[STARTRIBUNE] A former Minneapolis FBI agent caught leaking classified documents to The Intercept pleaded guilty in federal court in St. Paul Tuesday afternoon.
Justice Department prosecutors charged Terry James Albury with unlawfully disclosing and retaining national defense information last month.
Albury is accused of sharing a document on assessing confidential human sources ‐ otherwise referred to as informants ‐ and a document "relating to threats posed by certain individuals from a particular Middle Eastern country" with a news hound for a national media organization.
The second count charged against Albury alleged that he failed to turn over a document "relating to the use of an online platform for recruitment by a specific terrorist group" last year. Albury pleaded guilty to both counts.
Not long after the charges were filed last month,
...our article on the subject is dated March 28th, though the misbehaviour apoarently took place between February 2016 and January 31, 2017...
Albury’s attorneys issued a statement through which he accepted "full repsonsibility for the conduct set forth" in the felony information ‐ a federal charging document that typically signals an imminent guilty plea. Albury’s attorneys, JaneAnne Murray and Joshua Dratel, said his actions "were driven by a conscientious commitment to long-term national security and addressing the well-documented systemic biases within the FBI."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Likely aided jihadists terrorists in identifying informants. Technically treason.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan authorities handed over the dead bodies of ten soldiers of the Frontier Corps ...a provincial paramilitary force. Total manpower is about 80,000. They are tasked to help local law enforcement in the maintenance of law and order, and to carry out border patrol and a..the Antwerp-based Salafist organization that had campaigned to introduce Sharia law to Belgium before single-handedly making Belgium the highest per capita supplier of jihadis to Syria in Europe. There was a big trial in Antwerp in 2015, but most of those convicted were in absentia...nti-smuggling operations.... of Pakistain along with another soldier who was placed in durance vile Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! during the festivities with the Afghan forces public uprising forces in Khost province ... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name... The authorities in Pakistain have confirmed that the dead bodies and detained soldier were transferred to Pakistain after a meeting between the two sides.
A local official in Kurram Agency ...home of an intricately interconnected web of poverty, ignorance, and religious fanaticism, where the laws of cause and effect are assumed to be suspended, conveniently located adjacent to Tora Bora... Sajid Hussain Turi said confirmed that five Frontier Corps soldiers were killed and twelve others were maimed during the festivities.
This comes as the Ministry of Defense front man Gen. Mohammad Radmanish told news hounds on Monday that the clash in Zazai Maidan district hast left at least 14 FC personnel dead and 17 others maimed.
He did not disclose further information in this regard but this comes as the Pak military officials are saying that two Frontier Corps soldiers were killed and five others were maimed after coming under from the Afghan side of the Durand Line.
"FC KP troops fired upon from Afghanistan side in Kurram agency. Troops were carrying out routine surveillance along Pak Afghan border for plugging of gaps and making necessary preparations for starting fencing in that area," the Pak military said in a statement.
The statement further added that "2 FC soldiers martyred and 5 injured. Pak troops are exercising maximum restraint so as to avoid any Afghan civilian casualties. Military engagement is underway to defuse situation."
However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... the Afghan officials are claiming that the clash broke out after Pak troops attempted to intrude into the Afghan soil.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[Express UK, via Drudge] - MORRISSEY has slammed London Mayor Sadiq Khan following the rise of violent attacks recorded in the capital saying London is "second only to Bangladesh" and claimed Mr Khan "cannot talk properly".
The former Smiths frontman lashed out at the Mayor of London in an interview discussing his views on racism, violence and the capital.
And Morrissey stated that London "is debased" and that "civilisation is over".
Going on a rampage against Mr Khan, he added: "The Mayor of London tells us about ’Neighborhood policin’ - what is ’policin’?
"He tells us London is an ’amazin’ city. What is ’amazin’? This is the Mayor of London! And he cannot talk properly!
"I saw an interview where he was discussing mental health, and he repeatedly said ’men’el’...he could not say the words ’mental health’. The Mayor of London!" I hope this is a weekly event.
This article in German (in mainstream paper "Die Welt") is a compilation of developments concerning the death of an allegedly 19 y/o alleged Afghan who was shot by police while on a rampage.
The Google translation is readable IMO. I'm not including a direct link or quotes from the article as I'm unsure about the copyright implications.
New develompents:
There was at least one additional demonstration by Afghans.
The chairman of the local 'Auslaenderbeirat' (elected semi-official foreigner's council), Abdulkerim Demir has called off further demonstrations to 'avoid further escalation.'
Demir is demanding that all police officers involved be suspended and that the shooter be arrested.
According to Demir many young Afghans in town are very furious about the death of their compatriot and also at Germany and conditions in Germany as a whole.
My 2 cts:
This incident is peculiar because the reaction by the Muslim and refugee community deviates from the standard formula of ostensible insincere apology mixed with passive aggressive menace.
There's no apology and the threats are quite explicit.
#8
Rantburg Akhbar! has been proclaimed more than once on this site, dear Injun Bucket8891.
Thank you for this post, Elmerert Hupens2660. You brought us useful information not found elsewhere, along with thoughts worth a good deal more than 2 cents.
[AnNahar] Iraq is using collective punishment including sexual exploitation against women and kiddies with alleged ties to Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... jihadists, Amnesia Amnesty International said Tuesday.
In a new report, the watchdog revealed widespread discrimination by security forces, camp administrators and local authorities against women and kiddies in eight camps for people displaced by violence.
"Iraqi women and kiddies with perceived ties to IS are being punished for crimes they did not commit," said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty's Middle East research director.
"They are trapped in camps, ostracised and denied food, water and other essentials. This humiliating collective punishment risks laying the foundation for future violence."
The United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... said in February that some 2.5 million people remained displaced after Iraqi forces backed by an international coalition waged a vast offensive to oust the Lion of Islam group from parts of northern Iraq it had seized in 2014.
Many of those who fled IS-held areas ended up in camps.
Amnesty said that in each of the eight camps it visited, women were being pressured into sexual relationships in exchange for money, aid and protection.
In its report, entitled "The Condemned: Women and Children Isolated, Trapped and Exploited in Iraq", the watchdog said women in the camps were also at risk of rape.
"The very people who are supposed to be protecting them are turning into predators," said Maalouf.
She called on the Iraqi government to show its commitment to protecting women by "holding all perpetrators to account and stopping all gunnies from entering" the camps for the displaced.
Amnesty also called on Iraqi authorities to "immediately end the systematic and widespread practise of forcibly disappearing men and boys with perceived ties to IS that has left thousands of wives, mothers, daughters and sons in desperate situations".
In many cases, the men's only "crimes" were escaping an IS stronghold, having similar names to jihadists on "wanted lists", or working in non-combat roles with the group, the watchdog said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/18/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
#2
As opposed to the rape, abuse, and general enslavement that ISIS visited any women they captured. That Amnesia International was generally silent about.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/18/2018 15:03 Comments ||
Top||
Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) An arrest warrant has been issued for a runaway Iraqi police commander and several other lower-ranking personnel after he was accused of perpetrating several terror incidents in Kirkuk province, security sources were quoted saying.
Baghdad Today quoted the source saying that Cap. Loai Mohammed Reda, commander of Kirkuk’s "SWAT" forces and 20 of his subordinates.
"The personnel escaped to an unknown destination after armed robbers, locked away Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! yesterday, confessed that liquidations, carjackings and detonations of booby-traps had been carried out by his orders," the source told the website.
The source noted that the latest car blast in the province occurred on Monday.
Kirkuk, ... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time... a province of mixed Arab and Kurdish ethnicities, has witnessed tensional security conditions over the past months since Iraqi forces took over the province from Kurdish Peshmerga forces in response to Kurdistan’s September vote for independence. Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... snuffies have also grabbed credit for several killings of security personnel after the Iraqi government declared victory over the group and the end of its territorial influence late last year.
The Iraqi government had repeatedly rebuffed accusations against its troops of committing ethnically-driven human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... breaches throughout the military campaign to retake areas occupied by IS.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/18/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq
This year, Israel celebrates its 70th Independence Day since its founding as a modern nation in 1948. Join us and watch the celebratory ceremony at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem live. And all the Muslims, and all the "progressives' can kiss our ass - provided they've a medical certificate of being non-contagious!
[IsraelTimes] As tension mounts after alleged bombing of Iranian air base in Syria, Israel issues map showing five Tehran-controlled bases in Syria
The map can be seen at the link.
Ahead of Israel’s Independence Day, the military was preparing for the possibility of a direct attack by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ air force in response to a strike on Iran’s air base in Syria earlier this month, The Times of Israel has learned.
In an apparent effort at deterrence, Israeli media was provided by the IDF with a map on Tuesday showing five Iranian-controlled bases in Syria, which would apparently constitute potential targets for an Israeli response should Iran carry out any kind of attack.
[IsraelTimes] The IDF announces it is pulling its F-15 squadron out of the Red Flag joint training exercise with US forces slated for May in Alaska.
The F-15s are staying put in Israel, according to sources, in preparation for possible escalation on the Syrian front, as the army expects Iran to avenge an alleged Israeli strike on Iranian forces in a Syrian air force base called T4 earlier this month.
In a statement, the IDF says, "The Air Force’s participation in the Red Flag exercise in Alaska will take place as planned in May. In light of assessments by the Air Force, it was decided to change the planes participating in the exercise."
The forces being sent instead of the F-15s include aerial refueling planes.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/18/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[IsraelTimes] Search for evidence of regime attack follows days of delay, and comes amidst warnings by Western powers that crucial material has likely been removed
Syria on Tuesday said international Sherlocks had entered a town hit by an alleged chemical attack, after days of delay and warnings by Western powers that crucial evidence had likely been removed.
The suspected gas attack on April 7 on Douma, near Damascus, reportedly left more than 40 people dead and was blamed by Western powers on the regime of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... In response, the United States, La Belle France, and Britannia conducted unprecedented missile strikes on Syrian military installations, but Gay Paree admitted on Tuesday they were a matter of "honor" that had solved nothing.
"Experts from the chemical weapons committee enter the town of Douma," state news agency SANA wrote, referring to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The inspectors arrived in Damascus on the day of the Western strikes but had not been allowed to enter Douma.
La Belle France and the United States appeared to question the purpose of such a mission, warning that any incriminating evidence had likely been removed by now.
"It is highly likely that evidence and essential elements disappeared from the site, which is completely controlled by the Russian and Syrian armies," the French foreign ministry said.
The US ambassador to the OPCW, Ken Ward, had claimed Monday that the site "may have been tampered with."
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova hit back at La Belle France, calling the accusation "very surprising" and saying that Russia had supported the inspection.
Several experts have also said however that any investigation at this stage was likely to be inconclusive.
"As with any scene of the crime, it is crucial to get there as soon as possible," said Olivier Lepick, a fellow at the Gay Paree-based Foundation for Scientific Research.
"If the Russians and Syrians have nothing to hide, it’s strange that they would wait 36 to 72 hours," he said. "It’s probably to give themselves the time to finish cleaning up."
[DW] Syria's state news agency had reported that experts from the OPCW had already entered the site of an alleged chemical attack. But Syria's UN ambassador said only a UN security team has so far entered the besieged town.
Conclusion: Someone is there doing something, but they may not actually be inspectors inspecting.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/18/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
I'm not sure I would be very keen about entering an area with IEDs ... but that's just me...
#2
Western media is reporting the White Helmets yelled "gas" but actual cause of death was hypoxia. The White Helmets are largely funded by the U.S. and UK governments and were founded in 2013 by James Le Mesurier, a former British military intelligence officer, and private security specialist.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Russian military has released a full report on the US-led missile attack against Syria during the morning hours of April 14, part of which details what Syrian air defense systems were used and the effectiveness of such weapons.
According to the report, one hundred and three (103) US, British and French cruise missiles fired at Syria were engaged by a range of Syrian air defense systems including Pantsir-S1, Buk-M2, Kub, Strela-10, Osa, S-125 and S-200 that, in turn, replied with 112 surface-to-air missiles (SAM).
In order, the effectiveness of these air defense systems were recorded as follows:
The complete ineffectiveness of the S-200 to successfully engage any of the attacking cruise missiles has been put down to the SAM system’s biased design towards intercepting high-altitude aircraft, not low-flying missiles.
The statistics likely fail to account for Western cruise missiles that were downed or driven off target due to ‘soft-kill’ electronic warfare systems – something which Russian sources will never confirm the use of.
In any case, going by official numbers, the interception rate of Syrian air defenses during the US-led missile attack stands at about 70 percent.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has released a brief promotion video (below) showcasing some of the anti-aircraft systems that were used to counter a barrage of over one hundred cruise missiles fired at Syria by the United States, Britain and France on April 14.
The video demonstrates the operation of a number of anti-aircraft systems by the Syrian Air Defense Force including Buk-M [SA-11/SA-17], Pantsir-S1 [SA-22 Grayhound], S-125 ‘Pechora’ [SA-3 Goa], SA-6 ‘Kub’ and ZSU-23-4 ‘Shilka’.
Furthermore, the video also showcases a very quick view of the P-15 early warning radar system.
Going by official Russian military accounts, the US-led missile attack against government sites on April 14 saw Syrian air defenses down about 70 percent of all incoming cruise missiles.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Do they mean the ADS that didn't fire until the attack was over but kept firing into the next day?
The Pentagon said more than 40 Syrian surface-to-air missiles had “no material effect” on the allied strikes, which McKenzie said hit their targets. None of the more sophisticated air defenses that Russia has positioned in Syria were employed, he said.
Pentagon officials said none of the 105 allied missiles fired were hit by Syria’s Soviet-era antimissile fire.
A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under briefing rules, said it appeared that nearly all the Syrian surface-to-air defenses were fired after the allied missiles hit their targets.
#2
Going by official Russian military accounts, the US-led missile attack against government sites on April 14 saw Syrian air defenses down about 70 percent of all incoming cruise missiles.
...HahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahNO. Not even close. The BDA pics I've seen so far suggest to me that pretty much every single weapon got through.
Kind of interesting too that we're not seeing a single piece of wreckage or other evidence.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/18/2018 5:52 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Syrian air defenses down about 70 percent of all incoming cruise missiles.
Just for grins, let's pretend this is true.
In planning a strike, you expect some percentage of incoming to be taken out by the defenses. With roughly 100 missiles launched, this leaves 30 for what seems to be a small number of targets. Given that the targets are 'soft' buildings (as opposed to hardened bunkers and aircraft revetments) and looking at the before & after pix, this all sounds semi-plausible.
[DailyMail] The White House is actively trying to put together an Arab fighting force that could replace American troops in Syria, allowing President Trump to make good on his promise that U.S. soldiers deployed there would be coming home soon.
Not only does President Trump want Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to donate billions of dollars to the war effort, the Wall Street Journal is reporting, he's asking them to commit troops to the war-torn Middle East country, too.
According to WSJ, the president's new national security advisor, John Bolton, asked Egypt's acting intelligence chief officer, Abbas Kamel, if Cairo would be willing to put boots on the ground in Syria.
Betcha the answer to that last was effectively “No.” Egypt already turned down the ooportunity to send Egyptian troops to the festivities in Yemen, after all.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... is willing to send its military to areas of Syria under the control of US-backed forces according to the country’s foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir.
Speaking in front of UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday, Adel al-Jubeir stated that Saudi Arabia has been in discussions with relevant authorities to send some of its forces from the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) to Syria pending an official request.
The development comes after Saudi Arabia offered to foot the bill for the continued presence of US forces in Syria.
The offer was made in reaction to President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... ’s statement that he wanted to withdraw US forces from the Arab republic ‐ something which Saudi Arabia and other US-led coalition partner nations strongly oppose.
#6
Saudi's just need to tell Arab's at the Hajj that the only way to get the Christians out of the middle east is if they join up for a unified Arab force. You'd probably get double your expected numbers.
[FoxNews] Justice Neil Gorsuch provided the decisive vote Tuesday in a Supreme Court ruling striking down a key provision that made it easier to deport immigrants convicted of violent crimes, in a blow to the Trump administration.
President Trump's Supreme Court pick has largely sided with the conservative members of the bench since his appointment, but sided with the liberal wing on Tuesday.
"Today’s Court decision means that Congress must close loopholes that block the removal of dangerous criminal aliens, including aggravated felons. This is a public safety crisis that can only be fixed by Congress – House and Senate must quickly pass a legislative fix to ensure violent criminal aliens can be removed from our society. Keep America Safe!" Trump tweeted in response Tuesday evening.
Golly, that sure makes President Trump sound like he respects the Constitutional separation of powers...
The court said the part of the law in question was too vague to be enforced.
The court's 5-4 decision concerned a provision of federal immigration law that defines a "crime of violence." Conviction for a crime of violence subjects an immigrant to deportation and usually speeds up the process.
#1
so all Congress would need to do would be to adequately define 'Crime of Violence' in the statute
Posted by: lord garth ||
04/18/2018 0:08 Comments ||
Top||
#2
According to Gorsuch the way the law was written it could be used to abuse the rights of legal citizens, which goes against the will of the original framers. In other words, technically the law just needs proper rewriting for Gorsuch to allow it to stand.
you make a good point, many, many laws are, as you say, squishy
the problem with fixing the squishiness is that the squish is there on purpose
in the case at hand, the cops probably had Mr. Dimaya on several counts but he pleaded down to burglary (which Gorsuch found is not obviously violent). Had he pleaded to 'breaking and entering', it would have been different
Posted by: lord garth ||
04/18/2018 9:07 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Yep, LG, much, maybe most, of the squishiness is there on purpose depending on who's doing what to whom.
The growth of the bureaucracy didn't happen by accident. The more loop holes and nuances the more chances for wealth manipulation.
Make the laws tight and Insty's phrase comes in; "Where's the graft in that?"
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.
Kurram Agency
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
