US GOVERNMENT announces sanctions against ISIS-Somalia head of finance Abdiweli Mohamed Yusuf. OFAC designated Yusuf as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist for his role in delivery of foreign fighters and ammunition on behalf of ISIS-Somalia. pic.twitter.com/XYhpAzPgVf
[AFRICANEWS] With its new constitution, Mali has dropped French, which has been the country’s official language since 1960.
13 other national languages spoken in the country will receive official language status.
According to reports, under the new constitution passed overwhelmingly with 96.91% of the vote in a June 18 referendum, French is no longer the official language. Although French will be the working language, 13 other national languages spoken in the country will receive official language status.
Mali which has about 70 other local languages spoken in the country and some of them, including Bambara, Bobo, Dogon, and Minianka, were granted national language status under a 1982 decree.
Recall that, Mali’s junta leader Col. Assimi Goita put the country’s new constitution into effect, marking the beginning of the Fourth Republic in the West African nation.
According to the Presidency, Mali’s military since taking power in an August 2020 coup, has maintained that the constitution would be critical to rebuilding the country.
Mali witnessed two subsequent coups in recent years, one in August 2020 and the other in May 2021.
The junta had initially promised to hold elections in February 2022 but later delayed them to February 2024.
The decision by Mali to drop French comes at a time of growing anti-France sentiments across West Africa due to its perceived military and political interference.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
Posted by: ed in texas ||
07/28/2023 8:21 Comments ||
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#3
Yeah, but it is Authentic African Gibberish. I wonder if they will give up writing too.
No offense to the good people of Mali, but if you have 13 national languages, you don't have a national language or even a real nation. It's just of bunch of tribes living in a geographic boundary.
According to well-known experts, "You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer."
#4
About 40 percent of Californians speak a language other than English at home — more than 200 languages and dialects — and one in five have limited English knowledge.
[AFRICANEWS] Several hundreds responded to a call from putsch leaders in Niger's capital Niamey on Thursday to gather in support of mutinous soldiers who announced they had seized power in a coup over the West African country’s deteriorating security situation.
Some waved Russian flags, echoing similar demonstrations held after coups in neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso.
"The most important thing is for Niger to be refounded, the most important thing is for Niger to be restored to full sovereignty, the most important thing is for us to be free men," said Tahirou Guimba, Nigerien politician who was at the demonstration.
A day earlier, protesters had voiced support for President Mohamed Bazoum.
Bazoum defiantly declared Thursday that democracy would prevail.
While many people in the capital of Niamey went about their usual business, it remained unclear who was in control of the country and which side the majority might support.
The country had been seen as the last major partner standing against extremism in a Francophone region where anti-French sentiment had opened the way for the Russian private military group Wagner.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
#2
"Niger borders Burkina Faso and Mali, where groups such as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, an ISIL (ISIS) affiliate, and al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), have competed for power through violence.
One of the poorest countries in the world, Niger is seen as at risk of a possible spillover of violence from Mali, where armed groups have been gaining ground following the withdrawal of French and other European forces."
[Free Beacon] Former intelligence official Bill Evanina told Congress Wednesday that a Chinese company trying to build a battery factory in Michigan will "100 percent" bring spies to the United States.
Evanina, who served as director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, was asked by Rep. John Moolenaar (R., Mich.) if it is "basically a guarantee that some of the people who come from China to work on this project will spy for the CCP." Evanina responded, "100 percent."
"There will be an effort by the Communist Party of China to infiltrate that capability via cyber, human, and hybrid methods," Evanina told the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party during a Wednesday hearing Wednesday. "Using businessmen, engineers, and what we call the non-traditional collectors, they will go over and above to implement their methods in that particular technology that’s in your district."
The project is one of two planned battery plants in Michigan that have come under scrutiny for CCP ties in the past year. Gotion Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of China-based Gotion High-Tech Co., is set to build a $2.4 billion electric vehicle battery plant near Big Rapids, Mich., and has received more than $700 million in state and local incentives. Another project in the southern part of the state involving Ford and another Chinese battery manufacturer, CATL, has drawn similar scrutiny. Federal lawmakers, including select committee chair Rep. Mike Gallagher (R., Wis.), are asking Ford for licensing documents and more information on the deal.
Federal regulators last month declined to review the Gotion project after state lawmakers gave final approval in April. Company board members have connections to the CCP, according to shareholder communications compiled by Big Rapids Township.
#3
A better question might be how many already here aren't connected in overt, covert, or passive collection?
Google response to number of Chinese immigrants in US:"The Chinese diaspora in the United States is comprised of approximately 5.4 million individuals who were born in China, Hong Kong, or Macao, or reported Chinese ancestry or race, according to MPI tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2021 ACS. The Chinese diaspora is the ninth largest in the country.Jan 12, 2023"
[Rudaw] The US-led global coalition on Thursday said one of its helicopters experienced a mishap in Erbil province’s Gwer district without causing any casualties.
Whew!
"At approximately 12:15 p.m., Coalition service members conducting a routine helicopter training mission experienced an in-flight mishap near Erbil," read a statement by the coalition.
"There were no Coalition casualties nor damage to Coalition or civilian infrastructure. The Coalition aircraft was damaged," it added.
Sirwan Barzani, Peshmerga commander of the Makhmour-Gwer front told Rudaw earlier in the day that the coalition was conducting a military drill when the accident took place.
Barzani said that the helicopter was carrying two passengers, both of which have survived the crash "unharmed".
Rudaw’s Payam Sarbast reported from the ground that coalition helicopters were still surveilling the area after several hours from the crash, and that a team had arrived to investigate the incident.
Gwer is located 50 kilometers west of Erbil in an area disputed between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
It has been a safe haven for Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) sleeper cells because of the security gap between Peshmerga and Iraqi forces, as well as the rugged landscape. ISIS has taken advantage of the situation to move around, harass local residents, and carry out attacks.
"An assessment of the situation is ongoing," said the coalition in their statement.
A military helicopter belonging to the US-led Coalition Forces crashed on Thursday in the village of Qala Soran, within Gwer district near Erbil Governorate in Kurdistan Region.
A source to the Shafaq News Agency that the incident occurred after 1:00 p.m., and initial investigations suggest a potential technical defect as the cause of the crash.
Parts of the helicopter were found to be broken, supporting the suspicions of a mechanical failure. He added.
The source said the incident resulted in only injuries.
Ass. Carrying water for the latest Democratic administration, as he has done before. The problem is that land for peace is no longer necessary, not when other countries are eager to have their own Abraham Accords for nothing. In the end the House of Saud will have to choose between joining in or being left behind.
[IsraelTimes] New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... columnist Thomas Friedman says US President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. We hold these truths to be self-evident. All men and women created ... by the — you know — you know, the thing... has sent several of his top advisers to Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... for the latest talks on the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel.
Friedman posits that while peace with Riyadh would be a huge coup for Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, any potential deal would include significant Israeli concessions to the Paleostinians, which will be unpalatable to the premier’s far-right allies.
He also says the US president is unlikely to allow an accord to move forward so long as Netanyahu and his government continue to advance their judicial overhaul legislation.
The columnist, known to have the ear of the US president, thus suggests any progress with the Saudis — which Netanyahu yearns for — will force him to take more moderate positions on multiple fronts, and possibly to part ways with his coalition allies.
Thirty pieces of silver.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/28/2023 01:06 ||
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#1
Reporting from the Israel Times has become as questionable as that from the NYTimes.
[IsraelTimes] PM says overhaul meant to rein in ’most activist court on the planet,’ claims he will meet Biden at White House when questioned about snub
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu downplayed the effects of his government’s divisive ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled... judicial overhaul in a Thursday interview with a US news channel, saying the first law passed in the legislative package was a "minor correction" and that fears for Israel’s democracy were "silly."
"We have to bring back Israeli democracy in line with what is common to all democracies. The essence of democracy is the balance between the will of the majority and the rights of the minority and that’s achieved by the three branches of government," Netanyahu told ABC News.
"That’s been taken off the rails in Israel in the last 20 years because we have the most activist judicial court on the planet," Netanyahu told interviewer George Stephanopoulos.
Netanyahu said the new law is "a minor correction. It’s described as the end of Israeli democracy. I think that’s silly and when the dust settles everybody will see that."
The so-called "reasonableness" law passed on Monday prevents judicial oversight of government and ministerial decisions on the grounds of reasonableness. The government’s critics say removing the standard opens the door to corruption and improper appointments of unqualified cronies to important positions.
[IsraelTimes] Brigadier general Hassan Asfour says Paleostinians being paid to target settlers and IDF; says he urged CIA to push Israel to combat settler violence, approve more permits, in order to flip trend
The Paleostinian Authority faces an uphill battle in its attempt to curb terror in the West Bank, where Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede, and Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... have been recruiting impoverished youth to carry out attacks, a senior officer in the PA’s Preventive Security Service revealed in a meeting this week, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told The Times of Israel.
Continued on Page 49
#1
"Asfour told the group he was in the US for meetings and training at the Central Intelligence Agency in the Washington area, according to the source."
And what has Langley to say about that?
[Rudaw] The White House on Wednesday said Washington remains focused on its mission to defeat the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) in Syria despite harassment of its drones by Russian aircraft.
A second Russian aircraft reportedly flew "dangerously close" to a US drone over Syria on Tuesday, the White House said.
Russia’s close approach to and deployment of flares over U.S. drones during a routine mission against ISIS targets violates... established protocols and international norms," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told news hounds.
Jean-Pierre added that the US remains focused on the mission to defeat ISIS despite Russian aircraft damaging an MQ-9 drone.
"Russian unsafe and unprofessional behavior in the air not only degrades our Defeat ISIS mission, it risks unintended escalation and miscalculation," General Michael "Erik" Kurilla, Commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), said on Tuesday.
US Air Force on Tuesday announced that days earlier Russian aircraft had flown close to a US drone on an a defeat-ISIS mission in Syria, "harassing the MQ-9 and deploying flares from a position directly overhead." The Russian aircraft struck the drone, damaging its propeller, according to the US.
"The Russian fighter’s blatant disregard for flight safety detracts from our mission to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS," US Major General Alex Grynkewich said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the US said Russian aircraft had harassed MQ-9 drones over Syria twice within 24 hours. In March, Washington said a Russian jet damaged the propeller of a drone, causing it to crash over the Black Sea.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/28/2023 02:07 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Free Beacon] Former intelligence official Bill Evanina told Congress Wednesday that a Chinese company trying to build a battery factory in Michigan will "100 percent" bring spies to the United States.
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
...46th president of the U.S. 
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
