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Today: 59 articles and 197 comments as of 10:16.
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Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Opinion        Politix   
Arrested Ansar al-Islam militant confesses to killing blogger Avijit Roy
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
3 20:44 Anomalous Sources [] 
12 22:41 3dc [1] 
6 17:50 Skidmark [] 
9 19:09 Zenobia Floger6220 [1] 
11 17:46 Seeking cure for ignorance [1] 
5 12:42 trailing wife [] 
6 13:42 Skidmark [2] 
6 13:27 trailing wife [] 
9 21:26 Chavins Crirt6390 [1] 
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2 13:45 Skidmark [1] 
4 06:02 Cheaderhead [] 
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3 12:38 My. Murcek [1] 
10 21:26 Besoeker [1] 
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5 13:35 JohnQC []
10 22:50 rjschwarz []
Page 6: Politix
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14 23:42 CrazyFool []
-Obits-
Charles Manson dies at 83
May he burn in hell
Cult leader Charles Manson has died aged 83.

The news was confirmed by Debra Tate, the sister of one of his victims, who told TMZ she received a call to say he had died at 8.13am.

[Breitbart] Nearly a half century after the murders, the Manson Family still strikes as surreal. So, too, does the contemporaneous admiration of the murderer from the radical journalists and leaders.

"Admiration of radical journalists and leaders....surreal?" Only if you've not been paying attention.
Posted by: badanov || 11/20/2017 00:39 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...Let us read from the Book of Isiah, chapter fourteen, verse fifteen:

"...Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?..."

Thus endeth today's lesson.

Rot in hell, Charlie.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 11/20/2017 4:44 Comments || Top||

#2  Good riddance
Posted by: Cheaderhead || 11/20/2017 6:06 Comments || Top||

#3  God having to do the job men refuse to do.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/20/2017 7:37 Comments || Top||

#4  As my wife said when apprised of this news, how much did this cost to keep him alive all these years compared to the cost of a bullet?
Posted by: AlanC || 11/20/2017 9:13 Comments || Top||

#5  In any major economic collapse, the realization that you can't afford to warehouse hundreds of thousands of non-reformable sociopathic threats to society nor release them into any civilized environment will force a reckoning.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/20/2017 9:23 Comments || Top||

#6  Not to be argumentative Mr. P2K. Currently in Maryland, DOJ, State corrections (yes, they probably call it something else now. They can't make up their minds). My friend cleared $3000. for two weeks work claiming 9 deductions for the state of Maryland. Then another cleared $1900. for one weeks work for DOJ. Reason, hiring freeze. I guarantee you the system is purged now and then to reduce populations. Lock downs common in Federal and state. Last one recently an inmate with a prosthetic leg had a shank hidden in it and he attacked his guard and stabbed him seven times. The guard lived. Many many more events never reported. The women's side I am told is the worst. They have been given every break generally.
Posted by: Dale || 11/20/2017 10:28 Comments || Top||

#7  Welcome to hell.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/20/2017 11:09 Comments || Top||

#8  Hieronymous Bosch was/is the documentarian of our age...just ahead of his time.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/20/2017 16:06 Comments || Top||

#9  A Victual Brother off Visby,
Adrift in a mist, and in misery.
His Boschian vision
Of posh indecision:
Those lunatic pictures from Disney!
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 11/20/2017 19:09 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Earth Slowing to Cause Earthquakes
[Guardian] Scientists have warned there could be a big increase in numbers of devastating earthquakes around the world next year. They believe variations in the speed of Earth’s rotation could trigger intense seismic activity, particularly in heavily populated tropical regions.

Although such fluctuations in rotation are small – changing the length of the day by a millisecond – they could still be implicated in the release of vast amounts of underground energy, it is argued.

The link between Earth’s rotation and seismic activity was highlighted last month in a paper by Roger Bilham of the University of Colorado in Boulder and Rebecca Bendick of the University of Montana in Missoula presented at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America.
I blame man-made slowing...
Posted by: Mercutio || 11/20/2017 05:15 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I blame a gizillion copies of National Geographic piled in basements and attics in North America destabilizing the earth's rotation.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/20/2017 9:09 Comments || Top||

#2  We need to build a highway all the way around the world and drive lots of cars really fast from east to west to speed Earth's rotation back up. Or maybe blow the tops off high, tropical mountains (like a skater pulling her arms in during rotation.)
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/20/2017 9:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Bilham and Bendick had to report something.

They couldn't just take the podium and say 'ladies and gentlemen, we're happy to be here, great sushi, but unfortunately we have absolutely nothing significant to report.'
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/20/2017 9:15 Comments || Top||

#4  And no doubt it’s man caused and will take trillions of dollars a year to study...
Posted by: CrazyFool || 11/20/2017 9:22 Comments || Top||

#5  It's still Trump's fault. Or maybe Bush's.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 11/20/2017 10:10 Comments || Top||

#6  Geological Geofeelzical Society
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 11/20/2017 10:47 Comments || Top||

#7  "The sky is falling!" Wait, no the earth is collapsing.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/20/2017 11:07 Comments || Top||

#8  Next month's headline - 'Earth speeding up to cause earthquakes'.
Posted by: Raj || 11/20/2017 13:20 Comments || Top||

#9  I did read a few years back that rocket launches to put sattelites in orbit does reduce the Sarah's rotation speed.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 11/20/2017 14:03 Comments || Top||

#10  There it is at #4, the reason I read the Burg, snort.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/20/2017 15:07 Comments || Top||

#11  Where the heck did Sarah's come from? I typed in Earth's.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 11/20/2017 16:34 Comments || Top||

#12  Earth mod Gaia == Sarah?
Posted by: 3dc || 11/20/2017 22:41 Comments || Top||


-War on Police-
Illegal Aliens Kill Border Patrol Agent By Crushing in His Skull w/Rocks
[Breitbart] Exclusive details have emerged on the early morning attack against Border Patrol agents that left one agent dead and another hospitalized in serious condition on November, 19 2017. Breitbart Texas first broke the news of the death and injuries and now the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) says that their agents on the ground have stated that the agents were tracking a group of illegal aliens who then beat the agents with rocks until one was killed and the other hospitalized.

Border Patrol Agent Brandon Judd, also president of the NBPC, stated, "What we know is that Border Patrol Agent Rogilio Martinez appears to have been ambushed by a group of illegal aliens whom he was tracking. Our agents’ reports from the ground say that he was struck in the head multiple times with a rock or rocks."

Agent Judd continued, "The other agent arrived on scene a short time later and was also ambushed and struck in the head with what is believed to have been a rock or rocks. These disgusting acts and complete disregard for human life need to stop immediately. Family members of slain Agent Martinez will never get to see him come home again all because we have failed to secure our borders from such criminals."

Shortly after Breitbart Texas broke the news of the incident, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed that one Border Patrol agent was dead and another hospitalized in serious condition; however, authorities would not provide more details. Breitbart Texas was unable to confirm the details with CBP and other federal agencies. The NBPC is the organization that represents approximately 16,000 of our nation’s Border Patrol agents.

Our original report is included below.

One Border Patrol agent is dead and his partner left hospitalized in serious condition in the Big Bend Sector of Texas. The FBI is leading the investigation while Border Patrol Special Operations agents and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations aircrews are currently searching the area for possible attackers.

Breitbart Texas learned from a trusted CBP official that details on the matter are scarce.

We do know that two Border Patrol agents working as partners in the Van Horn Station area of responsibility of the Big Bend Sector responded to "activity." Whether the activity was an activated sensor or something else is currently unknown. This occurred on the morning of Sunday, November 19, 2017.

One of the Border Patrol agents later radioed into the communication center saying that he needed assistance and that he was injured. Other Border Patrol agents responded and found one agent injured and unconscious with injuries to his head and body. That agent, Rogelio Martinez, was later pronounced dead. Breitbart has learned that the agent’s family has been notified.

The responding agents also found the partner who had radioed for help. The agents transported the injured agent to the hospital where he is in "serious condition," according to the official.Border Patrol agents and Culberson County Sheriff’s Office deputies secured the area.

Border Patrol Agent and President of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) Brandon Judd spoke with Breitbart Texas and expressed the council’s deepest condolences to the family of Agent Martinez and to the family of the other agent who is not named at this time. Agent Judd said that this is another example of why the border must be secured. Judd stated, "When all facts come to light on this matter, I believe the public will be outraged as there are those who do not value life who come across our border. Our borders must be secured and criminals must be held accountable."

Posted by: Hupeting Sforza8196 || 11/20/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  who then beat the agents with rocks

Were the agents issued bullets or ROE?
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/20/2017 0:16 Comments || Top||

#2  Reminds me of Intifada I
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/20/2017 3:33 Comments || Top||

#3  MSM blaming POTUS in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1....
Posted by: Bangkok Billy || 11/20/2017 7:02 Comments || Top||

#4  So let me see if I have this correct; the country with the most advanced persistent surveillance capability on the planet has experienced two enemy ambushes resulting in KIA/WIA in just over a month. One incident in Niger, and one near Van Horn Station, TX.

Not to mention recent deadly naval vessel collisions at sea.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/20/2017 7:25 Comments || Top||

#5  I've been saying for years that BP agents should be armed and dressed for combat. Anyone who steps across the border without authorization from the United States government should be shot. That'd be cheaper than a wall and I don't believe very many people would actually get shot because the rest would understand that illegally crossing the border is not something they should do. When BP agents are getting killed it's a war. It's a war anyway because we are being invaded. We should act accordingly.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 11/20/2017 10:37 Comments || Top||

#6  Smuggling attempt turns deadly off La Jolla

One little comment on the story at the link above: Boogie boards might have been a good idea if they had wet suits too. But that water is cold and hypothermia is a real possibility.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 11/20/2017 10:43 Comments || Top||

#7  "Crushed skulls with rocks." Sounds so Islamic.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/20/2017 11:09 Comments || Top||

#8  These illegals are the lefts boots on the ground against our nation. The illegals and the socialists on the left are allies. When are the people going to get that?
Posted by: Bill Cleretle2363 || 11/20/2017 11:45 Comments || Top||

#9  "Crushed skulls with rocks." Sounds so Islamic.

Not reported they were Mexican, just aliens.
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/20/2017 11:59 Comments || Top||

#10  Deepest condolences to the family of Agent Martinez and to the family of the other agent

Echo that.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/20/2017 13:25 Comments || Top||

#11  We need a few A-29 to patrol the border. Better if they shoot anybody that cross the border as the border crossers have now demonstrated they are a danger and threat.

They don't want be shot at, then don't cross the border period!
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 11/20/2017 17:46 Comments || Top||


-Land of the Free
Stratcom Commander Ignites Controversy After Saying He Would Not Execute ‘Illegal' Nuke Order
The answer to concerns expressed here yesterday is to go beyond the pull quotes.
[Breitbart] The commander of the U.S. nuclear force ignited controversy when he said Saturday that he would not follow an illegal order from the president.

U.S. Strategic Command commander Air Force Gen. John Hyten was asked during the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia what he would do if he was asked to do something that was illegal.

Hyten responded that military officers study the law of armed conflict, which has certain principles they must abide by.

"If you execute an unlawful order, you can go to jail, and you could go to jail for the rest of your life," he said. "It’s not that difficult."
...
"If you watch the panel comments, it speaks for itself. But most people don’t take the time ... to go actually see what the source said,"
Um, that would be me.-A.S.
Stratcom spokeswoman Julie Zeigenhorn told Breitbart News...

Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter recently pushed back against the fear-mongering that Trump alone could start a nuclear war against North Korea, explaining there is a deliberative process that includes multiple cabinet secretaries.

"The way it is set up, it is a deliberative process that involves the secretary of defense ‐ the principal adviser to the president on these matters ‐ the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and others in the chain of command, but also the secretary of state, the national security adviser, the director of national intelligence, the director of CIA," he told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour earlier this week.

"That’s the way it’s set up, and there’s a discussion and there’s an exploration of all the options on something so grave," he said. "People have this idea that there’s a button," he said. "There is a process, a consultative process."

Amanpour told Carter she thought it would be a "great comfort" to people for people to hear him say that.

Watch Hyten’s full comments here:
Click at link.
Posted by: Anomalous Sources || 11/20/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  #9 It's his duty to refuse to follow an ILLEGAL order; AFAICT he does not say nuking NorK would necessarily be illegal.
Posted by Glenmore 2017-11-19 11:43
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/20/2017 1:26 Comments || Top||

#2  I'll give Gen. Hyten failing marks for discussing anything with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, particularly anything as sensitive as a nuclear response. WTF was he thinking ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/20/2017 3:36 Comments || Top||

#3  #2 I'll give Gen. Hyten failing marks for discussing anything with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, particularly anything as sensitive as a nuclear response. WTF was he thinking ?
Posted by: Besoeker 2017-11-20 03:36


...Yeah, Curtis LeMay he ain't.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 11/20/2017 5:19 Comments || Top||

#4  Nothing like virtue signaling every dictator and tyrant that you have their back. Those boys are not known for nuance.

Nothing will solve that problem like firing the mouth yesterday.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/20/2017 7:36 Comments || Top||

#5  That's how you become a general nowadays, P2k.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/20/2017 7:53 Comments || Top||

#6  All I know is the losers in places like Noo Yawk and LA will think this guy's a hero for being more likely to get them nuked. It seems to me it's going to be a self-correcting problem sooner or later.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 11/20/2017 8:59 Comments || Top||

#7  Did I hear right about Obama firing most of the nuke commanders?
Posted by: Woodrow || 11/20/2017 11:10 Comments || Top||

#8  If a WMD hit Washington DC while Obama was there would it be a Win-Win???
Posted by: Sloluting and Tenille8977 || 11/20/2017 19:58 Comments || Top||

#9  "If a WMD hit Washington DC while Obama was there would it be a Win-Win???"

It's a Win-Win no matter what.
President's are a dime a dozen.
Posted by: Chavins Crirt6390 || 11/20/2017 21:26 Comments || Top||


-War on Police-
Gunman sought after Pennsylvania police officer killed in traffic stop
[ABCNEWS.GO] New Kensington police released a name and image early Sunday of the man they are searching for in the fatal shooting of a police officer in western Pennsylvania.

The suspect in the shooting was identified as Rahmael Sal Holt, 29, and said he is expected to be "armed and dangerous."

They released an image of Holt on Twitter.

Earlier in the day Saturday, police announced they had found a vehicle they believe was involved in the killing of a Pennsylvania cop during a traffic stop, officials said.

"We were able to find and seize the vehicle that we believe to be involved in this incident," New Kensington Police Chief James Klein said. "The investigation into the vehicle’s full involvement and the occupants that were in the vehicle is ongoing at this time."

The discovery came after an announcement that the reward offered for information leading to an arrest of the gunman rose to $40,000 on Saturday, as an intense manhunt continued.

The shooting happened around 8 p.m. ET Friday in New Kensington, about 18 miles from Pittsburgh. Officer Brian Shaw was shot after a traffic stop led to him pursuing someone on foot, according to authorities.

Posted by: Fred || 11/20/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The suspect in the shooting was identified as Rahmael Sal Holt

Do I have to click on the link to see the pic?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/20/2017 3:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Maybe the cops/security need to take the knee at the next sports event. You think?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/20/2017 7:33 Comments || Top||

#3  Yeah, Pee Aye punches way above its weight in drug activity. This past week in Westmoreland County we had four people arrested for murdering a drug dealer during a drugs and cash robbery and the usual nauseatingly large number of overdoses. And we have this wonderful dem governor who indulges his anti-death penalty bent with a capital punishment moratorium. And we get this particular pointless murder too. The Commontheft of Pee Aye. I can't wait to leave...
Posted by: My. Murcek || 11/20/2017 12:38 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Mugabe Removed As Zanu-PF Party Leader
Tipping point passed.
[All Africa] The central committee of Zim-bob-we's ruling ZANU-PF party has expelled President Bob Muggsy Mugabe
Nonagenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case...
as party leader.

The party also announced that it has appointed Emmerson Mnangagwa in his place. Further, Mugabe's deeply unpopular wife, Grace has been thrown out of the party.

A day after the country erupted with joy at the prospect of an end to the Mugabe era, formal steps are being taken to remove him from office. A party committee meeting is currently underway, with leading members of the Zim-bob-we African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) to discuss the expulsion of President Robert Mugabe as party leader.

The meeting comes ahead of a second round of talks between Mugabe and the army commander on finding a dignified end to the aged-ruler's presidency.

Chris Mutsvangwa, who led the campaign to get rid of Mugabe, said that the party meeting's agenda also includes reinstating former vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa and removing the president's wife, Grace Mugabe, as head of the ZANU-PF Women's League.

"We are going all the way," Mutsvangwa told the Rooters news agency on his way into the meeting, also saying that he thinks Mugabe should just resign and leave the country. "He's trying to bargain for a dignified exit but he should just smell the coffee and gap it."

Support crumbles
Former Mugabe supporters are turning from the beleaguered nonagenarian in droves. The influential ZANU youth league issued a statement on Sunday calling on Mugabe to step down, and for his wife, Grace, to be thrown out of the party.

The Youth League has previously been extremely loyal to Mugabe, but now says he should resign "so that he can rest as the elderly statesman he is."

Impeachment set for next week
Zim-bob-we's main opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change - Tsvangirai (MDC-T) has said it will "definitely" put in process a motion to impeach Mugabe, adding that there have been discussions with the ruling ZANZ-PF party.

MDC-T party member, Innocent Gonese, told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named news agency, "If Mugabe is not gone by Tuesday, then as sure as the sun rises from the east, [the] impeachment process will kick in."

Departure talks with military
Zim-bob-wean officials have not revealed any details about the talks scheduled for Sunday, but it is alleged that the military would prefer Mugabe to voluntarily resign for the sake of creating a veneer of legality in the leadership handover.

There is speculation that Mugabe may be using whatever power he has left to try to preserve his legacy as one of the leaders of Africa's liberation, or perhaps to protect himself and his family from prosecution.

The talks are believed to be going ahead without the South African delegation that was involved in the first round. South Africa's President, Jacob Zuma, on Saturday described the negotiations as being in the "early days."

Next Tuesday, the southern African regional bloc will be holding a four-country summit in Angola to discuss the political situation in Zim-bob-we.
Posted by: Fred || 11/20/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Mugabe stuns Zimbabwe by defying pressure to resign
[REUTERS] President Bob Muggsy Mugabe
Nonagenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case...
stunned Zim-bob-we on Sunday by making no mention of resignation in a television address, defying his own ZANU-PF party, which had sacked him hours earlier, and hundreds of thousands of protesters who had already hailed his downfall.

Two sources - one a senior member of the government, the other familiar with talks with leaders of the military - had told Rooters Mugabe would announce his resignation to the nation after ZANU-PF dismissed him as its leader in a move precipitated by an army takeover four days earlier.

But in the speech from his State House office, sitting alongside a row of generals, Mugabe acknowledged criticisms from ZANU-PF, the military and the public but made no mention of his own position.

Instead, he said the events of the week were not "a challenge to my authority as head of state and government", and pledged to preside over the congress scheduled for next month.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was dumbstruck.

"I am baffled. It’s not just me, it’s the whole nation. He’s playing a game," he told Rooters. "He is trying to manipulate everyone. He has let the whole nation down."

ZANU-PF had given the 93-year-old, who has led his country since independence in 1980, less than 24 hours to quit as head of state or face impeachment, an attempt to secure a peaceful end to his tenure after a de facto military coup.

Chris Mutsvangwa, the leader of the liberation war veterans who have been spearheading an 18-month campaign to oust Mugabe, said plans to impeach him in parliament, which next sits on Tuesday, would now go ahead, and that there would be mass protests on Wednesday.

He also implied that Mugabe, who spoke with a firm voice but occasionally lost his way in his script during the 20-minute address, was not aware of what had happened just hours earlier.

"Blind Or Deaf"
"Either somebody within ZANU-PF didn’t tell him what had happened within his own party, so he went and addressed that meeting oblivious, or (he was) blind or deaf to what his party has told him," Mutsvangwa said.

ZANU-PF’s central committee had earlier named Emmerson Mnangagwa as its new leader. It was Mugabe’s sacking of Mnangagwa as his vice-president - to pave the way for his wife Grace to succeed him - that triggered the army’s intervention.

On Saturday, hundreds of thousands had taken to the streets of the capital Harare to celebrate Mugabe’s expected downfall and hail a new era for their country.
Posted by: Fred || 11/20/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Perhaps if ZANU-PF were to find some wymn Zimbob sexually violated 30 mebe 40 years ago, what then? I recommend ZANU-PF consult with Mitch McConnell immediately.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/20/2017 4:00 Comments || Top||

#2  He'll die before he steps down. No fucking way is he resigning. This is his whole life. They'll have to drag him away kicking and screaming. Then he'll probably die a month or so later because he has nothing to live for. Poor fellow /sarc
Posted by: Herb McCoy7309 || 11/20/2017 7:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Nicolae Ceaușescu to the courtesy phone.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/20/2017 7:32 Comments || Top||

#4  Give him a necklace
Posted by: Frank G || 11/20/2017 9:10 Comments || Top||

#5  Smith could have resolved the problem in the early 1980's, but NO !
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/20/2017 9:36 Comments || Top||

#6  I heard he's going on a hunger strike. Buh-bye, Bob.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 11/20/2017 10:48 Comments || Top||

#7  I'm sure it's not so much of a hunger strike but refusing food because he's so depressed and has lost his appetite. Poor Bob. The whole world is against him, no gratitude for his decades of service to Zimbabwe.
Posted by: Herb McCoy7309 || 11/20/2017 11:17 Comments || Top||

#8  Zimbabwe may be stunned, but I'm not
Posted by: Cheaderhead || 11/20/2017 18:54 Comments || Top||

#9  Smith

Gone a decade to the day (sez Wikipedia, who don't seem, at first glance, to kick him around too badly).
Posted by: Flerens Bourbon8982 || 11/20/2017 19:26 Comments || Top||

#10  Why should they, like Donald Trump, nearly everything he predicted actually happened.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/20/2017 21:26 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Bahrain court rejects appeal request of man who severely battered Syrian ex-wife
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A Bahraini court has rejected a man’s appeal who was sentenced last month to one year of imprisonment for physically battering his Syrian ex-wife in a case that shocked the small Gulf island nation.

Bahrain’s Second High Criminal Court (court of appeals) rejected the appeal on Sunday of the 52-year-old man who brutally attacked his 32-year-old Syrian ex-wife and mother of his five children at their home in Jeblat Habshi, local Daily Tribune reported.

Zahraa Sobhy was violently beaten by her husband, Adnan al-Alawi, in September and released a message saying that it was not the first time she was physically attacked by him.

The case has turned public opinion on social media since being posted on Saturday, with many using the hashtag #Zahraa_Sobhy to discuss the prevalent issue of domestic violence in the kingdom.
Posted by: Fred || 11/20/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Saudi Arabia to impose 5 percent VAT on gasoline from 2018
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Saudi General Authority for Zakat and Income (GAZI) said the government will impose a 5% Value Added Tax on gasoline as of January 2018.

GAZI made this announcement via Twitter in response to a Saudi citizen’s question.

The authority has recently said VAT will be imposed on local transportation services and administrative services at banks, adding that services which will be exempted include international transportation, goods that are exported outside Gulf Cooperation Council territory and the list of medicines and medical equipment issued by the health ministry and by the food and drug authority.

Selling or renting a personal residential property used by the owner or by his close relative will also be exempted from VAT.

GAZI is geared to sign a cooperation deal with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs following similar agreements with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development and the Customs Department in the context of its preparations to enforce the VAT on Janaury 1, 2018.

Meanwhile,
...back at the precinct house, Don Calamari's lawyer was getting even redder in the face...
the governor of GAZI, Suhail Abanami, said the authority seeks to sign these deals to encourage government agencies to register and achieve the required preparedness before the launch of the VAT system, and provide all means of support and quality services in this regard.

Government agencies have many steps to undertake in preparation for the application of the VAT system and, therefore, GAZI exerts its best to support agencies and upgrade their efficiency, he said.

Posted by: Fred || 11/20/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia

#1  Oil is free but gasoline has to be refined?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/20/2017 3:43 Comments || Top||

#2  A economic approach to banning female drivers.
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/20/2017 13:45 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Argentina intensifies search for missing submarine with 44 crew
[DAWN] An Argentine submarine with 44 crew on board was missing in the South Atlantic two days after its last communication, prompting the navy to step up its search efforts late on Friday in difficult, stormy conditions.

The ARA San Juan was in the southern Argentine sea 432 km from the Patagonian coast when it sent its last signal on Wednesday, naval front man Enrique Balbi said.

The emergency operation was formally upgraded to a search-and-rescue procedure on Friday evening after no visual or radar contact was made with the submarine, Balbi said.

"Detection has been difficult despite the quantity of boats and aircraft" involved in the search, Balbi said, noting that heavy winds and high waves were complicating efforts.

"Obviously, the number of hours that have passed ‐ two days in which there has been no communication ‐ is of note." The navy believes the submarine, which left Ushuaia en route to the coastal city of Mar del Plata in Buenos Aires province, had communication difficulties that may have been caused by an electrical outage, Balbi said. Navy protocol would call for the submarine to come to the surface once communication was lost. "We expect that it is on the surface," Balbi said.

The German-built submarine, which uses diesel-electric propulsion, was inaugurated in 1983, making it the newest of the three submarines in the navy’s fleet, according to the navy.

Posted by: Fred || 11/20/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Has Argentina asked for US assistance?
Posted by: S. Those9453 || 11/20/2017 0:04 Comments || Top||

#2  Already being provided - full force. Even NASA is on it.
Posted by: newc || 11/20/2017 0:23 Comments || Top||

#3  Even NASA is on it.

At least the parts not busy with Muslim outreach.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/20/2017 3:44 Comments || Top||

#4  All I can say is if the boat was lost I hope it was quick for the crews sake.
Posted by: Cheaderhead || 11/20/2017 6:02 Comments || Top||


Europe
German election: Preliminary coalition talks collapse after FDP walks out
[DW] Germany's Free Democrats have called off coalition talks with Angela Merkel
...current chancellor of Germany and the impetus behind Germany's remarkably ill-starred immigration program. Merkel used to be referred to by Germans as Mom. Now they make faces at her for inundating the country with Moslems ..
's CDU/CSU bloc and the Greens. FDP head Christian Lindner said that after weeks of negotiations the parties could not find a "basis of trust."


While Merkel will remain acting chancellor, it remains unclear where this leaves her prospects of forming a new government.

Her conservatives could choose to enter talks with just the Greens to form a minority government.

Alternatively, she may try to convince the Social Democrats (SPD) , who were the second-biggest party in the September election, to join her to form a second consecutive grand coalition. However,
man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them...
after suffering a humiliating election loss in September, the SPD has repeatedly reaffirmed that its role in the upcoming Bundestag will be in opposition.

Should both options fail, then a return to the polls in the new year remains the only viable option.

Merkel said would inform President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who has the power to call new elections, on Monday of the failure of the coalition talks.

This suggests that a minority government with the Greens may be out of the question and the country could be heading for a new election.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/20/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who has the power to call new elections

The German President does not have the power to dissolve parliament unilaterally.

An hour earlier, FDP head Christian Lindner announced that his party had walked out of the negotiations after "reached compromises were questioned again."

"It is better not to rule than to rule wrongly," he said.

This is a malicious mistranslation. Lindner's words ("Es ist besser, nicht zu regieren, als falsch zu regieren.") are correctly translated as "It is better not to govern than to govern the wrong way."

The German word for "to govern" is "regieren"; the word for "to rule" is "herrschen."

Politicians in a Western Democracy can govern but they can never rule.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 11/20/2017 1:38 Comments || Top||

#2  Her conservatives

You keep using that word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means
Posted by: AlanC || 11/20/2017 9:17 Comments || Top||


#4  Things seem to work just fine without government interference. A few months without stupid new laws won't hurt.
Posted by: European Conservative || 11/20/2017 9:37 Comments || Top||

#5  This is a malicious mistranslation.

Given that Deutsche Welle is an instrument if government outreach to the English-speaking pro-Germans of the world... Thank you for the perspective, Elmerert Hupens2660.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/20/2017 12:42 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Erdogan Takes Aim at Turkey Central Bank
[AnNahar] President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him...
on Friday lashed out at The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
's central bank over its refusal to cut interest rates, prompting new losses for the embattled Ottoman Turkish lira against the dollar.

Turkey is enjoying robust growth rates of over five percent but record high inflation of almost 12 percent and the performance of the lira have stoked alarm over the economy.

"I believe (high) inflation is the result of (high) rates. Those who don't understand me on this issue will sooner or later," Erdogan said in a speech to local politicians from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara.

"The main cause for inflation is the rates. You must learn this. All the developments show this," he insisted.

Conventional economic wisdom suggests inflation should, however, go down as interest rates are raised as this softens demand and weakens money supply growth in an economy.

The European Central Bank, among others, have previously used increased interest rates as a monetary policy tool to bring inflation down into line with target levels.

The president has repeatedly verbally attacked Turkey's central bank over its unwillingness to cut interest rates. The rates have remained steady since January.

The lira tanked sharply on his comments and later clawed back a little ground to trade at 3.89 to the dollar, a loss of 0.73 percent in value on the day.

Erdogan also criticised the central bank's recent revisions to inflation projections, saying: "None of what you say sticks. It won't stick. You're on the wrong path," Erdogan said.

The president again blamed an "interest rate lobby" who press for a rise in rates to counter inflation.

"We lowered interest rates, inflation was in the single digits! Look -- the interest rate was increased again, inflation has again gone into the double-digits," he said.

The central bank's last change in rates was in January when it hiked its the overnight lending rate by 75 basis points to 9.25 percent from 8.5 percent.

The Ottoman Turkish leader also hit out at opponents of his frequent rebukes to the central bank, which is nominally independent and generally respected by the markets.

"(It's said) 'the central bank is independent, don't intervene'. Fine. But we have reached this point because we have not intervened. The picture is clear to see."

The Ottoman Turkish lira is the worst performing emerging markets currency this year, losing nearly 11 percent of its value since January.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/20/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Politix
‘Year of the Woman' senators condemn sexual harassment, campaigned for Ted Kennedy
[Wash Times] Sen. Patty Murray was quick to condemn Sen. Al Franken last week after he was accused of sexual harassment, but she took the opposite tack 24 years ago with another Democratic senator dogged by accusations of lecherous behavior.

She and the four other Democratic women serving in the Senate after the widely hailed 1992 "Year of the Woman" election used their newfound clout to come to the rescue of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy as reports of drunken debauchery threatened to sink his re-election bid.

At a Boston fundraiser on Nov. 15, 1993, Ms. Murray was joined by fellow Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California, Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland and Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois in what marked "the first time the five senators have traveled together on behalf of a fellow senator," according an Associated Press report.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/20/2017 04:46 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  From "Move On" to "Move Back"
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/20/2017 6:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Power is self justifying and self rationalizing.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/20/2017 7:38 Comments || Top||

#3  .....rescue of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy as reports of drunken debauchery threatened to sink his re-election bid.

Dreadfully poor choice of words, "rescue & sink."
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/20/2017 7:43 Comments || Top||

#4  #3 snark of the day?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/20/2017 7:54 Comments || Top||

#5  And these are our so called leaders—leading the way on the downward slope of the curve, heading for the knee.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/20/2017 10:15 Comments || Top||

#6  Perhaps they, at the time,...’enjoyed’ his company.
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/20/2017 17:50 Comments || Top||


International-UN-NGOs
World View: African Leaders Once Again Furious That They Won't Get a Climate Change Bonanza
[Breitbart] African leaders were furious at last year’s climate change conference because Donald Trump had unexpectedly won the US presidential election and said that he would pull out of the climate change agreement. Even so, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged a rapid scale-up in funding for climate change programs, especially to support developing countries. "Finance and investment hold the key to achieving low-emissions and resilient societies," he said.

So now it is a year later, and there’s another climate change conference, and African leaders are furious agai because there were plenty of promises made this week, but no commitments.

Africans claim that they are entitled to money because they are the victims of climate change. That is, the West has caused the climate change, and the Africans are suffering because of it. Augustine Njamshi from the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) says:

In general, Africa has not gotten what it wanted at this Cop23. Because the discussions that matter to us, things that matter to us have been relegated to the background and all that we’re hearing is what the developed countries want, and that is not in the interest of Africa.

...

Africa has not contributed to this [climate change] problem, yet it’s bearing the consequences in a great way, in a massive way and we don’t have the luxury to adapt to the climate change consequences, as well as we don’t even have the means to do any mitigation.

Actually, Africa has benefited enormously from carbon emissions. At the beginning of this article, there is a picture of Kinshasa, the capital city of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). You can see the skyscrapers, apartment buildings, roads, cars, and other infrastructure made possible by research and manufacturing performed by the West. If it had not been for the West’s CO2 emissions, the people of Kinshasa would still be living in thatch huts and driving around in carts pulled by donkeys and camels. Africa is as responsible as anyone else is for carbon emissions because of the enormous benefits they get.

And what would happen if a huge pot of money were given to Joseph Kabila, the president of DRC, to mitigate climate change? Where would that money go? Anyone who knows anything about what is going on in Africa knows the answer. Kabila would use the money to provide support and weapons to government militias slaughtering, raping, and mutilating thousands of people in Kasai province, where 3.9 million people have already been forced to flee their homes.

I have been writing about climate change conferences for years, and it is always been clear that they have nothing to do with mitigating any climate problems. They have only one objective: To force the United States and other western countries to pay billions of dollars to leaders of "underdeveloped" countries, so that those leaders can use the money to pay their cronies, pad their bank accounts, and buy weapons to kill their enemies. I am not aware of any proposal coming out of a climate change conference that would actually reduce carbon emissions. And the examples of Germany and Norway described above illustrate this.

However, the conference did produce some good news for African leaders. According to Chinese state media:
...
Posted by: Anomalous Sources || 11/20/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  [YAWN]
I'm sorry! What?
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 11/20/2017 6:29 Comments || Top||

#2  The reason that African leaders are furious is that THEY will not get the money. Not because their countries won't get the money.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 11/20/2017 10:07 Comments || Top||

#3  Tahweeeee.............
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/20/2017 10:10 Comments || Top||

#4  African leaders are furious agai because there were plenty of promises made this week, but no commitments.

The checks not in the mail. Taxpayers are tired of paying for this.
Posted by: JohnQC || 11/20/2017 10:28 Comments || Top||

#5  Fuck off, wankers.
Posted by: DarthVader || 11/20/2017 12:22 Comments || Top||

#6  African leaders are furious agai because there were plenty of promises made this week, but no commitments.

The usual moneybag countries have had to divert funds for anti-terror and migrant support programs at home -- and many of those terrorists and migrants are Africans. Nigeria seems to be providing a hefty percentage of new female prostitutes in Western Europe, for example. Not to mention new outlays to encourage Africans to stay home rather than wander north across the Mediterranean.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/20/2017 13:27 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Charlie Rose Is The Latest Democrat Pervert
What is it with Democrats and all this groping?
[WashingtonPost] Eight women have told The Washington Post that longtime television host Charlie Rose made unwanted sexual advances toward them, including lewd phone calls, walking around naked in their presence, or groping their breasts, buttocks or genital areas.

The women were employees or aspired to work for Rose at the "Charlie Rose" show from the late 1990s to as recently as 2011. They ranged in age from 21 to 37 at the time of the alleged encounters. Rose, 75, whose show airs on PBS, also co-hosts "CBS This Morning" and is a contributing correspondent for "60 Minutes."
Not for long - at 75, he'll 'opt' for early retirement.
Posted by: Raj || 11/20/2017 17:22 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...annnnnnnnnnnnnnd he's out
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 11/20/2017 19:13 Comments || Top||

#2  Loud outbursts of sexist suggestion
Midst lists of the worst indiscretion;
Insensitive probing
With random disrobing...
And all during Charlie's first question!
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 11/20/2017 20:16 Comments || Top||

#3  Stolen from Drudge:

Posted by: Anomalous Sources || 11/20/2017 20:44 Comments || Top||


Science
UC Berkeley professor's eerie lethal drone video goes viral
[SFGate] UC Berkeley professor Stuart Russell and the Future of Life Institute have created an eerie viral video titled "Slaughterbots" that depicts a future in which humans develop small, hand-sized drones that are programmed to identify and eliminate designated targets.

In the video above, the technology is initially developed with the intention of combating crime and terrorism, but the drones are taken over by an unknown forces who use the powerful weapons to murder a group of senators and college students. The video does contain some graphic content, and was originally uploaded to YouTube.
Watch the vid. A bit more development on deep learning face recognition and we are there. The rest of the tech is already available, even to non-state actors.
Posted by: KBK || 11/20/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Easier than 'smart' bullets.
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/20/2017 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Say hello to watchbird.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/20/2017 3:41 Comments || Top||

#3  The poor man's cruise missile.
Posted by: phil_b || 11/20/2017 6:27 Comments || Top||

#4  Maybe Faraday cage underwear for Christmas?
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 11/20/2017 10:52 Comments || Top||

#5  It will be a boon for plastic surgeons.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 11/20/2017 12:21 Comments || Top||

#6  unknown forces who use the powerful weapons to murder a group of senators and college students

I don't know if that's a bad thing.
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/20/2017 13:42 Comments || Top||



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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
Mon 2017-11-20
  Arrested Ansar al-Islam militant confesses to killing blogger Avijit Roy
Sun 2017-11-19
  Police Confirm Multiple Suicide Bombings in Borno, As Death Toll Rises
Sat 2017-11-18
  Iraq Forces Retake Last IS-Held Town in Country
Fri 2017-11-17
  Iraqi troops destroy ISIS HQ in Diyala
Thu 2017-11-16
  Zimbabwe’s Military, in Apparent Takeover, Says It Has Custody of Mugabe
Wed 2017-11-15
  Mall of America Stabber Identified as Mahad Abdiaziz Abdirahaman
Tue 2017-11-14
  Pakistani militants among 4 killed in US drone strike in Nangarhar
Mon 2017-11-13
  At least 50 dead in artillery fire, Russian strikes in Syria
Sun 2017-11-12
  US Drone Strike In Somalia Kills ‘Several’ Al-Shabaab Militants
Sat 2017-11-11
  700+ Russian and and Azerbaijani ISIS wimmin busted in Mosul
Fri 2017-11-10
  Turkey detains more than 160 IS suspects in Ankara
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

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