[FOX] A streamer who broadcasts to more than 1 million followers on a popular online platform set off a viral firestorm after invoking Mayor Zohran Mamdani's name as he declared Islam would take over New York City.
"Allahu Akbar!" the extremist internet personality Sneako yelled amidst a group of Egypt soccer fans while drums were banged and horns were blown. Egyptian flags waved among the crowd as they chanted along.
Sneako, whose real name is Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy, has been described as a provocateur and palled around with the online antisemitic far-right during his rise to social media stardom. Before that, he was all-in on his support for the political far-left and supported the presidential campaign of socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in 2016. He reportedly converted to Islam in 2023.
But Friday night, after Egypt dethroned Australia in the World Cup, he may have made his most controversial splash yet while live broadcasting on the streets of New York City on the video streaming platform Kick.
Mockingly wiping tears from his eyes, Sneako said, "Oh no, oh no. F--- you!"
"This is the Islamic Republic of New York-istan," he continued. "Islam will be in every household. Inshallah the whole world will be Muslim."
"Welcome to Mamdani's New York. You see this city? You see how it looks? Inshallah, your city looks just like this too," he shouted among the crowd.
Sneako declares New York an Islamic State ⁰“Islam will be in every household. Inshallah, the whole world will become Muslim.” pic.twitter.com/dzuzjRunHb
Sneako was born in New York City into a family with Haitian and Filipino ancestry,[5] and speaks French fluently.[28] In 2023, he moved to Miami, Florida, and converted to Islam.[29][30][31]
Somalia’s president meets Somali-American mayor, urges stronger U.S. ties
05/07/2026
[ShabelleMedia] Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Sunday received Nadia Mohamed, the Somali-American mayor of St. Louis Park, at the presidential palace in Mogadishu, praising her political achievements and calling for stronger ties between Somalia and the United States.
Mohamud congratulated Mohamed on her leadership and success in public office, saying her achievements reflected the talent, determination and positive contribution of the Somali diaspora to communities around the world.
The president encouraged Mohamed to play a greater role in strengthening the long-standing relationship between Somalia and the United States while supporting the Somali diaspora’s contribution to the country’s reconstruction, public service development and investment.
Mohamed thanked the president for the warm reception and reaffirmed her commitment to promoting closer cooperation and supporting efforts aimed at Somalia’s development.
She also said she was pleasantly surprised by the level of security and development she witnessed during her visit to the capital, Mogadishu.
Mogadishu Port chief visits Seattle to strengthen institutional cooperation
06/07/2026
[ShabelleMedia] The Director General of the Port of Mogadishu, Ambassador Mohamed Ali Nur, widely known as “Ameriko”, visited the city of SeaTac in the U.S. state of Washington on Monday as part of an official trip aimed at strengthening institutional ties and expanding cooperation.
During the visit, Nur was received by SeaTac Mayor Mohamed Egal at City Hall, where the two officials discussed opportunities for collaboration between the Port of Mogadishu and institutions in the Seattle metropolitan area, according to a statement.
The talks focused on strengthening institutional relations, exchanging expertise in public administration and port management, and exploring partnerships to support the development of Somalia’s main seaport.
The visit forms part of the Mogadishu port chief’s official working trip to Seattle, where he is expected to hold further meetings with local institutions and stakeholders.
[GaroweOnline] Foreign troops stationed in a key southern Somali city have begun a phased reduction following agreements between regional security authorities and Somalia's federal government, according to documents obtained by Garowe Online.
The documents indicate that the city was selected for the troop drawdown because local security forces remain unable to independently maintain stability, while supply routes have been repeatedly disrupted, and essential logistical support cannot be guaranteed until outstanding political issues are resolved.
They further state that the troop-contributing country intends to withdraw its additional contingent assigned to the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... mission, citing growing security risks along vulnerable supply corridors and recent political developments that have contributed to instability in the area.
The planned reduction comes as the United States has announced it will end its support for the African Union mission and broader security assistance to Somalia, saying there has been insufficient progress and that Somali politicians have failed to resolve persistent political disputes.
The documents suggest the combined impact of the troop reduction and the suspension of U.S. support has created uncertainty within Somalia's federal security institutions.
Internal sources familiar with the situation described the government's operational response as disorganized, with security agencies struggling to coordinate contingency measures as the withdrawal proceeds.
Neither the Somali government nor the African Union mission immediately commented on the reported drawdown or the contents of the documents.
Unnamed country, unnamed location — so mysterious!
Oooooohhhh — that explains it! Perhaps the thinking was that Israel would not go after Turkey if the missiles came from Somalia, but Israel went after Iran hard, as well as Hamas, Hezbollah and and Houthis, so the logic fails. Or is President Trump supposed to be so blinded by his admiration for President Erdogan that will forbid Israel to act?
[ShabelleMedia] The facility is only designed to accommodate systems with a range of up to 2,000 km., placing Israel outside of reach; Somaliland ...Republic of Somaliland is an unrecognised sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, recognised internationally as a de jure part of Somalia. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden with approximately 5.7 million residents as of 2021. The capital and largest city is Hargeisa. The government regards itself as the successor state to British Somaliland, which united from 1960 to 1991 with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic. Under the Siad Barre regime, Somaliadestroyed ninety percent of Hargeisa Per international law, once you're in, you gotta stay in, no matter how bad it smells.... , militarily supported by Israel, is within the projected range.
Oh? So that means the IDF base in Somaliland, or perhaps Somaliland targets, to encourage them to kick out those icky Jooooos…
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure.... member, but not the most reliable... is developing a space and ballistic missile launch site in central Somalia, combining a satellite launch base for the Ottoman Turkish space program with a testing site for long-range ballistic missiles, according to a report on Wednesday by French newspaper Le Monde.
Officially announced in December 2025 as a technological partnership between Somalia and Turkey, the spaceport is the most consequential layer in a decade-long project to turn Somalia into a forward operating base.
The construction of this spaceport is the culmination of 15 years of political, military, and economic investment by Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... , allowing Turkey to increase the range of their ballistic missile program, increasing the potential threat to Israel.
In mid-October 2025, Turkey began work on the base on the outskirts of Warsheikh, approximately 70 kilometers north of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, Le Monde reported.
Shortly after construction began, Erdogan and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signed a space cooperation treaty, the latest move in the countries’ long-term partnership.
An investigation by the Middle East Forum in May found that a missile test facility in this location would place most of Africa and the Middle East within range for ballistic missile strikes, creating concrete implications for Israel as relations with Turkey become increasingly hostile.
Although the think tank believes that the facility is designed only to accommodate systems with a range of up to 2,000 km., placing Israel out of reach, this power projection capability would place Somaliland, militarily supported by Israel, within Turkey’s potential range.
In recent months, Erdogan’s anti-Israel rhetoric has increased, with the Ottoman Turkish President repeatedly threatening military action against Israel.
Last month, US President Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... acknowledged Erdogan’s strained relationship with Israel, explaining that Turkey wanted to join the war with 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... but, at his request, agreed "to stay out of it."
Erdogan’s harsh anti-Israel rhetoric is considered to be part of his ongoing narrative attempting to position Turkey as a staunch defender of Paleostinian rights.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/07/2026 00:00 ||
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#2
Looks like someone is about to have some unexplained explosions soon. If they're lucky the explosions will be on the missile test range and not in Ankara.
The IRGC beheading could not have been a clearer warning.
[X] LAGOS, JOHANNESBURG, STOCKHOLM — Violence on this scale is never free. Someone pays for the Kalashnikovs carried by bandits in Zamfara. Someone pays for the motorcycles that carry Boko Haram fighters across the Sambisa. Someone benefits when unemployed South Africans in Johannesburg turn their rage not on the politicians who looted their country, but on the Nigerian shopkeeper next door.
This report follows the money. Not rumor. Not conjecture. The documented, prosecuted, court-certified money.
## I. THE RANSOM ECONOMY: NIGERIA'S WAR PAYS FOR ITSELF
The most authoritative recent audit of Nigeria's kidnapping industry comes from SBM Intelligence: between July 2024 and June 2025, at least **4,722 people were abducted in 997 incidents**. Of those, **762 were killed**. Kidnappers collected approximately **$1.66 million** in ransom payments in a single year — and the ransom for one abducted judge alone netted a Boko Haram-linked group roughly **$500,000**. SBM's conclusion is chilling in its bureaucratic precision: Islamist groups' participation in the abduction economy is growing, "with proceeds feeding insurgency logistics."
This is the first truth Abuja does not want spoken plainly: **the insurgency is substantially self-financing, and every ransom paid — including those quietly paid by state governments — is a direct subsidy to the next attack.**
## II. THE FOREIGN MONEY THAT IS ACTUALLY PROVEN
There is documented foreign money in this war. It runs through Dubai, not Washington.
In 2020, the Federal Court of Appeals in Abu Dhabi convicted **six Nigerians for transferring $782,000 from Dubai to Boko Haram** — two sentenced to life imprisonment. Nigerian media reporting on the proceedings identified one of the recipients as a **Nigerian government official** who also funneled *government money* to the terrorists. Read that again. A serving official of the Nigerian state, paid by the Nigerian taxpayer, moving money to the men burning Borno.
The Financial Action Task Force and Nigeria's own Financial Intelligence Unit have mapped the rest of the pipeline: hawala networks that escape all oversight, trade-based laundering through dried fish and cattle, cryptocurrency channels — Binance among the platforms identified — through which Boko Haram receives funds from local and international sources undetected, and Point-of-Sale agent networks embedded in the everyday cash economy.
And the names are now public. In April 2026, the Nigeria Sanctions Committee **froze the assets of 48 terror-financing suspects**, including **Tukur Mamu** — the self-styled "negotiator" of the Kaduna train hostages — and **Simon Ekpa**, alongside a string of Bureau De Change operators, for financing Boko Haram, ISWAP, IPOB and Ansaru. Historical financiers already on the record include the late **Alhaji Buji Foi**, a former Borno State Commissioner of Religious Affairs — a government man — who supplied the group money, motorcycles and logistics. Al-Qaeda's early seed money to the sect is documented in the academic literature; AQIM's support likewise.
**The pattern is unmistakable: the financiers of Nigeria's terror are disproportionately Nigerian officials, Nigerian "big men," and Gulf-routed networks — protected for years by the same state that claims to be fighting them.** The weapons, as the Council on Foreign Relations dryly noted, often come from government armories "because the back gate was left unlocked."
## III. JOHANNESBURG: WHO PROFITS FROM THE POGROM?
Now to South Africa, where in April–June 2026 the vigilante movements **Operation Dudula** and **March and March** set a June 30 "deadline" for foreigners to leave, marched in their thousands through Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, and left at least **four dead** in the campaign's final weeks — after **five Ethiopian migrants were murdered in Johannesburg on a single day, May 3**. Two Nigerians died in April alone: **Amaramiro Emmanuel**, beaten by SANDF soldiers, and **Ekpenyong Andrew**, arrested in Pretoria and later found in a mortuary. Human Rights Watch documented the attacks and the police response: little to none.
President Tinubu was forced to order emergency evacuations — **603 Nigerians airlifted home in three flights by early July 2026**, over 1,000 more screened and waiting — scenes that recall wartime, not relations between the continent's two largest economies. Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Mozambique ran their own evacuations. Nigeria now demands formal legal compensation.
So who funds Dudula? Here the money trail is domestic and political, and that is the scandal. These movements are cheap to run — marches, taxi networks, WhatsApp mobilization — and they are *sponsored in effect* by every South African politician who profits from the deflection. As South African analysts themselves concede, xenophobia is **manufactured by elites who benefit when the poor fight each other instead of demanding accountability from their rulers**. A Zulu king deploying the slur "kwerekwere." Politicians who face no cost for incendiary speech in a country with 30-plus percent unemployment. The South Gauteng High Court had to *injunct* Dudula in November 2025 just to stop its members blocking sick migrants from hospitals. That is state failure operating as silent sponsorship.
The 2008 pogroms killed over 60 and displaced 100,000. The 2015 wave required military intervention. 2026 is not an aberration. It is a business model.
## IV. THE FOREIGN HAND: WHAT HISTORY PROVES, AND WHAT 2026 MUST ANSWER
Is there precedent for foreign intelligence services financing African destabilization? The declassified record answers emphatically yes.
JFK-era files declassified in 2025 confirm the CIA ran operational stations in **Lagos, Johannesburg and Pretoria**, surveilled the ANC, and — by agent Donald Rickard's own admission — helped deliver **Nelson Mandela** to his captors in 1962. The Congo operation consumed the equivalent of **$80 million** in today's money on regime change, propaganda and paramilitary action. More than **225 front organizations** worldwide were exposed as CIA funding conduits — including one that staged a music festival in Lagos in 1961 whose own performers did not know who paid them. Israel, for its part, armed apartheid Pretoria, helped it evade the 1977 UN arms embargo, trained alongside its forces against the ANC, and partnered on its nuclear bomb — an alliance a former Israeli ambassador described as a "love affair" between the two security establishments.
That history earns Africa the right — the obligation — to ask hard questions about foreign interests today. But an honest investigator must state what the 2026 record shows: **no declassified document, court judgment, sanctions designation or financial-intelligence report currently in the public domain ties American or Israeli funding to Boko Haram, the Northwest bandits, or Operation Dudula.** The proven financiers are named above, and they are closer to home.
That is not exoneration. It is a demand. This report therefore calls for:
1. **Full disclosure** by the United States of all post-2010 intelligence activity, funding and liaison relationships in Nigeria and South Africa — the Cold War files took sixty years to surface; Africa should not wait sixty more.
2. **A UN-mandated forensic audit** of terror-financing flows through Dubai, hawala corridors and crypto exchanges feeding the Lake Chad insurgency.
3. **Prosecution of the Nigerian officials** identified in the UAE proceedings and on the April 2026 sanctions list — with names published, not shielded.
4. **ICC-referable accountability** for South African political figures whose incitement demonstrably preceded the killings of April–June 2026, and reparations for evacuated Nigerians, as Abuja now demands.
Africans are not killing Africans out of ancient hatred. They are killing each other inside systems of profit — ransom economies, protection rackets, deflection politics — built and maintained by men with names, bank accounts and, too often, government titles. The fire has financiers. Name them all.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM.RU] On the eve of US Independence Day, the head of US Africa Command (AFRICOM), Dagvin Anderson, gave the American audience a reason to be proud. Speaking at a conference of African defense chiefs in Angola, the commander stated that the Pentagon had "maximum reduced" its direct military presence in Nigeria—where a counterterrorism mission was deployed in February 2026—due to the accomplishment of its assigned tasks.
However, the actual effectiveness of this mission is questionable. In some cases, the Pentagon and AFRICOM have deliberately misrepresented wishful thinking.
COMPROMISE AID
Debate over the counterterrorism operation in Nigeria flared up back in November 2025, when jihadist attacks on Christian communities in the country intensified. US President Donald Trump was enraged by the oppression of fellow believers (with American missionaries indirectly under attack) and demanded that the local government immediately address the problem. Otherwise, "America will take matters into its own hands."
The very next day, the Pentagon developed three scenarios: "soft" (delivery of weapons and intelligence with a minimal military presence), "medium" (sending a limited contingent to reinforce the government army), and "hard" (deployment of an aircraft carrier group and a full-scale military operation). All of them were submitted to Trump for approval.
However, the first option was dismissed almost immediately: the White House didn't believe Abuja (Nigeria's capital) could manage the aid wisely. Furthermore, there had been previous instances of weapons and ammunition supplied to Nigeria disappearing before reaching combat units. Sometimes, they even fell into the hands of terrorists. There was a risk that the same would happen this time.
However, the "hard" option was also quickly abandoned—by early 2026, the situation around Iran had escalated, and the Pentagon decided to deploy additional carrier groups to the Middle East rather than Africa. Multirole fighters and bombers, originally intended to support Abuja, were also partially redeployed to Jordan and Bahrain.
Ultimately, the only option available to Washington by February 2026 was the average scenario. A detachment of Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and Rangers, totaling up to 200 personnel, was deployed to Nigeria, and a UAV refueling station was established in the northeast of the country. An airbase near Maiduguri became the contingent's headquarters.
THE COACH IS NOT PLAYING
Despite the fact that American troops arrived in Nigeria under Trump's public promise to "personally destroy terrorists," they have hardly participated in combat operations.
The Nigerian army led the ground offensive, while the US presence in the region was more of a flag-raising and morale-boosting ally. Commandos were advised not to intervene in the fighting unless absolutely necessary.
The Pentagon used the resources deployed to Nigeria to conduct reconnaissance missions (primarily aerial) and coordinate ground operations, training local security forces in counterinsurgency warfare techniques. Furthermore, the unpublicized task was to oversee the distribution of American weapons arriving in Nigeria.
This caution wasn't without reason. Trump wanted a quick and elegant operation—preferably without American casualties. After all, the Green Berets had already had a disastrous experience encountering local insurgents.
In October 2017, a joint US-Nigerian commando patrol encountered a terrorist ambush and was forced to retreat under heavy fire. The encounter resulted in the deaths of four US special forces personnel (the largest single American loss of life in Africa since 1993). Consequently, the Pentagon and AFRICOM chose to minimize the direct use of the contingent, shifting the focus to their mentoring role.
However, during the Nigerian campaign, the newly-appointed "mentors" still managed to distinguish themselves in an unfavorable light.
In particular, a market in Borno State was mistaken for a terrorist "fortified camp." As a result of the intelligence distortion, civilians were targeted in a bombing raid in April 2026, killing over 200 people. Dozens more died from their wounds.
At the same time, the United States, which has been consistently supplying the Nigerian army with data from reconnaissance drones and satellites, stubbornly denies its own involvement in the high-profile incident, hinting that the terrorists had changed into civilian clothes, and that members of their families could have been present at the "camp" at the time of the attack.
KILL THE FINANCIER
In May 2026, the White House reported its first major victories in Nigeria. Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, one of the leaders of the African branch of ISIS*, was killed in the Lake Chad region.
According to Trump, he was "the second man of ISIS* in West Africa" and held a high position in the group's global leadership, distributing financial flows between radical cells on the continent.
This was one of the few times the Pentagon risked using strike force directly. The final stage of the hunt for al-Minuki involved approximately 20 commandos (mostly Navy SEALs), supported by air power and armored vehicles. As a result, the radical and his associates were trapped in a building, which was targeted by a precision airstrike.
The raid on al-Minuki's hideout bore fruit: the Americans seized a large amount of loot, including commanders' phones and laptops. This allowed the coalition to track down other major figures in the African underground.
Over the next week, West Africa's chief propagandist, Abd al-Wahhab, and senior field commanders Abu Musa al-Mangawy and Abu al-Muthanna al-Muhajir, the "night governors" of northeastern Nigeria, were assassinated.
The Americans were convinced that after this, the African "terrorist empire" began to collapse like a house of cards. Having lost their key leaders, the militants threw down their arms and went into hiding, ceding significant territory to government forces. Therefore, after just six weeks, according to Anderson's reports, keeping several hundred fighters in Nigeria simply became impractical.
The Pentagon decided to reduce its contingent by a factor of ten. Mainly UAV operators and technicians coordinating aerial reconnaissance, as well as several Navy SEALs—guerilla warfare and combat engineer instructors—remained in Maiduguri.
ARE YOU SURE YOU WON?
The Pentagon, contrary to pessimists' expectations, didn't get bogged down in the Nigerian conflict. In fact, it emerged triumphant and unscathed, having killed several thousand jihadists
…that’s a lot…
and "completely disrupted" their system of governance in West Africa. At least, that was the thrust of much of Anderson's speech in Angola.
But the AFRICOM chief was being downright disingenuous in some places. When it comes to casualties, the Americans don't take into account the statistics of their coalition partners. They reported that during the operation, they lost at least 150 service members killed. Another 300 or so were wounded.
At the same time, Abuja is extremely evasive in answering questions about the US contribution to the overall victory, hinting that all the dirty work was done without the participation of the Americans.
The data on the “several thousand” terrorists killed during the campaign are calculated very roughly, since massive strikes against them were carried out primarily from the air.
The underground fighters themselves admit to losing no more than 500 people,
…still a lot…
some of whom died from wounds and illnesses. Nigerian security forces report eight hundred radicals killed and approximately 1,500 detained. Regardless, the parties to the conflict have no overall figure.
There are also questions about the effectiveness of the operation on the ground. Despite the increased pressure from the government army, the jihadists continue to stage rather daring raids against security forces. And in some cases, they are even successful.
For example, in early June 2026, militants attacked a military base near Mandaragirau, and less than a week later, a fortified area in Bani Bangu. In the latter case, the attackers managed to damage a hangar housing military armored vehicles and steal several aircraft.
In addition to the above, the assassination of al-Minuki and his key associates opened a Pandora's Box for West Africa. Today, the most likely successors to the assassinated man are considered to be Abu Salem and Ban Chingori —brutal field commanders who embarked on a radical path as children.
This marks a significant turning point in the African underground—the rapid consolidation of professional thugs who grew up in war at the helm. This, in turn, promises a fairly rapid revival of militant structures and their even greater brutality.
However, even if ISIS fails to recover from the damage it has suffered in Africa, al-Qaeda* emissaries, whom the Americans have somehow forgotten, still remain (and feel quite confident) in the country. After al-Minuki's death, his rivals hastened to strengthen their positions in the northwest of the country.
They transferred advance troops there from Burkina Faso and other "transfer" countries. As a result, the terrorist threat in Nigeria remained, but the dominant force in the underground changed—making the US triumph purely paper.
Anti-Houthi Forces Respond With Stronger Deterrent Messaging
Aseel Al-Saqladi @aselsaqladi, spokesman for the Southern Giants Brigades
@alamalikah, one of Yemen’s largest and most capable anti-Houthi forces in South Yemen, accused the Houthis of making false claims about their latest confrontation with Saudi Arabia.
The Southern Giants Brigades first gained prominence during the 2018 coalition offensive around Hudaydah and later played a decisive role in recapturing much of Shabwa from Houthi forces in early 2022.
Al-Saqladi said the Houthis falsely claimed they had confronted coalition aircraft with missiles and that direct flights between Tehran and Sanaa would continue. According to him, neither claim proved true. He argued that no coalition aircraft were engaged by Houthi missiles and that the Tehran-Sanaa flights announced by the Houthis never materialized.
He said the Houthis were never founded to serve Yemen’s interests, but rather to advance Iran’s regional agenda. In his view, the group is willing to sacrifice Yemen and its people in pursuit of Tehran’s strategic objectives.
Al-Saqladi also compared the current situation to early 2015, when the Houthis launched direct flights between Tehran and Sanaa shortly before the Saudi-led coalition intervened. He argued that the Houthis are attempting to recreate that scenario to provoke another regional crisis and divert attention from growing public discontent in areas under their control.
[KhaamaPress] Leaders of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... ’s 32 member states will gather in Ankara on Tuesday and Wednesday for a summit expected to focus on higher defense spending, continued military support for Ukraine and security challenges in the Middle East, including Iran, as the alliance seeks to reinforce unity amid evolving global security threats.
According to Rooters, defense spending will dominate the summit agenda as U.S. President Donald Trump ...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!... continues to press European allies to assume a greater share of NATO’s collective security responsibilities. Alliance leaders are expected to discuss expanding military capabilities, increasing defense production and strengthening Europe’s role in regional security while maintaining transatlantic cooperation.
A draft summit declaration says NATO members remain committed to a long-term goal of spending the equivalent of 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense and related security investments by 2035. European allies and Canada are expected to increase defense investment by more than $139 billion in 2025, reaffirming what the alliance describes as a stronger commitment to collective burden-sharing.
Support for Ukraine is expected to remain another key priority. NATO members are preparing to provide approximately 70 billion euros ($82 billion) in military assistance, equipment and training for Ukraine in 2026, with a similar level of support anticipated in 2027. Most of the funding is expected to come from bilateral contributions by member states and a 60 billion-euro European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... assistance package, while the United States is not expected to participate in the new funding initiative.
Regional security and developments involving 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... are also expected to feature prominently in the discussions. According to the draft communiqué, NATO leaders will reaffirm that Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon and are expected to emphasize the importance of protecting freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important maritime trade routes.
A NATO Defense Industry Forum, scheduled alongside the summit, is expected to announce defense contracts worth tens of billions of dollars as member states seek to accelerate weapons production, replenish military stockpiles and strengthen the alliance’s long-term defense industrial capacity.
The summit comes at a pivotal moment for NATO as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues into its fifth year and security concerns in the Middle East have intensified following recent hostilities involving Iran, Israel and the United States. Alliance members are seeking to balance continued support for Ukraine with broader efforts to strengthen deterrence, expand defense production and respond to emerging global security challenges.
The meeting also follows months of debate over defense spending within the alliance. Trump has repeatedly urged European governments to increase military investment and reduce reliance on U.S. security guarantees, while several European leaders have accelerated defense spending and weapons procurement in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. NATO officials say the summit is expected to demonstrate allied unity despite differences over funding priorities and regional security policies.
Rude: ‘Hide the Children, Trump Is Coming’ Banner Appears in Istanbul Ahead of NATO Summit
[KhaamaPress] A large protest banner reading, “Hide the Children, Trump Is Coming!” was displayed on Istanbul’s historic Haliç (Golden Horn) Bridge ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Turkey for this week’s NATO summit, drawing widespread attention on social media and in Turkish media.
The banner was installed by activists opposed to Trump’s visit, although the organizers did not publicly identify themselves or explain the slogan. Images of the banner circulated widely online, making it one of the most visible public protests ahead of the summit.
Some social media users and media commentators linked the slogan to allegations surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case. However, the activists behind the banner did not publicly confirm that interpretation, and no official statement explaining the message had been released at the time of publication.
Trump is expected to travel to Ankara for the NATO leaders’ summit, where alliance members are scheduled to discuss collective defense, continued support for Ukraine, regional security and defense spending. His reported schedule is expected to include bilateral meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other regional leaders, although the White House had not publicly confirmed the full itinerary at the time of publication.
Security has been tightened across Ankara ahead of the summit, with authorities imposing traffic restrictions, increasing police deployments and introducing additional security measures for visiting delegations.
The banner appeared as anti-NATO demonstrations took place in several Turkish cities. The Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) said police detained more than 100 protesters during a demonstration in Ankara on Sunday, while separate protests in Istanbul concluded without reported arrests. Turkish authorities had not immediately commented on the reported detentions.
Turkey has been a NATO member since 1952 and occupies a strategic position linking Europe, the Middle East and the Black Sea. While Ankara remains a key member of the alliance, its relations with some Western allies have periodically been strained over issues including defense procurement, regional conflicts and foreign policy.
Turkey Detains Over 100 at Anti-NATO Protest Ahead of NATO Summit
[KhaamaPress] oTurkish security forces detained more than 100 members of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) during an anti-NATO protest in Ankara on Sunday, the party said, as authorities tightened security ahead of this week’s NATO summit in the Turkish capital.
Were they dressed in boring black Black Bloc/Antifa attire?
The Communist Party said police detained more than 100 protesters, including several senior party officials, during a demonstration in Ankara’s Kızılay Square. The protest was organized to oppose NATO before the alliance’s summit, which is scheduled to bring together leaders of its 32 member states and partner countries on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Videos published by the party showed demonstrators carrying flags and chanting anti-NATO slogans. The party alleged that riot police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Turkish authorities had not publicly commented on the reported detentions or the allegations regarding the use of force at the time of publication.
Separate anti-NATO demonstrations also took place in Istanbul, where hundreds of protesters marched from Taksim Square to the Dolmabahçe district. Two additional rallies organized by left-wing groups were held in Kadıköy. Unlike the protest in Ankara, no clashes or arrests were reported during the demonstrations in Istanbul, despite a heavy security presence.
Kemal Okuyan, general secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey, said party members had mobilized in several cities to protest against NATO ahead of the summit. His comments reflected the party’s longstanding opposition to Turkey’s membership in the alliance.
Authorities have introduced extensive security measures in Ankara ahead of the summit, including restrictions on public demonstrations, road closures and the deployment of additional security personnel to protect visiting heads of state and foreign delegations.
Separately, Turkish media reported that 39 people, including journalists, civil society activists and academics, were detained on Sunday in a counterterrorism operation in several parts of the country. The authorities have not linked those detentions to the anti-NATO
[Rudaw] The Iraqi government on Sunday signed an agreement with the US-based Halliburton company to increase production at two oilfields in the southern province of Basra, announced the oil ministry, as Baghdad continues to attract US investment.
The ministry said in a statement that the "integrated management contract" with the American firm is aimed at expanding Ben Omar and Sindbad fields in Basra, citing Oil Minister Basem Mohammed Khudair al-Abadi as stating that the move is part of Baghdad’s "plans and strategy to increase production capacities at the level of oil and gas, within the future vision of Mr. Ali al-Zaidi's government for investment in the energy sector," referring to Iraq’s new prime minister.
"The ministry is moving forward with signing contracts with major international companies, particularly American firms," Abadi added, underscoring the "reliability" of Halliburton to undertake the joint venture.
The statement noted that the Basra Oil Company (BOC) - the largest state-owned government subsidiary - will implement a strategy to "increase production capacities for both oil and gas" in Bin Omar and Sindibad fields in Basra.
Baghdad has started to offer lucrative oil deals to US companies.
The oil ministry statement was quickly followed by an X post from the US embassy in Baghdad, shedding light on the Charge d'Affaires Joshua Harris’ week-long visit to Basra.
"His visit underscores our shared commitment to increasing American investments in Iraq's economic growth. The message was clear: Iraq possesses tremendous potential, and our strong partnership is poised to unleash it," the embassy said.
Under integrated management contracts, BOC remains the primary state operator while Halliburton provides advanced digital modeling and subsurface/surface project management to optimize the fields.
The agreement involves a comprehensive data-sharing initiative to map out technical and economic models to maximize both crude recovery and associated gas capture. Under the deal, production rates are expected to reach 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) in Bin Umar and between 80,000 to 100,000 bpd in Sindibad.
Associated gas production in Bin Umar is expected to be 300 million standard cubic feet per day and in Sindibat to touch 260 million, according to the oil ministry.
The BOC on Wednesday signed a non-disclosure agreement with another US oil giant, Chevron, allowing the firm to examine the West Qurna-2 field. It also promised to offer additional "significant business opportunities" to the company and other firms.
In a joint statement in mid-June, Zaidi and US Envoy to Iraq and Syria Tom Barrack said US firms "to resume operations with full security guarantees," alongside plans to lease electricity and liquefied gas tenders to additional US firms.
US oil companies were targeted by Iranian drones and missiles before and during the nearly six-week war between Iran, Iraq, and Israel, which began in late February and ended in early April.
Furthermore, the international oil cartel, OPEC+, also on Sunday approved increasing output by 188,000 bpd by Iraq and other six countries.
This adjustment allows regional producers to gradually restart massive amounts of shut-in production as regional maritime shipping normalizes.
I think OldSpook would have been pleased. He loved the Kurds.
[Rudaw] More than 20 abandoned villages in Duhok province’s Amedi district have been repopulated amid the ongoing peace talks between The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... member, but not the most reliable... and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a local official said on Monday, though hundreds of other villages across Kurdistan Region-Turkey border remain deserted.
"We are now allowing the residents of 21 villages around Mount Gara [northeast of Duhok] to return, and they have indeed gone back, as we are certain that no danger remains in those villages," Warhsin Mayi, Amedi’s mayor, told Rudaw’s Solin Mohammed.
He added that the area has experienced "a period of stability" after decades-long intense bombardments and festivities had forced residents of 197 villages to evacuate their homes.
PKK and the Ottoman Turkish government laid the first stone of the grinding of the peace processor in February 2025, when the Kurdish gang’s incarcerated anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not leader Abdullah Ocalan asked his party’s fighters to lay down their arms and dissolve the PKK while transitioning from armed to political struggle within the Ottoman Turkish state.
Nearly 500 villages across the Kurdistan Region had been evacuated because of their festivities since the eighties, as the PKK has used areas near the villages as hideouts while the Ottoman Turkish army utilized their presence as a pretext for bombardments and establishing military outposts.
Based on Rudaw’s tracking, 276 villages from a total of 437 in Erbil and Duhok provinces are yet to be repopulated.
Ihsan Chalabi, the mayor of Sidakan in northeast Erbil, told Rudaw that since 1984, 118 villages within their areas of jurisdiction have been deserted and remain unpopulated.
"Although bombardments and artillery shelling have ceased for nearly two years, the security situation is still not 100 percent favorable. Ottoman Turkish forces remain in those areas, and the PKK is also still present," he said.
Chalabi also underscored the ongoing threat of landmines and unwent kaboom! ordnance, while noting that people can only access the highlands for livestock farming and agriculture with "official permission."
"For a permanent return, the area must be cleared of mines, and armed forces must withdraw," he noted.
Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... had asked the parliament to postpone its summer recess in order to pass a standalone law that is geared towards reconciling the disarmed PKK fighters into civil life.
[FoxNews] Israel boosts border security across ‘original Bible Belt’ to stop Iran, weapons, terrorists and narcotics
After Hamas’ terrorist invasion of Israel’s southern border on Oct. 7, 2023, the Jewish state created the 96th army division to thwart new security threats along its border with Jordan.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) granted Fox News Digital exclusive access to military bases that are on the frontlines in the fight against Iran’s regime, terrorism, narcotics and weapons smuggling, as well as illegal entry of Palestinians seeking work in Israel.
While the "Jordanian border is a peace border," an Israeli military official told Fox News Digital, "There is a strategic competition over Jordan. The other side [Iran’s regime] understands it is a peaceful border and a strategic advantage for any of our enemies who want to be there." Jordan and Israel reached a peace agreement in 1994.
The longevity of Mideast peace is at stake in the oppressive heat of the biblically rich history of the Jordan Valley, where Joshua led the Jews into Israel.
The Jordan Valley frequently appears in Scripture. John the Baptist led his ministry and baptisms, including Jesus’, in the Valley. "Tourists come to explore it [Jordan Valley region]," said the military official. As a result of the origins of Christianity and Judaism, the Jordan Valley has been labeled the "Original Bible Belt."
During Israel’s seven-front war against Iran and its allies, Fox News Digital reported that the regime and Hamas sought to destabilize Jordan, according to Mideast experts.
In 2024, Jordan experienced protests in support of the Hamas terrorist organization.
After Hamas slaughtered over 1,200 people on 10/7, including more than 40 Americans, the IDF is reactivating 45 military bases spread out between Israel and Jordan. The IDF said the bases were built after the 1967 Six-Day War and their operation was" discontinued in the late 1990s. IDF Division 96 oversees the sprawling bases filled with bunkers in the Jordan Valley.
A military official told Fox News Digital that "Since the beginning of the year, Division 96 has thwarted more than 20 smuggling attempts involving weapons and narcotics."
According to the military official, "All walks of life come here [Jordan Valley]. The army’s job is to make sure that everybody can live here in peace." Division 96 covers 250 air miles and approximately 242.3 miles of territory, said the military official. The IDF created Division 96 a little more than a year ago.
The military official said that a critical piece of its multilayered defense is to build a new wall. "The army took everything we learned from 10/7 and revamped the wall." The military official added the construction of the wall helps to explain why Palestinians are seeking to illegally enter Israel for employment: "They see the wall and realize that their time is now up to come in."
He stressed there are legal entry points into Israel from the Jordanian side.
The multipronged new Israeli border system in the Jordan Valley is demarcated by three layers. The first layer is a military outpost, like the facility Fox News Digital toured. Named "European Goldfinch," it is situated across from the defunct historical Adam Bridge, where two Jordanian military outposts are within eyesight.
The second layer of defense is the construction of a wall. And the third line of defense is the military bases that lodges Division 96. The IDF official said that the army also increased the number of reserve soldiers.
The Israeli army built another five battalions of soldiers who were never engaged in service or finished their service and wish to return to duty. The reservists "understood the point of history we are in" and their "love for Israel," said the Israeli military official.
During Israel’s war with Iran, the clerical regime’s
…an interesting description of the Mad Mullahs…
forces fired missiles into the Jordan Valley. The bunkers located in the outposts served as a refuge from Iran’s rockets.
The military bases inspected by Fox News Digital are located in Area C in the disputed West Bank territory, referred to by many Israelis by the region’s biblical names as Judea and Samaria. Nearly 500,000 Israelis and around 300,000 Palestinians live in Area C, which makes up 60% of the total area of Judea and Samaria. The Oslo Accords, which were signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1993, stipulated military and civilian control over Area C was absorbed by the IDF.
The miltiary official said that "We have the same agenda as Jordan: To keep the border peaceful."
Posted by: Skidmark ||
07/07/2026 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[REGNUM.RU] The Palestinian Hamas movement announced the dissolution of the government it controls in the Gaza Strip and the transfer of control to a special technical committee supported by the UN. This was announced in a written statement by the enclave's authorities on July 6, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The document clarified that the head of the government's emergency committee, Mohammed al-Farra, resigned and dissolved the committee. Ismail al-Tawabta, director general of the Hamas-run government media office, explained that "only technical and operational staff" would remain in their positions to manage the Gaza Strip's day-to-day affairs.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem called the decision "a positive step forward towards implementing the ceasefire agreement."
In September 2025, the White House published US President Donald Trump's plan to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip. The 20-point document stipulated that Israel would withdraw its forces from Palestinian territories and cease military operations, and that Hamas would release hostages. Hamas and other groups would also renounce any direct or indirect involvement in governing Gaza. A technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee would be appointed to administer the interim administration, overseen by an international body chaired by the US president.
In November 2025, the UN Security Council approved a resolution supporting the US plan to resolve the situation in the region. Russia and China, however, abstained from voting. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the US-backed UN Security Council resolution contradicted international decisions providing for the establishment of the State of Palestine. Russia developed an alternative resolution aimed at returning to international legal principles. However, Russia's alternative resolution, aimed at resolving differences and returning to international legal principles, was ignored.
On January 15, 2026, Trump announced the formation of the Gaza Peace Council. He called the council "the most prestigious" ever assembled.
[ISRAEL-ALMA.ORG] At the beginning of July, Syria’s Higher Committee for Elections announced the names of the 70 members of parliament appointed directly by President Ahmad al-Sharaa. These appointments complete the composition of the new 210-member parliament. The remaining two-thirds were selected through elections held beginning in October 2025 using an indirect electoral college system, rather than through direct public voting.
The completion of the parliament’s composition marks another step in the new regime’s efforts to establish state institutions and create the appearance of an orderly political process. At the same time, the manner in which the parliament was formed also reflects the governance challenges facing Damascus. The elections were not held simultaneously across the country, and their completion took many months due to territorial control gaps, security challenges, and local political tensions, further evidence that post-Assad Syria remains far from achieving stability and effective sovereignty over its entire territory.
Only this past weekend, exchanges of fire took place between regime forces and Druze militias in Suwayda.
It was only in May 2026 that elections were held in northeastern Syria, in areas that until recently had been under the control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The elections in these areas had been postponed from October 2025 due to the unstable security situation and the fact that the regime had not yet reestablished effective control over the region. Completing the electoral process following the reintegration of these areas into the Syrian state was intended to signal the expansion of Damascus’s authority, but it does not necessarily indicate that the political disputes between the central government and the Kurdish actors have been resolved.
By contrast, Suwayda Province remained the only region in Syria where no elections were held. This was due to the ongoing tensions between the Druze population and the new regime, as well as internal divisions within the Druze leadership regarding the future of relations with Damascus, ranging from support for integration into the Syrian state to demands for greater autonomy (see our May 2026 report, The Druze in Suwayda: Ideological Divisions, Fragmented Leadership, and Multiple Armed Groups).
Against this backdrop, President Ahmad al-Sharaa chose to appoint two members of parliament representing Suwayda Province as part of his quota of 70 presidential appointments. The move was intended to provide the province with formal representation despite the absence of elections. However, this representation is largely symbolic, as the representatives were not elected by the province’s residents but were appointed directly by the president.
More at the link
Posted by: badanov ||
07/07/2026 00:00 ||
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— The Iran Watcher 🇮🇷 (@TheIranWatcher) July 6, 2026
Millions gather in Tehran for historic funeral procession of martyred Leader
[HodhodYemenNews] Mourners have poured onto the streets of the Iranian capital as the funeral procession for the martyred Fearless Leader of the Islamic Revolution ...Iran's doddering head theocrat... , Ayatollah Seyyid Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini...> , gets underway, in what officials have described as the largest public gathering in the country’s modern history.
The procession began at 6:00 AM local time (0230 GMT) on Monday from Tehran’s Grand Mosalla religious complex, where the body had lain in state for two days.
Organizers expect the procession to last 10 to 12 hours, winding along a 10-kilometer route through Damavand Street, Imam Hussein Square, Enqelab Street, Enqelab Square, Azadi Street, Azadi Square, and Shahid Lashgari Highway, located near the Mehrabad airport.
On Sunday, Grand Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani led funeral prayers for the martyred Leader, his son-in-law Dr. Mesbah-ul-Hoda Bagheri-Kani, his daughter Zahra Haddad-Adel, his granddaughter Zahra Mohammadi-Golpayegani (14 months old), and Seyyedeh Bushra Hosseini-Khamenei.
Delegations from scores of countries, including heads of state, prime ministers, and bigwigs from Russia, China, India, Pakistain, Iraq, Tajikistan, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... , and dozens of other nations, arrived in Tehran to pay their respects on Friday.
The funeral ceremonies will continue with similar events in the holy city of Qom on Tuesday, followed by processions at the shrines of Imam Ali (AS) in Najaf and Imam Hussein (AS) and Hazrat Abbas (AS) in Karbala on Wednesday.
The burial will take place on Thursday, July 9, at the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad, in accordance with the martyred Leader’s will.
A sea of mourners dressed in black flooded into Iran’s capital Monday for a procession as part of the funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with throngs of people calling for the death of US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin, and those of members of his family killed in a February 28 airstrike at the start of the war launched by Israel and the United States, sat on board a truck decorated to resemble the ornamental grating that surrounds the shrine of an imam. The massive turnout, encouraged by Iran’s theocracy as a sign of strength, came as it negotiates with the US over a permanent end to the war that killed the 86-year-old cleric who ruled Iran for decades.
Helicopter images aired on Iranian state television showed a huge crowd stretching from Tehran’s Azadi Square for miles down a multilane street of the same name.
The crowd appeared to be larger than the one that turned out for the 2020 procession for the late Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force Gen. Qassem Solemani, which drew over 1 million people.
Authorities offered no immediate crowd count as the truck, covered in flower petals, crept down the street.
“Today that we are here for the funeral for our leader, it’s a very tough day,” mourner Fatima Hassan said. “We are not here to say goodbye to him, we are here for revenge. And we will take revenge.”
An effigy of Trump being hanged was seen along the funeral procession’s route.
Mourners reached out to touch the truck, and some threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the coffin, a common practice in Iran seen as a blessing. Attendants, some on the ladders of firetrucks, sprayed misted water across the crowds to cool them in the heat.
Authorities appeared concerned about the dangers of having a large crowd alongside the procession, with officials on loudspeakers urging the public to walk slowly, not to push and to stay to the edges of the street.
Authorities are hoping to avoid a repeat of the chaos that marred the 1989 funeral of Khamenei’s predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which drew an estimated 10 million people, according to state news agency IRNA.
Crowd surges during Khomeini’s farewell killed more than 10 people and injured over 10,000.
It is unclear what level of access and proximity the public will eventually have during Monday’s procession, but authorities are mindful that in 1989 they were forced to use a helicopter to transport Khomeini for burial after mourners stormed his vehicle, causing his burial shroud to tear and his body to fall to the ground.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
07/07/2026 00:00 ||
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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.
...Republic of Somaliland is an unrecognised sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, recognised internationally as a de jure part of Somalia. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden with approximately 5.7 million residents as of 2021. The capital and largest city is Hargeisa. The government regards itself as the successor state to British Somaliland, which united from 1960 to 1991 with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic. Under the Siad Barre regime, Somaliadestroyed ninety percent of Hargeisa Per international law, once you're in, you gotta stay in, no matter how bad it smells....
...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 
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
