Syrian militia groups.
"We evaluated the services provided and planned in Tel Abyad in coordination with the local council and other authorities after the Operation Peace Spring," read a tweet from the governor.
The governor also said that Turkey has started providing various municipal services including water, energy, health centers, education and infrastructure, according to a statement from his office.
Ibrahim Madenli, the head of Governor Erin’s media office, told Rudaw that the newly appointed mayors have already begun working. He did not provide a specific start date, but a source in the area told Rudaw that the mayors have been in office for a week.
The Ottoman Turkish government took similar steps in other areas of Syria it has occupied over the past few years, appointing officials and controlling infrastructure and access to services after capturing al-Bab, Jarabulus, and Azaz in 2016 and Afrin in 2018.
The Ottoman Turkish governor said on Tuesday that, "Turkey has opened its arms to Syrian refugees and has met all kinds of their needs. We will continue to stand with our Syrian brothers."
However, it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... Turkey has been accused of marginalizing Kurds in formerly Kurdish-majority towns like Afrin, Sari Kani and Gire Spi. Sources in Syria say that Kurds are prevented from assuming leadership positions, the Kurdish language is being excluded from the education curriculum and Kurdish language signs have been removed from local government institutions.
Kurds no longer represent a majority in areas that have been invaded by Turkey; the majority of the Kurdish population, fearing oppression in the wake of Ottoman Turkish incursions into Syria, has fled to Kurdish-controlled areas such as Tel Rafaat and Hasaka. Those who have remained have faced looting and oppression.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/07/2019 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] A year after military began operation to destroy terror group’s attack tunnels and despite internal Lebanese woes, Hezbollah still ’plans to attack’ Israel, officer says.
A year after uncovering a network of cross-border Hezbollah tunnels, the Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that the Lebanese terror group has beefed up its presence along the volatile frontier.
Military officials said that neither the destruction of the tunnels, nor Hezbollah’s recent domestic problems, have weakened the group’s desire to prepare for renewed conflict with Israel.
"We have a very serious enemy," said Col. Roy Levy, the Northern Border Brigade commander, during a tour of the area. He said the terror group’s main focus is to entrench itself along the border area and "plan to attack us."
Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006 that ended in a UN-brokered ceasefire. While direct fighting has been rare since then, there has been occasional violence, most recently on September 1 when Hezbollah fired a barrage of anti-tank missiles into the country and Israel responded with artillery fire.
Israel also has acknowledged carrying out scores of Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s in neighboring Syria, many of them believed to have been aimed at Iranian weapons shipments bound for its Hezbollah proxy.
Israel considers Hezbollah to be its most immediate threat, saying the group has amassed an arsenal of some 130,000 rockets and missiles capable of striking virtually anywhere in Israel. More recently, it has accused the group of trying to import or develop guided missiles.
Last December, Israel announced that it had uncovered a network of tunnels that it said Hezbollah was building with the aim of infiltrating and carrying out terror attacks. Over several months, it systematically destroyed the structures.
Hezbollah has not commented on the tunnels, though the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL has said the group violated the 2006 ceasefire.
In recent years, Israel says Hezbollah has taken over houses in southern Lebanese border villages to hide soldiers, ammunition, cameras and intelligence-gathering equipment.
Levy pointed across the tree-lined frontier to several small shacks that he said were Hezbollah positions, just a few hundred meters away from Israeli residents. "Civilians, farmers, children drive here every day," he said.
In addition to the loss of its tunnels, Hezbollah has suffered other setbacks in recent months. Its patron Iran, suffering from US sanctions, is currently being rocked by mass demonstrations in which over 200 people have reportedly been killed.
Leb has also experienced nationwide protests over the past two months against widespread corruption and mismanagement. Some of that anger has been directed toward Hezbollah, which is now seen as part of the ruling class that has wrecked the country’s economy.
But Levy said he has seen no changes in the group’s behavior.
"They have a lot of cameras, a lot of forces along the border, camouflaged," he said.
[IsraelTimes] Iran says it is not going to halt or curb activity on its ballistic missile program, in a letter to the UN from envoy Majid Takhte Ravanchi dated from Wednesday.
Ravanchi writes that a November 21 complaint about the missile program to the UN Security Council from France, Britain and Germany is unfounded and based on faulty materials. "We're not doing that and we're not going to stop!"
“Iran is determined to resolutely continue its activities related to ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles,” Ravanchi writes in a copy of the letter tweeted by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif.
In a letter circulated Wednesday, ambassadors from the three European nations urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to inform the council in his next report that Iran’s ballistic missile activity is “inconsistent” with the call in a council resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The ongoing protests in Leb have divided the country’s media along new lines and placed further stress on an already struggling industry ‐ but also offered opportunities for new platforms to emerge.
"One camp supports the revolution, and the other still conveys the narrative of the ruling power," said Matthieu Karam, the head of the web journalism department at the Beirut-based French-language publication L’Orient-le Jour.
This is a new dividing line in the country’s media landscape, which previously reflected the divide that emerged in 2005: between the March 14 Alliance, which opposes Syria’s interference in the country, and the pro-Syrian March 8 Alliance, made up of Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement
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Posted by: Fred ||
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[Jpost] Eighty-eight groups have appealed to the US Department of Education to prevent federal funding from being used for Middle East Studies programs at universities and colleges that support an academic boycott of Israel.
In a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the civil rights, education and religious organizations groups led by the AMCHA Initiative, which combats antisemitism on campuses, cited several cases where faculty members across the US "demonstrated the willingness... to implement the academic boycott of Israel on their campuses. Wanna stop this shit? Refuse student loans for use at those institutions
"Last September, a University of Michigan professor who supports the academic boycott of Israel refused to write a letter of recommendation for a student wanting to study at Tel Aviv University," the letter states. "In November, the entire faculty body at Pitzer College voted to suspend the school’s study abroad program at the University of Haifa, in compliance with the academic boycott of Israel; And in March of this year, New York University’s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis passed a resolution of non-cooperation with the university’s school in Israel."
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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.
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
Yesterday's proceedings had started at 9am, and the bench, headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, around 10am heard Khaleda’s bail plea.
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
...
