Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Ex-Mustaqbal official clenches Beirut municipal seat from rival, broad coalition

2025-05-21

[NAHARNET] al-Mustaqbal
... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...

... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...
Movement's former Beirut coordinator Mahmoud al-Jamal, a retired brigadier general, has managed to clench a seat on Beirut's new municipal council, preventing a list comprising most political parties from winning all 24 seats.

Al-Jamal's win came at the expense of Elie Andrea, a Greek Orthodox member of the rival list who was backed by Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut Elias Audi.

Andrea was the subject of ''dismay, especially among Greek Orthodox voters, which led to the redaction of his name by voters due to his bad performance as a member of the outgoing municipal council,'' the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Andrea had also faced a social media campaign against him prior to the elections against the backdrop of his dispute with outgoing municipal chief Jamal Itani, Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported.

This is the first time in decades that sees Moslems outnumbering Christians in the municipal council. The country's rival political parties had formed an electoral alliance in Beirut under the excuse of preserving Christian-Moslem parity.

Political rivals such as Hezbollah and the Lebanese Forces
A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb...
came together to form the list, which also comprised the Amal Movement, the Kataeb Party, the Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
, al-Ahbash, the Tashnag Party
Socialist party representing the Armenian diaspora in Leb. They're Christians, but they try to remain neutral, which means they get shot at without shooting back...
, the Hunchak Party, the Progressive Socialist Party and MP Fouad Makhzoumi.

Al-Jamal's list was backed by MP Nabil Bader and the Jamaa Islamiya and apparently received votes from Mustaqbal supporters.

Four other lists were also formed in the capital, including one by the Beirut Madinati civil society group, which won one third of the capital's votes in the 2016 polls.

Voter turnout reached only 21% in Beirut, which has historically witnessed similar low turnout levels.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Muslim-Christian parity preserved in Beirut Municipality as list backed by main political parties wins

2025-05-20

[NAHARNET] A list backed by most political parties won all 24 seats of Beirut's municipality on Sunday, maintaining Christian-Moslem parity on the capital's municipal council.

Political rivals such as Hezbollah and the Lebanese Forces
A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb...
came together to form the list, arguing that such a temporary coalition was necessary to preserve equal Christian-Moslem power-sharing.

The list was also backed by the Amal Movement, the Kataeb Party, the Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
, al-Ahbash, the Tashnag Party
Socialist party representing the Armenian diaspora in Leb. They're Christians, but they try to remain neutral, which means they get shot at without shooting back...
, the Hunchak Party and MP Fouad Makhzoumi.

A rival list was formed by MP Nabil Bader, the Jamaa Islamiya and a figure who was considered close to al-Mustaqbal
... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...

... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...
Movement.

Four other lists were also formed in the capital, including one by the Beirut Madinati civil society group, which won one third of the capital's votes in the 2016 polls.

Voter turnout reached 21% in Beirut, 44.57% in Zahle, 41.11% in West Bekaa, 37.70% in Rashaya, 34.15% in Hermel and 48.88% in Baalbek.

The Lebanese Forces meanwhile announced its victory in the Zahle municipal polls against a list backed by all the other political forces and families in an electoral battle in which the Free Patriotic Movement gave its supporters the freedom to vote for either list.

LF leader Samir Geagea
....Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005....
hailed a ''major victory'' in the city, saying ''Zahle has chosen progress, change, civilization, illusory sovereignty, deaders and Leb
Leb

...The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
A Hezbollah front man meanwhile said the party and its ally the Amal Movement won in the city of Baalbek, the city of Hermel and in 19 towns in the Bekaa.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Main political parties agree on coalition list for Beirut municipal elections — Naharnet

2025-05-07

[NAHARNET] The country's main political parties have agreed on forming a unified electoral list for Beirut's municipal vote, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

''A meeting was held yesterday at MP Fouad Makhzoumi's home in the presence of representatives of parties and Beiruti figures, which resulted in an agreement on forming a coalition list in Beirut,'' the daily said.

The list will comprise candidates nominated by Hezbollah, the Amal Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
, the Lebanese Forces
A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb...
, the Kataeb Party, al-Ahbash, the Tashnag Party
Socialist party representing the Armenian diaspora in Leb. They're Christians, but they try to remain neutral, which means they get shot at without shooting back...
and the Hunchak Party, the newspaper added. MP Nabil Bader and the Jamaa Islamiya meanwhile stayed outside the coalition, al-Akhbar said.

''Over the past hours, Bader contacted a number of figures trying to convince them to join a list that he intends to form in the face of the political forces' list, but he is facing difficulty in convincing these figures, who believe that it will be a lost battle,'' the daily added.

The Beirut Madinati civil society coalition, which garnered one third of the votes in 2016, is meanwhile expected to form a third list.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Aoun says disarmament to happen through dialogue, not force — Naharnet

2025-05-05

Not actually, no. Disarmaments happen after the party of the second part has been defeated, and has no choice. When the party of the second part does not disarm, the war inevitably resumes. In this case, the Lebanese Army is disarming Hezbollah to forestall Israel turning malign attention in their direction as an ally of Hezbollah.

[NAHARNET] President Joseph Aoun has stressed that the Lebanese Army is doing a ''mighty job'' and that its operations are still ongoing in the area south of the Litani River, despite the ''geographic challenges and limited capabilities.''

In a meeting with the editors-in-chief of Emirati newspapers on the sidelines of his visit to the UAE, Aoun added that the army is now focusing on ''defusing the war possibility in the South Litani area.''

''The decision of limiting arms to the hands of the state has been taken, through dialogue over concerns, not through force that leads to civil war,'' the president said.

He added that he will not accept a civil war in the country under any circumstances.

It’s not actually up to you your Excellency.

Link

Good Morning

2025-04-26

California floats plan to allow homeless
students to sleep in their cars amid housing crisis

Saturday 04/26/2025

Abu Mohammed al-Jolani wants Syria to recognise Israel

dianadors8

Israel-Palestine-Jordan Police find unexploded bomb near Netivot, believe it was left there by Hamas during Oct. 7 attack		Arabia Mercenaries engage in violent infighting in occupied Mahrah
Israel-Palestine-Jordan At least 50 Palestinians massacred in Gaza		Israel-Palestine-Jordan Al-Qassam Brigades: We will fight till either victory or martyrdom
Syria-Lebanon-Iran Army seizes Jamaa Islamiya posts and arms in South		Syria-Lebanon-Iran Lebanon gets $250 million World Bank loan to ease electricity crisis

Good samaritans stop kidnapping in
progress of mother and two small children in Florida

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Army seizes Jamaa Islamiya posts and arms in South

2025-04-26

[NAHARNET] A video circulating online shows the Lebanese Army seizing control of military posts, weapons and rockets in the southern region of al-Orqoub.

Al-Jadeed television meanwhile reported that the military posts and arms belonged to Leb
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
's Jamaa Islamiya group, a Hamas
Hamas

..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
ally.

Al-Jadeed added that the area had been fully evacuated by Jamaa Islamiya.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Jamaa Islamiya commander killed in Israeli strike near Damour — Naharnet

2025-04-23

[NAHARNET] A leader from Hamas
Hamas

..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
-aligned Jamaa Islamiya was killed Tuesday in an Israeli strike near Damour, the Lebanese Islamist group and Israel's military said.

Israel has continued to carry out regular strikes on Leb
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects....
despite a November truce with Hezbollah that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities between the foes including two months of all-out war.

Lebanon's civil defense said "an Israeli drone targeted a car" near the coastal town of Damour, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Beirut, and rescuers recovered a man's body.

Jamaa Islamiya in a statement announced the death of Hussein Atwi, calling him "an academic leader and university professor" and saying an Israeli dronezap "targeted his car as he was traveling to his workplace in Beirut."

The Israeli army said the air force had "eliminated" Atwi, calling him "a significant terrorist in the Jamaa Islamiya terrorist organization."

A Lebanese security official, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said Atwi was a leader of Jamaa Islamiya's armed wing, the al-Fajr Forces.

The official said Israel had previously targeted Atwi during its recent war with Hezbollah.

An AFP photographer saw the charred wreckage of a car at the scene. The Lebanese Army had cordoned off the area and forensic teams were conducting an inspection.

Jamaa Islamiya, closely linked to both Paleostinian Death Eater group Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, grabbed credit for multiple attacks against Israel before the November 27 ceasefire.

The Israeli military said Atwi had been "involved in planning and advancing terrorist activity from Lebanon into Israeli territory" and had operated "in coordination with Hamas in Lebanon."

It said he had "carried out rocket attacks, coordinated terrorist infrastructure... and advanced attempts to infiltrate into Israeli territory."

Under the truce, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters north of Lebanon's Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

Israel was to withdraw all its forces from south Lebanon, but troops remain in five positions that it deems "strategic".

Israel on Sunday said it had killed two senior Hezbollah members in strikes on Lebanon.

Lebanese authorities have said Israeli fire has killed some 190 people since the ceasefire.

After unclaimed rocket fire against Israel in late March, Lebanon's army said last week it had arrested several Lebanese and Paleostinian suspects, while a security official said they included three Hamas members.

The Times of Israel adds:

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the strike in the Lebanese coastal town of Haret en-Naameh, just south of Beirut, targeted Hussein Izzat Mohammad Atwi, a member of the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group) organization, which is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood in Lebanon.

The military said Atwi was also affiliated with Hamas in Lebanon, and worked alongside the Palestinian terror group to advance attacks on Israel from Lebanon, in an attempt to harm IDF troops operating on the northern border.

Atwi was behind rocket fire over the years and had also directed terror cells in Lebanon to launch attacks on Israel, including infiltrations, the IDF said.

He also worked to advance attacks against Israeli targets abroad, the military added.

Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, like Hamas, is a Sunni faction that forms part of the broader Muslim Brotherhood political network. The armed wing of the group, the al-Fajr Forces, repeatedly targeted Israel from Lebanon amid the war, often working in conjunction with the Shiite Hezbollah terror group.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Israeli drone strike in Beirut said to kill two members of another Sunni terror group

2024-09-30

[IsraelTimes] Two people were killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut shortly after midnight on Monday, a Lebanese security source says, the first strike in a part of the city that wasn’t in the Dahiyeh Hezbollah stronghold in the southern suburbs.

An Israeli drone targeted an apartment belonging to two members of the Lebanese terror group al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group), says the source.

Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, like Hamas, is a Sunni faction that forms part of the broader Muslim Brotherhood political network. The armed wing of the group, the al-Fajr Forces, has repeatedly targeted Israel from Lebanon in the current war, often working in conjunction with the Shi’ite Hezbollah.

The IDF has yet to comment on the strike, but does tweet that the army is targeting Hezbollah sites in the Bekaa Valley region of Lebanon.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Jamaa Islamiya resumes rocket attacks on Israel

2024-09-12

[An Nahar] Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
’s Jamaa Islamiya said Monday that its military wing fired a volley of rockets at Israel’s Beit Hillel military post in the Kiryat Shmona settlement, resuming military action from Lebanon against Israel after several months of apparent suspension.

The group said its attack came after Israel escalated "its aggression against our people and villages in the South and in support of our people in 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 an 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...
and Paleostine as part of the national and humanitarian duties."

Several groups allied to Hamas
Hamas

..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
have exchanged near-daily fire with Israeli forces along Lebanon's southern border since war erupted in the Gaza Strip following Hamas's October 7 attacks on southern Israel.

The groups say they are acting in solidarity with Hamas and Paleostinians in the Gaza Strip.

Jamaa Islamiya has carried out "joint operations with Hamas" in Lebanon, according to an official from the small Sunni Moslem movement.

"All forces that operate in south Lebanon coordinate their actions," Ali Abu Yassin, head of Jamaa Islamiya's political bureau, told AFP in March.

The group announced the death of seven of its medics in an Israeli ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
in south Lebanon that month and Israel has carried out drone liquidations of several of its commanders.

Mohanad Hage Ali, from the Carnegie Middle East Center, said Jamaa Islamiya was "operating as an extension of Hamas in Lebanon," describing the two movements' relationship as "organic."

Hage Ali says Jamaa Islamiya has "around 500 gunnies" but has played only a "marginal political role" in Lebanon with just one politician in the national parliament.

Jamaa Islamiya and Hamas both come from the same ideological school as the Moslem Brüderbund, a Sunni Islamist group with origins in Egypt.

Link

Government Corruption

Georgia Supreme Court removes judge accused of pushing cop in foul-mouthed scuffle outside nightclub

2024-06-27

[NYPOST] The embattled judge, who was elected and sworn into office in December 2020, was at one point facing a whopping 50 counts of alleged misconduct — the first of which was filed less than a year into her four-year term.[NYPOST] The Georgia Supreme Court removed a county probate judge who was recently arrested for allegedly shoving a cop in a profanity-laden scuffle outside an Atlanta nightclub.

Douglas County Probate Judge Christina Peterson was removed from office and banned from holding any judicial post in the state for seven years after Georgia’s highest court issued its opinion of disbarment on Tuesday.

But it wasn’t her highly-publicized and caught-on-bodycam-footage arrest that led to her removal from the bar.

Peterson, 38, separately "exhibited a pattern of judicial misconduct while in office," the Judicial Qualifications Commission found in a probe into her behavior.

The embattled judge, who was elected and sworn into office in December 2020, was at one point facing a whopping 50 counts of alleged misconduct — the first of which was filed less than a year into her four-year term. Of those, 20 were dismissed, while a hearing panel investigated the other 30.

The panel found clear and convincing evidence to find Peterson guilty of 28 of the 30 counts and concluded that she should be removed from the bench, according to its March report.

The high court agreed and found that Peterson showed a "flagrant disregard for the law, court rules, and judicial conduct rules" — as well as a "pattern of violations" of judicial rules.

In one of the "extremely concerning" violations, Peterson held a woman who appealed to the judge to correct an error on her marriage certificate in criminal contempt. She then sentenced her to the maximum jail time of 20 days behind bars plus a fine "without explanation or justification," the panel found.

She was also accused of letting unauthorized people enter the county courthouse after hours without proper screening and using deputies to work overtime on her behalf with taxpayer money, the court said.

Peterson’s inappropriate behavior extended outside the courthouse as well. She was accused of engaging in "hostile exchanges" with neighbors at her homeowners association meeting, while suing the association.

Peterson is also banned from holding any judicial office in the state for seven years. City of Atlanta Police Department

Her repeated behavior "did not demonstrate the decorum and temperament required of a judge," the state supreme court said in its opinion.

The Georgia Supreme Court did not consider Peterson’s viral arrest Thursday in its determination as it was not part of the investigation. But the accusations against her only further damaged her reputation.

The judge allegedly pushed an off-duty Atlanta cop outside the Red Martini Restaurant and Lounge twice in the chest and was charged with simple battery against a police officer and obstruction of a law enforcement officer.

Peterson interfered with the officer as he was trying to de-escalate a situation involving a security guard escorting a woman out of the club, police said. She allegedly knocked the cop’s hands away from the woman and pushed him in the chest twice during the 3 a.m. altercation, according to the department.

"Let her f—cking go, let her f—cking go," Peterson yells at the guard and police officer, according to the footage released by Atlanta police and obtained by local outlets.

The judge was quickly handcuffed and placed in the back of a police cruiser, where she shouted expletives and refused to give her name to the officer.

The embattled judge, who was elected and sworn into office in December 2020, was at one point facing a whopping 50 counts of alleged misconduct — the first of which was filed less than a year into her four-year term.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Hezbollah attacks Israeli barracks after Jamaa Islamiya commander killed in strike

2024-06-24

[An Nahar] Hezbollah said Sunday it had targeted a military position in northern Israel with an armed drone in response to the killing of an Islamist commander.

Israel and the powerful Iran-backed group, a Hamas
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
ally, have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since the 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 an 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...
war erupted on October 7.

Hezbollah's announcement came hours after it published a video excerpt purporting to show locations in Israel along with their coordinates, amid heightening fears of an all-out conflict between the two foes.

On Saturday, the Jamaa Islamiya group announced the death of one of its commanders, Ayman Ghotmeh, saying he was killed "in a treacherous Zionist raid" in Khiara in Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
's West Bekaa area.

Israel later confirmed it had carried out the strike, saying Ghotmeh was responsible for supplying the Fajr Forces, Jamaa Islamiya's armed wing, and Hamas with weapons in the area.

Hezbollah on Sunday said its fighters launched a strike "with an attack drone" on a military leadership position in the Beit Hillel barracks "in response to the liquidation carried out by the Israeli enemy in the town of Khiara."

The Israeli military meanwhile said in a statement that a drone had "crossed from Lebanon and fell in the area of Beit Hillel," adding that "no injuries were reported."

Cross-border tensions have surged over the past days, with Israel's military announcing on Tuesday that a plan for an offensive in Lebanon had been "approved and validated."

Hezbollah chief MSayyed
MSayyed

...Arabic term meaning your/his lordship. Groveling in His Exalted Presence is encouraged...
His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
...The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...>
responded with threats that no part of Israel would be spared in the event of an all-out war.

The Lebanese gang on Saturday evening published a video showing Israeli positions and coordinates, along with an excerpt of Nasrallah's speech in which he says "if war is imposed on Lebanon, the resistance will fight without restrictions or rules."

Days earlier, it had circulated a nine-minute video showing aerial footage purportedly taken by the group over northern Israel, including what it said were sensitive military, defense and energy facilities and infrastructure in the city and port of Haifa.

The cross-border violence has killed at least 480 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters but also 93 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

Israeli authorities say at least 15 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed in Israel's north.

Link

Home Front: Politix

Jamal Bowman is an Idiot

2024-05-08

[MSN] A member of the far-left "Squad" facing a tough challenge from within his own party recently attended a fundraiser co-hosted by an Islamic leader who said he was "happy to see" the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who represents New York's 16th Congressional District, attended the May 1 fundraiser at a private residence in Fairfax, Virginia, and didn't seem to mind the presence of Nihad Awad, a highly controversial and antisemitic figure who serves as the national executive director and co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Awad faced sharp scrutiny last year after expressing his pleasure with the Hamas attack that resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,200 Israelis, including women and babies, and claiming Israel "does not have a right to self-defense."

"The people of Gaza only decided to break the siege — the walls of the concentration camp — on Oct. 7," Awad said during the 16th annual Convention for Palestine on Nov. 24 near Chicago. "And yes, I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land and walk free into their land that they were not free to walk in."

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