[IsraelTimes] Jaime Tran, 29, will admit to two counts of hate crimes with intent to kill and two counts of using, carrying and discharging a firearm during a violent crime
The suspect who was arrested in February 2023 for two shootings of Jewish men as they left synagogues in Los Angeles has agreed to plead guilty to all of the charges he is facing, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Jaime Tran, 29, will plead guilty to two counts of hate crimes with intent to kill and two counts of using, carrying and discharging a firearm during a violent mostly peaceful crime. Under the plea agreement, Tran will receive a prison sentence of 35 to 40 years, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,. Had the case gone to trial, Tran would have faced a potential life sentence.
According to US Attorney Martin Estrada, Tran, who had a previous track record of antisemitic behavior, "sought to murder two men simply because they were Jewish."
The attacks took place on consecutive days in February 2023 in Pico-Robertson, a heavily Jewish neighborhood in LA. Tran drove to the area and shot a man wearing a kippah as he left a synagogue, then returned the following morning and shot a second man, also wearing a kippah and exiting another synagogue blocks away.
Both victims survived with only minor injuries. Tran was arrested the following day and has remained in jug since.
According to the US attorney’s statement, Tran paid someone to buy guns for him in Arizona in January. Prosecutors had previously said Tran researched kosher supermarkets before committing the attacks, and was influenced by an antisemitic flier he saw that blamed Jews for COVID-19. He also also had a history of mental illness.
Federal hate crime charges have been filed against Jaime Tran for shooting two Jewish men on Wednesday and Thursday after they left their synagogue in Los Angeles.
The statement said Tran left dental school in 2018 after making a series of antisemitic remarks and continued to harass former classmates online. Between August and December 2022, it said, Tran told a former classmate, "I want you dead, Jew," "Someone is going to kill you, Jew," and "Burn in an oven chamber."
"The defendant’s hatred led him to plan the murder of two innocent victims simply because he believed they were practicing their Jewish faith," said Krysti Hawkins, the acting assistant director of the FBI’s LA office, according to the release. "I’m relieved that the hard work by Sherlocks and prosecutors led to Tran’s admission to these abhorrent crimes, and hope that members of the Jewish community take some solace in knowing that he will not be in the position to target their fellow members."
LA’s Jewish federation said in a statement that it was "pleased that justice will be served in the horrific antisemitic hate crime committed against two local Jewish community members." The federation also thanked local and federal law enforcement.
The statement added, "At a time when antisemitism has skyrocketed across the country and in Los Angeles, this news sends a strong message that our city will have zero tolerance for violent mostly peaceful acts of antisemitism."
[IsraelTimes] Protesters leave voluntarily as cops move in; school publishes examples of over 1,000 complaints about pro-Palestinian protests, including antisemitic harassment of students
Police began dismantling an anti-Israel encampment early Thursday at DePaul University in reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown ...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel... , hours after the school’s president told students to leave the area or face arrest.
Officers and workers in yellow vests cleared out tents and camping equipment at the student encampment, leaving behind yellow squares of dead or dying grass where the tents had stood. Front-loaders were being used to remove the camping equipment.
Just across the street from where the encampment was spread across a grassy expanse of DePaul’s campus known as "The Quad," a few dozen protesters stood along a sidewalk in front of a service station, clapping their hands in unison as an apparent protest leader paced back and forth before them, speaking into a bullhorn.
In videos from the scene broadcast on local media and social networks, protesters could be heard chanting anti-Israel slogans such as "Intifada, intifada," a reference to periods of deadly Paleostinian terror attacks against Israeli civilians in the late 1980s and early 1990s and again in the early 2000s.
Chicago police said that all of the protesters at the encampment "voluntarily left" the area when police arrived early Thursday.
"There were no confrontations and there was no resistance," Jon Hein, chief of patrol for the Chicago Police Department, said at a news briefing. "As we approached, all the subjects voluntarily left the area."
Hein said, however, that two people, a male and female in their 20s, were arrested outside the encampment "for obstruction of traffic."
The university posted on its website examples of over 1,000 registered complaints about the protest encampment, including pictures of antisemitic stickers and posters, damage to university property and testimony from students.
"My son and I watched a group of five masked men carrying Paleostinian flags push a Jewish man to the ground and then steal his Israeli flag. I was called a baby killer, a murderer, a genocide supporter. My friends had paint thrown on them, were pushed and verbally assaulted," one student testimony from DePaul read.
Police also found knives and a pellet gun while dismantling the tents, according to the university.
After clearing out the encampment at DePaul University, Chicago police found multiple knives and a pellet gun.
The move to clear the campus came less than a week after the school’s president said public safety was at risk.
The university on Saturday said it had reached an "impasse" with the school’s protesters, leaving the future of their encampment on the Chicago campus unclear. Most of DePaul’s commencement ceremonies will be held the June 15-16 weekend.
In a statement then, DePaul President Robert Manuel and Provost Salma Ghanem said they believe that students intended to protest peacefully, but "the responses to the encampment have inadvertently created public safety issues that put our community at risk."
Efforts to resolve the differences with DePaul Divestment Coalition over the past 17 days were unsuccessful, Manuel said in a statement sent to students, faculty and staff Thursday morning.
"Our Office of Public Safety and Chicago Police are now disassembling the encampment," he said. "Every person currently in the encampment will be given the opportunity to leave peacefully and without being arrested."
He said that since the encampment began, "the situation has steadily escalated with physical altercations, credible threats of violence from people not associated with our community."
Tensions at DePaul flared the previous weekend when counter protesters showed up to the campus in the city’s Lincoln Park neighborhood and prompted Chicago police to intervene.
The student-led DePaul Divestment Coalition, which is calling on the university to divest from Israel, set up the encampment April 30. The group alleged university officials walked away from talks and tried to force students into signing an agreement, according to a student statement late Saturday.
"I don’t want my tuition money to be invested in my family’s suffering," Henna Ayesh, a Paleostinian student at DePaul and Coalition member, said in the statement.
DePaul is on the city’s North Side. Last week, police removed a similar encampment at the University of Chicago on the city’s South Side.
The News Agency that Dare Not be Named has recorded at least 79 incidents since April 18 where arrests were made at campus protests across the US. More than 2,900 people have been arrested on the campuses of 60 colleges and universities. The figures are based on AP reporting and statements from universities and law enforcement agencies.
[IsraelTimes] Far-left staffers for Democratic members of Congress are holding a protest on Capitol Hill urging US President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. ‘This Is A Man That Does Not Seem Demented’... to "stop funding Israel’s war against Paleostinian civilians."
Roughly two dozen staffers are participating, many wearing masks to hide their identities. Cowards
From photos of the event posted online, there appear to be nearly as many news hounds covering the protest as demonstrators.
#2
Need any more proof... that the O'Biden Admin and DC is loaded with genocidal National Socialists seeking to accomplish typicals goals and agenda items?
[IsraelTimes] Demonstrators chain themselves together, accuse search giant and Israel of using Project Nimbus to commit genocide in Gaza
Hundreds of pro-Paleostinian and anti-Israel protesters demonstrated against Google’s ties to Israel and the IDF at the tech company’s annual developer conference in Mountain View on Tuesday.
The protesters chained themselves together near the entrance to the conference, forcing attendees to be redirected to a different entrance, and carried a large banner reading "Google stop fueling genocide."
A particular point of contention for the demonstrators was Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion deal between the Israeli government and Amazon and Google to provide AI and cloud services that are also used by the IDF.
The project enables Israeli cabinet ministries and other entities to transfer servers and services into cloud data centers provided locally.
"What you will not be hearing from today’s speakers is that right now, as I stand here before you, the state of Israel is using Google technology to execute history’s first AI-powered genocide," one of the protesters was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
The protesters, among whom were former and current Google employees, contended that the system is being lethally deployed in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... war — an allegation Google refutes and which the protesters have provided no evidence for.
"We are here to say that we cannot stand by while this company fuels this genocide and profits off of it," former Google employee Ariel Koren told The Guardian at the protest.
As an ex-employee, you have no standing to stand by. You are not part of the Google we.
”[Google] not only creates the infrastructure for the Israeli military to scale out their crimes against humanity, but these tools are being tested and trained in Paleostine to be exported out to militaries around the world, who can then commit the same types of violence," she said.
Koren claimed she was fired from Google for opposing Project Nimbus.
Last month, Google announced that it had fired 28 employees for staging "disruptive" sit-in protests at the company’s offices in New York and Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, to demonstrate against Project Nimbus.
The No Tech For Apartheid protests group claimed over 20 more employees were fired a week later but did not give a specific number.
[IsraelTimes] Protest one of many to sprout across Western European campuses over the past few weeks, emulating similar ones in US
Swiss police moved early on Wednesday to remove dozens of pro-Paleostinian student protesters holed up in the University of Bern, the school said in a statement.
Student demonstrations have gathered pace across Western Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... in recent weeks, with protesters demanding an end to the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... bloodshed and urging that their universities cut ties with Israel and businesses that support it.
Dozens of demonstrators had been occupying university premises since Sunday night. The students were demanding an "academic boycott of Israel institutions" and ignored a university ultimatum to leave the premises.
Swiss police acted following a request by the Bern university’s management, which had described the student occupation as "unacceptable."
The last of around 30 protesters left the Bern university early Wednesday. They chanted pro-Paleostinian slogans outside the building before leaving the area, a journalist from the Keystone-ATS agency said.
University rector Christian Leumann said in a statement published on Wednesday that he was open to talks but that "an occupation with politically motivated demands does not create an environment for constructive dialogue."
The first to mobilize in Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... were students at the University of Lausanne (UNIL), with several hundred occupying a hall at the start of May and demanding an end to partnerships with Israeli universities. The university later responded in a statement that it "considers that there is no reason to cease these relations."
A small number of universities have seen student groups dismantle their own encampments as many colleges empty out for the summer, while activists on most other campuses have refused to let up, prompting police to carry out arrests.
Police arrested about 125 activists at the University of Amsterdam as they broke up its camp, and German police dismantled an encampment at Berlin’s Free University. Students have also held protests or set up encampments in Finland, Denmark, Italia, Spain, La Belle France and Britannia.
On Tuesday, Swiss police in Geneva removed around 50 pro-Paleostinian protesters from a university there.
[IsraelTimes] ‘We cannot allow the normalization of this unprecedented form of terrorism,’ freed hostage tells informal gathering of body; US envoy calls on terror group to release the captives
Shoshan Haran, her daughter and two grandchildren were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists in Israel on October 7. On Thursday, Haran recalled the effects of 50 days in captivity on her three-year-old granddaughter when they were finally released.
“Three weeks after we were released, Yahel only whispers, too afraid to make a noise. She hid from everyone, too afraid to go outside. She wet the bed and had nightmares, too afraid she may be captured again,” Haran told an informal UN Security Council meeting on Thursday, convened by the United States.
Continued on Page 49
#1
The SS men kept the people fated to die unaware of what awaited them. They were told that they were being sent to the camp, but that they first had to undergo disinfection and bathe. After the victims undressed, they were taken into the gas chamber, locked in, and killed with Zyklon B gas.
Posted by: NoMoreBS ||
05/17/2024
13:06 ||
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#1
Setting up an excuse to replace the old puppet with a new puppet. But who? Somebody must be doing interviews...
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/17/2024 16:55
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#2
The Dems should have replaced Biden in late 2022.
It is really, really late for this now.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
05/17/2024 17:50
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#3
They want to maximize the impact of "that new candidate smell."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/17/2024 17:54
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#4
It is really, really late for this now.
Given some states have 'drop dead' dates for having a name on the ballot. You know now. Don't come crying later and filing spacious court requests later.
#5
If any state refused to let a candidate swap go forward regardless of the date, the uproar from the left would make J6 look like preschool nap time.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/17/2024 19:19
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#6
Setting up an excuse to replace the old puppet with a new puppet. But who?
Indeed. The Dems have a pretty shallow bench right now. VP Camel-Lah checks all the right boxes except Likability. Cali governor Gavin Newsome has good hair, but he seems occupied with ruining California. No other Dem governors or mayors come to mind. Not much national recognition anywhere. Hey, what about the Mitten Queen, MI gov Gretchen Whitmer? She is pale, but of the female persuasion. She may not want to burn her chance, though.
My theory: it is the Republicans turn to win this time. The traditional model of American politics is two parties, diametrically opposed, locked in eternal conflict. I see it more like professional wrestling where there are two sides, the Faces (the good guy Dems) and the Heels (the evil Republicans), each playing a role in a carefully managed story. The good guys can't win all the time or there is no suspense, so this time is the bad guys turn.
The problem for the Republicans is that means President Trump. But it will only be for one term. After he fixes the economy and various global messes, the Dems get back in and can continue grifting as usual.
tl;dr: It doesn't really matter who the Dems run. Say hello to President Trump!
[NYPost] Israel Defense Forces have recovered the bodies of three Israeli hostages in Gaza including Shani Louk, who became an international symbol of Hamas’ savagery after images showed her being paraded around half-naked in the back of a pickup truck during the Oct. 7 attacks.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari announced Friday that they recovered Louk, 22, and two additional victims of the music festival massacre, Amit Buskila, 28, and Itzik Gelernter, 58, during the Rafah operation
“Shani Louk, Amit Buskila and Yitzhak Gelernter were kidnapped and murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7 from the Nova Music Festival,” the IDF said in a statement.
“Overnight, our troops recovered their bodies and brought them back home to Israel. We will continue operating to bring all of our hostages.”
More than 360 Israeli revelers were murdered by militants at the Nova festival, which became a key target in the terror group’s unprovoked surprise attack on the Jewish home state.
Louk was one of around 40 Israeli hostages seized during the bloody assault on the music festival. Her family announced in late October that she had died at the hands of Hamas, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog later revealing to a German newspaper she had been beheaded.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/17/2024
12:35 ||
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[Jpost] One soldier was wounded and is in serious condition after an encounter with terrorists in Jabalya, in the northern Gaza Strip, the military announced on Friday.
This comes after the IDF reported ramping up operations in Jabalya and Rafah, intensifying operational control, and striking terror targets.
Israel Air Force fighter jets struck weapons facilities and eliminated terrorists who launched mortar shells at IDF troops.
The IAF struck several military structures in Gaza, as well as terror cells, anti-tank positions, and additional terrorist infrastructure.
ELIMINATING TERRORISTS EN MASSE
In continued operations in the Gaza Strip, the 7th Brigade successfully eliminated more than 60 terrorists over the previous days in Jabalya, leading to continued fighting in the city center, the IDF added.
The groups of terrorists were eliminated both via ground operations and airstrikes. Meanwhile, firefights continued throughout the city.
The 101st battalion uncovered a weapons warehouse that hosted dozens of long-range rockets. They also uncovered rocket parts, explosives, and other weapons.
The warehouse was found just 10 meters away from a shelter complex, the IDF noted. Numerous terrorists were hiding in the complex, and the IDF subsequently arrested at least 20.
[Pesquisa] The Brazilian historian Mônica Schpun, from the École des Hautes Études em Sciences Sociales, Paris, began researching the life of Aracy de Carvalho Guimarães Rosa (1908-2011), the second wife of writer, João Guimarães Rosa (1908-1967), in order to do justice to the history of Aracy who, as an employee of the Brazilian Consulate in Hamburg, helped Jews by giving them countless entry visas to Brazil, despite orders despatched to the contrary in secret circulars from Itamaraty [the Brazilian Foreign Office] at the time of Vargas.
The story has never been told in any depth and all merit is commonly attributed to the writer, because he was the one who had the real power to sign passports. The project has just become a book, Justa — Aracy de Carvalho e o resgate dos judeus trocando a Alemanha nazista pelo Brasil (Record) [Righteous — Aracy de Cravalho and the rescue of Jews, exchanging Nazi Germany for Brazil]. This long-awaited biography is important, because talking about Aracy is not only discovering the great influence she had on the writer’s work, but also going back to the time when Rosa lived in Germany, where the two met and witnessed together the horrors of the war and of the Nazi regime. At the same time, this experience allowed the writer to go deeper into the "wonders of German culture," which he used later as inspiration for his greatest creations, whose maximum expressions appear in the violence of Riobaldo and the Faustian path of the cowherd in Grande sertão: veredas [The Devil to Pay in the Backlands], which was in fact dedicated to "Ara," Aracy’s nickname. These are, it is noted, contradictory experiences of the same culture resulting in a dilemma whose resolution led Rosa to rethink his writing. The point in common between them is Aracy.
Called the "Angel of Hamburg," she is the only woman mentioned in the Holocaust Museum in Israel as one of the 18 diplomats who saved Jews from death and the only Brazilian female to deserve this honor, alongside Ambassador Souza Dantas who, disobeying orders from the Vargas government, granted entry visas to Brazil to French Jews. In 1982, she was recognized as "Righteous among the Nations," an honorary title given by Israel to people who, risking their own lives, helped persecuted Jews. To merit this honor it is necessary for several witnesses to supply information about the actions of the "Righteous Person" that justifies their nomination. Aracy received countless recommendations from people she helped. Nevertheless, there is a strange lack of knowledge about her. Even more serious is that there are those who deny she had any importance whatsoever in the work of her husband, despite three decades of a harmonious and loving life together. Aracy’s biography contains elements for changing this view, by not only recounting her courageous action in Nazi Germany, but also throwing new light on her role in the life and work of the writer, including the little discussed influence on the attitude of Rosa towards politics, a controversial point in his allegedly "apolitical" path.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
05/17/2024
05:20 ||
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#1
The tone of this article speaks volumes to myself. I would not want Yonah Jeremy Bob advising my administration. He seems to dream in a nightmarish world of fantasy. So his speculations direct what future actions Israel is to take?. Irrevocably is a fantasy in itself. Where are the negotiations. Is this to be another Ukraine proxy war with no end insight. Use up Israel; its people, its war materials and financial resources. Russia and China will back Iran. That is the irrevocable shift. The west will sanction this and sanction that and drive Russia, China and Iran closer together. Finally I am convinced Iran has the bomb. The Iranians low profile shows low engagements. Biding for time, Expectations.
#3
The fact that so many weapons were launched says one thing. The fact that it was apparently ineffective is another kettle of fish entirely.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/17/2024 9:37
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#4
#3, It is my understanding it was a probe attack. Information gathering. The result shows a measured response. If you want Russian and China's support you must show restraint. A slow measured management if you have no diplomatic efforts. Iran's future is with Russia and China. The West has no agreements it will honor.
Since many of their ballistic missiles failed and almost all the rest were shot down, that seems to indicated that any Iran nuke aimed at Israel might land in Iran, or Iraq or Jordan or the West Bank.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
05/17/2024 12:49
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#6
Information gathering.
As it turns out, vapourware is wonderful for Nakhba Day parades to scare the rubes, but not so useful when flung in the air in a mass attack. And it’s so humiliating when everyone notices.
[Jpost] Pakistan's intelligence agencies have disclosed in their joint report a notable surge in the smuggling of Iranian oil within the country.
The report, submitted to the Ministry of Petroleum on Thursday, sheds light on the alarming escalation of this illicit activity. “There was a significant reduction in this illegal trade during the caretaker government, but after the recent general elections (held in February 2024), illegitimate trade has now escalated by a staggering 67%,” the report stated.
A troubling connection between militant groups in the country’s southwestern Balochistan province and the profits generated from oil smuggling was also revealed in the report. It suggests that banned Baloch-armed organizations operating in the restive region, including the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), are directly involved in this unlawful oil trade.
According to the report, Balochistan’s thriving underground smuggling operation spans six land and sea routes across five districts. An estimated 90,000 liters of Iranian oil are smuggled daily, and around 70% of this oil makes its way to consumption hubs in Pakistan’s three other major provinces.
SMUGGLING AND THE ECONOMIC FALLOUT
The report states that “2.8 billion liters of Iranian oil, including diesel and petrol, are smuggled into Pakistan annually. This rampant smuggling has resulted in a staggering loss of at least 227 billion rupees [an estimated $816 million] to the national treasury.”
Not to mention the loss to the Iranian government, beleaguered as they are despite being the beloved of Allah, masters of the Master Religion.
Approximately 2.2 to 2.4 million people, constituting anywhere between 14% and 16% of Balochistan's population, rely on Iranian oil smuggling within the province, according to the report.
“Predominantly, individuals from terrorism-affected areas in southern Balochistan are engaged in this trade, primarily due to limited economic prospects in the region,” it further stated.
The 44-page report, prepared by intelligence operatives, exposes the involvement of numerous high-profile figures in this smuggling ring. Among those implicated are sitting members of the Balochistan Assembly, former provincial ministers, and influential politicians.
The report identified one hundred and five smugglers who play pivotal roles in facilitating the illegal trade, coming from 14 districts in Balochistan, including the provincial capital, Quetta. It also identified 100 corrupt officials across the country who are said to be involved in oil smuggling.
Additionally, the report highlights the complicity of 533 petrol pumps operating without proper licenses, actively participating in the sale of contraband Iranian oil.
Emphasized in the report is the urgent need for immediate, though non-specific, measures to combat the multiple threats the country faces because of this Iranian oil smuggling operation. These threats include revenue loss, depletion of foreign exchange reserves, and damage to the state's reputation.
The illicit trade of oil in Pakistan's Balochistan province is not new; it has existed for several decades already. Iranian oil smuggling predominantly occurs within the Baloch belt, characterized by challenging mountain ranges, uninhabited deserts, and a lack of industries or economic opportunities for its residents. The districts identified by intelligence agencies as prone to smuggling Iranian oil are situated within the same belt. Consequently, the sole source of employment for the local population revolves around the illegal oil trade.
According to official records, Mashkel, a desert expanse along the Pakistan-Iran border, is home to around 60,000 individuals. In this town, two to three people per household are involved in the oil smuggling trade. This makes a complete operation shutdown challenging, as the government lacks alternative solutions.
Despite repeated promises and assurances from the Pakistani government to crack down on this smuggling and illegal trade within the borders, the efforts thus far have proven ineffective in curbing this nefarious activity.
Malik Siraj Akbar, an ethnic Baloch and Washington-based expert on Balochistan issues, told The Media Line that “amid a backdrop of deprivation and underdevelopment in the Baloch regions, Baloch militants on both sides of the border have exploited these grievances to further their agendas. They attribute the backwardness of their areas and the creation of hostile environments to the central governments of both countries.”
Akbar highlighted the significant support garnered by insurgent groups among the local populace, noting that “this support often surpasses that received by the Iranian and Pakistani national armies.”
He pointed out that “both nations have responded by ramping up security measures and enhancing cooperation to combat the Baloch insurgents.” However, Akbar cautioned that such crackdowns might incentivize militants to seek alternative funding sources for their movements.
He also emphasized that the Baloch insurgency extends its impact far beyond the immediate border regions, “potentially destabilizing the broader geopolitical landscape. This situation creates opportunities for external actors to exploit vulnerabilities within the affected countries, thereby complicating efforts to establish lasting peace and security in the region.”
Expanding on this point, Akbar said that “the persistent insurgency in the Baloch regions poses significant challenges to regional security and stability. The ongoing unrest disrupts the socio-economic fabric of the affected areas and heightens tensions between neighboring countries.”
He elaborated that “the intricate interplay of socio-economic dynamics, political interests, and security concerns adds complexity to resolving the Baloch insurgency issue.”
Dr. Dost Barrech, a geostrategic analyst who teaches international relations at the University of Balochistan, told The Media Line, “The Iranian oil trade is a lifeline for 50% of the population in the Baloch belt. Enforcing a crackdown could plunge these individuals into uncertainty. With a lack of alternative skills or education, they would face the grim prospect of unemployment and financial hardship.”
He underscored the “necessity for comprehensive policymaking considering the region's complex economic and social dynamics. Investment in education and skills training programs could offer alternative avenues for livelihood, reducing dependence on a single industry.”
Barrech also said that if terrorists are involved in this illegal trade, “then this issue is a question mark for our security operatives.”
Emphasizing the importance of China's massive $400 billion investment in Iran,
*Blink* That’s a lot of money…
Barrech noted that a considerable amount is directed towards sectors beyond energy. Stressing the mutual need for a stable trade route between China and Iran, he said that Pakistan must seize this opportunity, advising the government to withstand American pressure.
Barrech proposed that the government “legitimize the trade of Iranian oil to bolster the economy and facilitate the development of underdeveloped regions.” He argued that this approach would foster economic growth and uplift disadvantaged areas.
“The trade of Iranian oil, often labeled as smuggling, has been a subject of prolonged discussion due to its detrimental effects on the Pakistani economy and its alleged support for Baloch armed resistance,” Hazar Khan Baloch, a Quetta-based political analyst who closely monitors border issues, told The Media Line.
“However, despite widespread acknowledgment of these issues, there has been a lack of concrete action plans to address the situation,” he added.
Baloch claimed that “the primary obstacle to implementing effective measures against this trade is the involvement of various stakeholders, including politicians and border guards. This complex web of interests often leads to a resumption of the smuggling process after temporary disruptions.”
He further asserted that the trade in Iranian oil is a significant source of employment, particularly for residents of Balochistan's border areas.
“The resurgence of Iranian oil smuggling poses significant challenges for law enforcement agencies in Pakistan. It undermines national security and fuels corruption and illicit financial flows,” he claimed.
"The involvement of government officials and politicians in this disgraceful business also contributes to a culture of impunity, where criminal elements thrive at the expense of law-abiding citizens,” Baloch added.
“As authorities grapple with this pressing issue, urgent measures are required to dismantle the intricate networks perpetuating this illegal trade and safeguarding the country's interests,” he concluded.
Qiamuddin Agha, president of the Balochistan Petroleum Dealers Association, expressed concerns about the impact of the Iranian petroleum smuggling on legal petrol pumps.
“While Iranian oil is undercutting our legitimate business, there's also a human aspect to consider. Despite the losses, we continue to operate. When the Iranian oil supply diminishes, our sales increase,” he told The Media Line, emphasizing “the need for government policies that preserve employment opportunities and do not harm legal petrol sellers, especially considering the limited business opportunities in Balochistan.”
To rejuvenate Pakistan’s national economy, leaders from both civil and military sectors came together in March to discuss and tackle the obstacles hindering financial growth in Pakistan, including smuggling, corruption, and criminal syndicates.
The civil and military leadership attended a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, where strategies to address a range of illegal activities, such as the Iranian oil smuggling trade and criminal mafias, were carefully considered.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
05/17/2024
05:15 ||
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#1
The crux: Malik Siraj Akbar, an ethnic Baloch and Washington-based expert on Balochistan issues [notes] “amid a backdrop of deprivation and underdevelopment in the Baloch regions, Baloch militants on both sides of the border have exploited these grievances to further their agendas. They attribute the backwardness of their areas and the creation of hostile environments to the central governments of both countries.”
[Jerusalem Post] A knife-wielding woman threatening London Jews and hurling antisemitic abuse was arrested by Metropolitan Police on Wednesday, according to the Metropolitan Police and the Stamford Hill Shomrim Jewish neighborhood watch.
Police said that there were no reported injuries and that they had a 70-year-old woman in custody.
"That ain't going to save you," the knifewoman shouted as she threw the knife at a fleeing Jewish woman, according to a video published by the Shomrim on Thursday.
[AP] A police pursuit through two states that involved two separate shootouts with law enforcement officers and several crashes ended with the death of the woman being sought, authorities said.
Wilmington police said they began their pursuit of Yazmyn Stewart, 23, shortly before noon Tuesday at a Delaware residence, seeking to arrest her on a warrant stemming from a December 2023 shooting. She fled the home in a vehicle and rammed multiple police vehicles before driving along I-95 northbound into Pennsylvania, as Wilmington officers and Delaware state police troopers followed her.
Shortly after entering Pennsylvania, Stewart crashed her vehicle and started firing at the officers, and two troopers returned fire, authorities said. It’s not known if Stewart was struck by any shots at that time, authorities said.
[Times of Israel] Accusing Israel of seeking to “destroy Palestinian life and to wipe them off the face of the earth,” South Africa on Thursday demanded that the International Court of Justice order Israel to cease not only its military operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah but its entire campaign against the Hamas terror organization in the Gaza Strip.
During two and a half hours of oral argument, the seven-member team of South African and international lawyers and jurists repeatedly sought to pressure the court to order an end to Israel’s operations against Hamas, claiming that Israel had ignored previous court orders and implying that the court would appear futile if it did not act.
The ICJ hearings were called after South Africa asked for emergency measures from the court to protect Rafah, after it earlier alleged that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the coastal enclave.
The request was South Africa’s fourth application to the court since Jerusalem declared war against Hamas following the terror group’s brutal onslaught against Israeli civilians on October 7.
South African jurists argued Thursday that the current IDF operation in Rafah will make life in Gaza untenable due to the already severe humanitarian situation in the territory, the lasting widespread destruction in other parts of the Strip, and the importance of the Rafah goods crossing in supplying Gaza with aid.
#2
offer the gazooks a new home in your utopian paradise.
Perhaps the displaced Paleos could help South Africa to become a beacon of African prosperity, a shining city on a hill, so to speak. Or at least keep the electricity on. Probably shouldn't bet money on it though.
[BBC] US prosecutors have accused an American woman of helping North Koreans find remote jobs in the US and then send their wages back to North Korea.
Christina Chapman is charged alongside three North Korean nationals with participating in the elaborate plot.
The Arizona resident allegedly stole the identities of American citizens, then helped foreign IT workers use those identities to pose as Americans and gain employment at US companies, according to prosecutors.
Ms Chapman has been charged with nine counts of conspiracy to defraud the US.
Investigators said the "staggering" scheme used the stolen identities of 60 people, and generated nearly $7m (£5.5m) in funds that were sent back to North Korea, possibly to contribute to the country's weapons programme.
The scheme - involving some 300 US companies - allegedly started in October 2020. According to the indictment, the workers were "highly skilled information technology (IT) workers."
[BBC] French police have killed a man after a synagogue was set on fire in the north-western city of Rouen.
The man was reportedly armed with a knife and an iron bar and when he went towards the police, an officer shot him.
Rouen Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol said the attack on the synagogue did not just affect the Jewish community, but the entire city was "battered and in shock".
Police were called at around 06:45 (04:45 GMT) after smoke was seen rising from the synagogue, according to local reports.
Firefighters at the scene eventually brought the fire under control inside the synagogue. There appeared to be no victims other than the armed man, the mayor said.
Damage inside the synagogue has been described as significant. "I'm really upset, it's catastrophic," said the head of Rouen's Jewish community, Natacha Ben Haïm.
She said a petrol bomb had been thrown through a small window, setting the synagogue alight. The walls and furniture had been left blackened by the fire, she added.
The local public prosecutor said two investigations were under way - into the arson attack on a place of worship and into the death of the man outside the building.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin praised police "for their responsiveness and courage ".
France, in common with the rest of Western Europe, has seen a surge in antisemitism since Hamas attacked southern Israel last October leading to the current war in Gaza.
Earlier this week a memorial in Paris that honours 3,900 men and women who helped rescue Jews during the Nazi occupation of France in World War Two was daubed with red-painted hands.
France has the third largest Jewish community in the world, after Israel and the US.
Rouen's places of worship have come under attack in the past. Eight years ago a priest was fatally stabbed while leading a church service.
The latest violence comes days after gunmen shot dead two prison officers in an ambush at a motorway toll south of the city. Convicted prisoner Mohamed Amra escaped during the attack and his still on the run.
A man suspected of seeking to set fire earlier today to a French synagogue was subject to an expulsion order, but authorities were not able to execute the measure pending an appeal, a source close to the case says.
The man, who was killed by police in the northern city of Rouen, had been subject to this measure for "less than a year," but it could not be carried out because he had filed an appeal to contest the order, the source adds.
Second update from the Times of Israel at 1:45 p.m. ET: The French interior minister pronounced it an act of terrorism.
Third update from the Daily Mail at 10:15 p.m. ET: Dead firebug identified as Algerian Youcef C, 29, per identity card in his pocket, which might even all be true.
The knifeman shot dead in France today while trying to burn down a synagogue has been identified as a 29-year-old Algerian, wanted by authorities 'for several weeks' before attempting the heinous crime.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said this afternoon the suspect was due to be deported but had requested a 'residence permit for sick foreigners' in 2022, an appeal that was thrown out in January 2024 - rendering him 'wanted'.
'Youcef C' was identified by a single Rouen travelcard on his person, allowing him to get around the northern French city where the attack unfolded early this morning, according to local prosecutor Frédéric Teillet.
[NYP] A Citi Bike-riding brute viciously beat two Orthodox Jewish boys, ages 11 and 13, playing on a Brooklyn sidewalk Sunday night in a disturbing, caught-on-video ordeal, cops and sources said.
Now the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating whether the attack — which saw the man kicking and stomping on one of the youngsters — was an antisemitic assault, law enforcement sources told The Post.
Several kids were playing in front of a condo building on Franklin Avenue near Myrtle Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant just before 9 p.m. Sunday when a stranger stopped his bike mid-block, between two parked cars, and stormed up to the kids, according to the video, obtained by Williamsburg 365 News.
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
~ Martin Niemöller
[DM] Russian women have been warned that fighters could return home as sexual sadists in need of violent gratification.
A training manual for military wives highlights the profound psychological changes faced by fighters deployed on the frontline.
'Changes may manifest themselves in temporary intolerance to touch and decreased sexual desire,' says the guide.
'However, they can also be expressed in increased sexual arousal, the need for frequent sexual acts, and a predisposition to aggressive forms of sex.'
Women are told to give their traumatised men a chance to 'thaw out' after returning alive from Putin's cannon fodder frontline in Ukraine where hundreds of thousands have perished.
#1
Daily mail where the west gets its news. Presented by that writer with his strong Russian name Will Stewart. If you can't find the news you make the news.
[MAIL] The Netherlands has today said it will opt out of European Union rules and bring in its 'strictest-ever' asylum policy following Geert Wilders' shock election victory.
The newly agreed Dutch coalition government said the new policy will see people removed from the European country 'by force' - setting up a clash with leaders in Brussels even before it has taken office.
The 26-page coalition agreement emerged early this morning after six months of gruelling talks between four parties following last years' stunning election victory by Wilders, the long-time Euro-sceptic and leader of the far-Right PVV party.
The parties said they would file a request to the European Commission for an opt-out on European asylum policy 'as soon as possible'. People without a valid residence permit will be deported 'by force if necessary,' said the report.
Wilders on Wednesday reached a deal to form a coalition with three right-wing partners, almost six months after last year's major election victory. He has ruled himself out of the top job, but has not yet proposed his choice for prime minister.
[ZERO] On Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced the arrest of Joshua Cobb, 23, on a single-count indictment of transmitting an interstate threat over the internet. According to a complaint filed in the case, Mr. Cobb authored a social media post on Dec. 17, 2022, indicating his interest in inflicting mayhem "on the white community."
The author of the Dec. 17, 2022, social media post states, "I want to cause mayhem on the white community. The reason i specifically want to target white people is because as a black male, they will NEVER understand my struggles."
The post’s author goes on to state he has already begun planning the attack, which he intended to carry out somewhere in New Jersey at some point in 2023, though he had not chosen an exact time.
"I have not chosen a exact date but I am going to be sure it is close to an important holiday to their race. I have a location in mind already which I have frequented for the past year and I am certain nobody there is armed to be able to stop me from spraying them to the ground," the suspect’s social media post continues. "I have already acquired 2 of the 4 firearms I plan to use for my attack, and I also know my entry and exit points already after the mayhem."
The social media post was published under the handle "NearbyUserl0l." Investigators determined that social media activity was associated with an internet protocol (IP) address matching the Trenton, New Jersey residence in which Mr. Cobb resided at the time.
#3
Right. "Rich-ass white people" shop at Aldi's. This scumbag surely isn't too bright (but bright enough for the USMC to recruit him and check a block, I suppose).
#4
#3 I agree. I have interacted with many different peoples and there are a few unbalanced people. Whites, black grizzled and gray. I would guess he is mentally unbalanced. Certainly this would have been noticed in his service records. Democrats thrive on this sort of outcome. He was programed well. All his problems were caused by white people.
[ZERO] There are only so many ways one can say that America is collapsing. That the Fat Lady is nearing the end of her song. That we’re running on fumes. If Yogi Berra were around, he’d say it’s over. We had a good run, as far as civilizations go. We were the light of the world for a long time. Maybe even Reagan’s shining city upon a hill.
Yesterday, Jason Whitlock reported on one Dexter Taylor, a software engineer who was just convicted and sentenced to ten years for constructing his own guns without a license. Shades of January 6. Taylor is Black, by the way, for those of you to whom that matters. I don’t expect to see former crack dealer turned FBI informant "Reverend" Al Sharpton leading a protest about this particular Black man being a victim of injustice. Our record-setting prisons are overflowing with people like Taylor, of all races. People who most decidedly don’t belong behind bars. Having watched enough of those Investigation Discovery shows, and cops gone wild videos, I often wonder just how many actual criminals are in prison. The system devotes so much effort to framing innocent people, that they may no longer be capable of convicting truly guilty ones.
#4
The cascading failures of formerly reliable, trusted systems of commerce, science, education and government and our most basic cultural institutions is well underway. But a nation as rich and enormous as ours when collapsing into itself will retain vestiges and areas of resiliance for years to come. But we are not what we were before Obama/Biden, or before Covid, or even before 9/11.
The promise of the Post Cold-War World was all too brief and quickly squandered in sloth, and excessive tolerance for corruption and corrosive ideas, and the final abandonment of meritocracy to the false pretense of DEI.
Trump et al may well halt the most aggressive bleeding and reverse some of the insanity, but we are no longer one people, far too many have stopped believing in our heritage and national character, especially the coastal elites and political classes, and it shows everywhere.
As the third stage of the adage goes, "Weak Men have created hard times"...and what follows I fear won't be much like what was as the "Hard Times... " shape those that follow.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/17/2024 18:19
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#6
^MM your comment only appeared as a black screen until I clicked to comment. I thought you were saying that our future was like the album cover art of Smell The Glove.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/17/2024 18:37
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#7
The still shot from the embed shows up on my desktop and phone. From many comments here there are a lot of different browsers in use by Rantburg Nation, so it's not surprising everyone's mileage (or presentation, or rendering) varies.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/17/2024 18:39
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#8
The system devotes so much effort to framing innocent people, that they may no longer be capable of convicting truly guilty ones.
WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would force President Joe Biden to send weapons to Israel, seeking to rebuke the Democrat for delaying bomb shipments as he urges Israel to do more to protect civilians during its war with Hamas.
The Israel Security Assistance Support Act was approved 224 to 187, largely along party lines. Sixteen Democrats joined most Republicans in voting yes, and three Republicans joined most Democrats in opposing the measure.
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Warren Davidson of Ohio all bucked their party.
Posted by: Grom the reflective ||
05/17/2024
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#1
Rep. Davidson is mine — I voted for him twice. Army Ranger, head of a mid-sized family company, then got into politics, first locally then Congress. I just wrote to him about this, asking him to explain his thinking.
#2
Not sure about the other two, but if Massie voted a certain way, then he had the US Constitution in mind. AIPAC is already attacking him. Capitol Hill needs a few hundred more Thomas Massies.
#3
Massie automatically votes against all foreign aid. It's a principle he's expounded forever. It's also an illustration that "one size fits all" will get you sideways with pretty much everyone at some point.
His point, that the US is broke and doesn't have the aid money to give, isn't incorrect.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/17/2024 7:40
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#4
Have been reading about Thomas "Woodrow" Wilson recently...a scumbag of the absolute highest order...reminded me of Wisconsin Senator La Follette and his passionate speech on the Senate floor against Wilson's perversion on going to war in April 1917. La Follette was one of only six Senators to vote against going to war.
Some men & women have principles. Those principles might not pay well, but they have principles.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Oleysa Orlenko
[REGNUM] From July 2023, when French President Emmanuel Macron arrived on a visit to New Caledonia, until today, the island in the Pacific Ocean has not ceased to be shaken by popular unrest. And they are becoming more and more harsh. The reason for the current protests is said to be disagreement with the constitutional reform, for which both houses of the French parliament have already voted. And the difficulties faced by the process of political and economic change initiated by the central authorities make one wonder whether the inhabitants of this overseas territory are so unanimous in their desire to be French subjects? Although Macron’s arrival was precisely symbolic - after, in the course of three referendums, she finally decided to remain part of the French Republic.
[TOLONEWS] Residents of Paktia said that there have been festivities between the forces of the Islamic Emirate and Pakistain’s border guards for the past three days.
According to locals, during this period dozens of missiles have been fired by Pakistain, hitting people's residential houses.
The festivities started in Aryob Zazi district of Paktia and have recently spread to the Dand-e-Patan district.
The Islamic Emirate has not yet officially provided details about these festivities including any casualties resulting from them.
"It was ten o'clock and the fighting was intense; people with their children went by car towards Samkanai district," said Amir Khan, another resident of Paktia.
Local residents added that Pak forces targeted residential houses, and some families in Dand-e-Patan have been forced to leave their homes.
At the same time with the start of these festivities, the Kharlachi transit route in Dand-e-Patan has also been closed to any traffic.
"We ask them that whenever you commit a violation, you must not target the general public with artillery. The laws of war must be observed here," said Mohammad Anwar Sediqi, a resident of Aryob Zazi.
Don’t be ridiculous. Everyone knows the laws of war only apply to the [all bad things, so pick one or more, dear Reader] West.
"No one could handle their sorrow [about the situation]. The fierce fighting continued, and there were children and women on every side," said Sayedullah, a driver in Paktia.
Military analysts said that border festivities darken the relations between the two countries and that professional individuals should be deployed at the border line.
"The solution is to deploy responsible and professional individuals at the borders to prevent such unnecessary conflicts," said Sarwar Niazi, a military analyst.
Some Pak media outlets reported that in these festivities, one soldier from that country has died and four others have been maimed.
At the same time, a source told TOLOnews that five forces of the Islamic Emirate have also been injured in these festivities.
[SUDANTRIBUNE] The International Federation of Red Thingy and Red Islamic Thingy Societies (IFRC) confirmed the death of Fadul Daw El-Bait Abdallah, a humanitarian worker with the Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... ese Red Islamic Thingy Society.
Reports indicate Abdallah was shot on May 11 while working with his team to collect humanitarian data in the Abu Haraz area of south-eastern Sudan. He died the following day, on May 12. During the same incident, another volunteer was beaten.
The IFRC strongly condemned the violence, emphasizing that humanitarian workers must be respected and protected under all circumstances. The Federation extended its deepest condolences to Abdallah’s family and colleagues, acknowledging the tragic loss.
This tragic incident highlights the grave dangers faced by humanitarian workers worldwide. Since the beginning of the year, twenty members of the IFRC network have bit the dust while performing their crucial humanitarian duties. The IFRC reiterated its call for the cessation of violence against humanitarian workers, asserting that "they are not a target".
The loss of Abdallah underscores the critical need for greater protection and respect for those who risk their lives to provide aid and support to vulnerable communities.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2024
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#1
We will not see Tony Gutiérrez protesting this.
— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) May 16, 2024
The Nigerian Army has confirmed the killing of six Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... /ISWAP faceless myrmidons during a shoot-out in Fulatari and Kago villages in the Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.
The army disclosed this on Thursday on its X account, adding that 48 people who were held as hostages by the faceless myrmidons were also rescued during the clash.
The rescued hostages comprise one adult male, 20 adult females, and 27 children.
The statement said: "Additionally, the troops recovered a Phantom Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), a 60mm mortar tube, a bandolier, three AK-47 rifle magazines, five rounds of 7.62mm x 51mm ammunition and a bicycle.
"In a separate coordinated effort, troops, alongside the Civilian Joint Task Force and Hybrid Forces Group, launched an offensive operation targeting terrorists' enclaves in Garin Gulukos and Sabil Huda.
"The operation led to the seizure and depletion of the terrorists' logistics, including a Hilux vehicle, a Canter Troops Carrying Vehicle, 7 rounds of 7.62 x 51mm ammunition, 2 cycle of violences, four bicycles, three solar panels, a power generating set, an HP laser jet printer and a mobile phone without a SIM card. A serviceable borehole within the terrorists' enclave was also destroyed to disrupt their operations.
"In another operation in Zamfara State troops conducting offensive operations to clear terrorists' enclaves in Abaniyawa, Dokau, Yar Dutsi, Kungurki and Babba Saura areas in Kaura Namoda and Tsafe Local Government Areas of Zamfara State encountered the faceless myrmidons in Kaura Namoda.
"However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... the faceless myrmidons fled during fire fight abandoning one AK 47 Rifle, one Magazine with 5 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and one motor cycle. Troops further destroyed the terrorists' life support structures."
In a separate statement, the army said during counter-terrorism operations in Kaduna State in response to actionable intelligence, its personnel ambushed faceless myrmidons transiting with arms in the Birnin Gwari axis of the state on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
The statement said: "The troops laid in ambush around Kwaga Village for the terrorists, known for causing mayhem within the Birnin Gwari Local Government Area, neutralizing one terrorist, while others fled in disarray.
"The quick reaction of the troops not only prevented a potential attack on innocent citizens in the area, but also led to the recovery of 2 AK 47 Rifles with magazines, as well as 2 motorbikes."
"Troops are currently in pursuit of the fleeing terrorists," it added.
— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) May 16, 2024
The Kano StateHisbah Board has banned male disc jockeys (DJs) from performing at female-dominated events in the state.
This ban was announced by the Commander General of the board, Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, at a meeting with the representatives of DJs in the state.
The Hisbah Commander said the decision was necessary to prohibit the mixing of males and females during events, adding that only women would be allowed henceforth to officiate at women’s gatherings.
"As an Islamic state, it is unacceptable for us to allow the indiscriminate mixing of males and females at the same event. This is because this act can promote and spread immorality," he was quoted by Daily Trust as saying.
He mentioned that another meeting had been held with the state's event facility owners and managers to educate them about the essential regulations governing their operations.
In his remarks, the DJs' representative, Ibrahim Abdullahi, also known as DJ Farawa, praised the board for inviting them and instructing them on the new criteria that the board had implemented to regulate their business.
He said, "We are happy with the invitation of the Hisbah board to our union of DJs. They have given us guidelines on the sanctity of prayer times during events, as well as the need to prevent the mixing of males and females during those events."
“Thank you, sir! Please sir, may I have another!” *ouch!*
Ibrahim noted that all DJs performing in the state must adhere to the new guidelines issued by the board to avoid being sanctioned.
He said, "This is why we are calling on all DJs to register with our union in order to benefit from the guidelines that have been issued."
He also warned that non-registered DJs performing in the state would not be protected by the union if found to have violated the Hisbah guidelines.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Four residents of Dagestan were fined for publishing symbols of the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda and the Caucasus Emirate on the Internet, and another resident of the republic was arrested for 15 days, the FSB reported.
According to the FSB border department for Dagestan, residents of the republic R. Abdulmuslimov, K. Ramazanov and M. Abdulkadirov were fined for publicly displaying the symbols of extremist organizations prohibited by Russian law. All three repented of their actions and voluntarily deleted the prohibited materials they had previously published on the Internet.
”Please don’t hurt us anymore!”
According to the department, extremist materials on the Internet were distributed by two other residents - Magomedov M. and Markin K. For inciting hatred or enmity, Megomedov was fined, and Markin was arrested for 15 days, RIA Dagestan reported today with reference to the FSB border department for republic.
We are talking about the dissemination of symbols of the international terrorist organizations "Islamic State", Al-Qaeda, "Caucasus Emirate", banned in Russia by court decision, the report said.
There were no comments from Abdulmuslimov, Ramazanov, Abdulkadirov, Magomedov and Markin or their representatives.
The "Caucasian Knot" also wrote that on August 12, 2022, a 24-year-old resident of the Kayakent district was suspected of involvement in the Islamic State. According to investigators, he went to Iraq, where he joined the ranks of a terrorist organization.
[IsraelTimes] A mix of pro-terrorist networks, sympathetic faculty and wavering response by authorities is blamed for extremist violence at the heart of academia.
CIDI noted the growing involvement in campus rioting of Samidoun, a pro-Hamas lobby that is a designated terrorist group in Israel and Germany, and which is a purported arm of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Paleostine terrorist group.
After attending a Holocaust commemoration last week, a young man decided to survey the nearby anti-Israel encampment at his alma mater, the University of Amsterdam. The tension and anger on display at the Roeterseiland campus on May 6 made the Jewish man feel unsafe immediately upon crossing the illegal checkpoint that the anti-Israel students set up there, he told The Times of Israel under the condition of anonymity. The northern European-looking man — who wasn’t wearing Jewish or Israeli symbols — was proven right to be afraid. Within minutes, a person wearing a keffiyeh around his face and holding a wooden plank hit him on the head in an incident that shocked countless viewers for the savage violence on display in videos and images taken there of multiple assailants attacking multiple people.
[FOX] A team of university researchers in the Netherlands says they've developed an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that can recognize sarcasm, according to a new report.
The Guardian reported on Thursday that the research was presented at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the Canadian Acoustical Association in Ottawa, Canada, on Thursday. At the event, Ph.D. student Xiyuan Gao said the research team used video clips and other text and audio content from American sitcoms like "Friends" and "The Big Bang Theory" to train a neural network.
The work leveraged a database called the Multimodal Sarcasm Detection Dataset (MUStARD), which another research team from the U.S. and Singapore had annotated with labels about whether sarcasm was present in a given piece of content as part of a push to build their own sarcasm detector.
After training their AI model on the data, the researchers said they're able to detect sarcasm in exchanges that were unlabeled by the researchers almost 75% of the time. They added that subsequent work at the lab using synthetic data has improved that accuracy level even further, though those research findings haven't yet been published, The Guardian wrote.
[JPost] In Manama, the Arab League met to voice its opposition not just abuot the Rafah operation but to the war itself, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on Thursday on the importance of a military campaign in Rafah, one day after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant took him to task for failing to have a day-after plan, and warning of the consequences.
"The battle in Rafah is critical," Netanyahu said, as he visited soldiers in the Bnei Netzarim military base, and focused on the importance of the IDF destroying the last remaining four Hamas battalions in the terror group’s last stronghold in Gaza.
"It is not only the remaining battalions there but their escape and supply pipelines. This battle, of which you are an integral part, is a battle that will decide many things in this campaign," Netanyahu told the soldiers.
Netanyahu has faced criticism, both domestic and international, for his push to enter Rafah, with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stating on Thursday that the Biden administration has been clear in its opposition to "a potential major military operation and Rafah."
But, she noted that Israel assured the White House that its military activity in Rafah was limited and targeted.
She stressed that while the US supported Israel’s stance that Hamas could not remain in Gaza, she appeared to back Gallant in his position, in stating that the White House has "underscored the importance of having a clear and concrete plan for the day after the conflict in Gaza."
In Manama, Bahrain, the Arab League met on Thursday to voice its opposition not just to the Rafah operation, but to the war itself, and to call for an immediate ceasefire and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave. It stressed the need for a two-state resolution to the conflict, one based on the pre-1967 lines.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/17/2024
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#1
Hamas has a lot of weapons - all (including the putatively garage-made qassams) came through Egypt.
[THEGATEWAYPUNDIT] In a landmark decision, a Bexar County visiting judge has ordered a new election for the 180th District Court seat in Harris County, Texas. This ruling comes after Republican candidate Tami Pierce narrowly lost to Democrat DaSean Jones by a mere 449 votes in the November 2022 election.
DaSean Jones, who was sworn in as a Harris County criminal district court judge 15 months ago and has since presided over hundreds of cases, now faces uncertainty about his 2022 election victory.
If he was improperly elected, what does that mean for all the cases he presided over?
Republican Tami Pierce continues to contest the election results in court, asserting that "improper or illegal votes were counted" and that the election was "riddled with errors."
The legal scrutiny of the 180th District Court race has revealed troubling discrepancies. The court found that 1,430 illegal votes were cast, making it impossible to ascertain the true winner of the election. Furthermore, an additional 321 votes were incorrectly tallied due to an extended voting hour, a mishap attributed to an official error by the Harris County Elections Administration Office.
The court also awarded Pierce $65,265 for attorney fees and $752 for costs associated with defending against what was deemed a frivolous motion to dismiss her challenge, filed by Jones in early 2023.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2024
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#1
an additional 321 votes were incorrectly tallied due to an extended voting hour, a mishap attributed to an official error by the Harris County Elections Administration Office.
Texas has early voting where you can vote roughly a week before election day. An extended voting hour is definitely a sign for shenanigans. Care to bet those 321 extra votes were for a particular candidate or party?
#3
After Katrina in 2005 a lot of people from New Orleans were evacuated to the Houston area. A goodly number of them decided to stay permanently. With the expected results.
I’m happy to report that I will meet the criteria to participate in the @CNN debate before the June 20 deadline. I look forward to holding Presidents Biden and Trump accountable for their records in Atlanta on June 27 to give Americans the debate they deserve. #KennedyShanahan24
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 15, 2024
#5
RFK doesn’t say that he will be in the debate. He says that he met the criteria. I am pretty sure that this debate was a side deal between two candidates rejecting the debate commission and their criteria.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/17/2024 10:06
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Other than the Dems and their lawyers, that is.
[Regnum] US intelligence agencies view Russia as the most active external “threat” to US elections, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Hines said at a May 15 Senate committee hearing. The event was broadcast by C-Span.
Well, if you’re going to talk about external threats, Russia! Russia! Russia! by definition is it, no matter what nonsense China might be getting up to. But we all know that Donald Trump voters, all white cis male conservatives, are the true threat.
In addition, China and Iran are on the list of such threats. Hines establishes that the number of outside forces that allegedly want to interfere in the US elections is growing.
At the same time, the head of national intelligence did not provide any evidence as part of the accusations against Moscow. The Russian authorities reject all such allegations and call them unfounded.
As Regnum reported, in December, the State Duma commission to investigate interference in Russian affairs announced that it had recorded the activation of NATO intelligence services in connection with the election campaign in the country. In addition, an increase in the activity of non-governmental organizations and agents of influence controlled by the intelligence services of Western states was revealed.
On March 17, Ambassador-at-Large and Deputy Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Commission on Elections Gennady Askaldovich said that all countries unfriendly to Russia, including the United States and Germany, had attempted to interfere in the Russian presidential election.
In early May, the Russian leader's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said that the Russian Federation does not want other countries to interfere in its electoral processes and the preferences of its citizens.
#3
It just goes to show you how stupid our so-called intelligence agencies really are. A few bots on Rantburg, Facebook and X are going to swing the election? I don't think so.
You put Dominion voting machines on the internet, and don't tell me they're not on the internet, and the Chinese will hack the hell out of them.
You put Democrats in places like Philadelphia, Atlanta and Detroit in charge of Dominion voting machines and you have a serious threat to democracy.
And then there are the cheat-by-mail-in ballots...You talk about a threat to democracy...
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/17/2024 12:32
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#4
Yeah, and then you have these very same "intelligence agencies" interfering in the affairs of other countries all over the world, engineering coups, funding opposition groups and at times using brute military force to overthrow governments that they don't like. We have the dumbest intel community in the world.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/17/2024 12:35
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#5
#3&4 Spot on. With our current administration operating at an elementary level of education. They seem so out of touch with reality. Seems they prefer attacking normal America. On the job you have workers doing their job and many others doing nothing but the workers get all the negative attacks.
#6
It takes a modicum of intelligence to figure out that the Democrats are the most active "threat" to American elections, and also that US Intelligence Agencies are un-intelligent.
[JPost] The IDF has given the US military assurances it will provide security to US forces operating on the temporary floating causeway.
The Pentagon said US Central Command successfully anchored the temporary Trident pier to the beach in Gaza on Thursday with assistance from Israel Defense Forces engineers who received mission-specific training from US Army engineers in Israel.
In the coming days, aid will be offloaded from ships at a floating roll-on-roll-off distribution facility, ferried to the Trident pier and will then be driven to shore in Gaza where USAID and the UN will handle distribution, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters during a news briefing Thursday afternoon.
"For weeks, we have been working side-by-side with the USAID team, the Cypriots, the Israelis and the United Nations to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza," Singh said. "Today, we have hundreds of tons of aid ready for delivery and 1000s of tons of aid in the pipeline.
Once ships are able to get to the pier and transport aid onto the pier the delivery will happen quickly, according to Singh, with an initial 90 trucks of aid driving to shore per day eventually ramping up to 150 trucks per day.
Singh said the trucks will be able to reach the populations that need it most, including Northern Gaza.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/17/2024
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#1
The IDF has given the US military assurances it will provide security to US forces operating on the temporary floating causeway.
And since this is impossible, soon Biden gov will have a new excuse to sabotage Israel's fight for survival.
#11
The US State Department on Friday issued a worldwide caution security alert, saying it is aware of increased potential for foreign terrorist organization-inspired violence against LGBTQ+ people and events.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. [Regnum] Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev called on the regions to quickly organize the replanting of crops affected by frost, the government’s Telegram channel reported.
“Patrushev called on the regions to quickly organize the replanting of dead crops in order to meet agrotechnological deadlines,” the message says.
When global warming heads into negative numbers…
At a meeting of the operational headquarters, Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut said that frosts led to the destruction of crops on an area of about 830 thousand hectares. On a general scale, this is about 1% of the entire area. Specialists from the Ministry of Agriculture, together with the regions, are conducting assessments to obtain reliable data.
The meeting participants reviewed the progress of seasonal field work and the situation in a number of regions affected by return frosts, as well as issues of state support for farmers.
According to Patrushev, seasonal field work has begun in all federal districts. About 25 million hectares were sown with spring crops. As the Deputy Prime Minister clarified, this is almost half of the forecast area.
On the territory of a number of constituent entities of the Central and Volga federal districts, as well as in the Volgograd and Rostov regions, recurrent frosts were recorded in May. A state of emergency has been introduced in eight Russian regions.
As Regnum reported, on May 9, the Ministry of Agriculture promised to replant crops damaged by frost. The department noted that all the necessary resources for this are available. Then, due to frosts, a regional emergency regime was introduced in the Voronezh, Lipetsk and Tambov regions.
The weather in the first ten days of May was more typical of early April. In the center of the European part of Russia, as well as in the Volga region, the Urals and the Primorsky Federal District, air temperatures were 4-6 degrees below normal values. Frosts down to 0...-3°C struck on the night of May 4-5.
#1
Yes, here in Maryland May is more like our typical April. Too much rain and low temperatures. Gardens can't be planted and lawns too wet to mow. Fortunately late frost occurred after fruit blooming. So fruits are growing well. Perhaps HAARP weather control modifications.
[AFRICANEWS] Former Mauritanian president Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz has been ruled out of the June 29 presidential election for lack of the necessary sponsorship, his front man Mohammed Ould Djibril told journalists on Tuesday, May 14, denouncing the sponsorship system in place.
"This blocking by the authorities is undemocratic," The spokesperson added. "There are ten of us who are victims of this plot by the authorities."
Mr. Aziz, who led Mauritania, a pivotal country between the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa, until 2019, had taken steps to present his candidacy, according to his front man. If so, he would have faced the outgoing president, Mohammed Ould Ghazouani, his successor and one of his most loyal companions in the past, with whom he is now in open conflict.
The former president was sentenced in 2023 to five years in prison for illicit enrichment.
The government through the ruling party had set conditions requiring presidential candidates to get approvals from the municipal councillors and mayors. Only the opposition Islamist party Tewassoul has any room for maneuver, as it has the required number of municipal councilors.
The opposition parties had previously denounced the law terming it unjust.
"We denounce the hegemony of the majority parties, who are thus choosing their opponents from among the candidates and leading the country towards the holding of a unilateral electoral parody," denounced a dozen opposition candidates, including Mr. Aziz, in a joint statement.
"Even if the former president had collected sponsorships, his qualifications would have been highly uncertain. Candidatures must be submitted to the Constitutional Council. However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... according to the Constitution, the president "may be re-elected only once", and Mr. Aziz has already served two terms," they added.
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] Ukrainian soldiers began to surrender en masse in Volchansk, Khar'kov region. This was reported by the Telegram channel “Military Correspondents of the Russian Spring”.
“Ukrainian militants are surrendering in droves in Volchansk. The next portion of prisoners from the Khar'kov direction from the 7th border detachment and the 116th defense brigade surrendered to the fighters of the North group of forces,” the report says.
It is noted that near Volchansk, the Russian military defeated enemy units. After this, the surviving Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers requested from their command the evacuation of the wounded and an order to withdraw, but were refused. As a result, they all surrendered.
As Regnum reported, on May 14, the head of the military-civil administration of the Khar'kov region, Vitaly Ganchev, said that the Russian military had captured more than 60 militants of the Kraken (an extremist organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation).
A group of fighters from the Ukrainian formation “Brotherhood” (an extremist organization whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation) surrendered during the battles near Khar'kov when one of them caused an explosion in a dugout. One of the captured militants reported that after this they laid down their weapons and raised their hands up.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned a representative of the British Embassy on May 16 in connection with London's decision to expel the defense attaché of the Russian Embassy, the department said.
“In response to this decision, the defense attache at the British Embassy in Moscow, A. T. Coghill, is declared persona non grata,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Oh — it’s a tit for tat.
The British diplomat was ordered to leave Russia within a week.
The Foreign Ministry expressed a strong protest in connection with the unfriendly and groundless decision taken by the British authorities on May 8 against the Russian diplomat, defense attache at the Russian Embassy in London.
The department regarded these steps as a politically motivated action with a pronounced Russophobic character, which causes irreparable damage to bilateral relations.
As Regnum reported, Russian Ambassador to London Andrei Kelin was summoned to the British Foreign Office on May 8. The reason was the alleged collection of intelligence data by the Russian side in the UK.
On the same day, Britain announced the expulsion of Russia's military attache from the country. At the same time, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced the introduction of new restrictions on the receipt of diplomatic visas by Russians. British authorities also removed diplomatic status from a number of Russian-owned properties.
Commenting on the decision of the British authorities, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova promised that Moscow would give an adequate response.
[AFRICANEWS] Tunisia saw a wave of arrests targeting government critics, including journalists and lawyers, sparking concern from international allies.
President Kais Saied's administration launched a crackdown on perceived opponents, detaining activists like Saadia Mosbah and La Belle France 24 cameraman Hamdi Tlili. Lawyer Sonia Dahmani was also among those detained.
While Tlili was released without charges, radio journalist Borhen Bsaies and columnist Mourad Zeghidi were kept under pre-trial detention, accused of violating cybercrime laws by allegedly spreading fake news and undermining state security. Bsaies's lawyer highlighted a lack of clear evidence linking his client to these charges.
Criticism of the president often leads to accusations of undermining state security, signaling a broader attack on press freedom. Reporters Without Borders condemned the arrests, calling for an end to the government's authoritarian tactics.
These developments mark a troubling trend in Tunisia, where political arrests have become more frequent under President Saied's rule, raising concerns both domestically and among international partners.
The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... , Tunisia's top trade partner, on Tuesday issued a rare rebuke of Tunisian authorities, calling the arrests worrisome.
"Freedoms of expression and association, as well as the independence of the judiciary, are guaranteed by the Tunisian Constitution and constitute the basis of our partnership," its spokesperson said in a statement.
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[NEWARAB] The head of a Syria's hardline Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else ...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State... (HTS) rebel group, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, on Wednesday issued a warning to demonstrators protesting against HTS's rule.
HTS was formerly affiliated to al-Qaeda and controls much of Syria's northwestern Idlib province.
HTS security forces accompanied by military fighters are on high alert in and around Idlib city, sources from the area told The New Arab's Arabic edition al-Araby al-Jadeed.
They have set up dozens of checkpoints and positions at entrances to the city and on roads leading to it and other major cities in Idlib province, the sources said.
Since the start of 2024, Idlib and the surrounding areas have seen protests against HTS's practices — from torture in prisons to the monopolisation of the region's economic and security administration.
Al-Araby al-Jadeed's sources said the protests against al-Jolani continued in towns and villages in Idlib province such as Taftanaz, Binnish, and Maarrat Misrin.
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] In Indonesia, an eruption of volcanic ash was recorded over the peak of the Ibu volcano on the island of Halmahera. According to the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation, the ash rose to a height of up to five kilometers, Antara reported.
Mother Nature offsetting any clever ideas about anthropogenic global warming...
“The seismograph recorded an eruption with a maximum amplitude of 28 millimeters and a duration of 354 seconds,” geologists noted.
The eruption occurred at 09:58 local time. Thick gray clouds, influenced by the wind, headed northeast from the north.
The danger level in the area of the volcano was raised to the maximum, fourth according to the classification of eruptions adopted in Indonesia due to increased volcanic activity and seismicity.
The country's aviation was notified of the spread of volcanic ash. Residents around the Ibu volcano were advised by authorities not to approach the mountain within a radius of three kilometers and five kilometers from the side of the active crater. During ash rain, it was recommended to wear some form of protection for the nose, mouth and eyes.
In December 2023, a volcanic eruption in Indonesia killed 11 climbers. Then the Marapi volcano awakened. The deceased intended to climb the mountain. Three more people were evacuated.
As Regnum reported, at the beginning of April 2024, the largest volcano in Europe, Etna, located in Italy, awakened. Photos of smoke rings were circulated on social media. They are observed over the volcano quite often. However, volcanologists claimed that Etna broke all its previous records, sending hundreds, if not thousands of smoke rings into the sky.
In March, an ash column 1.8 km high was recorded over Ebeko Volcano in the Kuril Islands. The plume spread in a south-easterly direction over a distance of more than five kilometers. There was no threat to the lives of the population.
[An Nahar] Hezbollah said it launched on Thursday "more than 60" rockets at Israeli military positions in retaliation for overnight air strikes.
Hezbollah fighters "launched a missile attack with more than 60 Katyusha rockets" on several Israeli military positions including in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, the group said in a statement.
The strikes were "in response to the Israeli enemy's attacks last night on the Bekaa region" in eastern Leb ...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... 's Baalbek area, the group added.
Israeli warplanes meanwhile raided Wadi Slouki at the outskirts of the southern border town of Houla, al-Rihan, Sujod, and Aita al-Shaab, while Israeli artillery shelled Rachaya al-Foukhar and al-Khiam including with white phosphorus bombs. Shells also hit the Marjayoun plain, al-Owaidah hills and Yarin, injuring two herders in Marjayoun.
The Israeli army later said it had identified "approximately 40 launches" from Lebanon "towards the Golan Heights", causing "no injuries".
It added that Israeli forces struck the sources of the fire.
The army reported several more attacks from Lebanon on northern Israel, to which it said it had also responded with strikes. Hezbollah said it targeted the Zar'it barracks, surveillance equipment in the Jal al-Alam, Mount Adir, and Ramia posts, and a group of soldiers in Metula.
Earlier Thursday, Lebanese state-run media reported an overnight Israeli air raid on the Baalbek area, where Hezbollah holds sway, hours after the group launched an attack deep into Israeli territory.
"The outskirts of the eastern Lebanon mountain range, at midnight (2100 GMT Wednesday), was subjected to five enemy raids," Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) said.
The Israeli strikes "slightly injured a citizen" and caused fires, the NNA added.
A source close to Hezbollah told AFP that one of the strikes "hit a Hezbollah military camp".
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 21:03 Crews of 100mm MT-12 “Rapier” anti-tank guns of the Tula paratroopersdestroyedan infantry group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and an ammunition depot in the Seversky direction. 19:49 Personnel burning Volchansk - after the start of fighting in the city center, “more advantageous positions” are burning, to which the Ukrainian Armed Forces militants have retreated.
19:26 Ukraine continues to terrorize the civilian population of the DPR.
“Today, as a result of artillery attack of Donetsk by the VFU, two civilians were killed, three more people were injured of varying degrees of severity,” –wrote in the Telegram channel, the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin.
During the artillery attack of the School No. 106 stop in the Petrovsky district of Donetsk, a mother and daughter came under fire - unfortunately, the mother was born in 1986. died on the spot, girl born in 2018. received moderate injuries. The second woman, born in 1980, who was wounded in this shelling, died on the operating table. A man born in 1987 was also slightly injured.
In addition, three residential buildings in the Chervonogvardeisky district of Makeyevka were damaged by enemy shelling.
19:06 Explosions occurred again in Khar'kov in eastern Ukraine, Zerkalo Nedeli reported.
18:47 Artillerymen of the “Center” group of troops provided fire support for motorized rifles during the offensive in the Avdeevsky direction.
18:30 Crew of the Iskander OTRK in the Khar'kov region destroyed command post of the 302nd Anti-aircraft Missile Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a warehouse with ammunition and about 50 Ukrainian military personnel.
18:05 Situation in the village Krynki, Kherson direction: on frames the completely destroyed area of the so-called bridgehead, which the Ukrainian Armed Forces were never able to expand.
17:55 Calculations of the Tor-M2 air defense system successfully hit Western-made cruise missiles in the South Donetsk direction.
Crews of the Tor-M2 anti-aircraft missile systems of the Vostok group of troops from the Trans-Baikal Territory protect the first echelon troops and civilian objects in the front-line zone from enemy air attacks in the South Donetsk direction of a special military operation.
17:46 Units of the Russian Armed Forces work on foreign technology in the Artemovsk direction
Thanks to aerial reconnaissance in the village. Chasov Yar, fighters discovered the movement of an American-made Ukrainian Humvee armored vehicle. Having tracked it to its base point, an accurate artillery strike was launched at the received coordinates.
17:20 In the Petrovsky district of Donetsk, one person was killed and two more were wounded as a result of artillery attack at a bus stop, the mayor of the city of Kulemzin said.
16:58 Personnel assault on a forest plantation in the Kupyansky direction near the village of Stelmakhovka (LPR).
16:50 Consequences of artillery attack of the Chervonogvardeisky district of Makeevka by the Ukrainian Armed Forces -photo.
15:57 Destruction of an enemy naval drone in the Black Sea -video.
15:25 Powerful explosions occurred in a nearby suburb north of Khar'kov.
14:50 The situation in Chasov Yar, where the Russian military is fighting at its approaches in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), combat work in this zone is carried out 24/7 -video.
14:37 Assault actions and the capture of strongholds in the village of Rabotino were accompanied by precise strikes by FPV drones and artillery.
After the complete liberation of the settlement, the attack aircraft of the motorized rifle division hoisted the Russian flag on one of the surviving buildings, thereby indicating complete control on this section of the front.
13:51 Explosions occurred in Mirgorod, Poltava region, where a military airfield is located. A missile strike was carried out on enemy targets.
13:27 The main thing from the new briefing of the Russian Ministry of Defense:
Since the beginning of the special operation, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 600 Ukrainian aircraft and 1,300 MLRS vehicles;
Russian troops destroyed a storage warehouse for unmanned boats of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the temporary deployment point of the Sonechko formation of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine was hit;
Russian air defense systems shot down three Ukrainian MiG-29 fighters in one day;
Over the course of 24 hours, the Russian Armed Forces group “West” improved the situation along the front line and repelled 2 counterattacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
The Vostok group of troops occupied more advantageous positions, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 125 soldiers per day;
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 390 military personnel, two tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles, two armored vehicles per day as a result of the actions of the Center group in the DPR;
Units of the Southern Group of the Russian Armed Forces occupied more advantageous positions, the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost more than 520 people;
Russian air defense shot down 25 UAVs, 11 missiles and five guided bombs in one day.
13:14 Ukrainian resources confirm that the Russian Armed Forces improved the situation in the Ivanovka area and entered the village of Berestovoe (northern outskirts).
13:07 In the LPR, servicemen of the Russian Guards neutralized aircraft-type reconnaissance and strike UAV with foreign ammunition.
12:45 On video destruction of bridges and crossings for the supply of ammunition and manpower with Ukrainian Armed Forces equipment in the Khar'kov direction. As well as the defeat of dugouts and military personnel with manpower of Ukrainian militants.
12:05 Active measures are underway in the Khar'kov direction destruction NATO equipment. IX drivers destroyed an American MaxxPro armored vehicle in Volchansk, Khar'kov region, using X-52 Lancet loitering ammunition.
11:54 Khar'kov direction. Soldiers of the “North” group say “hello” from Volchansk. The battles for the settlement continue, Russian soldiers are pushing the Ukrainian Armed Forces out of the city -video.
11:41 Ukrainian troops fired two 155mm rounds at the Chervonogvardeisky district of Makeyevka, the DPR JCCC reported.
10:45 APU planned to blow up a dam in the Khar'kov region to stop the advance of the Russian Armed Forces in the area of the settlement of Pylnaya. But our fighters were able to quickly occupy the territory and subsequently clear the water communications. An attack aircraft with the call sign “Vin” spoke about this.
“If it had been blown up, we wouldn’t have been able to come here. That is, the enemy would remain here, and the artillery attack of nearby villages in the Belgorod region would also continue. Our sappers successfully prevented the flooding of this village, and cleared everything,” said “Vin”.
09:48 In the Kupyansk direction, our troops have tactical success. This was reported by a military expert, retired LPR lieutenant colonel Andrei Marochko.
“Recently, in the area of the settlements Sin'kovka, Petropavlovka, Stelmakhovka, Myasozharovka, Peschanoye, Berestovoe, Nadiya, significant problems have been noted with the enemy. The low level of moral and psychological state among military personnel, lack of material and technical means and other problems led to the collapse of the AFU front, and the tactical successes of our troops. The Russian Armed Forces are occupying new frontiers and positions, and also acquiring new operational and tactical capabilities,” Marochko wrote in the Telegram channel.
09:40 As a result of active actions of the unit of the “Southern” group of forces occupied more advantageous lines, defeated the manpower and equipment of the 10th Mountain Assault, 59 Motorized Infantry, 79 Air Assault, 22, 33, 54, 57 Mechanized brigades, 106 Territorial Defense brigade in the areas of Belogorovka, Kalinin, Razdolovka, Kleshcheevka, Nevel'skoy, Krasnogorovka and Georgievka.
The enemy in the Donetsk direction lost more than 510 military personnel wounded and killed.
Artillery fire and loitering ammunition hit five armored combat vehicles, 10 vehicles, the Kasta radar station, and three field ammunition depots.
During the counterbattery fight, an American-made 155mm M777 howitzer and a 155mm M-198 howitzer, a 155mm German towed howitzer FH-70, a 152mm Giatsint-S cannon, two 152mm D-20 howitzers, and two 122mm D-30 howitzers, a 105mm L119 gun made in Great Britain.
09:21 The Khar'kov region is right now under fire from KABs.
09:05 Our scouts destroyed a Ukrainian tank near the village of Kupyansk-Uzlovoy (Khar'kov region) -video.
08:22 Unit of the “Center” group of troopsimprovedtactical situation and eliminated up to 175 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel
The Russian army improved the tactical position and defeated the formation of the 68th Jaeger, 24th, 100th Mechanized brigades and two brigades of the Ukrainian National Guard in the areas of Novgorod, Mayorsky, Semenovka and Umansky. Soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces repelled six counterattacks in the areas of Solovyevo, Netailovo and Keramika.
Enemy losses amounted to up to 175 military personnel, four armored fighting vehicles, including the Marder combat vehicle, five vehicles, an M-777 howitzer, a T-30 howitzer, an M-119 gun and a US-made M-102 light howitzer.
08:19 Combat Job of attack aircraft and FPV drone operators in Rabotino. Assault groups of the 42nd motorized rifle division of the Dnepr group of troops, in cooperation with operators of attack drones, liberated this settlement in the Zaporozhye region.
08:17 Summary as of May 16, 2024 from military correspondent Evgeny Lisitsyn:
Khar'kov direction: active hostilities in the area of the settlement. Liptsy and the garden plots of “Glubokoe”, where the Russian Armed Forces are attacking and clearing the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Zaporozhye direction: fighting continues on the northern outskirts of Rabotino. Fighting continues northwest of Verbovoy;
South Donetsk direction: intense fighting is taking place in Staromayorsky and Krasnogorovka, the Russian Armed Forces are advancing to the southern outskirts of the cities. There are also battles in Georgievka and Nevelskoye;
Avdeevsky direction: heavy fighting west of Ocheretino and in the vicinity of Umansky. The Russian Armed Forces are trying to expand the zone of control from Ocheretino to Novoandreevka and further to the west;
Artemovsk direction: fierce battles in the area of ??Chasov Yar and the surrounding area, with counterattacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in attempts to avoid encirclement;
Kupyansk direction: breakthrough of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defense south of Kislovka, our troops entrenched themselves in Berestovo.
08:14 Artillery of the “North” group applied massive attacks on positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as a result of which assault units are advancing in the Khar'kov region.
08:09 Fights for Chasov Yar. The crews of the TOS-1A Solntsepek heavy flamethrower systems from the 98th Guards Airborne Division make the night brighter for the enemy.
08:04 Military personnel of the North group of troops told about the situation in the liberated settlements of the Khar'kov region
A serviceman with the call sign “Ruda” noted that the enemy offered virtually no combat resistance, thanks to preliminary preparations and the work of our artillery in this direction.
“There are no military facilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces here. Our patrols are already entering the villages, they are providing control. We are expanding the posts. The enemy is trying to find us by shelling, artillery attack and shooting at roads, houses and streets, the entire village. The enemy works with tanks, throws cassettes, and FPV drones work. The Ukrainian Armed Forces militants know that civilians live here,” says “Ruda”
Soldiers of the North group of troops keep part of the Khar'kov-Liptsy highway under fire control, constantly artillery attack the enemy heading from Khar'kov.
According to “Ruda”, the supply of ammunition, changing personnel and bringing up reserves from the enemy is difficult due to the current situation:
08:00 During the day, Ukrainian troops fired at the DPR 9 times, firing 22 rounds of ammunition, the republic’s representative office in the JCCC reported.
[AFRICANEWS] An Islamist group operating in Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province used boys as young as 13 in attacks on a town last week and residents who were forced to flee the fighting recognized some of the child soldiers as their missing relatives, advocacy group Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.
Al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... , which is affiliated to 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.... group, has previously been accused by UN agencies of kidnapping children and using them as soldiers in its insurgency in the region, which began in 2017. A surge of attacks by turbans in March left at least 70 children missing, according to local authorities and a group of aid agencies.
Witnesses told the rights group that dozens of child soldiers were used in the attacks and were seen carrying AK-style assault rifles and ammunition belts. Two people from the same family said they recognized their 13-year-old nephew among the children.
"I saw him with my own eyes," Abu Rachide, a resident of the town, told Human Rights Watch. He said the boy waved at him but marched on. Rachide's sister said the boy, who went missing earlier in the year, appeared to be taking instructions from older fighters.
"I kept wondering how he became a fighter like that in just four months," she told HRW.
The latest attacks on the town of Macomia began Friday and continued until the next day. Islamist fighters looted shops and warehouses for food and exchanged fire with Mozambican and South African soldiers before retreating, HRW and Mozambican media reports said.
At least 10 people, mostly soldiers, were reportedly killed in the latest fighting and about 700 residents fled to nearby forests to escape the attacks, according to the HRW report.
Recruiting children under the age of 15 as soldiers is a war crime under international law. In February judges at the International Criminal Court granted reparations of more than 52 million euros ($56 million) to thousands of victims of a convicted commander of a Ugandan rebel group, which included former child soldiers.
The attacks in Mozambique came days before the nonprofit Environmental Investigation Agency, which investigates environmental crimes, published a multi-year investigation alleging that millions of tons of timber had been exported illegally from Cabo Delgado to China since 2017 and the profits had been used to finance the insurgency.
The EIA said Tuesday that its investigation found that Chinese traders purchase "conflict timber" from turbans in Cabo Delgado "and export it alongside other wood" in violation of Mozambique's log export ban.
South Africa deployed soldiers to Cabo Delgado as part of a regional force to stem the insurgency, which began in 2017. In 2020, Islamist fighters beheaded dozens of people, many of them children, as the violence spiraled. After a period of relative inactivity, the turbans launched a new wave of attacks this year.
The regional troops announced that they had begun withdrawing from their positions ahead of a July deadline, although soldiers from Rwanda are expected to remain under a separate bilateral deal with Mozambique.
Aid agencies say the conflict forced more than a million people to flee their homes since it started in October 2017 and thousands have been killed. The insurgency also threatens a $20 billion natural gas project in Cabo Delgado.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2024
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Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (IS-Mozambique)
[THEFEDERALIST] The firm of Democrats ...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy,white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects... ’ favorite lawfare artist — who was also the attorney behind the Russia-collusion hoax — was all but laughed out of court in a recent Wisconsin election integrity case.
D.C.-based Elias Law Group, founded by former Clinton campaign and Democrat National Committee lawyer Marc Elias, brought a "novel" absentee ballot complaint against the state that an Obama-appointed judge called "head-scratching."
In dismissing the lawsuit against the Wisconsin Elections Commission, U.S District Court Chief Judge James D. Peterson summarily rejected the leftist law group’s outlandish claim that a state law requiring a U.S. citizen witness and sign an absentee voter’s ballot is a violation of voting and civil rights.
’ABSURD’ INTERPRETATION
In a 37-page ruling, Peterson railed against the complaint’s core argument, concluding that "the most obvious problem with plaintiffs’ interpretation is that it simply does not make any sense."
"The absurd results to which plaintiffs’ interpretation would lead are reason enough to reject that interpretation. But the text, purpose, and history of [Wisconsin Statute] § 6.87 also support an interpretation that a witness is required to certify only the statements about the process of preparing the ballot," Peterson wrote of the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.
"It is plaintiffs’ interpretation that leads to head-scratching results," the federal judge wrote.
The Elias Law Group, practitioners of unbridled leftist lawfare, represent four Wisconsin residents who "wish to vote by absentee ballot in the 2024 election, but they do not want to comply with the witness requirement," according to the lawsuit. They insist the process of asking any U.S. citizen to witness them vote and to sign their absentee ballots "is difficult or inconvenient for them."
"They contend that the requirement violates two federal statutes, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and they seek to permanently enjoin enforcement of the requirement," Peterson writes in his ruling.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2024
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#1
Was it absurd enough to impose a fine, or reimburse the state for attorney's fees (AKA lose pays), or refer Elias to the WI or DC bars for sanctions? You're supposed to do that with frivolous lawsuits in order to discourage that shit. It's just further erosion of our legal system.
[NEWARAB] The Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... on Thursday called for a United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... peacekeeping force in the Paleostinian territories at a summit dominated by Israel's offensive in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip.
The meeting of Arab heads of state and government convened in Bahrain more than seven months into the war on Gaza that has convulsed the wider region.
The "Manama Declaration" issued by the 22-member bloc called for "international protection and peacekeeping forces of the United Nations in the occupied Paleostinian territories" until a two-state solution is implemented.
The declaration also called on "all Paleostinian factions to join under the umbrella of the Paleostine Liberation Organization," which is dominated by Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... ' political rivals, the ruling Fatah movement.
The Arab League added that it considered the PLO "the sole legitimate representative of the Paleostinian people".
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2024
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#1
Among them Arab countries territory is 2000 Israel's territory - but to them it's not enough.
[THEPOSTMILLENNIAL] The squatter who used a Shake Shack receipt to try and prove that he had a legal right to live in a $930,000 New York City home faces a slew of charges by the Queens District Attorney's Office.
Lance White-Hunt, 24, was indicted on one count of second-degree burglary, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, five counts of first-degree identity theft, third-degree attempted grand larceny, petit larceny, third-degree attempted criminal possession of stolen property, offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, tampering with physical evidence, and three counts of fourth-degree criminal mischief.
According to a blurb from the DA's office, White-Hunt allegedly began occupying the property in January, and when authorities showed up in March, he provided a "lease" document in which he allegedly forged the homeowner's broker's signature, and a bill from AT&T with an account number that did not exist.
He later sued homeowners Denis Kurlyand and Juliya Fulman for an "illegal lockout," however the suit was dismissed with prejudice by a judge.
White-Hunt was subsequently arrested on May 13 at an apartment on West 18th Street in Brooklyn and taken into custody.
He is due back in court on June 11. If found guilty, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
"You cannot claim rights to a home that you have entered illegally," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz stated. "My office will not allow individuals to capitalize on the confusion surrounding squatters' rights for their own personal gain."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2024
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday unveiled a historic proposal to ease restrictions on marijuana, a rule that if enacted would also enable more research on its medicinal benefits.
The proposal, first announced in April, would reclassify cannabis from a so-called schedule one drug to a schedule three. Schedule one drugs, such as heroin, are considered highly addictive with no medical benefits, while schedule three drugs are considered to have a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it found "some credible scientific support for the use of marijuana in the treatment of chronic pain, anorexia related to a medical condition, and nausea and vomiting."
"Additionally, no safety concerns were identified in the FDA’s review that would indicate that medical use of marijuana poses unacceptably high safety risks," the proposal says.
President Joe Biden, a Democrat who is running for reelection in November, initiated a review of the drug's classification in 2022, fulfilling a campaign promise that was important to left-leaning members of his political base.
Currently, the drug falls under the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) class that includes heroin and LSD. It would be moved to a group that contains ketamine and Tylenol with codeine.
Reclassifying marijuana represents a first step toward narrowing the chasm between state and federal cannabis laws. The drug is legal in some form in nearly 40 states.
#1
Wonderful. Now Biden is soliciting the pot head demographic.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
05/17/2024 5:08
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#2
...All of which ignores a serious, serious problem: this ain't yer Grandfather's weed.
Over the decades, some stunningly complex and detailed work has gone on in the shadows to 'improve' marijuana - so much so that if we were talking about the same effort to 'improve' crops and livestock to feed people, somebody would probably be looking at a Nobel Prize.
The end result though is that now, some strains of marijuana and increasing numbers of CBD products are within spitting distance of being a fairly powerful psychotropic drug, and the decades of 'no worse than booze and non-addictive' have glossed this over. We are starting to see people physically addicted - and there is no other term for it - to marijuana. Legalization is only going to make this worse.
#3
Gain of function. It isn't just for bat viruses.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/17/2024 7:17
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#4
If there was a way for people to indulge (or wallow) in their chosen vice without hurting anyone other than themselves, that would be fine.
It's pretty much never that simple.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/17/2024 7:22
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#5
This absurdity about restrictions on Mary Jane is a good 60-70 years too late. It's time for the US to join the 20th Century and decriminalize/legalize marijuana NOW.
Big Pharma might hate it, but one might think the big banks & Wall Street would be pushing Congress to make this happen. Weed stocks have to trade on the OTC, and those companies cannot use the banking system.
#7
I myself took my last hit about 50 years ago, because basically I had enough problems with reality, without looking for more.
It will be 'interesting' to see how this plays out.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
05/17/2024 8:27
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#8
Pot heads of the 60's run this administration today. Die off only solution with passage of time. Youth will see the problems and avoid current toughs and actions of today. Feminism, abortions, trans confused people self eliminating.
Article Linked To Is Available Only Via VPN
[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
Units of the Sever Group of Forces advanced to the depth of the enemy's defences and inflicted losses on units of the Kraken nationalist formation and the International Legion, as well as manpower and hardware of the AFU 125th Territorial Defence Brigade and 15th Border Guard Detachment near Dergachi, Liptsy, and Volchansk (Khar'kov region).
Two enemy counterattacks were repelled near Staritsa and Glubokoye (Khar'kov region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 205 Ukrainian troops, three tanks, two armoured fighting vehicles, eight motor vehicles, one Polish-made 155mm Krab self-propelled artillery system, one 122mm D-30 howitzer, and one 122mm BM-21 Grad MLRS combat vehicle.
Units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation along the front lines and inflicted losses on formations of the AFU 21st Mechanised Brigade near Krasny Liman (Donetsk People's Republic).
Two counter-attacks launched by units of the AFU 44th Mechanised Brigade and 1st National Guard Brigade were repelled near Berestovoye (Khar'kov region) and Stelmakhovka (Lugansk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 40 Ukrainian troops, three motor vehicles, and two 152mm D-20 howitzers.
Units of the Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the AFU 5th Assault Brigade and 116th Mechanised Brigade near Chasov Yar and Antonovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 520 Ukrainian troops, four armoured fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, one U.S.-made 155mm M777 howitzer, and one 152mm 2S3 Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system.
Units of the Tsentr Group of Forces improved the tactical situation and inflicted losses on formations of the AFU 47th and 100th Mechanised brigades near Novoaleksandrovka and Yevgenovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
Eight counter-attacks launched by assault detachments of the AFU 71st Jaeger Brigade, 92nd Assault Brigade, 23rd, 24th Mechanised brigades, and 142nd Infantry Brigade were repelled near Arkhangelskoye, Solovyovo, Umanskoye, Netaylovo, and Novoselovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 390 Ukrainian troops, two tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, one U.S.-made 155mm M777 howitzer, one U.S.-made 155mm M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery system, one 152mm D-20 howitzer, and one 122mm 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system.
Units of the Vostok Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the AFU 58th Motorised Infantry Brigade and 128th Territorial Defence Brigade near Velikaya Novosyolka and Urozhaynoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 125 Ukrainian troops, two infantry fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, one Polish-made 155mm Krab self-propelled artillery system, and one 152mm Giatsint-B howitzer.
Units of the Dnepr Group of Forces inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the AFU 65th Mechanised Brigade and 128th Mountain Assault Brigade near Nesteryanka and Pyatikhatki (Zaporozhye region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 40 Ukrainian troops and four motor vehicles.
?Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, and Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces wiped out one uncrewed surface vehicle depot.
In addition, strikes were delivered at one temporary deployment area of the Sonechko nationalist formation of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of the Defence of Ukraine and foreign mercenaries, as well as the enemy's manpower and hardware clusters were engaged in 113 areas.
Air defence units shot down three MiG-29 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force.
Moreover, 25 unmanned aerial vehicles, seven U.S.-made ATACMS and Tochka-U operational-tactical missiles, five U.S.-made HIMARS and Olkha MLRS projectiles, five French-made Hammer guided aerial bombs, and four U.S.-made HARM anti-radiation missiles were destroyed.
In total, 600 airplanes and 274 helicopters, 24,111 unmanned aerial vehicles, 521 air defence missile systems, 16,053 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,300 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 9,607 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 21,753 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[LB] Also, the enemy is most active in the Kramatorsk direction, and the defenders conducted counterattack measures in the Kharkiv direction.
by Iryna Lysohor
Today, the greatest activity of the Russians is recorded in the Kramatorsk and Pokrovsk directions, but intense fighting continues almost along the entire front line.
During the current day, as of 1:30 p.m., a total of 58 combat clashes took place. This was reported in the General Staff.
From the beginning of the day in the Kharkiv direction, the enemy attacked in the direction of the village of Staritsa. Launched missile strikes on Kharkiv and Staraya Vodolaz. Vilcha, Vovchansk and Staritsa were hit by enemy aircraft. Ukrainian soldiers carried out counterattack measures in the area of the city of Vovchansk.
Since the beginning of the day, there have been three combat clashes in the Kupian direction in the areas of Synkivka, Ivanovka, and Berestovo.
On the Lymanskyi direction, two combat clashes were recorded in the Novosadovo region.
In the Seversky direction, the number of enemy attacks increased to three. Combat clashes took place near Zvanivka and Rozdolivka (as of 10:30 there was one attack).
In the Kramatorsk direction, enemy troops made ten attempts to attack the positions of Ukrainian defenders near Hryhorivka, Klishchiivka, and Andriivka. An air strike was carried out in the Druzhba area. Despite the onslaught of the enemy, our soldiers continue to confidently restrain him and, under favorable conditions, counterattack.
The invaders are most active in the Pokrovsky direction. Since the beginning of this day, 20 attacks have already been carried out, in particular, in the areas of Novooleksandrivka, Solovyove, Netaylove and Umanske settlements. The enemy used combat aircraft near Vovchy, Vozdvizhenka and Novooleksandrivka.
In the Kurakhiv direction, the Defense Forces successfully repelled seven enemy attacks. The invaders were active in the districts of Krasnohorivka, Novooleksandrivka, Novomykhailika and Kostyantynivka.
In the Vremivsk direction, the occupiers made six attempts to storm Ukrainian positions near Mykilskyi and Urozhainy, and near Staromayorsky, also with the support of aviation. The enemy had no success.
In the Dnieper direction, the invaders attacked five times near Krynyk, where they suffered losses. The enemy launched an airstrike in the area of the city of Kherson.
In other areas, the situation remained unchanged.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyi held a meeting of the stake in Kharkiv today. According to him, the situation is generally under control, although it is very difficult.
The defense forces focused on restraining the advance of the enemy and disrupting plans to establish full enemy control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and over the north of Kharkiv.
by Iryna Lysohor
During the day, 166 combat clashes took place at the front. The defense forces focused on preventing the Russians from advancing deep into the territory of Ukraine and disrupting plans to establish full enemy control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and over the north of Kharkiv.
In the Kharkiv direction, the Russians carried out 11 attacks during the day. Fighting took place, in particular, in the areas of the settlements of Liptsi, Slobozhanske, Staritsa, Vovchansk, the spokesman of the General Staff, Dmytro Lykhova, said on the air of the telethon.
Ukrainian troops continue to carry out defense and stabilization measures in Vovchansk and keep the situation under control.
In Kupyansk, the defenders repelled 30 attacks in the area of Sinkivka, Pischany, Berestovoy of the Kharkiv region, Stelmakhivka, Myasozharivka, Terdokhlibovoy, Noovyegorivka of the Luhansk region, where the occupiers tried to improve their tactical position.
In Lymansky, the defenders stood in the way of five attacks in the Novosadovo and Torsky districts of the Donetsk region.
In Siversk, defenders repelled eight attacks in the areas of Verkhnokamianske, Spirn, and Rozdolivka settlements of the Donetsk region.
On Kramatorsk, 19 offensive attempts were repulsed in the area of Novy, Andriivka, Klishchiivka, Kurdyumivka, south of Ivanivsk, where the enemy tried to improve the tactical position.
On Pokrovsky, the direction was "hottest". The defenders repelled 45 attacks in the districts of Kalinovo, Novooleksandrivka, Sokol, Umansky, Novoselivka Persha, Netaylovy, Solovyo, Donetsk region. The Russians, with the support of aviation, tried to dislodge the defenders.
In the Kurakhiv direction, the Defense Forces continue to restrain the occupiers in the areas of Krasnohorivka, Pobyeda, Novomykhailivka, Slvany, Vodyany, Paraskoviyvka in Donetsk region, where the Russians, with the support of aviation, tried to break through the defenses.
"Yesterday, our soldiers improved the tactical position in the Pobyeda area," said the spokesman of the General Staff.
Defenders repelled 26 attacks in the Vremivsk direction in the Kostyantynivka, Vodyanyi, Urozhayny, and Staromayorsky districts of the Donetsk region.
In Orihivskoye, the enemy attacked the defense line in the area of the robot four times. Loss of our positions is not allowed.
In the Dnieper direction, the enemy does not give up its intention to dislodge the units of the defenders from the bridgeheads on the left bank of the Dnipro River. During the day, he made seven useless attacks.
"Over the course of a day, the enemy launched four rocket and 75 air strikes, fired 118 salvo fire systems at the positions of our troops and at populated areas," the spokesman added.
Since May 10, the Russian offensive on the Kharkiv region has been ongoing. Yesterday, shooting battles took place on the northern outskirts of Vovchansk, but the city is under Ukrainian control.
In the evening of May 15, the President of Ukraine reported that the situation in the Kharkiv region was partially stabilized.
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 21:51 The New York Times writes that Ukraine has allegedly asked its NATO partners to help train 150 thousand recruits closer to the front line for faster deployment. The US said no, but the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the deployment of NATO trainers "seems inevitable".
21:45 Hourly power outages have resumed in Ukraine. Since March 22 alone, Russia has carried out five large-scale attacks on thermal and hydroelectric power plants in Ukraine. The destruction of infrastructure led first to restrictions in the supply of electricity to industry, and more recently to the population. Even record imports and emergency aid from the EU are not helping. Read more about the situation in the power system in the article Blackouts are back.
21:02 British intelligence warned Kiev about the impending Russian offensive in the Khar'kov region, but unprepared defensive lines, delays in the supply of weapons, and a lack of manpower prevented it from being stopped, The Guardian writes.
20:54 Russia does not have enough troops for a strategic breakthrough, Supreme Commander of NATO Allied Forces Europe Christopher Cavoli said after a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council. “Moreover, they do not have the skills and capabilities to do so, to operate at the scale necessary to exploit any breakthrough to gain strategic advantage,” the general added. He also believes that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Russians have improved logistics, but the quality of Russian troops has deteriorated.
20:09 On Friday, May 17, hourly shutdown schedules for household and industrial consumers will be in effect from 00:00 to 8:00 and from 19:00 to 24:00, Ukrenergo reported.
19:40 As of today, military operations in urban areas continue in Volchansk, but in general the active advance of the enemy has been stopped. The enemy is trying to take positions in the Lipetsk direction, but to no avail, said the head of the Khar'kov OVA Oleg Sinegubov. According to him, the Russians are forced to increase their reserves, but are suffering significant losses. The Defense Forces are currently working to stabilize the front line and reduce the gray zone.
18:38 Austria has created a special fund for 500 million euros, which will support exports and investments in Ukraine, the government announced.
18:19 Number of wounded as a result of Russian shelling. The Bugaevka community of the Volchanskaya community in the Khar'kov region has increased to six, said the head of the OBA Oleg Sinegubov. Among the injured are the head of the Volchanskaya GVA, two doctors, two drivers and one civilian.
18:14 One of the goals of the Russian Federation now is gas infrastructure in western Ukraine, Zelensky said during a telephone conversation with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. He called on us to find a way to counteract this together. “Russia’s success there will jeopardize Europe’s energy security,” the president emphasized. The teams were also instructed to immediately begin work on the text of a bilateral security agreement. “Between historical partners, it should be as ambitious as possible,” Zelensky added.
18:10 The Danish government announced a new package of military assistance for Ukraine worth 750 million euros. Almost half of the funds are aimed at strengthening air defense. In addition, the package includes additional funding for the transfer of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine, maintenance of artillery installations and funds for the transfer of additional artillery installations, shells and anti-tank mines.
17:41 The European Union is massively importing Russian oil through Turkey, hidden by other markings, writes Politico. Russian oil is legally imported into the EU as “mixed” fuel, labeled as non-Russian. Thanks to deliveries from three ports alone, Russia thus earned up to 3 billion euros in a year. Greece is also actively importing Russian oil, which has assured that it is complying with sanctions and does not accept cargo with Russian markings. Probably, the labeling is simply changing, the publication notes.
17:12 On the afternoon of May 15, the Russian Aerospace Forces dropped three FAB-500s on the Belgorod region. One of the bombs fell right next to the water park, reports the opposition Russian publication Astra. Thus, over the past three months, the Russian Aerospace Forces have dropped at least 38 FABs and one unidentified munition on Russian and occupied Ukrainian regions.
16:36 From 16:00, shutdown schedules will be applied again in Kiev, Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk and Odessa regions, DTEK reported.
15:55 The situation in the energy system may improve next week, but it will not be possible to completely avoid outages either in the summer or in the fall, said Vladimir Kudrytsky, Chairman of the Board of Ukrenergo. In turn, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, member of the supervisory board of Ukrenergo Yuriy Boyko predicts that restrictions on energy supply for consumers may continue until August. Also, deficits in the energy system will persist in winter, even at high temperatures.
“If we talk about the restrictions that began a day ago, then we will have to live in these conditions, according to my estimates, until August. In August-September, I expect a slight improvement due to a different set of factors,” Boyko noted. He explained that during this period, nuclear generation will exit the active phase of repairs, and there will still be a large amount of solar generation in the energy system. In addition, the load on the energy system will be reduced due to the still warm, but no longer hot weather.
15:43 The Russian military carried out cluster munition attacks on the village of Volchanskaya community in the Khar'kov region, said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA. Five people were injured: two doctors, two drivers and the head of the Volchansk city military administration.
15:17 Zelensky said in an interview with ABC News that “Russia will not be able to capture Khar'kov if we have two Patriot systems.” The president also said that the American money allocated to Kyiv does not go to Ukraine, but immediately goes to the US economy: “This money is not transferred to Ukraine. This is money spent on American factories, the creation of American jobs... And we are not only fighting for our freedom. If it weren't for Ukraine, it would be a different country."
14:44 From the beginning of the day, in the Khar'kov direction, the Russian army attacked in the direction of the village of Staritsa. In turn, the Defense Forces carried out counterattack operations in the Volchansk area, the General Staff reported.
14:26 The Russians carried out an airstrike on the village of Vysokoye, Berislavsky district, Kherson region - one person was killed, four were wounded, said the head of the OVA Alexander Prokudin. A store building and two private houses were damaged.
14:20 The delegation of Ukrainian deputies in the United States is seeking, among other things, an invitation to NATO at the next Alliance summit in July, People’s Deputy Yegor Chernev said: “One of the points that we are now promoting here in Washington, so that we still receive a clear a signal regarding our NATO membership in Washington already in July of this year at the summit. We understand that after the invitation there will be no membership the next day. But we can have some specific clear framework. I think that 2028 is absolutely realistic. framework".
13:48 In the morning, the Russians attacked the territory of one of the state coal mining enterprises in the Donetsk region, six miners were injured. The building of the administrative and amenity complex of the enterprise was also damaged by shelling, the Ministry of Energy reported.
13:37 Several weeks before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia launched the Cosmos-2553 satellite into space, carrying components of an anti-satellite nuclear weapons system, The Wall Street Journal writes. The satellite is designed to test components of a potential anti-satellite weapon that could carry a nuclear device, U.S. officials say.
The satellite itself does not carry nuclear weapons, but US officials say it carries non-nuclear components of Russia's new weapons system. This weapon, if deployed, would allow Moscow to destroy hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit with a nuclear explosion “in a part of space dominated by the apparatus of the US government and SpaceX,” the publication writes.
12:51 On the night of May 16, GUR drones attacked the production facilities of the state-owned enterprise of the Russian defense complex Basalt in Tula, Ukrainian media reported, citing intelligence sources.
12:46 In the northern part of Volchansk, where active hostilities are taking place, the Russian military is taking local residents prisoner and forbidding them to evacuate. People began to be kidnapped and driven into basements, said the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Igor Klimenko. According to him, the first executions of civilians by the Russian military are already known. In particular, one of the residents of Volchansk tried to escape on foot, refused to follow the Russians’ commands, and was killed. Evacuation groups of the National Police continue to work in Volchansk, despite intense military clashes, and are trying to ensure further evacuation of people.
12:43 Zelensky said that he was in Khar'kov and held a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Headquarters. Heard a detailed report from Commander-in-Chief Alexander Syrsky, commanders of the OSGV Khortitsa Yuri Sodol and the commanders of the OSGV Khar'kov Mikhail Drapatoy. “As of today, the situation in the Khar'kov region is generally under control, our soldiers are inflicting significant losses on the occupier. But the direction remains extremely difficult - we are strengthening our units,” the president said.
12:32 Ukraine “chronically lacks” generation and imports for the current level of electricity consumption, Yasno CEO Sergei Kovalenko said. “The situation at night and in the morning turned out to be more complicated than our colleagues expected. Last night, Ukrenergo increased the volume of limits that would allow us to work on schedule, but then at night and in the morning these volumes of restrictions were adjusted several more times. In the morning we hopelessly fell out of the limits, so emergency shutdowns were used “We really hope that this will not happen in the evening, and we will be able to pass the next peak calmly, at least according to the schedule,” Kovalenko explained.
12:25 The joint statement after the talks between Putin and Xi Jinping spoke of the need to stop “any steps that could lead to prolongation of hostilities and further escalation” of the war in Ukraine. The document also says that Russia positively assesses China’s position on the Ukrainian issue. Russia and China will continue to “deepen trust and cooperation in the military field and expand the scope of joint exercises.”
12:07 There remains a significant shortage of electricity in the energy system for most of the day; in all regions of Ukraine, hourly outage schedules are in effect throughout the day, Ukrenergo reported.
11:34 In the Khar'kov direction, since the beginning of the enemy’s offensive operations on May 10, the Defense Forces forced the Russians to significantly reduce their activity. The enemy’s plans to penetrate as deep as possible into the urban development of Volchansk and gain a foothold there were thwarted, the General Staff reported. Since the beginning of the current day, Ukrainian units have continued to carry out combat missions within the urban areas of Volchansk in the northern part of the city. The situation is under control. In the Kupyansky direction, the Defense Forces improved the tactical position and pushed back the enemy in the area north of Kislovka.
11:05 Putin and Xi Jinping signed an agreement to deepen the bilateral strategic partnership. According to Putin, the Russian Federation and China have formed a portfolio of 80 large joint investment projects in various fields. Xi Jinping noted that Chinese-Russian cooperation is “the standard of relations between great states and neighboring countries.” He also emphasized that China always intends to be good neighbors with Russia.
10:53 The German defense concern Rheinmetall plans to create another joint venture in the field of air defense in Ukraine, said CEO Armin Papperger. He also noted that the promised 40 Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles will be delivered to Ukraine from May to September.
10:36 As a result of a massive missile attack on Crimea on the night of May 14-15, an air defense system-S-400, two MiG-31 aircraft and a warehouse of fuel and lubricants were hit, reports the opposition Russian publication Astra. As sources in the emergency services told reporters, the attack was first carried out on the Belbek military airfield in Sevastopol, where two MiG-31 interceptor fighters were destroyed, and a warehouse of fuels and lubricants was also burned down. 11 Russian servicemen were injured. A little later, closer to the morning of May 15, a missile hit the S-400 Triumph air defense system already in the area of the village of Vishnevoye. After the attack, the air defense system caught fire, two servicemen were killed and two were injured.
09:58 On May 15, two people were killed in the Donetsk region as a result of Russian shelling - in Karlivka, said the head of the OBA Vadim Filashkin.
09:22 In the Khar'kov region over the past 24 hours, 13 people were injured as a result of Russian shelling, said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA. Thus, two people were wounded in Khar'kov, one in the village. Boguslavka, two - in the city of Chuguev, one - in the village. Grafskoye, Chuguevsky district, one - in Volchansk, one - in the village. Kolesnikovka, Kupyansky district, one in a field in the Dergachiv community and four more doctors in the village. Malaya Danilovka. In Kupyansk, one person died as a result of an ammunition explosion.
09:11 Shoigu said that his main task as Secretary of the Russian Security Council remains the war in Ukraine. According to him, the Russian armed forces are advancing in all directions, “the necessary reserves of people and equipment have been created for a further offensive.”
08:35 Putin arrived in China to meet with Xi Jinping. The White House announced a tough position regarding the actions of Beijing, which provides support for the Russian military-industrial complex. “We find it unacceptable that Chinese companies are helping Putin wage this war against Ukraine,” White House Speaker Karine Jean-Pierre said.
08:03 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of May 16:
personnel - about 488,460 (+1520) people,
tanks - 7529 (+19),
armored combat vehicles - 14,538 (+30),
artillery systems - 12,565 (+27),
MLRS - 1070 (+0),
air defense systems - 798 (+0),
aircraft - 351 (+0),
helicopters - 325 (+0),
UAV of operational-tactical level - 10 028 (+13),
cruise missiles - 2200 (+1),
ships/boats - 26 (+0),
submarines - 1 (+0),
automotive equipment and tank trucks - 17,048 (+93),
special equipment - 2062 (+1).
07:09 As a result of yesterday's Russian attack on Nikolaev, a fire occurred at a civilian infrastructure facility, which was promptly extinguished by employees of the State Emergency Service. The blast wave also damaged a multi-story building, a store, and car dealerships. Six people were injured, said the head of the OIA, Vitaly Kim.
06:38 The Belbek airfield in Crimea was hit again, public reports report that the fuel depot is on fire. The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that five ATACMS missiles were allegedly shot down over Crimea.
04:57 The US Helsinki Commission stated that Washington should allow Ukraine to strike the Russian Armed Forces in the border areas of Russia. These forces support the offensive operation in the Khar'kov region. This resolution was also supported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Analysts emphasize that the US restriction of Ukraine’s ability to strike military targets in Russia has created shelters in the border areas of the Russian Federation, from where Russian aircraft can launch planned bombing and missile attacks on Ukrainian positions and populated areas. Also, Russian forces freely accumulate in these shelters before being transferred to the territory of Ukraine.
04:24 The United States is working on another package of “urgently needed assistance to Ukraine,” White House Speaker Karine Jean-Pierre said. At the same time, she did not specify what exactly would be included in the new package.
00:16 Zelensky said that he had a conversation with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, informed him about the situation at the front and Russia’s attempts to expand the war. According to the president, all attention is now focused on ongoing defense operations and contacts with the military, which has necessitated the postponement of all foreign visits. Montenegro confirmed Portugal's participation in the Peace Summit.
[BREITBART] Democrat Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), client of Justice Juan Merchan’s daughter’s consulting firm, said Tuesday he prepared Michael Cohen for testimony.
Cohen, of course, testified this week in the ongoing trial of former President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... , and many believed that Goldman’s comments indicated he was preparing Cohen for this testimony. But Goldman’s office now says that he was referring to previous testimony from Cohen in other matters and that Goldman has had nothing to do with Cohen in this ongoing case in New York.
"Congressman Goldman was referring to his February 2019 deposition of Michael Cohen, when the Congressman was Director of Investigations for the House Intelligence Committee overseeing an investigation into Donald Trump’s financial ties to Russia," Goldman’s communications director Madison Andrus told Breitbart News on Wednesday afternoon after the initial publication of this story. "The Congressman has had nothing to do with the Manhattan District Attorney’s prosecution of Donald Trump."
Goldman also paid more than $157,000 dollars to the political consulting firm of Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, Federal Election Commission disbursement filings obtained by Breitbart News show:
The Oversight Committee held a vote to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for failing to hand over the audio recording of former special counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Joe Biden. Nearly an hour into the hearing Republican House Oversight Chair James Comer could be heard asking if any other member would be seeking recognition, to which Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene responded by asking if any Democrats on the committee were employing Judge Juan Merchan’s daughter.
Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Occasional Cortex got their panties in a wad in response to Greene's remarks. Video at the link is precious.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/17/2024 12:05
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#11
The video and transcripts won’t match.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/17/2024 13:31
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[SUDANTRIBUNE] Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... ’s Sovereign Council and Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces has pledged to arm civilians in the Gezira state following a meeting with the High Committee of Popular Resistance®.
On Thursday, al-Burhan met with a delegation from the Supreme Committee of Popular Resistance® in Gezira state, which has been under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since the end of last year. The city of al-Managil, now serving as the state’s provisional capital, replaced Wad Madani.
Al-Burhan assured the committee of his commitment to fulfil their demands, including arming civilians and volunteers, supporting local resistance groups, and reinstating veteran fighters. The meeting was attended by a diverse group, including representatives of Sufi orders, Native Administration, and prominent community figures.
This pledge comes in response to the dire situation in al-Jazirah, where the RSF has been accused of grave human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... violations since assuming control. These abuses range from murder, kidnapping, and forced displacement to terror campaigns, sexual violence, and rampant looting of property and resources.
Al-Jazirah residents have expressed growing frustration with the government’s response to attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In recent days, WhatsApp groups for the region have seen calls for self-armament and the formation of local militias to defend against the RSF. These calls criticize General al-Burhan and the army for failing to provide weapons for defence.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2024
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#1
Jazirah, center of large agricultural developments, is the Sudan's breadbasket; it has been since the region switched from cotton to grains. It is populated almost exclusively by Arabs. It is a terrible irony but the depredations suffered by the Sudan's African minorities in Darfur and elsewhere along Sudan's periphery are now, and for the first time in the nation's history, being suffered by the Arab majority in the Arab heartland.
[An Nahar] Lebanese state-run media said an Israeli strike on a car in the country's south on Thursday killed two people, with Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers saying at least one of them was a group member.
Israel and Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... ally Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily fire since the Paleostinian group's October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , now in its eighth month.
"Two people were martyred in the raid that targeted a car on the Ramadiyeh-Qana road," the official National News agency (NNA) said, after earlier reporting a dronezap.
A rescuer from the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health committee said an Israeli strike on a car in Qana had killed two young men, including a member of the Iran-backed movement.
Hezbollah earlier said it had launched "more than 60" rockets at Israeli military positions in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights in retaliation for overnight strikes that killed a Hezbollah member who Israel said was a field commander.
The strikes were "in response to the Israeli enemy's attacks last night on the Bekaa region" in eastern Leb ...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... 's Baalbek area, it said in a statement.
The Israeli army later said it had identified about "40 launches" from Lebanon towards the Golan Heights that caused no injuries before striking back at the sources of the fire.
It reported several more attacks from Lebanon on northern Israel, to which it had also responded with strikes.
- TIT-FOR-TAT FIRE -
Earlier, NNA had reported a midnight Israeli raid on the Baalbek area, where Hezbollah holds sway, hours after the group launched an attack deep into Israeli territory.
"The outskirts of the eastern Lebanon mountain range... was subjected to five enemy raids," the agency said, adding that they maimed a Lebanese citizen and caused fires.
A source close to Hezbollah told AFP one of the strikes "hit a Hezbollah military camp".
An Israeli army front man told AFP: "I can confirm that an air strike was indeed conducted deep in Lebanon against a terror target related to Hezbollah's precision missile project".
The area of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley is a Hezbollah bastion, bordering Syria.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2024
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Dmitry Polyakov
[REGNUM] At the beginning of May this year, the Turkish Ministry of Trade announced the suspension of trade relations with Israel. The decision is the second stage of the policy of economic pressure on the Jewish state - earlier in April, Ankara introduced restrictions on the export of 54 groups of goods. However, these measures did not lead to any results.
Therefore, this time the Republic of Turkey decided to toughen its course.
An official statement from the Ministry of Commerce said that “ export-import transactions related to Israel have been stopped, the decision applies to all types of goods. Turkey will strictly and resolutely implement these measures until the Israeli government allows a continuous and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza."
Meanwhile, the ministry clarified that it has already begun to work with colleagues from the Palestinian Authority to ensure that the measures taken do not affect the population of the West Bank. This is because Türkiye exported goods to the Palestinian territories through Israeli customs.
The PA government does not control its external borders, so that could get interesting, now that all is in the open. Were I Bibi, I’d be feeling more than a tad vindictive at the moment.
The suspension of trade came as a complete surprise to the Israeli side.
Or not, as the case may be. He’s done it before.
Thus, Foreign Minister Israel Katz criticized Turkish policy, specifically mentioning President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “This is how a dictator behaves, ignoring the interests of the Turkish people, businessmen and international trade agreements,” the head of the foreign ministry of the Jewish State wrote in a message.
Well, yes.
In addition, Katz noted that he has directed his ministry to seek alternatives for trade, focusing on "local production and imports from other countries."
Lots of people want Israeli products, even if they have to pretend otherwise — taking off the labels before selling to the public. I seem to recall hysteria in Saudi Arabia a few years ago about Jaffa oranges...
In many ways, Turkey’s actions increase tensions in relations with Israel, which noticeably worsened against the backdrop of a new round of escalation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict last fall. However, states limited themselves to negative rhetoric towards each other and tried not to resort to direct action.
Since the spring of this year, Ankara has decided to raise rates.
Despite playing Big Sultanate On Campus, Turkey is still just a Third World country, so doesn’t have the kind of economic leeway of Germany or America. So sorry.
At the end of April, Erdoğan formally received a high-level Hamas delegation along with Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh. Leaders of the Palestinian movement were received in Ankara for the first time since October 7, 2023. Already in May, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced that his country had submitted a request to the International Court of Justice, joining South Africa's lawsuit against Israel.
Therefore, measures aimed at restricting trade are in line with Turkey’s course towards a consistent weakening of ties with the Jewish state.
THE ROLE OF ELECTIONS
In this context, it is important to trace the chronology of Turkey’s actions - precisely from April 2024.
Turkish authorities began to put pressure on Israel after the failure of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in municipal elections in all major cities in March this year.
In addition, in the districts of Sanliurfa and Yozga (considered the main electoral centers of the AKP), the New Welfare Party (NPP), which takes a tougher stance against Gaza, won.
In previous years, Erdogan’s image as a protector of Muslims in the region added some support for the ruling party in elections, which made it possible to mobilize the conservative electorate to vote for the AKP.
However, since the new stage of the Palestinian-Israeli confrontation, the current president has been losing political points. Today, Turkish society actively criticizes the authorities for maintaining trade ties with Israel. Therefore, Erdogan was forced to act and began a policy of pressure.
I think the Regnum reporter has confused cause and effect there…
It is worth emphasizing that Ankara’s current course is being implemented only to suit the political situation and does not in any way correspond to economic feasibility. Because the Turkish economy is in a deplorable state.
The decline began even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Formally, in 2023, the country's economy grew by 4.5%. In reality, this came at a rather high cost—the price was a currency crisis.
The lira has lost nearly half its value in five years, leading to hyperinflation that reached nearly 70% in May. The weak currency has caused prices for manufactured goods to rise, with the manufacturing sector, which accounts for a fifth of the country's GDP, hit hardest.
I started hearing about government-spending driven inflation driving Turkish businesses into bankruptcy back in the mid-1990s. They’ve had several cycles since — truly, it’s a wonder there still is a manufacturing sector in Turkey, even without the stripping of the Gulens in the middle of the past decade.
For these reasons, millions of Turks today struggle to make ends meet.
It was against this background that Erdogan decided to suspend trade ties with Israel, one of Turkey’s key trade and economic partners in the region.
Is it a long term solution?
Indeed, trade and economics are the basis of Turkish-Israeli relations.
The free trade agreement between the parties has been in force since 1997. In 2023, Ankara was the fifth-largest exporter to the Jewish State, with exports reaching $4.6 billion—about 76% percent of total bilateral trade, which stood at $6.3 billion.
Given the existing trade imbalance, the greatest harm from the measures taken will not be Israel, but Türkiye itself.
In order to have at least some impact, Ankara decided to limit access to Turkish ports, through which the Jewish state also traded with third countries. For example, Azerbaijani oil comes to Israel through the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.
Realizing that local businesses would suffer from the sudden stop in trade, the Turkish Ministry of Trade granted a three-month grace period to exporters to Israel. The ministerial directive states that companies must complete contract transactions through third countries.
It is noteworthy that the released document became a reason for speculation.
In Israel they immediately started talking about the fact that Türkiye had lifted many trade restrictions. Foreign Minister Israel Katz made a statement with the following content: “The lesson is clear: we must not give in to the dictator’s threats.” This suggests that the country did not feel the consequences of the suspension of trade, and the postponement for Turkish companies is regarded as a victory in this confrontation.
As a result, it is not the Israeli economy that suffers from Ankara’s policies, but the Turkish one.
Those juices sure are tricksy…
While Turkish officials say there are no exceptions to the trade ban, the reality is that the measures may be short-lived. Erdogan’s actions are subject to political conjuncture and are largely of an image nature.
Given the existing problems in the Turkish economy, the trade ban may remain at the formal level, but export companies will receive various concessions to conduct their activities.
And everyone will realize that President Erdogan backed down. How deservedly humiliating for him.
[IsraelTimes] Sgt. Maj. (res.) Ran Yavetz sixth soldier to be killed in tragic mistake in two days, after Jabaliya friendly fire incident; primed rocket launchers uncovered in southern Gaza city.
A military reservist was killed in an "operational accident" on the border with the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip, the Israel Defense Forces said Thursday, a day after five soldiers were killed due to a case of mistaken identity.
Sgt. Maj. (res.) Ran Yavetz, 39, was killed in a blast caused by Israeli munitions in a military zone near the Black Arrow memorial site, hundreds of meters inside Israel.
Yavetz, from Modiin, had served with the Bislamach Brigade’s 6828th Battalion.
Four other soldiers were lightly injured in the accident, which was under further investigation, the army said.
On Thursday morning, the IDF announced that five Israeli soldiers were killed and another seven maimed, including three seriously, in a friendly fire incident in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya the night before.
The deaths brought the toll of slain troops in the IDF ground offensive against Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... in Gaza and in operations on the border to 279. A civilian Defense Ministry contractor has also been killed in Gaza.
At least 50 of the fatalities have been due to friendly fire and other accidents, according to IDF data. The army has assessed that myriad reasons have led to the deadly accidents, including communication issues between forces, and soldiers being exhausted and not paying attention to regulations.
Tanks continued to push into the heart of Jabaliya in northern Gaza on Thursday, facing anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs from Hamas fighters concentrated, Paleostinians reported.
Israel says it has eliminated many button men in Jabaliya but had no new comment on developments there on Thursday.
In Rafah, where residents reported heavy Israeli bombardments, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that more troops would be deployed in Gaza’s southernmost city, the focus of intense international consternation.
"This operation will continue with additional forces that will enter [the area]. Several tunnels in the area have been destroyed by our forces and more tunnels will be destroyed soon," Gallant said in remarks provided by his office.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri ...a senior spokesman for Hamas. Zuhri gained notoriety in 2006 when he dropped his money belt containing somewhere between 640,000 and 900,000 euros, which was confiscated by Paleostinian security and customs officials at a routine border crossing from Egypt to Gaza. The news brought competing Hamas and Fatah forces to the crossing checkpoint for an epic face-making and hollering contest... responded that the Paleostinian terror group would defend its people "by all means."
Israel says four of Hamas’s six remaining battalions are now in Rafah along with hostages kidnapped during the terror group’s October 7 massacre, but it faces international pressure not to invade the city, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Paleostinian civilians are sheltering amid the ongoing war. Two more Hamas battalions remain in central Gaza, in the Nuseirat and Deir al-Balah camps.
The United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... says that over 600,000 Gazooks have evacuated the city since the IDF began operations there last week by taking over the Paleostinian side of the Rafah Border Crossing.
South Africa on Thursday asked the International Court of Justice to halt the IDF’s military campaign in Rafah — and in all of Gaza — claiming that Israel has genocidal intent against Paleostinians.
Citing comments by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who was quoted by Haaretz at the end of April as saying, "There are no half-measures. Rafah, Deir al-Balah, Nusseirat — total annihilation," as evidence of Israeli genocidal intent, Attorney Tembeka Ngcukaitobi also played a video of IDF soldiers before entering the southern Gazook city praying and then singing, "We will dismantle Rafah."
South Africa told the top UN court that the Rafah offensive was "part of the endgame in which Gaza is utterly destroyed." Israel has denied allegations of genocide in Gaza and said it had complied with an earlier court order to step up aid. Israel will respond to South Africa at Friday’s hearing.
The IDF began sending troops into Rafah on May 7, in what it has described as a pinpoint operation, with soldiers currently holding a relatively small area southeast of the city.
The IDF said that troops of the 414th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit located several primed rocket launchers with long-range projectiles Thursday.
The launchers, some of which were used in attacks on Israeli cities in recent months, were located and demolished using drones, the military said.
In a different area of Rafah, the IDF said troops located another rocket launching site with dozens of launchers, before it was also demolished. This site had also been used in recent attacks on Israeli cities, including last week’s barrage on Beersheba, according to the military.
The military said its 98th Division pushed into the Jabaliya camp in the northern Gaza Strip overnight, killing many gunmen amid the fighting.
The IDF said the division’s 7th and 460th armored brigades battled “dozens of armed squads and eliminated a large number of terrorists” over the past day.
In the same area, a drone strike killed a terror cell responsible for rocket fire on the southern city of Sderot on Tuesday, the military said.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Tuesday that troops are now operating in areas of Jabaliya that the IDF previously did not reach in the initial ground offensive in northern Gaza. More than 80 gunmen have been killed in the operation that started on Sunday.
On Wednesday morning, several rockets were fired from Jabaliya at Sderot. Some of the rockets were downed by the Iron Dome air defense system, while at least one struck an unoccupied building, authorities said. There were no injuries.
The rate of rocket fire on southern towns has steadily increased in recent days as the IDF was carrying out new operations against Hamas.
A useful observation.
Also in the past day, some 80 sites used by terror groups, including buildings, weapon depots, rocket launchers, observation posts, and other infrastructure, were struck by the Air Force, the military said.
The IDF also confirmed Wednesday morning that troops of the Nahal Brigade withdrew from Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood after six days, to prepare for “additional offensive operations.”
The IDF reentered Zeitoun last Thursday for the third time in the ongoing war after identifying Hamas regrouping there.
Reservists of the Carmeli Brigade continued to operate in Zeitoun, the IDF added, contradicting media reports claiming that the six-day operation there had ended.
On Tuesday night, Hagari said troops had killed more than 150 gunmen and destroyed some 80 sites used by terror groups in the ongoing Zeitoun operation.
[FoxNews] Two foreign nationals are in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after an alleged attempt to breach a Marine Corps base this month, officials confirmed Thursday.
The incident happened May 3 at Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia. A spokesperson for the base said two people in a box truck were stopped at a gate.
The driver allegedly told military coppers they were making a delivery to the post office and worked for a company subcontracted by Amazon.
Because they had no affiliation to the base and no approved credentials, they were directed to a holding area for vetting.
"It was at that time, one of the military coppers noticed the driver, ignoring the direct instructions of the officers, continued to move the vehicle past the holding area and attempted to access Marine Corps Base Quantico," spokesperson Capt. Michael Curtis said in a statement.
"Due to the swift response and execution of their duties, the officers were able to deploy the vehicle denial barriers, prevent any further access to Marine Corps Base Quantico and detain the individuals who were eventually turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody."
No injuries were reported, and officers did not report any weapons. The alleged breach was first reported by the Potomac Local News.
On Thursday, Fox News asked Acting ICE Director Patrick Lechleitner about the case, and he said he was familiar with the case and that the two nationals are in removal proceedings.
ICE sources confirmed to Fox News that both suspects are Jordanian nationals. Lechleitner was asked if he could confirm reports at least one of them was on the terror watchlist and if they were in the country illegally.
"I can't confirm anything like that right now," he said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked at a briefing about the incident, and she confirmed the two were in ICE custody.
"So, I'm going to be really mindful, these two Jordanians that you're speaking of remain in ICE custody, and given that it is an active law enforcement matter ... I would have to refer you to ICE," she said.
#8
"Multiple sources have stated at least one individual had recently crossed the border and entered the U.S.. At least one is reportedly on the FBI’s Terrorism Watch List."
#16
The ICE hand-off tell me they were not bringing in anything dangerous this time, perhaps just trial run to observe TTP and security. Since they didn't pose any immediate threat this time, a quick deportation without any trial process keeps the entire thing quickly buried. That they are not being released back into the country like millions of other illegals hints at something nefarious about their motives that the Puppet Show wants off the news before the election.
[THEHILL] Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has won the Republican nomination in the closely watched race for the state’s open Senate seat, according to a projection from Decision Desk HQ.
Hogan is vying to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin (Md.), whose plans to leave the upper chamber after three terms in the role kicked off a competitive Democratic primary in the Old Line State.
#3
I held my nose when I voted for him. Rino for sure but only one strong enough to win next election. Law enforcement can't stand the man or our new governor Moore. Rainy day fund is gone that Hogan built up. Spending continues. New taxes for short falls. 70% cuts to food stamp recipients. Community rescue services dramatically cut at this time. Closure of ACS power plant will dramatically increase energy and water cost increases. Tough times ahead.
#4
The great part is the dem voters passed on the white guy who could self fund his candidacy in favor of the box checker who will strain party resources that could go to other tight races.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/17/2024 9:49
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#5
Sort of a win. Bringing both MAGA and RINOs to the Maryland polls might make a difference down ballot.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/17/2024 10:15
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#6
If the GOP picks up the Senate I'd rather it was Jim Justice and Tim Sheehy supplying the 51st and 52nd votes anyway.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/17/2024 10:19
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#7
If he makes it, he makes it. He would be a vote for Thune or Cornyn as Majority Leader.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/17/2024 13:33
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#8
Once again, the GOP embarrasses itself.
If you think I'm voting (or not voting) GOP, then all you have to do is look at Hogan and Mittens and Murkowski and..........
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] …for shooting AK-47 wielding BLM protester during 2020 riot
Daniel Perry, a US Army Sergeant, has been pardoned by Texas Governor Abbott
He was sentenced to 25 years over the July 2020 murder of BLM protestor Garrett Foster in Austin
Texas Governor Greg Abbott requested the state parole board investigate his case to discuss a possible pardon just days later, which led to a unanimous approval vote that was announced Thursday.
In a statement after the vote was announced, Abbott cited Texas' 'Stand Your Ground' laws, which allow people to use deadly force if they feel they are in imminent danger.
'Texas has one of the strongest ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive District Attorney,' Abbott said.
The progressive DA in this case being Soros-backed Travis County District Attorney José Garza, who was elected in 2020. He quickly developed the habits of prosecuting some police officers and forcing others to perjure themselves in order to obtain his convictions.
'I thank the Board for its thorough investigation, and I approve their pardon recommendation.'
To many, the conviction was a common example of a Soro's politically owned DA, and a demographically selected jury for a pre-determined conviction.
Seriously, how could any jury convict knowing that the attacking now dead POS, BLM protester was carrying and firing a AK-47 during a Large Massive looting /riot.
#2
NN, it's Austin and Travis County. Logic goes there to die.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
05/17/2024 8:13
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#3
Earlier in the day, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a pardon recommendation to the governor’s office, indicating in a statement that it had “delved into the intricacies” of Mr. Perry’s case, including reviewing police reports, court records, witness statements, and interviews with people linked to the case.
“The Board voted unanimously to recommend a full pardon and restoration of firearm rights,” the board said in the statement. Epoch Times
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/17/2024 9:49
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#4
Jury wanted to "send a message." Abbott sent one right back.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/17/2024 9:59
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#5
It sends a message to activists to behave in Texas.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/17/2024 10:37
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#6
^ Professional deaf ears.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/17/2024 10:40
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Ross Marsov
[REGNUM] In China, the elite played Go to develop strategic skills. The essence of the game is that on the same field, two players alternately place stones in order to block the opponent’s air. You can place your stone anywhere, but sooner or later your opponent will also place a stone nearby to try to surround you. Continued on Page 49
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] The Basmanny District Court of Moscow granted the investigation's request to extend the arrest of four defendants in the criminal case regarding the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall near Moscow. The court hearing took place on May 16.
The preventive measure in the form of detention was extended for Muhammadsobira Faizov (included by Rosfinmonitoring in the list of terrorists and extremists), Shamsidin Fariduni (included in the list of terrorists and extremists by Rosfinmonitoring), Dalerjon Mirzoev (included in the list of terrorists and extremists by Rosfinmonitoring), Rachabalizoda Murodali (included in Rosfinmonitoring) itoring in list of terrorists and extremists). They are accused of committing a crime under paragraph “b” of Part 3 of Art. 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Terrorist act”).
The defendants in the case will remain in custody until August 22.
On May 16, the court must consider petitions to extend the preventive measure for eight defendants in the case of a terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Krasnogorsk.
As Regnum reported, in March the court arrested four defendants in the case of the terrorist attack in Crocus until May 22. During interrogation, the suspects admitted that they were promised 500 thousand rubles
…at about 91 rubles to the dollar, that converts to $5,500 — not nearly as imoressive..
for carrying out a terrorist attack. In total, 12 people were arrested in connection with the terrorist attack, including four direct perpetrators.
On the evening of March 22, a group of armed militants broke into the Crocus City Hall building before a concert of the musical group Picnic. The terrorists opened fire on the visitors. As a result of the terrorist attack, 145 people were killed, including six children, and another 550 people were injured.
Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov said on March 26 that the testimony of those involved in the terrorist attack case confirms the Ukrainian trace. According to investigators, the perpetrators of the terrorist attack received significant amounts of money from Ukraine.
On May 7, Bortnikov also stated that the main organizer of the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall was abroad. Answering a question about the customers, the FSB director noted that investigative actions are currently underway and he cannot speak more specifically.
President Vladimir Putin said on April 2 that those who ordered the terrorist attack wanted to sow panic, strife and hatred in Russia, as well as split the country from within.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The evacuation of US military personnel from Niger will lead to the fact that American equipment and military equipment will end up in the hands of the Russian military. This warning was made on May 15 by former CIA and Pentagon intelligence officer Rebecca Koffler in an interview with Fox News.
According to Koffler, any military equipment that the departing US military leaves in Niger will become a Russian trophy. She pointed out that Russian military personnel are always hunting for American weapons left on the battlefield or at military bases.
“These systems will be captured, studied and <...> will make it possible to equip Russian weapons with means that reduce the effectiveness of American weapons,” the ex-intelligence officer explained her fears.
According to the analyst, the likely evacuation of American forces from Niger and Chad would be a victory for Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
At the same time, Gustavo de Carvalho, a senior researcher at the South African Institute of International Relations, in turn, objected that Russia is only helping African countries ensure their security in the face of the catastrophic failure of Western policy on the continent.
Regnum reported earlier that in early May the Pentagon ordered the full withdrawal of American troops from Niger over the next few months. In total, more than a thousand people will leave the country.
In March, Niger authorities terminated a military agreement with the United States that allowed American military personnel to remain in the country. Niger's Interior Minister Mohamed Toumba said the country is interested in the Russian military training its troops.
Reuters, citing a Pentagon representative, reported on May 3 that Russian military personnel entered the air base in Niamey.
On May 8, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at a hearing in the Appropriations Committee of the US Senate that Washington would have to withdraw all its troops from Niger.
#4
The only true reason the USA was in Niger was to keep watch over yellowcake production. Niger, like Chad, like Darfur, like Upper Volta, like Mali, are human pesteholes.
[AFRICANEWS] On May 15, President Patrice Talon met with the Director General of CNPC, the Chinese company handling the Benin ...Benin, a French-speaking West African nation, that they put where Dahomey used to be. It is a birthplace of voodoo and zombies. In Abomey, Dahomey's former capital, the Historical Museum occupies two royal palaces with bas-reliefs recounting the kingdom’s past and a throne mounted on human skulls. To the north, Pendjari National Park offers safaris with elephants, hippos and lions and tigers and bears, oh my!... -Niger export pipeline.
Following the meeting, Benin's Energy Minister announced that Benin has granted temporary and provisional authorization for the first ship to load Nigerian oil at the Sèmè platform. This decision came after a request from Nigerien customs to participate in the loading operations.
However,
facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable... this authorization does not mark the start of normal exploitation activities. The Minister emphasized that regular pipeline operations require a proper state-to-state relationship framework and mentioned the importance of reopening the Nigerien border. The first ship is expected to load within 36 hours.
The Chinese called for a meeting of the Benin-Niger inter-state committee to resolve issues. This meeting's date is yet to be set, but Benin has agreed to participate. The Chinese delegation will visit Niamey to seek support from Nigerien authorities.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2024
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[31 views]
Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] The Ukrainian Armed Forces hold the defense.
In the Pokrovsky direction the number of military clashes increased to 35, and in the Khar'kov direction - to 10.
The main hostilities continue in the areas of Liptsy and Volchansk. The Russians, with the support of aviation, are trying to put pressure on the defense. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported this on the evening of May 16.
It is noted that the occupiers carried out 32 air strikes using 38 KABs and carried out 181 artillery shelling.
In the Kupyansk direction, Russian occupation forces continue to attack in the areas of Sinkovka, Ivanovka and Berestovoy. Another military clash was added near Myasozharovka.
In the Liman direction, the invaders tried eight times to break through the defenses of our defenders.
In the Seversky direction, the Russians launched an air strike near Sporny.
The situation in the Pokrovsky direction remains the hottest at present. There, the number of military clashes increased to 35. At the same time, Ukrainian soldiers, with their decisive actions, continue to inflict losses on the occupation forces in manpower and equipment and restrain the enemy.
In the Kurakhovsky direction, the Defense Forces successfully repelled 12 enemy attacks. The occupiers are concentrating their efforts in the areas of Georgievka, Novomikhailovka and Krasnogorovka. Elizavetovka came under attack from enemy aircraft.
In the Vremiv direction, since the beginning of the current day, the enemy has increased the number of military clashes to eight. In particular, battles took place near Staromayorsky, Nikolsky and Urozhayny.
In the Dnieper direction, the Russian Federation also attacked Ukrainian defenders eight times near Krynoki today. It was not successful; information about the losses of the occupiers is being clarified.
There were no significant changes in the situation in the Kramatorsk, Toretsky, Gulyai-Polye and Orekhovsky directions.
During the day, aviation and missile forces of the Defense Forces inflicted defeat on 12 areas where personnel were concentrated, two control points, two artillery weapons, and a UAV control point of the Russian occupiers.
Let us remind you that Ukrainian fighters continue to defend Volchansk, Khar'kov region, from the Russian offensive. They clear the city of enemy soldiers.
[JPost] Yippy's mouth earns consequences
"Raising the import tariff on Turkey is a suitable Zionist answer to Erdogan," Smotrich said. "For too many years, the State of Israel struggled with Erdogan's antisemitism. Not on my shift!"
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Thursday that Israel would abolish its free trade agreement with Turkey and impose a 100% tariff on imports from Turkey in retaliation for Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's decision to halt exports to Israel.
Smotrich submitted the plan for cabinet approval, including the abolition of the Israel-Turkey Free Trade Agreement, signed in 1996.
The FTA was expanded in 2000 to include all industrial goods, abolishing all duties and charges for importing them from Turkey.
By 2007, the FTA had been expanded further to cover a significant amount of agricultural products, including eggs, live plants, vegetables, dried tomatoes, coffee concentrates, various juices (orange, lemon, apple), beer, several types of nuts, and dried figs and apricots. The FTA reduced their tariffs to 0%.
The recent abolition of this agreement will mean that previous tariff rates will be reimposed, and a new 100% will be added on.
Additionally, the Economy, Foreign Affairs, and Finance Minister are expected to take the necessary steps to diversify Israeli imports away from Turkish products and create alternate import sources to reduce Israeli reliance on the Turkish economy.
INCREASE IMPORT DIVERSITY
Additionally, the Economy, Foreign Affairs, and Finance Minister are expected to take the necessary steps to diversify Israeli imports away from Turkish products and create alternate import sources to reduce Israeli reliance on the Turkish economy.
The plan explains that the diversification may cause short-term disruptions but should, in the long term, reduce costs and help mitigate future supply issues due to geopolitical events.
The move is also expected to help improve Israeli industrial resilience and competitiveness in the global markets.
Manufacturers Association of Israel, which claims to represent 1800 members responsible for over 90% of Israeli industrial output, pushed manufacturers to pursue alternative imports from China, Eastern Europe, Greece, Germany, Cyprus, and Taiwan.
From kosher food to construction materials, Israel has long relied on Turkish goods, many of which were supplied by Jewish businesses now suffering after the halt to exports.
Turkey’s Jewish population has been in decline for decades, with spurts of emigration in step with periods of political and economic instability. But between 10,000 and 15,000 Jews live in the country today, most in Istanbul with a smaller community in the Aegean port city of Izmir. Many of those who remain are involved in exports with Israel.
Rami Simon, a Turkish Jew who trades aluminum and construction materials to Israel said he and others he knows are looking into other countries to ship their products to, but it’s an industry based on connections, and new markets are hard to break into. He also noted that he supplied buyers in Gaza and Palestinian areas of the West Bank as well and now cannot ship his products to them because Israeli ports are closed to Turks.
Simon also said he’s pinning his hopes on a ceasefire, even though Hamas and Israel have so far failed to reach one. Hamas has not accepted any of the ceasefire deals offered to it, insisting that only a permanent ceasefire would be tolerable. Israel rejects the idea of any ceasefire that leaves Hamas in power in Gaza.
“Hopefully, we won’t still be thinking about this in a few months when there will be a ceasefire in Gaza. We are waiting for this,” Simon said about the trade embargo.
“If it’s going to take five or six months we’re going to have a big, big issue and problem,” he added. “After that, if we can still not do business, to export to Israel, I think many people are going to try to look for a different solution for their lives, and maybe ultimately leave Turkey.”
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/17/2024
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Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
#1
Israel should also expand military cooperation with Greece.
#2
I imagine this is all over the offshore energy fields Israel had discovered and Erdy has been trying to butt in on for a few years, and Erdy is trying to use the moment and lay claim, maybe moving assets into?
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.
...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel...
...46th president of the U.S. ‘This Is A Man That Does Not Seem Demented’...
[Pesquisa] The Brazilian historian Mônica Schpun, from the École des Hautes Études em Sciences Sociales, Paris, began researching the life of Aracy de Carvalho Guimarães Rosa (1908-2011), the second wife of writer, João Guimarães Rosa (1908-1967), in order to do justice to the history of Aracy who, as an employee of the Brazilian Consulate in Hamburg, helped Jews by giving them countless entry visas to Brazil, despite orders despatched to the contrary in secret circulars from Itamaraty [the Brazilian Foreign Office] at the time of Vargas.
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
[JPost] The IDF has given the US military assurances it will provide security to US forces operating on the temporary floating causeway.
[Regnum] Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev called on the regions to quickly organize the replanting of crops affected by frost, the government’s Telegram channel reported.
[Regnum] Ukrainian soldiers began to surrender en masse in Volchansk, Khar'kov region. This was reported by the Telegram channel “Military Correspondents of the Russian Spring”.
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
...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 
...every time you hear the phrase 
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday unveiled a historic proposal to ease restrictions on 
...His ancestors didn't own any slaves...
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
[Regnum] The Basmanny District Court of Moscow granted the investigation's request to extend the arrest of four defendants in the criminal case regarding the terrorist attack in the 
...Benin, a French-speaking West African nation, that they put where Dahomey used to be. It is a birthplace of voodoo and zombies. In Abomey, Dahomey's former capital, the Historical Museum occupies two royal palaces with bas-reliefs recounting the kingdom’s past and a throne mounted on human skulls. To the north, Pendjari National Park offers safaris with elephants, hippos and lions and tigers and bears, oh my!...
