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46 militants killed, 38 thousand kgs of explosives in Farah airstrikes
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
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12 20:02 Rob Crawford [3] 
6 19:53 Seeking Cure For Ignorance [3] 
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5 19:46 Seeking Cure For Ignorance [1] 
8 23:17 Raj [1] 
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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6 10:51 DarthVader [1]
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4 18:14 Zenobia Floger6220 [2]
2 17:51 CrazyFool [2]
Africa Subsaharan
Cholera Outbreak in Nigeria Claims Nearly 100 Lives
Bad luck.
[AnNahar] A cholera outbreak in north-eastern Nigeria has claimed nearly 100 lives over the past two weeks, the United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
said Saturday.

More than 3,000 cholera cases have been recorded in the states of Yobe and Borno in a region that is also grappling with a Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
insurgency, it said.

"The cumulative number of recorded cases in both states currently stands at 3,126 including 97 deaths," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

The outbreak was declared two weeks ago in restive Borno, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people live in camps.

Boko Haram has intensified attacks, especially against military targets in recent months.

On Wednesday, the UN reported that more than 500 people had died from cholera in the Lake Chad region since the start of the year, representing the worst outbreak to hit the area in four years.

It said more than six million people could be affected by the outbreak without urgent action to control it.

Expected floods and heavy rains were "an ideal environment for the outbreak to spread", OCHA warned.

The Lake Chad region straddles parts of Nigeria, Cameroon
...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there...
, Chad and Niger, which are also having to deal with a jihadist insurgency.

OCHA said Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, was the worst-hit with 24,000 cases overall, and said immediate action was needed to stem the disease.

Cholera is caused by a bacterium transmitted through contaminated food or drinking water. It causes acute diarrhoea, with children particularly at risk.

Water-borne diseases are a constant threat in the Lake Chad region because of a lack of adequate sanitation as well as stagnant groundwater during the rainy season.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Cholera is caused by a bacterium transmitted through contaminated food or drinking water.

And by 'contaminated', we mean with poo.

Not good. Cholera is a sure sign that your neighborhood is going downhill.
Posted by: SteveS || 09/25/2018 10:04 Comments || Top||

#2  You know what else flows downhill?
Posted by: Frank G || 09/25/2018 10:59 Comments || Top||

#3  Not bad luck. Incompetence and negligence.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 09/25/2018 12:00 Comments || Top||

#4  Easy enough to resolve, if the Nigerian Princes would stop sending their riches in email.
Posted by: Skidmark || 09/25/2018 16:04 Comments || Top||

#5  "Cholera", a new Ben & Jerry Democrat themed flavor!
Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance || 09/25/2018 19:46 Comments || Top||


Britain
British PM faces cabinet showdown as divided Labour Party gathers
[Al Jazeera] Theresa May under increased pressure from ministers after a failed meeting with EU leaders, who rejected her proposals.

Posted by: Fred || 09/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  WTO is the best exit.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 09/25/2018 5:58 Comments || Top||

#2  World Trade Organization?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/25/2018 15:36 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Argentina Peso Plunges (Further) After Central Bank Head Unexpectedly Resigns
[Zero Hedge] One day after it emerged that the IMF's record $50 billion bailout of Argentina is just not big enough, and the country will need an additional $3-$5 billion in additional rescue funds, news which sent the Argentine Peso tumbling, moments ago the country's economic problems took another turn for the worse, when Argentine Central Bank President Luis Caputo resigned on Tuesday morning just three months after taking office, as the country slides ever deeper in an economic crisis, coupled with the collapse of its currency, which lost half of its value this year.

As part of his emergency actions meant to stabilize the economy, Caputo pushed the benchmark interest rate up to 60% - despite forecasts of recession - and sold international reserves in a bid to stabilize the currency despite the IMF's warnings against. He also planned to eliminate a chunk of short-term central bank debt that had been contributing to volatility.

Caputo, a former Citigroup and Deutsche Bank trader who was Argentina's former finance minister under Macri, spent the majority of his time at the bank trying to stabilize the peso which has plunged 50% in 2018, the most in emerging markets. As the FT notes, "his appointment at the time prompted some critics to question the government's commitment to strengthening the central bank's independence."

As for the resignation, it couldn't have come at a worse time and follows one day after reports that Argentina was seeking even more bailout funds, suggesting that the country's "stabilization" process is not going quite as expected.

To be sure there were hints that his days were numbered, because as Bloomberg's Seb Boyd writes, there were reports that he had disagreements with finance minister Nicolas Dujovne and he didn't travel to Washington with the official delegation earlier this month.

However, Caputo disputed any professional reasons behind his decision, and the now former central banker said the decision was due to personal issues, according to Bloomberg...
Posted by: Frank G || 09/25/2018 11:48 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is the socialist country that provided the world with the current Pope.
Posted by: Ebbavirt Clunk4147 || 09/25/2018 19:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Si
Posted by: Frank G || 09/25/2018 20:50 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
China rolls out a white paper and not a white flag in US trade war
[Asia Times] It contains 36,000 Chinese characters and condemns the United States for starting the trade war. US President Donald Trump will probably dismiss Beijing’s white paper in little more than a 120-character tweet.

Released on Monday by the official Xinhua news agency, Facts About the China-US Trade Dispute and China’s Stance, is the first comprehensive document from President Xi Jinping’s administration on the new economic Cold War.
Link to announcement of White Paper

“Intimidation” and “bullying” are used frequently while Washington has been accused of “contradicting itself and constantly challenging China.” This, in turn, has caused “serious damage” to trade relations between the world’s two largest economies.

“[The US] has brazenly preached unilateralism, protectionism and economic hegemony, making false accusations against many countries and regions, particularly China,” the government document stated.

“It has intimidated other countries through economic measures, such as imposing tariffs and attempted to impose its own interests on China through extreme pressure. The key, however, lies in how to enhance mutual trust, promote cooperation, and manage differences,” the white paper concluded.


But according to the official newspaper of the country’s ruling Communist Party, the People’s Daily, the world’s second-largest economy is being punished for “hard work and innovation.”

“After more than a century of hard work, China has returned to the center of the world stage, and this is the basic fact we must observe in the China-US trade friction,” the People’s Daily stated in a commentary.

“Such a large size, such a heavy thing, can’t be hidden by ‘being low key,’ just like an elephant can’t hide behind a sapling,” it added.

Certainly, not an “elephant” holding a white paper containing 36,000 Chinese characters.
Posted by: 3dc || 09/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No trade w/ Commies.

Only 20 character tweet required.
Posted by: Criling Chereng4465 || 09/25/2018 6:51 Comments || Top||

#2 
Posted by: Skidmark || 09/25/2018 8:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Phuque the SCUM COMMIE CHINKS
Posted by: 746 || 09/25/2018 20:32 Comments || Top||

#4  *ahem* the previous comment brought to you by alcohol and excitement, but mostly by.....
Posted by: Frank G || 09/25/2018 20:54 Comments || Top||

#5  Somebody Wins and somebody Loses. That's WHY they call it a War.

The Purpose of a war, its reason for existing, is to make somebody LOSE. To take everything he has and then kill him. To take is choices away from him, to cut his options down to Zero. To back him into a corner and stick a knife in him.

Bullying is too nice a word. Intimidation is too. That's just the beginning. The word "Lose" doesn't really cover it. You want him dead. Turn out the Light and lock the door.

The UN laughed? They giggled because they didn't understand.
Posted by: Elmoling Panda1220 || 09/25/2018 20:54 Comments || Top||

#6  well, that ....too
Posted by: Frank G || 09/25/2018 20:55 Comments || Top||

#7  Is that you, Hemingway? As far as I can tell, the purpose of war is to force the other guy to surrender. Not just go through the motions, but to completely give up, permanently accepting the new reality. If some die along the way and some of their stuff turns to rubble, that’s ok. But killing is not the objective, merely one tool in the toolbox. And genocide is definitely not the objective.

So no, you don’t want him dead. How can he surrender and learn to live with the new reality if he is dead?
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/25/2018 22:59 Comments || Top||

#8  The truth, as always, is somewhere in between - kill enough or maybe a bit more of your opponents to make the rest of them surrender & lay down arms under your conditions.
Posted by: Raj || 09/25/2018 23:17 Comments || Top||


Europe
Moscow protests Russian's arrest in Oslo
[Ynet] Russia's foreign ministry summoned Norway's ambassador on Monday to protest against the arrest of a Russian citizen in Oslo on suspicion of spying while Norwegian authorities sealed off what was described as a "compromised room" in parliament.

The Russian, identified as M.A.Bochkaryov, was detained on Friday at Oslo's airport as he prepared to fly out after attending an international seminar on digitalisation in Norway's parliament.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Russian authorities did not comment on the Novachek vial found in this luggage.
Posted by: Blossom Angang8694 || 09/25/2018 9:26 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Teenage girl, boyfriend beheaded by father and uncle in Attock village
[DAWN] An 18-year-old girl was beheaded along with her 21-year-old boyfriend by her father and uncle in what the police are calling yet another incident of honour killing, DawnNews TV reported on Monday.

The incident, that took place in a small village in Attock district, transpired when the man arrived at the girl's house to meet her, police said. Soon after, the girl's father Masood and her uncle Waheed walked in and, after tying the victims with ropes, beheaded them with a sharp object.

The police have tossed in the clink
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
both suspects and recovered the murder weapon as well, Sub-inspector of Saddar cop shoppe Asif Khan told DawnNews TV. The bodies of both victims have been sent to District Headquarters Hospital for his appointment with Doctor Quincy after which they will be returned to their families. A case of double-murder has also been registered.

Posted by: Fred || 09/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Two more breeders down.
Posted by: Skidmark || 09/25/2018 8:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Sad to hear but at least they won't be making any Pakis for us to worry about.
Posted by: jpal || 09/25/2018 9:24 Comments || Top||


Abdulla Yameen concedes defeat in Maldives presidential election
Maldives' President Abdulla Yameen has conceded defeat after a surprise election win for the opposition in a poll that was billed as a test for democracy in the troubled island nation.

"The citizens of the Maldives had their say ... and I accept that result," Yameen said in a televised speech on Monday.

The 59-year-old, who presided over a five-year crackdown on dissent, said he met with president-elect Ibrahim Mohammed Solih at the president's office in Male shortly before his speech.

"I have congratulated him," Yameen said.

The remarks came hours after the National Elections Commission confirmed a decisive victory for Solih, a long-time member of parliament, who ran representing a coalition of four parties whose leaders are either in jail or exile.

Solih won with 58 percent of the vote, or 134,616 ballots, while Yameen garnered 96,142 votes or 42 percent, the official count showed.

Turnout in the election, in which more than a quarter million people were eligible to vote, was more than 89 percent.

Posted by: Fred || 09/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Science & Technology
Early humans grew grains for beer, not bread, new study suggests
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/25/2018 05:13 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  they were sedentary even before agriculture became a mainstay

Man cave couch potato beer drinkers.
Posted by: Skidmark || 09/25/2018 8:16 Comments || Top||

#2  so this is evidence for an evolutionary decrease in intelligence.....?
Posted by: Jiggs Crinenter4883 || 09/25/2018 9:25 Comments || Top||

#3  Beer is a food, too.
Posted by: Bobby || 09/25/2018 10:23 Comments || Top||

#4  The alcohol in the beer made the water safe to drink.

They drank beer because the water was liquid pestilence.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 09/25/2018 10:27 Comments || Top||

#5  He only made the bread to make the pizza to go with it.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 09/25/2018 10:38 Comments || Top||

#6  Beer... so much more than just a breakfast drink.
Posted by: DarthVader || 09/25/2018 10:48 Comments || Top||

#7  Fortunately, farming techniques improved and grain yields went up, enabling the keeping of animals. That allowed us to eat steak while drinking beer.
Posted by: Iblis || 09/25/2018 11:52 Comments || Top||

#8  so this is evidence for an evolutionary decrease in intelligence.....?
after the agricultural revolution was complete we were no longer "hunters" and "nomads" as we had been for the previous million or so years. so yes we started or de-evolution about that time and got small, weak and soft as a result
Posted by: 746 || 09/25/2018 12:56 Comments || Top||

#9  The humans who did that agriculture shit did, but out here, it's an all-the-raw-deer-liver-you-can-eat buffet.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 09/25/2018 15:27 Comments || Top||

#10  Alcohol isn't there anything it can't do?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/25/2018 15:34 Comments || Top||

#11  Beer has food value.
Food does not have beer value.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 09/25/2018 17:52 Comments || Top||

#12  The alcohol in the beer made the water safe to drink.

Nah. The boiling made it safe to drink; the yeast kept other things from growing in it; the flavorings made it shelf-stable.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 09/25/2018 20:02 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
The Left Is Hoping to Eliminate Steak, Hamburgers, and Bacon
h/t Instapundit
For a time in my life, I was a vegan and a member of PETA. Since then, I have changed a lot, but I still understand how animal rights activists think and what they want. In a nutshell, and quite simply, they think that meat eaters are moral monsters and they want to ensure that no humans eat meat. That being said, they're not afraid to think of new ways to accomplish their goals. An article in The Atlantic touting meat grown in laboratories as a substitute for meat from animals is a case in point.

Derek Thompson begins his article with the provocative claim, "There are two big truths about eating meat from animals."

If I didn't know better, I would've assumed that the two big truths are: 1. meat is delicious, and, 2. humans are designed to eat meat. But I know better, and Thompson drops that claim as a setup for a few of animal rights activists' favorite canards

...I find it interesting that the side opposed to GMOs is now pushing artificially constructed "meat." Make no mistake, though, just like their opposition to GMOs is because leftists are opposed to human flourishing, a push for fake meat is also a reflection of leftists disdain for humanity.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/25/2018 05:09 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  their opposition to GMOs is because leftists are opposed to human flourishing,

So it's not because they want millions of brown children to starve to death?
Posted by: Bobby || 09/25/2018 9:33 Comments || Top||

#2  The opposition to GMOs and the religion of Gaia is the left's religion. That and government. When looked at in that light it all makes sense.
Posted by: DarthVader || 09/25/2018 10:50 Comments || Top||

#3  If we aren't supposed to eat animals, then why are they made out of meat?
Posted by: gorb || 09/25/2018 10:57 Comments || Top||

#4  They, also, demand replacing blue grass on lawns with clover.
Posted by: 3dc || 09/25/2018 12:48 Comments || Top||

#5  Clover instead of bluegrass...interesting. Do you know how many rabbits I could bait with that. Get'em nice and plump because, I have to eat at least two per meal to get full. Three if they are the size of Fiver.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 09/25/2018 17:49 Comments || Top||

#6  Romans 14 (The entire chapter)
Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance || 09/25/2018 19:53 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
27[untagged]
7Govt of Iran
4Islamic State
4Moslem Colonists
3Taliban
3Govt of Pakistan
2Govt of Iran Proxies
2Govt of Syria
2Hamas
2Houthis
1Govt of Pakistain Proxies
1Commies
1Muslim Brotherhood
1Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters

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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2018-09-25
  46 militants killed, 38 thousand kgs of explosives in Farah airstrikes
Mon 2018-09-24
  Exclusive: Rod Rosenstein is resigning (he didn't, then)
Sun 2018-09-23
  Pirates kidnap 12 crew members from Swiss shipping vessel in Nigerian waters
Sat 2018-09-22
  12 Killed, 14 Wounded in Mozambique Jihadist Attacks
Fri 2018-09-21
  Israel arrests 10 East Jerusalemites suspected of leading Temple Mount clashes
Thu 2018-09-20
  Sweida: ISIS faces dehydration as Syrian Army seizes last water source in Al-Safa
Wed 2018-09-19
  Syria Shoots Down Russian Jet, Moscow Threatens Retaliation ‐ Against Israel
Tue 2018-09-18
  Report: Syria mistakenly downs Russian plane as it attempts to repel alleged Israeli strike
Mon 2018-09-17
  Boko Haram gang members sentenced to ten years for murder -- community outraged
Sun 2018-09-16
  Ethiopian Air Force Conducts Airstrike Against Al-Shabaab In Somalia
Sat 2018-09-15
  Man Drives Car into Crowd in Southern France, Wounding Two
Fri 2018-09-14
  Sweida: Syrian Army advances 3.5km deep into ISIS-held territory
Thu 2018-09-13
  Mosul clearance continues: turban cell tied up, 13 more died tired, 3 innocents kaboomed
Wed 2018-09-12
  Nangarhar: Momand Dara district jacket wallah causes 160 casualties, Taliban say wasn’t them
Tue 2018-09-11
  9/11/2018: On this day, we remember


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