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Safieddine: We're the ones who decide the fate of the South
Today's Headlines
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Page 6: Politix
8 14:23 Procopius2k [22] 
4 15:16 Spats B. Hayes8168 [17] 
5 11:29 Skidmark [17] 
3 09:50 Super Hose [11] 
1 07:53 Super Hose [22] 
7 17:12 Tom [18] 
1 08:26 Procopius2k [12] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
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8 11:26 Phugum Uluth9531 [22]
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Page 2: WoT Background
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6 11:27 Seeking Cure For Ignorance [15]
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Page 4: Opinion
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12 20:00 badanov [30]
Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
California homeless man found not guilty in attack with pipe on former San Francisco fire commissioner
[FoxNews] Garret Doty's public defender said he was acting in self-defense after Donald Carmignani sprayed him with bear spray.

The former city official was hospitalized last week after he says a group of homeless people attacked him with a pipe outside his mother's house. He is expected to recover after undergoing emergency surgery.

A homeless man who brutally attacked the former San Francisco fire commissioner was found not guilty on all charges Friday.

Garret Doty, the now 25-year-old homeless man who was accused of beating 54-year-old Donald Carmignani repeatedly over the head with a metal pipe on April 5, faced two counts of assault and one count of battery.

Deputy Public Defender Kleigh Hathaway
...who doesn’t seem senior enough to merit Open Society Foundation attention, but who clearly understands her purpose in the San Francisco ecosystem...
argued that Doty acted out of "fear for his life and fought back to protect himself."

In a press release, the San Francisco Public Defender's Office said that Carmignani's attorneys previously shared only "select video footage" from the incident-leaving out how the altercation began.

Doty's defense attorneys argued that Carmignani instigated the altercation and sprayed the homeless man with bear spray and threatened to stab and kill him if he did not move his belongings.

Carmignani previously said that three homeless people had set up an encampment near his mother's front door, and she was afraid to leave her house in Marina District.

The San Francisco Public Defender's Office said that after Carmignani allegedly threatened Doty, he decided to arm himself with a metal rod he found in a garbage bin.

The public defender's said that 15 minutes later, Carmignai, "stood against a building and baited Doty to come closer" before spraying him with bear spray and ensuring the violent altercation.

A previous video released by Carmignani show Doty marching towards him with the metal rod and repeatedly hitting him.

Following the violent attack, Carmignani had 51 stitches, a fractured skull and a broken jaw.

Deputy Public Defenders Kleigh Hathaway said that it was "clear to her" that Doty was acting in self-defense against Carmignani.

"From the beginning, it was clear to me that Mr. Doty was acting in self-defense against Mr. Carmignani, who not only had the audacity to attack Mr. Doty with bear spray and then threatened to stab and kill Mr. Doty, but also presented himself as unwilling to back down from a fight that he had started," said Hathaway. "Self-defense can be fierce because the brain goes into survival mode, and that fear response is sadly heightened for unhoused people, like Mr. Doty, who live in constant exposure."

John Dennis, the Chairman of the San Francisco GOP, pointed to the city's Democrat polices which put "residents under constant threat from street dwellers."

"While San Francisco Republicans respect the judicial process, we’re disappointment that this violent act against a respected lifelong resident will go unpunished," Dennis said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "San Francisco Democrat policies have put residents under constant threat from street dwellers. The outcome of this trial assures this sort of attack will happen again."

The public defense also argued that Carmignani had previously used pepper spray against homeless people in the area on eight separate occasions.

Carmignani did not testify in Doty’s trial, but he did testify during the preliminary hearing where he invoked the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination whenever he was questioned about any prior use of pepper or bear spray, the press release from the public defense said.

The former city official and his mother previously said that despite calling local police regarding the encampment of homeless people, police did not respond.

"To my knowledge, neither SFPD nor any of the city's various homeless service providers responded to our 911 calls that morning," he said.

Throughout the day, Doty's group continued to bother his mother and his girlfriend, using drugs in public and harassing pedestrians on the sidewalk.

"My family has had prior interactions with these individuals, who have made repeated threats of violence to my family members," he said. "As a result, my mother did not feel safe leaving her home."

Carmignani said the group consisted of "known criminals" who have harassed area residents, vandalized property and have been seen using drugs in public.

"As a native San Franciscan and lifelong Marina District resident, I firmly believe that the city needs to promote the safety of its law-abiding citizens over those who chose to do drugs and commit violent acts in our streets," he said. "I am hopeful that this unfortunate incident will lead to policy changes to better protect the interests of San Francisco residents and that my attackers will be fully prosecuted."
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/24/2023 00:00 || Comments || Link || [12 views] Top|| File under:

#1  When three hots and a cot are more of a reward than a punishment.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/24/2023 8:26 Comments || Top||


-Land of the Free
Biden administration 'planned to keep Chinese spy balloon that hovered over US for weeks SECRET from the public and Congress': Air Force commander admits device 'exposed significant gaps' in intelligence agencies
[DM]
  • Biden officials are said to have planned to keep the existence of a Chinese spy balloon that hovered over the US secret from the public and Congress

  • The balloon entered US airspace on 28 January and was shot down on 4 February after passing over multiple nuclear missile sites

  • NORAD Chief Gen. Glen VanHerck has said that the balloon exposed gaps in intelligence gathering and said the Chinese balloon program remains ongoing
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/24/2023 05:48 || Comments || Link || [22 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  The CCP rebuffed Biden’s call to install a Met Life logo. The rest is history.
Posted by: Super Hose || 12/24/2023 8:01 Comments || Top||

#2  I would have thought Pfizer...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/24/2023 8:05 Comments || Top||

#3  Well, they didn't say anything about the dozen or so others, so it kinda follows...
Posted by: ed in texas || 12/24/2023 8:50 Comments || Top||

#4  Air Force commander admits device 'exposed significant gaps' in intelligence agencies

A bilateral systems test then ?


Posted by: Besoeker || 12/24/2023 9:15 Comments || Top||

#5  Goodyear would have been too obvious
Posted by: Super Hose || 12/24/2023 9:52 Comments || Top||

#6  That's it Burton! Super-sized Chinese weather balloons. We can hang all sorts of stuff off of them.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/24/2023 9:55 Comments || Top||

#7  It should have been kept secret forever. If it showed a seam in our defense, we the civilians population should have never heard about it, and the military should have fixed the gap immediately. Where the problem, in my small mind, is our government does not know how to handle a hostile press. Our politicians salivate at the chance to turn anything into a left vs right political event. This was no exception. It comes out in the news, the gap is exposed and what happens? The president calls FOX a conspiracy station and mocks FOX news. FOX get pictures and discredits the government, Bidens fool focus on continuing the lie with more counter accusations. The four star general is caught bold faced lying to congress and America. Amateur hour all around. If I was China I would send all kinds of stuff like that to America, none of it needs to be functional equipment, Biden mismanaged it so bad that if was made of Lego's no one would believe it any more and the CCP plan to disrupt our government is a success....
Posted by: 49 Pan || 12/24/2023 10:49 Comments || Top||

#8  You got to understand who the WH really works for. It then all makes sense.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/24/2023 14:23 Comments || Top||


Government Corruption
How a sitting Democratic Connecticut mayor could be ousted after 'shocking' evidence
[Washington Examiner] The mayor of Connecticut's largest city could lose his job next month when voters return to the polls for a court-ordered redo of the Democratic primary.

Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim was reelected in the general election in November, but a judge ruled that there was "shocking" evidence of ballot harvesting, when a third party collects and returns many ballots, enough for a redo of the Democratic primary, which took place in September. If Ganim does not win the nomination next month, the town will have another mayoral general election in February, with his opponent as the nominee.

Video surveillance of a Ganim supporter showed them appear to drop stacks of absentee ballots into a drop box. Connecticut has strict laws regarding who can turn in someone else's ballot, but ballot harvesting itself is illegal.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/24/2023 05:24 || Comments || Link || [17 views] Top|| File under:

#1 

We need about 500 more of these RE-DO's at all levels.
Posted by: NN2N1 || 12/24/2023 6:10 Comments || Top||

#2  But...but... "Election fraud is a myth..."

/sarc
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/24/2023 6:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Re: #2 - not when the wrong democrat wins....
Posted by: Mercutio || 12/24/2023 9:13 Comments || Top||

#4  Is there a right demo-rat ?
Posted by: Spats B. Hayes8168 || 12/24/2023 15:16 Comments || Top||


Eric Adams pads cash-strapped NYC payroll with 293 'special assistants'
[NYPOST] Mayor Adams padded the city payroll with 293 “special assistants” during his first full fiscal year in office — a more than 20% increase over his predecessor Bill de Blasio, The Post has learned.

The bloated band of vaguely titled aides, accountable only to Adams, comprised roughly one-third of the Mayor’s Office staff during the yearly period ending June 30 and cost taxpayers $24.3 million, according to payroll records.

Eighty-five pocketed six-figure earnings in fiscal 2023 – including 13 who took in more than $200,000.

They include Edward Mermelstein, a real estate exec with reportedly close ties to sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, former Deputy Comptroller Marjorie Lander, and Sideya Sherman, a one-time exec with the city’s Housing Authority.

Mermelstein, who along with his wife Rose donated $7,100 to Adams’ 2021 campaign and post-election transition, earned $228,659 working under the unofficial title of the city’s “Commissioner of International Affairs.”

The city’s website lists him as a former refugee from Ukraine even though he’s previously described himself for many years as Russian-American.

Posted by: Fred || 12/24/2023 00:00 || Comments || Link || [17 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Special assistants donors.
Posted by: Super Hose || 12/24/2023 7:57 Comments || Top||

#2  It's all about the graft.
Posted by: ed in texas || 12/24/2023 8:51 Comments || Top||

#3  My auto default:

"Two things make the world go around. Money and sex."
~ author unkn.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/24/2023 8:53 Comments || Top||

#4  He has the whitest teeth someone has come across...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/24/2023 9:04 Comments || Top||

#5  The man likes his hookers.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/24/2023 11:29 Comments || Top||


Mayor Adams' legal defense fund has raised about $500,000: insider
[NYPOST] Mayor Adams’ legal defense fund has raised about $500,000, an insider close to the effort said.

Adams has been under a cloud since the FBI raided the home of his top fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, in November.

The federal probe is reportedly focused on whether Adams’ 2021 campaign improperly worked with the Ottoman Turkish government to funnel cash to his mayoral run.

Rumors of an indictment have swirled for weeks, but have so far come to nothing.

Legal defense fund donors, whose names are expected to be disclosed in mid-January, are limited to a maximum contribution of just $5,000.
293 of them, IIUC
Known donors and boosters to the fund so far include former Adams Chief of Staff Frank Carone; former Gov. David Paterson; the longtime head of the New York chapter of the NAACP, Hazel Dukes; the chief of the Brooklyn Democratic Party
...every time you hear the phrase white people, white supremacy, white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat. Ask him/her/it to reimagine something for you; they do that a lot, though not well. They can hear a dog whistle a mile or two away. They invented the spoils system and Tammany Hall, and inspired the addition of the word (Thomas) Nasty to the English language. They want to stop continental drift and repeal the law of unintended side effects...
, Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn; Queens state Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-Queens), and Assemblywoman Jennifer Rajkumar (D-Queens).

Posted by: Fred || 12/24/2023 00:00 || Comments || Link || [11 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How much money is $500k in lira?
Posted by: Super Hose || 12/24/2023 7:55 Comments || Top||

#2  $.034 today = 1,470,588.23 turkic lira
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/24/2023 8:09 Comments || Top||

#3  LOL. I was implying that the Turks were funding his defense.
Posted by: Super Hose || 12/24/2023 9:50 Comments || Top||


Stefanik slams Harvard prof suggesting school doesn't need to cooperate with congressional probes
[NYPOST] House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik on Friday dismissed comments made by a Harvard University professor who suggested that the Ivy League school doesn’t need to cooperate with a congressional investigation, doubling down on politicians’ authority to probe the institution that’s "funded with billions of taxpayer dollars."

The House Education and Workforce Committee has launched a probe into allegations of rampant antisemitism on Harvard’s campus and academic dishonesty on the part of the school’s president, Claudine Gay.

Harvard Law Professor Randall Kennedy told the New York Times

...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...

Friday that his support for Gay is "unmoved" despite dozens of instances of alleged plagiarism by Gay uncovered by The Post —— including portions of her 1997 Ph.D. thesis.

Kennedy, 69, also suggested that Harvard leadership could decline to cooperate with the congressional probe if it finds politicians’ inquiries to be "bad faith efforts to harass, embarrass and intimidate."

Stefanik, 39, told The Post that Kennedy’s argument doesn’t hold water given the "billions of taxpayer dollars" that fund the elite school.

"It is not up to Harvard professors or its board to determine where Congress’ attention should be focused or whether or not to comply with the LAW," the New York Republican said in a statement. "Congress and the Committee on Education and the Workforce have the clear legal authority to make inquiry into the conduct of Harvard in relation to its handling of antisemitism on campus and how the University handles discipline against its students and faculty for plagiarism and other violations of the University’s code.

"Harvard is funded with billions of taxpayer dollars. That funding is a privilege and not a right, and Congress has every prerogative to make inquiry of Harvard and its bigwigs as to whether it is worthy of that support, meeting its responsibilities under federal civil rights laws, and conducting itself in a manner consistent with its accreditation," she continued.

"I strongly support Chairwoman [Virginia] Foxx’s investigation and it is required by law that Harvard University will cooperate fully and I call on them to immediately clarify that they will do so."

Posted by: Fred || 12/24/2023 00:00 || Comments || Link || [18 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Harvard adopting a limited government stance is laughable hippocracy.
Posted by: Super Hose || 12/24/2023 7:51 Comments || Top||

#2  Last year, for example, Harvard University attracted more than $800 million in research funding, with 70 percent coming from the federal government.
Posted by: Jerens Black9355 || 12/24/2023 8:12 Comments || Top||

#3  That bitch's head needs to meet a cement block.
Posted by: Chris || 12/24/2023 8:31 Comments || Top||

#4  Poster child for Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). More please! Shout it from the rooftops.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/24/2023 8:50 Comments || Top||

#5  You put a drop of wine in a barrel of sewage, you get sewage. You put a drop of sewage in a barrel of wine, you get... sewage.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/24/2023 9:06 Comments || Top||

#6  Hillsdale is the new Harvard.
Posted by: Super Hose || 12/24/2023 9:49 Comments || Top||

#7  "We're Harvard. We know everything. You don't."
Posted by: Tom || 12/24/2023 17:12 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Andrew Cuomo 'leaning towards' mayoral run, if Adams craps out
[PAGESIX] Andrew Sonny Cuomo is officially waiting (very quietly) in the wings, Page Six hears.

Insiders tell us that the former governor — who has been quietly polling on his chances of being elected mayor of New York City in the event the troubled Eric Adams
...Hizonner da Mare of Noo Yawk. As a Manchurian candidate, Hizonner was all in favor of law and order and that kind of stuff. Once in office, a few of his friends found cushy jobs with the city, the windows kept getting broken, and Soros-funded DA Alvin Bragg remained right where he was. Most people comfort themselves with the thought that he's not Bill di Blasio but that's pretty small comfort with kids who actually go to school getting bumped off while standing in front of them. But he's a Dem, so the rubes will vote for him next election too, so he's what they deserve...
craps out — is "leaning towards" a run at City Hall.

Adams is not only facing historically low approval ratings, but his office is also under investigation for its ties to the Ottoman Turkish government.

Now we hear Cuomo — who himself resigned in 2021, after a string of sexual harassment allegations against him (which he has consistently denied) — is ready to run should the opportunity present itself.

A Page Six spy spotted Cuomo having dinner with a veteran city pol — a once a mayoral contender — Andrew Stein at Upper East Side haunt Caravaggio.
Posted by: Fred || 12/24/2023 00:00 || Comments || Link || [22 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Cuomo likes the potential of having 275 special assistants.
Posted by: Super Hose || 12/24/2023 7:53 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
32[untagged]
6Hamas
4Hezbollah
4Houthis
2Govt of Iran
2Moslem Colonists
2al-Shabaab (AQ)
1Sublime Porte
1Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
1Boko Haram (ISIS)
1[untagged]
1Commies
1Govt of Iran Proxies
1Govt of Iraq
1Migrants/Illegal Immigrants

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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
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trailing wife
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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2023-12-24
  Safieddine: We're the ones who decide the fate of the South
Sat 2023-12-23
  IDF has reported the first confirmed case of a Hamas suicide bomber in Gaza
Fri 2023-12-22
  Israel orders evacuation of UNRWA facilities
Thu 2023-12-21
  IDF uncovers Hamas 'nerve center' below opulent Gaza neighborhood
Wed 2023-12-20
  60 anti-Israel protesters arrested inside the Capitol Rotunda
Tue 2023-12-19
  Massive explosion at Iran's aviation and space force headquarters in Tehran
Mon 2023-12-18
  Yemen has reportedly struck a US destroyer near the port of Berbera, Somaliland
Sun 2023-12-17
  15 attack drones launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen shot down by US, UK warships: officials
Sat 2023-12-16
  President Abbas terms Gaza 'integral part' of Palestinian state
Fri 2023-12-15
  Suspected Hamas members arrested in Germany, Netherlands and Denmark for planning terrorist attacks
Thu 2023-12-14
  Army says hundreds arrested in ongoing Jenin raid
Wed 2023-12-13
  Several Hamas leaders have left Qatar for an unknown destination, turning off their phones and not accepting calls
Tue 2023-12-12
  Activists calling for Gaza ceasefire protest in US Senate office building
Mon 2023-12-11
  Netenyahu to Hamas: It's over. Don't die for Sinwar. Surrender - now
Sun 2023-12-10
  Hamas leader Sinwar said to have fled north Gaza by hiding in humanitarian convoy


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