[FoxNews] The case was part of Trump's Homeland Security Task Force initiative targeting drug trafficking operations
An illegal immigrant from Mexico who previously served nearly two decades in federal prison, was indicted Tuesday after allegedly conspiring to move tens of millions of dollars in methamphetamine in the Atlanta area, leading authorities to seize nearly 1,600 pounds of the stimulant drug hidden in blackberry shipments. At least he learned his lesson from the punishment, right?
Gerardo Solorio-Alvarado, 44, of Mexico, was charged with conspiracy and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
He previously served 17 years in prison after being convicted of felony possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a gun in a drug trafficking crime.
His alleged accomplice, Nelson Enrique Sorto, 36, of Atlanta, was charged with possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. He is currently on probation after being convicted in 2024 of felony possession of methamphetamine.
While staking out a cold storage warehouse in Fulton County on Nov. 20, federal agents and Hall County sheriff's deputies saw three refrigerated box trucks parked outside.
They followed one of the trucks to a gas station in Gainesville and watched as Solorio-Alvarado picked up the driver and left the abandoned box truck at the gas station, according to officials.
After a K-9 alerted officers to the odor of narcotics, agents searched the truck and recovered about 661 pounds of methamphetamine hidden among pallets of blackberries.
Solorio-Alvarado was later arrested while trying to escape out of the back of his Gainesville home, according to authorities. Inside the house, deputies found keys to the abandoned truck.
At the same time, another team of agents followed a second box truck as it traveled in tandem with an SUV, allegedly driven by Sorto, to a home in southeast Atlanta.
Shortly after midnight, Sorto left in the SUV with two passengers, and Georgia State Patrol troopers stopped them, finding two guns and several containers of blackberries in the SUV, officials said.
During a subsequent search of the box truck parked outside the Atlanta home, Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents, assisted by the FBI, recovered about 924 pounds of methamphetamine concealed in pallets of blackberries.
Combined, the two seizures amounted to 1,585 pounds of methamphetamine.
During a news conference Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said the two seizures amounted to 1,585 pounds of methamphetamine, worth tens of millions of dollars.
"Solorio-Alvarado was convicted in federal court for drug trafficking and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and he served nearly two decades in federal prison for those offenses. He was then, and he remains, an illegal alien, unlawfully present in the United States," Hertzberg said.
"We've seen the cartels operate this way before. … We have seen massive methamphetamine seizures of drugs that were smuggled in with cucumbers, celery or jalapeño peppers. And now … blackberries."
Both men remain in state custody but will be transferred to the U.S. Marshals Service.
After appearing in federal court, Hertzberg said his office will move for them to be held without bail until their cases have been resolved.
Solorio-Alvarado faces at least 15 years in prison because of his criminal history, and Sorto faces at least 10 years in prison. The maximum sentences are life in prison without parole.
The prosecutions are also part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by President Donald Trump's Jan. 20 executive order "Protecting the American People Against Invasion."
[FoxNews] University of Delaware student Luqmaan Khan, 25, allegedly plotted attack on campus PD in notebook
A University of Delaware student accused of plotting to attack the University of Delaware Police Department scrawled detailed plans to target campus authorities, the Justice Department said.
Luqmaan Khan,
…looking at his photo at the link, one wonders if that’s the name his mother gave him, or if that’s how he decided to be identified. I suppose it’s possible there were Slav concubines in his family tree...
25, was arrested following a traffic stop in New Castle County last week when authorities allegedly found a .357 caliber Glock handgun loaded with 27 rounds. Also found were three more 27-round magazines, an armored ballistic plate, a marble composition notebook and a notebook, the Justice Department said.
"In the handwritten notebook, Khan discussed additional weapons and firearms, how they could be used in an attack, and how law enforcement detection could be avoided once an attack was carried out," the DOJ said. "The notebook referenced a member of the University of Delaware’s Police Department by name, and included a layout of a building with entry and exit points under which the words ‘UD Police Station’ were printed."
In addition, the notebook contained warfare techniques, assault plans and a diagram of the university police department, federal prosecutors said.
Scans of two notebook pages can be seen at the link, indicating how the man thought.
Other court documents detail a layout of a university building.
During an FBI search of Khan's home in Wilmington, authorities found a Glock 19 9mm handgun equipped with an illegal machinegun conversion device, commonly called a "switch."
Also recovered was a .556 rifle with a scope and a red dot sight, 11 more extended magazines, hollow-point rounds of ammunition, and a two-plate tactical vest equipped with a single ballistic plate, the Justice Department said.
The man was certainly loaded for bear.
Khan was federally charged with illegally possessing a machinegun, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the university, but in a letter to the campus community, interim President Laura Carlson said Khan was an undergraduate student.
"The University has temporarily separated the student from the University, including a ban from all UD campuses while legal matters are being resolved. We have been working closely with law enforcement throughout this matter and are sharing this information with you now that we have been cleared to do so," she said.
"There are no known or immediate threats to the University of Delaware community," Carlson added.
In Sudan 🇸🇩, the army suffered yet another defeat after losing control of the headquarters of the encircled 22nd Division in Babanusa.
After losing El Fasher a month ago, the SAF have now lost the last encirled city in the western part of the country. The counter-offensive… pic.twitter.com/j8Jrq3kKyf
In Sudan 🇸🇩, the army suffered yet another defeat after losing control of the headquarters of the encircled 22nd Division in Babanusa.
Babanusa is a town in West Kordofan
After losing El Fasher a month ago, the SAF have now lost the last encirled city in the western part of the country. The counter-offensive failed as of now and the Rapid Support Forces received massive support from the United Arab Emirates, including air-defense and armoured vehicles, allowing them, despite being less numerous, to win battles.
The RSF may now move to the remaining encircled bases in Central Sudan, such as the Heghlig oilfields (but won't be the easiest to attack because it is controlled by China) or Dilling and Kadugli, encircled in the Nuba mountains. The situation overall is bad for Khartoum/Port Sudan, while Nyala/El Fasher is consolidating it's territory...
[SudanTribune] Sudan’s army captured the strategic town of Mabsouta on Tuesday, tightening its grip on the South Kordofan stronghold of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and pushing toward the rebel-held town of Al-Mureib, military sources and residents said.
On Sunday, the army advanced into areas that had been under SPLM-N control since 2011, including Al-Damra, Tebsa, Gordud Nama, Al-Shawaiya, Al-Jubailat, and Al-Sanadra. However, the SPLM-N claimed it had recaptured the town of Gordud Nama.
Video clips posted by SAF soldiers on social media showed the armed forces’ presence in Mabsouta, which is a key location that had remained under SPLM-N control for 14 years. More at the link
🧵 Sudan's military carried out operations in Abassiya Locality of South Kordofan. Images from NASA FIRMS, a satellite tool that detects active fires, are consistent with videos filmed by SAF combatants in the area. Red indicates fires over the past day; orange is 2-4 days ago. pic.twitter.com/sSh2AxhoGa
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Bellingcat] Attacks by a jihadist group on fuel convoys bound for Bamako, the capital of Mali, have destroyed more than 130 tankers since September, a Bellingcat investigation has found.
The systematic attacks by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) have brought Bamako and other regions of the West African nation to a standstill as the Al Qaeda-affiliated militia uses economic warfare to pressure the military government.
US Air Force reconnaissance currently over JNIM areas in Kainji park, on the border between Niger and Kwara states near Benin, western Nigeria, following five consecutive days of US reconnaissance over the Islamic State (ISWAP & IS-Sahel) in Nigeria. https://t.co/QVHOoz8Qitpic.twitter.com/BzkRxq3zgG
[DHS] The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem today announced U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents arrested Jaan Shah Safi, an Afghan national who entered the United States under Biden’s “Operation Allies Welcome,” who provided support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan (ISIS-K). He also provided weapons to his father who is a commander of a militia group in Afghanistan. This terrorist was arrested in Waynesboro, Virginia.
Safi is an illegal alien terrorist who entered the U.S. on September 8, 2021, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome. He applied for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) but his application was terminated once Secretary Noem ended TPS for Afghans. On December 3, 2025, under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, ICE arrested Safi.
Posted by: mossomo ||
12/04/2025 13:18 ||
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Link ||
[1762 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
#1
This dude was a major player in the sandbox:
Colonel Jaan Shah Safi had a notable career in Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS), the country's primary intelligence agency (akin to the CIA). He rose through the ranks in Kunar and neighboring Nangarhar provinces, serving as deputy NDS chief in Kunar and later as Deputy Director of Operations (DDO) in Nangarhar. By 2020, he was appointed NDS Director for Kunar Province.
In these roles, he developed close working relationships with U.S. military and intelligence units, including the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), in eastern Afghanistan. He was regarded as a reliable ally for operations targeting insurgents along the Kunar-Nangarhar corridor, leveraging his knowledge of local networks.
Safi's direct ties to U.S. intelligence stem from his NDS tenure during the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) era (2001–2014) and the subsequent Resolute Support Mission (2015–2021). NDS officials like Safi routinely collaborated with CIA and U.S. special operations forces on counterterrorism, intelligence sharing, and joint raids against the Taliban. This included access to U.S. funding, training, and operational support under programs like the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A), which funneled billions in aid to Afghan security forces, including the NDS.
The United States has announced plans to deport six Afghan nationals accused of terrorism-related activity and serious criminal offences, citing public-safety concerns and tightened immigration scrutiny.https://t.co/x9LqXYLeQ1
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published photographs and case details of several Afghan nationals accused of terrorism-related activities or violent mostly peaceful crimes after entering the United States under the Biden administration. DHS said the individuals represent "only a fraction" of offenders who "answered American generosity with violence."
The release comes days after an Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, allegedly shot two members of the U.S. National Guard in Washington, D.C., killing a 20-year-old soldier. The incident has intensified political pressure over Biden-era vetting procedures for Afghans admitted since 2021.
DHS cited cases including Jamal Wali’s police shooting, two Oklahoma terror-plot suspects, a former watch-list entrant later detained, and three others accused or convicted of assault and sexual-offence charges after receiving U.S. entry or legal status.
Rahmanullah Lakhanwal’s fatal DC shooting and Zabiullah Momand’s assault charges intensified scrutiny of Afghan entrants, prompting calls for tougher reviews and halted immigration processing.
DHS said Americans "should not have to face violence from people who should never have been here" and pledged that those convicted or posing threats would be deported. Immigration authorities have already paused all Afghan immigration-related applications pending further review.
U.S. President Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... said every Afghan admitted under Biden "must be re-examined," arguing that national security requires the removal of anyone who "does not belong in the country." The State Department has also suspended visa issuance for all Afghan passport holders as Washington reassesses its screening procedures.
[KhaamaPress] Seven suspected Tehrik-e-Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... Pakistain forces of Evil were killed in two security operations in North Wazoo, Pak officials said on Wednesday.
Pak security forces have killed seven suspected Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) forces of Evil in two separate operations in North Waziristan, according to local media reports.
The Nation reported on Wednesday, December 3, that the operations were conducted two days earlier after security agencies identified the locations of the holy warriors.
Militant violence in Pakistain has risen sharply in recent years, particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... . Pak officials say attacks surged after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Security data cited in local reporting indicates that more than 600 terrorist incidents were recorded in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa during the first eight months of this year alone.
Islamabad has repeatedly called on the Taliban authorities in Kabul to prevent Afghanistan soil from being used by forces of Evil targeting Pakistain. The issue has fueled growing tensions and periodic border festivities in recent months.
Kabul, however, denies the accusations. Taliban spokespeople maintain that Afghanistan territory is not being used to stage attacks and say Pakistain should address its internal security challenges rather than shifting blame across the border.
The developments come as regional diplomatic efforts continue. The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... member, but not the most reliable... and Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... have recently hosted mediation discussions aimed at easing tensions and encouraging counterterrorism cooperation between Afghanistan, Pakistain and other regional partners.
Analysts say the outcome of these talks may depend on whether both sides can establish trust-building mechanisms, verification systems, and sustained communication, considered essential to preventing further escalation and stabilising the border environment.
سه نیروی امنیتی پولیس پاکستان در پی یک حمله مسلحانه در وزیرستان شمالی ایالت خیبرپختونخواه کشته شدند.
به گزارش رسانههای پاکستانی، این رویداد امروز سهشنبه در منطقه بنو رخ داده است و مهاجمان پس از حمله، سلاحهای پرسونل پولیس را نیز با خود بردهاند. تاکنون هیچ فرد یا گروهی مسئولیت… pic.twitter.com/IgdCPB50wV
Translated from PersianThree Pakistani police security personnel were killed following an armed attack in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
According to Pakistani media reports, this incident occurred today, Tuesday, in the Bano area, and the attackers also took the police personnel's weapons with them after the assault. So far, no individual or group has claimed responsibility for this attack.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/04/2025 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[1769 views]
Top|| File under: Pak Taliban (TTP)
At least four people, including police officers and a senior official, were killed in an armed ambush in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday.https://t.co/A6ElzPmarG
Officials said the assault took place in Bannu district when gunnies ambushed a police vehicle, opened fire, and later set the vehicle ablaze before seizing weapons. Shah Waliullah, the assistant commissioner of Miranshah ... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas... , was among the dead, along with a civilian.
A district official said the attack was sudden and left security personnel with little time to respond. Following the incident, the area was sealed off and a search operation was launched to locate the attackers.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and neighbouring Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... remain volatile regions where gunnies often target government and security forces. Officials and analysts say violence has intensified in the area since the Taliban ...the once and current oppressors of Afghanistan... takeover in Afghanistan.
A recent security assessment reported more than 600 bad boy incidents in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa during the first eight months of 2025, resulting in the deaths of at least 79 police personnel and 138 civilians. Much of the violence has been attributed to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain and Baloch separatist groups.
[IsraelTimes] Gunfight erupted after troops encountered gunmen emerging from tunnel; Palestinians report 6 killed in retaliatory airstrike that military says targeted terror operative
Five IDF soldiers were maimed Wednesday afternoon, one of them seriously, in an attack by Paleostinian terror operatives on troops stationed in southern Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... ’s Rafah, the military said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... had violated the truce and vowed a response, saying: "Our policy is clear: Israel will not tolerate attacks on IDF soldiers and will respond accordingly."
The IDF later said it had carried out an Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis targeting a Hamas operative in response. The military did not elaborate on the identity of the target.
Paleostinian media reported at least six killed in the strike.
According to the IDF, troops of the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit had encountered several terror operatives who emerged from a tunnel in eastern Rafah — an Israeli-held area in the Strip’s south, where dozens of Hamas fighters are believed to be trapped underground. A shootout then erupted.
The army said a soldier with Golani’s reconnaissance unit was maimed in the clash, while three other soldiers — including two from Golani and a non-commissioned officer in the Gaza Division — were moderately injured. A fifth soldier was lightly hurt.
In response, the IDF carried out airstrikes and artillery shelling in the area.
According to a preliminary military investigation, the incident began as the Golani soldiers spotted a suspicious figure covered in a blanket entering a building. A Namer armored personnel carrier (APC) with troops was dispatched to the area to aid in the search for the suspected terror operative.
The soldiers in the APC then spotted two operatives who emerged from a tunnel, and the troops opened fire on them. As the troops fired, one of the operatives launched an RPG missile at the APC, wounding the five soldiers.
The soldiers managed to hit both operatives, killing one and wounding the second. The maimed operative, who had fired the RPG, managed to flee back into the tunnel.
The IDF was searching the area for the operative who fled, along with the suspect spotted earlier.
Channel 12 reported that the prime minister held an urgent meeting to debate how to respond to the attack.
According to the report, Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, and Shin Bet director David Zini participated in the meeting. Zamir argued that Israel could not let the attack go by without a response, according to the outlet.
"This is a serious violation of the ceasefire agreement," a senior Israeli official told the network. "We are in full coordination with the Americans on the topic, and we have emphasized the severity of the matter."
In recent weeks, the IDF has reported killing over 30 terror operatives and capturing a further eight, after they tried to flee from the tunnels in Rafah. According to a prominent Hamas member in Gaza, the group estimates some 60 to 80 fighters are still holed up in the tunnels beneath the southern Gaza city.
On November 30, the commander of Hamas’s East Rafah Battalion, his deputy, and two other terror operatives were killed after attempting to flee a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip.
The matter of the trapped Hamas fighters has gone without resolution for nearly two months since the ceasefire went into effect in early October, as mediating countries have tried to negotiate terms for their safe passage back to Hamas-controlled areas.
According to a Channel 12 report in late November, Israel conveyed a proposal to Hamas the week before that would allow the operatives to leave the tunnel, as long as they surrender and agree to be transferred to Israeli prisons. Since the proposal was made, the operatives have not surrendered and have on multiple occasions emerged from tunnels in attempts to flee or attack IDF forces.
Israel has resisted giving the fighters unconditional free passage and has insisted that Hamas disarm, a key piece of US President Donald Trump ...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons... ’s 20-point plan for Gaza.
Those who have survived after months of holding out in the tunnels are thought by the IDF to be running out of supplies and starving.
Earlier Wednesday, IDF troops stationed in northern Gaza located several rocket launchers, the military said. The launchers were found by reservists of the Carmeli Brigade, who were deployed to the Israeli side of the Yellow Line for defensive and mop-up operations.
The IDF said the launchers contained rockets that were intended to be launched at Israel.
Also on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported that two Paleostinians were killed by Israeli gunfire in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, citing a source in Gaza City’s al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. According to the report, the two were killed on the Hamas-controlled side of the ceasefire line, which passes through the neighborhood.
[IsraelTimes] An Israeli drone has carried out three strikes on a road near the southern Syrian village of Bein Jinn, where IDF forces faced gunfire while carrying out an arrest on Friday, the Qatari-owned Syria TV outlet reports.
No injuries were reported, the outlet says.
Separately, Syria’s state-owned SANA news network reports that Israeli forces in Quneitra, near the border with Israel, have set up a temporary roadblock in the area.
The IDF does not immediately comment.
The reports come after US President Donald Trump on Monday warned Israel not to “interfere” in Syria.
Syrian authorities said on Wednesday they had killed a man and arrested four others who were attempting to smuggle hundreds of landmines to Leb ...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... 's Hezbollah murderous Moslem group.
In a statement, the interior ministry said it launched a raid in al-Jebbe, near the capital Damascus, during which "four people were arrested and a fifth neutralized after a clash".
Khaled Abbas Taktouk Internal security director for the Yabroud region, which is close to the Lebanese border, was quoted as saying that "1,250 mines armed with detonators" were seized.
According to the statement, they were "intended to be smuggled to Hezbollah" in Lebanon.
Under deposed president Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... , Syria was a key plank of Iran's so-called "axis of resistance" against Israel and enabled the transfer of weapons and money from Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah played a crucial role during Syria's civil war, fighting alongside Assad's forces and helping to keep the ruler in power as he cracked down on a popular revolt.
The new government in Damascus, dominated by the Islamist-led rebels who toppled Assad, has rejected Iran and attempted to cut off the supply of weapons to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah was hammered by Israel during more than a year of hostilities that culminated in outright war which ended with a ceasefire in November 2024.
Israel has accused it of trying to rebuild its military capability and has continued to launch strikes on the group in Lebanon despite the ceasefire.
Dawla has re-opened the front in Syria. Note that this is after the one yr anniversary of the beginning of the HTS offensive. They gave a one yr window for HTS to implement sharia and for HTS fighters to defect. Note too: All attacks so far have been in major cities. https://t.co/6CS0VaoYSn
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.
...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried....
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
...the once and current oppressors of Afghanistan...
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
