[SudanTribune] Essential goods flowed into Dilling on Friday, the second-largest city in South Kordofan state, sparking an immediate and sharp drop in prices in local markets.
The breakthrough follows the Sudanese army’s announcement on Jan. 26 that it had ended a long-running siege of the city by linking it to North Kordofan state from the east. The move came after fierce battles against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu.
More than 10 trucks carrying sugar, flour, sorghum, onions and fuel reached the city from North Kordofan. This was the first convoy of this size to reach Dilling in more than two years, according to local sources who told Sudan Tribune that most goods had been available since Friday morning.
[IsraelTimes] State Department announces major weapons packages amid Iran tensions and Gaza ceasefire talks; bulk of deal will see Israel buy 30 Apache gunships and 3,250 light tactical vehicles
The Trump administration has approved $6.67 billion in new arms sales to Israel and a separate $9 billion weapons package for 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... , the State Department said late Friday.
The announcement of sales to America’s allies in the Middle East came as tensions rose in the region over the possibility of US military strikes on Iran. They were made public after the department notified Congress of its approval of the sales earlier Friday.
The sales also come as US President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... pushes ahead with his ceasefire plan for 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... , which is intended to end the Israel-Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... conflict and reconstruct the Paleostinian territory after two years of war left it devastated, with tens of thousands dead.
While the ceasefire has largely held, big challenges await in its next phases, including the deployment of an international security force to supervise the deal and the difficult process of disarming Hamas.
A SERIES OF ARMS PACKAGES TO ISRAEL
The sales to Israel are split into four separate packages, including one for 30 Apache attack helicopters and related equipment and weapons, and another for 3,250 light tactical vehicles.
The Apache helicopters, which will be equipped with rocket launchers and advanced targeting gear, are the biggest part of the total package, coming to $3.8 billion, according to the State Department.
The next largest portion is the light tactical vehicles, which will be used to move personnel and logistics "to extend lines of communication" for the Israel Defense Forces and will cost $1.98 billion, it said.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, accused the Trump administration of rushing to announce the deals for Israel in a way that would "disregard Congressional oversight and years of standing practice."
He said in a statement that "the Trump Administration has blatantly ignored long-standing Congressional prerogatives while also refusing to engage Congress on critical questions about the next steps in Gaza and broader US-Israel policy."
Under the deals, Israel will spend an additional $740 million on power packs for armored personnel carriers it has had in service since 2008, the State Department said. The remaining $150 million will be spent on a small but unreported number of light utility helicopters to complement similar equipment it already has, it said.
In separate but nearly identical statements on Israel, the State Department said none of the new sales would affect the military balance in the region and that all of them would "enhance Israel’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving its ability to defend Israel’s borders, vital infrastructure, and population centers."
"The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability," the statements said.
Netanyahu has said he is determined to ensure that Israel has its own strong and independent arms industry so that Israel is less dependent on US military aid in the next decade.
At the same time, Israel is reportedly preparing for talks with the Trump administration on a new 10-year security deal, seeking to extend US military support even as the government aims to wean itself off grants from Washington.
THE SALE TO SAUDI ARABIA
The Saudi sale is for 730 Patriot missiles and related equipment that "will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a Major non-NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... Ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf Region," the department said.
"This enhanced capability will protect land forces of Saudi Arabia, the United States, and local allies and will significantly improve Saudi Arabia’s contribution" to the integrated air and missile defense system in the region, it said.
It was announced after Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman met with top Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration... and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
[AnNahar] Gold and silver prices dived Friday and European stock markets ended the week up while Wall Street pulled back with investors reassured by U.S. President Donald Trump ...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!... 's pick to take over as head of the Federal Reserve.
The precious metals, viewed as safe-haven investments, had already begun sliding on reports, later confirmed, that Trump had nominated former Fed official Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the U.S. central bank.
Trump announced his choice Friday on social media, saying that Warsh, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker and Fed governor, "will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best."
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading group, said the "interesting pick...may give the market some hope that Fed independence will be preserved."
Trump's personal attacks on Fed boss Jerome Powell -- set to depart in May -- have fueled widespread fears among investors that the central bank's policy independence is under threat, potentially posing an inflation risk to the U.S. economy.
- A ROLLER-COASTER WEEK -
Precious metals prices tumbled on Friday after surging in recent days when investors sought a safe haven over doubts about Trump's policies.
Gold fell as much as 12 percent at one point, retreating below $5,000 an ounce after hitting a record high near $5,600 on Thursday.
Silver, which Thursday reached an all-time peak above $120 an ounce, shed around 30 percent to about $82 an ounce.
Financial markets have endured a roller-coaster ride this week as traders weathered a weaker dollar, Trump's threats against Tehran, the president's resumption of tariff threats and a possible U.S. government shutdown.
Asian stock markets closed out the week with some hefty losses following Thursday's tech-led retreat on Wall Street on renewed concerns over vast investments in artificial intelligence.
#1
The Fed is NOT a government agency. It is a bank just like Chase or BOA.
This is why people like Ron Paul keep screaming to audit the Fed because they are insolvent and rip us off with money printing.
#2
CME margin increase was the cause. Trumps Fed pick is just narrative.
Posted by: Sheamp Spawn of the Welsh7224 ||
02/01/2026 11:11 Comments ||
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#3
Why did CME increase the margin, Sheamp Spawn of the Welsh7224? That seems to me in my ignorance to mean they believe the situation is about to become more risky, not less, which suggests I’m missing something…
#6
^#3 Stabilizing market volatility, it seems. CME Group is raising margin requirements on Comex gold and silver futures after the metals saw some of their steepest declines in decades. The move is aimed at safeguarding market stability amid heightened volatility.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/01/2026 14:43 Comments ||
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#7
Thanks for posting the link Bobby.
TW - Vertical moves like those recently in PMs are pretty much always the result of massive institutional leverage piling into the bubble. They don't indicate the level of fundamental strength, they indicate how much big money can borrow to pile in before things implode.
Posted by: Sheamp Spawn of the Welsh7224 ||
02/01/2026 21:50 Comments ||
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#8
*happy sigh* My learning for today. Thank you all. I’m not comfortable with the idea of buying on margin — it’s too easy to get into deep trouble if your purchase goes down instead of up, and the difference has to be made up out of savings.
[PJ] With Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, and other hard-leftists out there trying to conjure up the spirits of Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson, President Donald Trump has just made it clear that he is not going to tolerate any more of this low-grade but escalating insurrection.
"I have instructed Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem," Trump wrote on Saturday afternoon, "that under no circumstances are we going to participate in various poorly run Democrat Cities with regard to their Protests and/or Riots unless, and until, they ask us for help." This apparently means that Trump intends to deny the Democrats what they want most: Trump sending the National Guard to restore order in cities where leftist leaders are using the lack of order as a political weapon, and are salivating at the chance of being able to claim that they’re holding the line for "our democracy" against the fascist Trump and his jackbooted thugs.
That doesn’t mean, however, that Trump is going to leave those cities to drown in the mayhem that leftist leaders are encouraging in order to protect the Democrats’ voter base. He continued: "We will, however, guard, and very powerfully so, any and all Federal Buildings that are being attacked by these highly paid Lunatics, Agitators, and Insurrectionists." Yes, that’s right: leftists are in favor of insurrectionists now, because the present insurrection, as opposed to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection theatre, is real, and being ginned up on their side.
Trump added a pointed warning for future Renee Goods and Alex Prettis: "Please be aware that I have instructed ICE and/or Border Patrol to be very forceful in this protection of Federal Government Property. There will be no spitting in the faces of our Officers, there will be no punching or kicking the headlights of our cars, and there will be no rock or brick throwing at our vehicles, or at our Patriot Warriors. If there is, those people will suffer an equal, or more, consequence." It’s likely that if he follows through on that, he would find that doing so was wildly popular. The American people have had quite enough of these rabid ideologues interfering with law enforcement operations on behalf of criminals.
#3
So yesterday at least three tour buses of paid protesters rolled into Springfield, Ohio to drop their passengers at the hotels. The local Facebook and Reddit groups are lit up in anticipation. Three big liberal churches held anti-ice training sessions covered in the Springfield paper last week. Expect this will be a new hot spot.
#7
OK my take: Trump got word that heavy riots were planned, designed to involve Feds maiming "innocent constitutionally-protected protesters". Rather than allowing the left to write and direct their MSM fiction, Trump decided not to play, except to protect Fed property and lives.
The downside is that it turns over the target cities to the mob, putting thousands of non-insurrectionists and their property at risk.
I can't support this move. The Feds are supposed to protect the country. Giving up large sections because it would mean being bad mouthed by the MSM and the insurrectionists is just the cost of doing the right thing.
Send the message that NO riots will be allowed and the Insurrection Act WILL be invoked and US troops WILL be deployed. If they still want to play, then game on.
Most of the "protesters" are LARPers who NEED to be told they can actually get hurt playing their fantasies out.
#8
The first and foremost people supposed to protect the cities are the local, county and state governments and law enforcement. If they fail to do so or assist, then declare an insurrection, roll in the military and treat them like they deserve. THAT is what this move is. If the Dem's fail, like we know their will, this opens the door to wiping the slate clean there, paid thugs, mayors, governors etc. They can all enjoy their gallows or long terms in the federal pen.
#9
Having lived through desegregation in the Deep South, it's fascinating to see resistance tactics used by southern states and roundly (and correctly) condemned by northern states being recycled by some northern politicians today. As usual, it's OK when they do it.
Posted by: Matt ||
02/01/2026 10:40 Comments ||
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#10
this phase would have been anticipated. core blue cities have suffered from the flight of diferent thinkers and the concentraiton of like minded lunatics. we live in 2, or more, different amreicas wth your info source feeding you AI (which is monitoring the individual on all nodes of tech and listening) steered info. so you have real mmoral and financial support for large groups of deluded americans. I they are organized, where are the charges/arrests against the money men? why aren't bad guys id'd with the faciaal recog and signal handles they are using, put on a no fly and arrested when they try to fly? the fed controls the airways.
#11
I think the locals have had enough in Springfield. That area of Ohio is not affluent or liberal. I don’t think they will end up fighting ICE. It’s possible that this may attract a mixture of bikers and Appalachian folks. It’s close to Dayton so there are some college kids available. The demographics and jurisdiction seem wrong for what they are attempting unless they are looking for more dead Karen’s.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/01/2026 13:27 Comments ||
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More workplace enforcement and targeted arrests in unpredictable locations and times.
To help them, technology has advanced considerably since Trump’s first term, and AI is a force multiplier for routine investigations. ICE is spending “more than $300 million … for social-media monitoring tools, facial recognition software, license plate readers and services to find where people live and work,” according to Politico.
ICE is also investing millions in so-called skip tracing technology, which can more easily identify illegal aliens while leaving American citizens alone.
U.S. consulates overseas are using AI to screen the social media of visa applicants, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced a “new vetting center [that] will focus on powerful screening resources.” ICE should be able to access all that information, as well as that of other federal agencies, like the Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Citizens’ data is protected by privacy laws, but noncitizens, particularly those here illegally, have no right to expect that one part of the government will keep information from another.
[AceOfSpades] Homan says he'd like to reduce the federal presence in the corrupt foreign shithole city of Minneapolis, and who can blame him.
But he does have a condition: Minnesota must give up its sanctuary state illegality.
Looks like they caved.
White House border czar Tom Homan announced on Thursday that Minnesota county jails will begin sharing information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when they are scheduled to release illegal immigrants who have criminal backgrounds.
During a press conference, Homan explained that Attorney General Keith Ellison "has clarified for me that county jails may notify ICE of the release dates of criminal public safety risks so I can take custody upon the release from the jail."
This announcement marks a significant shift in the state's approach to working with federal immigration authorities. Previously, they refused to allow local law enforcement to collaborate with ICE and Border Patrol to apprehend and remove illegal immigrants -- even those who committed violent crimes.
Homan said the Minnesota Department of Corrections has consistently honored ICE detainers and stressed that any reduction in the number of federal agents in Minnesota would be contingent on continued cooperation from state and local officials.
Verify, no trust.
"As we see cooperation happen, then the redeployment will happen," he said.
#1
The 1st part of the MAYBE is....
Given Minnesota's track record for "allowing a wide range of liberal activities" to be ticketed/signature in-out bonding, are they even physically detaining most?
The 2nd part is a needed clear understanding of the caveat that was used.
"will notify ICE of criminal public safety risks".
What does far left Minnesota currently define as Criminal Public safety risks?
[PJMedia] Pakistain has a checkered past when it comes to money laundering and terrorist financing. It has misled the international community on several occasions. It has failed to take corrective institutional actions which would suppress both terror financing and money laundering.
Pakistain’s inadequate actions against domestic terror financing led the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to place the country on its "grey list" three times between the years 2008 and 2022: from Feb. 2008 to June 2010, then from Feb. 2012 to Feb. 2015, and finally from June 2018 to Oct. 2022.
In 2018, the Asia-Pacific Group (APG), a FATF-associated body, conducted an onsite mutual evaluation visit from Oct. 8 to 19. The subsequent 2019 Mutual Evaluation Report identified significant deficiencies in Pakistain’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime, including in its implementation of the FATF action plan.
In 2019, FATF noted in a public statement following the Gay Paree plenary (Feb. 17-22) that Pakistain did not demonstrate a proper understanding of the terror financing (TF) risks that 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), Al Qaeda, Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... (JuD), Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...> (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the Haqqani Network (HQN), and persons affiliated with the Taliban ...Arabic for students... posed.
In 2022, Hafiz Saeed ...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat. He is periodically placed under house arrest so it looks like the govt is doing something. Once the heat is off they let him go.... , the criminal mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was sentenced to 33 years in jail. Interestingly, this sentence was based on terror financing charges, rather than charges related to actual terrorist acts.
Yet despite all the documented evidence indicating Pakistain’s support for terror outfits, the FATF issued a statement that Pakistain had met all 34 items on its action plans. The task force subsequently removed Pakistain from its grey list during the plenary session held in Oct. 2022 in Gay Paree, La Belle France.
However,
ars longa, vita brevis... as per the credible records and open-source intelligence (OSINT) investigations, Pakistain continues to promote terrorism from its soil. Terror groups now operate through several proxies, and unabashedly continue funding, financing and promoting Islamic terrorism. However,
ars longa, vita brevis... there have been some changes in their funding methods.
For instance, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), or the Army of Mohammed, is listed in the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... 1267 Committee’s consolidated sanctions list. The governments of the U.S., U.K., Canada, New Zealand, India and Pakistain consider it a proscribed terrorist organization. Based in Pakistain, JeM operates primarily in Indian-Administered Jammu and Kashmir ...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there.... (JK).
According to a report from the Parliament of Australia,
JeM was founded in 2000 by Maulana Masood Azhar ...One of the major players in Pak terrorism. In early 1994, India incarcerated him for his activities. In 1995, foreign tourists were kidnapped in Jammu and Kashmir. The kidnappers included his release among their demands. One of the hostages managed to escape but the rest were eventually killed. In 1999, he was freed by the Indian government in exchange for passengers on hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 that had been diverted to Kandahar. The hijackers were led by Masood Azhar's brother, Ibrahim Athar. Once he was handed over to the hijackers, they fled to Pak territory despite the fact that Islamabad had earlier stated that any of the hijackers would be jugged at the border. The Pak government had also previously indicated that Azhar would be allowed to return home since he did not face any charges there. Shortly after his release, he made a public address to an estimated 10,000 people in Karachi, firing up the rubes against America and India... , a radical Islamic scholar and jihadist leader, following his release from an Indian jail in exchange for 155 hostages hijacked aboard an Indian Airlines aircraft on 31 December 1999. When released from prison, Azhar did not rejoin his former group, Harakat ul-Mujahideen (HuM). Instead, Azhar formed JeM, reportedly with support from Pakistain’s Inter-Services Intelligence ...the Pak military intelligence agency that controls the military -- heads of ISI typically get promoted into the Chief of Army Staff position. It serves as a general command center for favored turban groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, tries to influence the politix of neighboring countries, and carries out a (usually) low-level war against India in Kashmir... (ISI), the Afghan Taliban, the late Osama bin Laden ...... who is now among the dear departed, though not among the dearest...... and several other Sunni murderous Moslem organizations in Pakistain.
Some of JeM's notable attacks outside Kashmir include the 2001 assault on India’s parliament building; the 2002 murder of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl; and two 2003 liquidation attempts against Pak President Parvez Musharraf. JeM is well trained and supported. Consequently, it poses a terrorist threat to India and Pakistain, as well as to Western targets based in both of these countries.
JeM uses violence in pursuit of its stated objective of forcing the withdrawal of Indian security forces from Kashmir and uniting Kashmir with Pakistain under Islamic Sharia law. JeM (including its chief Masood Azhar) also endorse the wider aim of establishing an Islamic caliphate across South Asia and expelling Hindus from the Indian subcontinent. JeM is violent mostly peacefully opposed to all other religions, including Shia Islam.
In its funding, JeM has shifted from using banks to Easypaisa, digital wallets, and crypto (USDT).
Local media reported that JeM has established a new mechanism with the support of Pakistain’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which collects funds. It is using digital wallets such as "EasyPaisa" and "Sadapay." Family members of its founder and most wanted terrorist, Masood Azhar, control these. They use them to bypass scrutiny from global agencies such as the FATF.
JeM is also raising money on the pretext of 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... relief aid. Hammad Azhar, son of Masood Azhar, is leading JeM's efforts to raise money for terror activities via Gaza Aid. He asks women in Gaza to make videos praising him for his charity works. His social media alias is Qaisar Ahmad, and he asks everyone to donate to his Easypaisa bank account under the name of Khalid Ahmed, a separate alias. He receives donations from Pakistain and Gulf countries.
Another new funding method JeM uses is mosque construction. JeM has reportedly launched a massive fundraising drive in Pakistain under the guise of building over 300 mosques.
The terror outfit started the online fundraising campaign through digital wallets to collect 3.91 billion Pak rupees (Rs), that is, $14 million U.S. dollars, for constructing 313 new markaz (central) buildings, local media reported.
On social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp, JeM-linked proxy accounts (such as those used by JeM commanders) have posted posters, videos and a letter from Masood Azhar, urging supporters to donate wholeheartedly. They say that each mosque requires Rs 12.5 million ($45,000 USD) for construction and smooth operations.
In addition to these accounts, over 250 EasyPaisa wallets are reportedly used to fundraise. Alongside social media appeals, the terror outfit circulated an audio recording of Azhar’s brother, Al Saif, via its official propaganda channel, MSTD Official. The message urged supporters to contribute 21,000 Pak rupees ($75) per person, the officials said.
The 3.91 billion-rupee fundraising drive would secure JeM’s operational and weapons financing for at least a decade, Indian officials said.
JeM is also aided through a winter survival kit, which was launched via a public fundraising campaign seeking contributions for its fighters operating in Kashmir. Specific items and their costs are listed, including a coat, boots, blanket, gloves, socks and similar items. These kits are given to their terrorists.
Meanwhile,
...back at the saw mill, Scarface Al had tied Little Nell to the log and was about to turn on the buzz saw... another terrorist group, LeT, has shifted to direct wallets. LeT has started collecting funds directly into its wallets instead of bank accounts, in order to dodge FATF scrutiny.
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), also known as Army of the Righteous, was formed in the late 1980s. LeT is one of the largest and most proficient of the Kashmir-focused holy warrior groups. The United States and United Nations have designated LeT an international terrorist organization.
Based in Pakistain's Punjab ...1. Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2. A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3. A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots
.... Province and in Pakistain-occupied Kashmir, it has "launched humanitarian projects as a means of circumventing sanctions," according to the official website of the US Congress. LeT was responsible for the Nov. 2008 terrorist assault in Mumbai, India, as well as several other high-profile attacks. During the Mumbai attacks, faceless myrmidons used automatic weapons and grenades to attack several sites, murdering more than 160 people.
Pak authorities in April 2015 released on bail the head of LeT operations, Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi, pending prosecution of him and several other LeT leaders for the Mumbai attacks.
LeT recruits internationally, as evidenced by the arrest in the United States of Jubair Ahmed in 2011, Headley’s arrest in 2009, and the indictment in 2003 of eleven LeT faceless myrmidons in Virginia.
In 2003, authorities also disrupted an LeT plot to attack Australia, and in 2009 LeT put on hold a plot to attack Denmark in retaliation for cartoons drawn of Islam's prophet Muhammad.
LeT maintains facilities in Pakistain, including training camps, schools, and medical clinics. LeT coordinates its activities through its front organization, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD).
LeT is also collecting donations under the guise of flood relief. A banner advertised an appeal for donations to fund boats which would carry out rescue activities in flood-affected areas of Pakistain. JuD/Pakistain Markazi Moslem League (PMML)’s Khidmat Khalaq Wing, Gujranwala would conduct these activities. The amount sought for a rescue boat is 1,200,000 Pak rupees ($4,300).
Islamic terrorist organizations — including those active in Pakistain and Kashmir — are diversifying their funding methods and finding ways to bypass scrutiny by global agencies. They are exploiting humanitarian activities, mosques, rescue missions and wars to raise money internationally — including in the U.S. This allows them to spread holy warrior Islamic messages and increase support for their terrorist activities.
Ultimately, the goal of their ideology is to create a global caliphate consisting of Islamic states. They want to conquer and dominate all non-Moslem nations. This includes the imposition of Sharia law, which is the totalitarian Islamic legal code.
The world has seen many times what happens when Islamic supremacists and jihadists take control of a country — from the Moslem Brüderbund-ruled Egypt to Iran, Syria, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... , Afghanistan and Pakistain, amongst others. How alert is the West to these terror groups and their new deceitful funding methods? And more alarmingly, how driven is the West to fight against those Islamist groups whose religiously motivated ambitions have not changed, and who have even gained significant success since the seventh century?
[IsraelTimes] Tehran again blames US, Israel and the Europeans for fomenting unrest; official confirms children were among those arrested in anti-government protests
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... on Saturday attempted to project stability after weeks of unrest and fears of a looming US military strike, publishing rare images of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> in public as officials warned the United States and Israel against military action.
Against the backdrop of mounting tensions, Iranian media published images on Saturday showing Khamenei in public for the first since the protests erupted — attending prayers at the tomb of Islamic Theocratic Republic founder Ruhollah Khomeini to mark 47 years since the Islamic Revolution.
The photos appeared aimed at countering opposition claims earlier this month that Khamenei had been moved to an underground bunker for fear of a potential US strike.
Also Saturday, Iranian army chief Amir Hatami warned the US and Israel against an attack, saying his country’s forces were on high alert following Washington’s heavy military deployments in the Gulf.
He also insisted the Islamic republic’s nuclear expertise could not be eliminated, after Trump said he expected Tehran to seek a deal to avoid US strikes.
"If the enemy makes a mistake, without a doubt it will endanger its own security, the security of the region, and the security of the Zionist regime," Hatami said, according to the official IRNA news agency.
He noted that Iran’s armed forces were "at full defensive and military readiness."
Washington sent a naval strike group to the Middle East led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, with Trump threatening to intervene militarily after a deadly crackdown by Iranian authorities on two weeks of anti-government protests.
The deployment has raised fears of a possible direct confrontation with Iran, which has warned it would respond with missile strikes on US bases, ships and allies — notably Israel — in the event of an attack.
On Friday, Trump said he predicted that Iran would seek to negotiate a deal over its nuclear and missile programs rather than face American military action.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said earlier that Tehran was ready for nuclear talks, but its missiles and defense "will never be negotiated."
The US carried out strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites in June when it briefly joined Israel’s 12-day war against its regional foe.
Israeli attacks also hit military sites across the country and killed senior officers and top nuclear scientists.
But Hatami on Saturday insisted that Iran’s nuclear technology "cannot be eliminated, even if scientists and sons of this nation are martyred."
On Friday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) would conduct "a two-day live-fire naval exercise" in the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit hub for global energy supplies.
In a statement, CENTCOM warned the IRGC against "any unsafe and unprofessional behavior near US forces."
The United States designated the IRGC a terrorist organization in 2019, a move the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... followed on Thursday.
The EU decision drew angry reactions from Tehran, which vowed to reciprocate.
Nationwide protests against the rising cost of living erupted in Iran on December 28, before turning into a broader anti-government movement that peaked on January 8 and 9.
The two-week-long nationwide protests, which began in late December over an economic crisis marked by soaring inflation and rising living costs, have largely subsided following a bloody crackdown. Iran’s National Security Council said last week that 3,117 were killed, while the opposition-affiliated Iran International put the corpse count at more than 36,000.
On Saturday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated Tehran’s accusations that outside forces had fomented the protests.
Pezeshkian said that US, Israeli and European leaders had exploited Iran’s economic problems, incited unrest and provided people with the means to "tear the nation apart" in recent protests.
The foreign powers had tried to "provoke, create division, and supplied resources, drawing some innocent people into this movement," Pezeshkian said in a live state TV broadcast.
Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Europeans "rode on our problems, provoked, and were seeking — and still seek — to fragment society," said Pezeshkian.
"They brought them into the streets and wanted, as they said, to tear this country apart, to sow conflict and hatred among the people and create division," Pezeshkian said.
"Everyone knows that the issue was not just a social protest," he added.
However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese... he also urged his government to heed public grievances after the demonstrations.
"We must work with the people and for the people and serve the people as much as possible," Pezeshkian said in a speech broadcast on state TV.
"If we act justly, the people will see it and will accept it, and under such conditions, no power can cripple a government, a society, or a nation that acts justly, fairly, and on the basis of rights."
Iran also acknowledged for the first time that children were among those detained in the crackdown, according to The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... . The deputy chairman of Iran’s parliamentary education commission Farshad Ebrahimpour said a "number" of students under 18 were arrested, as rights groups estimate at least 300 children and adolescents remain in jug.
Iran on Saturday attempted to project stability after weeks of unrest and fears of a looming US military strike, publishing rare images of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in public as officials warned the United States and Israel against military action.
Against the backdrop of mounting tensions, Iranian media published images on Saturday showing Khamenei in public for the first since the protests erupted — attending prayers at the tomb of Islamic Theocratic Republic founder Ruhollah Khomeini to mark 47 years since the Islamic Revolution.
The photos appeared aimed at countering opposition claims earlier this month that Khamenei had been moved to an underground bunker for fear of a potential US strike.
Also Saturday, Iranian army chief Amir Hatami warned the US and Israel against an attack, saying his country’s forces were on high alert following Washington’s heavy military deployments in the Gulf.
He also insisted the Islamic republic’s nuclear expertise could not be eliminated, after Trump said he expected Tehran to seek a deal to avoid US strikes.
"If the enemy makes a mistake, without a doubt it will endanger its own security, the security of the region, and the security of the Zionist regime," Hatami said, according to the official IRNA news agency.
He noted that Iran’s armed forces were "at full defensive and military readiness."
Washington sent a naval strike group to the Middle East led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, with Trump threatening to intervene militarily after a deadly crackdown by Iranian authorities on two weeks of anti-government protests.
The deployment has raised fears of a possible direct confrontation with Iran, which has warned it would respond with missile strikes on US bases, ships and allies — notably Israel — in the event of an attack.
On Friday, Trump said he predicted that Iran would seek to negotiate a deal over its nuclear and missile programs rather than face American military action.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said earlier that Tehran was ready for nuclear talks, but its missiles and defense "will never be negotiated."
The US carried out strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites in June when it briefly joined Israel’s 12-day war against its regional foe.
Israeli attacks also hit military sites across the country and killed senior officers and top nuclear scientists.
But Hatami on Saturday insisted that Iran’s nuclear technology "cannot be eliminated, even if scientists and sons of this nation are martyred."
On Friday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) would conduct "a two-day live-fire naval exercise" in the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit hub for global energy supplies.
In a statement, CENTCOM warned the IRGC against "any unsafe and unprofessional behavior near US forces."
The United States designated the IRGC a terrorist organization in 2019, a move the European Union followed on Thursday.
The EU decision drew angry reactions from Tehran, which vowed to reciprocate.
Nationwide protests against the rising cost of living erupted in Iran on December 28, before turning into a broader anti-government movement that peaked on January 8 and 9.
The two-week-long nationwide protests, which began in late December over an economic crisis marked by soaring inflation and rising living costs, have largely subsided following a bloody crackdown. Iran’s National Security Council said last week that 3,117 were killed, while the opposition-affiliated Iran International put the corpse count at more than 36,000.
On Saturday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated Tehran’s accusations that outside forces had fomented the protests.
Pezeshkian said that US, Israeli and European leaders had exploited Iran’s economic problems, incited unrest and provided people with the means to "tear the nation apart" in recent protests.
The foreign powers had tried to "provoke, create division, and supplied resources, drawing some innocent people into this movement," Pezeshkian said in a live state TV broadcast.
Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Europeans "rode on our problems, provoked, and were seeking — and still seek — to fragment society," said Pezeshkian.
"They brought them into the streets and wanted, as they said, to tear this country apart, to sow conflict and hatred among the people and create division," Pezeshkian said.
"Everyone knows that the issue was not just a social protest," he added.
However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese... he also urged his government to heed public grievances after the demonstrations.
"We must work with the people and for the people and serve the people as much as possible," Pezeshkian said in a speech broadcast on state TV.
"If we act justly, the people will see it and will accept it, and under such conditions, no power can cripple a government, a society, or a nation that acts justly, fairly, and on the basis of rights."
Iran also acknowledged for the first time that children were among those detained in the crackdown, according to The New York Times. The deputy chairman of Iran’s parliamentary education commission Farshad Ebrahimpour said a "number" of students under 18 were arrested, as rights groups estimate at least 300 children and adolescents remain in jug.
[IsraelTimes] Coordination Framework, country’s main Shiite alliance, says decision on Iraq’s leader should be ‘free from foreign interference’ after US president vowed to cut support if Maliki returns.
Well, the New York Times. At this point they provide some filler between the lifestyle section and the daily crossword. Kind of like the articles in Playboy.
[NY Post] A Gaza doctor who slammed Israel in a pair of New York Times op-eds is a colonel with terror group Hamas, according to an Israeli watchdog group and the Israeli Defense Forces.
Hussam Abu Safyia was photographed wearing a Hamas camo military uniform while at a gathering of Hamas elites to celebrate the completion of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in 2016, according to the Jerusalem-based watchdog NGO Monitor.
Safyia’s photo appeared on the Gaza Medical Services‘ Facebook page — a group overseen by the Hamas-run health ministry.
The ceremony was attended by ranking members of the brutal terror group, including Gen. Abu Obaida Al-Jarrah, Director of Military Medical Services Saeed Saoudi and National Security Forces commander Col. Naeem Al-Ghoul, according to the post.
Following Hamas’ massacre of over 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, which led to the war in Gaza, Safyia penned two screeds in the Times bashing Israel on Oct. 29, 2023, and Dec. 2, 2024.
“We are suffering and paying the price of the genocide that is happening to our people here in the northern Gaza Strip,” Safyia wrote in one op-ed.
Critics decried media giving the alleged Hamas member any ink.
“Those who platformed Abu Safyia must do some serious soul-searching, and figure out how they ended up promoting the propaganda of a literal Hamas terrorist,” NGO Monitor senior researcher Vincent Chebat said.
The Times referred to the colonel as a “pediatrician and the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza” in each op-ed.
Neither Safyia nor the Times disclosed his alleged affiliation with the terror group, even though Palestinian media refers to him by his military rank. He is also referred to as a colonel in a 2020 Facebook post on the Gaza Strip Medical Services page.
An IDF spokesman said Safyia was a ranking member of Hamas, and that the hospital was teeming with hundreds of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists.
Neither NGO Monitor nor the IDF accused Safyia of participating in any specific terrorist acts.
The New York Times did not respond to The Post’s request for comment. The Post was unable to reach Safyia.
The Israeli Defense Forces confirmed Safyia was apprehended during the war on suspicion of “involvement in terrorist activities.” He was not charged and was released by the IDF, but the Israeli Prison Services agency did not respond to a request for comment on his current whereabouts.
Israel detained Abu Safiya along with nearly 240 others during a raid on the medical facility in December 2024, alleging that Hamas was using the military hospital as a command center.
Abu Safiya remains held in Israeli custody, and his lawyers have claimed he was subjected to “severe physical abuse,” including beating and electric shocks.
Of course they do.
Another director of Kamal Adwan, Ahmed Kahlot, who was captured by the IDF earlier in the war, revealed in an interrogation that the MMS-affiliated hospital was turned into a military facility under Hamas’s control and that at one point it housed a kidnapped soldier.
According to Kahlot, who himself has been a lieutenant colonel in Hamas since 2010, some 16 members of the hospital’s staff – including doctors, nurses and paramedics – are also Hamas operatives who serve in the al-Qassam Brigades.
❗Breaking: NGO Monitor researcher finds photo of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya in his Hamas uniform. 🧵 That the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital had a Hamas rank was an open secret in Arabic media, yet he was invited to write opeds for the @nytimes and was praised as a hero in an… pic.twitter.com/xPB05nNr2W
[AnNahar] Political forces agree that the dialogue between President Joseph Aoun and MP Mohammad Raad is currently suspended and fraught with irreconcilable differences, a media report said.
A prominent political source from the Shiite Duo meanwhile told the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem’s latest threat that Hezbollah might militarily support Iran in the event of a new war is unlikely to be translated into actions, calling them verbal solidarity.
The source emphasized that Qassem had no choice but to say what he said.
[AnNahar] The government approved Friday an agreement to transfer Syrian prisoners serving their sentences in Leb ...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel... back to their home country.
The issue of prisoners has been a sore point as the neighboring countries seek to recalibrate their relations following the ouster of former Syrian President Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... in a lightning offensive by Islamist-led forces of Evil in December 2024. Former murderous Moslem leader Ahmad al-Sharaa is now Syria's interim president.
Lebanon and Syria have a complicated history with grievances on both sides. Many Lebanese resent the decades-long occupation of their country by Syrian forces that ended in 2005. Many Syrians resent the role played by Hezbollah when it entered Syria's civil war in defense of Assad's government.
A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of about 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons, including some 800 held over attacks and shootings, many without trial. Damascus had asked Beirut to hand them over to continue their prison terms in Syria, but Lebanese judicial officials said Beirut would not release any attackers and that each must be studied and resolved separately.
The deal approved Friday appeared to resolve that tension. Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said other issues remain to be resolved between the two countries, including the fate of Lebanese believed to have been disappeared into Syrian prisons during Assad's rule and the demarcation of the border between the two countries.
Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Mitri told news hounds after the Cabinet meeting that about 300 prisoners would be transferred as a result of the agreement.
Protesters gathered in a square below the government palace in downtown Beirut ahead of the Cabinet vote to call for amnesty for Lebanese prisoners, including some who joined Death Eater groups fighting against Assad in Syria. Some of the protesters called for the release of Sunni holy man Ahmad al-Assir, imprisoned for his role in 2013 festivities that killed 18 Lebanese army soldiers.
"The state found solutions for the Syrian youth who are heroes and belong to the Syrian revolution who have been imprisoned for 12 years," said protester Khaled al- Bobbor. "But in the same files there are also Lebanese detainees. ... We demand that just as they found solutions for the Syrians, they must also find solutions for the people of this country."
[AnNahar] Thousands of Shiite Muslims who fled Syria after former President Bashar Assad's government was toppled in an offensive by Sunni rebels in December 2024 have found a new home in Lebanon.
Many of them stayed in mosques, schools or with relatives in Lebanon until the Imam Ali Housing Compound — funded by Hezbollah and Shiite religious institutions in Iraq and Iran — was opened in late 2025.
The camp, in the northeastern Lebanese town of Hermel, has nearly 230 housing units and is now home to both displaced Syrians and Lebanese.
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[Rudaw] Russian forces have completed their withdrawal from Qamishli International Airport amid a new agreement that will see the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration jointly manage the facility, an official said on Friday.
The departure marks the end of a significant Russian presence in the heart of the Kurdish-controlled northeast. Since 2019, Russia—the primary backer of the former Syrian president Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... —had utilized the airport as a strategic military hub.
The withdrawal process spanned a week, culminating on the 22nd of the month when approximately 200 Russian soldiers stationed across three points evacuated the site along with all their heavy equipment and hardware.
Under the terms of a new deal between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Damascus, the airport will transition back to government oversight while maintaining a presence of staff from the Autonomous Administration.
"The government will coordinate with the Rojava administration," said Azad Hiso, an executive member of the Kurdish Autonomous Administration. "Anyone departing from or entering through Qamishli International Airport must have the government stamp [on their passport]," he noted, adding that this is standard practice and how it works all over the world.
The airport, originally a civilian facility, became a semi-military zone during the height of the Syrian conflict as Moscow used it to project power in the region.
The years of Russian presence left a unique cultural footprint on the adjacent "Mattar" (Arabic for airport) neighborhood. Due to constant interaction with the garrison, many local children and young men have become remarkably fluent in the Russian language.
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.
...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 cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!...
...Arabic for 
...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 
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel...
Light of the Alawites...
