<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sacheen Littlefeather's sisters told The San Fransisco Chronicle that she wasn't really Native American.</li><li>Littlefeather refused an Academy Award on behalf of Marlon Brandon for his role in "The Godfather" in 1973.</li></ul><p>The sisters of Sacheen Littlefeather, an actor and activist who refused an Academy Award on behalf of Marlon Brando in 1973, claimed that she wasn't actually Native American.</p><p>"The best way that I could think of summing up my sister is that she created a fantasy," her younger sister Trudy Orlandi, <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Sacheen-Littlefeather-oscar-Native-pretendian-17520648.php">told the San Fransisco Chronicle</a>.  "She lived in a fantasy, and she died in a fantasy."</p><p>In an opinion column <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Sacheen-Littlefeather-oscar-Native-pretendian-17520648.php">published</a> Saturday by the San Fransisco Chronicle, writer Jacqueline Keeler interviewed Littlefeather's sisters, Rosalind Cruz and Trudy Orlandi, who claimed that Littlefeather is not actually Native American.</p><p>"It's a lie," Orlandi told The Chronicle. "My father was who he was. His family came from Mexico. And my dad was born in Oxnard."</p><p>"It is a fraud,"  Cruz said, according to The Chronicle. "It's disgusting to the heritage of the tribal people. And it's just … insulting to my parents."</p><p>Littlefeather, who died on October 2 at the age of 75, famously wore a buckskin dress when she refused the Academy Award for Best Actor on behalf of Brando for his starring role in "The Godfather."</p><p>Littlefeather, whose birth name is Marie Louise Cruz, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QUacU0I4yU">gave a 60-second speech</a> refusing the award on Brando's behalf and decrying the treatment of Native Americans in Hollywood, which resulted in a mix of boos and cheers from the audience. </p><p>"[Brando] very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award," Littlefeather said in the speech. "And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry and on television in movie reruns, and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee."</p><p>Littlefeather later said that John Wayne had to be restrained from storming onto the stage to attack her during her speech, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/sacheen-littlefeather-oscars-apology-1235198863/">according to The Hollywood Reporter</a>. </p><p>The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oscars-entertainment-travel-native-americans-john-wayne-fa2b314b8268d3c20e9bd94999a7953d">penned</a> an apology to Littlefeather, which was made public this past August, saying that "the abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified."</p><p>It added, "The emotional burden you have lived through and the cost to your own career in our industry are irreparable. For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged."</p><p>In response to the apology from the Academy, Littlefeather released <a href="https://www.oscars.org/news/academy-museum-welcomes-sacheen-littlefeather-evening-conversation-healing-and-celebration">a statement</a> that said "Regarding the Academy's apology to me, we Indians are very patient people—it's only been 50 years!"</p><p>According to The Chronicle, Orlandi and Cruz both said that their family has no known Native American ancestry and said their family identified as "Spanish" on their father's side.</p><p>White Mountain Apache tribal officials told The Chronicle that they found no record of either Littlefeather or her family members ever being enrolled in the White Mountain Apache.</p><p>A representative for the White Mountain Apache did not immediately return Insider's request for comment on Saturday.</p><p>Littlefeather's sisters also told The Chronicle that her claims of growing up in violence and poverty were not true. Both sisters said their central motivation in coming forward was to repair the image of their father, who Littlefeather had painted as a violent alcoholic.</p><p>"My father was deaf and he had lost his hearing at 9 years old through meningitis," Cruz told The Chronicle. "He was born into poverty. His father, George Cruz, was an alcoholic who was violent and used to beat him. And he was passed to foster homes and family. But my sister Sacheen took what happened to him."</p><p>Cruz and Orlando both told The Chronicle that they learned of Littlefeather's death through the internet and neither was invited to their funeral.</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2QUacU0I4yU" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Sisters of Sacheen Littlefeather, an Apache activist who refused an Oscar on Marlon Brando's behalf, say she wasn't actually Native American: report

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/53542612.cms" /><keyword id="774829" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Big-Data">Big Data</keyword> was a get-go in the late 1990s to mid 2000s when the biggest Internet organizations were forced to develop better approaches to oversee data of remarkable volumes. Today, a great many people think of Hadoop or NoSQL databases when they consider Big Data<br />
<br />
Be that as it may, the first center parts of Hadoop, HDFS (Hadoop Distributed File System—for storage), MapReduce (the compute engine), and the asset supervisor now called YARN (Yet Another Resource Negotiator) are established in the cluster mode, ten to a quarter century ago, where data was captured to storage and after that prepared intermittently with batch jobs. Most web search tools worked along these lines to start with. The data gathered by us was processed periodically. At the other side of the spectrum is realtime processing, where individual events are processed as they touch base, this all is done between microseconds to milliseconds.<br />
<br /> To start with, let’s define <keyword id="2436041" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="fast-data">fast data</keyword>. Big data is often made by data that is produced at amazing speeds, for example, click-stream data, financial ticker data, sensor data etc. Often these occasions happen thousands to tens of thousands of times per second. No big surprise that this kind of data is generally alluded to as a fire hose.<br />
<br />
When we discuss fire hoses in big data, we're not measuring volume in the normal gigabytes, terabytes, or petabytes. We're measuring volume as far as time-- the quantity of megabytes per second, gigabytes per hour. We're discussing speed and in addition volume, which gets at the center of the contrast between large volumes of data and the data warehouse. Big data isn't simply enormous, it's windy fast.<br />
<br />
Why is streaming data such a ‘Buzz’ right now? Since time-to-knowledge is progressively vital and plays an important part in neat, educated decision making.<br />
<br />
Notwithstanding the conspicuous business edge that an organization picks up from information about the present or even future, streaming data additionally accompanies a framework advantage.<br />
<br />
With big data comes viewpoints to address, one of which is the expensive and complex issue of data storage. Be that as it may, data storage is just required in situations where the data must be stored historically. All the more as of late, as more real-time data is recorded with the onset of sensors, cell phones, and social media portals, on-the-fly streaming analysis is adequate, and putting away the greater part of that data is avoidable.<br />
<br />
<strong>Data Confinement</strong><br />
<br />
The most ideal approach to keep the benefit of incoming data is to respond to it the moment it arrives. On the off chance that you’re handling incoming data in batches, you've already lost time and, along these lines, the significance of that data.<br />
<br />
To process data touching base at many thousands to a huge number of events every second, you will require two advances: First, a streaming system equipped for conveying events incredibly quick in; and second, a data store fit for handling every thing as quick as it arrives.<br />
<br />
<strong>Delivering ‘Fast’ Data</strong><br />
<br /> Two mainstream streaming systems have risen in the course of recent years: <keyword id="3542315" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apache-Storm">Apache Storm</keyword> and <keyword id="3542313" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="apache-kafka">Apache Kafka</keyword>. Initially created by Twitter, Storm can dependably handle unbounded floods of data at rates of a huge number of messages every second. Kafka, created by LinkedIn, is a high-throughput appropriated message line system. Both streaming systems address the need of handling fast data.<br />
<br />
<strong>Doling out Fast Data </strong><br />
<br />
Conventional social databases have a tendency to be constrained in execution. Some might have the capacity to store data at high rates, yet fall over when they are relied upon to approve, enhance, or follow up on data as it is ingested. NoSQL frameworks have grasped clustering. For fire hose handling, NoSQL arrangements may fulfill your business needs. However, in the event that you are executing complex inquiries and business logic operations per occasion, in-memory NewSQL arrangements can fulfill your requirements for both execution and transactional intricacy.<br />
<br />
How is ongoing data analysis valuable? Applications range from distinguishing flawed items in an assembling line to deals forecasting to activity monitoring, among numerous others. Years from now will hail a brilliant age not for any old data, but rather for fast, smart 

Enough of Big Data,
Let’s talk about ‘Fast Data’ Now<b></b>

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e0b7a19855cc255415eb3da-2400/2019-12-31t141811z1lynxmpefbu0p9rtroptp4iraq-security-usa.jpg" alt="Protesters and militia fighters set on fire a security building of the U.S. Embassy, as people gather to condemn air strikes on bases belonging to Hashd al-Shaabi (paramilitary forces), in Baghdad, Iraq December 31, 2019." /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily</span></p><p class="caption">Protesters and militia fighters set on fire a security building of the U.S. Embassy, as people gather to condemn air strikes on bases belonging to Hashd al-Shaabi (paramilitary forces), in Baghdad, Iraq December 31, 2019.</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>The US is "sending additional forces to support our personnel" at the US embassy in Baghdad after violent protesters stormed the gate, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced Tuesday.</li><li>US Central Command told Insider that "around 100" additional Marines would be sent to provide security for the diplomatic outpost.</li><li>The protests Tuesday follow a US airstrikes on Iran-backed militia sites, a response to a rocket attack last Friday that killed a US civilian contractor and injured several American service members.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>The Pentagon announced Tuesday that the US is sending in additional forces to defend the US embassy in Baghdad after violent protesters <a href="https://taskandpurpose.com/us-embassy-baghdad-evacuated-protests">stormed the gates</a> earlier in the day following US airstrikes on Iran-backed Iraqi militias, strikes carried out in retaliation for a rocket attack on a local base that killed a US civilian contractor and wounded several others.</p><p>"We have taken appropriate force protection actions to ensure the safety of American citizens, military personnel and diplomats in country, and to ensure our right of self-defense," Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced in a statement Tuesday. "We are sending additional forces to support our personnel at the Embassy."</p><p>Esper added that the US continues to "rely on the host nation forces to assist in the protection of our personnel."</p><p>His statement follows an earlier tweet from President Donald Trump that blamed Iran for the attack on the embassy and urged Iraq to defend US personnel in country.</p><p>Esper did not state how many additional troops would be sent to protect the embassy. US Central Command officials, however, told Insider that "around 100" more Marines would be sent to provide additional security for the diplomatic outpost.</p><p>In addition to the decision to send in more troops for added security, the US also flew Apache helicopters over the embassy as a show of force.</p><p>The current situation at the embassy follows a series of earlier clashes between US personnel and local militias.</p><p>Last Friday, a US civilian contractor was killed and several American service members were wounded in a rocket attack on an Iraqi base in Kirkuk that the US believes was carried out by an Iraqi Shiite militia. On Sunday, the US conducted five airstrikes on Iran-backed militia Kataeb Hezbollah positions, eliminating more than two dozen fighters.</p><p>The retaliatory strikes sparked violent protests Tuesday, when demonstrators stormed the main gate of the US embassy in Baghdad.</p><p>State Department officials said Tuesday there has been no breach of the embassy compound and all personnel are "secure." They advised Americans to stay away from the embassy.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!</p>- Donald J. Trump  (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1211981022084128768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2019</a></blockquote>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-marines-battle-their-fear-of-heights-at-boot-camp-2019-12">How Marine recruits battle their fear of heights on a 47-foot-tall tower at boot camp</a></h3>                    <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/HgkZJzbd-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;"></iframe>            

The US is sending roughly 100 more Marines to defend the embassy in Baghdad after violent protesters stormed the gate

<ul><li><strong>India’s car makers as well as two wheeler companies, from Hero Moto to GM, are in a fix as local lockdowns are forcing plant shutdowns.</strong></li><li><strong>The surge in COVID-19 cases has also dented consumer demand. People are even cancelling earlier orders.</strong></li><li><strong>A survey of dealers, including the ones of Maruti Suzuki, shows that sales in April may be down anywhere between 30% to 70% across major states. </strong></li><li><strong>This also poses yet another threat to millions of people employed in the sector and the slump could cascade into consumer products as well.</strong></li></ul>Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked state governments in India to implement full lockdown only as a last resort. So far, in the face of the second wave of COVID-19 infections, complete statewide or national lockdowns have not been announced but the <keyword id="20077" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="automobile-industry">automobile industry</keyword> in India ⁠— the fourth largest in the world⁠— has a story of its own. <br /><br />A drastic, and sustained, rise in COVID-19 cases across the country have caused localised lockdowns, forcing auto makers and dealers to temporarily shut down their facilities. <br /><br />Not only have new orders fallen, people are even cancelling the bookings made earlier. In states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, dealers are reporting 40% to 60% fall in sales compared to the pre-COVID data i.e. year ending March 2019, according to Motilal Oswal which surveyed dealers across major states.<br /><br /><table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">State<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Estimated fall in April 2021 sales (vs FY19)<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">40% to 60%<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">30% to 40%<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Gujarat<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">30% to 70%<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Rajasthan<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">30% to 50%<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><em>Source: Motilal Oswal report dated April 17, 2021.<br /></em><br /><strong>And, so production also has come to standstill... <br /></strong><br />Hero MotoCorp, one of the leading two-wheeler manufacturers, has <a href="https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/two-wheelers/motorcycles/covid-19-fear-hero-motocorp-halts-production-plants-worldwide-till-31st-march/74754257">announced</a> a nationwide shutdown of its plants for four days between April 22 and May 1. The maker of the popular Splendor bike said that despite its 4-day shutdown and production halt, it will not have an impact on its ability to meet demand, according to the company’s exchange filing.<br /><br />General Motors, the US-based car maker, fired all its 1,419 employees in its Talegaon plant in Pune. The company’s director of communications, George Svigos, told <a href="https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/passenger-vehicle/cars/gm-india-to-lay-off-1419-workmen-at-talegaon-plant-invokes-sec-25-of-the-industrial-dispute-act/82107319">Economic Times</a> that no vehicles were manufactured in the last four months.<br /><br />If this seems like déjà vu of the story that unfolded in the first half of 2020 during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. From <a href="https://www.carandbike.com/topic/maruti-suzuki" data-type="tilCustomLink">Maruti Suzuki</a> to <a href="https://www.carandbike.com/topic/hero" data-type="tilCustomLink">Hero MotoCorp</a>, Indian companies are already facing the heat. All the top ten automobile companies in India have seen a decline in their share prices in April, with some of them registering a double-digit decline.<br /><br /><strong>All automobile makers are facing the heat<br /></strong><br />          <div type="image" title="Auto stocks performance in April 2021" msid="82195352" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Share price of the top 10 automobile companies in India.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />The negative consumer sentiment and the possibility of another lockdown has had an impact on auto ancillary makers as well. However, some of them have managed to weather the storm for now.<br /><br />          <div type="image" title="Ancillary auto stocks performance in April 2021" msid="82195370" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Ancillary auto companies share price.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br /><strong>This will have collateral damage too<br /></strong><br />“If the markets are shut, then demand will fall. Any prolonged shutdown will mean demand will go down. Production cannot continue if sales stop. You can’t run factories if dealerships are shut. It doesn’t make sense,” RC Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki (India’s largest car maker) told <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/lockdowns-not-a-solution-will-hit-economy-force-workers-to-leave-maruti/articleshow/82172302.cms">TOI</a>.<br /><br />The impact of lockdowns and curfews will have a spillover effect on auto dealers as well. John K Paul, managing director of Popular Vehicles, one of Kerala’s largest Maruti Suzuki dealers, told <a href="https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/passenger-vehicle/cars/lockdown-in-6-states-to-impact-31-of-indias-car-market/82154934">ET Auto</a> that he expects retail sales for the last year to be down 45%-50%.<br /><br />The slump in auto sales last year led to large scale layoffs in the auto sector and the same threat looms large again. <br /><br /><strong>The future’s looking bleak<br /></strong><br />One could take heart from the swift recovery in car sales after last year’s lockdown but that miracle may not repeat itself this time. Optimism is scarce and people have lesser savings than they did last year. So, the pent-up demand may be missing this time around, according to analysts. <br /><br />Making matters worse, both two wheeler makers and car makers have had to increase prices due to the shift to BS-6 models (with less emissions) as well as a rise in raw material prices. <br /><br />The rise in price may be a deterrent for those on the fence about buying a new vehicle.<br /><br /><table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Models<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">BS6 models Price hike (compared to April 2020)<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://www.carandbike.com/tvs-bikes/apache-rtr-160" data-type="tilCustomLink">TVS Apache RTR 160 Rear Drum</a><br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">+14.7%<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Hero Moto: Deluxe SS<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">+8.3%<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><a href="https://www.carandbike.com/bajaj-bikes/pulsar-150" data-type="tilCustomLink">Bajaj Pulsar 150 ABS</a><br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">+7.2%<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Royal Enfield Classic 350<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">+6.5%<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Honda Activa 5G DLX<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">+6.4%<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><em>Source: Motilal Oswal<br /></em><br />The big companies may even recover later. Another slump in the sector may be fatal for many small businesses that depend on the big industry for their survival. <br /><br />Millions of people who work in the sector, directly or indirectly, are likely to save more expecting hard times ahead. That is if they still manage to keep their jobs. The reduced consumption is likely to take a further toll on the economy.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/elon-musk-tesla-is-reportedly-looking-for-a-showroom-space-in-india-picks-an-exec-to-lobby-for-them/articleshow/81969189.cms">Elon Musk's Tesla reportedly shortlists New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru to open its first showrooms in India</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/elon-musk-announced-now-you-can-buy-tesla-cars-with-bitcoin/articleshow/81667459.cms">You can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin, tweets Elon Musk</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/nissan-india-to-increase-prices-of-all-models-for-nissan-and-datsun-from-april-1/articleshow/81647750.cms">Nissan India to increase prices of all models for Nissan and Datsun from April 1</a></strong><br />

There is a virtual lockdown in the world’s fourth largest automobile market

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57f77de15124c9044f17741a-800/sunni-force-pleads-for-iraqi-government-help-as-mosul-fight-looms.jpg" alt="Fighters from predominantly Sunni Arab force take part in a training session before the upcoming battle to recapture Mosul in Bashiqa, October 6, 2016. Picture taken October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="Fighters from predominantly Sunni Arab force take part in training session before upcoming battle to recapture Mosul in Bashiqa" /><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Fighters from predominantly Sunni Arab force take part in training session before upcoming battle to recapture Mosul in Bashiqa</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The Pentagon on Monday played down any new role for US forces in Iraq's battle to retake the city of Mosul from ISIS, saying American personnel were behind the forward line of troops and acting in an advisory role to support Iraqis.</p><p>"Americans are again playing an advisor role, an enabler role for these Iraqi forces ... Most of the American forces in Iraq are not anywhere close to the front line," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told a news briefing, saying many U.S. troops were on advisory or logistical support missions.</p><p>"The role of the US forces today is no different than up to this point."</p><p>However, throughout the campaign against ISIS, the US has suffered combat losses on the ground. </p><p>Charlie Keating IV, a Navy SEAL, was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-navy-seal-killed-in-iraq-has-been-identified-2016-5" target="_blank">killed by ISIS fire earlier</a> this year when his quick reaction force responded to a rush of 120 or so ISIS fighters storming mainly Kurdish forces just north of Mosul.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/details-emerge-about-the-us-navy-seal-killed-by-isis-fire-in-iraq-2016-5" target="_blank">Video of the incident</a> shows US troops out front fighting alongside the Kurdish forces as the battle rages.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/army-isis-apache-helicopters-2016-8">The US Army is sending Apache attack helicopters to fight ISIS in Iraq</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="A1MnR5MjE6q4EZBzsr2JJPgCofHL8vYQ" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'A1MnR5MjE6q4EZBzsr2JJPgCofHL8vYQ',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

The Pentagon is playing down the role of US troops in retaking Iraq's Mosul from ISIS

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/557f1e3e6bb3f7ac2b99cdce-835-626/databricks-matei-zaharia.jpg" border="0" alt="Databricks Matei Zaharia"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://people.csail.mit.edu/matei/">Databricks co-founder CTO Matei Zaharia</a></span></p><p class="caption">Databricks co-founder CTO Matei Zaharia</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>On Monday, IBM announced it will <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/newer-software-aims-to-crunch-hadoops-numbers-1434326008">invest about $300 million over the next few years</a> and assign 3,500 people to help develop an up-and-coming technology known as Spark.</p><p>IBM called Spark "<a href="https://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/47107.wss">the most significant open source project of the next decade</a>."</p><p>This was very good news for a two-year-old startup called Databricks, founded by the people that invented Spark, and who, today, officially launched their commercial version of Spark.</p><p><a href="https://spark.apache.org/">Spark is a free and open source software program</a> managed by the organization that runs many open source projects, the Apache Foundation.</p><p>In the past year or so, it has become a phenom in the world of big data computing, where companies collect huge amounts of information, store it on low-cost commodity computers, and use a variety of free software to work with the data.</p><p>Spark has gained attention because it crunches through vast amounts of data super-fast. It won a contest <a href="https://spark.apache.org/news/spark-wins-daytona-gray-sort-100tb-benchmark.html">in 2014 known the Gray Sort Benchmark</a>, which measures how fast a system can sort 100 TB of data, or 1 trillion records  - Spark took 23 minutes, smashing the previous record of 72 minutes. It is also popular because Spark can be used with other big-data technologies, especially the popular method of storing lots of data, Hadoop.</p><p>Spark basically replaces an older method of working with data stored in Hadoop invented by Google, known as MapReduce.  Spark is not the only free and open source project that replaces MapReduce. <a href="https://storm.apache.org/">Apache Storm</a> is another.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/557f1f626bb3f7f32b99cdd3-450-450/ibm-beth-smith.jpg" border="0" alt="IBM Beth Smith"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pub/beth-smith/1/394/93a">Beth Smith</a></span></p><p class="caption">General Manager of Analytics Platform at IBM Beth Smith leads the investment into Spark</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>But, as IBM's huge commitment on Monday shows, Spark is becoming the rising star in this world. That's because it crunches through data almost the instant that data is collected. And it makes it easy for developers to write apps that take advantage of real-time big data analysis.</p><h2>Why IBM is jumping in with both feet</h2><p>Spark was started in 2009 <a href="http://people.csail.mit.edu/matei/">by Matei Zaharia</a>, now CTO of Databricks, as part of his PhD and developed as part of the UC Berkeley's AMPLab. Databricks' CEO is Ion Stoica, a UC Berkeley professor and co-director of AMPLab.</p><p><a href="https://amplab.cs.berkeley.edu/">AMPLab is a research center</a> for computer algorithms and machine learning. IBM is one of the four founding members of AMPLab, although a long  list of other big names in computer science contribute to the lab, too. (The other founders are Amazon Web Services, Google, and SAP).</p><p>Interestingly, Spark won its famous speed contest by using Amazon Web Services, IBM's nemesis cloud competitor. And, on Monday, <a href="https://databricks.com/blog/2015/06/15/databricks-is-now-generally-available.html">Databricks announced that its commercial version of Spark</a> was officially open for business, also on Amazon's cloud.</p><p>Clearly, IBM is not willing to let AWS run away with Spark.</p><p>On the contrary: <a href="http://www.ibm.com/analytics/us/en/technology/spark/?lnk=ushpls1">IBM will be offering Spark</a> on its cloud service IBM Bluemix. It will also be baking Spark into its IBM's Watson Health Cloud and developing a special machine-learning version of Spark known as IBM SystemML. IBM will release SystemML as a free-and-open language, too, working with Databricks to do so.</p><p>On top of that,<a href="https://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/47107.wss"> IBM says it will train more than a million data scientists</a> and data engineers on Spark through extensive partnerships with AMPLab and other online education outlets. And IBM will open a Spark Technology Center in San Francisco to support Spark/machine learning projects.</p><p>While IBM's full-throttle commitment to Spark is enormous, it's not the only big company doing this type of thing. In February, <a href="http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/databricks-intel-collaborate-optimize-apache-spark-based-analytics-intelr-architecture-1993665.htm">Intel announced a partnership with Databricks</a> to get Spark to work better on machines that run on Intel processors.</p><p>Besides winning a contest, Spark has already <a href="https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/SPARK/Powered+By+Spark">been adopted by some big names</a> including Airbnb, eBay, Groupon, MyFitnessPal, OpenTable, Pinterest, Independence Blue Cross of Philadelphia, and NASA, and the SETI Institute, to name a few.</p><p>Since the free version of the project first launched in 2009, more than 400 developers have contributed to Spark, and this week, the Spark community is <a href="https://spark-summit.org/2015/">holding a conference in San Francisco</a> expected to attract 2,000 people, nearly double the number from last year.</p><p>All of this has helped Databricks land an all-star line-up of backers and board members. It raised $47 million in two rounds led by Andreessen Horowitz (Ben Horowitz), with participation from New <keyword id="6356323" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Enterprise">Enterprise</keyword> Associates.</p><p>Its board also includes UC Berkeley professor Scott Shenker, known as the co-founder and former CEO of Nicira, <a href="UC%20Berkeley">which sold for $1.26 billion to VMware </a>in 2012.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/roar-filmed-with-100-untamed-lions-movie-injured-2015-4">70 people were injured while filming this movie with 100 untamed lions</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="Nzc3hmdDr4a5heo3T-j-WFkV1wYM_fEN" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'Nzc3hmdDr4a5heo3T-j-WFkV1wYM_fEN',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Thanks to IBM, a hot startup called Databricks is poised to dominate a vital new market

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container float_right"><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/551049d0eab8ea344dac5ebd-1200-924/pj-orourke-pj-orourke.jpg?maxX=600" border="0" alt="PJ O'Rourke P.J. O'Rourke" width="600" /></div></div>The US Supreme Court heard a free speech fight on Monday over Texas' unlikely decision <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/23/us/a-test-of-free-speech-and-bias-served-on-a-plate-from-texas.html">to bar specialty license plates with Confederate flags</a>, and the satirist P.J. O'Rourke <a href="http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/supreme_court_preview/BriefsV5/14-144_amicus_resp_cato.authcheckdam.pdf">submitted a brief in that case</a> defending "offensive" speech like the "stars and bars."</p><p>O'Rourke, along with the Comic Legal Defense Fund, Nat Hentoff, former ACLU president Nadine Strossen, and lawyer Martin Garbus, filed the amicus brief last month in support of the<a href="http://www.scv.org/"> Sons of Confederate Veterans</a> (SCV), which had sought the specialty license plate.</p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>"This case concerns amici because someone is </span><span>offended by nearly everything they do in their </span><span>personal and professional lives," the brief stated. "They would hate to </span><span>have any government judge their propriety."</span><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">SCV argued in America's highest court on Monday that <a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/03/23/394308609/is-a-confederate-flag-license-plate-free-speech">its free speech rights were violated</a> when the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles rejected its proposal for a specialty license plate featuring the Confederate flag. </span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55104aaeecad049259ec39eb-1200-600/screen shot 2015-03-23 at 1.11.23 pm.png" border="0" alt="Texas and Confederate flag" /></div></div></div>In their amicus brief supporting SCV, O'Rourke, et. al. argued that the state of Texas had "empowered the State Department of Motor Vehicles to prevent people from being offended by license plates."</span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">And offensive speech is important for two reasons, the amicus brief stated. From the brief:</span></p><div><p style="padding-left: 30px;" dir="ltr"><span></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">First, it contributes to the marketplace of ideas ...</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> It helps </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">establish the parameters for public discourse, and in </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">so doing expands what can be acceptably discussed. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Second, the right to speak or behave offensively is </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">an essential aspect of personal autonomy. Offending </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">prevailing mores and values is as crucial to defining </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">oneself as supporting them is. </span></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;" dir="ltr"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">A bottled-up offensive </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">person is as uncomfortable as a Victorian at a punk </span><span style="color: #000000;">concert - and both need each other for definition.</span></p></div><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span></span>The brief also pointed out that the state of Texas has allowed <a href="http://www.txdmv.gov/motorists/license-plates/specialty-license-plates">other specialty plates</a> that might offend people. </span></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>The "Boy Scouts" specialty plate no doubt ruffles </span><span>the feathers of those who consider that group to be a  </span><span>retrograde anti-gay menace (and also those who  </span><span>cannot abide children in uniforms). The "Choose </span><span>Life" plate similarly raises the hackles of those who </span><span>think that its message subtly slanders women who </span><span>might choose to have an abortion. </span></span></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>What about "Come </span><span>and Take It" (accompanied by a picture of a cannon) </span><span>or "Desert Storm" or "Fight Terrorism"? Forget </span><span>viewpoint discrimination; these sorts of messages </span><span>would insult pacifists and those who disagree with </span><span>American foreign policy even if "Turn the Other </span><span>Cheek" or "Al Qaeda Forever" tags were available. </span><br><span></span></br></span></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>"Mighty Fine Burger" and "Dr. Pepper" surely offend  </span><span>Michael Bloomberg's acolytes, not to mention fans of  </span><span>McDonalds and Pepsi. Many Apache, Comanche, or </span><span>Kiowa would take offense at a good ol' boy driving  </span><span>around with a "Native Texan" plate.</span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Of course, one could argue that the Confederate flag - which evokes memories of slavery for many people - is offensive on a completely different level from existing specialty plates in Texas. An 82-year-old African-American minister named <span>George V. Clark spoke out against the plates when they were proposed in 2011.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>"It saddens me, that the possibility even exists that I might still be driving around the state and frequently see something that represents hate," Clark <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/23/us/a-test-of-free-speech-and-bias-served-on-a-plate-from-texas.html">said back in 2011, according to The New York Times</a>, "</span></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">something that has made people feel less than human."</span></p>

The satirist P.J. O'Rourke submitted an amazing brief in a big free speech case the Supreme Court heard today

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a2ed3b0a3b474d5078b518d-1024/saudi army special forces.jpg" alt="Saudi army Special forces" data-mce-source="Saudi Press Agency" /><p class="source"><span>Saudi Press Agency</span></p><p class="caption">Saudi special forces soldiers with G36C assault rifles.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Saudi Arabia has some of the greatest military equipment money can buy, but its military is still not seen as a threat to its longtime rival Iran.</strong></li><li><strong>Saudi Arabia's military has not proved capable of effectively fighting back Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.</strong></li><li><strong>Its arsenal is designed for a large conventional war - not proxy fighting.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p><br />In the past few years, Saudi Arabia has <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/03/saudi-ambassador-announces-military-operation-yemen-150325234138956.html">led an intervention</a> in Yemen's civil war, been the driving force behind a <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/qatar-gulf-crisis-started-june-5-171122105507731.html">diplomatic crisis</a> between Qatar and its neighbors, and <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41946310">involved itself</a> in the <keyword id="6358883" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Politics">politics</keyword> of Lebanon.</p><p>All of these things appear to have one common objective: to push back against the influence of Iran.</p><p>But experts say Saudi Arabia's ambitions are limited by its military, which is considered an ineffective force even though the kingdom is one of the world's largest spenders on <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Defense">defense</keyword>.</p><p>"The fact is, Iran is better at doing this stuff," said Michael Knights, a Lafer fellow at The Washington Institute who specializes in the military and security affairs of Iraq, Iran, and the Persian Gulf.</p><p>"There's nobody in the Iranian General Staff that's afraid of Saudi Arabia on the ground," Knights said.</p><p><span>Saudi Arabia's struggles in Yemen - where its years-long conflict with the Houthi rebels has no end in sight - reveals its shortcomings against an adversary like Iran</span></p><p><span>"What we are really talking about is how they stack up in a proxy war," Knights said. "It's what they are doing in the region nowadays."</span></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a2ecb1e8a4986c7048b517d-1239/iran military parade.jpg" alt="Iran military parade" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="Members of the Iranian Army march during a parade to commemorate the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war in Tehran September 22, 2011." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Iranian soldiers marching in a 2011 parade in Tehran to commemorate the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2><strong>One of the largest spenders on defense</strong></h2><p>Saudi Arabia's military faces two main problems. It is too large, making it more susceptible to organizational and quality issues, and its arsenal is designed for a large conventional war rather than the proxy wars of the 21st century.</p><p>For all Saudi Arabia's military ineffectiveness, it's hard to blame the kingdom's equipment. Last year, Saudi Arabia was the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2017/04/24/the-top-15-countries-for-military-expenditure-in-2016-infographic/#42fdac3443f3">fourth-largest</a> spender on defense products in the world, just behind Russia.</p><p>According to IHS Jane's, a British publishing company specializing in military, aerospace, and transportation topics, Saudi Arabia was the world's largest importer of weapons <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2015/03/10/saudi-arabia-has-become-the-worlds-biggest-arms-importer-infographic/#16ec16b35b98">in 2014</a>.</p><p>Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute shows that Saudi Arabia was the second-largest importer of weapons in both <a href="https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/SIPRIFS1602.pdf">2015</a> and <a href="https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/Trends-in-international-arms-transfers-2016.pdf">2016</a>. Arms imports into the kingdom have increased by over 200% since 2012, according to the institute.</p><p>The weaponry being bought is not low quality, either. The majority of Saudi Arabia's military hardware is bought from US companies. In fact, 13% of all US arms exports in 2016 were headed into the kingdom. Companies from the UK and Spain were the second- and third-largest sellers.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a319d3a4aa6b5d3198b4979-1024/rsaftyphoonatmalta-gordonzammit.jpg" alt="RSAF_Typhoon_at_Malta_ _Gordon_Zammit" data-mce-source="Wikimedia commons" data-mce-caption="A Royal Saudi Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon" /><p class="source"><span>Wikimedia commons</span></p><p class="caption">A Royal Saudi Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The Royal Saudi Air Force arsenal includes Eurofighter Typhoons, perhaps the most advanced fighter jet fielded by European militaries, and American F-15 Eagles, the undisputed king of the skies for three decades and still formidable. The Saudis even have their own model of the Eagle - the <a href="https://theaviationist.com/2017/02/01/up-close-and-personal-with-the-first-saudi-f-15sa-the-most-advanced-eagle-ever-built/">F-15SA</a> (Saudi Advanced), which just started being delivered this year.</p><p>The Royal Saudi Land Forces, the Saudi army, have everything from M1A2 Abrams tanks and M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles to AH-64D Apache Longbow and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.</p><p>Virtually every vessel in the Royal Saudi Navy was built in American shipyards, specifically for Saudi Arabia. Its newest frigates, the Al Riyadh class, are modified versions of France's La Fayette-class frigate.</p><p>Saudi Arabia is one of the best-equipped nations in the world. Yet the Saudi military does not strike fear into the hearts of its adversaries, or would-be foes.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a29c798a3b4748a008b4968-1098/saudi special forces.png" alt="Saudi Special forces" data-mce-source="Vice/YouTube" data-mce-caption="Saudi special forces soldiers during a hostage drill" data-link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRF6GLBSTYc" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRF6GLBSTYc">Vice/YouTube</a></span></p><p class="caption">Saudi special forces troops during a hostage drill.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2><strong>The proxy war in Yemen</strong></h2><p>Evidence of the Saudi military's shortcomings can be seen just south of the Saudi border in Yemen.</p><p>Almost three years after Saudi Arabia, supported by other Gulf and Arab states, launched a military intervention to support Yemen's ousted president, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, Iran-backed Houthi rebels are still active and continue to hold Yemen's largest city and capital, Sana'a.</p><p>Additionally, the Houthis have proved capable of launching high-profile attacks against the Saudis. Those include multiple <a href="http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/border-fight-could-shift-saudi-arabias-yemen-war-calculus">cross-border raids</a> into Saudi Arabia, successful attacks on <a href="http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/13068/houthi-rebels-in-yemen-attacked-another-uae-ship-and-thats-all-we-know-for-sure">Emirati</a> and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-saudi/yemens-houthis-attack-saudi-ship-launch-ballistic-missile-idUSKBN15E2KE">Saudi</a> navy ships, and the launching of ballistic missiles into the heartland of the kingdom.</p><p>In a more recent embarrassment, a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/04/world/middleeast/saudi-missile-defense.html?_r=0">report from The New York Times</a> suggested that a ballistic missile <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/world/middleeast/missile-saudi-arabia-riyadh.html">fired</a> by the Houthis that exploded at an airport in the Saudi capital of Riyadh was actually not shot down as previously claimed by the Saudi military.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a319ae74aa6b53f198b4995-1080/yemen civil war december 10 2017.png" alt="Yemen civil war, December 10, 2017" data-mce-source="Wikimedia commons" data-mce-caption="The state of the War in Yemen on December 10, 201. Red represents territory held by the Yemeni government backed by the Saudi-led coalition, white for Al-Qaeda affiliates, black for ISIS, and green for Iran-backed Houthi rebels." /><p class="source"><span>Wikimedia commons</span></p><p class="caption">The state of the War in Yemen earlier this month. Red represents territory held by the Yemeni government backed by the Saudi-led coalition, white for Al-Qaeda affiliates, black for ISIS, and green for Iran-backed Houthi rebels.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2><strong>Why there has been no victory in Yemen</strong></h2><p>The Saudis have had a hard task in Yemen. They have to operate in the Houthi heartland against a well-trained, well-funded, and well-supplied fighting force.</p><p>Saudi Arabia, however, has not deployed significant land forces into Yemen that would be required to win on the battlefield.</p><p>"We don't know if the Saudi military is able to have a significant impact on the Yemen war, because we've only seen the deployment of Saudi airpower," Knights told Business Insider.</p><p>"Generally, an airpower-only campaign is not going to have a great impact - particularly in this type of complex terrain with an enemy who is very adept at hiding from airpower and often looks like civilians," he said.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a2ad8c88a4986450a8b4bb6-1102/saudi army yemen.jpg" alt="Saudi army Yemen" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="Saudi troops walk at their base in Yemen's southern port city of Aden September 28, 2015." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Saudi troops at their base in Yemen's southern port city of Aden in 2015.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Knights estimates that 10,000 to 20,000 troops would be required to have the desired affect. Yet the Saudi military has not deployed its ground forces - most likely because the Saudi leadership knows that, as Knights says, they "suffer from significant weaknesses."</p><p>These weaknesses include a lack of logistical equipment and experience needed to carry out such a campaign.</p><p>"They have no experience in an expeditionary operation," he said, noting that the Desert Storm campaign against Iraq - which Saudi Arabia did contribute to - was largely an American effort.</p><p>Additionally, Saudi ground forces as a whole are not trained well enough to where they would be able to perform successfully in large-scale operations. As such, a Saudi ground force in Yemen may cause more harm than good.</p><p>Bilal Saab, the senior fellow and director of the Defense and Security Program at the Middle East Institute, told Business Insider that Saudi Arabia understood the potential harm of its ground forces. In an email, Saab said Saudi Arabia would not deploy large contingents of ground forces "because their casualties would be severe and they most probably would cause tremendous collateral damage in Yemen."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a2afa0e8a4986b2088b4ca5-1121/rtr4x681.jpg" alt="Saudi Army artillery" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="Saudi army artillery fire shells towards Houthi positions from the Saudi border with Yemen April 13, 2015." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Saudi artillery firing toward Houthi positions from the Saudi border with Yemen in 2015.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2><strong>What can be done</strong></h2><p>In Knights' view, Saudi Arabia needs to downsize its military, focus on quality recruitment and training, and make units that are capable of fighting alongside and training local allies.</p><p>Today, local militias and tribal groups form the majority of the ground force battling the Houthis, and few if any Saudi soldiers assist them - save for a few special forces units.</p><p>"As a result," Knights says, "there is no credible military pressure on the Houthis."</p><p>The proxy battle in Yemen is just one example of Iran's growing influence across the Middle East. Hezbollah, for instance, is better armed and organized than Lebanon's official military. Hamas, engaged in ongoing conflict with Israel, is also publicly backed by Iran and a number of militias in <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/08/iraq-iran-popular-mobilization-units.html">Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units</a> receive training, funding, and equipment from their neighboring country.</p><p>Saudi Arabia's arsenal, though impressive, also needs to be built up with its desired applications in mind. For now, those seem to be proxy wars against an enemy that is rarely in uniform, as opposed to one fought against a conventional army from the Cold War era.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-buying-weapons-deal-us-110-billion-tanks-choppers-trump-thaad-2017-5">Trump approved the largest weapons deal in US history - here's what Saudi Arabia is buying</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/3gHVcvYk-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Saudi Arabia has the best military equipment money can buy - but it's still not a threat to Iran

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56d5c3905124c913338b4567-800-534/iraqi-forces-try-to-cut-islamic-state-supply-lines-in-western-desert-2016-3.jpg" alt="Members of the Hashid Shaabi Shi'ite milita gather in the west of Samarra, in the desert of Anbar, as they prepare to depart for Mosul to fight against Islamic State, March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer     " data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="Members of the Hashid Shaabi Shi'ite milita gather in the west of Samarra, in the desert of Anbar, as they prepare to depart for Mosul to fight against Islamic State" /><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption"> Members of the Hashid Shaabi Shi'ite militia gather in the west of Samarra, in the desert of Anbar, as they prepare to depart for Mosul to fight against Islamic State </p></div><p></p></div></div>At least 80 people were killed in Baghdad on Wednesday in the worst wave of Islamic State-linked suicide bombings to hit the Iraqi capital yet this year.</p><p>Further north, meanwhile, Kurdish Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi army are trying to figure out how they can recapture Mosul - Iraq's second largest city - from ISIS, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/11/mosul-the-city-that-will-define-not-just-iraqs-war-but-its-future">without getting in each other's way</a>.</p><p>For many, the tension is symbolic of the extent to which Iraq has been irrevocably fractured politically and ethnically. And it represents what will ultimately be the biggest challenges in recapturing Mosul: deciding who will lead the offensive and what will happen after ISIS is driven out.</p><p>But a huge wild card remains in any plan to retake the city: the role that will be played by Iraq's Popular Mobilization forces (Hashid Shaabi), a group of predominantly Shiite militias that has contributed to, rather than eased, the kind of sectarian tensions that made Mosul susceptible to an ISIS takeover in the first place.</p><p><span>"Sunnis see ISIS as their protection - their wall against Shia revenge," a</span><span> US official told </span><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/11/behind-the-carnage-in-iraq-isis-intends-to-divide-and-conquer.html">The Daily Beast's</a><span> </span><span>Nancy Youssef on Thursday. </span></p><p>Warzer Jaff is a photojournalist from Sulaymaniyah in Kurdistan who has been embedded with the Iraqi army and, most recently, with Iraq's Special Forces. He told Business Insider that <span>Mosul can't be recaptured before the Sunnis are promised that they will have a part in it - and have something afterward.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5734a62952bcd022008c27b0-3500-2334/rtsahr8.jpg" alt="sunnis iraq" data-mce-source="Azad Lashkari/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Sunni Muslims who had fled the Islamic State's strongholds arrive at a refugee centre in Makhmour, south of Mosul, Iraq, March 13, 2016." /><p class="source"><span>Azad Lashkari/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Sunni Muslims who had fled the Islamic State's strongholds arrive at a refugee centre in Makhmour, south of Mosul, Iraq, March 13, 2016.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p>"The difficulties in liberating Mosul have as much to do with <keyword id="6358883" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Politics">politics</keyword> as with military strategy," Jaff said.</p><p>That's why a predominantly Sunni unit within Iraq's much more capable special forces will need to drive the offensive, Jaff noted, while the Peshmerga and Shiite militias remain well in the background.</p><p>If the Shiite militias have any part in retaking the city itself, "it will be a bloodbath," he added.</p><h2><span>'There is no such thing as Iraq any more'</span></h2><p>In February, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced that the militias would join in the operation to retake Mosul. During a visit to <span>Al-Sadr Teaching Hospital in Basra one month later, </span>Steve Walker, the US consul general there, <a href="http://www.aljazeera.net/news/arabic/2016/3/14/?????-???-??????-??????-????????-???????-?????-?????">said</a> the administration would not try to veto Abadi's decision.</p><p><span>"The Obama administration is wed to its current policy, which is much more about messaging than about forging actual victories," Ali Khedery, the longest continuously serving US official in Iraq, told Business Insider on Wednesday.</span></p><p><span>That messaging often does not correspond to realities on the ground, where Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds have become more worried about self-preservation than the preservation of a unified Iraqi state. In April, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/24/middleeast/iraq-shiite-peshmerga-clashes/">22 fighters were killed</a> in clashes between the Peshmerga and Shiite militia members in the northern Iraqi city of Tuz Khurmatu.</span></p><p><span>"Whoever says there is still an Iraqi state - ask them if they can drive through Kurdistan to Mosul and on to Baghdad," Jaff said. "There are borders. The Iraqi government doesn't even control Baghdad."</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5724ee6252bcd020008c0051-800-533/2016-04-30t161340z_1_lynxnpec3t0cz_rtroptp_3_mideast-crisis-iraq-politics.jpg" alt="Baghdad green zone protest" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily" data-mce-caption="Followers of Iraq's Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr storm Baghdad's Green Zone after lawmakers failed to convene for a vote on overhauling the government, in Iraq April 30, 2016." /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily</span></p><p class="caption">Followers of Iraq's Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr storm Baghdad's Green Zone after lawmakers failed to convene for a vote on overhauling the government, in Iraq April 30, 2016.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span><span>Capt Shawqat, a Kurdish Peshmerga captain, put it bluntly. </span></p><p><span>"There is no such thing as Iraq any more," he told <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/11/mosul-the-city-that-will-define-not-just-iraqs-war-but-its-future">The Guardian's Martin Chulov</a>. "</span><span>There never was, but now it is clear to everyone. Even to the Americans up in the hills."</span></p><p><span>If it is clear to the American advisers embedded with Iraqi forces, however, it does not seem clear to the administration that sent them there.</span></p><p><span>President Barack O</span>bama has said repeatedly that he intends to "<a href="http://www.newsweek.com/barack-obama-says-recapture-mosul-isis-set-end-2016-449637" target="_blank">tighten the noose</a>" around ISIS by training and supporting the Iraqi army. <span>A US <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Defense">defense</keyword> official told Voice of America last month that </span><span>"Mosul is the end game in Iraq." And e</span>ight Apache attack helicopters were deployed to Iraqi security forces in March.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5734891891058424008c253e-4608-3109/rtx2ad98.jpg" alt="Iraq" data-mce-source="Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Iraqi soldiers have their lunch at their base in Makhmour, after it was freed from control of Islamic State, south of Mosul." /><p class="source"><span>Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Iraqi soldiers have their lunch at their base in Makhmour, after it was freed from control of Islamic State, south of Mosul.</p></div><p></p></div></div>But few believe that will be enough to halt ISIS' momentum in the country, which continues to be driven in large part by Baghdad's political instability and the perception that Abadi is beholden to Iran. </p><p><span>"Abadi was and is a weak compromise candidate heavily influenced by Iran and its proxies," Michael Pregent, a former embedded adviser with a Peshmerga battalion operating in Mosul and former US Defense Department adviser, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iraq-green-zone-obama-abadi-2016-5">told Business Insider</a> earlier this month. </span></p><p>That is largely because of the financial support Abadi's Dawa Party continues to receive from Tehran, Pregent said, despite some of its policy differences with the Islamic Republic.</p><p>"The US has no leverage in Baghdad, which has long since been ceded to Tehran," Pregent said.</p><p><span>Khedery - who <span>served as a special assistant to five US ambassadors and as a senior adviser to three heads of US Central Command - </span>agreed that there isn't much under Abadi's control, and that a radical new formula will be needed to defeat ISIS in a society that is so deeply polarized.</span></p><p><span>"You need another tribal awakening that will allow moderate Sunni Arabs to retake their own areas," Khedery said. "And you need to promise them a stake in their own future. Otherwise, this will never end."</span></p><h2><span>In Iraq, 'things often take longer than expected'</span></h2><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5734a2be910584716f8c241a-3000-1823/rtx1jvwp.jpg" alt="hashid shaabi" data-mce-source="Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Iraqi Shiite Muslim men from Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) march during a parade marking the annual al-Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Baghdad, July 10, 2015." /><p class="source"><span>Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Iraqi Shiite Muslim men from Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) march during a parade marking the annual al-Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Baghdad, July 10, 2015.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span>Still, some analysts think the role of Iraq's sectarian tensions in hindering a potential victory over ISIS has been overstated.</p><p><span>"The push to retake </span><span>Mosul would only be delayed because the Iraqi army is not ready yet," Wladimir van Wilgenburg, a Kurdish affairs analyst and freelance journalist who has been on Mosul's front lines, told Business Insider on Wednesday. "N</span><span>ot because of sectarian tensions."</span></p><p>As one defense official explained to <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/12/taking-isis-stronghold-is-delayed-again.html">The Daily Beast's Nancy Youssef</a>, "they [the Iraqis] don't have the forces right now. It's not going to happen. They cannot sustain it."</p><p><span>Michael Knights, an expert on Iraq at the Washington Institute, said he'd anticipated delays.</span></p><p><span>"People who know Iraq know that things often take longer than expected," Knights told Business Insider last week. "</span><span>But those people should also admit that sometimes they happen shockingly fast - so we all need to be ready for a lurch forward by the coalition and/or some kind of implosion of ISIL control."</span></p><p><span><span>The Iraqis have slowly been retaking territory around </span><span>Mosul </span><span>and are now positioned 50 miles south and 20 miles north of the city.</span></span></p><p><span> "My assessment would be that we'll have Mosul surrounded by year-end," Knights said.</span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56829885e6183e1d008b566d-1204-765/mosul.png" alt="mosul" data-mce-source="Google Maps/Amanda Macias/Business Insider" /><p class="source"><span>Google Maps/Amanda Macias/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span><span>Maj. Gen. Gary J. Volesky, a commander of the US anti-ISIS operation in Iraq, <a href="http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/757140/department-of-defense-press-briefing-by-gen-volesky-via-teleconference-from-bag">told reporters</a> in<span> a Wednesday press briefing from Baghdad that Iraqi forces are putting "more and more pressure" on ISIS around Mosul.</span></span></span></p><p><span>"We get indications of their challenge to resupply their forces, move in men, weapons and equipment throughout Iraq," Volesky said. "We get indications that every time they hear an aircraft or one of our platforms, they go to ground. They don't want to move because they know they're about to get struck."</span></p><p><span>The role of Hashid Shaabi in retaking the city was not mentioned during the press conference. When asked directly if he thought Mosul would fall by the end of this year, Volesky said only that the US is "<span>supporting their [the Iraqis'] plan to get to Mosul and defeat Daesh." (<span>Daesh is an alternate name for ISIS.)</span></span></span></p><p><span>Peshmerga captain Lt. Col. Srud Barzinji, for his part, told The Guardian's Chulov that he doesn't expect a meaningful push for Mosul to happen by the end of this year. The US Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, evidently doesn't expect it to, either.</span></p><p><span>"<span>We will retake Mosul, but it will take a long time and be very messy," Clapper told The Washington Post. "I don't see that happening in this administration."</span></span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-describes-possible-running-mate-christie-walker-kasich-primary-vice-president-2016-5">Trump just dropped more hints about a possible running mate </a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="dxcm9hMzE6eEnn_4nXk4JSd1hWOfUjJ_" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'dxcm9hMzE6eEnn_4nXk4JSd1hWOfUjJ_',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

There's a huge wild card that could cripple Obama's plans to defeat ISIS in Iraq

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57bc841edb5ce94e008b8567-840/screen shot 2016-08-23 at 1.11.17 pm.png" alt="Peshmerganor" data-mce-source="peshmerganor/Instagram" /><p class="source"><span>peshmerganor/Instagram</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>He simply goes by "Mike."</p><p>As a Kurdish refugee from Iraq in the 1980s, his family luckily made their way into Norway to escape the horrors inflicted by Saddam Hussein's <span>Ba'athist regime.</span></p><p>After growing up and joining the <span>Norwegian Armed Forces, the soldier, now in his early 30s,</span> served in an elite mechanized-infantry unit and eventually completed a tour in Afghanistan.</p><p>However, it wasn't until <span>August 2014, <span>when ISIS took control of Sinjar, Iraq,</span></span> that Mike decided to join the Peshmerga - Iraqi-Kurdistan's independent military force.</p><p>It was at Sinjar that stories of ISIS' atrocities - from the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11160906/Isil-carried-out-massacres-and-mass-sexual-enslavement-of-Yazidis-UN-confirms.html">execution</a> of 5,000 Yazidi men, to the systematic raping and selling of women and children - first broke out in major news headlines.</p><p>"It did an impression on me," Mike told Business Insider. "What was worse, though, was the lack of action from the world community, including my own government. I decided that I couldn't sit idly by and watch these horrors unfold."</p><p>Now, returning to the same country his parents escaped from decades ago, he fights the ISIS militia under the Peshmerga flag and motto: "T<span>hose who face death."</span></p><p>But getting started wasn't as easy as picking up a rifle and starting to shoot. Many of the Peshmerga fighters weren't properly trained for combat - after coming straight from civilian life, the locals are typically issued a set of uniforms and a rifle before being told to man the front.</p><p>Teaching these fighters basic infantry skills, Mike and several other volunteers from Canada, the UK, Norway, and Australia have tried to instill whatever talents they've learned in their respective fields, such as medical training.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57bc89dfdb5ce92a088b85ed-2400/rtr41zbu.jpg" alt="Sinjar children flee isis" data-mce-source="Rodi Said/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Children from the minority Yazidi sect flee from the ISIS militants that killed at least 500 members of their ethnic group." /><p class="source"><span>Rodi Said/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Yazidi children in Sinjar, Iraq, flee from ISIS militants that killed hundreds of members of their ethnic group.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>However, it's not merely enough to believe in the Kurdish cause, or to have a particular set of skills, to join the Peshmerga. Due to several reasons, including pressure from several countries, Mike has been unwilling to assist those who want to join his cause.</p><p>"It would look bad if America's veterans are the ones doing all the fighting on the ground, while US forces themselves are reluctant to send their own troops," he stated. "Those who do successfully end up in Iraq are typically placed in inactive fronts, out of harm's way, until they're bored out of their minds and leave the country broke and disappointed."</p><p>In the rare case that a soldier exhibits exceptional knowledge or skill, he offered an exception. "There are some good volunteers down here that are allowed to stay at active fronts, and in some rare cases, allowed to take part in offensive operations as well."</p><p>The challenges don't end there. As a volunteer in an all-volunteer unit, he receives no salary from the Kurdish or Iraqi government - instead, he relies solely on the donations from his followers on social media to finance his weapons and ammunition.</p><p>"I have great supporters and I'm able to buy gear, food, and fuel to my unit in addition to financing my stay here," he described. "We have little support from the government and barely and logistics, but [we somehow make it through]."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57bc9243db5ce9b2008b860f-840/screen shot 2016-08-23 at 2.12.11 pm.png" alt="peshmerganor" data-mce-source="peshmerganor/Instagram" /><p class="source"><span>peshmerganor/Instagram</span></p><p class="caption">Two of Mike's associates donating portable heaters to the Peshmerga unit.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>His favorite weapon happens to be an old MG-42 machine gun that dates back to World War II; however, when it breaks down, which happens often, he resorts to his tried-and-true M-16. Interestingly, his first Advanced Combat Optical Gunsights (ACOG) scope on his rifle turned out of be a useless fake - with the help of his supporters, he has since replaced it with a functioning unit.</p><p>Considering the cost of his fight - $100 buys him 120 rounds for his rifle, while $65 buys him 50 bullets for his pistol - when his financial situation becomes dire, he relies on ammunition and heavy weapons taken from dead ISIS fighters.</p><p>Unbeknownst to many outside of Iraq, his supporter-financed work seems to be making a direct difference on the front lines.</p><p>One example of this included successfully driving back a major ISIS offensive near a dam in Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. After receiving intelligence that the jihadists were launching an attack at a friendly unit's location, Mike and his unit decided to make the drive during the night to reinforce the local Peshmerga forces. Sure enough, in the early hours of the morning, ISIS militants came storming in at a full force.</p><p>"We fought for 8 hours straight and lost one man … but we fought them off and killed dozens or so," explained Mike. "We were later told that ISIS would have probably broken through the lines if [we hadn't been there]."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57bc8f5fce38f221008b86e6-840/screen shot 2016-08-23 at 1.45.54 pm.png" alt="peshmerganor" data-mce-source="peshmerganor/Instagram" /><p class="source"><span>peshmerganor/Instagram</span></p><p class="caption">After fighting for two days, Mike manages to find some warm orange juice and salted peanuts from an expired ISIS combatant.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Like many wars, Mike has had his share of harrowing moments as well. Mike described the terrifying battle he experienced when ISIS launched one of their deadliest offensives in a year - the same battle that took the life of US Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV.</p><p>The fight was later <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/03/politics/us-service-member-killed-iraq-mosul/">described</a> by the US-led Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) as "a big fight, one of the largest we've seen recently."</p><p>"[ISIS was] able to break through the lines and seize a nearby town when panic broke out amongst some of the local forces. The units guarding our right flank abandoned their posts and tried to [convince] my unit into fleeing [with them] …"</p><p>"In a desperate [move] to make them return to their posts, I decided to run over to man one of their fortified positions by myself. To my disappointment, I ended up running several hundred meters to the position all alone … I stayed at that position for nearly 20 minutes and watched ISIS breaking through the lines with 50 vehicles and several hundred men."</p><p>"I was expecting them to work their way down the line toward me and that I would have to face them alone - that was definitely not a good feeling. Luckily, reinforcements arrived [shortly afterward] and we were able to stop their advance at that fortified position."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57bc8df0ce38f245188b85a1-840/screen shot 2016-08-23 at 1.54.04 pm.png" alt="Peshmerganor" data-mce-source="peshmerganor/Instagram" /><p class="source"><span>peshmerganor/Instagram</span></p><p class="caption">Mike scopes out a neighboring village under Islamic State control.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Other than the sporadic mortar fire and ISIS' skirmishes, the biggest challenge for Mike and his unit seems to stem not from his unit's equipment deficiencies or ISIS' fighting capabilities, but from the bureaucratic red tape that surrounds his area of operations.</p><p>He explained to Business Insider that there existed a stalemate at the front, as his unit could only advance through a few villages and towns at a time before having to wait for the Iraqi Army to reinforce his position. During such down times, he says he resorts to killing time on his phone.</p><p>Mike's deployments are typically three months long, down from his first six-month deployment. "[That first deployment] took a toll on me, both mentally and physically. I learned my lesson after that."</p><p>After a rotation, he spends about a month of time back in Europe, primarily with his girlfriend, who is also frequently mentioned on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/peshmerganor/" target="_blank">his Instagram account</a>.</p><p>"I can deal with the poor living condition, the lack of food and sleep, the constant threat from the enemy, but being away from my girlfriend for months at a time is definitely the biggest challenge," Mike said.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57bc9119db5ce91d008b853e-840/screen shot 2016-08-23 at 2.06.11 pm.png" alt="peshmerganor" data-mce-source="peshmerganor/Instagram" /><p class="source"><span>peshmerganor/Instagram</span></p><p class="caption">Mike and his girlfriend making gingerbread cookies back home in Norway.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>But it's not only his girlfriend that shares his concern.</p><p>"My whole family [is] aware that I'm volunteering ... they're not too fond of it. They've tried to talk me out of it several times, but my mind is set - I'm not coming home until Mosul is liberated."</p><p>As far as goals go, the city of Mosul is where Mike and CJTF have their sights set. As one of the few ISIS strongholds that remain in Iraq, many months have been spent on formulating a plan to not only liberate the city from ISIS' hands, but to prevent the jihadists from returning again.</p><p>"Taking part in the Mosul operation [has] been my goal since 2014 - but to be honest, I thought we would have taken it back by the end of last year," he explained. "The fall of Ramadi postponed the operation, but I haven't lost sight of my goal. Mosul has turned out to be my white whale."</p><p>Although military officials have <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/08/iraq-offensive-2016-mosul-islamic-state-isis-isil-obama-foreign-policy-kurdish-214121" target="_blank">estimated</a> that Mosul will be liberated by the end of the year, the future of the city remains uncertain. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/isis-human-shield-retreat-2016-8" target="_blank">Sleeper cells</a> in previously liberated cities still exist as a confirmed threat, and the likelihood of continuing sectarianism in Iraq poses a risk of alienating one of many groups in the region.</p><p>What's also uncertain is Mike's future once ISIS is ousted from the city.</p><p>"I would ideally [like to go] back to my old Army unit, but I've lost my security clearance due to my service with the Peshmerga," he explained. "I'll never be allowed to join the Norwegian Armed Forces again, but I'm sure I'll do alright somehow."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57bdc3f4db5ce94b088b8978-840/screen shot 2016-08-23 at 1.48.04 pm.png" alt="Peshmerganor" data-mce-source="peshmerganor/Instagram" /><p class="source"><span>peshmerganor/Instagram</span></p><p class="caption">Mike stands with a captured ISIS fighter: "We arrested three guys in total and took them to an abandoned house for questioning. They got treated pretty decent, except for the guy in the photo ... he had an attitude that some of the guys had to beat out of him."</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Until then, Mike continues to remain with his Peshmerga unit on the front lines, committed to ISIS' ouster. He concluded the interview by offering a strong message against ISIS' forces:</p><p>"Your mortar and rocket [attacks aren't] impressing anyone," Mike made clear. "Step up your game and come attack us head-on - you know where to find us."</p><p>You can keep up with Mike's travels on his Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/peshmerganor/">account</a>.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/army-isis-apache-helicopters-2016-8">The US Army is sending Apache attack helicopters to fight ISIS in Iraq</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="A1MnR5MjE6q4EZBzsr2JJPgCofHL8vYQ" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'A1MnR5MjE6q4EZBzsr2JJPgCofHL8vYQ',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

You Searched For "Apache Storm" and got 10 results

Sisters of Sacheen Littlefeather, an Apache activist who refused an Oscar on Marlon Brando's behalf, say she wasn't actually Native American: report

Kenneth Niemeyer

Enough of Big Data, Let’s talk about ‘Fast Data’ Now

Gaurav Sangwani

The US is sending roughly 100 more Marines to defend the embassy in Baghdad after violent protesters stormed the gate

Ryan Pickrell

There is a virtual lockdown in the world’s fourth largest automobile market

Rounak Jain

The Pentagon is playing down the role of US troops in retaking Iraq's Mosul from ISIS

Alex Lockie

Thanks to IBM, a hot startup called Databricks is poised to dominate a vital new market

Julie Bort

The satirist P.J. O'Rourke submitted an amazing brief in a big free speech case the Supreme Court heard today

Erin Fuchs

Saudi Arabia has the best military equipment money can buy - but it's still not a threat to Iran

Ben Brimelow

There's a huge wild card that could cripple Obama's plans to defeat ISIS in Iraq

Natasha Bertrand

We interviewed a Peshmerga soldier fighting ISIS on the frontlines - here's what he had to say

David Choi