This is really disconcerting. The Navy needs a total overhaul.
The U.S. Navy’s newest Littoral Combat Ship, USS Little Rock, will have to spend its winter up north instead of Florida’s warmer waters after the ship became stuck in ice in Montreal.
The USS Little Rock, which was commissioned in Buffalo, New York on December 16, should be well on its new homeport in Mayport, Florida by now, but a delayed departure and colder-than-normal temps across the region means the ship is now stuck in Montreal indefinitely.
In December, the USS Little Rock was transiting the St. Lawrence River on its way to the Atlantic when it suffered relatively minor damage to "feedback cables", sending the vessel back to Montreal for repairs.
But while repairs to the cables were completed on Jan. 4, cold weather and ice had already set in, making it impossible for the ship and crew to depart. "The ship was ready to depart Montreal, but the extreme cold, subsequent condition of the St. Lawrence Seaway and availability of icebreakers and support ships caused the delay," a Navy spokesperson told USNI News.
With no thaw expected for months, the cold weather means the Little Rock could now be stuck in Montreal until March, or whenever the ice melts.
"Because of their extended port visit due to the weather and icy conditions, underway testing and assessments will be adjusted and re-scheduled," the spokeperson told USNI News.
Little Rock is the fifth Freedom-variant LCS to join the U.S. Navy fleet. She was constructed at Marinette Marine Corporation in Marinette, Wisconsin.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/25/2018
14:03 ||
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#1
Just as well - it saves from the embarrassment of the engines shitting the bed or whatever other mishap usually befalls these LCS's.
Another tureen of poutine.
The crew of the lightship grew green,
But they ate every bite,
Then lined up 'neath the light
In their usual nightly routine.
[Breitbart] The Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz informed lawmakers Thursday that he has found the missing five months of text messages between senior FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page that the DOJ said were lost due to a technical glitch.
In a letter to Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Horowitz wrote:
The OIG has been investigating this matter and, this week, succeeded in using forensic tools to recover text messages from FBI devices, including text messages between Mr. Strzok and Ms. Page that were sent or received between December 14, 2016, and May 17, 2017.
That time period covered a number of significant developments in the FBI’s investigation of the Trump Russia allegations and the lead-up to the special counsel, which was convened on May 17, 2017.
#1
From what I have read elsewhere, they found the messages archived on the cell phones in question. The messages were found on FOUR cell phones used by Strzok and Page.
Seems the IG took possession of the phones smelling a rat.
Horowitz appears to be a straight shooter but I could be wrong.
#3
Wonder if there were burners for the more criminal connectivity? They can't have been so stupid to put directly criminal text on a government cellphone, unless the level of FBI arrogance is so ingrained that they never imagined they would be examined?
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/25/2018 20:37
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#3Wonder if there were burners for the more criminal connectivity? They can't have been so stupid to put directly criminal text on a government cellphone, unless the level of FBI arrogance is so ingrained that they never imagined they would be examined?
Posted by: NoMoreBS 2018-01-25 18:37
"...Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity."
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/25/2018 20:59
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[Federalist] Daniel Richman, the law professor who leaked classified FBI records to the media at Comey's request, refused to disclose when exactly he became Comey's attorney.
You may read further if necessary.
A friend of former FBI director James Comey who leaked sensitive FBI memos to The New York Times in the wake of Comey’s firing in 2017 now claims to be Comey’s personal attorney. Daniel Richman, a law professor at Columbia University, told The Federalist via phone on Tuesday afternoon that he was now personally representing Comey.
The revelation comes in the wake of news that Comey was interviewed by the special counsel’s office last year. According to The New York Times, the line of questioning from the office of special counsel Robert Mueller focused on memos that Comey wrote and later leaked after he was fired from his job by President Donald Trump. A review of FBI policies governing the handling of sensitive government documents suggests Comey violated FBI policy by leaking the memos, which were produced on government time, using government equipment, and directly related to his official government responsibilities, according to Comey’s own testimony before Congress.
#2
I keep flashing on the pictures from Nuremberg and the Stalin purge trials with 150 defendants facing the dozen or so judges in a dark courtroom with armed guards.
#6
This shouldn't be allowed since Comey's buddy was complicit in the criminality (leaking of classified info). Comey pulled this $hit with Hillary's servergate. Recall that Hillary made Cherl Mills her attorney and she was allowed to sit in on the questioning of Hillary. Hillary and Mills then invoked attorney-client privilege thus hiding behind that screen. To further protect Clinton and other associates in the cabal were granted immunity by Comey.
#9
What Matt said - I'd want to see the signed engagement letter, a copy of the retainer fee check (both sides) that Comey wrote and a copy of the part of Comey's monthly bank statement showing that it cleared before I'd allow this 'privilege' to stand in court.
[Russian Reality] Moscow. 25 Jan. INTERFAX.RU ‐ Support in Russia of Islamic education through major state institutions will continue, Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with the Muftis of centralized religious organizations of Muslims of Russia and the leaders of the Bulgarian Islamic Academy.
"We certainly will support further (Islamic education if), (...) we will continue to support large state universities," the President said.
He also noted the importance of Muslim spiritual education among youth, in an environment where a lot of problems and ideas, sometimes destructive.
"But with these ideas, even destructive, you can only fight one way ‐ using other ideas. Such who promote and educate people in the theological Academy, which was created here (Bulgarian Islamic Academy ‐ if), in other academies and educational institutions (...) in Moscow, Ufa, and the Caucasus", ‐ said the head of state.
[Mercer] "DACA." That's the magic word, the "Open Sesame" of sorts, that stopped Democrats from saying President Donald Trump was senile.
DACA is the acronym for "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals." The DACA program is Barack Obama's grant of education, food stamps, health care, a shot at a job and a reprieve from deportation for the youthful alien among us. Or, for the older illegal immigrant who still has that certain, impish je ne sais quoi, and can pass for a younger lawbreaker.
Trump said "DACA," and he said it with love.
At a well-staged, "bipartisan immigration bill roundtable"‐CNN's billing‐Trump vowed to pass "a bipartisan bill of love":
"If we do this properly, DACA, you're not so far away from comprehensive immigration reform. And if you want to take it that further step, I'll take the heat, I don't care. I don't care‐I'll take all the heat you want to give me, and I'll take the heat off both the Democrats and the Republicans. My whole life has been heat. (Laughter.) I like heat, in a certain way. But I will. ... We're going to come up with DACA. We're going to do DACA, and then we can start immediately on the phase two, which would be comprehensive.
... I think what we're all saying is we'll do DACA and we can certainly start comprehensive immigration reform the following afternoon. Okay? We'll take an hour off and then we'll start."
Whether the president knew it or not, "comprehensive immigration reform" stands for amnesty.
High on whiffs of a DACA give-away, Democrats and their media dropped the charges of dementia being leveled at the president.
Which is when patriot Ann Coulter charged.
Today was "the worst day of Trump's presidency," she told broadcaster Larry O'Connor. Matter-of-fact, Ms. Coulter stated she was glad she would no longer be alive to witness the nation Mr. O'Connor's children would inherit, if Trump's DACA Bill of Love became a reality.
Ostensibly, President Trump's love-in with Democrats was orchestrated to dispel Michael Wolff's allegations about the president's cognitive competency. The toast of the town, Wolff, author of "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," has advanced the thesis that, to quote Steve Bannon, the president "is losing it," and that he lacks a command of the issues, and worse.
[American Thinker] Let me get this straight. Sen. Diane Feinstein gets to release the testimony of Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson due to a head cold but it takes a vote of the House Intelligence Committee and presidential approval to release the memo detailing the FBI and DOJ collusion to overthrow the President of the United States. I have a suggestion -- vote to release the memo, send a copy to President Trump and have him read it during the State of the Union.
Isn’t this supposed to be the government of the people, by the people, and for the people? So why are the people kept in the dark about the attempted overthrow of their government? Our representatives can see the memo but the people they represent can’t? Will someone please catch a cold and release the memo?
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, who has a mind so closed it would take the jaws of life to open, is a typical patronizing progressive who thinks the peasants are too stupid to read and understand the memo. He’s afraid the bitter clingers and deplorable would grab their pitchforks and torches and storm the castle if they knew how their democracy was being subverted:
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) joined CNN Saturday to discuss the explosive FISA memo. Asked why he is fighting to keep the report under wraps, the California Democrat said he doubts the American people will understand its contents....
Partial transcript provided by Grabien:
CABRERA: "Let me ask you about the Russia investigation. I can’t have you here and not. Especially given how much we talked about it in the first year of the presidency. And now if you turn on any conservative media, they keep talking about this Nunez memo, the chairman of the house intelligence committee, that he’s put out there and many Republicans have taken a look at it and they want it made public. Can you tell us what exactly is it?"
SCHIFF: "It is essentially a set of talking points that the Republican Intel staff drafted. Based on the highly classified materials which most of the Republican members were forced to acknowledge. They’ve not even read. So they don’t know how distorted these talking points are. But as part of the narrative they want to push out. Interestingly enough, they’ve made common cause once again with Russian bots because Russian bots are pushing their narrative out there. It’s in a redux of the campaign. We have Assange and Wikileaks and Russian trolls and bots saying, you know, hash tag whatever the GOP narrative is. That ought to tell you a lot about what’s driving this. And that is‐"
CABRERA: "Why not allow people to look at it and let Americans make the decision for themselves about whether it’s useful information or not?"
SCHIFF: "Well, because the American people unfortunately don’t have the underlying materials and therefore they can’t see how distorted and misleading this document is. The Republicans are not saying make the underlying materials available to the public. They just want to make this spin available to the public. I think that spin, which is a attack on the FBI, is just designed to attack the FBI and Bob Mueller to circle the wagons for the White House. And that’s a terrible disservice to the people, hard working people at the Bureau, but more than that, it’s a disservice to the country."
In other words, Schiff believes Americans are too stupid to understand the memo.
Sorry, Rep. Schiff, but according to an internal Twitter analysis, it is an outraged electorate, not Russian bots, that are protesting under the hash tag "#releasethememo":
#2
It really is an intriguing paradox. Trump attempts to see that we receive something every chance he gets. The democrats attempt to keep something from us every chance they get.
#4
Obviously, the Democrats are scrambling to hide their stupidity in allowing Zero to run for POTUS. The media now understands that he was unqualified but fully capable of immense damage to the Republic. The memo provides the bare outline of what he was turning the Executive branch into.
The contents of the memo question why he was allowed to run for POTUS, why wasn't he vetted better, why did the media run cover for him, and why did the hierarchy of the democratic party tolerate and enable his activities.
Seems that anyone with two brain cells to rub together can see what Zero was up to and taken into combination with UraniumOne, the Bundy standoff, and the non-investigation of the murder of Seth Rich.
#6
#releasethememo. Assistant AG Stephen Boyd (a Session's appointee and Pub) claims the release of the memo without review by the FBI & other 3-letter agencies would be "extremely reckless" (The Hill). Personally, I think we are far beyond such niceties and considerations since we are talking about treasonous behavior. The extremely reckless behavior has already been done within the FBI.
#9
How many days until Rep. Schiff gets voted back in or out? This tally should be the 2nd line on every headline featuring a D-Incumbent, from now on until the election.
[The Mail] The brawl began by the Turkish Airlines desk at the airport's Terminal B, Neue Presse reported.
Turkey's army launched a major air and ground operation, accompanied by allied Syrian rebels, in northern Syria at the weekend in a bid to oust the US-allied Kurdish YPG militia.
It considers the YPG to be a 'terrorist' group, as well as the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a bloody three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state.
[Jpost] US President Donald J. Trump urged Turkey to "deescalate" and "limit its military actions" in northwest Syria. On Sunday, Turkey launched operations against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units in the mountainous area of Afrin in Syria. The US has worked closely with the Kurds in eastern Syria and is a close NATO ally of Ankara's.
On Wednesday Trump spoke with Erdogan and relayed concerns that escalating violence in Afrin could "risk undercutting our shared goals in Syria," according to a White House statement. The US urged Turkey to avoid civilian casualties and increases to displaced people and refugees.
However, Anadolu news agency in Turkey claims that officials speaking on condition of anonymity say the White House statement is incorrect. "President Donald Trump did not discuss any concerns of 'escalating violence in Afrin,' during the phone call," the agency reported.
"Trump urged Turkey to exercise caution and to avoid any actions that might risk conflict between Turkish and American forces. He reiterated that both nations must focus all parties on the shared goal of achieving the lasting defeat of ISIS." Give. Kurds. Heavy. Weapons.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru ||
01/25/2018
03:36 ||
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#1
Ever heard the expression "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."?
Yes, Grom.
"Kill a man, give his fish to the children."
#6
Can't call him crazy - everything he's tried so far has worked. But might be a "come to Jesus moment" (so to speak) on the way one of these days, tho.
Posted by: Captain Dark Lord of the Welsh7352 ||
01/25/2018 16:55
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[Breitbart] Grammy-winning soul singer Erykah Badu pushed back against allegations of anti-Semitism in a lengthy, wide-ranging interview with Vulture released Wednesday, even as she also said she saw "something good" in former Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
The 46-year-old oft-described "queen of neo soul" was asked by Vulture writer David Marchese about her trip to Israel in 2008, in which she expressed support for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who himself has been accused of anti-Semitism.
Badu told Marchese that Farrakhan has "flaws," like any man, but that she will "follow anyone who has positive aspects."
#1
She does realize that he viewed people like her as monkeys to be exterminated - he just started with Jews because Jews are dangerous and monkeys are not?
[Hot Air] It seems there is an entire class of potential government dependents which we have somehow overlooked. Tuesday the Washington Post published a story titled, "The surprising argument for extending food stamps to pets." A man named Edward B. Johnston has launched a petition to get the government to change the rules controlling food stamps so that the money can be used to purchase pet food as well:
The petition has little chance of succeeding, experts say, given the political and logistical challenges of changing food stamps, otherwise known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But it has attracted the attention of nearly 80,000 signers on the popular petition site Care2, as well as a number of animal welfare organizations.
These groups say that allowing food stamps to be used for pet food could potentially keep tens of thousands of animals out of shelters and prevent low-income people from cutting their pets’ meals.
"It’s potentially game-changing," said Matt Bershadker, the president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "I think we should get behind this in a big way."
Advocates say a food-stamp program that includes pet food would address a little-discussed gap in the social safety net: Currently, there is no federal program that helps low-income people care for their pets.
The article goes on to say that 14% of pet-owning households are at the poverty line which makes it difficult for them to cover things like food and also veterinary bills. I’m actually surprised no one is demanding pets be allowed to purchase subsidized Obamacare plans. It really makes just as much sense. I mean, Sweet Christmas! How have we allowed this massive gap in the social safety net to go on for this long? It’s almost as if we designed the entire system just for people.
#7
While they are at it, why not demand that Obamacare be extended to pets as well?
Posted by: C. Elmomoger7737 ||
01/25/2018 8:30
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#8
It's a trick. Soon as it was authorized, Trump would be accused of "making Granny eat cat food to get by"
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2018 8:50
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#9
"So what you're saying is lobsters should be eligible for food stamps."
Dang, that joke falls down because that *is* what they are saying. Muggeridge’s Law strikes again.
We live in an age in which it is no longer possible to be funny. There is nothing you can imagine, no matter how ludicrous, that will not promptly be enacted before your very eyes, probably by someone well known.
[Federalist] We know it’s a lie that abortion doesn’t harm women. We know this anecdotally, from talking with mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends who have had abortions, and shared their stories of pain, doubt, shame, guilt, and suffering. We also know it from research that demonstrates quantitatively that significant numbers of women are left clinically depressed as direct result of having had an abortion.
As often as we hear these stories, it’s still exceedingly difficult for women hurt by abortion, and their supporters, to get the message out. As Katie Yoder from Catholic Vote explains: "don’t expect the mainstream media to give them a voice. That’s not to say the media shy away from abortion stories. They don’t. But there’s a catch: The stories they share are positive ones. In presenting abortion in a positive light, the media not only dismiss countless abortion testimonies, but also overlook research."
The Divide Between Rhetoric and Women’s Experiences
Even though more Americans identify as pro-life than pro-choice, and have for a long time, we are still a nation deeply conflicted over the issue. One of the reasons for the conflict is in no small part due to the huge significance placed on having an abortion as the true mark of a woman taking ownership of her body. As if a woman isn’t truly in control of who she is until she’s exercised her right to abort her unborn child.
Abortion advocates see abortion as the final frontier for womanhood, the event horizon, the point after which a woman will pass, and never feel the same again. This is why abortion rhetoric must be powerful, because if abortion supporters can continue to distract the post-abortive woman with the idea that she has nothing for which to apologize; abortion is about her reproductive rights; and that it wasn’t her baby, it was a clump of cells, it will be easier for her the next time she choices to abort.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/25/2018 10:38
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#2
"women are left clinically depressed as direct result of having had an abortion."
I spoke to a young lady who had just had an abortion at the demand of her boyfriend. She had one question for me as she broke down in tears, "Why do I feel so terrible?" She then withdrew from reality for a while.
In the mean time, her boyfriend died soon afterwards when a car he was under fell off the jack. Judgment.
[Federalist] Cecile Richards is reportedly stepping down from her role as president of Planned Parenthood, according to BuzzFeed, amid an ongoing federal investigation into the nation’s largest abortion provider.
Under Richard’s leadership, the abortion provider drastically increased the number of annual abortions it performs, by 11 percent. During her tenure as president, which began in 2006, Planned Parenthood has aborted an estimated 3 million children, according to a Washington Free Beacon analysis.
In 2015, numerous Planned Parenthood employees and high-ranking officials told undercover journalists the organization was harvesting body parts of unborn children, including intact heads. It exchanged these human body parts for money from companies and universities. These undercover videos, which spurred five congressional investigations, prompted Planned Parenthood to claim it stopped taking money for organ harvesting, despite the organization’s repeated claims that its behavior was completely legal.
While these congressional investigations have stalled, the Justice Department confirmed in December 2017 that there is an ongoing federal probe into Planned Parenthood’s business practices.
VATICAN CITY, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned the "evil" of fake news, saying journalists and social media users should shun and unmask manipulative "snake tactics" that foment division to serve political and economic interests.
"Fake news is a sign of intolerant and hypersensitive attitudes, and leads only to the spread of arrogance and hatred. That is the end result of untruth," Francis said in the first document by a pope on the subject.
It was issued after months of debate on how much fake news may have influenced the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and the election of President Donald Trump.
The document, called "The truth will set you free - Fake news and journalism for peace", was issued in advance of the Catholic Church's World Day of Social Communications on May 13.
"Spreading fake news can serve to advance specific goals, influence political decisions, and serve economic interests," the pope writes, condemning the "manipulative use of social networks" and other forms of communication.
"This false but believable news is 'captious', inasmuch as it grasps people's attention by appealing to stereotypes and common social prejudices, and exploiting instantaneous emotions like anxiety, contempt, anger and frustration," he said.
[Townhall] Every year, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) hosts SHOT Show, the annual tradeshow for firearms industry insiders. The goal of the meeting is to allow firearms manufacturers, dealers and industry-related media to gather and see what guns, accessories and the latest gadgets will be released in the next year.
"NSSF has run the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Show for 40 years, 20 of which have been in Las Vegas. There is an extensive area devoted to the law enforcement community and to programs and services related to public safety and to that of our customers. You have to be a member of the industry to attend. It is not open to the public," Michael Bazinet, NSSF's Director of Public Affairs, told Townhall. "We have significant security and safety protocols in place, as we do every year."
To make sure attendees are safe, all firing pins are removed from guns on the show floor, trigger guards are instituted and live ammunition is banned.
The Associated Press decided to write up a general article about what takes place at SHOT Show. The author's headline, however, is very misleading.
"Gun industry converges near Las Vegas mass shooting site"
[The Hill] Four Americans were among those killed in a weekend attack at a hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, the State Department said Wednesday.
Two other Americans were injured in the attack on Saturday at the Intercontinental Hotel.
"We offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who were killed and wish for the speedy recovery of those wounded," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.
The attack began when six Taliban militants stormed the hotel in suicide vests, allegedly targeting foreign guests.
In total, 22 people were killed in the 13-hour siege. Of those, 14 were foreigners.
More than 150 people escaped the hotel.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
01/25/2018
01:36 ||
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#1
Vince Ricardo (Peter Falk), the In-Laws 1979: "Are you interested in joining? The benefits are terrific. The trick is not to get killed. That's really the key to the benefit program."
It’s time to abolish the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The G-men have degenerated into nothing more than a racketeering enterprise, a banana republic-style criminal conspiracy of vast proportions.
Now we know that the FBI was plotting a coup against President-elect Trump.
The crooked cops even had a name for their Democrat cabal ‐ the Secret Society. It’s all laid out in black and white, in the post-election texts the FBI neglected to delete as part of their ongoing obstruction of justice.
How many scandals does the FBI get a pass on?
As a society, we’ve eradicated earlier threats to the public order ‐ the American Communist Party and La Cosa Nostra, among others. Is the current police-state incarnation of the FBI any less sinister than either of those two mobs?
The solution is very simple ‐ we have the DEA take over all federal police functions, just like they did with the Whitey Bulger investigation here in Boston because the FBI was too corrupt to be trusted. Maybe the U.S. Marshals could help out, too. They’re a lot better at finding fugitives than Famous But Incompetent.
The biggest hero of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta won no medals, broke no records and signed no endorsement deals. It was neither a lithe sprinter nor a limber gymnast. He was a 33-year-old security guard on temporary hire who lived with his mother (in Woodbury Ga.)
The name of Richard Allensworth Jewell (now the late Richard Allensworth Jewell) will forever endure in Olympic lore for the early morning of 27 July 1996, when he spotted an unattended green backpack beneath a light and sound tower at Centennial Olympic Park, the designated town square of the Atlanta Games. He immediately alerted Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) officers and began clearing the area. The pipe bomb within the knapsack exploded minutes later, causing the death of two people and injuring 111 others, but Jewell’s vigilance had spared countless lives and his hometown the gruesome legacy of what could have been the worst tragedy in Olympic history.
[AnNahar] An gang loyal to Libya's national unity government said Wednesday it had locked away Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! a gang accused of kidnapping and torturing Sudanese migrants colonists near the northern city of Sirte.
The gang, made up of "five Libyans and one Paleostinian... had tortured eight migrants colonists," said the Sirte Security and Protection Force, one of several that took part in the unity government's battle to oust the 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 from Sirte last year.
The migrants colonists are being treated at the Ibn Sina Hospital in Sirte, 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , it said.
The arrests took place in Qaddahiya, a village south of Sirte, "after the publication of a video on social media showing scenes of African migrants colonists undergoing unbearable torture", it said.
The video shows the migrants colonists being severely burned by their captors, who demand ransoms from their families.
The eight kidnapped migrants colonists were released, the pro-government force said.
Libya has long been a transit hub for migrants colonists seeking a better life in Europe, but people smugglers have stepped up their lucrative business in the chaos since the 2011 revolution.
Libyan authorities have come under fire over migrant abuses since the airing late last year by CNN of footage showing a slave market in the North African country.
Last year alone, 3,116 people died attempting the crossing, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), including 2,833 from Libya.
But there has been a sharp drop in crossing attempts since the summer of 2017 following efforts by Italia to discourage migrants colonists from trying to make the journey.
Not merely a landlord, but apparently a horrid slumlord whose properties ought to have been condemned.
[AnNahar] The first trial stemming from the November 2015 Gay Paree terror attacks opens Wednesday when Jawad Bendaoud appears in court, charged with harboring two of the jihadists in the aftermath of the carnage.
Bendaoud, 31, became a national laughing stock after a television interview in which he came across as clueless, insisting "I didn't know they were terrorists."
It provided a rare reason to laugh after the deadliest attacks in La Belle France since World War II, spawning endless parodies on the internet mocking his apparent naivety.
Bendaoud stands accused of lending his apartment to Abdelhamid Abaaoud -- a senior 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.... jihadist suspected of coordinating the attacks that killed 130 people -- and his accomplice Chakib Akrouh.
The court will seek to determine whether Bendaoud actively conspired in helping the pair to hide out or whether he got caught up in events unknowingly.
Anti-terror police potted Abaaoud, Akrouh, and Abaaoud's cousin Hasna Aitboulahcen in a ferocious assault on the apartment on November 18, five days after the attacks.
Bendaoud gave his now infamous interview to BFM television just as armed officers were surrounding the apartment in the gritty Saint-Denis suburb north of Gay Paree.
"Someone asked me for a favour, I helped them out," he said, adding that all he knew was that they were from Belgium and wanted access to water and a place to pray.
"I was asked to give accommodation to two people for three days and I did the favor," said the bespectacled Bendaoud, wearing a leather jacket with his hair gelled back.
"If I'd known, do you really think I would have hosted them?"
The clip became a viral sensation, with internet users mocking his apparent lack of curiosity about his guests, at a time when a huge manhunt had been launched for jihadists.
The press nicknamed Bendaoud the "ISIS landlord" after another name for IS, and his own lawyer Xavier Nogueras described him as "the one we laughed about, having cried so much."
- How much did he know? -
The case will turn on what Bendaoud, a Saint-Denis native with a long criminal record, knew about the men.
He was previously sentenced to eight years in jail for killing a man in a fight over a mobile phone, and was released in 2013.
Bendaoud will go on trial alongside his friend Mohammed Soumah as well as Youssef Aitboulahcen, the brother of the woman killed in the raid on the apartment.
Ten heavily armed jihadists attacked the national stadium, bars and restaurants in Gay Paree as well as the Bataclan concert venue on the night of November 13 in attacks claimed by IS.
Before they were killed in the raid on the apartment, Abaaoud and Akrouh were suspected of preparing a suicide kaboom on the French capital's La Defense business district.
Only one of the Gay Pareebutton men survived. Salah Abdeslam was tossed in the clink Please don't kill me! in Belgium four months after the attacks and transferred to La Belle France, where he has refused to cooperate with Sherlocks.
He is to go on trial in Belgium on February 5 over a shootout with police that left several officers maimed but led to his capture.
Around 15 people are in jug or being sought by police as part of the sprawling French probe into the Gay Paree attacks which has taken Sherlocks to Belgium, Morocco and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/25/2018
00:17 ||
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#1
One man's terrorist is another mans leather-jacket gel-slick slum-landlord petty thug
Under the circumstances, the Kurds are being quite restrained,
[AlAhram] Two rockets fired from the Syrian region of Afrin struck the Ottoman Turkish border town of Kilis on Wednesday, wounding 13 people, the local governor said.
The rockets hit two locations in the city centre, including a mosque during prayer times, Governor Mehmet Tekinarslan said. Eight people were maimed, with two at death's door, at the mosque, and another five injured at the second location.
Ottoman Turkish media footage showed security forces clearing the areas of civilians following the attacks, as ambulances and emergency teams arrived at the site.
As The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's operation against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in Afrin entered its fifth day, several rockets have hit the Ottoman Turkish border towns of Kilis and Reyhanli.
On Saturday, as Turkey started its operation, rockets fired across the border hit Reyhanli, killing a Syrian national and wounding 46 people, the local governor's office said. Another five were maimed when rockets hit Kilis, a Rooters witness said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/25/2018
00:14 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Is Syria becoming a death trap for Recep Tayip Edrogan? Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis in 2011, the ’Ottoman Turkish sultan’ has committed all possible mistakes with his neighbor, showing a surprising lack of political acumen. He first thought that his old ’friend’, Bashir al-Assad and his regime would collapse like a pack of cards in a few months. The Ottoman Turkish president started imagining that the Syrian Moslem Brüderbund would soon assume power in Damascus, like their Egyptian cousins. However, there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly... Erdogan soon became disillusioned.
[NATION.PK] Pakistain's ’faith mafia’ is back in action once again. This time it is Pir Hameeduddin Sialvi who has announced a sit-in in front of the provincial assembly of Punjab. The call for Law Minister Rana Sanaullah’s resignation has gone and now Sialvi and his accomplices are demanding the government imposes Shariah law in the country.
According to the ’faith mafia’ in a country where 97 percent of the population is Moslem, the religion is not safe. Even the educated masses believe this and buy this illogical propaganda. The resilience of Sharifand his successful campaign against the invisible forces has one again brought this cruel religious card into play by these forces. Just two months ago, we saw the result of this ugly card when the state was made to surrender and fulfil all the holy mans’ demands. Now another Pir and his accomplice are threatening to siege the historic provincial capital of Punjab.
It seems that both the invisible forces and the majority in society do not want to get rid of the extremism and self fabricated interpretations of belief. The invisible forces, who were behind the previous sit-in of Khadim Hussain Rizvi, have not learnt the lesson yet. From the Zia ul Haq
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Ynet] The United States placed a Belgian citizen and a Briton suspected of being an 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.... executioner on its global terrorism list on Tuesday, a designation that allows the government to impose sanctions and freeze assets and property.
The State Department said Siddhartha Dhar left the United Kingdom to join Islamic State in Syria, where he replaced executioner Mohammad Emwazi, also known as "Jihadi John." The second man, Abdelatif Gaini, is a Belgian-Moroccan citizen believed to be fighting in the Middle East, the department said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/25/2018
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#1
I'm still waiting for them to have name like John or Hercule
Always seems to be a passport holder rather than a proper national.
[Ynet] The United States tightened its economic crackdown on North Korea over its nuclear arms program on Wednesday, imposing sanctions on nine entities, 16 people and six ships it accused of helping Pyongyang develop weapons of mass destruction.
The US Treasury said it imposed sanctions on two China-based trading firms involved in exporting millions of dollars worth of metals and other goods used in North Korea’s weapons industry.
The US Treasury also imposed sanctions on officials belonging to the Workers Party of Korea who are operating in China, Russia and Georgia’s Abkhazia region and urged those countries to expel the individuals.
"Treasury continues to systematically target individuals and entities financing the Kim regime and its weapons programs, including officials complicit in North Korean sanctions evasion schemes," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
Mnuchin said the United States was targeting individuals in China, Russia and elsewhere and "calling for their expulsion from the territories where they reside."
"We are sanctioning additional oil, shipping, and trading companies that continue to provide a lifeline to North Korea to fuel this regime’s nuclear ambitions and destabilizing activities," Mnuchin added.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added 16 people to its list of specially designated nationals. It also listed nine entities, including the North Korean Ministry of Crude Oil Industry, and six North Korean-flagged ships.
The action enables the United States to block any assets held by the individuals or firms in the United States and prohibits US citizens from dealing with any of the listed companies or individuals, the Treasury said
The American granddaughter of Nikita Khrushchev spouts the party line.
[MarketWatch] "If the mountain will not come to Muhammad," so the saying goes, "then Muhammad must go to the mountain." With his decision to attend this year’s World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, President Donald Trump seems to be taking that message to heart (though he would undoubtedly recoil from any link between the Prophet Muhammad and himself).
For the global business, financial, and political leaders who gather in Davos every January, the news that Trump would be joining them this year must have come as a shock, to say the least. Much of the global elite, exemplified by the Davos crowd, feel deep contempt for Trump, and their disdain has likely been deepened by Trump’s recent racist rants about "shithole countries."
Yet the conference will undoubtedly have its share of obsequious displays designed to appeal to Trump’s vanity, with participants by turns fawning over him and propping him up as he clumsily attempts to defend the indefensible, starting with his "America First" approach. After all, this is the same crowd that kowtowed to Chinese President Xi Jinping last year, when he fraudulently positioned himself as the world’s new champion of globalization and the rules-based international order.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ||
01/25/2018
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#1
He's going there to kick people in the teeth, nothing more.
#2
This conference has been a disaster for Our Civilization.
All the mental midgets and their communist planners. Creating a permanent class structure, dividing US, unlimited immigration, climate change bullshit, soros, ... what else do I have to say about this destructive cabal.
#3
She's anything else to distinguish her for any other loud mouth Academic besides being old Nikita's (the man who tried Perestroika too early) granddaughter?
[DailyCaller] President Trump said Wednesday that he’s "looking forward" to meeting with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Trump also told reporters at the White House that he is willing to speak to Mueller under oath during an interview that he expects to take place within two or three weeks.
"I’m looking forward to it, actually," Trump told reporters when asked whether he will meet with Mueller, a former FBI director tapped in May to investigate possible collusion involving the Trump campaign as well as obstruction of justice.
"There’s been no collusion whatsoever. There’s been no obstruction whatsoever, and I’m looking forward to it," Trump said during the impromptu press gaggle.
"I would love to do it," he continued moments later, adding: "I should say, subject to my lawyers."
Earlier this month, Trump expressed skepticism that he would even need to meet with Mueller.
"When they have no collusion ‐ and nobody’s found any collusion at any level ‐ it seems unlikely that you’d even have an interview," Trump said earlier this month.
Trump also said that he would speak under oath to Mueller, though he did so while taking a jab at Hillary Clinton.
"Did Hillary do it under oath?" he asked one reporter before asserting that Clinton did not testify under oath as part of the FBI’s email investigation.
"I would do it," he said of testifying under oath. Might I hazard that Mr. Trump, owing to his own intelligence-gathering capabilities, will be giving Mr. Mueller an offer he, Mueller, can't refuse?
#3
Trump also told reporters at the White House that he is willing to speak to Mueller under oath during an interview that he expects to take place within two or three weeks.
It depends upon who's being 'interviewed'. I believe as the Chief Executive, Trump can call Mueller before him, put him under oath, and question him about what he knows about the people and activities within the FBI and DoJ starting in the fall of 2016 and any 'secret societies'.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2018 8:47
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#5
Tape Everything - audio and video - from several angles. have a family member tape it and control the tapes afterwards.
Otherwise 'someone' will leak highly edited portions to the media.
#7
Trump usually doesn't do much talking in situations like this. The people around him will be doing a lot of talking to Mueller. And the discourse will be interesting. "We have a few questions for YOU!"
Posted by: Bill Cleretle2363 ||
01/25/2018 9:53
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#8
If you've ever watched Better Off Ted, when the lawyers interview Veronica should give you an idea of what Trump should do.
"Were you involved in the development of this product?"
"Yes."
"And how would you summarize the companies reaction when they found out that women who used this product were savagely attacked by insects?"
#9
IMHO, I think it would be a big mistake on the part of Trump and his attorney's to give Mueller a free shot at Trump unless they are certain of the outcome a prioi.
#11
All questions must be submitted in advance to the President's legal advisers. No exceptions and no, repeat NO additional questions will be answered. And Have A Nice Day, Mr. Mueller Torquemada.
#12
Mueller would be foolish or ill-advised to go to the White House and interview Trump.
Trump is very smart and knows all the rules in "Art of War" and even "The Book of Five Rings"
The liberals believe all of their own propaganda that any Republican POTUS is a simple minded dolt. AND that is going to be their downfall in this.
I don't understand why DoJ didn't drop the whole thing when it came out that Shillary had paid for the danged thing. Oh Wait, DoJ is full of burrowed down true believers.
[FOX] NBC News is reeling after "Nightly News" anchor Lester Holt appears to have been badly fooled by North Korean propagandists -- giving a cheery report from a ski resort in the Hermit Kingdom that looked to be bustling when it was widely known to actually be a ghost town. That's Lester trying his hand at the pole.
Holt -- who returned early from North Korea after scathing reviews -- reported for "Nightly News" from the Masikryong ski resort on Monday, a facility that is the brainchild of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and is typically empty. The resort, built to create the appearance of a prosperous nation, was largely deserted during peak 2017 ski season, according to multiple reports.
But for Holt’s appearance, the North Korean government appears to have brought in skiers ‐ wearing identical outfits ‐ and staged the scene, something Holt did not appear to realize.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least six Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... turbans were killed and two others were tossed in the calaboose ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... alive during the ongoing operations in southern Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province of Afghanistan.
The provincial government media office in a statement said Tuesday that the Death Eaters were killed in the vicinity of Nahr-e-Saraj and Nad-e-Ali districts.
The statement further added that the Afghan ground and air forces carried out a series of operations against the hideouts of the Taliban in Spin Masjid area, leaving three Death Eaters dead and another Lion of Islammaimed.
The Afghan forces also conducted operations in Nad-e-Ali district where three Talibs were killed, the governor’s office said.
In another operation conducted in Marja district, the Afghan cops arrested two Taliban turbans and their weapons were confiscated, the statement said.
According to the provincial government, the Afghan forces discovered and confiscated twenty improvised bombs during the same operations.
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[AmericanMilitaryNews] - The US recently sent nuclear bombers to North Korea that can carry tactical nukes that would be perfect for taking out Kim Jong Un.
- Some have suggested that a quick tactical nuclear strike on North Korea could cripple the country’s nuclear infrastructure with few casualties.
- Recent reports have suggested President Donald Trump considering a strike on North Korea, but some experts and politicians think the idea of a tactical nuclear strike is a recipe for disaster. More at link.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A top US commander in Afghanistan has said the Talibs have still not felt the full brunt of the air power of the Afghan and US forces.
U.S. Air Force Major General James Hecker, commander of 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force-Afghanistan and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... Air Command-Afghanistan has said "The Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... still has not felt the full brunt of American and Afghan air power."
"With the arrival of new air assets and the growing capabilities of Afghan pilots, the Talban will have a constant eye towards the sky as an integrated unified fight is aimed directly to them," Gen. Hecker quoted in a report by the Resolute Support said.
The report further adds that in a matter of days A-10s will conduct their first strike against the Taliban, continuing the air campaign destroying narcotics production facility. Since November, 30 strikes conducted against Taliban narcotics production facilities resulted more than $20 million in total impact on Taliban revenue.
Under the authorities granted in the South Asia Policy, precision strikes with A-10s will hit the Taliban where they are most vulnerable: their revenue streams and profits from developing and selling illegal narcotics, the report states.
According to the report, the Taliban will face a more aggressive adversary in this air campaign as U.S. Air Force F-22s, F-16s, B-52s, A-10s and MQ-9s, along with support from Navy F-18s, will join in counter-finance operations.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... group in Afghanistan has formally confirmed a meeting between the group’s Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... office delegation and Pak officials in Islamabad.
The group in a statement has a delegation comprising of five Taliban leaders visited Islamabad to hold talks with the Pak officials to explore ways for reviving peace talks.
The statement further adds that the group favors political settlement to end the ongoing violence in the country but no further details have been given.
This comes as Pak officials said last week that the Taliban group is not prepared to hold talks with the government as reports indicate that the Taliban supreme leader Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada has sent a delegation to Islamabad to explore ways for reviving peace talks.
Pak officials privy of the development have confirmed to Dawn News that a delegation of the Taliban including Shabaabuddin Dilawar and Malawi Rasool, came from Qatar to explore prospects of resuming talks.
However, today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday... they have said the Taliban remained unmoved. "They are sticking to their past stance. They want to negotiate with the US through the Qatar Office, but refused to negotiate with the Afghan government."
The officials have also added that Islamabad has proposed to the Taliban delegation to hold direct talks with the Afghan government which has been turned down by the group.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2018
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The US forces have killed a top commander of the Haqqani terrorist network in North Wazoo area of Pakistain days after the group carried out a deadly attack on Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul city.
According to the local officials, the US umanned aerial vehicles carried out Arclight airstrikes on a compound of the Haqqani terrorist network in North Waziristan, leaving at least three dead.
The airstrike was reportedly carried out in the vicinity of Speen Thal Dapa Mamozai in Orakzai Agency ... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers... Station House Officer Thal, Ameer Zaman has confirmed to the local Dawn News that the death of a man named Nasir Mehmood alias Khawari.
This comes as the Afghan officials blamed the group for a deadly attack on Intercontinental Hotel on Saturday that left several people dead or maimed.
This comes as the Afghan and US officials have long been insisting that the terror network has safe havens in Pakistain from where they plan and coordinate deadly attacks in Afghanistan.
However, corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds... the Pak officials have consistently rejected the claims, insisting that no terror group has any safe haven in the Pak territory.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2018
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#1
in Pakland? They say "no way", so I'm sure this is a lone wolf/rogue op.
riiiggghht
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2018 16:21
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#2
the Pak officials have consistently rejected the claims, insisting that no terror group has any safe haven in the Pak territory.
Must be hard to say that with a straight face.
Posted by: C. Elmomoger7737 ||
01/25/2018 16:46
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[Al Jazeera] At least 33 people have been killed in a double boom-mobileing in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi, according to officials.
Tuesday's first bomb went off outside Salmani neighbourhood's Bait Radwan mosque, frequented by the fighters of Brigade 210 from eastern Libyan security forces, the Libya Observer reported.
The second kaboom occurred minutes later close to the first blast site after security and health officials arrived.
Ahmed al-Fituri, chief of a special investigation unit attached to the general command of east Libyan security forces, was killed in the first kaboom, Libya Observer cited military sources as saying.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible.
The twin kabooms shattered the relative calm that had recently returned to the country's second city, scene of more than three years of warfare from 2014 until late last year.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2018
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[Al Jazeera] Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni ...President-for-Life of Uganda. He assumed office in 1985. His primary virtue is being prefereable to both his predecessors, Idi Amin and Milton Obote... has said he loves US 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... for being "frank" with Africans, after Trump allegedly called African countries "shitholes".
Trump made the comment at an immigration meeting earlier this month, according to senators present at the White House meeting. The US president denied making the comment, saying he used "tough language".
"America has got one of the best presidents ever," Museveni said on Tuesday while addressing members of the regional East African Legislative Assembly in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.
"I love Trump because he tells Africans frankly. Africans need to solve their problems. They need to be strong. In the world, you cannot survive if you are weak and it is the fault of Africans if they are weak," Museveni said.
Museveni's comments came hours after the US ambassador to the East African country described Trump's controversial remark as "obviously quite disturbing and upsetting".
During his State of the Nation address on January 1, Museveni, who came to power in Uganda more than three decades ago, called Trump an honest man.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Al Jazeera] Zim-bob-we's President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced on Wednesday "transparent" elections will take place in the country before July.
The new leader, in attendance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, told world leaders and investors Zim-bob-we is "open for business".
"Next month I will be able to make a proclamation of elections, so I believe that elections will not be in July, they will be earlier than July," he said.
Mnangagwa, 75, became Zim-bob-we's president in November after the military ousted Bob Muggsy Mugabe Nonagenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case. Dumped in November 2017 when the Missus decided she wanted to be president, and opposed heer might against Crocodile Mnangawa Important safety tip: If your opponent goes by the name Crocodile andf your title is Shopper in Chief let him win.... , 93, who ruled for 37 years.
The vote will be Mnangagwa's first test of legitimacy since assuming the role. He promised to respect the results of the election.
"We want to have free, fair, credible elections, free of violence," he said, adding international election observers would be welcome.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] US forces operating in Somalia took part in a mission in which their Somali counterparts killed fighters who appeared to be under 18, the US military's Africa Command said Wednesday.
On January 18, US forces went in an advisory capacity with Somali partners on a mission in the Lower Shabelle region to an indoctrination center for the al-Qaeda-affiliated Shabaab group.
"During the mission, the Somali National Security Forces received hostile fire," AFRICOM said in a statement.
"The Somali forces returned fire in self-defense."
In the ensuing firefight, five "enemy combatants" were killed and six were maimed.
Some of those killed appear to have been under the age of 18, AFRICOM said, without providing additional details.
At the end of the operation, Somali forces recovered 30 "male children" from the indoctrination center.
"We support the Federal Government of Somalia and UNICEF efforts to reunite these children with their families," the statement read.
Officials said US soldiers did not fire their weapons in the engagement.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[NATION.PK] Clashes in the Yemeni rebel heartland of Saada province have killed 40 rebel fighters, Saudi media said Wednesday, while the rebels reported nine civilians among 22 dead in Saudi-led air strikes.
The rebels were killed in festivities over the past 24 hours with a pro-government alliance backed by Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , which controls several pockets of the province along the Saudi border, the kingdom’s state-run al-Ekhbariya television reported.
An official of the province’s rebel-run health department said four children were among the nine civilians killed in air strikes over the past 24 hours. The rebels’ al-Masirah television said a single strike on the province on Tuesday night killed nine people, four of them civilians.
A spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition supporting the government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The uptick in fighting came as Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir held talks on the conflicts in 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 Syria with his British, US and United Arab Emirates counterparts in Gay Paree on Tuesday.
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[StarTribune] Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman is convening a grand jury to gather evidence in the 2017 shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, but said he still will decide whether Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor
...first Somali-American on the Minneapolis police force, he was put through the fast track training for college grads. The day of the shooting, with almost two years experience he was the senior man in the car...
will face charges in her death.
About 35 to 40 Minneapolis police officers have been subpoenaed to testify, according to Bob Kroll, president of the Minneapolis Police Federation, the union that represents the department's rank-and-file officers. Among them was Matthew Harrity,
...the junior officer in the car...
Noor's partner the night Damond was killed, and the only living witness aside from Noor. His attorney, Fred Bruno, said Harrity was served Wednesday.
Freeman's decision to use a grand jury is the latest turn in a case that has gained international attention since July 15, when Noor shot and killed Damond, 40, an Australia native, after she reported a possible assault behind her south Minneapolis home.
Harrity told investigators that on the night of the shooting that he and Noor were responding to a sexual assault report behind Damond's south Minneapolis home and were startled by a loud sound, according to a press released issued by the BCA three days after the shooting. Immediately afterward Damond Ruszczyk approached the driver's side window of the squad, according to the BCA. Noor, sitting in the passengers seat, pulled his gun and fired, hitting Damond through the open driver's side window.
Noor declined to be interviewed by the BCA.
"Unless someone else comes forward, the BCA does not have additional interviews scheduled at this time," the agency said in its July 18 news release. A few days later agency investigators spoke to a bicyclist who was seen immediately before the shooting and later watched as police attempted to resuscitate Damond.
The agency turned the case over to Freeman on Sept. 12.
#1
"startle" means flinch. During the time it took Damond to get from the back of the car to a spot in front of the driver's face, you get over "startle" and go do deliberate.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
01/25/2018 8:19
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#2
and I don't think shooting across the car interior (in front of your partner's face) is a standard taught practice....
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2018 9:06
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#3
a standard taught practice....
'Crossfire' is not a standard civilian taught practice.
[Politico] But House Democrats may not support a spending deal that lacks relief for young undocumented immigrants. Yeah, there's always a "but."
Senate Democrats are willing to drop their demand that relief for Dreamers be tied to any long-term budget agreement ‐ a potential boost for spending talks, but which could face opposition from their House counterparts.
The shift comes in response to the deal struck between Senate leaders Monday to reopen the government and begin debate on an immigration bill next month. Meanwhile, budget negotiators are expressing optimism that a two-year agreement to lift stiff caps on defense and domestic spending is increasingly within reach.
"We’re viewing [immigration and spending] on separate terms because they are on separate paths," Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Tuesday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s "procedural concession means we’ve got a deadline and a process," Durbin added. "That to me is a significant step forward. It’s not everything I wanted, that’s for sure, but it’s a step forward."
But House Democrats have signaled they are not ready to go along with a long-term budget deal without a fix to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that President Donald Trump is ending. Continues.
[Al Jazeera] Widely popular former president Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva has been banned from running in elections this year after an appeals court upheld corruption-related convictions.
Opinion polls suggest the former leftist leader would win October's general elections comfortably.
He vehemently denied the corruption charges and said he is the victim of a political witch-hunt to stop him from running.
"If I had one percent in the polls, no one would want to stop me from running," Lula da Silva said last week.
The court's verdict was delivered on Wednesday in the southern city of Porto Alegre, where thousands of Lula da Silva's supporters gathered with signs bearing the slogan "Elections without Lula is fraud."
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least three have reportedly been killed and around twenty others have sustained following a coordinated attack on a non-governmental organization in Jalalabad city in eastern Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province of Afghanistan.
According to the local government officials, the siege of the gunnies on the non-governmental organization’s office ended with the elimination of all four attackers earlier this evening.
The officials further added that three people including two security guards of the Save the Children office were killed and twenty five others including four security guards of the office were maimed.
According to Nangarhar officials, the gunnies launched the attack at around 9 am local time by initially detonating a vehicle packed with explosives to allow the remaining gunnies infiltrate the compound and secure positions for a standoff.
The majority of those maimed in the attack have sustained injuries due to shattered glasses, the officials said, adding that around 19 of them were discharged after receiving first aid.
Provincial governor Gulab Mangal said the operation by the security forces was conducted slowly to prevent the civilian casualties, mainly the children who were trapped in the area.
He said at least 46 people including 12 women were rescued by the security forces during the operation.
Initial reports indicate the attack was carried out by the loyalists of the 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.... of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group.
[IsraelTimes] Save the Children suspends operations across Afghanistan as 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.... turbans terrorized staff trapped inside one of its offices, in a deadly hours-long attack, the latest assault on a foreign charity.
Gunmen blasted their way into the British aid group’s compound in the eastern city of Jalalabad, killing three employees and wounding four others, Save the Children said in a statement.
An Afghan official had earlier confirmed the corpse count, but had put the number of maimed at 27.
"It is with profound sadness that we can confirm three Save the Children staff members were killed earlier today in an attack on our office in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. All other staff have been safely rescued from the office," Save the Children International chief executive Helle Thorning-Schmidt says, condemning the attack "in the strongest possible terms".
"We have temporarily suspended our operations across the country following today’s events, however, we remain fully committed to helping the most deprived children of Afghanistan."
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Talibs group in Afghanistan rejects the involvement of the snuffies of the group as siege continues on a non-government organization in Jalalabad city.
Provincial governor’s front man Ataullah Khogyani confirmed that the death of two people including a security personal and a civilian while twelve others have been maimed.
The group’s front man Zabiullah Mujahid issued a statement claiming that "The ongoing attack in Jalalabad has nothing to do with the Mujahidin of Islamic Emirate."
A group of armed snuffies launched a coordinated attack in the city by initially detonating explosives near the office of an NGO.
According to the local officials, the siege of the NGO still continues despite two of the attackers have rubbed out but the remaining snuffies continue to resist from inside the office of the NGO.
The provincial public health officials are saying that around twelve people maimed in the attack has so far been shifted to the hospitals for the treatment.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2018
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[NATION.PK] Police are running after former Malir SSP Rao Anwar and his team members accused of killing Naqeebullah Mehsud in a fake encounter.
Sources privy to the matter revealed that Sindh police Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) have directed the teams to carry out the raids for the arrest of SSP Rao Anwar and his team members.
It is worth mentioning here that the Sindh government refused to issue no objection certificate to former SSP Rao Anwar, shown at Islamabad airport before flying for Dubai.
Denials of concern authorities proved that the NOC to fly abroad was fake and SSP Anwar trying to leave the country to avoid trail. However, some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go... Rao Anwar have reportedly claimed that he was not trying to flee but sought leave abroad to met his family members. Talking to media, Rao said that he had reservations over the team constituted to probe the murder of Naqeeb. He said that "I will appear before the court with the evidences against committee members."
Sources privy to the matter revealed that the Sherlocks have recorded the statements of witnesses whom saw the police raid and arrest of Naqeebullah from his shop and also witnessed of extrajudicial killing.
Sources said that the witnesses unearth the actual facts stating that the police picked up Naqeebullah and shifted him to unknown place and finally killed him with other three accused persons in an alleged encounter.
They further added that a number of other victim families have also approached to the concern investigation team providing evidences against the Rao Anwar extrajudicial killings.
Sources said that majority of the complainants providing the tangible evidences against the Rao Anwar as families of mostly victims had filed the petition in the court to know the whereabouts of their missing persons but Rao claimed to have killed them in alleged encounters. Sources said that people have been killed in encounters were kept in the custody even for a years before killing in encounters.
A senior police officer citing the Rao’s encounter pictures of couple of months ago witnessing handcuff snuffies killed during an encounter. Police official said that Rao Anwar left the city after completing 1992 operation and came back in the city as Pakistain People Party (PPP) came into the power in 2009 and posted him as SHO Docks cop shoppe where he first promoted as Deputy Superintendent of Police and remain posted in District South.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2018
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“Not my president! Not our president!!” They’re absolutely right, which is why their protests are useful only for our amusement.
[AlAhram] Thousands of anti-capitalist protesters marched through Zurich on Tuesday and other major Swiss cities to demonstrate against a planned visit by U.S. 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... to the World Economic Forum's annual meeting this week.
Leftists organisers had called for protests under the mottos "Trump Not Welcome" and "Smash WEF!"
Trump is due to speak on Friday at the WEF meeting in the Alpine town of Davos, an annual meeting of global business and politicians where protests have been banned.
Flag-waving demonstrators, whom Zurich police estimated at 2,000, carried anti-globalist and environmentalist placards such as "No Trump, no coal, no gas, no fossil fuels" as they marched toward Zurich's financial district, where bankers had been warned to stay clear of the approved demonstration.
Swiss television RSR showed a sign that read "Who was the Shithole?", in reference to reported remarks by Trump about Haiti and African countries, which he has denied.
Similar protests took place, with several hundred protesters each, in public squares in Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg. Geneva signs read "World Economic Fiasco", "racist sexist capitalist" and "Don't touch women's rights".
Paolo Gilardi, Geneva demonstrator organiser, told Rooters TV: "While the Swiss Federal Council (Swiss cabinet) is about to welcome and unroll the red carpet for Mister Trump, well we think that the population has something to say."
"... this policy is unacceptable because the goal of this policy is to reduce the planet to fire and blood and to assure the powerful people’s domination over the rest of the world."
Earlier in Geneva, protesters laid a wreath at the entrance of the U.S. diplomatic mission in memory of Heather Heyer, who was killed in Charlottesville, Virginia amid festivities between hundreds of white supremacists and counter-protesters last August.
After the rally, Trump inflamed tensions by saying there were "very fine people" on both sides, drawing condemnation from some Republican leaders and praise from white supremacists.
Earlier this month, demonstrators also protested against Trump's visit in the Swiss capital of Bern.
That march went off peacefully, unlike violent anti-WEF protests in several Swiss citities in the early 2000s.
More than 4,000 Swiss soldiers have deployed to guard Davos alongside 1,000 police, while a no-fly zone was put in place to protect delegates.
[LouderWithCrowder] Today just keeps getting worse for Chuck Schumer (see Ben Shapiro on Government Shutdown: Schumer is a Loser). That tends to happen when one is outrageously stupid and wrong. But now Chuck’s own are turning against him. Uh oh!
Late this evening, a herd of enraged Dreamers showed up outside the Schumester’s house. They’re stomping their hooves in anger. Witness them: Gotta' Click.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) was on the receiving end of a pro-amnesty protest Tuesday night.
A Facebook page advertising an "Our Lives Are On The Line, Chuck" demonstration invited protesters to congregate at Schumer’s apartment building along New York City’s Prospect Park.
"If Chuck won’t let us dream, we won’t let him sleep," they chanted, according to video captured by a man at the scene.
Schumer is taking heat from the left after joining a vote to reopen the federal government after a weekend shutdown.
Of course, the irony here is that Chuckie really went to bat for these folks and, more importantly, their votes. Oh, to be hated by those one fought so hard for (see WATCH: Sarah Huckabee Sanders Spanks Wailing Democrats for Delaying DACA). This is the entitled monster the left has created. Never satisfied.
Looks like Chuck won’t be getting sleepies anytime soon. Thanks to his precious Dreamers, the space outside his home has turned into a living nightmare. He wanted to keep them planted in America, now they’re planted outside his front porch. With megaphones.
Karma. This is the most fun President I can remember (Lincoln had his wit, but it lost something in the translation from Morse code.). May the ride last through 2024!
[PJMedia] So if -- and it's not that big an if anymore -- this story out of a spy novel (the density of Le Carré coupled with the outlandishness of Fleming) is indeed the truth, what do we do about it? The answer is not easy. At a minimum, it would necessitate a massive over-hauling, possibly even a dismantling, of the FBI and the Department of Justice. But how would we do that? That too will not be simple.
Critics of the FBI often acknowledge, seemingly paying obeisance, that there are many good people at the heart of the organization. Can we assume that to be accurate? Undoubtedly there is a significant number, but how do we determine who is who in an organization so adept at, and wedded to, stonewalling? Moreover, we can assume that the perpetrators at the top will be backed up and supported -- some of the time anyway -- by leaders of other investigative and intelligence branches, notably the CIA and the NSA, that have been similarly infiltrated over the years.
A second special counsel has been suggested, but we need considerably more than that. We need a thorough investigation via a full-on commission of the FBI and the DOJ themselves and, unfortunately, the intelligence agencies as well that could -- and most likely would -- take years. So many issues are at play here it's mind-boggling. How do we deal with the dishonesty of our officials and bureaucrats when those same people are the keepers of our secrets and the enforcers of our laws (both of which are related)? When is transparency necessary? When is secrecy justified? Who will watch the watchers? Are the congressional oversight committees enough? Do they have sufficient power?
The questions are indeed endless and the solutions will necessitate more than just firing or indicating the most recent miscreants. Deep structural problems have allowed this to happen. They must be corrected. Nothing should be sacrosanct. We face a complex future as technology advances inexorably and the capabilities of these organizations increase exponentially. We have to know -- in advance and to the extent we can -- how to prevent totalitarianism from within.
Mueller and current director Christopher Wray may not fully realize it -- longtime denizens of D.C. and its culture that they are -- but a significant portion of the American public outside Washington no longer believes in the fairness of our justice system and those people, with cause, are getting more skeptical by the day. There's no telling where this will end. Attempts to salvage the Trump-Russia investigation with charges of obstruction when no collusion occurred in the first place will only exacerbate the situation and drive a further wedge into a broken society.
This alienation has a powerful emotional effect on all us that often we cannot even see, although we sense it. For homework, everyone should watch, if they haven't, what may be the most insightful film of recent decades, the German-made movie about the Stasi, The Lives of Others.
In sum, as Peter Strzok himself texted, "there's no big there there" for the Trump collusion investigation. Unfortunately, and sadly for America, there is a big there there for corruption in the FBI -- and he's part of it. What to do?
Posted by: C. Elmomoger7737 ||
01/25/2018
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#3
What to do with the FIB? Clean it out, reorganize it and reform it. It has been on a downhill slide since the Clintons turned it into the FSB in the 1990s.
#4
Queen Elizabeth I had two intelligence agencies; each one spied on the other. Just a thought.
Posted by: C. Elmomoger7737 ||
01/25/2018 11:42
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#5
This just in at Breitbart.com
The Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz informed lawmakers Thursday that he has found the missing five months of text messages between senior FBI officials Peter Strzok
#7
Here's an idea. Fire everyone in the FBI. EVERYONE. Reform it under the leadership of some real, proven actual law enforcement types that aren't political or have an agenda outside enforcing the law. Written in each contract is the requirement that if asked by congress, ALL agents of any level will immediately turn over all materials to the relevant committee's. Failure to do so within 48 hours is punished by summary execution by flamethrower.
#11
Yes, but Steven Hatfill a native of Matoon, IL, had racist, South African apartheid regime connections so he was fair game....until he wasn't. Once the real culprit was identified, the U.S. taxpayers ended up paying Hatfill quite handsomely for his inconvenience.
#12
Folks should be keeping up with [QAnon](https://qcodefag.github.io/).
Posted by: C. Elmomoger7737 ||
01/25/2018 18:09
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#13
Kill it with fire. Start from scratch
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
01/25/2018 18:56
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Watching a government turn against itself and people is terribly disheartening.
That sort of thing has only been going on since the very beginning. The USA allowed the Brits to capture the US post on Mackinac Island in 1812 by the simply expedient of not bothering to tell its own commander that war had been declared. Gubmint was too stinkin' cheap & disorganized to send a fast canoe or man on horseback.
[Al Jazeera] A US-backed Kurdish militia has deployed fighters to the frontline of Syria's Manbij to battle The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund.... 's military after President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey... said it would be next after launching the cross-border Afrin operation.
Manbij is about 100km east of Afrin where the United States has military personnel deployed in the fight against 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.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), meaning troops from the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure.... allies could come face to face on the battlefield.
The US military coalition operating in Manbij said soldiers there have the right defend themselves against any attack, and wouldn't hesitate to do so.
"Clearly we are very alert to what is happening, specifically in the area of Manbij because that is where our ... coalition forces are," front man Colonel Ryan Dillon told Rooters news agency. "The coalition forces that are in that area have an inherent right to defend themselves and will do so if necessary."
Sharfan Darwish of the Manbij Military Council - a unit of the YPG Syrian-Kurd militia currently under attack by Turkey in Afrin - said his forces were preparing to confront Ottoman Turkish soldiers.
"We are in full readiness to respond to any attack. Of course our coordination with the international coalition continues with regards to the protection of Manbij," said Darwish.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2018
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#1
If Afrin and Manbij falls, Kobane is surrounded. Turkey is a shadow Islamic ally if ISIS.
[AlAhram] Saudi authorities are still holding 95 people in a purported anti-corruption campaign that was launched nearly three months ago by the kingdom's influential crown prince, Saudi press quoting the attorney general reported on Wednesday.
A Saudi infographic shared on social media said that detainees who have not agreed on financial settlements to close their case will soon be referred to the Public Prosecution for trial.
Billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is reportedly among those still being held since early November when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ...Crown Prince of Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... as of 2016.... ordered the stunning arrests of top princes, businessmen and officials. The prince is chairman of the publicly traded Kingdom Holding, which has investments in twitter, Apple, Citigroup, and the Four Seasons hotel chain. He is also an investor in ride-sharing services Lyft and Careem.
If a financial agreement cannot be reached, the attorney general has previously said that detainees will be prosecuted, investigated further and could face six months or more imprisonment.
At least 11 princes were among those detained in the surprise sweep that began Nov. 4. Many of the detainees have been held at the luxurious Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh, which has been closed to the public since. The hotel's website is taking reservations again starting Feb. 14.
While the Saudi public has for decades complained of rampant government corruption and misuse of public funds by brass hats, the arrests of top business figures and princes, and the secrecy shrouding who was detained and what their alleged crimes were, have foreign investors worried.
State-linked Sabq news website quoted Attorney General Saud al-Mojeb on Wednesday as saying 90 detainees in total have been released after agreeing to settlements involving cash, real estate and other assets. He says a total of 350 people were questioned in the sweep.
Among those detained were two of the late King Abdullah's sons, including Prince Miteb bin Abdullah who was fired from his post as head of the National Guard the night of his arrest. After paying an undisclosed sum, the prince was released and later photographed smiling with his younger cousin, the 32-year-old crown prince, at a horse race in late December. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was even filmed kissing Prince Miteb's shoulder in a sign of respect.
The crown prince heads the anti-corruption committee that was formed by his father, King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Lord of Most of the Arabians.... . The committee has carried out the orders of arrest, investigations and negotiations. The committee has previously said that Sherlocks uncovered at least $100 billion in corruption.
Also purportedly detained and released is Ibrahim al-Assaf, a former finance minister under King Salman. He is now leading Saudi Arabia's delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... this week as a minister of state and member of cabinet.
#1
Hmm, why did Bush senior and junior speak out in protest of Trump soon after the soft coup There?, When they made no comment during the Obama Admin? The money was shut off (Trump closed the spicket of funds, and no Antifa protest transpired that weekend......or since).
Posted by: Joe of the Jungle ||
01/25/2018 17:03
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[PoliZette] A friend of mine, Peter Wing, once actually hid an elephant in plain sight at the castle he built with his bare hands from reclaimed materials near Millbrook, New York.
The evolution of the Clinton Foundation since Oct. 23, 1997, proves that gigantic frauds, spread across the globe under the harsh glare of public attention and in the media, are tough to grasp ‐ and tougher still to police.
Who would imagine, for example, that a former president, an aspiring president and a highly educated only child would work together, purposefully gaming controls at supposed "charities," produce false and misleading public filings, and do so for more than two decades using a bevy of outside professional advisers and world-renowned directors?
Yet close examination of available facts demonstrates the Clinton Foundation and its network of false-front charity "initiatives" and affiliates remains the largest set of unprosecuted charitable frauds in American history.
In a sad sense, international charities are perfect vehicles for such questionable activities. After all, who can check effectively how much money is in truth raised and where discrete portions of these revenues are disbursed in far-flung corners of the world?
And, as you will see, unregulated and unaudited "charities" allow donors to send much more money towards politicians clandestinely than is allowed under national laws concerning political campaigns.
Meanwhile, international charity also provides cover to disguise payoffs that might unlock mining and energy concessions, telecommunications and other licenses, and largesse (grants and subsidized loans, for example) from multilateral organizations, including the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, among others.
Though such frauds began escalating in 2002, it is helpful to begin examining the thread illustrating the internationalization of the Clinton Foundation in 2009. Note that was during the first year of the Obama presidency.
What really was happening with the Russia "reset" starting in 2009? Large contributions to political campaigns come with strings attached.
Evidence already in the public domain shows that certain Russians found common cause with green investors, as Peter Schweizer’s work for the Government Accountability Institute explained in "From Russia with Money: Hillary Clinton, the Russian Reset, and Cronyism."
Under Obama’s leadership, Hillary Clinton’s role in improving America’s relations with Russia started on the wrong foot in March 2009 in Geneva.
Despite this inauspicious beginning, tensions with Russia started to ease. To the consternation of many, the U.S. announced in September 2009 that it would abandon plans to provide a missile defense shield to Poland and other Eastern Europe nations.
By May 2010, Russia surprisingly joined with the U.S. and China to impose fresh sanctions on Iran over that rogue nation’s nuclear programs.
So, after a rocky start, Obama’s rapprochement with Russia seemed to bear tangible fruit. However, the real "gains" likely were occurring for political contributors who also were active investors and financiers for capital projects inside Russia, especially those involving transfers of technology.
#1
How else were the bunch from Arkansas supposed to make money without land swindling deals?
"However, the real "gains" likely were occurring for political contributors who also were active investors and financiers for capital projects inside Russia, especially those involving transfers of technology."
Russia Russia Russia, unless it is true and cackles has a lot to hide. And her whole entourage.
They are all a disgrace and I told them to shut up but this will be better.
I have bank statements :) I have Speaking engagements and even personal dippong from nonprofit funds.
I have stolen money from Haiti, Whitewater, and Uranium deals with the Russians.
I have too many corpses to count and a corrupt Judiciary.
#2
Although the FBI has been reported to be investigating the CF down in Little Rock (and I think in NY), I'd like to see an honest man like Ortel turned loose on this. He is a charity fraud expert.
[AlAhram] The year 2017 marked significant changes in the pattern of terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa. This change rests primarily on the territories lost by terrorist entities, the Islamic State (IS) group and its regional affiliates mainly, because of organised military actions by states or international military coalitions.
Last year witnessed several celebrations of victory over IS in both Iraq and Libya, where most land under IS control was retaken by governments. In Syria, the geographical presence of IS was significantly reduced after forcing IS out of Raqqa and Deir Al-Zor.
The Egyptian Armed Forces expanded its counter-terrorism military operations in Northern Sinai during 2017, which led to the termination of any significant territorial control for terrorist entities.
Discussion of things we know snipped, leading to:
Those pattern changes have various implications on Egypt. The threat coming from the Egyptian-Libyan border will be intensified since Libya is one of the potential hubs for IS relocation.
Egypt is facing this threat with its full support of a political settlement in Libya, on the one hand, and putting pressure behind the unification of the Libyan National Army, on the other.
Territorial losses in Sinai, and the intense military presence in it, will imply that terrorist activities might diffuse to other areas like the Delta or Upper Egypt, specifically within the context of relocation.
This means that Egypt will need very high degrees of coordination between its security institutions (the Armed Forces, Interior Ministry and intelligence) in its vision for its counter-terrorism strategy for 2018.
Recent changes in some key security positions signal that the regime is aware of the transformation of the threat and is institutionally adapting to it. Finally, the combination of lone-wolf strategy and politically significant targets requires intensifying the security presence at all facilities that have the potential to be targeted in 2018.
Statistics say that Egypt’s efforts to counter terrorism have been successful in reducing the number of yearly terrorist attacks over the past three years. Recognising the transformation of the threat and adjusting the strategy is key in maintaining that success. It is a slow battle, but one that will certainly be won.
Interesting map with table at the link shows location and number of jihadi attacks during 2015-2017, broken down by year and type.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Ottoman Turkish President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey... confirmed that his country will continue to abort what he called "the conspiracies on its border with Syria" starting with the area of Manbij.
Erdogan pointed out that the organization of the Kurdish units and protection units are two sides of the same coin, and that external parties control them, and exploit them as needed.
Ottoman Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson proposed the establishment of a security zone inside Syria at a depth of 30 kilometers.
Really? When was that? Turkey has been demanding such a thing for years.
This comes as the Ottoman Turkish military operations continue in Afrin, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the return of the Ottoman Turkish aerial bombardment north of Aleppo province.
The attacks targeted areas in the town of Jendiris and Rajo district, and other places in the countryside of Afrin.
Fighting continues between Kurdish factions and Ottoman Turkish forces supported by the Free Army factions on the north-west axis of Afrin and the mountain of Mount Semaan in the south.
Russia, which has its own forces in Syria alongside Assad's remaining loyalists and Iranian-led Shiite militia, has lured The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund.... into a Moscow-led effort to end Syria's civil war, now entering its eighth year.
This is running in parallel to -- and arguably fatally undermining ‐ U.S.-backed United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... peace talks in Geneva aimed at agreeing on a political transition that could see Assad fall.
But Turkey and Erdogan have a role in the Russian effort, and are resentful of U.S. ties to the Kurds, and Erdogan appears to have entered into a deal with Putin to take Afrin.
Kurdish leaders told AFP that Moscow had offered to protect them from Turkey if they returned their area to the control of the Assad regime and when they refused, Russian forces withdrew air cover.
"Turkey has essentially the whole Geneva process working with the U.S. and even the Western bloc on Syria," analyst Merve Tahiroglu of the Foundation of Defense of Democracies told AFP.
Despite working with Russia's "Astana process" to retain influence in Syria, Turkey has clashed with Russia over the role of the Kurds -- which Moscow hoped to win over to Assad's fold.
Turkey's price, therefore, for supporting the process was dropping the Kurds, Tahiroglu believes, and Russia gave the green light for the Afrin operation after striking a deal.
This deal will likely involve some kind of a de-escalation agreement between the Syrian regime and Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels in the Idlib area, which in turn will free up Arab fighters to battle the Kurds.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2018
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[All Africa] Zanu-PF deputy national commissar Omega Hungwe suspects that exiled former higher education minister and G40 kingpin, Jonathan Moyo, may have used juju for his meteoric rise in the ruling party. I guessed that. Didn't you?
She said this while addressing the party's inter-party district meeting held in Mutare on Sunday. Hungwe said Moyo never went through the normal vetting process and channels when he "joined" the party despite his history of attacking President Bob Muggsy Mugabe Nonagenarian President-for-Life of Zim-bob-we who turned the former Breadbasket of Africa into the African Basket Case. Dumped in November 2017 when the Missus decided she wanted to be president, and opposed heer might against Crocodile Mnangawa Important safety tip: If your opponent goes by the name Crocodile andf your title is Shopper in Chief let him win.... while he was outside government.
"I think Moyo used some juju because he never went through cell or branch but he just rose to Politburo. He was just catapulted to the top echelons of the party," said Hungwe.
The allegations of juju are common in Zanu PF as former President Robert Mugabe also accused his former vice presidents Joice Mujuru and Emmerson Mnangwagwa of consulting traditional healers in the middle of the night to topple him.
Hungwe also claimed that Moyo was on the American spy agency, CIA, payroll specifically to destroy Zanu PF from inside.
The Dzivarasekwa MP said Moyo and his allies, namely exiled former national political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere, ex-youth leader Kudzayi Chipanga, Grace Mugabe and former vice president Phelekezela Mphoko, were working together to destroy the party from inside.
Hungwe claimed that Moyo was sent by the Americans and later recruited Kasukuwere who later infiltrated the State House through the former first lady.
"Kasukuwere later recruited Grace Mugabe. They were both on America's spy agency payroll. Moyo used the slogan if you can't beat them join them," said Hungwe.
She said the youths interface rallies were part of a strategy to destroy Zanu PF once and for all.
"The agenda of the Interface rallies was to destroy the party. We were going to lose the elections if Mugabe remained at the helm of the party come 2018. Where do you think that old man was going to take us to?" she said.
She blasted the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) for losing track of its main job, saying it was focusing on factional fights.
"When President Mnangagwa was then minister responsible for the CIO it was professional. The organization later lost track and started to meddle into succession politics," said Hungwe.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2018
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#1
Get hit by a choo-choo? That's juju.
The putschists who shoot you? Just juju.
Them missing, too! Juju!
Use juju? Well, should you?
And Joos? Too jejune! It's all juju.
[ATimes] One of Myanmar’s strongest and most powerful ethnic armies has a new leader, one more aligned with China and apparently less keen to win sympathy from the West for his group’s long armed struggle for autonomy in a federal union.
In January, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political wing of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), elected General N Ban La, 70, as its new chairman. The KIA is now engaged in intense fighting with the Myanmar military in the country’s northern region bordering with China.
Under N Ban La’s leadership, the Kachin rebel movement has moved to forge an alliance with the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the country’s largest armed militia which maintains close ties to Chinese security forces.
Last year, the KIA joined the Federal Political Negotiating and Consultative Committee (FPNCC), an alliance led by the UWSA that also includes armies from the Shan, Kokang Chinese, Ta’ang (Palaung) and Arakanese ethnic minorities, as well as a group in easternmost Shan state comprised of a mixture of peoples.
The FPNCC represents 80% of all armed rebels in the country, and with China’s apparent backing, Beijing has emerged as a main – some would argue sole – interlocutor in the conflict between Myanmarauthorities and ethnic armies. The “first chairman” of the FPNCC is the UWSA leader Bao Youxiang, with N Ban La serving as its “second chairman”, a position he assumed before becoming the KIA’s new chairman.
In an exclusive interview with Asia Times, N Ban La said Kachin relations with China have become a lot easier since the KIA joined the Wa-led coalition: “Our people can now travel more freely in and out of China,” he said.
There are even indications that China might allow the internally displaced person (IDP) camps inside KIA-controlled areas – where tens of thousands of civilians who have fled recent fighting now languish – to receive supplies of food and medicines from the Chinese side of the border. Until now, cross-border shipments have been severely restricted.
The Myanmar government and military are now blocking international agencies from providing any humanitarian support to the camps. At the same time, other sources assert that Chinese security agents have told the Kachins not to engage with the West – or India and Japan, with whom N Ban La’s predecessors aimed to maintain friendly contacts.
[IsraelTimes] State Department blacklists Yemen-based Khalid Batarfi a day after he published a video saying Moslems in 'the occupied land' must kill using every weapon available.
A senior al-Qaeda leader was placed on the US State Department’s list of global Lions of Islam a day after he called on Moslems to "attack the Jews and the Americans everywhere" in response to US 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... ’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
In a video released Monday, Khalid Batarfi said Trump’s decision was "a declaration of a new Jewish-Crusader war" and every Moslem had a duty to "liberate" the holy city, the SITE Intelligence monitoring group reported.
According to Tuesday’s State Department announcement, "This designation seeks to deny Batarfi the resources he needs to plan and carry out further terrorist attacks." Among the consequences of the designation, "all of Batarfi’s property and interests in property subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with him."
Batarfi was the top commander for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ...the latest incarnation of various Qaeda and Qaeda-allied groups, including the now-defunct Aden-Abyan Islamic Army that boomed the USS Cole in 2000... , or AQAP, in Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... Governate, Yemen, described by the US as the worldwide jihadist network’s most dangerous branch. In April 2015, Batarfi was released from a Yemeni prison in an attack by AQAP Death Eaters.
The group has kidnapped foreigners and grabbed credit for the deadly 2015 terrorist attack in Gay Paree on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo ...A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority if the active testicles left in Europe... , targeted for its cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/25/2018
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[New York Post] Ex-Secretary of State John Kerry has confided that he may make a second bid for the White House
...what an amusing thought, and such a delightful way to waste as much Democratic donor money as they are willing to part with. After all, this is the man who could not beat George W. Bush...
‐ as he urged Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to resist President Trump, according to a report.
"[Abbas] should stay strong in his spirit and play for time ‐ that he should not break down and not capitulate to Trump’s demands," Kerry told an Abbas confidant, according to the Hebrew daily Ma’ariv.
The Jerusalem Post picked up the Ma’ariv story in English.
Kerry also suggested during his London confab with Hussein Agha, the Palestinian Authority president’s close associate, that the PA formulate its own peace proposal.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/25/2018 10:52
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#13
Go ahead and run JFK. And the voters might just choose to punish you (and vicariosly, the Kenyan Flash) for the treacherous Iran nuclear deal--if you all aren't in jail before then.
Roads and ports in Pakistan, ports and a canal in Thailand? The wily Communist Chinee sure does get around.
[ATimes] General Saiyud Kerdphol, the military engineer of Thailand’s winning Cold War-era anticommunism campaign, believes now is the time to build the Kra canal – a long-envisioned channel through the country’s southern isthmus that would connect the Indian and Pacific Oceans and dramatically shorten East-West shipping routes.
And for the massive infrastructure undertaking to finally break ground after centuries of pondering, the nonagenarian former supreme commander believes the monumental decision cannot be taken by any government and thus must be conceived and graced as “the king’s canal.”
While it’s unclear if any formal representations have been made to the monarch, the canal does have one rich and powerful new backer: China.
Beijing’s newly appointed ambassador to Bangkok, Lyu Jian, has said in recent high-level meetings that China envisions the Thai canal as part of its US$1 trillion ‘One Belt One Road’ (Obor) global infrastructure initiative, according to Thai government officials and advisors briefed on the discussions.
While China aims to link the initiative with the junta’s Eastern Economic Corridor industrial, logistical and real estate development plan, including via a long-stalled high-speed rail line connecting the two nations via Laos that broke symbolic ground in December, it is apparently the first-time Beijing has actively promoted the canal as part of the Obor program.
Until now, Beijing has publicly distanced itself from private Chinese companies which have engaged Thai trade groups to probe the project’s potential. That includes a memorandum of understanding entered by the China-Thailand Kra Infrastructure and Development Company and Asia Union Group to study the canal signed in Guangzhou in May 2015.
Jinsong Zhao, a maritime expert at state-led Shanghai Jiao Tong University, suggests the canal could put Thailand at the center of a “third revolution” of fast-transport global trade, where e-commerce driven sales require ever quicker door-to-door delivery of goods that is limited in the region due to the long shipping route through the Malacca Strait.
“To my Thai friends: Don’t waste your time, don’t delay this project,” Jinsong implored at a conference on the canal held last September in Bangkok. “We have technology, we have capacity, we have money, we are happy to help. It’s good for Thailand, Asia and the whole world.” He said if Thailand waited another 20 years, it would be “fatal” to winning China’s support.
#3
Actually the best (least mountainous) route would cross the Burmese border near the base of the peninsula. This would also eliminate to travel through the pirate infested Malacca Straights.
Of course, it would require the Thai and Burmese governments to actually cooperate with one another.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
01/25/2018 11:48
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[DAILYCALLER] John Conyers III, an alleged domestic abuser and the son of disgraced former Democratic Michigan Rep. John Conyers Jr., has filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission to officially launch his campaign to fill his father’s seat.
Conyers Jr. resigned in disgrace last month following several sexual harassment accusations against him. The outgoing congressman endorsed his son as his appointed successor.
Conyers III’s campaign comes despite his own history of allegedly mistreating women. Conyers III was incarcerated Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! in February 2017 after he allegedly body-slammed his girlfriend, spat on her and sliced her arm with a knife.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2018
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#1
In other words, a typical black Detroit Democrat!
[WSJ] World Bank Chief Economist Paul Romer resigned Wednesday, two weeks after apologizing to the nation of Chile for the way it was treated in one of the institution’s flagship reports on business competitiveness.
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announced the departure in a memo posted on the international development organization’s intranet and viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The abrupt departure follows a Journal article two weeks ago in which Mr. Romer raised concerns about the extent to which repeated changes to the methodology of the World Bank’s “Doing Business” report had hurt Chile’s rankings over several years.
Mr. Romer had expressed concern about the potential for political motivations in the shifting rankings, and numbers subsequently published on his blog showed that Chile’s ranking had slid sharply due to methodology changes for the first three years of Michelle Bachelet’s presidency.
Chile’s ranking changed almost entirely because of the way the World Bank had altered its methodology, and not because of changes in Chile’s business environment relative to that of other nations. Without the Bank’s methodology changes, Chile would have dropped two places in the rankings, Mr. Romer’s numbers showed. With the changes, Chile’s ranking declined by 23 places.
Not all World Bank officials shared Mr. Romer’s concerns. Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva said in a letter to Chile’s finance minister last week that Mr. Romer’s comments were “unfortunate,” and she wrote, “we do not have any evidence to support the notion that the methodology is skewed to disfavor Chile or that any of the changes in the methodology were conducted for any other than technical reasons.”
In a follow-up blog post, Mr. Romer said that he hadn’t “seen any sign of manipulation” and “I’m sorry that in my attempt at promoting clarity, I myself was not clear.”
The World Bank has announced that there will be an independent external audit of the competitiveness report, a move welcomed by skeptics of the report.
“Aside from obvious questions raised by Paul Romer’s resignation, serious concerns remain around the ‘Doing Business’ report,” said Nadia Daar, head of Oxfam International’s Washington, D.C., office. “Hopefully the next chief economist will be given the mandate to bring coherence and fairness to this ranking.”
Mr. Kim’s memo didn’t cite a specific reason for Mr. Romer’s departure, saying only that Mr. Romer “is an accomplished economist and insightful individual, and we have had many good discussions on geopolitical issues, urbanization, and the future of work. I appreciated Paul’s frankness and honesty, and I know he regrets the circumstances of his departure.”
Alejandro Guillier, the Chilean left-leaning senator who lost in the nation’s recent December election, said the changes were a “betrayal of public faith.”
The World Bank’s board of executive directors issued a statement expressing confidence in the Bank’s research but also expressing “regret and concern about the impact on Chile.”
#2
What do you mean? the issue is leftists(including Paul Romer) getting a bad rap and protesting it.
As you can see even the WSJ suck to leftist tit promotting Oxfam, an organisation that wants to spread famine in the world.
Posted by: Thromble Spawn of the Apes4815 ||
01/25/2018 1:46
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slid sharply due to methodology changes for the first three years of Michelle Bachelet’s presidency.
This is so typical. Anyone care to rely on the methodology behind the governments economic numbers? I believe cooking the books is a time honored tradition, it all depends on what the recipe calls for.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash, tweeted on Wednesday remarks made by Iranian politician Ali Akbar Velayati on Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... i-Iran ties.
In his tweet, the minister chose not to comment on the quote, but rather let it speak for itself.
"This is Ali Akbar Velayati, no comment: ’A Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, delegation’s representative has informed me that they have placed hope in Iran and resistance forces. The representative also expressed Hamas’ thanks to Iran for standing with Doha amid the Saudi-Qatari conflict, which prevented Qatar’s collapse.’
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2018
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[DrRichSwier] Representatives from the National Center for Public Policy Research confronted Walgreens executives at last week’s annual shareholder meeting over the company’s partnerships with left-wing activists that lobby for sanctuary city policies.
According to our research, Walgreens has supported the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and UnidosUS, formerly known as the National Council of La Raza. In 2015, LULAC organized a letter which was signed by La Raza asking Members of Congress to oppose legislation that would compel cities and municipalities to enforce standing immigration law. LULAC has also approved a resolution in support of sanctuary cities at its annual convention. Walgreens has also partnered with the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the National Urban League, organizations that support sanctuary city policies as well.
At the shareholder meeting, Justin Danhof, Esq., General Counsel for the National Center, submitted the following questions:
Does Walgreens’ support of these groups indicate that Walgreens believes states and localities can flout federal law and not turn over the names of arrested illegal immigrants to federal authorities ‐ even if they’ve committed violent felonies?
Because 80 percent of Americans surely include current and potential customers, do you see any potential downside for Walgreens related to the company’s support of groups lobbying for sanctuary cities and amnesty?
If these groups do not represent Walgreens’ position on immigration, then why would you fund them?
What exactly is the company’s stance on immigration reform?
Walgreens Vice President for Communications and Community Affairs Chuck Greener responded to these questions saying, "Having listened to your question and the points you’ve made... we’re going to go through all of our donations and certainly take those views into consideration."
Soothing words to make an irritant go away, not a committment to change anything.
After the meeting, Danhof released the following statement:
I am pleased Walgreens committed to reviewing its charitable giving. It’s a shame, however, that executives wanted no part in answering the substance of our question during this public meeting.
Whether its executives acknowledge it or not, Walgreens is funding radical groups lobbying for illegal sanctuary city policies. They say their charitable contributions are not intended to weaken our immigration policies, but they were quick to cut me off when I reminded them that their money is fungible. Once Walgreens donates to a charity, it has no legal right to direct the charity’s actions.
Will Walgreens review its charitable giving policies with due diligence? The company’s leadership may be best influenced by customers who don’t want their shopping dollars to fund support for sanctuary cities. The buttons below will let you contact Walgreens corporate to tell them why supporting groups like LULAC and UnidosUS are bad for business.
Contacting Walgreens will influence their decision if you are a genuine customer and you are polite.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ||
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A massive effort to short their stock might rub their noses in their asses.
[Rasmussen Report] Voters think a special prosecutor is needed to see if the nation’s top cops have been playing politics.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 49% of Likely U.S. Voters believe a special prosecutor should be named to investigate whether senior FBI officials handled the investigation of Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump in a legal and unbiased fashion. Thirty-one percent (31%) disagree, but a sizable 19% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Sixty-two percent (62%) of Republicans are calling for an outside prosecutor to investigate the FBI, as is a plurality (49%) of voters not affiliated with either major political party. Among Democrats, 38% favor a special prosecutor; 40% are opposed, but 22% are undecided.
Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on January 22-23, 2018 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Voters by a narrow 48% to 41% margin said in December that senior federal law enforcement officials broke the law in an effort to prevent Trump from winning the 2016 election.
Seventy percent (70%) of voters who Strongly Approve of the job President Trump is doing think a special prosecutor is needed to investigate the FBI. Among those who Strongly Disapprove of the president’s job performance, only 36% agree.
Sixty-four percent (64%) of all voters think Clinton is likely to have broken the law by sending and receiving e-mails containing classified information through a private e-mail server while serving as secretary of State.
was arrested in July for attempting to support the ISIS
New unsealed documents released on Monday have exposed his fixation with the terrorist group
The indictment and the FBI affidavit filed previously state that Kang met with undercover agents he believed were part of the Islamic State group
He provided them with classified military information, a drone, military equipment and training in combat fighting
Kang was obsessed with watching videos depicting terrorism beheadings, suicide bombings and other violence
He began researching the Muslim religion in 2014, couldn't wait to move to the Middle East to 'join the cause'
Defense attorney Birney Bervar said Kang may suffer from service-related mental health issues that the government was aware of but neglected to treat
His trial is scheduled for later this year
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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#1
His service record indicates he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2013 and Iraq in 2011 and was highly decorated, CBS News' Paula Reid reports. According to CBS affiliate KGMB, Kang was awarded the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A jacket wallah was killed before he manage to reach to his target to detonate a Humvee armored personnel carrier in southern Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province of Afghanistan.
According to the local officials, a suicide bomber riding a Humvee vehicle packed with explosives was attempting to get closer to its target in Marjah district but was spotted and eliminated by the security forces before it manage to hit his target.
The provincial government media office in a statement said the snuffies were looking to target the security forces during the operation but the suicide bomber and his vehicle were cordoned and the explosives inside vehicle went off as the security forces opened fire on it.
The statement further added that only the suicide bomber was killed in the kaboom and no one else was hurt.
According to the local government, the snuffies have been hardly suppressed by the security forces in the area and were apparently looking to carry out a deadly attack to avenge their defeat.
The officials are saying that the security forces have managed to make around 3 kilometers advance in the restive areas of Marjah since the launch of the operation earlier today.
The snuffies have suffered heavy casualties during the operations but the exact number is not clear so far, the officials added.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[All Africa] Former Bulawayo Provincial Affairs Minister Eunice Sandi Moyo yesterday lost her parliamentary seat after Zanu-PF notified Parliament of her expulsion from the ruling party.
Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda notified the House that he had been informed by Zanu-PF that Ms Sandi Moyo was no longer a member of the party.
"On the 22nd of January 2018 Parliament was informed by Zanu-PF that Honourable Eunice Sandi Moyo proportional representative for Bulawayo had ceased to be a member of Zanu-PF and no longer represented the interests of the party in Parliament," Adv Mudenda said.
"A proportional representative vacancy has arisen by operation of the law. The necessary administrative measures would be undertaken to inform the President and the Zim-bob-we Electoral Commission in terms of section 39 (1) of the Electoral Act." The expulsion of Ms Sandi Moyo followed the ejection of 11 Zanu-PF members from Parliament last week and five others in December.
The 17 politicians were part of the G40 cabal whose expulsion was adopted at the Zanu-PF Extraordinary Congress in December following recommendations made at an extraordinary sitting of the party's Central Committee in November last year. Meanwhile, ...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck reached for the green sauce... the National Assembly yesterday paid respects to the late Zaka East politician Dr Samson Mukanduri, who died at his home on Monday. Following the announcement of his death by Adv Mudenda, parliamentarians observed a minute of silence in Dr Mukanduri's memory.
Posted by: Fred ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
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.
[Breitbart] The Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz informed lawmakers Thursday that he has found the missing five months of text messages between senior FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page that the DOJ said were lost due to a technical glitch.
[Russian Reality] Moscow. 25 Jan. INTERFAX.RU ‐ Support in Russia of Islamic education through major state institutions will continue, Russian President Vladimir Putin meeting with the Muftis of centralized religious organizations of Muslims of Russia and the leaders of the Bulgarian Islamic Academy.
[American Thinker] Let me get this straight. Sen. Diane Feinstein gets to release the testimony of Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson due to a head cold but it takes a vote of the House Intelligence Committee and presidential approval to release the memo detailing the FBI and DOJ collusion to overthrow the President of the United States. I have a suggestion -- vote to release the memo, send a copy to President Trump and have him read it during the State of the Union.
[Breitbart] Grammy-winning soul singer Erykah Badu pushed back against allegations of anti-Semitism in a lengthy, wide-ranging interview with Vulture released Wednesday, even as she also said she saw "something good" in former Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
[Federalist] Cecile Richards is reportedly stepping down from her role as president of Planned Parenthood, according to BuzzFeed, amid an ongoing federal investigation into the nation’s largest abortion provider.
VATICAN CITY, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned the "evil" of fake news, saying journalists and social media users should shun and unmask manipulative "snake tactics" that foment division to serve political and economic interests.
North Korea
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers...
President-for-Life of Uganda. He assumed office in 1985. His primary virtue is being prefereable to both his predecessors, Idi Amin and Milton Obote...
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] US forces operating in Somalia took part in a mission in which their Somali counterparts killed fighters who appeared to be under 18, the US military's Africa Command said Wednesday.
...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...
[LouderWithCrowder] Today just keeps getting worse for Chuck Schumer (see Ben Shapiro on Government Shutdown: Schumer is a Loser). That tends to happen when one is outrageously stupid and wrong. But now Chuck’s own are turning against him. Uh oh!
[PJMedia] So if -- and it's not that big an if anymore -- this story out of a spy novel (the density of Le Carré coupled with the outlandishness of Fleming) is indeed the truth, what do we do about it? The answer is not easy. At a minimum, it would necessitate a massive over-hauling, possibly even a dismantling, of the FBI and the Department of Justice. But how would we do that? That too will not be simple.
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey...
Crown Prince of 
...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, 
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
[PoliZette] A friend of mine, Peter Wing, once actually hid an elephant in plain sight at the castle he built with his bare hands from reclaimed materials near Millbrook, New York.
[ATimes] One of Myanmar’s strongest and most powerful ethnic armies has a new leader, one more aligned with China and apparently less keen to win sympathy from the West for his group’s long armed struggle for autonomy in a federal union.
A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority if the active testicles left in Europe...
[ATimes] General Saiyud Kerdphol, the military engineer of Thailand’s winning Cold War-era anticommunism campaign, believes now is the time to build the Kra canal – a long-envisioned channel through the country’s southern isthmus that would connect the Indian and Pacific Oceans and dramatically shorten East-West shipping routes.
[DAILYCALLER] John Conyers III, an alleged domestic abuser and the son of disgraced former Democratic Michigan Rep. John Conyers Jr., has filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission to officially launch his campaign to fill his father’s seat.
[DrRichSwier] Representatives from the National Center for Public Policy Research confronted Walgreens executives at last week’s annual shareholder meeting over the company’s partnerships with left-wing activists that lobby for sanctuary city policies.
