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Syria force says 'thousands' still inside last IS pocket
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 6: Politix
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14 19:46 NoMoreBS [7]
14 22:01 Vernal Hatrack2366 [8]
11 22:38 DooDahMan [7]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
President Trump orders alien biometric IDs, dump 466,000 Obama green cards
[American Thinker] President Trump ordered biometric ID cards for all non-immigrant work visas and is moving to dump Obama’s Executive Order expanding H-1B green cards by 466,000.

Donald Trump’s first initiatives as president was issuing the "Buy American and Hire American" in April 2017 that instructed the U.S. Immigration Service to drastically restructure the job-destroying H-1B "temporary foreign worker" program.

Republican President George H.W. Bush joined Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy to pass the Immigration Act of 1990 that expanded U.S. foreign worker visas, implemented family-chain-migration, and launched the H-1B "specialty occupations" visa program.

The so-called "Einstein Visas" program was designed to allow employers having difficulty hiring enough skilled U.S. college graduates, to temporarily sponsor "green card" work visas for up to 85,000 foreign college graduates. But Silicon Valley tech giants used low-cost H-1B foreigners to dump higher-paid American employees. When H-1B temporary workers’ visas expire, many fail to return home and just keep working.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/18/2019 10:18 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Biometric Power Point presentation.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/18/2019 10:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Silicon valley is the worst offender, but most tech companies do this. Have the higher paid Americans build it, lay them off and bring in the cheaper labor.
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/18/2019 10:25 Comments || Top||

#3  I'd think locking down some code so having to type "Mahound was a pedophile and Allan is the One True Turd" would solve a lot of this...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 10:27 Comments || Top||

#4  >employers having difficulty hiring enough

SHOULD RAISE WAGES.

After they pay offered is above average wage then consider allowing immigration.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 03/18/2019 10:40 Comments || Top||

#5  Lots of 'Contract Labor' in Silicon Valley is populated by H1-B folks, too. They're the ones doing the work of which Darth speaks.

Guess who makes the money in those transactions?
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 03/18/2019 10:46 Comments || Top||

#6  I got my layoff notice the day after my 66th birthday with the company also giving notice that 30% of the engineering would be done in India. It's not just H1-B's.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 03/18/2019 17:34 Comments || Top||

#7  >engineering would be done in India

Good luck with that...I know a bank that's reversing all that as it just doesn't work.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 03/18/2019 18:43 Comments || Top||


Puzzling number of men tied to Ferguson protests have died
[MSN] Two young men were found dead inside torched cars. Three others died of apparent suicides. Another collapsed on a bus, his death ruled an overdose.

Six deaths, all involving men with connections to protests in Ferguson, Missouri, drew attention on social media and speculation in the activist community that something sinister was at play.

Police say there is no evidence the deaths have anything to do with the protests stemming from a white police officer's fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, and that only two were homicides with no known link to the protests.

But some activists say their concerns about a possible connection arise out of a culture of fear that persists in Ferguson 4 ½ years after Brown's death, citing threats ‐ mostly anonymous ‐ that protest leaders continue to receive.

The Rev. Darryl Gray said he found a box inside his car. When the bomb squad arrived, no explosives were found but a 6-foot (1.8-meter) python was inside.

"Everybody is on pins and needles," Gray said of his fellow activists.

No arrests have been made in the two homicides. St. Louis County police front man Shawn McGuire said witnesses have simply refused to come forward, leaving detectives with no answers for why the men were targeted.

"We don't believe either one was connected to each other," McGuire said, but adding, "It's tough to come up with a motive without a suspect."

Ferguson erupted in protests in August 2014 after officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Brown during a street confrontation. Brown was unarmed, but Wilson said he fired in self-defense when the black teenager came at him menacingly.

A grand jury declined to charge Wilson in November 2014, prompting one of the most violent nights of demonstrations, and one of the first activist deaths.

Deandre Joshua's body was found inside a burned car blocks from the protest. The 20-year-old was shot in the head before the car was torched.

Darren Seals, shown on video comforting Brown's mother that same night, met an almost identical fate two years later. The 29-year-old's well perforated carcass was found inside a burning car in September 2016.

Four others also died, three of them ruled suicides.
Posted by: Fred || 03/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...One of the most crime-ridden places in the country, and the goons behind the article aren't sure why people are dying. First-class reporting there, Lou.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 03/18/2019 4:30 Comments || Top||

#2  The Rev. Darryl Gray said he found a box inside his car. When the bomb squad arrived, no explosives were found but a 6-foot (1.8-meter) python was inside.

Am I supposed to believe this? Is this the Bee? Check the snake for fingerprints or something.
Posted by: gorb || 03/18/2019 7:13 Comments || Top||


#4  A snake? Why, it's right where he put it. Hoax crime
Posted by: Frank G || 03/18/2019 7:38 Comments || Top||

#5  Anything different from other large metro areas dominated by Donks for generations? Just ignore the background. Couldn't be the 'natural' environment they've lived in. A crowd of people get together for a similar event, then track what happens to them in 5 or 6 years.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/18/2019 8:32 Comments || Top||

#6  When the media types who tried to stir race war start winding up this way I'll applaud...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 9:28 Comments || Top||

#7  All's well that ends well.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/18/2019 9:34 Comments || Top||

#8  1. Are those 'lifestyle choice' deaths?
2. Are they out-of-line statistically with what would be expected?
3. Would they be lower if the police were allowed to actually do police work there?
Posted by: Glenmore || 03/18/2019 11:08 Comments || Top||

#9  Would they be lower if the police were allowed to actually do police work there?

"Step away from the syringe..."

That's totally rayciss...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 11:56 Comments || Top||

#10  Deaths of Ferguson activists lead some to believe something sinister is at play

Well, yeah. Government subsidized promiscuity and irresponsibility, illegal narcotics, lack of employment opportunities...all sinister forces.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 03/18/2019 12:03 Comments || Top||

#11  Yes. Its all very puzzling.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/18/2019 17:36 Comments || Top||


-Obits-
Boeing 'finalizing' anti-stall update after Ethiopia crash
[PULSE.NG] Boeing is finalizing a software update and pilot training linked to the MCAS anti-stalling feature, under scrutiny after two 737 Max 8 crashes, the company's CEO said on Sunday.
Posted by: Fred || 03/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  {Rooters Report} Department of Transportation is investigating the FAA.
Posted by: Ebbavirt Clunk4147 || 03/18/2019 2:30 Comments || Top||

#2  #1{Rooters Report} Department of Transportation is investigating the FAA.
Posted by: Ebbavirt Clunk4147 2019-03-18 02:30


...Have heard that FAA is already circling the wagons on this and will blame it on not having the manpower due to budget cuts.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 03/18/2019 4:37 Comments || Top||

#3  Is this a move towards a Socialist government? Until then Boeing owns these problems. Not the government, unless they nationalise Boeing.
Posted by: Ebbavirt Clunk4147 || 03/18/2019 6:18 Comments || Top||

#4  It's overambitious software. Maybe the plane is hard to fly. I have seen no conclusive proof yet of that assertion. One train of arguments says the engines had to be set too far ahead of the wings due to size. If Boeing engineers actually signed off on something that flawed, the problem is institutional. OTOH, what engineer doesn't have an impulse to say "I can make that work!"
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 7:07 Comments || Top||

#5  what engineer doesn't have an impulse to say "I can make that work!"

They have also said, "Don't bother me with details."

Posted by: Skidmark || 03/18/2019 7:31 Comments || Top||

#6  There does seem to be a bit of software "magic" trying to handle a compromised design...

Fixing the flawed design is VASTLY more expensive though.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 03/18/2019 7:58 Comments || Top||

#7  I'm not a PhotoShop jockey, but maybe they should have just moved the engines to the back like a greatly oversized A-10?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 8:12 Comments || Top||

#8  what engineer doesn't have an impulse to say "I can make that work!"

“Fetch the bigger hammer ... and a fist-sized rock!” Yes, I did marry an engineer, bless him. No, the front porch hasn’t moved even a fraction of an inch since that day, not even after the earthquake. Why the building inspector was unhappy after all that time is utterly inexplicable to certain parties.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/18/2019 9:04 Comments || Top||

#9  There are engineering trade-offs for each placement Murcek.

On the back means the tail is heavy and they have to adjust the angle of attack of the engines or wings for level flight, or program software to do it. Also is noisier for the passengers.

On the wings and away from the body allows for more stable flight and reduces noise, but can increase metal fatigue and stress on the wings. Also if an engine goes horribly wrong it can shower the body and with with shrapnel in that location.
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/18/2019 9:05 Comments || Top||

#10  DV, I was just cracking wise. I suspect the engines belong under the wings. I'm no engineer, so exactly where under the wings I freely admit I have no idea...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 9:07 Comments || Top||

#11  Whenever my plane is pulling up to the gate, I always get the impression all modern twin engine passenger jets look like supersized ME-262s...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 9:19 Comments || Top||

#12  thanks for that 262 reference,M.; now thats all i am gonna see. and me sitting at D22 in seatac right now.
im still flummoxed by the flat spotted nacelles on some 737s.....
Posted by: US , Ret. || 03/18/2019 9:25 Comments || Top||

#13  i suspect the Lazy B law department is working overtime on 2 fronts: defense planning for the avalanche of lawsuits and mass quantity of document shredding before the discovery orders come in
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 03/18/2019 9:28 Comments || Top||

#14  Oh well, here is the video/mindworm.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/18/2019 9:30 Comments || Top||

#15  You can actually buy a ride. It was about $5500 / hr when I saw it at the Scottsdale airport a few years back...

https://www.collingsfoundation.org/aircrafts/messerschmitt-262/
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 9:33 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
A high school kid gets the scoop of the decade on SpaceX
[twitter]
[..]
Further down in the thread you see: Working on regulatory approval for both Boca Chica, Texas, and Cape Kennedy, Florida. Will also be building Starship & Super Heavy simultaneously in both locations. Also, testing starts this week or next on the Spaceship Hopper


Posted by: 3dc || 03/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If I was a ULA executive, I'd regularly say "Yes, yes, please waste spend money on this, Elon..."
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 8:10 Comments || Top||

#2  Scoop? Not really. The Raptor engines will arrive later.
Posted by: Woodrow || 03/18/2019 8:19 Comments || Top||

#3  Anything going on with that hyperloop thingy?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 03/18/2019 10:42 Comments || Top||

#4  Woodrow - one engine is already installed. Tests will begin with one. Check the various drone videos at Boca-Chica. The other building going on there is the actual Starship. It and it's booster the "Starship Heavy" are really need right away to launch most of the StarLink communications satellites as 12,000 sats would take forever to launch with F9, F9-H, or any ULA rockets. Just too many.
Posted by: 3dc || 03/18/2019 11:20 Comments || Top||

#5  8 A.M. today:
Posted by: 3dc || 03/18/2019 11:28 Comments || Top||

#6  Anything going on with that hyperloop thingy?

It will be in the news again when there is a need to distract from SEC activity...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 11:45 Comments || Top||

#7  NASAspaceflight.com article on the ship's status
Posted by: 3dc || 03/18/2019 16:26 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
USAF gives up on sandbagging Offutt AFB!


Posted by: 3dc || 03/18/2019 01:51 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...This one will be easier to fix than Tyndall, though in the end just as bad. The Nightwatch force will have to be redeployed for a while, and that ain't gonna be easy. The tankers and other specialist birds will be able to operate somewhere else fairly easy.

Keep this in mind though - in the early 90s, the USAF leadership decided as a matter of policy that it is impossible to mission-kill a United States Air Force base with anything short of a nuclear weapon. Since then, we've had (in no particular order) Clark AB, Homestead AFB, Myrtle Beach AFB, Tyndall AFB, and now Offutt AFB go down from natural disasters.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 03/18/2019 4:35 Comments || Top||

#2  maybe with all this flooding the P-6M might not have been such a bad idea, huh?
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 03/18/2019 9:30 Comments || Top||

#3  maybe with all this flooding the P-6M might not have been such a bad idea, huh?

As God is my witness, I thought that was funny.

Martin P6M SeaMaster
Posted by: SteveS || 03/18/2019 9:51 Comments || Top||

#4  thanks Steve. the navys version of a b52
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 03/18/2019 10:20 Comments || Top||


Weed-lovers celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with cannabis-infused Manhattan brunch
[NYPOST] Faith and begorrah! Just like the Sainted Patrick did!
Posted by: Fred || 03/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Not quite the same shade of green as a shamrock but, oh well.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 03/18/2019 12:15 Comments || Top||


-Land of the Free
Judge Jeanine Pirro gets it in the back from projectionists at Faux News
[Breitbart] The Fox News Channel will air a repeat episode of its documentary series Scandalous on Saturday instead of Jeanine Pirro’s weekly program ‐Justice with Judge Jeanine ‐ following the conservative host’s recent remarks about Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) use of a hijab.

Pirro is facing criticism after appearing to suggest on her program last Saturday that Omar wears a hijab in defiance of the Constitution. "Think about this: She’s not getting this anti-Israel sentiment doctrine from the Democrat Party. So if it’s not rooted in the party, where is she getting it from?" Pirro asked during her opening segment. "Think about it. Omar wears a hijab, which according to the Quran 33:59, tells women to cover so they won’t get molested. Is her adherence to this Islamic doctrine indicative of her adherence to Sharia law, which in itself is antithetical to the United States Constitution?"

Pirro’s remarks came in response to Omar’s most recent antisemitic outburst, in which she suggested pro-Israel groups pressure members of Congress to pledge allegiance to a foreign country.

In a statement to Deadline, a Fox News spokesperson said the network would not comment on "internal scheduling matters."

Fox News denounced Pirro’s comments last Sunday, saying in a statement: "We strongly condemn Jeanine Pirro’s comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar. They do not reflect those of the network and we have addressed the matter with her directly.

The network released a separate statement from Pirro, who said her intent was not to suggests Muslims could not be loyal to the U.S. "I’ve seen a lot of comments about my opening statement from Saturday night’s show and I did not call Rep. Omar un-American. My intention was to ask a question and start a debate, but of course because one is Muslim does not mean you don’t support the Constitution," said the conservative host. "I invite Rep. Omar to come on my show any time to discuss all of the important issues facing America today."

Related: The American Thinker - Judge Jenine is right, Fox News is wrong.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/18/2019 03:47 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...For a while now, the Fox News leadership has been just as bad as everybody else - they just project a 'conservative' image.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 03/18/2019 4:40 Comments || Top||

#2  I don't watch it, I don't pay for it. Screw them.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 6:56 Comments || Top||

#3  The only show we watch is Tucker with an occasional viewing of Hannity. Tired of the same Kabuki theater. I'll believe in equal justice when the Hildabeast is modelling for orange is the new black
Posted by: Warthog || 03/18/2019 9:08 Comments || Top||

#4  Any large corporation is de facto on the apple cart. The apple cart must not be upset. Hence the kid-glove treatment of swillary and the vilification of Trump.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 9:22 Comments || Top||

#5  Looks like they've found a replacement.

Unbelievable
Posted by: Beavis || 03/18/2019 15:07 Comments || Top||

#6  Donna Brazile on joining Fox News as a contributor.

Posted by: Besoeker || 03/18/2019 15:28 Comments || Top||

#7  What is that, a penance?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/18/2019 16:11 Comments || Top||

#8  ...news director Sh*t Fume...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 20:11 Comments || Top||

#9  Liar, L3sbian, Clinton Confidant, and Political Wh0re. She's a Dem Shep
Posted by: Frank G || 03/18/2019 20:29 Comments || Top||

#10  The leftward drip post Murdock accelerates....
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 03/18/2019 20:39 Comments || Top||

#11  Someone should tell the kids that drifting leftward won't pick up any significant new demographic on the left side of the dial, and they just added another doubt to the core demo's confidence in their product, who thinks we need CNN light or MSNBC (2). Balance is a joke, we need a perspective to offset the deluge we get everywhere else....Donna is literally dishonest by her own admissions about the debate.
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 03/18/2019 20:45 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
DRC train derailment kills 24, mostly children, near Kananga
[Aljazeera] At least 24 people have been killed and 31 injured in a train accident in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to police and medical services.

A freight train was carrying stowaways on Sunday when it derailed in Bena Leka settlement, 140km north of Kananga, one of Kasai province's main towns.

"We have retrieved 24 bodies, mostly children. It is a provisional toll because the wagons are still overturned," a railway police official in Bena Leka told AFP news agency.

"Most of the passengers are stowaways because it is a freight train. We have suspended the search because night has just fallen in the area," said the source, who was at the site.

"Several wagons have fallen into the water at the bridge over the Luembe River and five more wagons are still overturned."
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/18/2019 04:28 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
German reporter released by Venezuela returns home
[PULSE.NG] A German reporter held by Venezuelan authorities for four months flew back home Sunday after being being conditionally released, a Venezuelan NGO said.
Posted by: Fred || 03/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Commies


A boiling volcano!
[ELUNIVERSAL] Now, and that a cyber attack! ... Radio and television chains come and go and very few understand what a cyber attack is. People imagine it as a ray of light that came out of NASA and fell into the central computer (brain) of the GURI and set it on fire. That's why the electric power distribution system went out. "Star Wars". But as usual, the didactic explanation was conspicuous by its absence. Full of gibberish and unfinished phrases ... left people on the moon. The less they know better for the process! Precisely that is the idea: create confusion and bewilderment. Hitler did it. Joseph Goebbels did it in Germany in Nazi times. The idea is to plant the elementary image"Lightning struck the GURI sent by the USA." "A lie repeated a thousand times becomes truth . " Record the message in the mind.

INEFFICIENT PUBLIC MANAGEMENT
Meanwhile,
...back at the pond, Gloria again dodged the questing tip of the giant frog's tongue and ran for her life...
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 03/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  That's a bit too word-salad for me.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 03/18/2019 8:01 Comments || Top||

#2  Latin blood is a bit hot...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 10:36 Comments || Top||


Guaido from Vargas: We must prepare for the definitive cessation of the usurpation
[ELUNIVERSAL] Juan Guaidó, legislative -recognized as interim president for more than 50 countries- traveled Sunday to Vargas, his home state, as part of his national tour framed in "Operation Freedom" aimed at the "cessation of usurpation "Presidential

"For those who believed and said that this went out, that the movement was deflated, we say we are in La Guaira standing, more forward than ever, " said the opposition leader from the plaza El Cónsul de Maiquetía, in front of thousands of supporters.

"We must prepare for the definitive cessation of the usurpation, all together in the streets, organized and mobilized," added Guaidó through his Twitter account.
"Endeavor to persevere!"
Earlier, the parliamentarian made a surprise visit to the El Mosquetero de Vargas market, where he had breakfast after talking with the citizens.

Yesterday, Guaidó announced in Valencia, Carabobo state, the beginning of tour throughout Venezuela to then organize, as he said, a national mobilization to the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, headquarters of the National Executive, in order to "remove from power" the ruler Nicolás Maduro, whose mandate is unknown.

"We start a new stage (...), we will visit all the possible states, we will organize ourselves very well in Operation Freedom for the definitive cessation of the usurpation," he said.

Guaidó said that "commandos for freedom" are being formed to mobilize the population. "Very soon, when we have traveled and organized each corner (...) we will go to Miraflores to claim what is of the town," he added.
Posted by: Fred || 03/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Eschew obfuscation...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 17:42 Comments || Top||


More than 100 protesters arrested in a new day of repression in Nicaragua
[ELUNIVERSAL] "Nicaragua asks for freedom, justice, advanced elections, asks to be able to march without being repressed," lawyer Azáhalea Solís, delegate of the opposition, said after leaving prison.

Posted by: Fred || 03/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Commies


There are mounting signs of military planning for Venezuela
[MILITARYTIMES] 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...
has been talking about ordering a military operation targeting Venezuela since 2017.

At first, that was widely dismissed as a rash threat, but the idea of a U.S. effort to force "regime change" in the oil-rich South American country may be gaining momentum in Washington.

"It’s a regime that, frankly, could be toppled very quickly by the military if the military decides to do that," Trump said in September.

In January, National Security Adviser John Bolton flashed a notebook that read "5,000 troops to Colombia."

And on Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ordered all U.S. diplomats to leave Venezuela, saying their presence there "has become a constraint on U.S. policy," hinting at opening potential military options.

Speculation about a military assault on Venezuela was also fueled by Trump’s recent appointment of a former George W. Bush administration official who was an architect of the Iraq War, Elliot Abrams, to be the new "Special Representative for Venezuela."

Heightened concerns prompted the Democratic-led House Foreign Affairs Committee to meet Wednesday to debate a bill that would prohibit Trump from taking military action in Venezuela without congressional approval.

White House officials say "all options on the table," including a military intervention or military support of allies in the region.

Posted by: Fred || 03/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Plenary Power.
Posted by: newc || 03/18/2019 3:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Let’s not go there please. Maybe a few dozen low pass sonic booms would do it.
Posted by: Uleck Spererong9442 || 03/18/2019 6:54 Comments || Top||

#3  If VZ totally collapses, you can bet the neighboring countries are going to want some serious backup to police it. They're going to call Putin or Merkel to get that done? Really?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 7:36 Comments || Top||

#4  Xi, call Xi. Let him find out how really really expensive and complicated being a first class world power is. It's one thing encroaching on your neighbors, its something else supporting a major commitment across the world. The Russians couldn't really support the Cubans. They cut the costs as soon as they could. Now they're trying to play the game again and it ain't cheap, especially with fifty dollar a barrel oil.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/18/2019 8:28 Comments || Top||

#5  If I was in charge, I would definitely have a plan being put in place for emergency relief and a small security force for it. With an aircraft carrier and a Marine battalion in reserve just in case some asshole decides to seize/attack/hostage the relief force.

Posted by: DarthVader || 03/18/2019 9:07 Comments || Top||


Economy
Trump spoke to Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors about the Lordstown Ohio plant
[TWITTER]

Posted by: Fred || 03/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm just not in favor of a gummint run industrial policy. Yes, there are "real people" being hurt by corporate mismanagement and creative destruction, but slathering a gloppy layer of DC wonk effluvium over the top of it all will not end well...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 7:03 Comments || Top||

#2  Which is why Trump was elected.
Posted by: Woodrow || 03/18/2019 8:20 Comments || Top||

#3  Barra probably is nostalgic for the days where she held a towel while Immelt got his nose all the way up soetoro's bare hand wiped ass...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 9:24 Comments || Top||

#4  She blamed the UAW Union

These are the people who would rather see a plant closed than make any concessions.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 03/18/2019 12:22 Comments || Top||


Europe
Riots on Champs-Élysées: Why violence has become ‘legitimate' for some Yellow Vests
[France24] Paris on Saturday saw a second ultra-violent Yellow Vest protest. Although the rioting has been blamed on extreme elements who have infiltrated the movement, some Yellow Vests have now accepted it as legitimate to achieve their goals, an expert says.

For most, the March 16 violence in Paris dropped like a bomb shell: After weeks of weaker participation and the once-a-week rallies being contained by security forces without any major incidents, France’s Yellow Vest movement was being described as running out of steam. "Act XVIII" of the protests, however, showed that the Yellow Vests had not given up, and resulted in France’s emblematic Champs-Élysées boulevard being left in a pile of broken glass and flames.

The government has attributed the violence to extreme elements ‐ so-called casseurs ‐ who have infiltrated the movement from both the left and the right side of the political spectrum.

"Today's actions are not the work of protesters, but of looters, arsonists and criminals. No cause justifies this violence," Prime Minister Édouard Philippe tweeted after visiting the scene of the destruction.

While some Yellow Vests continue to fully distance themselves from the violence, others now appear willing to let the ransacking slide.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/18/2019 05:06 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Behind it all:

The raise of taxes on petrol and diesel started the whole thing. Over 50% in six months. Unbearable for people out of the cities who need their cars to go to work. Ecology being the easy false pretext, as we all know that this money does not go to any ecological project. Typical leftie drivel.

On the same pretext they raised the standards of the technical control on cars older than 5 years, to a point that many people will have to ditch their only means of transportation, or drive illegally. Once again the pretext is ecology, whereas the real reason is an agreement with the car industry.

There was also a 7% tax on retirement pensions.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/18/2019 5:11 Comments || Top||

#2  Because it's the only way they get any results?
Posted by: ed in texas || 03/18/2019 7:51 Comments || Top||

#3  When it's Leftest students doing it, it's all OK, right?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/18/2019 8:20 Comments || Top||


Revised numbers for Saturday’s Yellow Vest protests
[AnNahar] Saturday's participation level in Gay Paree was seen a test of the ongoing strength of the movement.

In recent weeks, the protests have shrunk. But the interior ministry estimated the turnout in Gay Paree Saturday at 10,000, out of around 32,300 nationwide.

French President Emmanuel Macron cut short a skiing trip in the Pyrenees to return to Gay Paree for a crisis meeting, vowing to take strong action.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/18/2019 00:55 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Politix
Controversial FBI Counterintelligence Nominee on Hold In Senate
[Free Beacon] The nomination of U.S. intelligence community's most senior counterintelligence official, under fire for overlooking major counterspy failures in the Obama administration, is on hold in the Senate.
Obama administration candidate? Is there a need to read further ?
FBI Agent Bill Evanina, an Obama administration holdover and head of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, a DNI unit, has been awaiting Senate confirmation for two years.

Earlier this month, Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, placed a hold on Evanina's nomination for the second time to prevent him from being the first Senate-confirmed director of the counterintelligence center.

The hold is based on a dispute with the office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and Justice Department. It is the second time in two years the nomination has been blocked by Grassley who is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The last hold on the nominee took place in June 2018.

"I continue to experience difficulties obtaining relevant documents and briefings from the Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence related to 2016 election controversies," Grassley said in placing the hold March 5.
Can't get a straight answer from DOJ? Drop the SOB, go on to the next candidate.
The block on the nomination is not based on questioning Evanina's credentials, Grassley noted.

EVANINA ON AGENT LOSSES
However, Evanina recently raised concerns for stating that the arrest, imprisonment, or execution of scores of U.S. intelligence informants in China and Iran were a minor setback for American intelligence agencies.

"Counterintelligence efforts, like any intelligence discipline, suffer occasional setbacks, and we learn from these setbacks," Evanina told the Wall Street Journal.
Acceptable losses, cost of doing business... you know the deal.
The losses are among the most damaging human spying failures that cost lives and will make it more difficult for intelligence officers to recruit similar assets in the future.

The U.S. government has been keeping details about the disasters secret. Brief mention has been made in two court cases.

Evanina was responding to an earlier opinion article in the Journal that was critical of the American counterintelligence system for causing the loss of recruited agents that were linked to former Air Force counterintelligence agent Monica Witt, who defected to Iran in 2013.

Witt was indicted Feb. 8‐more than five years after fleeing to Iran‐and charged with compromising a program used to communicate secretly with recruited agents in Iran and the Middle East.

In May 2011, Iran's Intelligence Ministry announced the arrest of 42 people allegedly for spying for the CIA. U.S. officials believe the rolling up of the CIA network in Iran and other locations is related to Witt's treachery.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/18/2019 10:46 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Anyone in the Bureau holding the rank of GG-15 or higher could easily be labeled controversial.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/18/2019 11:01 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm not going with 3-D Vulcan Chess, but what a great way to keep the position unfilled...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 11:30 Comments || Top||

#3  However, Evanina recently raised concerns for stating that the arrest, imprisonment, or execution of scores of U.S. intelligence informants in China and Iran were a minor setback for American intelligence agencies.

I hate it when that happens. What's for dinner?
Posted by: gorb || 03/18/2019 11:55 Comments || Top||

#4  were a minor setback for American intelligence agencies.

"I'm not sayin' we wouldn't get our hair mussed" - Gen. Buck Turgidson
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 11:59 Comments || Top||

#5  ? Why is he employed.
Posted by: Woodrow || 03/18/2019 18:39 Comments || Top||

#6  From Python's "Holy Grail": "Let's not argue over who killed who."
Indeed...a minor setback.
Posted by: DooDahMan || 03/18/2019 22:35 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Remand of suspects extended in Ramsha murder case
[DAWN] The suspects enjugged
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
in the infamous Ramsha Wassan murder case were on Satur­day produced in the Khairpur Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) upon expiry of their physical remand.

The prime suspect, Zulfiqar Wassan aka Zulfoo along with his associates nominated in the case, Ghaffar Wassan and Sabir Wassan, were produced in the ATC amid stringent security as Zulfoo appeared to have alleged political clout and scores of cases of heinous crime registered against him over the last many years.

The Khairpur police also produced the crime weapon, a TT pistol allegedly used in Ramsha’s murder, and informed the court that it was used by Sabir Wassan and seized from him during investigation of the case.

The court acceded to the police’s request for an extension of the three suspects’ remand for three days for further interrogation.

Ramsha, 13, was rubbed out on Feb 3 and her mother alleged that Zulfoo and his associates killed her after she had chosen to marry one of her cousins against the will of an influential person of the area. The mother claimed that her daughter was first kidnapped and a few days after she was recovered, the suspect stormed into their house and gunned her down.

During the investigation, the police arrested the cook of a feudal lord, MNA Nawab Wassan, who had allegedly been in constant touch with Zulfoo before Ramsha was murdered. According to preliminary investigation, Zulfoo is a nephew of Nawab Wassan.

Posted by: Fred || 03/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Musharraf shifted to Dubai hospital after 'reaction' from rare disease
[DAWN] Former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Perv Musharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
has been shifted to a hospital in Dubai after suffering a reaction from a rare disease for which he is already under treatment, his party said on Sunday.

The former president was rushed to the hospital as an "emergency" on Saturday night after his condition suddenly worsened, All Pakistain Moslem League (APML) Secretary-General Mehrene Adam Malik said.

APML Overseas President Afzaal Siddiqui told DawnNewsTV that Musharraf had suffered a reaction from amyloidosis, a rare condition for which the former president has been receiving medical care.

"He is expected to be discharged by tonight (Sunday night)," he said.

According to the party, the former military ruler has been advised complete bed rest by doctors till his full recovery. It asked the nation to pray for Musharraf's health.

Siddiqui had disclosed Musharraf's illness in October last year, saying the former president's disease had "weakened his nervous system". At the time, he was being treated for the condition in London.

"Due to amyloidosis, broken protein starts getting deposited in various organs," Siddiqui had explained. "[As a result] Pervez Musharraf has difficulty in standing and walking."

Posted by: Fred || 03/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  amyloidosis

Pissburgh mayor Richard Caliguiri died of complications of amyloidosis. One of the "various organs" commonly affected is the brain...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 7:41 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
US detects huge meteor explosion
[BBC] A huge fireball exploded in the Earth's atmosphere in December, according to Nasa.

The blast was the second largest of its kind in 30 years, and the biggest since the fireball over Chelyabinsk in Russia six years ago.

But it went largely unnoticed until now because it blew up over the Bering Sea, off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.

The space rock exploded with 10 times the energy released by the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

Lindley Johnson, planetary defence officer at Nasa, told BBC News a fireball this big is only expected about two or three times every 100 years.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/18/2019 07:42 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Don't we hear all the time such an event might be misinterpreted as a nuke strike and trigger an unfortunate response? Now we are told it went almost unnoticed...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/18/2019 10:00 Comments || Top||

#2  We are all gonna die!!!! /press
Nevermind. Can't push a socialist agenda /same press

Posted by: DarthVader || 03/18/2019 10:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Off Kamchatka, bet your ass people noticed. Just not by the sooopersmart media. Shoot, they can't even seem to find Nebraska.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/18/2019 10:35 Comments || Top||

#4  bet your ass people noticed

Lot's of data 'noodling' by Russia and US Military & Scientists before reporting, I'd guess.

Had to make sure the Duchy of Grand Fenwick hadn't acquired nukes and was lobbing them on Paki rockets.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 03/18/2019 10:53 Comments || Top||

#5  The Inuit are attacking!
Posted by: Frank G || 03/18/2019 10:59 Comments || Top||

#6  They need to ban meteors.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 03/18/2019 11:04 Comments || Top||

#7  I was expecting an Earth-shattering KABOOM.

Unnoticed? Hah! Back in the day, a flash suspected of being a nuke test was detected by a satellite (Vela?) over South Africa. Monitoring is likely much more sophisticated now.

Lindley Johnson, planetary defence officer
Coolest job title ever!
Posted by: SteveS || 03/18/2019 11:21 Comments || Top||

#8  Lindley Johnson, planetary defence officer

"Here's your red shirt, Lindley"
Posted by: Frank G || 03/18/2019 11:30 Comments || Top||

#9 
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 03/18/2019 12:25 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
28[untagged]
6Govt of Pakistan
5Commies
4Taliban
4Govt of Iran
4Hamas
4Islamic State
2Arab Spring
2Moslem Colonists
1Sublime Porte
1Muslim Brotherhood
1Baloch Liberation Army
1Fulani Herdsmen (Boko Haram)
1Govt of Iraq
1Palestinian Authority
1al-Qaeda in North Africa

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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2019-03-18
  Syria force says 'thousands' still inside last IS pocket
Sun 2019-03-17
  1 killed, another wounded in a magnetic bomb explosion in Kabul city
Sat 2019-03-16
  TV details how Hamas ‘accidentally’ fired at Tel Aviv
Fri 2019-03-15
  Over 40 killed as gunmen open fire in two mosques in New Zealand
Thu 2019-03-14
  Niger Says It Killed 33 Boko Haram 'Terrorists'
Wed 2019-03-13
  SDF close in on ISIS in Baghouz
Tue 2019-03-12
  Baghouz: ISIS militants retreat underground as coalition offensive resumes
Mon 2019-03-11
  Foreign ISIS brides isolated after attacking ‘infidel’ refugees at Syrian camp
Sun 2019-03-10
  More than 60 Taliban militants killed in Special Forces operations and airstrikes
Sat 2019-03-09
  JuD offices in Muridke, Lahore taken over
Fri 2019-03-08
  Nine border tunnels uncovered, destroyed in North Sinai
Thu 2019-03-07
  Blasts target major Shia ceremony in Afghanistan's Kabul
Wed 2019-03-06
  Masood Azhar's son, brother detained in govt crackdown against banned organisations
Tue 2019-03-05
  Indian strike on LeT camp in Muzaffarabad?
Mon 2019-03-04
  Germany to strip 'Islamic State' fighters' citizenship
Sun 2019-03-03
  Syrian Army kills 7 ISIS fighters attempting to escape from Euphrates bastion, SDF advancing on 5 fronts, 3 wounded


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