November 28, 2015

Air Force hires civilian drone pilots for combat patrols; critics question legality

Source: LA Times

The Air Force has hired civilian defense contractors to fly MQ-9 Reaper drones to help track suspected militants and other targets in global hot spots, a previously undisclosed expansion in the privatization of once-exclusively military functions.

For the first time, civilian pilots and crews now operate what the Air Force calls "combat air patrols," daily round-the-clock flights above areas of military operations to provide video and collect other sensitive intelligence.

Contractors control two Reaper patrols a day, but the Air Force plans to expand that to 10 a day by 2019. Each patrol involves up to four drones.

Civilians are not allowed to pinpoint targets with lasers or fire missiles. They operate only Reapers that provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, known as ISR, said Air Force Gen. Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, head of Air Combat Command.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-fg-drone-contractor-20151127-story.html

November 28, 2015

Return of a topless rebel

In 2013, Tunisian feminist Amina Sboui left the country after publishing a topless photograph that caused a scandal across the Arab world. After two years in France, Amina is back in Tunis - with a new plan to stir things up.

On 8 March 2013, from her grandparents' house in the Tunisian capital, an 18-year-old activist called Amina Sboui uploaded a photograph to Facebook, took a deep breath, and hit "post".

The photo showed Amina reclining on a leather sofa, reading a book and smoking a cigarette. She wore red lipstick and black eyeliner. She was naked from the waist up, and across her torso was a message written in Arabic: My body belongs to me; it is not the source of anyone's honor.

As she watched the comments stack up beneath the picture - almost a thousand in the first hour - Amina began to panic. She had anticipated the abuse, the misogyny, even the death threats. What she hadn't considered was something that now looked inevitable: her mother was going to find out. She closed the laptop and left the house.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34949413

November 28, 2015

Japan to resume whaling in Antarctic despite court ruling

Source: BBC

Japan has decided to resume hunting whales in the Antarctic after a break of more than a year.

The decision comes despite an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that Japan cease all whaling.

The Japanese fisheries agency said it would go ahead with a revised plan by the end of March next year.

Under this plan, it will reduce the number of minke whales being caught each year by two thirds to just over 300.


Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34952538

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minke_whale

November 28, 2015

U.S. Urges Turkey to Seal Border Border

Source: Wall Street Journal

The Obama administration is pressing Turkey to deploy thousands of additional troops along its border with Syria to cordon off a 60-mile stretch of frontier that U.S. officials say is used by Islamic State to move foreign fighters in and out of the war zone.

The U.S. hasn’t officially requested a specific number of soldiers. Pentagon officials estimated that it could take as many as 30,000 to seal the border on the Turkish side for a broader humanitarian mission. Cordoning off just one section alone could take 10,000 or more, one official estimated.

It’s unclear how Turkey will respond. Turkish officials said they agree that tighter border control is necessary, and have begun implementing some measures. They suggested that the Pentagon troop estimates are inflated, but declined to give a number of their own.

In return for doing more to fight Islamic State, Turkey is seeking more financial help from Europe to deal with its 2.2 million Syrian refugees, as well as support for a safe zone in Syria—an idea that has been shelved by the Obama administration as too risky and complicated.


Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-urges-turkey-to-seal-syria-border-1448674401

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The Turkey ISIS alliance is now widely known.

November 27, 2015

Dollar peg remains Saudi Arabia’s best option

Maintaining its currency peg to the dollar has limited Saudi Arabia’s options in dealing with falling oil revenues. The inflexible riyal means the kingdom can’t devalue to compensate for low oil prices. But given Riyadh’s huge forex reserves, the risks of suddenly floating its currency far outweigh the rewards.

The riyal has been fixed at a rate of 3.75 to the dollar since June 1986 and the policy has helped the kingdom control inflation and borrowing costs. However, a 40 percent decline in the value of Brent crude over the last year has exposed the limitations of this rigidity, and encouraged speculators to bet on its imminent demise.

Saudi Arabia faces economic headwinds. The International Monetary Fund forecasts a fiscal deficit of 20 percent of GDP this year. Because it pays government workers in riyals, a devaluation could reduce the need for steep spending cuts, which are politically difficult to make.

The kingdom also wouldn’t be the first petro-dollar economy to devalue. Kazakhstan allowed the tenge to float freely on Aug. 20. Bank of America Merrill Lynch commodities analysts now see Saudi Arabia de-pegging as the No. 1 “Black Swan” event for oil markets in 2016.

http://blogs.reuters.com/breakingviews/2015/11/27/dollar-peg-remains-saudi-arabias-best-option/

November 27, 2015

Lost in translation - Indian president shocks gathering of Israeli MPs

Indian president shocks gathering of Israeli MPs by telling them 'I love Hamas'... when he actually meant to say he likes HUMMUS

The president of India shocked Israeli MPs by accidentally declaring he 'loves' their sworn enemy Hamas after mispronouncing the name of the popular dish hummus.

To worsen matters, the cringe worthy faux pas was made during a speech to the entire assembled Israeli parliament in Jerusalem - and amid a spate of violence not seen in the region for years.

Pranab Mukherjee only recently arrived in Israel after having first visited Palestine, marking the first ever visit to the region by an India prime minister.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3273987/Indian-president-shocks-gathering-Israeli-MPs-telling-love-Hamas-actually-meant-say-likes-HUMMUS.html

November 27, 2015

Israel won't down a Russian warplane if it enters its air space'

Source: J Post

Israel will not take action against Russian fighter jets that encroach into its air space, a senior air force official said on Thursday.

The issue of Russian sorties in Syria was magnified in recent days after Turkey downed a Su-24 fighter jet that it claims entered its air space near the border.

According to Israeli military officials, such a scenario is not in danger of repeating itself in the skies over the Golan Heights.

"The Russian military is a new, key player which we are not ignoring," a senior military official told reporters on Thursday. "There is a clear boundary here, and they are busy with their matters, and we are busy with ours."

Read more: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Israel-wont-down-a-Russian-warplane-if-it-enters-its-air-space-435493

November 26, 2015

Turkey won't apologize for downing Russian warplane, Erdogan says

Source: CNN

Turkey will not apologize for downing a Russian fighter jet it says violated Turkish airspace near the Syrian border, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an exclusive CNN interview Thursday in Ankara.

"I think if there is a party that needs to apologize, it is not us," he said from the Turkish capital. "Those who violated our airspace are the ones who need to apologize. Our pilots and our armed forces, they simply fulfilled their duties, which consisted of responding to ... violations of the rules of engagement. I think this is the essence."

In a meeting with community leaders in Ankara, Erdogan said, "If the same violation occurs today, Turkey has to react the same way."



Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/26/middleeast/syria-turkey-russia-warplane-shot-down/

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Why would the grand caliph of the neo-ottoman empire apologize. What a jackass, ISIS lover.

November 26, 2015

Some Families Living in Philly Public Housing Earn Over $100K

The Philadelphia Housing Authority has a 10 year waiting list with roughly 100,000 people on it, according to officials.

But while low income and homeless families wait, the NBC10 Investigators found some families were allowed to live in PHA properties while earning six figures.

Officials say 181 families living in PHA housing earn more than they’re allowed to. The Department of Housing and Urban Development refers to them as "over income."

“I believe that they’re serving an important purpose,” PHA president Kelvin Jeremiah said. “I believe that the fact that they’ve achieved some level of success while being in PHA, I want to be able to encourage that.”

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/investigations/Philadelphia-Housing-Authority-Over-Income-Families--353277881.html

November 26, 2015

Saudis to sue Twitter user who called poet's death sentence 'ISIS-like'

Source: Reuters

Saudi Arabia's justice ministry plans to sue a Twitter user who compared the death sentence handed down on Friday to a Palestinian poet to the punishments meted out by Islamic State, a major government-aligned newspaper reported on Wednesday.

"The justice ministry will sue the person who described ... the sentencing of a man to death for apostasy as being `ISIS-like'," the newspaper Al-Riyadh quoted a source in the justice ministry as saying.

The source did not identify the Twitter user or the possible penalty.

On Friday, a Saudi Arabian court sentenced Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayadh to death for apostasy - abandoning his Muslim faith - according to trial documents seen by Human Rights Watch.


Read more: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/saudis-sue-twitter-user-called-poets-death-sentence-185552729.html