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At least 12 dead in 'terrorist attack' after truck crashes into Berlin Christmas market
Today's Headlines
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-Land of the Free
New York State Employee Demands Death For Trump Supporters, Still Employed
After the victory last month of President-elect Donald Trump, an employee of the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities reportedly posted a disturbing message to his private Facebook page wishing death on the former GOP nominee’s supporters.

“To all my friends that live in red voting states,” the screed began. “You have 2 months to move. After that, if you don’t do not consider us friends. I want you dead. I want your families dead. I want your wives, husbands children and grandchildren dead. Not just dead but horrible painful deaths.”

“Torturous cancers — bone, brain,” his twisted post continued. “Burning alive in a fire. Drownings. Wives and daughters or should I say your c***s as you Republicans like to call them should be brutally raped first.”
He doesn't care whether his friends voted for or against Mr. Trump, but just that they live in states where the majority of voters voted for Mr. Trump. One hopes his job does not require any higher level thinking... or contact with people.
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/20/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  He works for the NY office for People with Disabilities.

Apparently they take the worst mental cases and give them jobs at the agency.
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/20/2016 7:57 Comments || Top||

#2  He may not so much be an employee of the agency but rather a client.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 12/20/2016 8:49 Comments || Top||

#3  Any time this fool feels up for trying, come to Texas and see what happens.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 12/20/2016 9:57 Comments || Top||

#4  Mr. Walz is apparently now on administrative leave pending an investigation.

It's dicey for the State agency. What Walz posted on Facebook (his account there has been suspended) is protected speech. His posting is not, apparently, connected to his work and thus I don't see how the agency can discipline him.

Probably the OPDD will have to keep him as an employee but restrict his on site appearance in the office as part of anger management therapy.
Posted by: lord garth || 12/20/2016 10:46 Comments || Top||

#5  He'll be allowed to keep working until he goes postal, and everyone will say "nobody saw this coming!"
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/20/2016 11:18 Comments || Top||

#6  A communicated threat - criminal assault. Executing the threat is battery.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/20/2016 18:09 Comments || Top||

#7  Big talk from a little bureaucrat p*ssy
Posted by: Frank G || 12/20/2016 20:31 Comments || Top||

#8  The talk of a true moderate Democrat.
Posted by: bbrewer126 || 12/20/2016 21:21 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
7 die in fighting in Congo
[al-Manar] Five rebels, a South African peacekeeper and a policeman were killed Monday when militia fighters attacked the city of Butembo in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, UN and police sources said.

The clashes between police and militia fighters, who attacked the prison in Butembo, a city of around one million people in troubled North Kivu province, came amid rising tension across the country as President Joseph Kabila’s mandate runs out.

“At around 6 am (0400 GMT), the assailants, who were likely Mai-Mai fighters, launched an attack against the prison and other places,” said the spokesman for the UN’s MONUSCO peacekeeping force, Felix-Prosper Basse.

Mai-Mai militia have staged several attacks in Butembo in recent months and though the reasons for their return appear unclear, some residents say they have heard some fighters claim they are seeking to oust Kabila.

The country was due to hold a presidential election this year as Kabila’s mandate ends December 20, but the authorities failed to organise the polls and there is widespread fear of protests and violence.

Kabila is barred from a third mandate under the constitution and the opposition has accused the authorities of delaying the vote in the hope of reworking the constitution to extend his tenure.
Posted by: badanov || 12/20/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russia bath lotion kills 48 drinkers in Irkutsk
[BBC] At least 48 people have died in the Siberian city of Irkutsk after drinking bath essence, Russian authorities say.

The hawthorn-scented liquid was consumed as if it were alcohol, according to Russia's Investigative Committee. Several others are in a serious condition. Two people have been detained over the deaths and police are removing bottles from shops.

Investigators said a warning that it should not be swallowed was ignored. The product, called Boyaryshnik (Hawthorn), was found to contain methanol, a toxin found in antifreeze. A state of emergency has been declared in Irkutsk, and Russia's top investigative agency opened an enquiry into the incident. Russian media reported that the victims were poor people, aged between 35 and 50, and were not drinking together.

Household products are seen by some as a cheap alternative to alcohol across the former Soviet Union.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/20/2016 03:30 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is such a Russian story
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/20/2016 3:43 Comments || Top||

#2  During prohibition antifreeze was made with alcohol.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 12/20/2016 11:28 Comments || Top||

#3  Some drank "lacquer" mistaking it for "liquor". They had a wonderful finish.
Posted by: Canuckistan sniper || 12/20/2016 20:03 Comments || Top||

#4  "well, they didn't freeze. So there's that, which is nice"
Posted by: Frank G || 12/20/2016 20:33 Comments || Top||


Conflicting casualty claims as fighting continues in northern Donetsk, Lugansk


Fighting continued sporadically in northern Donetsk and Lugansk Sunday and Monday as Russian backed rebels claim casualties for the Ukrainian forces rose to more than 100 dead, according to Ukrainian and Russian language news accounts.

The Ukrainian ministry of defense said in press sessions on Monday that the death toll for their side in the battles which began Sunday afternoon totaled 15 dead and 30 wounded, according to a news account in lb.ua.

In the first session Ukrainian military officials claimed a total of five dead while saying that rebels lost ten and 20 wounded in the fighting on Sunday.

Ukrainian military journalist Andrey Butusov was quoted in the lb.ua article as saying that Ukrainian top officials were deliberately low balling casualty figures.

Butusov said the actual number was six dead, a small difference.

In a second press briefing the same day, Ukrainian military officials said that another five Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the fighting around Debaltsevo.

But retired Ukrainian GRU Colonel Igor Bezler, a former Ukrainian intelligence operative was quoted in Russkaya Vesna as saying the total dead for the fighting over two days was more than 100 with 400 wounded. Bezler said in a social media posting that a military cordon had been placed around Artemovsk (recently renamed Bakhmut by the Ukrainians) to prevent locals from finding out how bad the losses were for Ukrainian forces. He also said that military hospitals were filled with casualties from the fighting.

Both sides claim the other side launched the attacks. Initial reports yesterday from both Ukrainian and rebel media seem to confirm that the Ukrainians launched the attack, which was met with stiff resistance from dug in rebel troops.

Now Ukrainians are saying that it was the rebels who struck first.

Ukrainian ministry of defense spokesman Colonel Andrei Lysenko was quoted in lb.ua saying that rebel artillery preparation began Sunday morning and was followed with a ground attack that began at around 1330 hrs.

While the seeming objective of rebel forces was not clear in the press briefing, it was clear the Ukrainians were charging the rebels with trying to attack through the Svetodarsk arc, specifically the area between two lakes on either side of the main road that runs to Artemovsk.

That battle lasted 3.5 hours until 1700 hrs, when rebel reinforcements arrived to bolster their forces and a second push was initiated. A third reinforcement arrived, according to Lysenko, that was two to five times the size of the second reinforcement.

The rebel attacks failed. Ukrainian forces, according to Lysenko did not attempt a counterattack, despite massive rebel artillery fire.

An account by an unidentified Ukrainian soldier appearing in Censor.net.ua said that Ukrainian did counterattack in the area, but waited until rebel forces were very close before their forces finally arrived for their attack.

On the evening of December 19th, Ukrainian commanders, presumably near Kalinovka on the easternmost extent of the Svetodarsk arc, asked for a truce to recover their dead and wounded, according to Lugansk military spokesman Major Andrei Marochko. Marochko noted that a similar truce was requested on December 18th and apparently granted, but the Ukrainians used the respite to regroup for further fighting.

According to separate rebel media reports, the fighting has subsided but artillery fire continues.

A separate news account which appeared on tsargrad.tv website said that fighting continued near Kalinovka on Monday. According to Russkaya Vesna, rebel forces in Lugansk launched a counterattack against Ukrainian troops, but this writer could find no reference to a counterattack in any of the official Lugansk web pages.
Posted by: badanov || 12/20/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Economy
Johnson & Johnson to hire 75 at new RI office
[WPRI] PROVIDENCE, R.I. ‐ Johnson & Johnson will establish a new technology office in Providence to develop health-related software, with initial plans to employ 75 people, state and company leaders announced Monday.

Gov. Gina Raimondo’s aides confirmed a deal with the Fortune 100 company to locate a new health technology center in the city. The new office will employ high-skill IT workers such as developers and engineers, creating software and running analytics to support Johnson & Johnson efforts to improve health outcomes, they said.

"I’m excited," Raimondo said in an interview. "It’s a big deal. It’s another sign of our momentum. It’s a big, brand-name company that quite literally could have chosen anywhere they wanted ‐ everyone would want Johnson & Johnson to put a center of excellence in their hometown, and they picked us."

Raimondo said she views the potential for Johnson & Johnson in Rhode Island along the same lines as General Electric, which earlier this year reached a similar deal with her administration to put new tech jobs in Providence.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/20/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Interesting place for a software office - the last one I know of that was established in Providence didn't work out that well.
Posted by: Raj || 12/20/2016 1:10 Comments || Top||

#2  initial plans to employ 75 people

Yeah, that'll punch a hole in the unemployment stats.

Oh, there's now more people 'out of work' than are on the unemployed billet?
Wait, these wouldn't be new H1-b jobs would they?
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/20/2016 1:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Admittedly, a small number. It becomes a bit more significant however, when it is your son or daughter landing a new position. Perhaps not Hallelujah Choir time, but significant nonetheless.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/20/2016 2:37 Comments || Top||

#4  Isn't a lot of small firms (one can hope) better than a large one?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/20/2016 2:41 Comments || Top||

#5  The one thing the "right time, right place" IT industry robber barons never like to discuss is how few people they employ versus other industries relative to the profits they make.

We have the worst robber baron class in U.S. history.
Posted by: no mo uro || 12/20/2016 5:16 Comments || Top||

#6  Well, the old ones used to buy steel, lay rail, actually employ physical structure and materials. Today, they just buy their office equipment and computers 'Made in China'. So, yeah, not much of a blip to the economy besides the delivery trucks business. Besides, how many months before the H1Bs show up?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/20/2016 8:43 Comments || Top||

#7  The one thing the "right time, right place" IT industry robber barons never like to discuss is how few people they employ versus other industries relative to the profits they make.


The other problem - by and large, software engineers (a lot of them) are the biggest bunch of slackers out there. The main reason I lasted 9 - 10 years was because I have a real work ethic.
Posted by: Raj || 12/20/2016 12:48 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Faithless Electors
h/t Instapundit

The only known "faithless" presidential electors to not vote for the candidate who won their states have so far been Democrats refusing to support 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The Electoral College has been gathering in each state capital on Monday to officially vote for the next president of the United States.

One-third of Washington’s electors did not vote for Clinton despite her winning the state last month, making them the only "faithless" electors to have their votes officially count in their state’s final tally. Out of Washington’s 12 total Electoral College votes, eight went to Clinton, three went to former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and one went to Faith Spotted Eagle, a Native American elder who has been opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline project in North Dakota.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/20/2016 02:39 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Update: 4 turned on Hillary, 2 on Trump
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/20/2016 3:31 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
PIA: on a wing and a prayer
[DAWN] RAWALPINDI: In an effort to seek divine intervention to keep a flight safe and secure, staff of the Pakistain International Airlines sacrificed a black goat for ’sadqa’ near an ATR-42 aircraft after it was given clearance for take-off from the Benazir Bhutto
... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in...
International Airport on Sunday.
Real news, not fake.
Later the plane left for Multan, making it the first ATR-42 aircraft to be pressed into service since the start of shakedown tests on all such aircraft in the wake of an air crash near Havelian on Dec 7.

According to a front man for the national flag carrier, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had decided to ground the ATR-42 fleet until all its aircraft had been subjected to the shakedown tests and cleared for flight operations.

The grounding of the ATR fleet had badly affected the PIA’s flights to and from cities and towns like Gwadar, Turbat, Panjgur, Moenjodaro, Zhob, Bahawalpur, D.G. Khan, Chitral and Gilgit.

Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  until all its aircraft had been subjected to the 'black goat' shakedown tests
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/20/2016 1:08 Comments || Top||

#2  Maybe the rest of the world has something to learn here since apparently the goat sacrifice ritual obviously worked because the flight suffered no problems.
Posted by: gorb || 12/20/2016 21:07 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
33[untagged]
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1Lashkar e-Taiba
1Muslim Brotherhood
1Arab Spring
1al-Shabaab
1Govt of Pakistan
1Govt of Saudi Arabia
1Govt of Syria
1Jaish-e-Mohammad

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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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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2016-12-20
  At least 12 dead in 'terrorist attack' after truck crashes into Berlin Christmas market
Mon 2016-12-19
  Russian ambassador to Turkey assassinated
Sun 2016-12-18
  Sirte officially declared Liberated
Sat 2016-12-17
  22 ISIS targets hit in airstrikes in Palmyra
Fri 2016-12-16
  Belgian Police Move on Libya Arms Smuggling Ring
Thu 2016-12-15
  11 headless bodies found in Aden
Wed 2016-12-14
  Jihadist rebels agree to ceasefire deal in east Aleppo
Tue 2016-12-13
  Mosul Offensive News: Iraqi forces move into Mosul's biggest district
Mon 2016-12-12
  Syrian army equipment falls into ISIS' possession in Palmyra
Sun 2016-12-11
  Death toll rises to 20 25 in Cairo Coptic cathedral bombing
Sat 2016-12-10
  Record airstrike hits over 100 ISIL oil trucks gathered in Syria
Fri 2016-12-09
  Schoolgirl suicide bombers kill 30/injure 57
Thu 2016-12-08
  SC upholds death penalty for Mufti Hannan, 2 others
Wed 2016-12-07
  Syrian rebels repel attack in Aleppo by Iranian militia
Tue 2016-12-06
  Cincinnati: "Allah is in control!" shouts man after sentencing


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