Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
US says new Syrian government will help locate missing Americans |
2025-05-26 |
[X] President Trump makes it clear HTS needs to pay to play.
Syria agrees to help US find missing citizens: Envoy [Rudaw] Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (right) meeting US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack (left) in Istanbul on May 24, Syria’s interim government has agreed to help the United States find its missing citizens or their remains, the US special envoy said on Sunday, a day after meeting interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. “A powerful step forward. The new Syrian government has agreed to assist the USA in locating and returning USA citizens or their remains. The families of Austin Tice, Majd Kamalmaz, and Kayla Mueller must have closure,” Tom Barrack, who also serves as the US ambassador to Turkey, said on X. Barrack met Sharaa and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Istanbul on Saturday after Washington lifted sanctions on Damascus, discussing a host of topics including investment opportunities and joint security cooperation. Tice, a freelance journalist for outlets such as AFP and The Washington Post, has been missing in Syria since 2012 after being detained at a checkpoint. Kamalmaz, a Syrian-American psychologist from Virginia, vanished in Syria in 2017 after being stopped at a regime checkpoint, and aid worker Mueller was kidnapped by the Islamic State (ISIS), which announced her death in a Jordanian airstrike in 2015, but her death remains disputed by Washington. “President Trump has made it clear that bringing home USA citizens or honoring, with dignity, their remains is a major priority everywhere. The new Syrian Government will aid us in this commitment,” Barrack said. An informed Syrian source told AFP that 11 Americans are on Washington’s list for a search mission for the remains of Americans killed by ISIS in Syria. During a trip to the Middle East last week, Trump announced his decision to lift sanctions on Syria. The next day, Trump met with Sharaa during a summit in Riyadh, hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and attended remotely by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Trump urged Sharaa to normalize relations with Israel, expel all “foreign terrorists” from Syria, and cooperate with the US to prevent an ISIS resurgence, according to a White House statement. On Friday, the US Treasury issued the Syria General License (GL) 25 to effectively lift all sanctions. Since taking office in January after toppling the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, the new leadership in Damascus has made lifting international sanctions a top priority. While several countries have expressed openness to removing Assad-era restrictions, they have emphasized the need for the new leadership to meet critical benchmarks such as inclusive governance and fighting terrorism. |
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Fifth Column |
Day 4: Did 'Free Palestine' Terrorist Get Support from Goldman Sachs and China? |
2025-05-25 |
![]() The New York Post did just that with the man who slaughtered two Israeli embassy employees outside a Jewish museum this week. Isabel Vincent traces the path that Elias Rodriguez has taken over the last several years on his way to becoming a cowardly terrorist assassin, taking particular note of his allegiance to the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), as well as International ANSWER and other radical-leftist alliances. And the funding for PSL runs through one man, who also has a particular affinity for the regime in Beijing: The suspected terrorist charged with gunning down two Israeli embassy workers in Washington Wednesday is associated with radical socialist groups funded by the far-left Chinese sympathizer, millionaire Neville Singham and his activist wife Jodie Evans. Elias Rodriguez, 31, who allegedly confessed to killing the couple outside the Capital Jewish Museum and chanted "free, free Paleostine!" was part of that network through his association with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a Communist political organization that has fielded presidential candidates since 2008. ... Both the PSL and ANSWER Coalition are connected to People’s Forum — a Manhattan-based non-profit which has ties to the Chinese Communist Party — through funding from Singham, 71. The funding -- $20 million -- also got filtered through Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund (GSPF). If it seems strange that a capitalist financial institution is funding radical socialists like ANSWER and the PSL, it is, but it's hardly the only bastion of free markets to buy the rope by which the forces of Evil want to lynch them. The Ford Foundation comes to mind, as does the Tides Foundation, founded on the RJ Reynolds tobacco fortune, among others. Arabella Advisors, a shadowy coalition of the world's wealthiest industrialists, also pours a tsunami of money into radical-left causes. And in case you wonder, that's the same Jodie Evans that co-founded Code Pink ... a U.S. anti-war group. The group describes itself as a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities.It was founded in 2002 by Jodie Evans, Medea Benjamin and of the other usual antiwar suspects. Its website lists hysterical allegations of US war crimes, and states that thousands of civilians were killed in Fallujah in 2004. Maybe it was millions. Benjamin was a 2000 candidate for the U.S. Senate on the Green Party ticket. She lost... with Medea Benjamin to protest the Iraq War. Apparently Evans only cares about some violence, and has completely flipped on China after marrying Singham. That impression comes from another affiliation with the Singhams that Vincent points out to her readers: Another group, the Bronx Antiwar Coalition is also connected to groups in Singham’s orbit. The Bronx group applauded the murders of the Israeli diplomats on X Thursday. "What Elias Rodriguez did is the highest expression of anti-Zionism," a tweet from the group proclaimed. So Rodriguez has connections to both PSL and ANSWER, and an endorsement from the Bronx Antiwar Coalition, all of which have ties to Singham and Evans. What about China? In a book written by Evans, Vincent reports that she and her husband fund something called the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research. According to a May 2024 report from the Network Contagion Research Institute linked by Vincent, this entity as well as the People's Forum get support from the Chinese Communist Party as part of an effort to wreak political havoc in the US: Evans is set to release a book in January 2025 titled "China is Not Our Enemy," which she co-authored with a researcher employed by the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research and Dongsheng News.17 Both the Tricontinental Institute and Dongsheng News have ties to the CCP and have received funding from Singham, with the Tricontinental Institute also receiving partial funding from Code Pink. Are Singham and Evans the only source of that funding? Not according to NCRI, which also suspects that the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund is operating as a dark-money clearinghouse for overseas funding: Between 2017 and 2022, the People’s Forum received over $20 million in grants from the GSPF, with $12 million transferred in 2019 alone. As previous reporting has detailed, GSPF appears to function as a dark money clearinghouse, obscuring the identity of donors while facilitating the transfer of substantial sums to American non-profits. In November 2023, a Tax-Exempt Organization Complaint was filed with the IRS ...the Internal Revenue Service; that office of the United States government that collects taxes and persecutes the regime's political enemies... against The People’s Forum, alleging that: "De Los Santos and the People’s Forum Inc. have been advocating in support of the U.S. designated foreign terror organization Hamas ![]() in its war on Israel and Jews and also advocates for the overthrow of the United States." How does Singham make his money? The NCRI report is equally interested in that question: According to an investigation conducted by the New York Times ![]() ...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... (NYT), Singham’s "ties to the propaganda machine date back at least to 2019, when, corporate documents show, he started a consulting business with Chinese partners. Those partners are active in the propaganda apparatus." According to a report in Newlines Magazine, Singham is invested in at least two other major Chinese companies, underscoring the depth of his business interests in mainland China. In July 2023, Singham was photographed at a strategic communications workshop hosted by the CCP in Shanghai.14 As recent as November 2023, India’s Enforcement Directorate summoned Singham for questioning regarding his Delhi-based news portal NewsClick, which was raided in 2021 for suspected acceptance of illegal funds from China to promote CCP propaganda deemed a threat to India’s national security. In 2023, even the New York Times found Singham's cash flow to be highly suspicious: In fact, a New York Times investigation found, it is part of a lavishly funded influence campaign that defends China and pushes its propaganda. At the center is a charismatic American millionaire, Neville Roy Singham, who is known as a socialist benefactor of far-left causes. What is less known, and is hidden amid a tangle of nonprofit groups and shell companies, is that Mr. Singham works closely with the Chinese government media machine and is financing its propaganda worldwide. From a think tank in Massachusetts to an event space in Manhattan, from a political party in South Africa to news organizations in India and Brazil, The Times tracked hundreds of millions of dollars to groups linked to Mr. Singham that mix progressive advocacy with Chinese government talking points. At the time, the NYT didn't report any connection specifically to Hamas or Paleostinian propaganda, but this was less than five months before Hamas' atrocities on October 7, too. People's Forum makes an appearance, as does the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund, although the NYT only refers to it as a charity: Since 2017, about a quarter of Code Pink’s donations — more than $1.4 million — have come from two groups linked to Mr. Singham, nonprofit records show. The first was one of the UPS store nonprofits. The second was a charity that Goldman Sachs offers as a conduit for clients’ giving, and that Mr. Singham has used in the past. Ms. Evans now stridently supports China. She casts it as a defender of the oppressed and a model for economic growth without slavery or war. Vincent's reporting raises a lot of questions about the "globalize the intifada" movement in the US. Hamas may not be the only malefactor behind it, and it's time to start asking Goldman Sachs about their "charity" work -- as well as Singham and Evans about their cash flow, and whether they're redirecting Beijing's resources into Eric Rodriguez is a member of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), one of the most radical left unions in the U.S. He made a video for SEIU the same day he was honored by Rep. Garcia, in which he referred to himself as an Iraq War veteran and Veterans Affairs employee. “I’ve been with the VA for three years, and the reason why I’m in Washington, D.C., is because I’m concerned about what Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE are doing to the VA system,” he said in the video. Addressing the monumental problems at the VA is almost an exercise in futility. The agency that is supposed to care for our veterans is a bloated, inefficient mess. The VA stated that the canceled contracts "were identified through a multi-level review" and "will not negatively affect Veteran care, benefits, or services," though this claim has been met with skepticism, reports NBC News. Another PJ Media article has this to say about the murdered Israeli, Yaron Lischinsky: Lischinsky was a Messianic Jew, that is, a Jewish person who believes in Jesus (or Yeshua, to use His Hebrew name.)Messianic Judaism is a touchy subject in the larger Jewish community, but One for Israel has an excellent, extensive history that’s worth reading. My Jewish Learning drips with condescension when it characterizes Messianic Judaism as a movement that “has tried to straddle the line between Judaism and Christianity.” The headline of that explainer uses mock-quotes to ask, “Who Are Messianic ‘Jews’?” In its profile of Lischinsky, the Jewish news site Forward explains: Messianic Judaism is a religious movement made up of people who identify ethnically and culturally as Jewish and believe that Jesus — whom they call Yeshua — is the promised Messiah. Most adherents consider themselves Jewish, a position rejected by the mainstream Jewish community but embraced by congregations like Melech Ha’Mlachim [where Lischinsky worshiped]. Forward adds that “most Messianic congregations in Israel are locally run and culturally Jewish, with Torah readings, Hebrew prayer and Jewish holiday observance.” Many, if not most, American Messianic synagogues do as well. The controversy over Messianic Judaism isn’t lost on Forward: Still, Lischinsky’s religious identity has stirred confusion in the wake of his death. Ronen Shoval, dean of the Argaman Institute in Jerusalem, where Lischinsky participated in a yearlong program, described him to The New York Times as “a devout Christian” who “tied his fate to the people of Israel.” Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, also referred to him as Christian in a tribute posted to social media. But [Lischinsky’s friend David] Boskey pushed back on that framing. He said that Lischinsky, like others in their congregation, saw himself as a Jew who believed Jesus was the Messiah — and that this belief did not negate his Jewish identity. Related: Elias Rodriguez 05/24/2025 Father of accused killer of Israeli diplomats is closely acquainted with Illinois Democrat Elias Rodriguez 05/24/2025 Day 3: Feds charge Capital Jewish Museum killer with murder Elias Rodriguez 05/23/2025 A diplomatic storm: Self-inflicted PR damage complicates Israel's uphill battle |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
Iran has several major nuclear program sites, now subject of negotiations with the US |
2025-05-25 |
[AnNahar] 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 spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word Iranis a cognate form of Aryan.The abbreviation IRGCis the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either Duceor Führeror maybe both. They hate has multiple major sites associated with its rapidly advancing nuclear program, now the subject of several rounds of negotiations with the United States. The sites across the country, including one in the heart of Tehran, the capital, show the breadth and history of the program. One in particular, Iran's Natanz enrichment site, has been targeted several times in suspected sabotage attacks by Israel amid tensions between the two Mideast rivals. Here's a look at some of those major Iranian sites and their importance in Tehran's program. NATANZ ENRICHMENT FACILITY Iran's nuclear facility at Natanz, located some 220 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Tehran, is the country's main enrichment site. Part of the facility on Iran's Central Plateau is underground to defend against potential ![]() KABOOM!... s. It operates multiple cascades, or groups of centrifuges working together to more quickly enrich uranium. Iran also is burrowing into the Kūh-e Kolang Gaz Lā, or "Pickaxe Mountain," which is just beyond Natanz's southern fencing. Natanz has been targeted by the Stuxnet virus, believed to be an Israeli and American creation, which destroyed Iranian centrifuges. Two separate sabotage attacks, attributed to Israel, also have struck the facility. FORDO ENRICHMENT FACILITY Iran's nuclear facility at Fordo is located some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tehran. It also hosts centrifuge cascades, but isn't as big a facility as Natanz. Buried under a mountain and protected by anti-aircraft batteries, Fordo appears designed to withstand airstrikes. Its construction began at least in 2007, according to the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency, although Iran only informed the U.N. nuclear watchdog about the facility in 2009 after the U.S. and allied Western intelligence agencies became aware of its existence. BUSHEHR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT Iran's only commercial nuclear power plant is in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf, some 750 kilometers (465 miles) south of Tehran. Construction on the plant began under Iran's Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the mid-1970s. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the plant was repeatedly targeted in the Iran-Iraq war. Russia later completed construction of the facility. Iran is building two other reactors like it at the site. Bushehr is fueled by uranium produced in Russia, not Iran, and is monitored by the United Nations ...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense... ' ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency. ARAK HEAVY WATER REACTOR The Arak heavy water reactor is 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Tehran. Heavy water helps cool nuclear reactors, but it produces plutonium as a byproduct that can potentially be used in nuclear weapons. That would provide Iran another path to the bomb beyond enriched uranium, should it choose to pursue the weapon. Iran had agreed under its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers to redesign the facility to relieve proliferation concerns. ISFAHAN NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY CENTER The facility in Isfahan, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) southeast of Tehran, employs thousands of nuclear scientists. It also is home to three Chinese research reactors and laboratories associated with the country's atomic program. TEHRAN RESEARCH REACTOR The Tehran Research Reactor is at the headquarters of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, the civilian body overseeing the country's atomic program. The U.S. actually provided Iran the reactor in 1967 as part of America's "Atoms for Peace" program during the Cold War. It initially required highly enriched uranium but was later retrofitted to use low-enriched uranium over proliferation concerns. |
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The Grand Turk |
Turkish prosecutors target 63 military members over ties to 2016 coup attempt |
2025-05-25 |
Sultan Erdogan Recep Tayip I “the much beloved” is feeling feisty again. [AnNahar] Prosecutors in ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund... issued arrest warrants for 63 active-duty military personnel Friday over links to a group accused of attempting a coup in 2016. Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said the suspects included four colonels and came from the army, navy, air force and gendarmerie. Early morning raids across the country resulted in 56 suspects being detained. They are allegedly tied to an outlawed group that Turkey refers to as the Fethullahist Terror Organization, or FETO. Its leader, Fethullah Gülen >... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world. Gülen and Erdogan used to be really good friends, but only one of them could be sultan, and Gülen lost. He pegged out in 2024...> , died in October last year in the United States, where he had lived since 1999 in self-imposed exile. Some 290 people were killed in July 2016 when rogue military units erupted into the streets of Ankara and Istanbul in a bid to depose the government of President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ![]() . Jet fighters bombed the parliament building and presidential palace while Erdogan narrowly escaped liquidation or capture while vacationing on the west coast. A subsequent purge of the military, police, judiciary and other state agencies saw tens of thousands arrested. Schools, businesses and media organizations tied to Gulen were closed down. The prosecutor's statement said those targeted Friday were identified through telephone communications and said FETO still posed the "greatest threat to the constitutional order and survival of the state." Since the failed coup, 25,801 military suspects have been detained, it added. The statement did not specify the exact charges against the suspects. Gulen, a former holy man, amassed a worldwide following over decades and aided Erdogan's rise to power in 2003. The alliance broke down after the government closed some Gulen-run educational establishments and Gulenists ...the Turkish version of the Boogie Man, who set fire to the Turkish Reichsstag... in the police and judiciary pursued corruption allegations against Erdogan's government. Gulen always denied any involvement in the failed coup. He was wanted in Turkey, which repeatedly demanded his extradition from the U.S. The coup attempt contributed to the acceleration of authoritarian tendencies in Turkey, with Erdogan's government implementing measures that consolidated his powers. Related: Fethullahist Terror Organization 12/03/2018 Erdogan, Trump discuss clearing Manbij of YPG Fethullahist Terror Organization 06/06/2017 Gülen, two HDP MPs and 127 others face denaturalization within three months Fethullahist Terror Organization 06/03/2017 President Erdogan files criminal complaint against ex-Pentagon official Michael Rubin Related: Gulenists 04/13/2025 Israel will need to get used to Turkey’s growing footprint in Syria Gulenists 11/18/2024 Fight against terrorism is key issue in US-Türkiye relations, says Turkish top diplomat Gulenists 10/27/2024 Erdogan has never sat in this chair. Who doesn't want to accept Turkey into BRICS |
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China-Japan-Koreas |
Kim furious over failed destroyer launch, vows to arrest those responsible |
2025-05-25 |
[AnNahar] North Korea![]() is seeking to arrest those responsible for the failed launch of its second naval destroyer, as it denied the warship suffered major damage — a claim quickly met with outside skepticism. A statement from North Korea on its handling of the botched launch came after leader Kim PudgeJong-un ...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished... expressed fury over the incident that he said was caused by criminal negligence. The main military committee said Friday that those responsible would be held accountable for their "unpardonable criminal act." Satellite imagery on the site showed the vessel lying on its side and draped in blue covers, with parts of it submerged. North Korea says it will take about 10 days to repair the damage, but outside observers question that timeframe because damage to the ship appeared much worse than what North Korea claims. Here is what you need to know about the failed ship launch: HOW MUCH DAMAGE WAS THERE TO THE SHIP? North Korea's state media said Friday the severity of the damage to the 5,000-ton-class destroyer was "not serious" as it canceled an earlier assessment that the bottom of the hull had been left with holes. It said the hull on the starboard side was scratched and some seawater had flowed into the stern section. It said it needs a total of 10 days to pump out the seawater, set the ship upright and fix the scratches. It's almost impossible to verify the assessment because of the extremely secretive nature of North Korea. It has a history of manipulating or covering up military-related setbacks, policy fiascoes and other mishaps, though it has periodically acknowledged some in recent years. Lee Illwoo, an expert with the Korea Defense Network in South Korea, said the North Korean warship likely suffered much worse damage, including the flooding of its engine room located in the stern section, and holes in the starboard. He said North Korea could simply set the ship upright, paint it over and claim the ship has been launched, but that repairs could take more than a year as the replacement of an engine requires cutting the hull. WHY THE SHIP'S LAUNCH FAILED According to the North Korean account, the destroyer was damaged when a transport cradle on the ship's stern detached early during a launch ceremony at the northeastern port of Chongjin on Wednesday. Moon Keun-sik, a navy expert who teaches at Seoul's Hanyang University, said North Korean workers are probably not familiar with launching a 5,000-ton-class warship, which is a few times heavier than its existing main navy ships. Observers say North Korea tried to launch the destroyer sideways, a method it has never used for warships, although it has previously employed it with big cargo and passenger ships. Compared with those non-military vessels, Lee sad it would be more difficult to maintain balance with the destroyer because it's equipped with heavy weapons systems. He suspected North Korean scientists and officials likely did not factor that in. HOW KIM HAS REACTED The damaged ship is assessed as the same class as North Korea's first destroyer, launched with great fanfare last month with a floating dry dock at a western shipyard. It is North Korea's biggest and most advanced warship to date, and Kim called its construction "a breakthrough" in modernizing North Korea's naval forces to cope with what he calls U.S.-led security threats. Subsequently, a failure to launch the second destroyer was an embarrassment for Kim. But by disclosing the failure both internally and externally, Kim could be trying to show his resolve in building greater naval forces and boosting discipline at home. He ordered officials to repair the warship before a ruling Workers' Party meeting in late June. The official Korean Central News Agency said Friday that a team of prosecutors and experts began steps to arrest and investigate those responsible as part of their full-scale investigation into the case. KCNA said that Hong Kil Ho, manager of the Chongjin shipyard, has been summoned for questioning. "No matter how good the state of the warship is, the fact that the accident is an unpardonable criminal act remains unchanged, and those responsible for it can never evade their responsibility for the crime," the North's Central Military Commission said in an instruction to the investigation team, according to KCNA. Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said North Korea appears to be using the failed launch as a chance to strengthen the ruling party's control over science and technological sectors. Lee Choon Geun, an honorary research fellow at South Korea's Science and Technology Policy Institute, said that North Korea's handling of the damaged warship could have long-term consequences for its defense science sector. "If scientists are held severely accountable, I would say the future of North Korea's defense science doesn't look very bright, as it would be a sign that political responsibility is being prioritized over technical accountability," Lee wrote on Facebook. Related: North Korea: 2025-05-21 How Trump's $175billion Golden Dome missile defence can make US 'invulnerable' to nukes from China, Russia, or North Korea - as Beijing warns it will trigger a new arms race amid growing WW3 fears North Korea: 2025-05-16 'Russians are lying': Russia has already begun its summer offensive North Korea: 2025-05-13 Trump Tower Damascus? Syria seeks to charm US president for sanctions relief |
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Arabia |
Death toll in US strikes on al-Qaeda members in Yemen rises to 9 |
2025-05-25 |
![]() The official in Abyan province, which borders the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognized government in Aden, says the strikes killed nine members of the group, including a local leader. The security official, who earlier said the attack had taken place on Friday evening in north Khabar Al-Maraqsha, adds that the strikes hit several locations in the mountainous area known to be used by Al-Qaeda. “I saw five charred bodies at one of the targeted sites, as well as a burned-out car,” a local tribesman tells AFP, adding others killed in the strikes were at another location. Earlier, a second security official, who confirmed an initial toll of five al-Qaeda members killed in the attack, also said that while the names of those killed were unknown, it was believed one of the group’s local leaders was among the dead. |
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Europe |
Sweden to Investigate 'Islamist Infiltration' After Muslim Brotherhood Report [from France] |
2025-05-25 |
![]() A French intelligence report published this week by the Ministry of Interior warned of Islamist fifth columns embedded across Europe, with EU institutions, Muslim associations, and migrant communities all falling prey to a vast network of sworn Muslim Brotherhood members operating in plain sight, often using Western liberal values to veil their nefarious aims in a shroud of legitimacy. While the report focused heavily on the Brotherhood’s activities in France and the EU, the Paris intel identified numerous other countries throughout Europe, including Austria, Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The report also said that “evidence collected attests to the active presence of the movement” in Northern European countries like Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Following its publication, Swedish Minister for Integration Mats Persson said: “I will convene an expert group to get a picture of the situation of Islamist infiltration in Sweden. This is against the background of what has emerged in France.” “Sweden is mentioned in the French report and in many respects has similar challenges to France in terms of integration and counteracting parallel social structures that challenge liberal democracy,” he added. Persson went on to say that the government will “strangle foreign funding of religious communities, where states fund radical mosques” to push back against “these Islamist and undemocratic forces.” According to the French report, Sweden “hosts an active branch of the movement which, in addition to its small size, is characterised by its influence on European movement structures.” The Muslim Brotherhood’s operation in Sweden accomplished this influence with the backing of money from Qatar, Paris claimed. Additionally, Sweden appears to have been an easy target for the Islamist movement given the Nordic nation’s “great tolerance of multiculturalism,” the report found. The French government investigation also alleged that the Muslim Brotherhood took advantage of “good relations” with local political parties, particularly the Swedish Social Democratic Party, the traditional party of government in Stockholm, which oversaw the vast majority of recent mass migration into the country. Social Democrats Party Secretary Tobias Baudin said that the report “does not elaborate” on the alleged ties between his left-wing party and the Muslim Brotherhood, but said: “We have zero tolerance for association with extremist organisations. That line is crystal clear in our party.” However, some have noted that just last year, the leftist party was forced to expel one of its members of parliament, Jamal El-Haj, over his alleged ties to Hamas and for reportedly attempting to lobby the Swedish Migration Agency on behalf of a Muslim Brotherhood-linked Imam to remain in the country. “Jamal El-Haj is no longer a member of our party. It is because we are clear: There should be no interaction with extremist organisations,” Baudin said. |
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Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
‘Attempt to sow panic’: Israelis receive calls of hostages pleading for help |
2025-05-25 |
[IsraelTimes] Apparent spam calls use voice of Yosef-Haim Ohana from Hamas video released earlier this month; Hostages Forum say its members also received calls, stresses it is not behind them Israelis reported receiving recorded voice messages overnight Friday and Saturday of hostages pleading to be released and sounds of explosions in the background, with the National Cyber Directorate saying that the calls were an apparent attempt to create panic among the public. The calls, which came from unidentified numbers, used recordings taken from a propaganda video released by Hamas ![]() in May of hostages Yosef-Haim Ohana and Elkana Bohbot. In the video, Ohana is seen sitting up next to Bohbot, who is lying down on a mattress. "What will happen when I soon won’t be able to be near him and he will remain alone?" Ohana says in the recording. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum released a statement saying that its members had also received the voice messages and that the forum was not behind the recordings. The National Cyber Directorate said the messages were "an attempt to create panic among the public." The directorate added that receiving such a call does not harm the phone, but the call should not be answered, and the number should be blocked. The directorate said the calls were received from the following numbers: 079-9444000; 074-7375311; 072-2604986. Since taking 251 hostages on October 7, 2023, Hamas has often published videos of the captives as a form of propaganda and psychological warfare. Bohbot and Ohana were both kidnapped by forces of Evil at the Supernova festival while trying to help injured people. Terror groups in 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 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 oppressionand disproportionate response... Strip are holding 58 hostages, including 57 of the 251 kidnapped by Hamas-led forces of Evil on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF, and 20 are believed to be alive. There are grave concerns for the well-being of three others, Israeli officials have said. Hamas released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers, and five Thai nationals — and the bodies of eight slain Israeli captives during a ceasefire between January and March, and one additional hostage, a dual American-Israeli citizen, in May as a "gesture" to the United States. The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war. In exchange, Israel has freed some 2,000 tossed in the slammer anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not Paleostinian terrorists, security prisoners, and Gazook terror suspects detained during the war. A number have already been rearrested for misbehaving, and another number have gotten themselves killed, likewise. It’s likely in the end all will achieve one or the other stqte, in boring repetition. Eight hostages have been rescued from captivity by troops alive, and the bodies of 41 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014.The body of another soldier killed in 2014, Lt. Hadar Goldin, is still being held by Hamas and is counted among the 58 hostages. |
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Fifth Column |
Popular US pro-Palestinian TikTok influencer endorses murder of Israeli embassy staffers |
2025-05-25 |
[IsraelTimes] After initially condemning killing of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, Guy Christensen tells his over 3 million followers that shooter ‘isn’t a terrorist. He’s a resistance fighter’ A sweet-faced, vicious asshole. Guy Christensen, a TikTok influencer with more than 3 million followers, came out in support of the shooting attack that killed two Israeli embassy employees."I do not condemn the elimination of the Zionist officials who worked at the Israeli embassy last night," Christensen, an American Gen-Z influencer who goes by YourFavoriteGuy on TikTok, said in a video posted Thursday. "I want to urge you first to support Elias’ actions," he added later, referencing the alleged shooter. "He is not a terrorist. He’s a resistance fighter, and the fact is that the fight against Israel’s war machine, against their genocide machine, against their criminality, includes their foreign diplomats in this country." The video represented a reversal for Christensen, who had earlier posted a video condemning the murders. The video supporting the attack later disappeared from TikTok and Instagram. He appeared to suggest that the platform had removed it: "also tiktok banned my vid LOL," he wrote on a subsequent post. With the video, Christensen joined a growing collection of voices openly supporting the attack. He may be the one with the largest audience. For nearly all of the time since Hamas ![]() ’s October 7, 2023, attack and the war it launched 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 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 oppressionand disproportionate response... , Christensen has been a constant, vocal pro-Paleostinian activist. In a November 2023 essay, penned when he was still in high school, he wrote that his support began when he discovered "more than what the media was telling me." Since then, videos condemning Israel and voicing support for Paleostinians have populated his feed, and helped him rack up followers in the process. In the video supporting the murders, Christensen — as in many of his videos — was decked out in pro-Paleostinian paraphernalia. He wore a keffiyeh as well as a shirt that appeared to say "Jesus was a Paleostinian." A Paleostinian flag hung behind him. In his initial denunciation of the attack — which killed Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, a young couple who were attending an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee — Christensen said, "I don’t support the slaughter of civilians. That’s not the way to go about it and bring justice." In the earlier video, he made clear that he still condemned the victims’ activities and affiliations — just not their murders. "These people deserve to be tried and punished and sentenced to jail for their facilitation of this genocide," he said. He spent much of the video predicting that the attack would lead to a government crackdown on pro-Paleostinian activists, which he compared to Kristallnacht, the mass Nazi pogrom that is considered by many to be the beginning of the Holocaust. Some of Christensen’s followers said they agreed with that stance. But others rejected it. Many made the case that they believed that the attack had been a "false flag" operation perpetrated by supporters of Israel to galvanize opposition to pro-Paleostinian activism. Similar comments were unfolding across the internet on Thursday. Pro-Paleostinian activists and groups that denounced the shooting drew a flurry of rebuttals: "Condemn yourselves," one popular account responded to Jewish Voice for Peace’s post decrying the attack on X. News stories related to the shooting, meanwhile, saw fights play out in their comments section. When the news site Block Club reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown ...home of Al Capone, the Chicago Black Sox, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel... reported on a search of the alleged gunman’s apartment, for example, several responses included requests for Rodriguez’s legal defense fund. The progressive radio show "Democracy Now" elicited comments likening Rodriguez to Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in December — reflecting a trend peeking out across the internet. Amid this context, by Thursday night, about a day after the murders, Christensen reversed course. "Israel has livestreamed a genocide to the entire world the last two years," he said regarding the war that began 19 months ago with Hamas’ invasion. "And you cannot expect to do such a thing in this world without the people standing up to fight, to stop you in any way they can, to resist against you, and that is exactly what happened." Like some who have praised the attack, Christensen denied that it was antisemitic by citing Lischinsky’s self-identification as a Christian. (Lischinsky had posted that he was Christian, and appears to have affiliated as a Messianic Jew, a movement that couples Jewish practices with belief in Jesus as the messiah — an idea considered incompatible with Judaism by all Jewish denominations.) "Do not let yourself be fooled by the media, by the Zionists in this country who are telling you that this was an antisemitic terrorist attack," he said. "It was not. First of all, the man who was assassinated was a Christian Zionist, proclaiming it so on his social media. He spent his days working at the Israeli Embassy fighting to maintain Israel’s genocide and support for that genocide in this country." Christensen continued, "He is a war criminal, and the same is true for the woman. This was not because they were Jewish, it was because they were Zionists." (On Friday afternoon, he posted a "disclaimer" video where he said the following: "Since Zionists on Twitter are going rabid over what I just posted, I just want to disclaim that I’m not suicidal, I would never make a threat that would jeopardize my position to influence and educate people about the atrocity and evils that Zionism is currently bringing down upon the Paleostinian people, especially in Gaza. I hate Nazis and I hate Zionists, so I don’t have a problem with you much if you’re not one of those things.") He spent much of his video supporting the attack reading the entirety of a manifesto that appears to have been posted by the gunman, titled "Escalate For Gaza, Bring The War Home." In a subsequent video, he expressed fear that pro-Israel activists would spur a federal investigation of him. After reading the document, Christensen reiterated the reversal of his condemnation of the attack, comparing himself to Luke Skywalker, the protagonist of the Star Wars franchise. Condemning the attack, he said, would be like "condemning Luke Skywalker for attacking the Death Star because the Empire might crack down on the resistance." He then signed off. "We must meet with escalation and stronger resistance," he said. "I hope my retracted condemnation does not allow our government to condemn me to a cell. But I don’t know. Follow my page for more. Thank you and free Paleostine." Related: TikTok influencer 04/03/2024 Here's how homeowners can fight against squatter insanity TikTok influencer 03/22/2024 Shocking moment TikTokker tells illegal immigrants how to 'invade' American homes and invoke squatter's rights as provocative video is viewed almost 4million times TikTok influencer 07/28/2023 Anheuser-Busch Lays Off Nearly 400 Corporate Workers as Bud Light Backlash Continues |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
Damascus is preparing to take control of al-Hol camp |
2025-05-25 |
It will be interesting to see whether the HTS government absorbs the ISIS fighters into their ranks or sees them as the undesirable other. [Rudaw] The Syrian government will assume control of al-Hol and shift focus to rehabilitation of the thousands of suspected Islamic State![]() Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... (ISIS) sympathizers and family members being held in the camp in northeast Syria, an Interior Ministry spokesperson said on Saturday. "Regarding the al-Hol camp issue, it is part of the agreement signed between the Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic and the Syrian Democratic Forces, which stipulates that the Syrian Arab Republic will assume control over all areas in the Syrian Jazira region - namely, in Hasakah and Raqqa areas," Interior Ministry spokesperson Nouraldeen Albaba told Rudaw in a presser on Saturday. The goal will be to ensure the camp is no longer a source of unrest and extremism. "Now, it will become a comprehensive societal rehabilitation dossier targeting the victims and families of individuals who joined ISIS," he said. Al-Hol camp in Hasaka province is infamous for its squalid conditions and has been branded a breeding ground for terrorism. Iraqis and Syrians make up the majority of the 40,000 ISIS-linked people who have been held at the camp since the defeat of the group in 2019. There are also people in the camp from around the world who had traveled to join the so-called ISIS caliphate. A delegation from the Syrian government visited al-Hol camp on Saturday, according to local media. The delegation consisted of 10 people and was the first visit to the camp by the interim government. They were also joined by representatives from the US-led global coalition against ISIS, Ronahi TV reported. The purpose of the visit was to inspect conditions in the camp and explore returning Syrian nationals to their home regions, according to Ronahi, which is affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) in January announced that its doors are open to the "voluntary return" of Syrians in the camp to their hometowns. Iraq has been repatriating its nationals in groups, putting them through a rehabilitation program before they return to their original homes. Rojava authorities also have thousands of ISIS fighters detained in jails. United States President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... , when he met interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa last week, urged him to assume responsibility for ISIS detention centres in Rojava. The newly-appointed US envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack noted progress Damascus has taken on meeting Trump’s request when he met Sharaa in Istanbul on Saturday. Related: Al-Hol: 2025-05-17 UN hails Iraq’s repatriations from Syria ISIS detention camps Al-Hol: 2025-05-17 New AK-12 for the Russian Armed Forces Al-Hol: 2025-05-12 More than a decade on, 2,500 Yazidis still missing after ISIS attack Related: Jazira region: 2022-09-18 Turkey-Syria Border: Turkish Forces and Catspaws Continue Breaching Ceasefire Agreement In NE Syria versus Kurds and Syrian army Jazira region: 2022-08-28 Turkish Forces shell village north of Syria’s Hasakah Jazira region: 2022-08-21 Turkish Forces Resume Shelling Syria's Hasakah Countryside |
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Home Front: WoT | ||
Fairfax, Va. police footage shows armed Afghan migrant trying to kill police on April 23 | ||
2025-05-25 | ||
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
…said he wished he served with the Taliban. He did not have insurance or a license and was furious about not receiving taxpayer-funded benefits. Wali managed to shoot two officers on the driver's side before being shot by a third officer. Wali died from his injuries.
At 2:36 p.m., an officer was conducting traffic enforcement in the 4000 block of Majestic Lane near Greenbriar. The officer stopped a 1999 Toyota Corolla driven by Jamal Wali, 36, of Fairfax, for an expired safety inspection. Wali was argumentative and refused to obey commands. Backup was called and once on scene, Wali reached for a firearm and shot two officers. A third officer discharged his weapon, striking Wali four times. Responding officers quickly began performing life saving measures on the two officers and suspect. The two officers were transported in non-life-threatening condition to local hospitals. Wali was pronounced deceased at the hospital. The officer involved in the shooting, Officer Ian Lachapelle has been identified is a 2-year veteran assigned to the Fair Oaks Patrol District. In Chief Davis’ press conference (7:44), the Chief said that Wali has been in our country lawfully since 2014. That in fact, he did work with American military forces overseas prior to 2014. Chief said that he believes that's what gave him the pathway to be lawfully present in the United States. He's with his family now, his four children and his wife chief said. Chief also said that the references that you'll hear him make to the Taliban are historical references. The FBI has shared with them that there are no open, ongoing, current investigations, or any insight that they have into Mr. Walli whatsoever.
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Terror Networks |
How US Prison Gangs (Nuestra Familia) Actually Work |
2025-05-25 |
[YouTube] John "Boxer" Mendoza is a former high-ranking member of the Nuestra Familia. He was part of the organization from 1994 to 2007 and was incarcerated at San Quentin, Pelican Bay, and Corcoran. Nowadays, he has a YouTube channel called Paradigm Media News and is the author of Nuestra Familia. Manuel Medrano is a former member of the Arizona Mexican Mafia, also known as the New Mexican Mafia, a US prison gang. Medrano speaks with Business Insider about the gang structure, hierarchy, and its ties to the cartels. He covers gang tattoos, language, and the loose alliance the gang had with the Aryan Brotherhood. Medrano now runs Phase Two of Life, a charity in Arizona. He also runs the YouTube channel Chronicles, where he speaks with former gang members. Vidal Guzman was a member of the East Coast Bloods and was incarcerated on Rikers Island. Rikers Island, in New York City's East River, is home to some of the most notorious and violent jails in the world. Most of its detainees have not yet been convicted of a crime and are either remanded in custody or held on bail. Guzman is a prominent voice in the Close Rikers campaign and the executive director of America on Trial. He founded the End Qualified Immunity in NY and #FixThe13thNY campaigns. Pieter Tritton, a former cocaine smuggler, speaks with BI about his experience trafficking drugs from South America to the United Kingdom. Tritton was arrested in Ecuador and served 10 years in prison there, first in Garcia Moreno in Quito and later in Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil, which is home to some of the world's most violent prison gangs. Leroy Smith was a member of the African Crew prison gang in the UK during the early 2000s. Smith became a hit man and a drug dealer for the African Crew during his time as a category A inmate in the Full Sutton, Frankland, Long Lartin, and Whitemoor high-security prisons. He speaks with BI about the violence and weapons, smuggling contraband, selling drugs, and becoming a hit man for the gang. |
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