Hi there, !
Today Sat 11/19/2016 Fri 11/18/2016 Thu 11/17/2016 Wed 11/16/2016 Tue 11/15/2016 Mon 11/14/2016 Sun 11/13/2016 Archives
Rantburg
531695 articles and 1855968 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 82 articles and 232 comments as of 12:59.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    WoT Background    Non-WoT        Politix   
Police make raids against suspected 'IS' supporters across 10 states in Germany
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 4: Opinion
0 [] 
4 18:38 Frank G [] 
6 18:54 Frank G [] 
6 12:44 KBK [] 
1 10:52 Rex Mundi [] 
1 08:30 Procopius2k [] 
3 11:50 Procopius2k [] 
1 09:49 Procopius2k [] 
10 09:15 DepotGuy [] 
10 17:36 Pappy [] 
1 10:32 Frank G [] 
3 10:29 swksvolFF [] 
1 19:08 Frank G [] 
0 [] 
4 18:51 Frank G [] 
6 21:22 newc [1] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
2 20:46 Fred []
0 [1]
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
5 20:39 trailing wife []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
Page 2: WoT Background
0 []
9 21:01 DarthVader []
1 00:31 Raj []
2 06:27 AlanC []
5 16:41 Grarong Spawn of the Heathen Rus2966 []
1 06:28 AlanC []
0 []
0 []
8 17:20 g(r)omgoru []
4 13:27 Shipman []
0 []
Page 3: Non-WoT
6 18:55 Frank G []
2 18:34 DarthVader []
3 10:43 Rex Mundi []
2 11:48 Sock Puppet of Doom []
1 05:56 Mike Kozlowski [1]
0 []
5 22:26 Injun Bucket8891 []
9 23:52 Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
3 23:03 Whiskey Mike []
4 09:19 Pappy []
4 12:37 KBK []
Page 6: Politix
3 19:13 Bobby [1]
8 23:10 Whiskey Mike []
10 19:37 Neville Cheanter9145 [1]
14 23:02 texhooey []
8 10:55 Abu Uluque []
6 14:42 AlanC []
2 11:18 Abu Uluque []
6 11:42 Sock Puppet of Doom []
14 13:19 Vast Right Wing Conspiracy []
4 11:34 Cleaque Sninetle2557 []
2 11:43 Procopius2k []
6 12:49 Raj []
0 []
16 23:05 Whiskey Mike [3]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Ex-INS Special Agent: Cut Funds of Sanctuary Cities (Video)
[NewsMax] American metropolises that threaten to remain "sanctuary cities" for illegal immigrants despite an expected Trump administration crackdown should have their law enforcement and education programs defunded, says Michael Cutler, a former special agent with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

"His hands aren't [tied]. He's certainly talked about defunding the cities and I hope he doesn't just mean law enforcement. He ought to cut funding for education," Cutler said Tuesday to Bill Tucker on Newsmax TV's "America Talks Live."

"The Congressional Budget Office did a study back in 2007 and said there were 12 million illegals, said it cost 20-40 percent more to educate kids who can't speak English.
"And if ever we have an amnesty program of any sort ... we're talking about the potential for millions of more students. This is devastating to the school system, it's devastating to employment."
Con't.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/16/2016 06:54 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I seldom post anything from NewsMax, but I thought this was worthy.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/16/2016 7:03 Comments || Top||

#2  They've gone all Confederate. Sooooo, Democrat of them.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/16/2016 8:32 Comments || Top||

#3  I've said this for the past 30 years and now there might be a real chance.
Posted by: Jack salami || 11/16/2016 9:49 Comments || Top||

#4  Conservatives should hammer these cities with demands that they at least pay the illegals the minimum wage.

Hang them with their own ideals. If everyone deserves a minimum wage certainly that applies to illegals.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 11/16/2016 9:52 Comments || Top||

#5  Nice - Boston, Cambridge and Lawrence are 'sanctuary cities' in Mass. I can't wait for the Boston Globe to blow their stack - should be fun!
Posted by: Raj || 11/16/2016 12:31 Comments || Top||

#6  How about instead of cutting funding for police and schools, which is a political loser (to say the least), they quietly open well-staffed INS offices in sanctuary cities and start detaining and deporting. Also, penalizing businesses that hire illegals.
Posted by: KBK || 11/16/2016 12:44 Comments || Top||


Boston Herald's Adriana Cohen: Many are deserving deportation
[Boston Herald] The liberal hypocrites on the internet and the social justice warriors on college campuses are in an uproar, swooning with feigned outrage because President-elect Donald Trump has said he is going to enforce our nation’s immigration laws.

They call him a bigot. They call him a racist. They call him every other possible slur you can imagine.

So what would you call President Obama?

Obama has deported more illegal immigrants than the three prior U.S. presidents. More than both Bushes and President Bill Clinton. According to Pew Research Center, from 2009 to 2014 Obama deported over 2.4 million illegal immigrants. Deportations since then likely put him well over the 3 million mark -- the very target number Trump is estimating to deport.

Obama did it in six years. Trump, apparently, would like to speed that up.

We aren’t talking about the parents of the American-born so-called Dreamers. We aren’t talking about people who just come here to work. Trump says he’ll make a determination on them later. We are talking about people who have committed criminal offenses.

Americans are well aware of the horrific crimes that have been committed by illegal aliens throughout our nation. The countless murders and brutal rapes of our neighbors and fellow citizens. Kate Steinle’s murder in San Francisco, and Matthew Denice here in Massachusetts, who was dragged to his death by an illegal drunk driver with a long rap sheet.

Talk about double standards. When an African-American Democrat president deports illegal immigrants he’s praised for respecting the rule of law. But when a white Republican president-elect talks about deporting illegals -- when he dares to mention what crimes people who don’t belong here have committed against citizens -- he’s a white nationalist and a racist who "wants to break up families."

Clearly the left is just playing identity politics.

They’d prefer to divide and conquer our great nation rather than unify it based on shared goals -- safe communities. They’ll tell you they believe in respecting the law and people’s rights, and then insist on ignoring it when a Republican says he wants to do just that.

Reasonable people realize you can’t have it both ways.

Bravo to our newly elected president for putting our safety first, with his promise to deport up to 3 million criminal illegal immigrants as his first order of business.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/16/2016 01:42 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  You deport them and they just turn around a show back up again. Use the Congressional authority under Article III and make sure if they return, there is no 'standing' in the judicial processes of the United States. In effect they become an outlaw, one outside the state's protection.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/16/2016 8:30 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Is it time to understand Donald Trump better?
Yes. What an idiotic question.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] 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...
won the election and became, by the power of law and the constitution, the president-elect, contrary to the expectation and anticipations of many in and out of the US.

Throughout his two terms in the White House, regional leaders and political analysts were frustrated by Obama’s Middle East policies, which created mayhem, constant chaos and conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
and Libya. They perceived him as an isolationist and feeble president, manipulated by the Iranian and Moslem brotherhood lobbies and surrounded by amateurs, incompetent and sympathizers of the Arab Springs that spread across the region in early 2011.

This repetitive monotonous criticism was recycled by media outlets during the course of Obama’s presidency, resulting in a widening the gap between various Arab capitals and Washington, as well as generating an atmosphere of apprehension ‐ a juncture some faceless myrmidons have attempted to capitalize on by pushing Gulf States into confrontation with the US.

Now the Americans have chosen their next president, so what is our next step? Will we carry on moaning and groaning about the "racist" president who pledged to ban Moslems from entering Uncle Sam territories? Or will we adopt a more radical approach, while trying to explore other alternatives that are neither sensible nor practical?

US-Gulf ties
The relationship with the United States is a strategic matter for Gulf countries, due to its superpower status as the unchallenged great power in areas such as economy and technology etc. This is the same reality that pressed Iran, a country that chanted the slogan of the "Death to America" for decades, to reverse its course, in order to achieve deals with the US.

For us to start right, we have to distinguish between Donald Trump the "presidential candidate", and Trump the president. The first character is obliged to appease the voters, while there are domestic and international obligations and commitments that need to be achieved to gain popularity and power, lie ahead for the second.

Trump’s approach, his policy and the cabinet he picks will define and outline the relationships and alliance. Policies are established on building strong partnerships that safeguard the interests of all parties. Hence, we are obliged to be open realistically and effectively toward the new leadership in the White House through active diplomacy that knows how to build relationships with a vision to achieve its goals.

Posted by: Fred || 11/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia

#1  They perceived him as an isolationist and feeble president, manipulated by the Iranian and Moslem brotherhood lobbies and surrounded by amateurs, incompetent and sympathizers of the Arab Springs that spread across the region in early 2011.

Wow! Who knew they were so perceptive? Nailed that one Captain Obvious.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/16/2016 7:14 Comments || Top||

#2  If you are looking for insight, I'd skip the American MSM.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/16/2016 8:18 Comments || Top||

#3  Whoa now P2K.
I am just sure meagain kelly will really hit the issues, just as soon as she is done with Dr. Phil's infomercial for her new book, topic grrrl power. BTW, Kelley doing her best oprah impression.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 11/16/2016 10:29 Comments || Top||


Britain
Prepare to Board!
Just another, sad, reminder that Britannia no longer rules the waves.

The Royal Navy--which set the sea power standard for centuries--has announced plans that will further reduce its combat power and leave its ships vulnerable in potential engagements with Russian, Chinese and even Iranian vessels.

From the UK Telegraph:

Royal Navy warships will be left without anti-ship missiles and be forced to rely on naval guns because of cost-cutting, the Ministry of Defence has admitted.

The Navy’s Harpoon missiles will retire from the fleet’s frigates and destroyers in 2018 without a replacement, while there will also be a two year gap without helicopter-launched anti-shipping missiles.

Harpoon missiles are unlikely to be replaced for up to a decade, naval sources said, leaving warships armed only with their 4.5in Mk 8 guns for anti-ship warfare. Helicopter-launched Sea Skua missiles are also going out of service next year and the replacement Sea Venom missile to be carried by Wildcat helicopters will not arrive until late 2020.
...
In the interim, the RN may have to dust off employment manuals from the eras of Lord Nelson and Admiral Jellicoe. As we noted on Twitter (@NateHale) a short time ago, Royal Navy surface engagement tactics from 2018 on may look something like this:

1. Form battle line.

2. Engage with main guns

3. Lure enemy into CIWS range

4. Distribute cutlasses, small arms and prepare to board!

And the USN doesn't have much room to brag. As our favorite naval blogger, Cdr Salamander, recently observed, the number of our own surface vessels that can no longer fire a Harpoon is both surprising and alarming.

Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 11/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If they don't want to fund their own defense, why should we?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/16/2016 8:17 Comments || Top||

#2  So how will the USN replace the Harpoon? Or have the Brits just quit buying them?
Posted by: Bobby || 11/16/2016 10:55 Comments || Top||

#3  Why the retirement? A best-by date?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 11/16/2016 12:45 Comments || Top||

#4  Their version of the anti-A10 cult?
Posted by: Frank G || 11/16/2016 18:51 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Bolton: Russia Will Take ‘A Lot of Actions' Before Trump Inauguration to Exploit Obama's Weakness
[Free Beacon] John Bolton, who could be the next secretary of state, said Tuesday that Russia would likely take "a lot of actions" before Donald Trump’s inauguration to exploit the weaknesses of President Obama.

In an appearance on Fox News, Bolton addressed the Russian airstrikes carried out against Syrian rebel forces this week in eastern Aleppo. Russia is allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"I think that Russia will take a lot of actions before the 20th of January, as I think will other countries that see one last opportunity to exploit Obama’s weakness," Bolton said.

The Kremlin said in a statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump will work to iron out the current "unsatisfactory" relationship between the two countries. Bolton agreed with that description.

"Well, I think relations are very unsatisfactory, largely due to the behavior of Russia and the naiveté and incompetence of the Obama administration," he said. "I think we all remember that Hillary Clinton started out her tenure as secretary of state with the famous reset button, blaming what were then bad relationships between Washington and Moscow on the Bush administration, and it turned out that making one concession after another to Putin didn’t make relations any better."

Asked by Fox News host Bill Hemmer how Trump will deal with Putin differently than Obama, Bolton said Putin views Obama "quite correctly" as an "exceedingly weak leader."

"I think Trump is going to be the opposite. I think he’s going to be a strong leader," Bolton said. "I think that will have two dramatic impacts on Putin. Number one, it’ll make him a lot more hesitant to try and extend Russian influence, and two, what may seem paradoxical but what I think is true, it’ll make Putin more inclined to cooperate, because he’ll believe that if he makes a deal with another strong leader, they both will stick to it."

Bolton also addressed the rumors that he could be tapped to be Trump’s first chief diplomat. The former U.N. ambassador said he would be "honored" to serve the country again, but he said he and Trump had not discussed any such appointment.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/16/2016 00:54 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...not to mention opportunities to exploit in the initial period of the new Republican White House.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/16/2016 9:49 Comments || Top||


Economy
Texas Oil Patch just got much larger
[Breitbart] A western Texas oil and natural gas shale formation was labeled the "largest" of its kind by the U.S. Geological Survey on Tuesday.

Federal surveyors announced that the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin portion of Texas’ Permian Basin now holds the record for most oil, natural gas, and gas liquid deposits that are "undiscovered, technically recoverable resources."

The USGS notes that within its survey spanning from north of Lubbock to remote regions southwest of San Angelo, an estimated and previously unaccounted for 20 billion barrels of crude oil; 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas; and 1.6 billion barrels of natural gas liquids are able to be extracted by means typically involving slant drilling and hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as "fracking". The figures are based on official methods that project untapped resources amid formations already surveyed and exploited.
Con't.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/16/2016 07:06 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  [BIG SIGH]
Texas, God's gift to modern civilization! Drill 'em deep, boys! Can't let my one-ton diesel go dry.
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 11/16/2016 8:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Peak oil my ass.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 11/16/2016 11:19 Comments || Top||

#3  for context,

Total US proved reserves were about 20 B barrels in 2008 and are about 40 B barrels in 2016.

Unconventional deposits in the US include tight formations, kerogen (aka oil shale) formations, oil sands and so forth. Combined they are somewhere about a trillion or so barrels. As technology improves additional increments of these deposits become economical to extract.
Posted by: lord garth || 11/16/2016 11:53 Comments || Top||

#4  #2 Peak oil my ass.

Come on, dude! Peak oil is serious stuff. We use whale oil for lighting and lubrication, and sooner or later, we're going to run out of whales.
Posted by: SteveS || 11/16/2016 14:42 Comments || Top||

#5  Heh. I still have a tiny vial (<<1cc) of sperm whale oil. It was used to lubricate the bearing in a SINS (once, I should point out), but the "sell by" date (which was roughly 100 years) hit and it was being tossed. I snagged it for posterity.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 11/16/2016 15:18 Comments || Top||

#6  the twitching of the Saudi/Iranian/UAE/Qatari oil ticks must be approaching Michael J. Fox levels

/(all sympathies to MJF, except for his Dem partisan hackiness)
Posted by: Frank G || 11/16/2016 18:54 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
The lies of mobster Tony Sobama
...
I think when Donald Trump sat down to talk with Barry Soetoro, in the White House, the other day, he listened and watched for awhile, as Barry pontificated. And Trump gradually came to realize for the first time, that he was dealing with a dangerous psychopath ready to blow out like a bad tire at 200 miles an hour.

I envision them sitting there, Barry tense with the smug confidence of a maniac, telling Trump how it’s going to be--Barry still in charge of the world, Barry still holding power, Barry calling the shots for next two months, and beyond.

Barry making threats about what he wants and what he might do to guarantee that he gets what he wants.

I see Trump in sudden realization of the utter danger, not daring to make any sudden moves, lest he set the monster off like a string of firecrackers.

I see Trump, poker-faced, not moving, thinking, "I’ve got to guide America through the minefield of this man’s delusions for the next two months--just get through any way I can. My God; everything depends on humoring this monster."

Okay, maybe he wasn’t thinking exactly that, but I’m close. And that explains what you’re seeing with Trump; why he’s been praising Barry Soetoro, and seeming to suck up. That’s why he actually looked apprehensive or nervous.

He must know that he Has to do that; play along in Barry’s nightmare. Or maybe risk World War III--ignited by a rattled, deluded, walking zombie of a man looking for relevance and a "legacy."
...

Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 11/16/2016 13:25 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Clinton Partisans' Latest Excuse for Defeat: Bernie Sanders and Millennials
[Observer] In the wake of Clinton’s loss, her minions have reverted to the same flawed tactics that failed miserably in the general election.

"Millennials are the worst" has been the prevailing attitude of the Democratic Party establishment toward its largest demographic of supporters. The denigration of millennials from Clinton partisans signals how oblivious they are to working and middle class Americans.

"The millennial coalition Obama created just didn’t translate to Clinton, despite the Beyoncé and Katy Perry concerts," wrote Asma Khaled and Joel Rose for NPR on November 14, in a hit piece blaming millennials for Clinton losing. Perhaps millennials have developed an abrasive attitude toward Clinton and establishment Democrats because Beyoncé and Katy Perry concerts were used by the campaign to solicit support, instead of actually addressing the issues and policies that gravely concern millennials’ futures.

In their fury at Gen Y, Clinton partisans never admit that they disproportionately supported Clinton over Donald Trump. Clinton’s loss can be credited to voters over the age of 45 who voted disproportionately for Trump over Clinton.

The pejorative narrative against millennials has been used for the past decade to explain away dissent after the 2008 economic recession. Clinton partisans used this election to discredit Bernie Sanders’ popularity. The Bernie bros narrative was propagated by Clinton shills in the media to portray the Vermont senator’s supporters as all sexist white males. The evidence they used was often falsely attributed to Sanders supporters or based purely on speculation and assumption. Most black voters under 30 voted for Sanders, yet Sanders’ campaign was whitewashed by mainstream media throughout the Democratic primaries.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/16/2016 01:28 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Republicans should help push Millennials away from the Democrats and towards the Libertarian party.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 11/16/2016 9:55 Comments || Top||

#2  It did get my attention when Katy announced she would vote in the nude but I'm not rushing out to buy her CDs.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 11/16/2016 11:38 Comments || Top||

#3  Captain Queeg: Ahh, but the strawberries that's... that's where I had them. They laughed at me and made jokes but I proved beyond the shadow of a doubt and with... geometric logic... that a duplicate key to the wardroom icebox DID exist, and I'd have produced that key if they hadn't of pulled the Caine out of action. I, I, I know now they were only trying to protect some fellow officers...
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/16/2016 11:50 Comments || Top||


What may have led to Cong. Mike Rogers removal from Trump team
[WAPO] The ouster of former congressman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) from Donald Trump’s transition team is a worrisome sign of continuing internecine battles in the GOP and the ascendancy of Trump’s personal political allies in shaping the president-elect’s agenda.
Who knew he was on the team anyway ?
Rogers, a widely respected former FBI agent who headed the House Intelligence Committee, had been seen as a figure of stability and continuity in intelligence matters. He was mentioned as a possible next director of the CIA or director of national intelligence. But Rogers was told last weekend by Rick Dearborn, executive director of the transition team, that he was being removed from his role in the national-security group advising Trump. He was replaced by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who took over as the committee’s chairman after Rogers left Congress in 2014 and has been a far more partisan chairman.

Rogers had angered House GOP hard-liners when his committee issued a bipartisan report in 2014 clearing Hillary Clinton of personal wrongdoing in the 2012 Benghazi incident. That report was characteristic of the way Rogers chaired the committee, in a working partnership with then-ranking Democrat, Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (Md.). (Rogers added "additional views" that criticized "senior State Department officials" for dismissing threat warnings, denying requests for extra security in eastern Libya and other errors.)

But this consensual approach clearly didn’t suit Trump’s inner circle. Rogers had been brought into the transition by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), another official with bipartisan credentials, who was ousted himself a week ago and replaced by Vice President-elect Mike Pence. Some GOP insiders see the real power behind Trump as his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and they argue that there has been bad blood between Kushner and Christie for more than a decade. In 2005, when he was U.S. attorney, Christie obtained a guilty plea from Charles Kushner, Jared’s father, on charges of tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions.
Con't.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/16/2016 00:29 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Trey Gowdy smiles, pets dog, sips his G&T.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/16/2016 0:37 Comments || Top||

#2  The national media continues its assault on the Republican Party. Anyone that bought the NYT spin on 'reporting without bias' on Monday needs a slap in the head for being gullible. I just wish one of them would show up outside my door so I could kick them down 24 flights of stairs, then I'd pitch them into Wollaston Harbor where they could suffer from hypothermia.
Posted by: Raj || 11/16/2016 0:48 Comments || Top||

#3  This suggests that despite his tentative tone, Trump may well lower the boom on her come January 20th.
Posted by: gorb || 11/16/2016 1:20 Comments || Top||

#4  I'd rather they hit the Clintons where it hurts - show fraud (that should be straightforward), revoke 501(c)(3) status to the beginning, where they'll be treated as a C corporation (35% marginal tax rates) and hand them the bill. Bare minimum $100 million due once interest and penalties are tacked on.
Posted by: Raj || 11/16/2016 1:39 Comments || Top||

#5  A good start.
Posted by: gorb || 11/16/2016 1:45 Comments || Top||

#6  clearing Hillary Clinton of personal wrongdoing in the 2012 Benghazi incident

Since we know she wasn't blameless - in fact, should've resigned because it happened on her watch even if she was ...
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/16/2016 4:50 Comments || Top||

#7  Raj, if you need help with 24 flights of stairs give me a call. I can be there in about an hour. Not as young as I used to be but I could kick one down 6 flights at least. 8^)
Posted by: AlanC || 11/16/2016 7:04 Comments || Top||

#8  Why should Trump depend on Rogers when he and his wife's questionable actions vis-à-vis Libya will likely be under intense scrutiny in the next Congress.
Posted by: Heriberto Greper9897 || 11/16/2016 7:16 Comments || Top||

#9  Aegis founder Lt Col Tim Spicer was a gun runner. The firmed has cleaned itself up a bit, but Kristi Rogers wasn't picked to be the U.S. CEO because of her good looks. Placement and access my friends. Placement and access.

Rogers thought he might have a shot at Brennan's job. I suspect Trey Gowdy whispered into Steve Bannon's ear.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/16/2016 7:23 Comments || Top||

#10  Alarming? Hardly. When asked about his departure, Rogers gave the boilerplate "We're going in different directions" response. Chances are that might be the most accurate description. He's always been a bit of a shape shifter and, at times, an active participant in the Smart Power apparatus. It also probably didn't help when he recently fudged his answer when asked about his Intel briefing with Trump regarding Russian hijinks.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 11/16/2016 9:15 Comments || Top||


DNC Chair Favorite Keith Ellison Supports Bill To ‘Study Reparation Proposals'
[Daily Caller] Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota is making headlines after announcing his bid for chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

Ellison already has strong support from Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Harry Reid. Some have said Ellison’s own identity as an African-American and a Muslim would be a strong statement for the Democratic Party under the upcoming Donald Trump administration.

He previously advocated for, and is reportedly a "passionate supporter" of H.R. 40: Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act, co-sponsored by Michigan Rep. John Coyners Jr.
Con't.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/16/2016 00:19 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hopefully H.R. 40 will run parallel Congressman Hank Johnson's Guam capsize study. Both issues must be sorted out.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/16/2016 0:43 Comments || Top||

#2  The Democratic Party continues its leftward drift. These arrogant cocksuckers are impervious to learning after receiving their Ivy League degrees, thinking they know everything and refusing to adapt to the lessons the voters taught them. Good luck, Muslim asshole, enjoy your irrelevance.
Posted by: Raj || 11/16/2016 1:02 Comments || Top||

#3  Why not repay in kind. Make liberals slaves for anyone who wants one. Or two. Or ten.
Posted by: gorb || 11/16/2016 1:23 Comments || Top||

#4  Hopefully this shit nevers happens. Because if it does it will be a continual gravy train of cash that will accomplish nothing. Each new genration it will be, "hey, where's my money!"
Posted by: Cheaderhead || 11/16/2016 6:09 Comments || Top||

#5  I'm all in favor of any person receiving reparations if they can be shown to have been held in slavery in the US prior to the end of the Civil War.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/16/2016 7:09 Comments || Top||

#6  No living black has been a slave (other than to criminal activity), but there are living whites who have.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/16/2016 8:24 Comments || Top||

#7  All of the standard lefty agitprop reappears; reparations, homeless people, economy in the tank, etc., etc., ad nauseam. Eff 'em.
Posted by: PBMcL || 11/16/2016 10:39 Comments || Top||

#8  Now, now. This is just one patch in the quilt as Jesse Jackson once said. They need all of these little patches to make a quilt big enough for them to get back into power. You got Planned Parenthood, Dreamers, marijuana, transgender bathrooms, $15 minimum wage, etc, etc. That's how you make a big tent, folks. You tell everybody they can have whatever they want no matter how much it costs or how utterly ridiculous it is.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 11/16/2016 11:51 Comments || Top||

#9  Keep digging
Posted by: KBK || 11/16/2016 12:46 Comments || Top||

#10  He's the new shovel.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/16/2016 17:36 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Who is Walid Phares, Trump's Mideast adviser?
...Being Trump’s right-hand man for the Middle East is a long way from the Beirut of the 1980s, when Phares trained Lebanese militants in ideological beliefs justifying the war against Lebanon’s Muslim and Druse factions, according to former colleagues who were quoted in an investigative piece published by Mother Jones magazine in 2011 after Phares was named as an adviser by then Republican nominee Mitt Romney. These colleagues said Phares advocated that Lebanon’s Christians work toward creating a separate, independent Christian enclave. The article, to which Phares did not respond, also alleged that he was a close adviser of Samir Geagea, a Lebanese- Christian warlord.

Phares did not depart from his hard-line Christian nationalist views even after he moved from Lebanon to the US in 1990 and launched an academic career.

He became an American citizen.

Seven years later, he tried to lobby the Israeli government to carve out a state for Christians in the security zone Israel maintained in southern Lebanon, despite the fact that Israel had been burned badly when it allied with Lebanese Christians in 1982, that most of zone’s inhabitants were Shiite Muslims and that Israel already had its hands full dealing with an insurgency by Hezbollah.

The Christian state could be viable, Phares insisted, with its capital in Marjayoun and a port in Nakoura. It would be a non-Arab state and natural partner of the Jewish state, because the Lebanese Christians are not Arabs, he asserted.
Israel, wasn't particularly enthusiastic, but it was then.
...Matthew Duss, director of the Foundation for Middle East Peace sees things differently, however.

"Phares is one of a number of close Trump advisers with extremely troubling foreign- policy views which basically mirror those of Islamic extremists: Islam and the West are at war. It’s difficult to overstate how counterproductive it would be for the US to adopt this vision," he said.
Looks very productive to me. So, he understands Islam, and his only drawback - his primary loyalty to Maronites not USA. Which is not a problem if Trump keeps it in mind.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/16/2016 03:51 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Note to JPost - that's Dr Walid Phares.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 11/16/2016 10:52 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Cross-LoC aggression
[DAWN] THE death of seven Pak soldiers, announced by the military’s media wing on Monday, as a result of cross-LoC Indian shelling is tragic and deserving of the strongest condemnation. The incident once again underscores the dangerously frayed state of Pakistain-India relations in the aftermath of September’s Uri attack. Disturbingly, there are no signs that the belligerence will end soon. Ever since hard boyz attacked a military facility in the India-held Kashmire town, there has been regular exchange of fire across the LoC and the Working Boundary, with numerous military and civilian casualties. The latest tragedy is said to be the deadliest incident of firing involving military casualties in a single day in a decade. In addition, some 26 civilians have been killed due to Indian shelling on the Pak side since the Uri attack.

The reaction from the state to this provocation has been swift though expected, with the prime minister reiterating his resolve to defend the country. The Indian high commissioner was also summoned to the Foreign Office and told that further belligerence could lead to a "strategic miscalculation". While open talk of war has died down to a large extent post-Uri, the constant LoC and Working Boundary violence has the potential of escalating into a more dangerous confrontation. There may be little appetite for war in the two establishments -- if one ignores the shrill cries of the super hawks and armchair warriors in the media. But, unless the guns fall silent, further loss of civilian or military life caused by such aggression could see temperatures rise further, exacerbating the current diplomatic stand-off -- over the past few weeks, both India and Pakistain have expelled each other’s diplomats for indulging in "undesirable activities". If not checked, this exchange of vitriol on the diplomatic front, coupled with the exchange of firepower across the LoC and Working Boundary, could also result in similar aggression along the international border.

As we have stated previously, the only way to improve relations and end the hostility is for Islamabad and New Delhi to talk to each other. Unfortunately, India does not appear to want to sort out differences with Pakistain. Whether it is India’s concerns about the alleged use of Pak soil by non-state actors to launch bully boy activities inside its borders, or Pakistain’s belief that New Delhi is fomenting trouble in Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
, all issues need to be discussed frankly. Over the last seven decades, both states have failed to resolve their outstanding issues on the battlefield; this indicates that the only path to peace is via the negotiating table. Meanwhile,
...back at the comedy club, Boogie sadly admitted that he was a better peeping Tom than he was a comedian...
the international community, specifically the UN, needs to play a more visible role in ensuring that there is no more violence along the frontiers and that both states resume the dialogue process as soon as possible.

Posted by: Fred || 11/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  actions have consequences, Paks
Posted by: Frank G || 11/16/2016 19:08 Comments || Top||


ISIS in Pak: Reaping the whirlwind
[DAWN] THE targets may be different but the perpetrators of the two deadly attacks carried out in Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
in the space of one month are the same. The responsibility of the carnage at the shrine in Khuzdar as well as the slaughter of police cadets in Quetta have been claimed by the krazed killer Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group and its affiliates.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 11/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Sultan Knish: Let's All Go To the Arafat Museum!
Posted by: newc || 11/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  but what about the Dread Red Notebook™??
Posted by: Frank G || 11/16/2016 10:32 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
‘I Go Where I Please:' Unshackle Navy To Reply To Iran
One of America’s first naval heroes, Commodore Stephen Decatur, was challenged by an Algerian admiral in 1815. Decatur’s reply is now enshrined in international law for ships sailing the seven seas: "I go where I please." This ethos came to define the mission of the U.S. Navy ‐ ensuring the high seas are free and safe for all legitimate shipping.

But just as the Barbary pirates of yore impeded safe passage, U.S. vessels today are challenged by new aggressors, Iran foremost. Iranian forces or their proxies have forcibly tried to prevent the U.S. Navy from sailing freely in international waters in the Persian Gulf and, more recently, in the Red Sea,.
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 11/16/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  That will change in 65 days. Book it - done.
Posted by: Raj || 11/16/2016 1:09 Comments || Top||

#2  According to my admittedly very junior USN sources, sailors of all rank are slow-rolling many recent directives and regs that run counter to the traditional mission of the Navy until the new CIC is sworn in.
Posted by: GORT || 11/16/2016 6:59 Comments || Top||

#3  Perhaps it is time to remind Iran of an April 19, 1988 attack when Reagan approved a US Navy strike that sunk six Iran naval ships and destroyed two oil platforms in retaliation for the mining of the Persian Gulf. By now it should be obvious to the Iranians that Trump does not suffer fools gladly.
Posted by: Heriberto Greper9897 || 11/16/2016 7:25 Comments || Top||

#4  Ref #3. Here, perhaps this map will be of assistance:

Posted by: Besoeker || 11/16/2016 7:30 Comments || Top||

#5  Arrive in force with the proper ROEs. No further action necessary.
Posted by: Iblis || 11/16/2016 13:23 Comments || Top||

#6  Well, let's not go "overboard" Send a telegram by sinking their entire navy first. Then see how they act.
Posted by: newc || 11/16/2016 21:22 Comments || Top||


Government
Hunter sez military needs counterrevolution, reverse social engineering policies
[Wash Times] A key congressional supporter of Donald Trump says the president-elect’s defense secretary should move quickly to reverse a number of social engineering policies adopted in the Obama years that "have cut down on the warrior mentality."

Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican, told The Washington Times that the armed forces need a counterrevolution. It should reverse at least three policies: women in the infantry, open transgender troops and the near-banishment of the word "man" from Navy and Marine Corps titles.

Mr. Hunter, a high-profile member of House Armed Services Committee, was one of the first in Congress to back Mr. Trump. He co-chaired the New York real estate magnate’s congressional leadership committee and promoted Mr. Trump in op-eds and media interviews.

The Trump transition team is considering Mr. Hunter for Navy secretary or even secretary of defense, a huge steppingstone for a 39-year-old former Marine Corps major.
Con't.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/16/2016 08:08 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  War - meritocracy or death
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/16/2016 8:35 Comments || Top||

#2  As Eddie The Eagle said, they need to get rid of the "Perfumed Princes" who have been sucking up to Clinton and Obama all these years.
Posted by: Jeasing Creque5352 || 11/16/2016 10:45 Comments || Top||

#3  So, does this mean there won't be a hybrid Abrams tank?
Posted by: Raj || 11/16/2016 18:23 Comments || Top||

#4  or Navy biofuels at ridiculous virtue-signalling costs
Posted by: Frank G || 11/16/2016 18:38 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
49[untagged]
13Islamic State
4Govt of Pakistan
2Houthis
2Sublime Porte
1Govt of Iraq
1Govt of Saudi Arabia
1Govt of Syria
1Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
1Muslim Brotherhood
1Salafists
1Taliban
1TTP
1al-Qaeda
1Ansar al-Sharia
1Arab Spring
1Govt of Iran

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2016-11-16
  Police make raids against suspected 'IS' supporters across 10 states in Germany
Tue 2016-11-15
  167 ISIS Turbans die in rebel combat operations in Raqqa
Mon 2016-11-14
  Turkey backed rebel units close on Al-Bab
Sun 2016-11-13
  Rangers kill Jundallah chief in Hub
Sat 2016-11-12
  Iraqi forces massing to break into Mosul airport
Fri 2016-11-11
  Iraqi forces capture Zahar district of Mosul
Thu 2016-11-10
  30 al-Qaeda fighters die in security operation in Yemen
Wed 2016-11-09
  Two ‘LJ militants’ held for killing Amjad Sabri, army personnel
Tue 2016-11-08
  German police arrest five in raid on 'IS network'
Mon 2016-11-07
  74 die in rebel Aleppo offensive
Sun 2016-11-06
  Human Shields, Barricades Slow Iraqi Advance Into Mosul
Sat 2016-11-05
  Ten-member jihadi cell linked to ISIS 'led by fundamentalist preacher was planning attacks on Sydney'
Fri 2016-11-04
  12 Die In Rocket Attack At Faryab Wedding Ceremony
Thu 2016-11-03
  Top Haqqani network commander killed in Paktika province
Wed 2016-11-02
  Mali: One branch of Mourabitounes pledges fealty to ISIS

Better than the average link...



Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
54.224.70.148
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (26)    WoT Background (11)    Non-WoT (15)    (0)    Politix (14)