Hitch 24: I Ran so far______

 A large anti-government protest erupted in  Izeh, Iran on Friday Nov 18 at the funeral for 9-year-old Kian who was killed in a shooting that his mother blamed on security forces. These demonstrations have staying power despite the brutal clampdown by the Theocracy. Maybe the Mullahs should text Putin for military help? More to come, previous blog linked below.

Nov 20, 2022

Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon, is trying to distance his group from Iran, but the Gulf states who have given millions to Lebanon in financial support; and received little in return are not buying it.

Dec 12, 2022

The European Parliament suspended the powers and duties of one of its vice presidents, Greek socialist, Eva Kaili, in light of a Belgian investigation of a Gulf state's purchasing influence on decisions in the European Parliament.  Furthermore, it may delay a proposal to extend visa-free travel to the EU for Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Ecuador.

Jan 5, 2023

Iran is whining about France again! This time it's alleging cartoons in a contest ran by the Charlie Hebdo magazine are insulting. One of the entries depicts a turbaned cleric reaching for a hangman’s noose as he drowns in blood.

Feb 7, 2023

Perhaps Iran's cops were too busy killing unarmed protestors around the country to stop an attacker who broke through the Azerbaijan's embassy guard post in Tehran, killing the head of Azeri security with a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

Feb 25, 2023

From Michigan to eastern Europe to Iran: Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi, 58, a Lebanese and Belgian citizen who is considered a key financier of the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, was arrested Friday in Bucharest, Romania.

It's alleged that Bazzi convinced some folks to liquidate their interests in real estate assets in Michigan and covertly transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds from the USA to accounts in Lebanon.

May 19,2023

Iran warns Afghanistan's Taliban rulers not to violate what it claims is it water rights on the Helmand River. This tiff could be noteworthy.

May 30, 2023

Iran may want to be buddies with Egypt, but let's look back.

Anwar Sadat cut ties to Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Sadat welcomed Reza Pahlavi,  to Egypt just before his death and hosted his state funeral in 1980. Also, the shah's remains are entombed at Cairo's Al-Rifai Mosque.

Aug 22, 2023

Folks in southern Syria protesting against Assad chant: we only kneel to God.  Is Putin taking Assad's calls?

Aug 28, 2023

Iran claims Iraq has agreed to disarm and relocate Kurdistan "militants" in the autonomous northern Kurdish region. Easier said than done!

Nov 11, 2023

Palestine/Israel war, and Syria remains the world's proxy playground. Assad 😵

Dec 13, 2023

Arab energy leaders-oil here to stay so will COP28 fossil fuel reduction be effective?

They also stressed developing countries should be allowed to exploit their fossil fuel reserves.

Dec 18, 2023

We consider any armed action originating from Lebanese territory as an attack on national sovereignty,” Gebran Bassil, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, a predominantly Christian party, said, rejecting the creation of what he called a “Hamas-land”.

Dec 18, 2023

 “Fatahland” returning? Hamas recruits in Lebanon.

  (PLO) under Arafat operated as a state within a state in southern Lebanon from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. The PLO used southern Lebanon to launch attacks against Israel and became an active in Lebanon’s civil war in 1975.

Jan 4, 2023

84 people killed and 284 injured after explosions occurred near the grave of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani yesterday, the anniversary of his killing, 

Source of the explosions: two bags carrying bombs that were likely set off by remote control.  No one has claimed responsibility, so far.

Jan 16, 2023

Iran extends Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi prison sentence. Memo to all the pro Hamas/Palestine protesters.

Feb 3, 2024

Syria's 1-0 win against India and sealed its first ever spot in the knockout rounds of the Asian Cup(Soccer). Maybe the players want more time away from the endless strife at home.

April 23, 2024

Same day Iran struck Israel:  Clerical rulers in Iran cranked up arrests of women accused of flouting its strict Islamic dress code.

May 1, 2024

MSC Orion, a Portuguese flagged ship, sustained minor damage from a Houthis' drone hit far into the reaches of the Arabian Sea. Iran!

May 26, 2024

 Lebanese MPs threaten to reject the EU bloc’s 1B euro package which it views as a “bribe” to keep Syrian refugees in limbo in Lebanon. So it expects Europe to keep them or send them back home to Syria?

May 27, 2024

Cheers  to the British  government for saying the ICJ(UN) ruling over Israel's actions in Rafah will strengthen Hamas.

July 13, 2024

 Hague district court rejects a claim  to order the Netherlands to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts which could end up in Israel. It says the NGO claim is too broad.

Hitch 23

Definitely surprised

  Yesterday the Israeli Air Force began  joint military exercise for the first time as Germany's guests. The flights are being carried out using NATO's combat doctrine. 

Aug 19

Israel is making new friends by the handful these days. First the UAE deal , then new discussions with Sudan , a long-time enemy.  Haidar Badawi was  fired  from his job as Sudan's Foreign Ministry spokesman a day after he said there is 'no reason to continue hostility between Sudan and Israel'.

August 20 

Brazilian Vice President #HamiltonMourao invited Leonardo DiCaprioto to take a ride with him along a  poorly maintained road in the remote far western Amazon near the town of Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira.  Leo's folks haven't responded to the offer.

August 21, 2020: I shouldn't be but am surprised that some Blue Jays apologized for wearing 'Homeless Jays' shirts, which poked fun at their displacement from Toronto this season. If you have ever played sports or been around jocks, you know their banter is lively and sometimes crude. Alleged negative stereotypes about marginalized groups, blah, blah, blah is the crapola reason for the apology.

August 22, 2020: I rarely think of these two nations as partners.  Britain and Belgium signed a statement of intent to work together after both countries acquire the MQ-9B drone, the Remotely Piloted Aircraft System which is built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems of San Diego.

 Sept, 2, 2020: Yep, I'm surprised and pleased that Macron refuses to condemn the re-publishing of Charlie Hebdo cartoons of Prophet Mohammad,  as the trial date nears for the gunmen accused in the 2015 massacre of Hebdo employees. 

Sept 28:  President Obrador announced Mexico has issued arrest warrants for police and military personnel suspected of being involved in the 2014 disappearance of 43 Mexican college students in Iguala.

Oct 9:  I'm surprised  at the tactic used to get 39 countries to support a Germany-led UN initiative denouncing China for human rights violations. They kept the list classified until minutes before Germany's UN ambassador #Heusgen read the statement in New York, in fear that China would poach signatories at the last moment.

Oct 18:  The sale of a PLASTIC crown worn by rapper The Notorious B.I.G.  sold for almost $600,000 at Sotheby's auction.

Jan 8, 2021

I'm definitely surprised  that British IM #PritiPatel is using #Brexit to require visiting EU nationals  to present passports at UK borders because there has been a proliferation of fake EU ID cards.

June 20, 2021

I'm definitely surprised that #Mariani , a National Front candidate, is ahead in the polls in his bid to be president of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, a region in southeast France. A victory could bode well for #LePen in her race against Macron in 2022.

June 27, 2021

#mariani lost and check out the strategy used to defeat him: Muselier won an estimated 57.4% of the vote in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, defeating  Mariani, He surged to victory on Sunday after the socialist and green parties effectively threw their support behind him by dropping out of the race and because Macron had endorsed Muselier early on, withdrawing his own candidate from the race.

July 15, 2021

I'm not surprised that some Muslims are upset at the menu in French public schools - so bring your own lunch.. Public schools in France don’t serve meals under halal, kosher, or any other religious dietary requirements. However, Alsace-Moselle, a borderland where France’s laws on laïcité (loosely translated  as secular) don’t apply because the area was under Prussian rule when the laws were first adopted in 1905.I'm surprised at  legal exceptions to legislation.

July 31, 2021

I agreed with Macron when he refused to condemn the re-publishing of Charlie Hebdo cartoons of Prophet Mohammad, but now wonder about Macron's lawyers and his political party filing legal complaints alleging that the depictions of him in Hitler's clothes are a public insult. 

 #Flori , who put up the caricature on billboards, said he has been contacted by police acting on the complaint.

Sept 18, 2021

I shouldn't be but am surprised that Brussels will name a new street after #EuniceOsayande, a murdered Nigerian, undocumented, migrant sex worker, as part of a wider campaign to recognize women in Belgium. She was stabbed to death by one of her customers in June 2018.

Granted her murder was horrible , but naming a street after her?????. He!! they name boulevards in the USA after  Malcom X, a one time pimp.

Dec 21, 2021

While I should know better, I'm surprised that Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.), chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said this aloud in reference to Manchin and West Virginia

“We cannot hang the futures of millions of Americans on the words of one man who represents a state that has a tiny percentage of the country’s entire population,” . 

Ms Jayapal: Please read the definition of a republic.

Dec 10, 2022

I was caught off guard yesterday while watching a re- run of the feel-good intro by Milton Berle and Danny Thomas to the "United Nations of Show Business" production. I kept waiting for a punch line that was never delivered. Episode #3.37 aired May 29, 1951.

Berle first appeared on television in 1929 in an experimental broadcast in Chicago which he hosted in front of 129 people.

July 25, 2023

About time: PM Sunak will relax some expensive measures to reduce the carbon footprint of residential homes to avoid a backlash in the UK.

Aug 1, 2023

Sunak wakes up! UK will grant hundreds of new licenses to seek and drill for gas and oil in the North Sea. 

Aug 10, 2023

 Reading History on the Swiss battles with Austrian monarchs in 1300s. Surprised to see Switzerland is outside the EU Customs Union and has authority to stop travelers to carry out customs checks SWI/AUS border.