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Syria declares victory over Islamic State
Today's Headlines
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9 18:36 Bright Pebbles [8] 
3 12:39 Shipman [2] 
1 13:15 Raj [1] 
11 19:03 AlanC [9] 
7 22:09 Chris [7] 
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4 21:37 newc [6] 
2 07:42 Procopius2k [3] 
6 21:56 USN, Ret. [8] 
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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4 13:23 g(r)omgoru [8]
5 18:43 Bright Pebbles [12]
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16 20:58 bbrewer126 [9]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
28 Wisconsin Counties Hit Big Pharma With Separate Lawsuits
[Daily Caller] More than two dozen counties in Wisconsin are going after pharmaceutical companies in an attempt to hold the drug makers accountable for the public cost of the opioid epidemic.

Twenty-eight counties in the state filed separate lawsuits in eastern federal district court in Wisconsin Tuesday that accuse top drug makers, their subsidiaries and several doctors of fraudulent marketing of opioids painkillers. The lawsuits seek unspecified damages from the companies for the millions of dollars spent by localities to combat opioid addiction, reports the Journal Sentinel.

Officials from these counties say their communities are suffering under the financial toll of the drug crisis, which is impacting emergency services, law enforcement, hospitals and social services. The lawsuits allege drug makers created a public nuisance through their fraudulent advertising of opioid painkillers that led to the current overdose crisis.

"County governments are bearing the brunt of the costs of this crisis," Erin Dickinson of Crueger Dickinson LLC, who is part of the legal effort in Wisconsin, said Tuesday, according to the Journal Sentinel. "Defendants must be held responsible for the devastating effects their actions have produced on counties across this country."

The lawsuits target Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, Endo Health Solutions, along with their subsidiaries and three doctors from Utah and California. Lawsuits are mounting against the largest drug makers in the country for their alleged complicity in sparking the opioid crisis through dishonest advertising.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/09/2017 02:14 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Drugs kill people. Cars kill people. Guns kill people. Knives kill people. Getting the common denominator here?

Owing to a fractured femur, I visited my Dr. recently. She asked me if I wanted something for pain. I told her no, Tylenol was doing the trick. She said "OK."

And I didn't die from an opioid overdose.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 11/09/2017 7:58 Comments || Top||

#2  Same thing with my recently broken rib. Tylenol worked just fine. I do have a few oxycodone for when I get a kidney stone but I don't touch them unless I get a bad one.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 11/09/2017 10:39 Comments || Top||

#3  Same thing with my recently broken rib. Tylenol worked just fine. I do have a few oxycodone for when I get a kidney stone but I don't touch them unless I get a bad one.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 11/09/2017 10:39 Comments || Top||

#4  Honest, I haven't been taking them. I accidently posted twice.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 11/09/2017 10:40 Comments || Top||

#5  Oh, I forgot, I was prescribed Oxy when I broke my ankle. When it kicked in, it still hurt, but I didn't care. At all.

I then knew Oxy and me should not date.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 11/09/2017 10:42 Comments || Top||

#6  I am weak. Narcotics have always agreed with my system. Opioids are just fine in their place, just don't run out on the weekend.

Posted by: Shipman || 11/09/2017 12:22 Comments || Top||


Daily Depraved Digest
Another sex accusation for Kevin Spacey
A former longtime Boston television news anchor claims has claimed Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted her then-18-year-old son last summer and that police are now investigating the alleged incident.
Heather Unruh revealed the shocking claim during a press conference on Wednesday alongside her daughter and attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who is best known for representing the victims of the Catholic church sex abuse scandal.

Charlie Sheen 'categorically denies' raping 13-year-old
  • [Daily Mail, Where America Gets Its News] New allegations have emerged about a 13-year-old Corey Haim being raped by Charlie Sheen while filming the 1986 movie 'Lucas'

  • Former actor Dominick Brascia alleges that Haim told him about his incident with Sheen and that a 19-year-old Sheen rejected him after their encounter

  • Corey Feldman, Haim's closest friend, wrote in his memoir about Haim being sodomized on the set of 'Lucas' but never named Sheen

  • Additionally it is alleged Sheen kissed an underage woman, who was 17 at the time, on the set of 'Lucas' and propositioned her for sex as well

  • A defiant looking Sheen emerged from his parents home Wednesday smoking a cigarette after the bombshell allegations were made public

  • Wednesday afternoon Sheen, who is now living with HIV, released a statement saying he 'categorically denies these allegations'

  • Haim battled drug addiction for years and died in 2010 at 38-years-old

NY Times cuts loose Weinstein mouthpiece David Bois
The New York Times dismissed the firm of famed Democratic lawyer David Boies after Ronan Farrow’s explosive report for the New Yorker put Boies at the center of Harvey Weinstein’s efforts to stamp out the Times’ reporting on his sexual misconduct.

Joan Collins: Everyone got hit on, but not me
'It was pretty bad, but I never gave in': Hollywood veteran Joan Collins, 84, claims EVERY 'pretty young actress has been sexually harassed'.. as Harvey Weinstein scandal rages on

She previously claimed she was sexually harassed by former 20th Century Fox boss Darryl F. Zanuck, a rejection that lead to her being dropped from iconic Sixties flick Cleopatra.

But Joan Collins revealed the harrowing experience was a frequent occurrence during her tenure in Hollywood, though she insisted she 'never gave in' to the sickening demands of the movie industry's titans.

Portia de Rossi provides details of encounter with Steven Seagal
Actress Portia de Rossi alleged on Wednesday that action star Steven Seagal ‘unzipped his pants’ in front of her during an audition for one of his films.

2nd actress details encounter with David Blaine
Scotland Yard detectives are investigating allegations of serious sexual assault made by a second woman against David Blaine.

Sexual harassment system reform suggested
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Tuesday proposed new bipartisan legislation to immediately require sexual harassment training for senators as well as aides and update the training to better reflect the experiences of victims.

Barmaid claims 30 British MPs hounded her for sex
A former House of Commons bar manager has claimed up to 30 MPs hounded her for sex with one even allegedly 'groping' her on a bus.
Posted by: badanov || 11/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [13 views] Top|| File under:

#1  [Joan Collins] previously claimed she was sexually harassed by former 20th Century Fox boss Darryl F. Zanuck, a rejection that lead to her being dropped from iconic Sixties flick Cleopatra.

I don't know - it doesn't seem that you could have done much to help this picture.
Posted by: Fairbanks || 11/09/2017 2:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Even Mariah Carey has been accused of sexual harassment Here. Probably about money though.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/09/2017 11:34 Comments || Top||

#3  Steven Seagal ‘unzipped his pants’

Was this by any chance a postprandial offense?
Posted by: Ebbuck Snuth5600 || 11/09/2017 13:24 Comments || Top||

#4  "Joan Collins: Everyone got hit on, but not me" Because she pimped out her younger sister?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/09/2017 18:39 Comments || Top||


Indian teenager kills schoolmate to postpone exams
[DAWN] India incarcerated
You have the right to remain silent...
a teenager on Wednesday for allegedly slitting the throat of a seven-year-old schoolmate in hopes the murder would lead to an exam being postponed, federal Sherlocks said.

The 16-year-old is accused of killing his young schoolmate in September at a smart private school near Delhi in an attempt to delay an impending test and parent-teacher meeting.

Police had initially detained a bus conductor over the murder, claiming he killed the boy after the young pupil resisted a sex attack.

But a front man for federal Sherlocks said they had credible evidence against the "academically weak teenager, whose motive was to postpone the examination and a forthcoming parent-teacher meeting".

"He admitted during questioning that he wanted to shut the school to defer the exams and meeting," Central Bureau of Investigation front man R.K. Gaur told AFP.

Posted by: Fred || 11/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:


Fusion GPS Partner Strikes Deal To Testify Before House Intel Committee
[Daily Caller] Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson struck a deal on Wednesday to testify voluntarily before the House Intelligence Committee next week to discuss his opposition research firm’s involvement in the Steele dossier.

Simpson and his lawyer met with members of the committee for several hours to hammer out a deal for his closed-door testimony.

The Daily Caller was informed that Simpson had indicated prior to Wednesday’s meeting that he would plead the Fifth during his deposition, just as his two co-founders, Peter Fritsch and Thomas Catan, did during interviews last month. But as part of the deal struck Wednesday, Simpson will not plead the Fifth.

Simpson’s move comes amid a tense legal battle over Fusion’s bank records. On Friday, Fusion filed papers in federal court in Washington, D.C. asking a judge to issue a temporary restraining order preventing its bank from releasing records related to financial transactions it has had with "any law firm, ’media company’ or journalist with which it has worked."
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  But as part of the deal struck Wednesday, Simpson will not plead the Fifth.

They must have something on him that has all of a sudden made him talkative. He doesn't want to go down with the rats on the sinking ship?
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/09/2017 11:00 Comments || Top||

#2  Will we ever know what he said? Testimony is behind closed doors.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/09/2017 11:03 Comments || Top||

#3  If he was "doing work" with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya (who he met with before and after the Trump Jr. Mtg) he may have not registered as a Foreign Agent, like Flynn and Manafort
Posted by: Frank G || 11/09/2017 11:04 Comments || Top||


-Land of the Free
DOJ demands CNN to be sold (HAHA!) as condition for AT&T, Time Warner deal approval
[CNBC]
  • Time Warner shares are down after the DOJ demanded that CNN's parent company be sold as a condition for the AT&T merger.

  • Earlier, AT&T's Chief Financial Officer John Stephens the $85 billion deal was "now uncertain."
As soon as AT&T prices have been sufficiently depressed (down .52 yesterday) and the Swamp Denizens have all adjusted their portfolios, the so-called 'condition' will be lifted.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They should tear down CNN headquarters and put the Marty Kroft HR Pufinstuff Theme Park back up.
I'm convinced the original characters never left...
Posted by: ed in texas || 11/09/2017 10:51 Comments || Top||

#2  CNBC confirmed the Justice Department's demand that Turner Broadcasting or DirecTV be sold before approval of the $85 billion merger.

Should have been dismantled long ago. CNN is one of propaganda arms and apologist for the Democratic Party. There are others ripe for dismantling or reorganizing. They also abet the Donk Party by covering up scandals and criminality.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/09/2017 10:58 Comments || Top||

#3  Called the 'Clinton News Network' around here for at least the last twenty years.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 11/09/2017 11:22 Comments || Top||

#4  I'm sick of leftards having a monopoly on the ""news media""
Posted by: newc || 11/09/2017 21:37 Comments || Top||


illegal mexican (last paragraph) shoots 7 year old girl in head in Texas shooting spree
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Assault rifle? They were lucky it wasn't.
Posted by: gorb || 11/09/2017 3:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Didn't Austin declare themselves to be a sanctuary city?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/09/2017 7:42 Comments || Top||


Pilot Who Ejected in April Hornet Mishap Was Senior Navy Officer
[Military.com] One of these unverbalized warnings was about the increased likelihood that the aircraft would yaw, or move against the direction of a desired turn, when operating on a single engine as angle-of-attack is exceeded.

At this point, the aircraft was flying on one engine, with landing gear and refueling probe extended, as the captain worked to maintain control of the plane and hydraulic fluid cautions continued to blare.

"The cycling [hydraulics] cautions were very distracting and [the pilot] became overwhelmed with flying the jet," investigators found. " ... Despite over 4,000 flight hours, he never had a situation where the jet was fighting him so much."

Things started to go really wrong. After restarting the right engine, the pilot climbed and angle of attack increased from 8.5 to 9.3 degrees. At 9.4 degrees, the aircraft started to move out of control. The captain maxed throttles at both engines, then pulled them back. Inadvertently, he lit the afterburner for just the left engine, which exacerbated the adverse yaw, pulling the plane further out of control.
Oh Fudge.
The plane began to buck and roll, now completely outside controlled flight. Ejection was quickly becoming the only option.
Good on the Capt. Airplanes you can buy. Experienced personnel not so much.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 11/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It seems odd that the pilot would be able to light only one afterburner at a time.
Posted by: gorb || 11/09/2017 3:22 Comments || Top||

#2  True gorb. I don't know nothin' bout this type of bird but given the kinds of missions they're supposed to fly I imagine that there could be a reason.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/09/2017 7:56 Comments || Top||

#3  The right engine was out.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/09/2017 12:27 Comments || Top||

#4  Do you get charged if you don't bring the plane back?
Posted by: SteveS || 11/09/2017 15:58 Comments || Top||

#5  I hope not, Steve. Even for a Navy captain, It would take at least a couple of years salary to pay it off.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 11/09/2017 16:04 Comments || Top||

#6  he lives to fly another day: we an find more airplanes.
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 11/09/2017 21:56 Comments || Top||


Britain
UK politician found dead after misconduct claims
[DAWN] UK politician Carl Sargeant was found dead on Tuesday just days after resigning over misconduct allegations as part of a wider harassment scandal embroiling parliament, police said.

Sargeant’s body was found on Tuesday at an address in Connah’s Quay in north Wales.

The force said the death of the 49-year-old was not being treated as suspicious, while the Press Association news agency said Sargeant was understood to have did away with himself.

The former Welsh government minister resigned on Nov 3 and was suspended from the Labour party after he was informed of allegations against him.

Sargeant was one of a number of British politicians to have faced allegations of misconduct in recent weeks, prompting party leaders to introduce new safeguards for parliamentary staff on Monday.

His family said he was "the glue that bound us together" and "the most kind and caring husband, father, son and friend".

A former chemical plant worker, Sargeant was first elected to political office in 2003, rising through the ranks before being named cabinet secretary for communities and children in May 2016.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted he was "deeply shocked to hear of the terrible news about Carl Sargeant. My thoughts and profound sympathy are with his family and friends".
Posted by: Fred || 11/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  By the way, does anyone know where Hillary disappeared to lately?
Posted by: gorb || 11/09/2017 3:16 Comments || Top||

#2  There was a Rumour Illary met with the NY FBI with her lawyer.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/09/2017 7:34 Comments || Top||

#3  does anyone know where Hillary disappeared to lately?

She was on one of the late-late night comedy shows last night -- the one after Jimmy Fallon, I believe -- doing the celebrity interview. I turned it off when I noticed.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/09/2017 10:09 Comments || Top||

#4  Hillary has been a little quiet in the last few days. Does anyone know where Obama is? He was in Chicago for jury duty in the last few days. Does he even live there anymore? Where are the Podesta bros?
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/09/2017 11:06 Comments || Top||

#5  #2 There was a rumor Hillary met with the NY FBI with her lawyer. Heard that too. Also been hearing rumors about 31 sealed federal indictments but little is known about this; could just be a just part of the rumor mill.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/09/2017 11:24 Comments || Top||

#6  Does anyone know where Obama is? He was in Chicago for jury duty in the last few days. Does he even live there anymore?

The jury thing is queer. They bought the house they were renting in Washington, DC, so I'm not sure why he is still registered for jury duty in Chicago.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/09/2017 17:40 Comments || Top||

#7  DC is possibly their 2nd residence, a vacation home as allowable by the IRS, with Chicago remaining as their primary residence. They certainly did vacation a bunch when they lived in DC.
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/09/2017 18:31 Comments || Top||

#8  And here I was, thinking this was Pretty Patel.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 11/09/2017 19:09 Comments || Top||

#9  DC is possibly their 2nd residence, a vacation home

Soetoroland Embassy
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/09/2017 19:13 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Venezuela teeters on brink of default
[Yahoo] Longstanding fears of a Venezuela debt default crystallized Wednesday, as the political crisis engulfing the sinking OPEC state deepened with a meeting set at the UN Security Council and the EU eyeing an arms embargo.

Investors were bracing for what looked to be an inevitable "credit event" that analysts said could arrive within days -- before a "refinancing and restructuring" of the debt called for by President Nicolas Maduro.
That's what you get for investing in a Commie dictatorship
While the country's isolation means the risk of contagion to international financial markets is limited, a default could trigger a global rush to seize assets owned by the Venezuelan government and its state oil company PDVSA, and plunge the struggling nation into a full-blown humanitarian emergency.

- US, EU sanctions -
The United States, which has slapped successive sanctions on Venezuela and its ability to issue new debt on US markets, called for a UN Security Council meeting next Monday to discuss the crisis, particularly its political aspect.
that'll do a lot of good before the ineveitable Russo-Chinese vetoes
"What we have today in Venezuela is a state of non-democracy with many violations of human rights and political rights," Argentine President Mauricio Macri said in New York after meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

He told the Financial Times the US should impose "a full oil embargo" on Venezuela. Such a move would have "broad support" across Latin America, he said. The US and several Latin American nations, including Argentina, call Maduro a "dictator" for his quashing of dissent, especially sidelining the opposition-held parliament and seeking to arrest opposition figures.

National Assembly number two Freddy Guevara has taken refuge in the Chilean ambassador's residence in Caracas to avoid arrest after the Supreme Court, loyal to Maduro, stripped him of his parliamentary immunity.

European Union countries backed an arms embargo on Venezuela as part of a sanctions package also set to include a blacklist of Venezuelan individuals, diplomatic sources said.

"The political aim remains to force the government to get round the negotiating table with the opposition and contribute to getting out of the current political crisis," one diplomatic source said.

- Russia debt deal -
The only bright spot for Venezuela was Russia saying Caracas had agreed to its terms for restructuring the part of the debt it holds, with an accord to be signed within a week. Venezuela's official debt to Moscow stood at $2.8 billion as of 2016, with another $6 billion owed to oil giant Rosneft, which is closely allied with the Kremlin.

That, however, is just a fraction of Venezuela's total debt mountain, estimated at $150 billion.

Around $45 billion is sovereign debt, another $45 billion is owed by PDVSA, and $23 billion is owed to China, according to estimates by private consultancies.
Posted by: Frank G || 11/09/2017 08:58 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Hey, haven't these morons heard of debt consolidation loans?
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 11/09/2017 9:46 Comments || Top||

#2  ...or buying Congresscritters? Best investments banks made in 2008 was in Congresscritters.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/09/2017 10:16 Comments || Top||

#3  If a credit evident is declared most (all?) of Venezuelas other bonds become due immediately.

"There is a great deal of ruin in a nation." Yet the Eternal One and Maduro managed to do it in 19 years without a war.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/09/2017 12:39 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
China has practiced bombing runs targeting Guam, US says
[DefenseNews] Over the last year Japan has scrambled 900 sorties to intercept Chinese fighters challenging Japan’s air defense identification zone, or ADIZ. In 2013 China announced borders for its own ADIZ, borders which overlapped Japan’s zone and included the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Since then, increased interactions between Japanese and Chinese aircraft ultimately resulted in Japan relocating two fighter squadrons to Naha Air Base on Okinawa to more easily meet the incursions, the officials said.



"We now have, on a daily basis, armed Chinese Flankers and Japanese aircraft" coming in close proximity of each other, the officials said, adding that intercepts between the U.S. and China are also increasing.

"It’s very common for PRC aircraft to intercept U.S. aircraft" these days, the officials said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

Chinese aircraft are also testing U.S. air defense identification zones, the officials said. Chinese H-6K "Badger" bombers upgraded with 1,000 mile range air launched cruise missiles are testing U.S. defense zones around Guam.

The Badgers run "not infrequent" flights to get within range of the U.S. territory, they said.

"The PRC is practicing attacks on Guam," the officials said.

The vast majority of the flights occur without an incident, such as a report of unsafe flying, for example. The officials said they follow U.S. Pacific Command guidance on how to respond in those events, so they do not further escalate.
...
Posted by: Anomalous Sources || 11/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Trump strikes at the heart of the North Korean regime with speech
[WASHINGTONPOST] President Trump has said on several occasions that he is willing to talk to North Korean leader Kim Pudge Jong-un
...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished...
Well, on Wednesday, Trump did ‐ after a fashion.

The U.S. president directly addressed his 33-year-old nemesis in a speech to South Korea’s National Assembly. This time, Trump did not call Kim "Little Rocket Man" or use the kinds of rhetorical flourishes that play so well on Twitter.

But the words that Trump did use cut deeper, because they struck at the very heart of the Kim regime.

If there is one thing that Kim has shown he cannot tolerate, it is personal criticism.

"North Korea is not the paradise your grandfather envisioned," Trump said to Kim, who, if he was in Pyongyang, was just 120 miles away. "It is a hell that no person deserves."

Kim Il Sung, who is revered like a god in North Korean propaganda, established the country in 1948 as a "socialist paradise" of free housing, health care and education where people would want for nothing. Grandson Kim Jong-un claims his legitimacy as North Korea’s supreme leader by virtue of being a direct descendant of this quasi-deity.

Trump devoted a large part of his address to detailing the human rights
...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you...
abuses that the Kims have committed in North Korea, filling his speech with words such as "twisted," "sinister," "tyrant," "fascism
...a political system developed in Italy symbolized by the Roman fasces -- thin reeds, each flimsy in itself but unbreakable when bound into a bundle. The word is nowadays thrown around by all sorts of people who have no idea what they're talking about...
" and "cult."

"I wanted to stand up from my seat and shout ’Yahoo!’ " said Lee Hyeon-seo, an escapee from North Korea who was sitting in the assembly hall during Trump’s address. "We just don’t hear people talking about North Korea in this way in South Korea, so I was very emotional during the speech. I was very impressed."

In front of a National Assembly ruled by a left-wing party that favors engagement with North Korea and seeks to avoid antagonizing the regime, Trump noted the slave-like conditions North Korean workers face, the malnutrition among children, the suppression of religion and the forced-labor prison camps where he said North Koreans endure "torture, starvation, rape and murder on a constant basis."

Posted by: Fred || 11/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Hey Kimmie. You're so ugly, your mama had to tie a steak around your neck to get the dog to play with you.
Posted by: gorb || 11/09/2017 3:14 Comments || Top||

#2  If they hadn't eaten the dog.
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/09/2017 13:43 Comments || Top||


Economy
Georgia city will rename itself Amazon if it wins the new headquarters
[The Verge] As North American cities vie for the chance to be chosen by Amazon as the home of its second headquarters, one Georgia city has stepped up to the plate. The city council of Stonecrest, Georgia voted 4 to 2 on Monday to change its name to Amazon, Georgia and give the company 345 acres of land if Amazon selects it as the HQ destination, according to local media.
Newly incorporated city of Stonecrest. Don't you love it when a plan comes together ?
Amazon, Georgia doesn’t quite have the same ring as say, Toyota City ‐ headquarters to Toyota Motors in Japan ‐ but it definitely makes for a unique (if desperate) offer. "There are several major US cities that want Amazon, but none has the branding opportunity we are now offering this visionary company," said the city’s mayor, Jason Lary.

And it’s exactly the kind of romantic proposal Amazon wants to hear. The company is asking cities to provide incentives like tax credits, fee reductions, relocation grants and more in order to become the second headquarters. This definitely falls under "more." Amazon’s home remains Seattle, Washington, which would seem to take at least that one state out of the running.

Rebadging itself as Amazon, Georgia is exactly the differentiator that the tiny city of Stonecrest (formed just last year) desperately needs if it has any hope of competing against the likes of big cities like New York, Dallas, and others. Stonecrest has a mall, a nature preserve, and a national heritage area, but its town population is only a little over 20,000.

Amazon has set October 19th as the deadline for accepting proposals for its second headquarters.

Posted by: Besoeker || 11/09/2017 06:33 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  In heavily donk controlled Dekalb County, the 345 acres of land to be 'donated' to Amazon comes from where ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/09/2017 6:52 Comments || Top||

#2  Donks have no problem spending other peoples money, why not land?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/09/2017 7:53 Comments || Top||

#3  'the 345 acres of land to be 'donated' to Amazon comes from where ?'

In most Dem/Lib/Socialist-controlled areas, those questions are typically ignored by the powers-to-be. And their responses (if forthcoming) would be all one-sided. The questioner would be excoriated in the press, too.

'Kelo v. City of New London' springs to mind.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 11/09/2017 7:57 Comments || Top||

#4  Why Amazon? Was Darkest Africa already taken?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 11/09/2017 8:02 Comments || Top||

#5  ...diversity.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/09/2017 8:40 Comments || Top||

#6  I say give 'em 40 acres and a mule and be done with it.
Posted by: SteveS || 11/09/2017 15:55 Comments || Top||

#7  Besoeker: I think more than likely they would be more interested in going south of Atlanta or towards Douglas county where they just opened a distribution center.
Posted by: Chris || 11/09/2017 22:09 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Intel chiefs' botched Russia findings raise questions of motive
[Wash Times] Fourteen days before President Trump took the oath of office, the Obama administration’s intelligence chiefs made public a unanimous assessment claiming Russian operatives, under orders from President Vladimir Putin, had orchestrated an influence campaign to help Mr. Trump win the presidential contest.

It was a watershed moment: the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI challenging the legitimacy of a U.S. presidential victory.

The conclusions in the Jan. 6 document were sharp, but the findings unraveled 10 months later, raising questions about the basis for the evidence and the motives of the Obama appointees leading the nation’s intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

"It left me scratching my head," said one intelligence source with personal access to former Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper and former CIA Director John O. Brennan, two of the men who had signed off on the assessment.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/09/2017 02:35 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A "question" for some possibly.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/09/2017 2:47 Comments || Top||

#2  Not sure?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/09/2017 3:59 Comments || Top||

#3  Attempted coup. Erdogan would know how to handle this.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/09/2017 7:40 Comments || Top||

#4  Credit where credit is due. Erdogan knows where the bullshi* comes from.

Jailed intelligence chief sentenced to 18 months in prison for insulting Erdoğan.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/09/2017 7:49 Comments || Top||

#5  said Mr. Slick, who served as special assistant to President George W. Bush. “In drafting the unclassified [Jan. 6 assessment], the authors were walking a fine line by including enough evidence to persuade readers that their conclusions were sound, but not enough data that would reveal the actual sources or the means by which they linked these activities to the Russian government.”

We could tell ya, but then we'd hafta kill ya.
Posted by: Bobby || 11/09/2017 12:13 Comments || Top||


World War II veteran, 93, scores upset election win in New Jersey
[FOX] A 93-year-old World War II veteran scored a surprise victory over an incumbent New Jersey mayor in Tuesday’s election.

Vito Perillo defeated Tinton Falls Mayor Gerald Turning in the nonpartisan municipal race.

"I didn’t think I had a chance," Perillo told NJ.com.

But his grandson, Mike Perillo-Gentile, said he wasn’t surprised. "When he wants to do something, he does it," Perillo-Gentile said.

Perillo, a U.S. Navy veteran who served in the Pacific theater, told the Asbury Park Press his entry into the race was spurred by a pair of whistleblower lawsuits involving the police department that cost the borough a reported $1.1 million in settlements.

Turning was the borough police chief from 2004 to 2011 and also was the borough administrator from 2010 to 2014. He was seeking his second term as mayor after running unopposed in 2014.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/09/2017 01:43 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:


GOP feels pressure to deliver after election rout
[The Hill] The Democratic sweep in Tuesday’s elections has raised the pressure on Republicans to make good on their campaign promises.

Republican senators downplayed any setback to their tax-reform push from the elections, but said the results drove home the need to deliver legislative wins before votes are cast in 2018.

"I do think, however, that it does speak to the need for us to get accomplishments. ... I think right now there's a general frustration in the country that even though we've gotten some things done on our agenda, that some of the big ticket items remain incomplete," Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, told reporters.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he "predicted" the rough election night and that the party needs to make changes quickly before the midterms arrive.

"Unless we get our act together, we're going to lose heavily," he said.

Asked if Tuesday's elections showed the need for a "course correction," Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who has emerged as one of Trump's loudest critics, smirked before adding, "maybe that's potentially self-evident."

"I've certainly made some observations, but I'll keep them to myself," he said.

Democrats won victories up and down the ballot on Tuesday night, their first major election wins since the devastating results of 2016.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/09/2017 01:31 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Squirm, bas+ards.
Posted by: gorb || 11/09/2017 3:09 Comments || Top||

#2  The problem was they didn't campaign with the President. The GOPe actively shunned him.

They owned Their loss.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/09/2017 6:59 Comments || Top||

#3  With Republicans like Corker and McCain, who needs Democrats?
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 11/09/2017 11:31 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
U.S. farm study finds no firm cancer link to Roundup - Still not safe to drink
LONDON, (Reuters) - A large long-term study on the use of the big-selling weedkiller glyphosate by agricultural workers in the United States has found no firm link between exposure to the pesticide and cancer, scientists said on Thursday.

Published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI), the study found there was "no association between glyphosate", the main ingredient in Monsanto’s popular herbicide RoundUp, "and any solid tumors or lymphoid malignancies overall, including non-Hogkin Lymphoma (NHL) and its subtypes."

It said there was "some evidence of increased risk of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) among the highest exposed group", but added "this association was not statistically significant" and would require more research to be confirmed.

The findings are likely to impact legal proceedings taking place in the United States against Monsanto, in which more than 180 plaintiffs are claiming exposure to RoundUp gave them cancer - allegations that Monsanto denies.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/09/2017 06:22 || Comments || Link || [12 views] Top|| File under:

#1  These days one wonders about such studies, and who paid for them. Not disbelief, but skeptical.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/09/2017 9:24 Comments || Top||

#2  After the Great DDT Panic why would anyone be a skeptic?
Posted by: magpie || 11/09/2017 12:54 Comments || Top||

#3  These days one wonders about such studies, and who paid for them. Not disbelief, but skeptical.

These studies are replicable and peer-reviewable. If there are problems in methodology, we should hear about them in the years ahead.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 11/09/2017 17:54 Comments || Top||


RAT'S CREEPY: Scientists are implanting tiny HUMAN brains into rats
[TheSun] TINY human brains injected into rats have sparked a major ethical debate among scientists worried it may give the rodents some type of human consciousness.

Esteemed science ethicists claim the experiments might reach a point where the test lab rats will be "entitled to some kind of respect".
Designer Democrat Pol's?
Posted by: Anomalous Sources || 11/09/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Would be interesting if they could implant tiny rat brains into humans.
Posted by: Hupeting Sforza8196 || 11/09/2017 0:32 Comments || Top||

#2  .."entitled to some kind of respect"... I was kind of expecting a pic of Rodney Dangerfield morphed as a rat.
Posted by: texhooey || 11/09/2017 0:52 Comments || Top||

#3  There was an early 1980’s children’s film based on a book of the same premise: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_of_NIMH

The trailer: https://youtu.be/WLE65PZ30tM

Posted by: Eltoroverde || 11/09/2017 8:15 Comments || Top||

#4  Would be interesting if they could implant tiny rat brains into humans.

Giving recent headlines one might think they already have.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 11/09/2017 8:27 Comments || Top||

#5  RATS! Why not puppies?
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/09/2017 9:12 Comments || Top||

#6  Algernons time has come again!
Posted by: Shipman || 11/09/2017 12:46 Comments || Top||

#7  Very flowery, Shipman.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/09/2017 12:51 Comments || Top||

#8  Ben and Willard nod their approval
Posted by: Frank G || 11/09/2017 14:36 Comments || Top||

#9  Now law firms can fill their needs at the pet shop.
Posted by: Sloluting and Tenille8977 || 11/09/2017 15:25 Comments || Top||

#10  How shall I relay that I don't want them doing this kind of shit?
Posted by: newc || 11/09/2017 17:33 Comments || Top||

#11  I'd tell them using those new passenger pigeons which are fluent in 8 languages and brail.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 11/09/2017 17:51 Comments || Top||


Government
Wikileaks Drops Vault 8: CIA Wrote Code Impersonating Russian Anti-Virus Giant--Destroys DNC Hacking Claim?
9 November 2017, WikiLeaks publishes the source code and development logs to Hive, a major component of the CIA infrastructure to control its malware. WikiLeaks reveals CIA wrote code to impersonate Kaspersky Labs anti-virus company.

Hive solves a critical problem for the malware operators at the CIA. Even the most sophisticated malware implant on a target computer is useless if there is no way for it to communicate with its operators in a secure manner that does not draw attention. Using Hive even if an implant is discovered on a target computer, attributing it to the CIA is difficult by just looking at the communication of the malware with other servers on the internet. Hive provides a covert communications platform for a whole range of CIA malware to send exfiltrated information to CIA servers and to receive new instructions from operators at the CIA.

Hive can serve multiple operations using multiple implants on target computers. Each operation anonymously registers at least one cover domain (e.g. "perfectly-boring-looking-domain.com") for its own use. The server running the domain website is rented from commercial hosting providers as a VPS (virtual private server) and its software is customized according to CIA specifications. These servers are the public-facing side of the CIA back-end infrastructure and act as a relay for HTTP(S) traffic over a VPN connection to a "hidden" CIA server called 'Blot'. Also see Wiki.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/09/2017 13:32 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  #wikileaks.org/vault8/
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/09/2017 13:47 Comments || Top||

#2  CIA Wrote Code Impersonating Russian Anti-Virus Giant--Destroys DNC Hacking Claim?

I seem to recall someone here suggesting such a possibility some months ago. Wudn't me, one of the 165lb brain tech fellas.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/09/2017 14:01 Comments || Top||

#3  I still think it an inside download to a thumb drive job--not an outside hacking.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/09/2017 14:08 Comments || Top||

#4  Maybe Brazile is going with the hack meme because she is afraid. It's been said she dedicated her book to Seth Rich. She also said she woke up and paid attention after seeing the James O'keefe videos back during the election season. Hate to blow the dust off the archives at PJ Media but... I recall a couple of donk operatives on the vid, Foval and Creamer. One of them alluded to dark and sinister things that could be done if necessary.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/09/2017 14:17 Comments || Top||

#5  I still think it an inside download to a thumb drive job--not an outside hacking.
Posted by JohnQC


I suspect so as well John. Printing and scanning the volume which was discussed would be quite labor intense.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/09/2017 14:33 Comments || Top||

#6  IIRC the download speed indicated a thumbdrive, not a net connection
Posted by: Frank G || 11/09/2017 14:53 Comments || Top||

#7  I think that a thumbdrive is most likely but I also think it might be some sort of astroturf where the deep state orgs are in league with the Dems in an attempt to blame the Russians.

But then the last 20 years have made me much more cynical.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/09/2017 16:04 Comments || Top||

#8  How about the last 20 months?
Posted by: Publius Punter || 11/09/2017 16:38 Comments || Top||

#9  It's ALWAYS a leak.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/09/2017 18:36 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
This is how Jezebel "apologizes" for spreading Fake News about Trump
Page down to or "find" "Update, Monday, 12:30 p.m.:"

But, judging from the comments, she is playing to her audience.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 11/09/2017 08:40 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Jezebel = Gawker website = classless, petty, juvenile and unprofessional to the core.
Posted by: Raj || 11/09/2017 13:15 Comments || Top||


13 Baltimore high schools, no students proficient in math, report says
[FOX] One-third of high schools in Baltimore, last year, had zero students proficient in math, Fox 45 reported Wednesday, citing new state testing data.

Based on 2017 state test scores, 13 out of 39 high school had zero students proficient in math, the report said. Another six schools had only one percent of their students who tested proficient in math.

The city reportedly starting a new math curriculum this year aimed at closing the achievement gap in addition to enhanced teacher training and partnerships that would serve students.

"There is no simple answer that will close the achievement gap for Baltimore’s students. Though we all want to see results quickly, the work is hard and will take time," the Baltimore City Public Schools District statement said.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/09/2017 08:10 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If Tyrone's nine can hold 17 rounds...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 11/09/2017 8:14 Comments || Top||

#2  To be effective, math must be tailored to needs:

If your '9' magazine holds 17 rounds, how many times can you reload from a box of 50 cartridges ?

Two boxes of 50 cartridges ?

A case of 1000 cartridges ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/09/2017 8:19 Comments || Top||

#3  How many hits are in a shipment? How much to charge for each hit? What's the shipment worth?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/09/2017 8:39 Comments || Top||

#4  I'll bet some of them can total up cash in their head faster than you or I
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/09/2017 8:39 Comments || Top||

#5  It's the racist algebra - the idea of variable that fail most, BP.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/09/2017 9:16 Comments || Top||

#6  I misread it as "13 Baltimore high schools, no students, proficient in math."
Posted by: texhooey || 11/09/2017 12:47 Comments || Top||

#7  How about philosophy? You can examine deep questions like "Does reloading include the one in the chamber?"
Posted by: gorb || 11/09/2017 13:17 Comments || Top||

#8  If Tyrone's nine can hold 17 rounds...

How many in 17+1?
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/09/2017 13:39 Comments || Top||

#9  How many grams in an ounce? An 8-ball?
Posted by: Frank G || 11/09/2017 14:37 Comments || Top||

#10  Po' 'fessor of Diddie Wah Diddie,
Dis city pacific and pretty,
Desirous to tell us,
But spooked by his fellas:
"Ain't hearda no Schrödinger's kitty!"
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 11/09/2017 15:10 Comments || Top||

#11  Are they using Common Core math?

If so they are probably ahead of the game by failing cause that ain't really math.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/09/2017 19:03 Comments || Top||



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

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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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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2017-11-09
  Syria declares victory over Islamic State
Wed 2017-11-08
  JeM chief Masood Azhar's nephew killed in IHK operation
Tue 2017-11-07
  ISIS appoints new leader in southeast Asia following defeat in Marawi City
Mon 2017-11-06
  ISIS car bomb attack kills 75 in Deir Ezzor
Sun 2017-11-05
  'At least 27 people killed' at a Texas church
Sat 2017-11-04
  ISIL loses al-Qaim in Iraq and Deir Az Zor in Syria
Fri 2017-11-03
  Iraqi army recaptures key natural gas field from Daesh
Thu 2017-11-02
  Hamas cedes control of Gaza crossings to PA
Wed 2017-11-01
  Iraqi army takes control of Turkey border from Kurds
Tue 2017-10-31
  At least eight dead and more than twelve injured in shooting and truck ramming in downtown Manhattan
Mon 2017-10-30
  Barzani Resigns as Iraq and Iran Threaten Kurdistan's Border Crossings
Sun 2017-10-29
  Mozambique: First Islamist Attacks Shock the Region
Sat 2017-10-28
  Palestinian-American idiot sentenced to 20 years for going to Syria to become ISIS suicide bomber
Fri 2017-10-27
  Pakistani man wanted for 70 murders arrested in Hungary
Thu 2017-10-26
  ISIS seizes large part of Yarmouk Camp


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