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Today: 51 articles and 148 comments as of 17:47.
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Islamic State claims responsibility for attacks in Iran, death toll revised down to 84
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
8 19:49 Chris [24] 
3 13:17 Grom the Reflective [28] 
9 20:15 Frank G [35] 
4 13:07 ed in texas [18] 
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2 13:16 swksvolFF [16] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
5 16:57 Super Hose [28]
7 19:46 Ululating Platypus [44]
2 17:47 Ululating Platypus [41]
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1 04:59 Grom the Reflective [39]
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3 12:05 borgboy [48]
1 11:21 bman [30]
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4 19:16 SteveS [35]
8 12:59 swksvolFF [20]
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4 12:23 SteveS [20]
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2 08:07 Procopius2k [23]
2 19:38 Chris [43]
Page 2: WoT Background
10 22:27 Frank G [23]
2 09:52 irish rage boy [25]
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1 02:42 Grom the Reflective [26]
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6 14:04 swksvolFF [19]
1 02:44 Grom the Reflective [25]
Page 4: Opinion
2 15:15 Super Hose [23]
3 09:07 M. Murcek [19]
3 15:32 Besoeker [23]
11 17:02 DarthVader [33]
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Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
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1 10:38 Frank G [24]
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3 13:15 ed in texas [15]
7 16:12 irish rage boy [24]
Page 6: Politix
12 20:51 trailing wife [39]
10 13:40 swksvolFF [23]
4 16:27 Airandee [37]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Jill Biden staffer's ouster linked to 'inappropriate relationship' decisions involving gay dates
[BIZPACREVIEW] First Lady Jill Biden’s press secretary, Michael LaRosa, was forced to resign after it surfaced he was taking male dates to his room on a secure floor of the hotel the president was staying at during a NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
summit in Madrid.
Decency is on the ballot
This is just one of the many inappropriate relationships involving Democrat staffers happening on government property.

LaRosa, 40, attempted to take a male date to his room on the floor not once, but twice according to sources. He was stopped by the Secret Service, the Daily Mail reported. The gay couple passed through three security checkpoints before getting stopped at approximately 9 p.m. The Secret Service confirmed the incident happened.

He was accompanying First Lady Jill Biden to the NATO Summit where the president was speaking in Madrid, Spain when this occurred in June 2022. The Daily Mail wrote that this was "part of a pattern of behavior that led to his forced resignation the following month."

Posted by: Fred || 01/05/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || [18 views] Top|| File under:

#1  One can't help wondering: are any of their entourage is hetero?
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 01/05/2024 4:14 Comments || Top||

#2  He's now serving as Asst Chair on the Monkeypox Committee
Posted by: Frank G || 01/05/2024 6:53 Comments || Top||

#3  That is roughly the same location and timeline of Covid 2: Monkeypox Bugaloo.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/05/2024 13:06 Comments || Top||

#4  Jeebus, there are so many jokes here.
(Mr Undersecretary, going on a bender, ...)
Posted by: ed in texas || 01/05/2024 13:07 Comments || Top||


-Great Cultural Revolution
Tit for Tat: Business Insider's 'Plagiarism' Scoop on Bill Ackman's Wife
[HotAir] So most of you know who Bill Ackman is, but for those of you who don’t, he’s the billionaire Harvard alumni who’s been the most vocal and, frankly, most outspokenly aggrieved about what transpired throughout the entire revolting Claudine Gay debacle.

The last word that Ackman had on the subject was an incredibly thoughtful 4000 word essay he posted on X. It concerned what he found at Harvard after he “went up to campus to see things with my own eyes.”

Also today, this big Business Insider scoop hit on Ackman’s wife, Neri Oxman. It’s a lurid mess of accusations, gossip, and hyperbole against both Oxman and Ackman.

Well, fair’s fair if it’s true, right?

Billionaire hedge fund manager and major Harvard donor Bill Ackman seized on revelations that Harvard president Claudine Gay had plagiarized some passages in her academic work to underscore his calls for her removal following what he perceived as her mishandling of large protests against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza on Harvard’s campus.

An analysis by Business Insider found a similar pattern of plagiarism by Ackman’s wife Neri Oxman, who became a tenured professor at MIT in 2017.

Oxman plagiarized multiple paragraphs of her 2010 doctoral dissertation, Business Insider found, including at least one passage directly lifted from other writers without citation.

Her husband Ackman has taken a hardline stance on plagiarism. On Wednesday, responding to news that Gay will remain a part of Harvard’s faculty after she resigned as president, he wrote on X that Gay should be fired completely due to “serious plagiarism issues.”

…An architect and artist who experiments with new ways to synthesize materials found in nature, Oxman has been the subject of profiles in major outlets such as the New York Times and Elle. She collaborated with Björk, exhibited at MOMA, and had paparazzi stake her out after Brad Pitt visited her lab at MIT in 2018.
Advertisement

In the first place, I’m sure BI wasn’t counting on Ms. Oxman coming straight out re: the issues with her work they address in the piece…nor the part about BI only giving her “until 4 p.m.” to answer their pretty bold insinuations of intentional academic fraud.

Her tweet on X is a prime example of grace, unwinding a situation calmly, and how to immediately address an issue.



…Unfortunately, because some of the original sources are not online, and Business Insider was unwilling to give me beyond 4pm to review these citations, I cannot confirm whether Business Insider or the sources I referenced for this paragraph are correct.

When I obtain access to the original sources, I will check all of the above citations and request that MIT make any necessary corrections…
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 01/05/2024 04:16 || Comments || Link || [28 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bidness Inslimer = Rolling Stone
Posted by: M. Murcek || 01/05/2024 7:59 Comments || Top||

#2  Neri Oxman Publications approx 80.

Actually, what's important, is not # publications but # of citations: According to Google Schoolar more than a thousand.


Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 01/05/2024 13:06 Comments || Top||

#3  ^And it's a real subject - not intersectionality.
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 01/05/2024 13:17 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Former Sierra Leone president charged with treason amid post-election tensions
[AFRICANEWS] Sierra Leone's former President, Ernest Bai Koroma, has been charged with four offenses, including treason, for his alleged involvement in a failed military attempt to overthrow the government in November.

The charges come amid heightened tensions following the attempted coup and a disputed June 2023 election, where President Julius Maada Bio secured a second term.

The election's outcome faced rejection by the main opposition candidate and skepticism from international partners.

In November, gunmen attacked military barracks and a prison, leading to over 2,200 inmates' release and more than 20 deaths. The government attributed the incident to a foiled coup, mainly involving Koroma's bodyguards.

The ex-president, charged with treason, misprision of treason, and harboring, condemned the attacks. His lawyer called the charges a "political vendetta." Koroma was granted bail, and the case is adjourned until January 17. Twelve others, including a member of Koroma's security detail, were also charged with treason in connection with the coup attempt.

Posted by: Fred || 01/05/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || [12 views] Top|| File under:


Nigeria to ban degrees from Kenya, Uganda in crackdown
[AFRICANEWS] Nigeria has announced an expansion of its suspension of degrees accreditation, encompassing additional countries such as Kenya and Uganda.

This decision follows the recent suspension of accreditation for degrees obtained from institutions in Benin
...Benin, a French-speaking West African nation, that they put where Dahomey used to be. It is a birthplace of voodoo and zombies. In Abomey, Dahomey's former capital, the Historical Museum occupies two royal palaces with bas-reliefs recounting the kingdom’s past and a throne mounted on human skulls. To the north, Pendjari National Park offers safaris with elephants, hippos and lions and tigers and bears, oh my!...
and Togo.

During an interview on Nigeria's Channels Television channel, Education Minister Tahir Mamman stated on Wednesday, "We are not going to stop at just Benin and Togo. We are going to extend the dragnet to countries like Uganda, Kenya, even Niger here where such institutions have been set up."

This move is a response to the revelation of fraudulent qualifications from foreign degree mills, as exposed by the Daily Nigerian newspaper. In an undercover investigation, news hound Umar Audu detailed how he acquired a degree for a four-year program from a Benin university in under two months.

Expressing his firm stance, Mr. Mamman asserted, "I have no sympathy for those with fake certificates from foreign countries. They are not victims but part of the criminal chain that should be arrested."

Nigeria has initiated a formal investigation into the ministries and agencies responsible for accrediting academic qualifications obtained abroad. Mr. Mamman emphasized that this measure aims to safeguard Nigeria's employers and maintain the integrity of the country's qualifications.

The government's decisive action is in response to the urgent need to curb the proliferation of counterfeit qualifications, as revealed by the Daily Nigerian's exposé.

This broader suspension reflects Nigeria's commitment to maintaining the credibility of its educational system and protecting employers from potential fraudulent practices.

Posted by: Fred || 01/05/2024 00:00 || Comments || Link || [16 views] Top|| File under:

#1  What about Harvard degrees?
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 01/05/2024 4:15 Comments || Top||

#2  I think that's what they are getting at; Ivy League Satellite Campuses, and all that implies.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/05/2024 13:16 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
N. Korea fires some 200 artillery shells off its west coast
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 01/05/2024 2024-01-05 00:05 || Comments || Link || [35 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Godzilla vanquished?
Posted by: Grom the Reflective || 01/05/2024 3:07 Comments || Top||

#2  Or showing Ivans they're getting live 'uns?
Posted by: Ulereger Glinerong1896 || 01/05/2024 3:18 Comments || Top||

#3  aiming at china? goodie.
Posted by: irish rage boy || 01/05/2024 9:56 Comments || Top||

#4  Begging for attention!
Posted by: borgboy || 01/05/2024 12:11 Comments || Top||

#5  Quality control batch tests.
The storage stuff that's been going to Russia hasn't been getting good reviews.
Posted by: ed in texas || 01/05/2024 13:04 Comments || Top||

#6  Like back in the day when they'd light a tiny mortar straight up to see how far it traveled, so they'd know how the powder would behave and range that day.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/05/2024 14:01 Comments || Top||

#7  The quality control test for USN subs is innovative. There is a rep from each union shop onboard for the first five. Maybe that doesn’t happen anymore.
Posted by: Super Hose || 01/05/2024 16:52 Comments || Top||

#8  When Roman engineers in charge of building arches for aqueducts supervised the removal of the scaffolding, they would stand underneath while doing so. Skin in the game is the best quality control.
Posted by: Ululating Platypus || 01/05/2024 19:52 Comments || Top||

#9  ^ Fair enough
Posted by: Frank G || 01/05/2024 20:15 Comments || Top||


Government Corruption
Feds Still Looking For D.C. Pipe Bomb Suspect 3 Years Later
[WIRE] After nearly three years, federal officials are still looking for a suspect as part of the investigation into a pair of pipe bombs that were planted outside the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) and Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) offices in Washington, D.C., in January 2021.

A bulletin issued by the FBI on Thursday said a $500,000 reward, which would be given in exchange for information leading to an individual’s arrest and conviction, "remains in effect." The bureau also said "identifying the perpetrator of this attempted attack remains a priority" for law enforcement and offered information on how to contact investigators, including through anonymous tips.

Federal authorities say a pair of pipe bombs were planted outside the RNC’s and the DNC’s offices in Washington, D.C., on the evening of January 5, 2021, the night before the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6. Surveillance video of the suspect previously released to the public shows a hooded figure carrying around a backpack and, at one point, sitting on a bench looking at what appears to be a phone.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/05/2024 05:20 || Comments || Link || [24 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Looking really hard, too."

Prioritized behind the Epstein and Seth Rich investigations, though.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 01/05/2024 7:18 Comments || Top||

#2 

Question: OK I'll ask, given the 100's of CCTV cameras in DC, and collected Cell Phone videos. Surely they have a better PIC's of him that could be released.

So Here is a A.I. challenge.
Using available pictures and a Photo editor app. How long would it take the A.I. to piece together a better facial imagine?
Posted by: NN2N1 || 01/05/2024 8:14 Comments || Top||

#3  ^^ Probably because he or she is/was a Pelosi staffer.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 01/05/2024 11:48 Comments || Top||

#4  Pipe Bomber was their insurance.
They'll never be found.
Posted by: mossomo || 01/05/2024 12:34 Comments || Top||

#5  The Pipe Bomber was in the prep meeting with Epps and the other bus loads of feds dropped off on Jan 6. Maybe all those folks should be interviewed.
Posted by: airandee || 01/05/2024 12:54 Comments || Top||

#6  Weird. So weird.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/05/2024 13:11 Comments || Top||

#7  He's with the 'real' killer of Nicole Simpson
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/05/2024 18:30 Comments || Top||

#8  Can't even come with a half ass lie anymore.
Posted by: Chris || 01/05/2024 19:49 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
22[untagged]
9Hamas
4Houthis
3Govt of Sudan
3Hezbollah
2Govt of Iran Proxies
2Commies
1Fatah
1[untagged]
1Govt of Pakistan
1Islamic State
1Sublime Porte
1Tablighi Jamaat

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

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

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2024-01-05
  Islamic State claims responsibility for attacks in Iran, death toll revised down to 84
Thu 2024-01-04
  Death toll of the terrorist attack near a cemetery in Iran more than 200 people
Wed 2024-01-03
  At least 103 killed in Iran 'terrorist attack' at event honoring Soleimani
Tue 2024-01-02
  Sky News: US and Houthi ships clash in the Red Sea
Mon 2024-01-01
  Israel said set to replace all Palestinian workers with tens of thousands of foreigners
Sun 2023-12-31
  Israeli forces push deeper into central and southern Gaza amid airstrikes
Sat 2023-12-30
  Attack in Syria maybe kills 11 senior Iranian military officers, injures top advisor to Damascus
Fri 2023-12-29
  Khan Younis hospital operating without 80% of staff
Thu 2023-12-28
  'Impossible to walk inside the hospital without stepping over patients': WHO
Wed 2023-12-27
  US troops hit three Kataib Hezbollah targets in Iraq
Tue 2023-12-26
  Hamas rejects two-state solution
Mon 2023-12-25
  Merry Christmas!
Sun 2023-12-24
  Safieddine: We're the ones who decide the fate of the South
Sat 2023-12-23
  IDF has reported the first confirmed case of a Hamas suicide bomber in Gaza
Fri 2023-12-22
  Israel orders evacuation of UNRWA facilities


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