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A man has faced court charged with terrorism offences after allegedly trying to get a gun and plotting to “shoot as many people as he could” on New Year’s Eve.
Ali Khalif Shire Ali, 20, from Werribee, was arrested at a home in Melbourne’s south-west just before 3:00pm on Monday.
He appeared before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court this afternoon charged with preparing to commit a terrorist attack and gathering documents to facilitate a terrorist act.
He was described by police as one of their “high persons of interest”, and the charges relate to actions Mr Ali took between March and April this year, and in June.
Earlier, Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said they believed Mr Ali was trying to get an automatic rifle to “shoot and kill as many people as he could” around Federation Square, in Melbourne’s CBD, during New Year’s Eve celebrations.
Police said they moved in today because he had been having face-to-face meetings about getting a gun.
Mr Ali, who police said was connected to other extremists, did not manage to obtain one, Deputy Commissioner Patton said.
Federation Square is one of the most popular spots in Melbourne to bring in the new year.
Mr Ali is an Australian citizen with Somalian parents.
“We were monitoring this person. He has been subject to our active investigation and at no stage did he access a firearm — albeit that was his intention,” Deputy Commissioner Patton said.
“This is a person who would become particularly energised, for a lack of a better word, when overseas events occurred and would express a great deal of interest in committing an attack himself.”
One of the charges carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Police conduct a search of a house in Werribee in Melbourne’s west.
Photo: Police were still searching the Mr Ali’s house in Werribee a day after he was arrested. (AAP: David Crosling)
He said Mr Ali had accessed documents produced by Al Qaeda, including a “guidebook” on how to commit a terrorist act and how to use firearms.
He has been remanded in custody to return to court in March.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-28/man-charged-over-alleged-melbourne-new-years-eve-terrorism-plot/9199576
Supreme court cellphone case puts free speech – not just privacy – at risk
Carpenter v United States has rightly prompted concerns over surveillance. But it could also have drastic implications for personal freedom in the digital age
On Wednesday, the supreme court will consider whether the government must obtain a warrant before accessing the rich trove of data that cellphone providers collect about cellphone users’ movements. Among scholars and campaigners, there is broad agreement that the case could yield the most consequential privacy ruling in a generation.
Less appreciated is the significance of the case for rights protected by the first amendment. The parties’ briefs make little mention of the first amendment, instead framing the dispute – for understandable reasons – as one about the right to privacy. Yet the court’s resolution of the case is likely to have far-reaching implications for the freedoms of speech, press and association.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/27/supreme-court-cellphone-data-carpenter-first-amendment
This can be easily solved if the cell phone companies sign an agreement that the customers have an interest in such data so that it can only be used for business reasons and that any other disclosure must be with the consent of the customers.
That would force any government agency to get a court order to obtain the data.
Intel community IG: Hillary threatened to fire me because of my findings about her emails
By J.E. Dyer November 28, 2017
In a new interview with Fox News’ Catherine Herridge, former Intelligence Community Inspector General I. Charles McCullough III describes the “blowback” he experienced from Hillary Clinton’s campaign organization and her allies in official Washington while he was reviewing the emails from her private homebrew server in 2015 and 2016. (Video below)
McCullough undertook this task at the behest of Congress, which wanted to know what kinds of material had passed through the server when Clinton used it for official State Department business. The reviews of both McCullough and his counterpart at the State Department found that “several dozen” of about 2,100 classified emails had been marked as containing highly classified information, including 22 that were Top Secret or above.
https://libertyunyielding.com/2017/11/28/intel-community-ig-hillary-threatened-fire-findings-emails/
Each person who received an email from the server didn’t file a report with his or her security office?
You are right they are all guilty of violating the espionage law, this includes Obama who sent several emails to her at her home brew server.
disagree – wrong law – not sure if President is obliged
not a bad idea for someone on behalf of Mr. Obama to have created a situation in which Mr. Obama could pull the plug on Mrs. Clinton
Tweet of the Day: ‘My work here is done…I’m retiring from political commentary in all venues’
By J.E. Dyer November 27, 2017
The first tweet here is not our Tweet of the Day. It’s a scene-setter, for those of you from Semper-Planet Pluto who just threw the shuttle clicker in the tray in the laundry room. If you haven’t been plugged in all day, you may not realize that President Trump made a truly bizarre reference to Elizabeth Warren’s claim to be a Cherokee during a ceremony on Monday honoring the Navajo code-talkers of World War II.
This peculiar development has preempted everything else in the news-o-sphere, including, for example, the brewing kerfuffle over the leadership of Warren’s Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. Which may explain why Trump chose to go on this particular attack today.
https://libertyunyielding.com/2017/11/27/tweet-day-work-done-im-retiring-political-commentary-venues/
Bangladesh court upholds death sentence for 139 for mutiny (abcnews, Nov 28, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bangladesh-court-upholds-death-sentence-139-mutiny-51424063
Romania: coastguard rescues 66 migrants on ship in Black Sea (abcnews, Nov 28, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/romania-coastguard-rescues-60-migrants-ship-black-sea-51426765
German mayor: assailant attacked me over pro-refugee stance (abcnews, Nov 28. 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/authorities-knife-attack-german-mayor-political-51426934
“The mayor of a small German town said Tuesday he was happy to be alive after being attacked with a knife by a man who confronted him over his welcoming stance toward refugees before slashing his neck.
The knife attack on Andreas Hollstein, the 54-year-old mayor of Altena in western Germany, prompted widespread shock and condemnation from officials including German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Authorities said the incident Monday night appeared to be motivated by the man’s hatred of foreigners.
“I’m shocked by the knife attack on mayor Andreas Hollstein — and very relieved that he is back with his family,” Merkel said. “Thanks also to those who helped him.”
The attacker was identified by authorities as 56-year-old German Werner S., whose full name was withheld because of German privacy laws.
Hollstein, a father of four and a member of Merkel’s conservative party, appeared shaken as he answered reporters’ questions the day after the attack.
“I feared for my life,” he said adding that it appeared the man had intentionally chosen him as a victim.
“If you ask me whether that knife in his pocket was for me, I’d answer with a yes,” he said.
The mayor said he was at a local kebab restaurant around 8 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Monday, when the attacker approached him, held a knife to his throat and took him to task over his policies toward refugees. It was only with the help of the restaurant’s owner and his son that the man could be overpowered. Police later arrested the assailant.
Hollstein was taken to the hospital but discharged later Monday. He said he had a 15 centimeter-long (5.9 inches) cut on the left side of his neck.
Prosecutor Gerhard Pauli said Werner S. was drunk when he attacked Hollstein with a 34 centimeter-long (13.4 inch) kitchen knife. He said the man didn’t have any known links to far right groups, but that “hatred toward foreigners” appeared to be the motivation for his attack.
The mayor became known nationally for voluntarily taking in more asylum seekers than Altena was obliged to since the height of the refugee crisis two years ago.
Hollstein said the attacker had probably been incited by the poisoned atmosphere fuelled by parties such as the nationalist Alternative for Germany which has relentlessly campaigned against migrants and their supporters.
Still, Hollstein said the attack would not deter him from continuing to stand up for refugees and all others who needed his support.
Armin Laschet, the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia state where Altena is located, said “the security agencies assume the attack has a political background.”
The incident in Altena has been compared to a knife attack two years ago in which a far-right assailant stabbed a politician who was campaigning to become mayor of Cologne. The attacker was angered by the government’s refugee policy.
Henriette Reker, who was in charge of housing refugees in Cologne at the time, was elected mayor the following day while still in an induced coma. She has since made a full recovery.
Germany took in more than 1 million asylum seekers between 2015 and 2016, mostly from war-torn countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. The influx saw an outpouring of support from many Germans who wanted to help the refugees, but also a sharp rise in the number of attack against migrants and sometimes also against their supporters.”
Paul Weston said it would take 5 years for the attack to start in Europe. If there are people in Germany who will read the reports of this attack and decide it was a good idea the time before they start in Britain will drop drastically.
Greek terror squad detains 9 Turks ahead of Erdogan visit (abcnews, Nov 28, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/greek-terror-squad-detains-turks-ahead-erdogan-visit-51426936
“Greek counter-terrorism police detained nine Turks in Athens on Tuesday in an investigation into Turkish leftist militant groups, ahead of a scheduled visit next month by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A police statement said the Turkish nationals — eight men and a woman — were detained in the central Athens areas of Neos Kosmos and Kallithea earlier Tuesday.
The operation was not connected with suspected Islamist terrorism, police said. The detainees are suspected of links with the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front, or DHKP-C, deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
Police said that searches of three homes where the Turks were detained produced detonators and materials “available on the market that could potentially be used to make explosives.”
Erdogan’s visit, announced Tuesday, is set for Dec. 7-8…”
Syrian Kurdish official to US: Don’t turn your back on us (abcnews, Nov 28, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/syrian-kurdish-official-us-turn-back-us-51429985
“A senior Syrian Kurdish official said Washington would undermine the campaign against Islamic State militants and Americans would lose their place in the region’s fight against terrorism if they “turn their back” on their only ally in Syria — the Kurds.
The comments by Ilham Ahmed, a member of the political arm of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, were in response to the U.S. administration’s suggestion that military aid to the Kurdish-led forces may be halted…”
Syria Kurds say US to ‘adjust’ weapons deliveries
https://www.yahoo.com/news/syria-kurds-us-adjust-weapons-deliveries-155512046.html
After 8 years of Obama I wasn’t aware that we have a place in the fighting in the Middle East.
Official: IS, Taliban battle in eastern Afghanistan (abcnews, Nov 28, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/official-taliban-battle-eastern-afghanistan-51424813
“An intense gun battle has been taking place over the last two days between Taliban and Islamic State affiliate insurgents in eastern Nangarhar province, a provincial official said Tuesday.
Attahullah Khogyani, provincial governor’s spokesman, said that hundreds of families have been displaced from villages in Khogyani and Sherzad districts. He said an operation involving air and ground forces was begun to eliminate both insurgent groups from the area.
Six civilians were wounded and there are reports of dozens of casualties among the insurgents, he said…”
Welcome to Islamic politics.
Southeast Asian tribal dynamics are even more kinky than those in the Mideast. Way more.
No outside power has managed Paki-Afghan territory without tremendous cost and poor outcomes. It won’t work out any better for the countries importing those peoples.
That is why we are entering into a new Dark Age, fortunately civilized people learn to act barbaric much faster then barbarians learn to become civilized.
Australian police allege man planned New Year’s Eve attack (abcnews, Nov 28, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/australian-police-allege-man-planned-years-eve-attack-51421741
“Australian police have arrested a man accused of planning a mass shooting for New Year’s Eve in a crowded Melbourne square, officials said Tuesday.
Ali Ali, a 20-year-old Australian-born citizen with Somali parents, was trying to obtain an automatic rifle to attack the downtown Federation Square in Australia’s second-largest city, Victoria State Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said.
Thousands of revelers pack the square each year on New Year’s Eve.
Ali downloaded instructions from an al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula website on how to launch a terrorist attack and how to use guns, Patton said.
Patton described Ali as “a person who’s expressed an intention to try and kill as many people as he could through shooting them.”
He said authorities have eliminated the threat of the attack, saying “the risk that was posed by this person has been removed.”
Justice Minister Michael Keenan said police arrested four extremist last December over a similar plot to attack Federal Square and other public places in Melbourne over the Christmas-New Year period. The four will stand trial next year on terrorism charges…”
Egypt says troops killed 14 militants after Sinai massacre (abcnews, Nov 28, 2017)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/egypt-troops-killed-14-militants-sinai-massacre-51430210
“Egyptian authorities say security forces have killed at least 14 Islamic militants in Sinai and an adjacent Suez Canal province following the massacre at a village mosque in the northern part of the peninsula last week that killed 305 people.
The Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that 11 of the suspected militants were killed in a shootout on a farm in Ismailia province. It says six suspects were arrested there.
Military spokesman Col. Tamer el-Rifai says three suspected militants were killed in central Sinai. He did not elaborate…”
Yemeni Minister Accuses Militias of Seizing Medicine-Loaded Trucks in Ibb (aawsat, Nov 28, 2017)
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1097346/yemeni-minister-accuses-militias-seizing-medicine-loaded-trucks-ibb
“A Yemeni government official said that Houthi and Saleh militias have seized a truck loaded with medicines for children in Ibb governorate.
He revealed that the number of violations, including looting, detaining and selling in the black market, has amounted to 48 since the beginning of 2017.
Yemeni Minister of Local Administration and Chairman of the Higher Committee for Relief Abdul-Raqib Fateh said that the detained cargo of children’s medicines, which was supposed to reach Hodeidah Governorate and is provided by the Child Welfare Organization, was seized at the customs outlets established by the coup militias at a number of entrances to Ibb Governorate.
He said that looting humanitarian aid and medical cargoes is considered a terrorist act that aggravates the humanitarian situation in the country, stressing that it does not bear any more complications…”
Norwegian Muslim Apostates Living in Fear of Persecution (sputniknews, Nov 28, 2017)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201711281059496919-norway-islam-persecution/
“Many Norwegian citizens of foreign descent who have broken with Islam are living in fear of retaliation from their families and communities, participants in a conference on so-called “honor culture” in Oslo said.
During a public discussion in Literature House in Oslo, several masked men told their stories of hidden social control persisting in Muslim communities to dozens of spectators. By their own admission, they had to wear masks for fear of repercussions.
“I’m wearing a mask because I have to hide who I am. Otherwise, what I’m going to say will have very serious consequences for me,” a man in his early twenties told Norwegian national broadcaster NRK, arguing that they would gladly discuss the “honor culture” openly, but did not dare.
The participants argued that the social control in Muslim communities across Norway is felt strongly by boys and men as well, even if it’s generally much worse for girls. The social control revolves around personal issues, such as a person’s circle of friends and beliefs.
By their own admission, the men broke secretly with Islam while in school. Today, they are still afraid of what can happen if the family or community finds out they are no longer believers.
“It would drag shame over the family. One can get frozen out, threatened. It may even be physical,” a Pakistani-Norwegian man said, explaining that his parents blamed Norwegian society and school for “putting ideas into his head.” “Some believe losing one’s religion should be punished with the death penalty. We live in Norway, it’s 2017. The fact that such things still exist is almost unimaginable,” he said, arguing that religion should be a private matter.
The youngest of the participants, a Norwegian citizen of Somali background has still failed to tell his parents that he no longer believes in Allah for fear of repercussions…”
‘Racist’ Belgian Labor Market Caused Brussels Unrest – Former MP (sputniknews, Nov 28, 2017)
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201711281059506817-belgium-racism-riots-brussels/
“Sputnik: What Belgian policy issues does this situation reflect, could economic policy, for example, have an impact? Also, why is the local law enforcement allowing this to happen?
Lode Vanoost: That’s one of the main problems, which has been going on for years. The Brussels police, which are divided into separate districts, are using racial profiling whenever they approach people on the street. Most of these youngsters, even the ones that do not participate, can testify that they get frisked by the police on a daily basis for the sole reason of how they look.
This is the reality, and this is not new. Of course these youngsters are anti-police. The police in Brussels is not exactly known for its balanced approach to problems.
Now, of course police forces don’t act on their own, they act on orders and what we have for the moment is a federal government which instead of tackling real problems is using all these things as a lightning rod, to say, “Oh look, they’re taking away people’s pensions, people are losing their jobs, their rights and the Muslims are taking over the country.”
They are using this situation in a scandalous, openly racist way. Just after these riots, the minister of internal affairs said, “Well you cannot deny that the people who participate in these riots do have a certain outlook, that typifies them as people prone to such kind of action.”
This is the minister of internal affairs, the boss of the police. If you have a minister of internal affairs like that, then what do you expect that these youngsters are going to do? Sit by and abide by the law? That’s not going to happen.
I do not condone these actions by a minority at all, and the police should rightfully act upon it, but the blame should be put on the other side as well. The way that the police in Brussels behave toward these youngsters on a daily basis is totally unacceptable.”
What a piece of a moron…
I don’t think he is intelligent enough to qualify as a moron.
Sheikhs for Djibouti: Nation’s Defense Minister Welcomes Saudi Military Base (sputniknews, Nov 28, 2017)
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201711281059503385-djibouti-saudi-military-base/
“Djibouti hosts a number of foreign military and naval facilities, including those belonging to China, Japan, Italy, France and the United States.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Djibouti welcomes the construction of a Saudi military base on its territory, since the facility will contribute to the military cooperation between the two states, Djibouti’s Defense Minister Ali Bahdon said Tuesday.
“The sides have signed a military agreement… If the base is constructed, it will become a part of the military cooperation between the two nations, and we welcome its creation,” Bahdon said in an interview with the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.
READ MORE: China to Build Pier at Djibouti Base to Support East Africa Naval Missions
In March 2016, Djibouti’s ambassador to Riyadh said that his country expected to sign of a deal with Saudi Arabia on the construction of a military base in the African nation.
?The official added that creation of the Saudi military base would positively contribute to the fight against smuggling, human trafficking and terrorism in the region.
According to the minister, the developments in the region stress the need to create a “military Islamic alliance” in order to facilitate coordination between member states to ensure the implementation of their strategic interests.”
Sudan Ready to Host Russian Military Base (sputniknews, Nov 28, 2017)
https://sputniknews.com/africa/201711281059505761-sudan-russia-military-base/
“Sudanese President Omar Bashir, who recently visited Russia for the first time, said in an interview with Sputnik on Saturday that he had discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu the possibility of agreeing to the establishment of a Russian military base in Sudan.
KHARTOUM (Sputnik) – Sudan is ready to host a Russian military base on the Red Sea coast because it could help the country fight the smuggling and slave trade, Al-Hadi Hamid, the head of the Defense and Security Committee of the Sudanese Parliament told Sputnik on Tuesday.
“I think it will be reasonable and correct if the Russian leadership agrees to establish a military base on the Red Sea, which will undoubtedly be in the framework of economic and military cooperation between the countries,” Hamid said.
“I would like to emphasize that Sudan is ready to host Russian military bases, this would be an excellent cooperation” the lawmaker added.
He also recalled the extent of Sudan’s maritime borders. “We record a large number of violations: vessels illegally enter our territorial waters; fishing boats also violate borders,” Hamid said.
Speaking about the possibility of establishing a military base in Sudan with President Putin, Omar Bashir also expressed readiness to purchase Russian Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets as well as S-300 air defense systems. He added that Sudan had no plans “to wage aggression abroad, we want to protect our country.”
Earlier, Russia and Sudan have signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of atomic energy.”
Gorka: The elite of the left are a protected class
Liberals and the media criticize Trump after he calls Sen. Warren ‘Pocahontas;’ Fox News contributor reacts on ‘Hannity.’
You will NOT BELIEVE what the Navajo Code Talkers just said about President Donald Trump
Despite what was shown in the semi watchable movie about the code talkers every one of them was told (before training) that they couldn’t be captured alive that they were to kill themselves or get their team mates to kill them rather then left them be captured.
They were informed of this before the code training started.
CFPB was a playground for Elizabeth Warren and left-wing friends: Gingrich
France Submits to Terrorism, Muslim Anti-Semitism
by Guy Millière
November 28, 2017 at 5:00 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11392/france-terrorism-muslims-antisemitism
In Bagneux, France, on November 1, 2017, a plaque placed in memory of Ilan Halimi, a young Jew murdered in 2006 by a “gang of barbarians”, was destroyed and covered with graffiti. When a few days later, another plaque replaced it, the French government issued a statement that “hate will not win”.
There are many signs, however, that hate has already won and that France is sick. If these signs were already obvious a decade ago, they are even more obvious today. Voluntary blindness prevented them from being addressed.
Ilan Halimi was taken hostage in January 2006, then viciously tortured for three weeks. He was eventually abandoned, dying, on the edge of a road and died a few hours later.
Most of kidnappers, who were arrested a few days after the murder, were Muslims. They immediately confessed. They said they had chosen Halimi because he was a Jew and they thought that “all Jews have money”. Some added that Jews “deserve to suffer”.
Laundering Iran’s Nukes – Again
by A.J. Caschetta
November 28, 2017 at 4:30 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11432/laundering-iran-nukes
Days away from the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, outgoing Secretary of State John Kerry boasted about the success of the Obama administration’s signature foreign policy achievement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on putatively “preventing” Iran’s nuclear capability. “In reaching and implementing this deal,” Kerry said, “we took a major security threat off the table without firing a single shot.”
On the contrary, anyone who examines the JCPOA closely and honestly will come to the conclusion that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the mullahs got just about everything they wanted, while the U.S. got a dubious promise of good behavior that expires after 10 years.
CANADA – RCMP will redact more than 5,000 records collected using questionnaire targeting Muslim asylum seekers
The RCMP stopped using the questionnaire after the Star brought it to the attention of the force’s national headquarters last month.
The RCMP announced Monday it will expunge any data on religious and cultural practices collected from Muslim refugee claimants who had crossed the U.S. border at a popular informal crossing in Quebec. The move follows a Star story last month that highlighted the federal police force’s line of questioning.
The data had been obtained using an interview guide that included questions specifically targeting Muslims. The RCMP stopped using the questionnaire after the Star brought it to the attention of the force’s national headquarters.
The information, which includes “operational files as well as any audio recordings on DVD,” will be held in sealed envelopes for the two years the force is required to keep the information due to privacy legislation, the RCMP wrote.
In total, the RCMP said it collected 5,438 files containing a completed questionnaire or references to one. Those records will be “permanently redacted” from electronic databases, and sealed recordings will be retained “for two years after its last use for an administrative purpose” and then destroyed, the RCMP wrote in a statement to the Star.
The RCMP also shared this information with the Canada Border Services Agency. When contacted by the Star Monday, a CBSA spokesperson said the agency is looking into the matter.
While refugee lawyers who had worked with the thousands of men, women and children seeking asylum had anecdotally heard about questions that profiled Muslims, it wasn’t until a client of Toronto lawyer Clifford McCarten was handed his completed questionnaire by mistake that there was proof of its use.
“I am impressed that the RCMP appears to have taken it this seriously,” McCarten said Monday. “Following the initial publication of this matter, I was contacted by people who shared the alternately perplexing and intimidating experience of being questioned about their religious beliefs by police. Some believed that if they gave the ‘wrong’ answer, they would be deported on the spot. Some denied their membership in their own religion or minimized the expression of their faith for fear that they would be detained or blacklisted.”
But McCarten said he remains “deeply concerned” that the CBSA has not yet made a similar commitment to seal and expunge the information.
RCMP officers had been using a questionnaire at the informal Roxham Rd. border crossing in Quebec for a year between October 2016 and last month. The guide asked asylum seekers how they feel about women who do not wear the hijab, how many times they pray and what their opinion is about the Islamic State or the Taliban.
No other religions were mentioned in the questionnaire, despite the fact that the majority of claimants are from Haiti or other non-Muslim countries.
Question 31 on the RCMP form, written in both English and French reads: “Canada is a very liberal country that believes in freedom of religious practice and equality between men and women. What is your opinion on the subject? How would you feel if your boss was a woman?”
When contacted by the Star about the questionnaire last month, there was immediate action. Public Security Minister Ralph Goodale’s spokesperson, Scott Bardsley said, “the minute we became aware of the interview guide, we were immediately concerned and contacted the RCMP.”
“Some of the questions were inappropriate and inconsistent with government policy,” Bardsley added.
The questionnaire was revised to remove the offensive questions and “any members who had worked at the border were directed to cease using the (former) guide and to destroy any copies in their possession. Members had to confirm either they had done so or that they did not have any copies of the guide,” the RCMP stated Monday.
The “Safe Third Country Agreement” between the U.S. and Canada states that those seeking asylum must apply in their first country of arrival. But a loophole allows U.S. claimants to enter Canada at an unofficial border crossing — such as Roxham Rd. which leads from New York into Quebec — and make a refugee claim.
Canada saw a massive influx of refugee claimants this summer from the U.S. after the Trump administration threatened to revoke many immigrants’ Temporary Protected Status, a special immigration designation that allows those hailing from countries wrecked by natural disasters or conflict to live and work in the U.S.
On Nov. 22, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it would revoke Temporary Protected Status for Haitians living in the U.S., giving them until July 2019 to return to their country, which many say has not yet recovered from its devastating 2010 earthquake.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/11/27/rcmp-will-redact-more-than-5000-records-collected-using-questionnaire-targeting-muslim-asylum-seekers.html
Erdogan’s Interesting New Top Mayors
by Burak Bekdil
November 28, 2017 at 4:00 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11437/erdogan-turkey-mayors
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Ankara, Turkey’s capital, has a population of about five million. Istanbul, the country’s biggest city and commercial capital, has more than 15 million inhabitants. Turkey’s top two cities have since 1994 been uninterruptedly run by elected mayors who feature various blends of religious conservatism, nationalism and Islamism. Recently, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan thought it was time for a changing of the guard in both cities; but the change looks more like old wine in a new bottle.
Melih Gokcek, the eccentric nationalist and Islamist mayor of Ankara, a loyal devotee of Erdogan, has run the capital for 23 years. During his reign, he did not miss a single opportunity to get into verbal fights with half the Turkish nation in addition to “Turkey’s foreign enemies.” In 2014, during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge, when large crowds of Turks regularly attacked Israel’s diplomatic missions in Ankara and Istanbul — with hundreds of angry Turks throwing rocks and trying to break into the diplomatic compounds — Gokcek was quoted as saying: “We will conquer the despicable murderers’ consulate”.
AFDI EXCLUSIVE: Columbia University Students Support Female Genital Mutilation
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MILO: Make America Haram Again – Full Event
Teachers Attend ‘LGGBDTTTIQQAAP’ Sensitivity Training (WTF?)
By Megan Fox November 26, 2017
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Gather ’round children! The Canadian Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario has some super interesting new information for you! First, we’re going to learn a new acronym. Can you say, “LGGBDTTTIQQAAPP?” Let’s try it to the tune of “Old MacDonald!” Everyone sing along! Next, we’ll learn what these letters mean. Are you ready?
L — Lesbian (everyone knows what this is, right?)
G — Gay (and I’m sure I don’t need to explain this to you smarties!)
G — Genderqueer Now this one is new. So let’s make sure we all understand what this means. “Genderqueer; denoting or relating to a person who does not subscribe to conventional gender distinctions but identifies with neither, both, or a combination of male and female genders.” That’s easy, isn’t it, kids? Basically, this is a person who has no idea who or what xey are, okay?
B — Bisexual (That’s self-explanatory, isn’t it?)
https://pjmedia.com/trending/teachers-attend-lggbdtttiqqaap-sensitivity-training-wtf/
D — Demisexual Oh boy! Another new one! Let’s get out the ever-expanding queer dictionary to figure it out! “A demisexual is a person who does not experience sexual attraction unless they form a strong emotional connection with someone.” This used to be known as monogamous love. But now we throw the word “sexual” on it to make it attractive to the kids. Got it?
T — Transgender (You all know all about this one! These are boys or girls who dress up like the opposite sex and want everyone to pretend not to notice!)
T — Transexual (You are familiar with these people too! Same as above, only they’ve gone through irreversible surgery to remove healthy body parts because feelings. Let them in your bathroom. Everything is fine.)
T — Two-Spirit Oh my goodness! How exciting! It’s another category no one on earth has ever heard of! This one is complicated, dear ones. For sure you have to be a Native American. And smoking a lot of peyote could only help to understand what the heck a two-spirit is. It appears to be a third gender not yet discovered by science and only found in the Native American community by gender studies majors who take adventure vacations and hang out in sweat lodges.
I — Intersex (This is that very rare condition that we used to call hermaphrodite, where a child is born with both sex organs of male and female. It is very rare, as in, hardly ever happens. It is a birth defect.)
Q — Queer Just when you thought you couldn’t use the word “queer” because it’s an insult, think again! It’s back! Queer is an umbrella term designed to describe all people who aren’t normies. I think. It’s hard to tell. These things do change on an almost daily basis.
Q — Questioning is a term used for people who are still deciding where they are going to fall on this list. It seems contradictory to the “born that way” theory—to have a bunch of people still questioning their sexuality—but the LGBTQWTF brigade says it’s fine, so rest assured, there’s nothing to question about questioning.
A — Asexual people have no interest in sex. This also used to be known as people who are married with kids. See the classic TV show “Married with Children” for an example.
A — Allies are people who virtue signal constantly on Twitter about supporting their LGBTQWTF friends and family. These people aren’t gay, queer, or even questioning! They’re simply shielding themselves from the gaystappo squads who come around looking for people who aren’t properly broadcasting their approval of the queer agenda. Be an ally, children… if you know what’s good for you!
P — Pansexual is just a more confusing way to say bisexual. There really is no difference, only we pretend there is so we can use a word that reminds us of Greek mythology and it sounds more interesting than bisexual, which is so last decade.
P — Polyamorous people are basically leftover hippies who miss communes. Or hardcore Mormons. Either way, they are people who like to have more than one partner, sometimes at the same time.
Now that we’ve finished our lesson for today, children, it’s time for questions! What’s that? Why are there no furries on the list?
AAAARRRRGHHHH!!! The discrimination is rampant! Get the markers! Add a letter! Print new flyers!
Not fair!
I spent years in school, exams, earning the privilege of initials after my name~
Who said life is fair?
BELGIUM – BRUXELLES – Great Mosque Salafist imam’s residency permit reinstated by court
Despite the best efforts of federal migration minister Theo Francken, the imam of the Great Mosque in Brussels will be allowed to stay in the country. Francken said last month that he was withdrawing Abdelhadi Sewif’s residency permit, but the Foreign Disputes Council has ruled in favour of Sewif
Francken had made the decision to retract Sewif’s permission to stay in Belgium, and Sewif took the matter to the council, an independent court that decides on appeals against decisions taken by the Immigration Department or other migration authorities.
Francken said last month that Belgian security had “very clear” signals that “he is a follower of Salafism, radicalised, very conservative and dangerous to our society and our national security”. The Foreign Disputes Council overturned Francken’s decision based on a lack of evidence, it said.
‘Mere guesses’
According to its policy, the decision to refuse or retract residency must specify exactly how the personal conduct of the person ‘constitutes a current, real and sufficiently serious threat which is a fundamental interest to society. A public policy argument cannot be based on mere guesses or on general reflections’.
In the case of Sewif, said the council in a statement, “the general argument about the influence of Salafism is not enough to indicate concretely why the personal behaviour of this imam constitutes a ‘current, real and sufficiently serious threat that affects a fundamental interest of society’.”
http://www.xpats.com/great-mosque-imams-residency-permit-reinstated-court
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Litigation Council rules in favour of Imam
The Imam of the Grand Mosque in Brussels Abdelhadi Sewif will not be forced to leave Belgium after all. The Council for Alien Law Litigation has overturned an earlier decision taken by the Secretary of State responsible for asylum and migration to revoke Mr Serif’s residency permit.
The news that the imam is to be allowed to remain comes from his lawyer Hicham Chibane.
Previously, Mr Francken had announced that he was to revoke Mr Sewif’s residency permit as there are “very clear” signals that the imam is “Salafist, very radical, very conservative and poses a danger to our society and to national security”.
Mr Sewif appealed against the decision and according to Chibane the appeal has been successful.
If the authorities base their decision to revoke a residency permit on a threat to public order they must make clear how exactly the person in question’s behaviour “poses a current, real and sufficiently big threat to society”. This may not be based on “presumptions of general considerations”.
Hicham Chibane is pleased with the Council for Alien Law Litigation’s ruling.
“This decision puts right the image that had been created on my client with regard to his position and his openness towards others. We had submitted all kinds of documents about what he has preached and other public statements. They all point in same direction. This ruling is important because the Secretary of State had portrayed my client as being a radical that spreads radicalism”.
http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/News/1.3104834#
AP -Mosque and cultural centre promotes moderate Islam
Black Lives Matter Organizes ‘Black Xmas’ To Divest From ‘White Corporations’ And ‘White Capitalism’
r. Melina Abdullah, a professor at California State University-Los Angeles (CSU-LA,) who is also a national Black Lives Matter (BLM) leader, is urging allies to support the movement’s “Black Xmas” this holiday season by divesting from “white corporations.”
She claims “white capitalism” is an American institution that is inherently racist, therefore black people should pursue more collectivist approaches to economic empowerment.
“We say ‘white capitalism’ because it’s important that we understand that the economic system and the racial structures are connected,” said Abdullah, a founding member of BLM who leads its Los Angeles chapter (BLM-LA).
http://www.dailywire.com/news/23980/black-lives-matter-organizes-black-xmas-divest-jeffrey-cawood?utm_source=cnemail&utm_medium=email&utm_content=112817-news&utm_campaign=position2
Vox Day On Why Minorities Won’t Vote For Less Government–Taxes Transfer (Lifetime) $384,109 From Each White Taxpayer To A “Single Black Individual”
James Fulford
June 30, 2017, 3:01 pm
Back in the year 2001, David Horowitz conducted a campaign against the call for reparations to blacks.
He published (or tried to publish) in college papers ads headed Ten Reasons Why Reparations for Blacks is a Bad Idea for Blacks – and Racist Too.
(This is more less the neoconservative take on this idea–see Sam Francis’s response Real Reasons Reparations are Wrong…)
One of the things Horowitz was denounced for saying was this:
Reparations To African Americans Have Already Been Paid
Since the passage of the Civil Rights Acts and the advent of the Great Society in 1965, trillions of dollars in transfer payments have been made to African-Americans in the form of welfare benefits and racial preferences (in contracts, job placements and educational admissions) – all under the rationale of redressing historic racial grievances. It is said that reparations are necessary to achieve a healing between African-Americans and other Americans. If trillion dollar restitutions and a wholesale rewriting of American law (in order to accommodate racial preferences) for African-Americans is not enough to achieve a “healing,” what will?
In 2008, I blogged about this, saying that because of these many, many, payments, all government revenue is a form of “interracial wealth transfer, which is why African-Americans tend to be in favor of higher taxes even if they`re in the upper brackets themselves. ”
Now comes author/anti-SJW activist Vox Day with some numbers on the amount of the transfer, and a political point to make:
If you don’t understand why blacks and Hispanics will NEVER vote for less government spending, read this.https://t.co/ziyv3XAKiC
— Supreme Dark Lord (@voxday) June 30, 2017
In “The Cost Of Black America” Vox writes
If you are a white American, over the course of your lifetime the federal government will, on average and on your behalf, transfer $384,109 of your wealth and income to a single black individual.
According to the data derived from the 2014 federal budget, the average annual net tax/benefit broke down as follows:
White: -$2,795
Black: +$10,016
Over the course of an average 79-year lifespan, a white individual contributes a net $220,805 to the system, whereas over the course of an average 75-year lifespan, a black individual receives a net $751,200. However, since there are 4.6 times more whites than blacks in the USA, the black share has to be divided among the various contributors to sort out a one-to-one comparison.
So, the net cost to the average White American of the average Black American is $384,109. Married? That’s $768,218. Got 2 kids? That’s $1,536,436. 4 kids? Now we’re talking $2,304,654 lifetime.
Diversity is expensive. Now you understand why you won’t have much of an inheritance to leave to your children. Do you really think it’s worth it? And then, those natural conservatives to the south, the Hispanics, will surely improve the situation, right? After all, immigration helps the economy! Well, not so much. [More]
So even successful, professional, minorities, who are net taxpayers themselves, will continue to vote for the Democratic policies that send money to their brothers and sisters.
http://www.vdare.com/posts/vox-day-on-why-minorities-wont-vote-for-less-government-taxes-transfer-lifetime-384109-from-each-white-taxpayer-to-a-single-black-individual
Press TV – Trump, Suu Kyi win big at Islamaphobia Awards
Name and Shame? Intelligent people take this as an honor.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2017/11/german-tv-pulls-sponsorship-of-roger-waters-concert-over-bds/
Back in the day I loved Pink Floyd. But Roger Waters has gone completely off the rails.
Rush: It’s good that Dems are supporting Franken because it lets us point out their hypocrisy
“Good” is emphatically the wrong word under the circumstances. It’d be good if the GOP were purging its ranks of politicians credibly accused of harassment and then using Democrats’ hypocrisy to pressure them to do the same. But that’s not what Rush means. What he means, in the context of touting John Hinderaker’s endorsement of Roy Moore, is that it’s “good” that Democrats don’t have the nerve to back up their feminist rhetoric with action because it means Republicans get a free pass. If they won’t boot Franken and Conyers, we don’t need to boot Moore. If they didn’t take Juanita Broaddrick seriously, we don’t need to take Trump’s accusers seriously. It’s a race to the bottom, enabled by the insinuation that Republicans need only behave as scrupulously as Democrats will allow them to be. If Dems are looking the other way at their bad guys, there’s nothing that requires us to be any better. That’s a weird concession for the pope of conservative talk radio to make. Democrats, not Republicans, are the yardstick for moral behavior in politicians?
https://hotair.com/archives/2017/11/27/rush-good-dems-supporting-franken-lets-us-point-hypocrisy/
At Least One Shining Light From The Al Franken Accusations
Celebrities
here’s no real excuse for Al Franken and his behavior; despite what anyone would tell you. But there may be something good out of all of this.
There are Democrats defending Franken and his actions and it’s all met with a huge gleam of their hypocrisy. And We The People can see which Democrats are the worst ones to deal with — any that would defend an admitted harasser/groper.
As reported by AllahPundit for Hot Air: (see above article)
If they won’t boot Franken and Conyers, we don’t need to boot Moore. If they didn’t take Juanita Broaddrick seriously, we don’t need to take Trump’s accusers seriously. It’s a race to the bottom, enabled by the insinuation that Republicans need only behave as scrupulously as Democrats will allow them to be. If Dems are looking the other way at their bad guys, there’s nothing that requires us to be any better.
Look at Weinstein; look at Bill Cosby. Juanita Broaddrick didn’t go public for years after she was allegedly raped by Bill Clinton. It’ll remain a mystery whether it was Moore’s Senate run that finally caused his accusers to talk to the media, fearing that he was on the verge of winning an unusual amount of power he didn’t deserve, or if it was the newfound credulity with which the public has greeted the accusations against Weinstein, Ailes, Brett Ratner, Bill O’Reilly, and so on, that made them think they’d finally be believed.
https://steadfastandloyal.com/celebrities/least-one-shining-light-al-franken-accusations/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=subscriber_id:965585&utm_campaign=Ryan%20Bundy%E2%80%99s%20Opening%20Statement%20Is%20Something%20Every%20American%20Needs%20To%20Hear!
I don’t know if Judge Moore did what he is accused of or not, I do know 2 things: 1) Most of Judge Moores accusers don’t have much credibility and the only one with any evidence won’t let outside experts examine it. 2) The word I get (second hand) from Alabama says most of the people are voting for Moore. Partially because the voters don’t believe the accusers and partially because they think his opponent is a big crook that will not be good for the nation if he goes to DC.
If the accusations are false this won’t come out for many months after the election and if they are false and work the same tactic will be used in next years election.
Got to have a statute of limitations, plus genuine evidence of a crime. ‘He-said, she-said’ just isn’t enough.
This whole fad is an example of unequal protection. It’s just another weapon against men in power.
It’s a particularly bad precedent for elected offices because hearsay matters.
The left with their multi-tiered judicial system has split this nation apart and are continuing to push for a greater split. I don’t know how long before the shooting starts but they are pushing us into a civil war. They know that they can’t wait 4 to 8 years to get another communist into the White House, by that time Trump and the new people in Congress will have rolled back the communist policies to the point it will take decades before they can be re instituted in the US.
Probably incapacitated many of the last 10 years of white male college graduates. Treated like dirt in school, last in line for jobs.
It takes strong family upbringing to rise above systemic abuse. I’m looking forward to the Christmas visit of a good friend’s 18-yr-old twins. It’ll be their first trip home from college.
We checked out every school on their wishlist for “postmodernist” symptoms. They’re vulnerable: straight, white, practicing Christians.
UK: Books in Islamic Schools Teach Marital Rape and Domestic Violence (breitbart, Nov 28, 2017)
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/11/28/books-islamic-schools-teaching-marital-rape-domestic-violence/
“School inspectors are so concerned at the level of sexist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, and anti-Western material in Britain’s Islamic schools, they have compiled a dossier of examples.
The Ofsted document highlights books encouraging domestic violence, marital rape, and Islamic supremacism, as well as sexist homework assignments marked approvingly by British teachers, The Times reports.
There are 177 Muslim schools in England, with 148 being independent and 29 state-funded.
Of the 139 independent Islamic schools inspected since 2015, 57 per cent were rated less than good, compared to 11 per cent of all schools. Many were marked down for failing to uphold British values.
According to the dossier, children at one school were encouraged to study a text contrasting the “noble woman of the East” who veils her head and the “internally torn woman of the West”, who “leaves her home to knock about aimlessly in cinemas and cafés, malls and bazaars, parks and theatres, exhibitions and circuses”.
There were also library books in schools encouraging rape by claiming “the wife is not allowed to refuse sex to her husband” and insisting she cannot “leave the house where she lives without his permission” and that “the man by way of correction can also beat her”.
Some work marked by teachers stated that women had a responsibility “only to bear children and bring them up as Muslims”. Another pupil submission, said to be “covered in approving red ticks”, described women as inferior to men.
Ofsted insiders said the books and writings made for “uncomfortable reading”.
Because of the failings of Islamic schools, Dame Louise Casey, the government’s former integration tsar, has been calling for a moratorium on the opening new faith schools — including Christian ones — until problems are addressed.
“Some schools are teaching a segregated way of life and misogyny and the government isn’t taking enough of a stand,” she told The Times.
“The public expects them to do that. The DFE turns a blind eye and hopes that Ofsted will deal with the problem. It’s all in the ‘too difficult’ box.”
Last year, Dame Casey published a report slamming the state of integration of some migrant communities in the UK, warning of “worrying levels” of segregation and “regressive religious and cultural ideologies” taking root.
Last week, it was reported that school inspectors will begin speaking to primary schoolgirls wearing hijabs to ascertain why they are covering their hair, amidst concerns children as young as four are forced to cover by teachers and parents.
The Chief Inspector of Schools, Amanda Spielman, said the hijab “could be interpreted as sexualisation of young girls” and should be questioned, as it is not traditionally worn until puberty.
She also explained that schools could also be in breach of equality laws if girls are required to wear religious clothing but boys are not.”
Especially in the context of what these kids see at home.
UK: Books in Islamic Schools Teach Marital Rape and Domestic Violence (breitbart, Nov 28, 2017)
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/11/28/books-islamic-schools-teaching-marital-rape-domestic-violence/
Better read this one…
Robert Mueller, Agent of Willful Ignorance
It was Mueller who made sure that the U.S. government would ignore and deny the motivating ideology behind the jihad threat.
November 28, 2017
Robert Spencer
42
It has come to light that as director of the FBI, Robert Mueller, who is currently the special counsel looking for any dirt he can find on Donald Trump, presided over the 2012 removal of all counterterror training materials of any mention of Islam and jihad in connection with terrorism. Since then, our law enforcement and intelligence officials have been blundering along in self-imposed darkness about the motivating ideology behind the jihad threat. This, it turns out, was Mueller’s doing.
In February 2012, the Obama Administration purged more than one thousand documents and presentations from counter-terror training material for the FBI and other agencies. This material was discarded at the demand of Muslim groups, which had deemed it inaccurate or offensive to Muslims.
This purge was several years in the making, and I was – inadvertently – the one who touched it off. In August 2010, when I gave a talk on Islam and jihad to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force — one of many such talks I gave to government agencies and military groups in those years. While some had counseled me to keep these talks quiet so as to avoid attracting the ire of the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the possibility of that pressure seemed to me to make it all the more important to announce my appearances publicly, so as to show that the U.S. government was not going to take dictation from a group linked to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/268542/robert-mueller-agent-willful-ignorance-robert-spencer
Rep. Devin Nunes Demolishes The Russian Collusion Delusion
Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee sorts through the media’s misinformation campaign at Restoration Weekend.
November 28, 2017
Frontpagemag.com
Devin Nunes: Thank you all so much. Thank you and thanks for having me and thank you for the warm welcome. I don’t know if Brian is still here. Did Brian walk out? Okay, well, now I know that I can tell this story. I was always afraid to tell Brian this story and I’ll tell him this next week when I see him. But his little joke about the Vice President reminded me of this time, and I’d wanted to tell him, but I didn’t know exactly how to tell him this story because it’s funny. But then again, it’s not because you don’t know how somebody’s going to take it. But I have a little 4-year-old daughter and we were sitting on the House floor. We had just gotten sworn in and I couldn’t help but notice that she kept going like this and I said, “So what are you doing?” I mean you can tell when your child is just like fixated on something and acting a little different. And I said, “What are you doing?” – “That man, daddy. That man.” I said, “What man? What are you talking about?” – “I saw a cartoon just like it.” I said, “What are you talking about?” – “Look at his legs. Look at his legs.” And she was totally serious. She thought it was like the transformers cartoon. And she said, “I want to get some of those.” I said, “Don’t say that. Stop talking.” And for the rest of the time, she was with me for an hour, and she just stared at Brian the whole time. I don’t know how to tell that to Brian, but now I know if the Vice President can bring it up, I think that he would enjoy the story.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/268524/rep-devin-nunes-demolishes-russian-collusion-frontpagemagcom
video at site
DAILY MAIL – North Korea launches new ballistic missile, US military confirm
Missile tracking radar was switched on at North Korean launch site on Monday
Comes as South Korean minister warned Kim Jong Un could achieve goal of developing a long-range nuclear weapon within a year
It is not yet clear how far it went or whether it flew over Japan as others did
News reported by South Korean military and confirmed by US military source
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5123911/North-Korea-complete-nuclear-programme-YEAR.html
A response to http://ingridmattson.org/article/whats-up-with-muslims-and-dogs/ from https://islamqa.org/hanafi/askimam/5955
This is not to say that all communal experience must be taken to correctly represent Islam. There are certain cultural practices that have been confused with Islam. However, in this discussion we are dealing with a norm that is universal. Wherever one goes one would experience practicing Muslims abstaining from keeping dogs in the home. The writer now wishes to reverse a fourteen century old position in order to suit her whims.
It is very unfortunate that today the claim as professor of Islamic studies has become a title without any merit. This becomes very clear from the texts cited by Advocate Mufti Emran Vawda. Anyone having little knowledge of Ahaadith would have known these Ahaadith referred to in the response.
Pakistan laughingly says its fight against terrorists is ‘unmatched in the world’
Saeed was freed from house arrest after the Lahore High Court determined that his release would not “bring diplomatic and financial problems to the country,” Dawn reported. The Lashkar-e-Taiba leader was put under house arrest on Jan. 31. The US government has listed Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and issued a $10 million bounty for information leading to his arrest and capture. Lashkar-e-Taiba – which is now known as Jamaat-ud-Dawa – and several of its charitable fronts have been listed as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
The Lahore High Court decided to release Saeed one week after US Congress, in its 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, removed the condition that Pakistan must take action against Lashkar-e-Taiba in order for cash from the Coalition Support Fund to be disbursed to the Pakistani government.…
Inside Pakistan, LeT operates openly and has offices throughout the country. Markaz-e-Taiba, its headquarters in Muridke near Lahore, is a sprawling complex used to indoctrinate future jihadists before they are sent off for military training. The provincial government of Punjab has financed Markaz-e-Taiba in the past.
LeT has mastered the art of using charitable groups to fundraise as well as promote its message and recruit. Since 2010, the US has identified the following groups as LeT fronts: Falah-i Insaniat Foundation, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Al-Anfal Trust, Tehrik-e-Hurmat-e-Rasool, Tehrik-e-Tahafuz Qibla Awwal, and Al-Muhammadia Students. These LeT fronts continue to operate inside Pakistan without consequence.
Saeed’s terror organization has been directly linked to numerous terror attacks in South Asia, including the Nov. 2008 terror assault in Mumbai that resulted in the deaths of 165 people. The US and Indian governments have accused Saeed and other Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives and leaders of plotting, financing, and executing the Mumbai attack.…
https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/11/pakistan-laughingly-says-its-fight-against-terrorists-is-unmatched-in-the-world.php
……
But Lashkar-e-Taiba or LeT is so much more catchy than Jamaat-ud-Dawa.
Can they coexist with each other?Can Kurds Coexist with Arabs in Iraq?
…Looking ahead, what then is the best course for Kurds in these dire new circumstances? And how can the United States adjust its policy to better serve our common interests in countering Iran’s ambitions, in Iraq and beyond? The greatest hope, as we approach the Iraqi national election due next May 15, is for the United States to help broker a deal for Iraq’s Kurds and Sunni Arabs to support a coalition headed by Iraq’s incumbent prime minister, Haidar al-Abadi, rather than risk a more pro-Iranian successor. In the meantime, given the immediate prospect of further major changes on the ground, such a deal might also provide Abadi with a surer incentive to avoid additional encroachments on Kurdish rights or territory.
For most Iraqi Kurds, this outcome would at least salvage something worthwhile from the rubble of the referendum. Better to be a partner with the Arabs of Iraq than a vassal of Turkey or Iran. And better, perhaps, to remain a truly autonomous region for the foreseeable future, rather than a self-proclaimed independent state in a losing conflict with all of its neighbors. Many Kurds will still aspire to independence someday, but their top priority must be to preserve their dignity today.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/fikraforum/view/can-kurds-coexist-with-arabs-in-the-iranian-backed-united-iraq
Link to above: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/fikraforum/view/can-kurds-coexist-with-arabs-in-the-iranian-backed-united-iraq
High-Level Contacts between North Korea and Iran Hint at Deeper Military Cooperation
High-level meetings between North Korean and Iranian officials in recent months are stoking U.S. concerns of bilateral nuclear collaboration between the two American adversaries. Officials say both have already signaled a commitment to jointly develop their ballistic missile systems and other military-scientific programs.
North Korea has vastly expanded its nuclear and long-range missile capabilities over the past year, developing intercontinental ballistic missiles that could potentially target the western U.S. with nuclear warheads. U.S. and South Korean intelligence services have tracked a steady stream of Iranian and North Korean officials visiting each other in a bid to jointly develop their defense systems. Iranian opposition groups allege that senior Iranian officials have visited North Korea to observe some of its six nuclear weapons tests.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/high-level-contacts-between-north-korea-and-iran-hint-at-deeper-military-co
“High-Level Contacts between North Korea and Iran Hint at Deeper Military Cooperation”
“Paging Richard to the white courtesy phone…”
Libyan cleared of most serious charges in Benghazi attack
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal jury has found a suspected Libyan militant not guilty of the most serious charges stemming from the 2012 Benghazi attacks that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans.
Jurors on Tuesday convicted Ahmed Abu Khattala of terrorism-related charges but acquitted him of murder.
Prosecutors accused Abu Khattala of leading a rampage aimed at killing personnel and plundering maps and other property from the U.S. mission in Benghazi. Defense attorneys said their evidence against him was shoddy.
U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed in the attack, along with a State Department information management officer. Two more Americans died in a mortar attack at a nearby CIA complex.
The Sept. 12, 2012, attack became political fodder in the 2012 presidential campaign.
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/libyan-cleared-of-most-serious-charges-in-benghazi-attack/
NYT – Libyan Convicted of Terrorism in Benghazi Attacks but Acquitted of Murder
WASHINGTON — A former militia leader from Libya was convicted on Tuesday of terrorism charges arising from the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that killed a United States ambassador and three other Americans. But he was acquitted of multiple counts of the most serious offense, murder.
The defendant, Ahmed Abu Khattala, 46, was the first person charged and successfully prosecuted in the attacks, which took on broader significance as Republicans and conservative news outlets sought to use them to damage the presidential ambitions of Hillary Clinton, who was then the secretary of state. But the seven-week trial in federal court in Washington received relatively little attention from such quarters.
Mr. Khattala was convicted on four counts — including providing material support for terrorism, destroying property and placing lives in jeopardy at the mission, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence — but acquitted on 14 others. He faces up to 60 years in prison for the four convictions.
The mixed verdict showed the difficulty of prosecuting terrorism cases when the evidence is not clear-cut. The outcome was reminiscent of the 2010 federal trial of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian man and former Guantánamo Bay detainee who was charged in federal court as a conspirator in the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in East Africa that killed hundreds. Mr. Ghailani was acquitted of most of the charges, including each murder count for those who died, but convicted of one count of conspiracy and sentenced to life in prison.
Mr. Khattala’s attorney, Michelle Peterson, declined to comment after the verdict was announced.
The trial included dramatic testimony from State Department and C.I.A. operatives who fought desperately to prevent militants from killing more Americans stationed in Benghazi.
On the night of the attacks, armed men overran the diplomatic compound and set fire to it. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and another State Department employee, Sean Smith, were killed. Hours later, militants attacked the nearby C.I.A. base with mortars and small-arms fire. Two C.I.A. security contractors, Tyrone S. Woods and Glen A. Doherty, were killed, and others were wounded.
The unusual circumstances of the crime and the evidence — an orchestrated, military-style assault in a near-failed state — were a challenge for federal investigators and prosecutors. The government showed the jury large amounts of surveillance video from the attacks, but Mr. Khattala did not show up inside the diplomatic compound until the fighting was over.
Prosecutors acknowledged that there was no evidence that Mr. Khattala had personally fired any shots or set any fires, but argued that he had nevertheless helped orchestrate the attacks and aided them while they were underway. To make that case, they drew primarily on testimony from three Libyan witnesses and on a database said to be Mr. Khattala’s cellphone records, which it had obtained from Libya.
more :
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/28/us/politics/benghazi-attacks-trial-verdict-khattala.html
SYRIA – Islamic State terrorists retreating to the areas controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
North Korean missile lands in Sea of Japan, Pentagon says
North Korea on Tuesday fired a missile that traveled about 1000 km before crashing into the Sea of Japan, the Pentagon said in a statement.
The Department of Defense said that initial assessments indicated the missile was an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM. In a news conference, Japan’s defense minister also said it seemed to be an ICBM.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered an emergency meeting of Cabinet ministers following the launch, North Korea’s first since Sept. 15, when one flew over northern Japan and into the Pacific Ocean.
“A missile was launched from North Korea which appears to have landed within Japan’s exclusive economic zone,” Abe’s office tweeted. “As soon as new information comes in, we will let you know.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/28/north-korea-fires-ballistic-missile-report.html
World War 3 fears: North Korea launches ICBM – South Korea FIRES missile back
NORTH Korea has launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), sparking a ferocious “precision strike” rocket response from South Korea.
North Korea launched the missile at around 3am local time (6pm GMT), sparking a furious response from Seoul.
Within minutes of North Korea’s ICBM launch, South Korea had fired its own missile launch in retaliation.
The North Korean missile was fired eastwards from the hermit state. The missile landed about 210km west of Japan’s Kyurokujima island, Tokyo said.
Japanese media reports the missile was in the air for 50 minutes – indicating a very high altitude flight path.
It travelled east for around 620 miles and to an altitude of 2,500 miles before crashing into the Sea of Japan.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/885512/North-Korea-Missile-world-war-3-range-USA-Kim-Jong-Un-Donald-Trump-nuclear-military
Trump on North Korean missile launch: ‘We will take care of it’
Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that the United States “will handle” the situation in North Korea after the rogue nation launched yet another intercontinental ballistic missile earlier in the day.
“We will take care of it,” Trump said, adding later that North Korea “is a situation that we will handle.”
The Pentagon confirmed earlier Tuesday that North Korea launched what the US military believes to be an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told reporters that the North Korean missile test went “higher, frankly, than any previous shot they have taken.”
Mattis made remarks as he sat in on a meeting with Trump, House Speaker Ryan and Senate Majority Leader McConnell. The defense secretary later said North Korea has the ability to hit “everywhere in the world basically” with a intercontinental ballistic missile.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/28/politics/north-korea-missile-launch/index.html
(LEAD) N.K. may announce completion of nuke force next year: Seoul official
SEOUL, Nov. 28 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s unification minister said Tuesday that North Korea may announce the completion of its nuclear weapons programs next year as the North has been working on its nuclear arsenal at a faster pace.
Cho Myoung-gyon made the remark as North Korea seeks to develop nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching as far as the U.S. mainland.
“North Korea has been developing its nuclear weapons at a faster-than-expected pace. We cannot rule out the possibility that North Korea could announce its completion of a clear force within one year,” Cho told foreign correspondents in Seoul.
He said that next year will be a key year for North Korea as the wayward regime marks the 70th anniversary of its establishment in 2018.
The North conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test in September and fired two intercontinental ballistic missiles this year. But it has refrained from provocations following its launch of an intermediate-range missile over Japan on Sept. 15.
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2017/11/28/78/0401000000AEN20171128010651315F.html
Avi Issacharoff:
With victory assured, why is Assad suddenly wary of Iran’s embrace?
Having fought and bled for the regime’s survival, Tehran looks to cash in its support for a Mediterranean naval base, air bases and even uranium mining concessions
https://www.timesofisrael.com/with-victory-assured-why-is-assad-suddenly-wary-of-irans-embrace/
INSS – Moshe “Bogie” Yaalon:
Criticizing Jackass Kerry, saying the U.S. secretary of state had a “misplaced obsession and messianic fervor” about the peace process; Give him a Nobel Prize and send him home; and much more ‘talking truth to power’.
Bogie’s written a long article for INSS:
United States Policy in the Middle East: The Need for a Grand Strategy
http://www.inss.org.il/publication/united-states-policy-middle-east-need-grand-strategy/?offset=0&posts=995&type=399
Present threat: Concrete blocks turn into Xmas gifts amid holiday terrorism fears in Europe