Re: The Levant crisis.(Israel,SYRIA,Lebanon,etc)

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 21 Nov 2015 15:53

The key reason the Obama administration had not thought about this before is Turkey. Washington needs NATO member Ankara for the use of the Incirlik air base. And then there’s the sensitive subject of who profits from Daesh’s oil smuggling.

Turkish Socialist party member Gursel Tekin has established that Daesh’s smuggled oil is exported to Turkey by BMZ, a shipping company controlled by none other than Bilal Erdogan, son of “Sultan” Erdogan. At a minimum, this violates UN Security Council resolution 2170. Under the light of Putin’s message of going after anyone or any entity engaged in facilitating Daesh’s operations, Erdogan’s clan better come up with some really good excuses.

https://www.rt.com/op-edge/322613-russi ... ion-syria/

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 21 Nov 2015 17:19

Belgium closes metro. Advises synagogues to close.

For once I want to see a goi travel advisory for us in a bhestern nation

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 21 Nov 2015 17:29

Best explanation yet for Paris attacks: From Levant thread, post on local resistance beating 3 ISIS torture-leaders to death:

"Daesh [The Arabic acronym for IS] considers the local population to be infidels and do not trust them," said Tim, the name adopted by the Syrian activist from Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently.
Following IS' tragic operation in Paris - killing 130 people - activists are suspicious about the Syrian passport found among the bodies.
Many believe that the militant group might be attempting to stir up European xenophobia to halt the exodus of refugees from the "caliphate".
Educated and middle class Syrians in particular are fleeing for Turkey and Europe in their droves.
They have grown tired of the poverty, bombs and drabness of the "caliphate" - and fear they might be next to be conscripted into IS' death cult army as the militants lose more men.
"We should not forget that education under the rule of IS has stopped completely and there are no job opportunities available," said Abu Layal.

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 21 Nov 2015 19:11

Belgium has more issues to look into:

http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/ ... rtofeurope

Security co-operation
Jihad at the heart of Europe

Brussels is not just Europe’s political and military capital—it is also the centre of its terrorist networks

WITH its stout brick houses and wrought-iron balconies, as well as occasional tower blocks, Molenbeek would not be out of place in a multicultural corner of any western European capital. Residents can shop at the Marrakech baker, Islamic butcher, Halal Turkish Pizzas or the King of Saree. A rundown Islamic centre offers classes in rapid memorisation of the Koran around the corner from a main commercial street strung with municipal Christmas lights.

In recent days, after the carnage in Paris, Molenbeek has changed in the public imagination from an edgy ethnic corner of Brussels into a nest of European jihadism. One of the Paris suicide-bombers, Brahim Abdeslam, was a French citizen who lived in the area. His younger brother, Salah, is believed to have fled back to Belgium after the carnage. Raids by armed Belgian police in Molenbeek on November 16th and 19th were intended to track him down.

Whether or not Belgium has a worse problem with radicalism than elsewhere, it is clearly struggling to cope with it. Its police and intelligence forces are, like most of the country’s institutions, fragmented and under-resourced. It has long had a reputation as the way-station for drug- and gun-smuggling between the Netherlands and France. Another problem is that Belgium lies at the heart of the Schengen zone area. Once a gun is smuggled across the external border of the free-travel area, typically from the Balkans, where they are plentiful, it can be taken freely across much of Europe. Black-market prices suggest that automatic weapons are cheapest in the Balkans and most expensive in Britain, which is outside Schengen. Some reports say that weapons used in the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in January came from a specialist in Slovakia.

A more ready answer lies in improved security co-operation. After the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, European leaders pledged to solve many of the problems. But progress has been slow because of resistance from the European Parliament, bureaucratic lethargy and the reluctance of many security forces to share information for fear that it will leak—or expose domestic failings. France was due to renew its demand for action at an emergency meeting of interior ministers on November 20th.

Intelligence relations are closest between Britain and the other so-called “Five Eyes” (America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand); and between Britain and France, the two military and security giants in Europe. But co-operation across the rest of the continent is patchier, not least because the big intelligence agencies do not trust the competence of the smaller outfits, or even their ability to keep secrets. Belgium has some 1,000 intelligence officers, and 800 Islamists on its watch-list, says Kristof Clerix, the author of a book on Belgian intelligence. They must also watch the many foreign spies operating around the headquarters of the EU and NATO, and operate under unusually restrictive laws.

“Terrorism is borderless,” says Belgium’s former prime minister, Guy Verhofstadt. “Intelligence has to be borderless also.” For now, what better for jihadists wanting to strike at France than to hole up in Belgium, a French-speaking country with a large Muslim population and lax controls, just a short drive from Paris?

Quoted in parts, best read it in full. Sorry, image size is going all over.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 21 Nov 2015 19:30

Whatever happened to "Il est presumee l'INNOCENT until le Magistrat Villefort finds him guilty"? NO respect for human rights, these french/belgian racists!

Look at the goons dragging two INNOCENT youths by the hair, arms twisted behind them, necks bent almost to breaking level. If this isn't human rights violation, I don't know what is.

I am returning my Louis ~~XVI~~Pasteur and Marie Antoinette Prizes. Or was that Marie Curie Prize? I think I had stuck them under my Indian Sahitya AK-A-dummy prize... under the Yak Dung Broom.

Also now this:

Woman didn't kill herself
Also, the Paris prosecutor's office announced that Hasna Ait Boulahcen, the woman found dead after the police raid in Saint-Denis, did not blow herself up as previously thought.
Instead, a man wearing a suicide device was the one that detonated, the prosecutor's office told CNN.
Boulahcen, 26, was a relative of Abaaoud, official sources in France told CNN.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 21 Nov 2015 19:42

Can you figure out this story? If the bomb went off, why did the guy seem in one piece?
If the bomb didn't go off, why did he get hurt? Another bomb? Seems like the terrorists ****ed up this particular attack, it could have been much worse.

In the chaos of the explosion at the Comptoir Voltaire cafe, one of several targets hit in the Paris attacks, nurse David instinctively sought to help the wounded.

Among them was a man lying amid overturned chairs and tables. David, who asked to be called just by his first name, lay him down. The man did not look to have massive injuries but appeared unconscious, so David began CPR, the cardiopulmonary resuscitation he’d been trained for.
Security council unanimously calls on UN members to fight Isis
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When he tore open the man’s T-shirt, David quickly realised what he initially thought was a gas explosion at the cafe close to the Bataclan music hall where gunmen killed 89, was actually something far worse.

“There were wires; one white, one black, one red and one orange. Four different colours,” he said. “I knew then he was a suicide bomber.“

The man David was trying to resuscitate was Brahim Abdeslam, one of those involved in a series of deadly attacks that killed 130 people at bars, restaurants, a football stadium and a music hall. No one other than Abdeslam died at the cafe.

In an amateur video two men can be seen from outside the cafe trying to resuscitate a man lying on the floor. One is believed to be David, the other is unknown.

Near them, another person lies wounded on the floor amid spatters of blood.

“The first wire I saw was red. I think that was the detonator,” David said. “There was something at the end.”
Live Threat of 'imminent' Isis attack puts Brussels on lockdown - live
Latest updates on the Paris attacks and their aftermath as alleged ‘scout’ is held in Turkey, Brussels goes on highest alert and security council votes for united front against Isis
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As soon as he realised the person he was trying to save had just tried to kill him, David says the fire services arrived. Among them was a fireman he knew. He told him what he had just seen. “He looked at me and started shouting for everyone to evacuate,” he said.

David, 46, who works at a Paris hospital, knows the Comptoir Voltaire well, living in the neighbourhood.

He had been having dinner with a friend that Friday night. When the waitress brought their dishes, the explosion went off.
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“There was a huge flame, there was dust,” he said. “I immediately thought it was the heaters. I screamed, ‘cut off the gas’. There was panic, people started running out ... I left the dining area and went on to the terrace.”

He first helped a woman, then a young man lying on a table, conscious but bleeding. A helper took over and David went to Abdeslam. “At this point, I never thought he was a suicide bomber, he was a customer like everyone else,” he said. “I thought that after the gas explosion, he must have gotten hurt.”

David says he did not see Abdeslam walk into the restaurant. He believes he had been sitting at the terrace when he detonated the bomb.

“He had a large opening on his side, about 30 cms (11.8 inches),” he said. “When you lift a T-shirt and you see wires, you know that’s not normal.”

David says police told him Abdeslam’s bomb had not fully exploded.

“[Later] I was thinking about how I lay him on the floor, with me doing CPR. It’s a pretty vigourous process. By just doing that, I also could have been gone,” he said.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 21 Nov 2015 20:17

Warsaw had a big CT plus NBC response drill today.

So i guess dirty bomb or aum shirinkyo type batnuts insane nerve gas attack is expected.

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 21 Nov 2015 21:03

now the beardies know a middle-kingdomer when they see one, so the main reason they want to top one would be to strike one for their uighur birathers and/or get some pay-back for the r*pe of africa
interesting...

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 21 Nov 2015 21:03

It seems they had some information about forthcoming attack on metro in Bruxelles. Bus and trams services are normal. shopping centers are closed. Famous flea markets of Brussels are closed (first time since WW2). Military everywhere. Went to Molenbeek yesterday (a friend has wholesale business there). Greens were out as usual. Friend told me that no one in his client expressed any sorrow or remorse. It is business as usual. Was busy last few days with visit of Shri Shri Ravi Shanker ji. Completely opposite atmosphere there. No word from Muslim community. Incidentally, an Christian-Muslim Harmony programme scheduled for today has been canceled.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 21 Nov 2015 21:22

Wonder how smart it was to kill the 3 'senior Chinese executives". I mean, it is one thing to kill a few dozen or few hundred Chinese proletariat in MH17 or James Bond movies, but murdering THREE senior execs anointed by the People's Poliburo???

I think payback is coming.. and not at the obvious targets either, but at the real villains behind all this.

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 21 Nov 2015 21:26

well we know what happened after red lips massage parlour was interfered with...

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 21 Nov 2015 21:38

think about it...huge explosion in China earlier last month (or was it in sept)...and then massive selloff worth Trillions of $s. Now chinese exec prominently named in a god forsaken land of Mali.

Terror incidents in *very* recent past (3 months and less)
Iraq/Syria/Lebanon/Libya - SNAFU
Africa - SNAFU
China - check
Russia - check
France - check
US/UK/Australia/Canada - absolute peace. yearly drill/preparedness complete?
GCC - absolute p!ss as usual; no drill needed?
Latin America - leave us all alone with our drugs, mega butts, and yesus cryst?
India -?. Spider sense if shaking vigorously?

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 21 Nov 2015 22:02

U know... this morning there was a photo on see enn enn of two (Arab-looking) youths being dragged away by a bunch of armed Belgians - handcuffed behind, and each had his neck bent 90 degrees to the side because his hair was in the hands of a goon. Obvious hyoomain rites violation - and the pic has totally disappeared. Can u pls find and post?

saip · Post by **saip** » 21 Nov 2015 22:15

UlanBatori wrote:Whatever happened to "Il est presumee l'INNOCENT until le Magistrat Villefort finds him guilty"? NO respect for human rights, these french/belgian racists!

I heard French Jurisprudence is somewhat different from the English jurisprudence. It is 'Guilty until proven innocent'. In the USA Louisiana State follows French Jurisprudence, i was told.

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 21 Nov 2015 22:23

the french police have a long history of love and harmony with the algerian origin citizens of their country. the most famous example is 1961 Police Riot

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 21 Nov 2015 23:36

UlanBatori wrote:Best explanation yet for Paris attacks: From Levant thread, post on local resistance beating 3 ISIS torture-leaders to death:
"Daesh [The Arabic acronym for IS] considers the local population to be infidels and do not trust them," <SNIP>
Educated and middle class Syrians in particular are fleeing for Turkey and Europe in their droves.
They have grown tired of the poverty, bombs and drabness of the "caliphate" - and fear they might be next to be conscripted into IS' death cult army as the militants lose more men.
"We should not forget that education under the rule of IS has stopped completely and there are no job opportunities available," said Abu Layal.

Reminds of very first Europeans aka Portuguese landing at Goa and doing exactly what ISIL is doing now viz loot, murder, religious courts, banning native festivals, traditions & all rituals, destroying temples - the whole ISIL facade. On the other hand, the natives ie Konkanis behaved exactly the way the educated Syrians are behaving ie leaving for other regions where kings gave shelter. Some literally ran into forests like Yazidis running to Sinjar mountain, notwithstanding TFTA offers of religious conversion into European religions. Misfortunately, the barbarians were not run over and others landed too and the sacred lands were looted for hundreds of years. The networks of Europeans should have been destroyed right then.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 21 Nov 2015 23:42

Alka_P wrote:
UlanBatori wrote:800 raids, 76 weapons? Think about that. >90% of raids are on ppl who don't even own a single weapon. It's open season on Ppl of One Religion. Or One Color.That needs to start in India too, I bet the person to weapon ration would be much higher

Start with Azamgarh.

member_29172 · Post by **member_29172** » 22 Nov 2015 03:32

Turkish Football fans shout "Allah u Akbar" in support of ISIS for Paris Attack (English)

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 22 Nov 2015 05:20

^^^ Who won the match?

member_29172 · Post by **member_29172** » 22 Nov 2015 05:45

A_Gupta wrote:^^^ Who won the match?

Germany

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 22 Nov 2015 05:47

Brussels

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 22 Nov 2015 05:52

(CNN)It was never this bad, not even after 9/11.

That's what many Muslims and Arab-Americans are saying about the tenor of comments made by presidential candidates on down to local officials about how to treat members of their community in the wake of ISIS' rampage in Paris last Friday.

Over the past week, GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump said he would consider compelling Muslims to register in "databases" and that some mosques might be shut; fellow Republican candidate Ben Carson compared some Syrian refugees to "rabid dogs," and Democrat David Bowers, mayor of Roanoke, Virginia, evoked the internment of Japanese in WWII to explain his anti-refugee policy.

"We are operating in an atmosphere of hysteria and fear," said Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American Islamic Relations. "I have never seen it like this, not even after 9/11."

Muslim and civil rights activists attribute the charged environment not only to the horrific attacks in France and 14 grinding years of the war on terror at home and abroad. They also blame it on the fact that the latest attacks come during a political campaign that dovetails with years of strife and inflammatory rhetoric on the immigration issue.

Today, with no one to unite the Republican Party and put a lid on its more outspoken elements, the loudest, and in some cases ugliest, voices are at times prevailing.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 22 Nov 2015 06:43

FBI Confirms Has No Credible Info Over Reports of Planned Attack in Atlanta

The Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office said that FBI is taking seriously the information, released by the Anonymous hacktivist group, that the ISIL militants are planning an attack on the US city of Atlanta, but has no reliable information on the issue.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 22 Nov 2015 08:22

UlanBatori wrote:U know... this morning there was a photo on see enn enn of two (Arab-looking) youths being dragged away by a bunch of armed Belgians - handcuffed behind, and each had his neck bent 90 degrees to the side because his hair was in the hands of a goon. Obvious hyoomain rites violation - and the pic has totally disappeared. Can u pls find and post?

UB ji,
No luck so far. Will keep an eye.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 22 Nov 2015 08:29

Vanished like the djinns. So there is a lot of stuff going on that we are not seeing in see enn enn type media.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 22 Nov 2015 09:03

UlanBatori wrote:FBI Confirms Has No Credible Info Over Reports of Planned Attack in Atlanta
The Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office said that FBI is taking seriously the information, released by the Anonymous hacktivist group, that the ISIL militants are planning an attack on the US city of Atlanta, but has no reliable information on the issue.

This is the actual link
http://sputniknews.com/us/20151121/1030 ... ttack.html

"The FBI is aware of reports of an alleged threat that includes an Atlanta, Georgia venue and event. While we take all threats seriously, we do not have specific or credible information of an attack at this time. We have, however, made the proper notifications as we continue to work closely with our law enforcement and private sector partners to keep our community safe," J. Britt Johnson said.

Lots of tornadoes to worry about this year?

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 22 Nov 2015 09:10

shiv wrote:FBI Confirms Has No Credible Info Over Reports of Planned Attack in AtlantaLots of tornadoes to worry about this year?

FBI Confirms 6 Men from Pakistan, Afghanistan Illegally Crossed Border

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government ... om-mexico/

After the publication of this article, a local NBC affiliate contacted the FBI for confirmation. The FBI confirmed that the six men were apprehended after illegally entering the United States in Arizona.
highly trusted federal agent working under the umbrella of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has confirmed to Breitbart Texas that a group composed of 5 Pakistani men and 1 man from Afghanistan was captured by U.S. Border Patrol agents after having illegally crossed the porous U.S.-Mexico border in the Tucson Sector of Arizona.The six men were traveling in a group and were captured roughly 16 miles into the state of Arizona, specifically, near the small picturesque town of Patagonia, Arizona.The apprehension of the group occurred late on Monday night, November 16, 2015.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 22 Nov 2015 09:14

Regarding Hacktivists group: pl note the glorification of 'hacktivists' group - good branding, width of coverage in western (and international) media, and depth (time given to it in news capsules), endorsements (VIPs reacting to it and issuing statements), and public perception (as if hacktivists care for public good) and moral upkeep.

It has all the ingredients of a group created/funded/managed/directed by usual suspect ..... walks /talks /quakes like duck etc.

Russian PM Medvedev passed an order that all public institutions in Russia MUST use in-country developed software unless local made s/w is not available.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 22 Nov 2015 10:14

Satya_anveshi wrote:
UlanBatori wrote:U know... this morning there was a photo on see enn enn of two (Arab-looking) youths being dragged away by a bunch of armed Belgians - handcuffed behind, and each had his neck bent 90 degrees to the side because his hair was in the hands of a goon. Obvious hyoomain rites violation - and the pic has totally disappeared. Can u pls find and post?
UB ji,
No luck so far. Will keep an eye.

I saw it. but it was in turkey not Belgium as they prepared to enter syria

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 22 Nov 2015 11:12

Now Brussels braces for an attack. perhaps the td. may have to be changed to Terrorism in Europe.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Brussels braced for imminent terrorist attack
• Tennis chiefs' concern over Davis Cup final in Ghent
• Armed guards stationed at French water supply sites

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/n ... to-maximum
Brussels in lockdown after terror threat level is raised to maximum
Shops close, football is cancelled and people are urged to stay home as army patrols streets in face of ‘serious and imminent threat’ of Paris-style attack

habal · Post by **habal** » 22 Nov 2015 15:09

the Dalai Lama uvacha on Paris attacks

The Dalai Lama has asked people to stop the ‘Pray for Paris movement.’ He said, "We cannot solve this problem only through prayers. I am a Buddhist and I believe in praying. But humans have created this problem, and now we are asking God to solve it? .... This is illogical. God would say, 'Solve it yourself because you created the problem in the first place!"

http://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/25734 ... -paris.htm

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 22 Nov 2015 15:32

habal wrote:the Dalai Lama uvacha on Paris attacks

The Dalai Lama has asked people to stop the ‘Pray for Paris movement.’ He said, "We cannot solve this problem only through prayers. I am a Buddhist and I believe in praying. But humans have created this problem, and now we are asking God to solve it? .... This is illogical. God would say, 'Solve it yourself because you created the problem in the first place!"

http://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/25734 ... -paris.htm

the Dalai Lama uvacha is increasingly behaving as though his piles are bothering him fiercely onlee. Never known this mahatma to be so undiplomatic or even vicious in his vocal forays.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 22 Nov 2015 16:29

S Gurumurthy ‏@sgurumurthy 9h9 hours ago
Media reported in Sept Russian intelligence offered to CIA & Interpol a massive list of 87,000 Jihadists roaming around in US and Europe
RETWEETS 85 LIKES 35

S Gurumurthy ‏@sgurumurthy 9h9 hours ago
CIA/Interpol refused to receive it because it was “not politically viable in the present atmosphere”. Paris assault exactly 60 days later
58 retweets 26 likes

chilarai · Post by **chilarai** » 22 Nov 2015 17:09

Security scare delays KLM flight; two ‘suspicious’ men removed from plane

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 22 Nov 2015 17:56

sputnik news:

The son of a New York mob boss has given Islamic State a stark warning, saying if they are planning any attacks in New York, they will have to contend with the Sicilian mafia. The notorious crime syndicate say they want to do their bit to protect locals.

Giovanni Gambino, the son of a key figure in the Gambino mob organization, says the mafia is in a much better position than security bodies, such as the FBI or Homeland Security, to give New Yorkers the protection they need.

“They often act too late, or fail to see a complete picture of what's happening due to a lack of ‘human intelligence,’” he said in an interview with NBC News, as cited by Reuters, adding that the mafia’s knowledge of individual movements and interaction with locals gives it the upper hand, even compared to the latest surveillance technologies.

Gambino, who is trying to carve out a career as a Hollywood screenwriter, says that, following the horrendous terror attacks in Paris on November 13, protection is more important than ever.

"The world is dangerous today, but people living in New York neighborhoods with Sicilian connections should feel safe," he said. "We make sure our friends and families are protected from extremists and terrorists, especially the brutal, psychopathic organization that calls itself the Islamic State,”

Gambino Jr, who was brought up in Torretta, a mountainous area overlooking Palermo, the capital of Sicily, says that Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL) fear the Sicilian mafia, and this has been one of the main reasons why they have not tried to set up any underground cells in Sicily.

NassimNicholasTaleb ✔ @nntaleb
Predictably, the areas in Europe the most protected against ISIS/Daesh are the ones with strong mafia presence.
http://www.panorama.it/news/cronaca/isi ... ure-mafia/ … …
12:06 AM - 19 Nov 2015

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 22 Nov 2015 17:57

https://www.rt.com/news/323034-greece-r ... uard-sink/

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 22 Nov 2015 19:08

Nice CT job by RT - get the Greeks riled up to keep Turkey's Navy and Air Farce something to think about.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 22 Nov 2015 19:10

> the areas in Europe the most protected against ISIS/Daesh are the ones with strong mafia presence.

perhaps because IS uses criminal trans national gangs to move men and material into position..using the same channels used to smuggle contraband. so if the mafia does not play ball, they lack logistics and ability to procure high quality fake documents.

they do have enough safe zones like molenbeek to disappear into once they reach onsite.

Sid · Post by **Sid** » 22 Nov 2015 19:11

French SF seems o have played some part in Mali hostage rescue. Local teams only playing parameter defense? More pics on flipboard link.

http://cdn.flipboard.com/content/thepho ... 74000.html

http://cdn.flipboard.com/content/thepho ... 064994.jpg

http://cdn.flipboard.com/content/thepho ... TTACKS.JPG

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 22 Nov 2015 19:25

they do have units dispersed in a wide band in the sahel...the dress and weapons match the french army.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Barkhane