[Daily Caller] The FBI did not corroborate the CIA’s claim that Russia had a hand in the election of President-elect Donald Trump in a meeting with lawmakers last week.
A senior FBI counterintelligence official met with Republican and Democrat members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in order to give the bureau’s view of a recent CIA report. The official did not concur with the CIA, frustrating Democrats.
The CIA believes Russia "quite" clearly intended to send Trump to the White House. The claim is a bold one, and concerned Democrats and some Republicans who are worried about Trump’s desire to mend relations with an increasingly aggressive Russia. The CIA report was "direct, bald and unqualified," one of the officials at the meeting told The Washington Post Saturday.
The FBI official was much less convinced of the claims, providing "fuzzy" and "ambiguous" remarks.
#1
That comment is why you have to keep this guy around until he just goes too far! ROFLMAO!
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/12/2016 10:40 Comments ||
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#2
In all seriousness, a federal judge just nixed PeeAye recount, so that leaves some non-constitutional invalidation of the election on the strength of nothing but CIA unsubstantiated claims, obooboo deciding to just stay on, or the "faithless elector" gambit that some dems are whining for now. Let Jan. 20 pass quietly and without shenanigans and then let the real real fun begin!
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/12/2016 10:43 Comments ||
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#3
FBI does not appear to be following the Russian meme. Senator Harry 'left hook' Reid now calling for an investigation of FBI Director Comey.
#2
What else was happening in 1929? Oh yeah, the crash of 1929 and the Depression. The crash and depression led to WWII. As is often said "All wars are banker's wars." Maybe there is some truth to that.
A heavy combat between Galmudug and Puntland forces is reported to have erupted in northern Galkayo city, the regional capital of Mudug province on Sunday. The clashes erupted after troops of the rival regional administrations began digging defensive positions in the area for a sign of preparation of new war in the conflict-riddled divided town.
The officials of the two federal member states have signed a peace agreement in November to end the recurrent clashes that forced thousands to flee their houses as hundreds lost their lives.
The rival states clashed over the control of the city, 750Km north of Somali capital.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/12/2016 00:00 ||
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A British-Algerian journalist died Sunday after having staged a hunger strike to protest a two-year jail term for offending Algeria's president in a poem posted online, his lawyer said.
"I can confirm the death of the journalist Mohamed Tamalt in Bab el-Oued hospital after a hunger strike of more than three months and a three-month coma" that followed, Amine Sidhoum said on Facebook.
The prison service, in a statement said Tamalt had died of a lung infection for which he was receiving treatment since it was detected on December 4. He had been in hospital since the end of August.
Tamalt, a dual national, launched the hunger strike on the day of his arrest near his parents' house in the capital Algiers on June 27, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The 42-year-old blogger and freelance journalist, who ran a website from London where he lived, was charged with "offending" President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and "defaming a public authority" in the poem which he shared on Facebook.
A court in Algiers sentenced him two years in prison on July 11 and fined him 200,000 dinars ($1,800), and an appeals court upheld the ruling a month later.
Amnesty International urged Algerian authorities on Sunday to open an "independent and transparent investigation into the circumstances" of the journalist's death.
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), for its part, said it was "shocked" by Tamalt's death which had dealt a blow to freedom of information in Algeria.
"Why was there such a conviction just for words on Facebook which did no harm to anyone?" asked Yasmine Kacha, head of the North Africa department of RSF.
The New York-based HRW had urged Algerian authorities to release him in August when he was reportedly in critical condition.
"The Algerian authorities should quash the case against Tamalt and send the message that free speech will be respected in Algeria," it said at the time.
Ever since Venezuelan government agents put up a giant "Sale" sign in his storefront, crowds have been lining up outside Juan Vieira's shoe shop. But he's having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit.
"What good is it to sell shoes if I'm giving away my product?"
Stuck in a nasty economic crisis, Venezuela is facing a Scrooge-worthy Christmas this year. The world's highest inflation rate has gutted Venezuelans' incomes and chronic shortages have left them struggling to buy food, let alone presents.
Seeking to spread some cheer, President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government has set aside its distaste for consumerism and sent a small army of bureaucrats and soldiers to force more than 200 retail stores in Caracas to hold Christmas sales.
"Our worker-president has ordered us to guarantee fair prices for the people, and we are complying. These economic hitmen can't take away our merry Christmas," said William Contreras, head of the National Superintendency for the Defense of Socioeconomic Rights, known by the acronym Sundde.
The government accuses the owners of the targeted stores of jacking up prices by 300 to 500 percent. But Vieira and other owners deny that, saying the mandatory markdowns are pushing them to the brink of bankruptcy.
In the capital's historic center where Vieira keeps shop, most storefronts carry signs sporting the government's seal and advertising "Sundde sales" or a "30-percent Sundde discount." The discount is always 30 percent -- the maximum amount of profit stores are allowed to make under a 2014 law.
Two soldiers guard the entrance to Vieira's store, allowing customers in two at a time.
"This is pure populism," a furious Vieira said in the back room of the store, which he opened in 1995. "If we keep going at this rate, I'll run out of shoes this month. I'm about to go bankrupt and close."
Many customers are thrilled with the sales, however.
"This is the best thing the government could have done this year because you have to give up eating just to buy yourself a shirt," said Yaroski Mendoza, a 19-year-old cook waiting in line to buy a shirt, her baby in her arms.
Getting to the discounts means standing in long lines, but Venezuelans are used to that. They regularly wait hours to buy groceries.
"We have to take advantage of this opportunity. Venezuelans like sporting new clothes for Christmas or New Year's Eve," said Isaac Quintero, a 28-year-old office worker.
But some shoppers feel guilty over the stores' plight.
"They're practically giving their products away. (The government) is making them go broke for no reason,"
...oh, there's a reason...
said Anis Rodriguez, 50, a housewife shopping at a store where T-shirts were selling for less than half the usual price. The T-shirt business was "destroyed" when the forced sale was imposed, said the manager, Mary, who asked that her last name not be used for fear of reprisals.
She said the agents who swooped on the store were "very rude" and did not even bother looking at the records she showed them documenting the store's pricing practices.
"Our orders come from high up," she said they told her.
"This is a smoke bomb," Mary added. "Since there's nothing in this country, they have to distract people with something." She fears losing her job because her boss has vowed to shut the store if the mandatory sale continues.
It is not the first time Maduro -- whose popularity has plunged along with the economy -- has ordered Christmas sales. In 2013, he forced a household appliance chain to slash its prices by up to 70 percent. The company survived, but some stores' shelves were still bare as much as a year later.
#2
"Tax the rich, feed the poor until there are no rich no more." Of course the end result is everyone is poor as rich becomes a sliding scale. Sliding ever downward
- No shoes here?
- Sorry comrade, no shirts here. No shoes is upstairs.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/12/2016 8:14 Comments ||
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#4
Saw a guy with one of those Christmas sweaters which said: "Make Christmas Great Again." In America, it is a sweater message, in Venezuela it is "ordered" to happen--it's the socialist way.
[Reuters] U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said the United States did not necessarily have to stick to its long-standing position that Taiwan is part of "one China," questioning nearly four decades of policy in a move likely to antagonize Beijing.
Trump's comments on "Fox News Sunday" came after he prompted a diplomatic protest from China over his decision to accept a telephone call from Taiwan's president on Dec. 2.
"I fully understand the 'one China' policy, but I don't know why we have to be bound by a 'one China' policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade," Trump told Fox.
Trump's call with President Tsai Ing-wen was the first such contact with Taiwan by a U.S. president-elect or president since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 1979, acknowledging Taiwan as part of "one China."
Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province and the subject is a sensitive one for China.
Chinese officials had no immediate reaction to Trump's remarks.
#2
Well, I've been aware of Regime Changes for more than 50 years. And I don't remember a single one where the incoming group rattled so many dishes before the inauguration.
I voted for DJT because, HILLARY, and hoped he might shake a few things up in the bureaucracy but really didn't expect much.
China said Sunday it will temporarily suspend its coal imports from North Korea in a measure seen as a move to join the international sanctions on the North for its nuclear threats and provocations. China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs announced on its official website that Beijing will impose the coal ban from Dec. 11 to Dec. 31 in accordance with its foreign trade law, implementing Resolution 2321 that was adopted by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
This is all for show, of course. China has enough coal to weather a temporary halt, and the Norks likely shipped extra before the ban to generate the cash.
On Saturday, the top nuke negotiators from South Korea and China agreed to faithfully implement the United Nations' resolution to punish North Korea for its fifth nuke test.
According to the announcement, products that have already reached Chinese customs or were sent from North Korea before Dec. 11 will not be subject to the ban.
The UNSC's action, passed unanimously by the 15-member council on Nov. 30, focuses on drying up North Korea's foreign currency earnings, mainly from its coal exports, after Pyongyang detonated its second nuclear device this year on Sept. 9. The resolution stipulates that U.N. member countries' combined total imports of North Korean coal products for 2016 cannot exceed some US$55 million or 1 million tons. The UNSC issues notifications to the members if the sum reaches 75 percent, 90 percent and 95 percent of the limit. If the sum reaches the 95 percent limit, the members are required to suspend coal imports from North Korea.
A source in Beijing said China's imports of North Korean coal will be further reduced next year due to lower limits and tighter regulations set by the U.N.
How about setting the limit in 2017 to zero?
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/12/2016 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] TAK, a splinter group of the PKK, says two of its operatives carried out the twin attacks that killed 38 people
A Kurdish murderous Moslem group on Sunday grabbed credit for twin attacks that destroyed the heart of Istanbul, killing 38 people, mostly police.
The claim was made in a statement issued by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), seen as an splinter group of the better-known Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
"A Dire Revenge squad from TAK carried out simultaneous attacks outside Istanbul Vodafone Arena stadium and Macka park at around 2230 local time (1930 GMT)," according to a TAK statement published on its website.
The murderous Moslem group said the twin attacks were carried out by two TAK murderous Moslems, without providing any details about the perpetrators.
Turkish government officials had earlier pointed the finger of blame at the PKK, which has waged a bloody campaign against the Turkish state since 1984.
The carnage prompted a sharp response from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... , who vowed Ankara would "fight the scourge of terrorism right to the end."
"They should know that they will not get away with it... They will pay a heavier price," the president said.
In a ceremony for five of the victims at the city’s police headquarters, officers carried in the coffins draped with flags as Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim looked on before speaking with the bereaved families.
"Sooner or later we will have our Dire Revenge," Interior Minister SLearned Elders of Islamn Soylu told the mourners. "The arm of the law is long."
People also gathered outside the stadium to lay flowers, many holding Turkish flags and shouting "Down with the PKK!" and "Our homeland is indivisible!"
Thousands later joined a protest march around the stadium, with some ruling party fans kicking the buses of opposition CHP supporters, prompting police to disperse the crowds.
Soylu said 30 police, seven civilians and one person yet to be identified had died in the blasts which had also maimed another 155 people.
Thirteen people have been detained over the blasts.
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said the attack had targeted police.
"Experts say at least 300-400 kilograms of explosives had been used. There was a pit where the car detonated," he said on CNN Turk television.
[IsraelTime] The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s office says three people have been detained for social media posts regarding Saturday night’s attack in Istanbul that killed 38 people.
In addition to 13 suspects detained as part of the investigation into the twin bombings, the prosecutor’s office said it is investigating any "news, comment or shares on press and social media platforms that attempted to praise terrorism or terrorist organizations, serve terrorist organizations’ propaganda, legitimize terrorism or target those who combat terrorism."
The statement notes that three suspects have been detained for this so far and authorities were working to apprehend others.
[Hurriyet] The death toll in the deadly Istanbul bomb attacks rose to 39 with the death of another civilian, Doğan News Agency reported early on Dec. 12.
Selin Çelik, who was wounded inside a bus on Dec. 10 in the twin bombings near Beşiktaş’s Vodafone Arena stadium, succumbed to her injuries in intensive care, the agency said.
A total of 22,085 Turkish military personnel have been dismissed for their links to the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), Defense Minister Fikri Işık said on Dec. 10. Of that number, 16,409 were military school students, Işık said during 2017 budget talks at parliament.
“So far, 5,676 military personnel have been dismissed, while 39 of them have been reinstated to their positions. Including the 16,409 students, the number goes up to 22,085,” Işık added.
Turkey accuses FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fethullah Gülen of orchestrating the coup attempt.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/12/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
How hollowed out is the Turkish military by now?
Video games are everywhere. Forty percent of U.S. adults own game consoles; many more play on their mobiles. According to some reports, most gamers are women. Digital games now rake in more annual revenues than movie box-office ticket sales.
So are games affecting the way humans think about the world and about each other?
Researchers have shown that entertainment media, like movies, can shift public opinion and shape behaviors. But there is much less research on the impact of video games. There’s some political science research on the link between the military and the entertainment industry, dubbed the “military-entertainment complex.” There’s also work on game play during the 2014 Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But our knowledge of how digital games influence public opinion, public policy or political culture is limited. So we investigated.
[Reuters] U.S. President-elect Donald Trump took aim at another major defense contractor on Monday, saying the cost of Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jet program was too high.
"The F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20th," Trump said on Twitter.
The aerospace giant's shares dropped 2.6 percent in premarket trade after Trump's tweet.
A week before Trump won the Nov. 8 presidential election, the U.S. Defense Department and Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) concluded negotiations on their ninth contract for F-35 fighter jets after 14 months of negotiations on the deal of more than $6.1 billion, the Pentagon said.
Trump campaigned on a promise to cut waste in federal government.
Last week, he also used Twitter to target Boeing Co (BA.N) for its "out of control" costs on a new fleet of Air Force One planes, urging the federal government to "Cancel order!"
#5
every day comes another confirmation that the US voters are smart, wise, good people who can see through MSM bs fake news and who voted the RIGHT man for the job into the presidency
h/t Instapundit
The Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights may not last long in Trump's America, its employees and advocates fear. The transition's stated intention to "streamline the department," coupled with a stated goal to overturn Obama-era executive overreaches, spells trouble for the department's small but active office.
...In nearly eight years under the Obama administration, celebrants recounted, the office has issued 34 "policy guidance documents." These are edicts reinterpreting existing laws--new executive entanglements, made mandatory by funding incentives, that also serve a moral imperative.
...They've closed 66,000 investigations, every one of them initiated to bring a school or college in line with OCR's federal mandates. Among these are the 2011 guidance concerning campus sexual assault; a more recent and no less controversial guidance to clarify that gender segregation is discriminatory; and a racial equity check on disciplinary practices that has, in some cases, been linked to increased violence in schools.
But in the minds and hearts of those who've carried them out, OCR's goals guided the nation toward the light of righteousness and salvation. There is no higher aim than theirs: to show every child the federal government believes in his or her ability to succeed. The message of federally-ordained disciplinary reforms is, in Secretary King's words, "We love you and we want you to be successful."
#2
"The various Bureau of Propaganda and the College of Emotional Engineering were housed in a single sixty-story building in Fleet Street. ... The top eighteen floors were occupied by the College of Emotional Engineering." Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
#6
Dept of Education is not only cabinet department with offices that impose this kind of stuff. Most of them (maybe all of them) have such offices - as well as liaisons deeper in the civil service.
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/12/2016 12:11 Comments ||
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#7
Yeah but what are these people gonna do when they have to get real jobs?
Scroll down to the posting on tax exempt foundations. Moved to reserve positions to refit.
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.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Ever since Venezuelan government agents put up a giant "Sale" sign in his storefront, crowds have been lining up outside Juan Vieira's shoe shop. But he's having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit.
