Hat tip: gCaptain
Venezuela is running out of space to store its sanction-stained crude that few dare to buy, forcing it to reduce output at a time when the world is thirsty for heavy, sulfurous oil.
Tankers holding 8.36 million barrels of Venezuelan crude worth upwards of a half-billion dollars are floating off the country's coast as the nation struggles to find buyers for its oil following new U.S. sanctions in January. An armada of 16 ships holds cargoes belonging to state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, Chevron Corp., Valero Energy Corp. and Rosneft Oil Co PJSC, according to shipping reports and ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
Oil ventures owned by PDVSA with Rosneft, Chevron, Total SA and Equinor ASA, whose upgraders convert tar-like Venezuelan crude into oil that refineries can process, reduced rates this week because they ran out of space to store crude, according to people with knowledge of situation. With few buyers willing to take PDVSA's oil, the alternative was to put some of that oil onto tankers to clear space and continue to operate at lower rates.
The backlog of ships and growing difficulty in keeping its oil upgraders running underscore the impact U.S. sanctions are having on PDVSA. Shipments to the America, once Venezuela's largest customer, have dried up. Without access to the U.S. financial system, on which many refiners and trading houses rely on to finance purchases, PDVSA is having trouble finding buyers outside of countries such as India and China, to whom it owes oil in payment for past loans.
The PDVSA-Rosneft joint-venture Petromonagas upgrader isn't processing oil after running out of space to store their production, a person with knowledge of the situation said. PDVSA-Chevron's Petropiar venture has reduced output for the same reason, other people said. Petrocedeno, a PDVSA-Total-Equinor venture, is running out of oil to process as a ban on sales of heavy naphtha to PDVSA has made it difficult to ship the heavy oil through pipelines from inland fields to the upgrader, another person said.
While Venezuela has been having a hard time selling its oil, the rest of the world struggles to find heavy barrels after Canada's self-imposed oil curtailment and OPEC supply cuts reduced the availability of the type of oil Venezuela produces.
The tightness in heavy oil supply translated into higher prices for Colombia's flagship oil Castilla, which competes with Venezuelan oil in the global market. Castilla for loading in March traded $4 per barrel less than global benchmark Brent, according to people with knowledge of situation. That compares with a discount of $9.80 for cargoes that loaded in February. All that sanctioned heavy crude oil that nobody wants to touch.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/27/2019
13:18 ||
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#1
So why not sanction Rosneft, Chevron, Total SA and Equinor ASA.
#3
The ironic thing is, the US is the only country that can refine it in bulk. And with our fracking success our refineries are switching from heavy to sweet crude.
Venezuela will have no market in a decade or so since one one will be able to refine their sludge.
#4
At least the holds of the tankers won't rust much, so they've got that going for them...which is nice
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2019 15:35
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#5
at a time when the world is thirsty for heavy, sulfurous oil.
Could someone who knows explain this to me? I've always understood refining this Venezuelan oil is something akin to separating the individual ingredients of toothpaste...is it more viscous or enduring or otherwise special?
#9
swksvolFF, it is all about chemistry and how deeply buried the source materials are underground. Natural gas, oil, and coal are different minerals underground that arise from the same sediments.
Natural gas has very short carbon chains, one to five carbons in a row. Oil has longer chains, six to dozens. (Octane is eight carbons in a row.)
Venezuelan crude is between oil and coal and is bitumen or asphalt, which has lots more carbon organized into many dense rings. Coal has even longer crazy carbon structures.
Refineries take whatever they get and then use different catalysts to break down the carbon chains and remove impurities, like sulfur, to make the products normal people use, such as gasoline, motor oil, asphalt, propane, and natural gas.
[FoxNews] Tensions between two of the world's nuclear powers were raised dramatically Wednesday after Pakistan's air force said it shot down two Indian warplanes that crossed the disputed Kashmir border and captured each of the aircraft's pilots.
Police officials in Indian-occupied Kashmir told Reuters two Indian pilots and a civilian on the ground died when the planes crashed. The officials did not confirm the planes were shot down by Pakistani forces.
Raveesh Kumar, a spokesman for India's Ministry of External Affairs, also claimed an Indian plane shot down a Pakistani fighter jet -- although Pakistan denied any of its jets had been hit and photographic evidence had yet to emerge.
Posted by: Spot ||
02/27/2019
08:37 ||
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#1
Sounds like two kids.
"I got you!"
"Nuh-uh! I got you!"
"No you didn't!"
#2
India acknowledged the loss of a MIG-21 which crashed in Pakistan controlled territory. Pakistan claims to have captured the pilot of that aircraft.
It seems the other plane (probably also a MIG) went down in Indian controlled territory and the casualties reported are from that crash.
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/27/2019 9:58
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#3
Mig-21s... flying museums.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
02/27/2019 10:43
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#4
It's amazing to me how little MSM coverage this is getting. I suppose actual journalism would be required.
Posted by: Matt ||
02/27/2019 10:50
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#5
....but, but TRUMP!
We don't have 'news' organizations. Infotainment propaganda mills of the commies, but no news organizations.
The appropriate old Soviet saying - There is no truth in the news and no news in the truth.
#11
India also operates an extensively upgraded version of the antiquated MiG-21 called the Bison, which has proven to be surprisingly effective—if crash prone. With their upgraded Phazotron Kopyo radar—which is capable of simultaneously tracking eight targets—the Indian MiG-21s are able to attack targets beyond visual range with Russian-made Vympel R-77 radar-guided missiles.
The Indian MiG-21s also incorporate helmet mounted cueing systems and the ability to carry the R-73 Archer dogfighting missile. That combination makes the aged jet a formidable adversary close in even against a much more modern aircraft. In fact, the Indians MiG-21s fared well even against Boeing F-15C Eagle during a Cope India exercise in 2004 —granted the U.S. Air Force was operating with restrictive rules of engagement.
However, while the Romanian and Indian MiGs were upgraded with new avionics, not much was done to upgrade their airframe structure. But conceivably, the even the ancient MiG-21 would still be viable with a refurbished airframe and cutting edge avionics. While no nations has opted to do that, Israel made a deal to supply fourteen refurbished and extensively modernized Israel Aerospace Industries F-21 Kfir fighters to Argentina—which is also a forty-year-old platform. The airframe is being completely refurbished to an almost “new” state and the aircraft’s General Electric J79 turbojets will be supplied in a “zero-hour” condition after a complete overhaul, according to my colleague Arie Egozi at Flight International. An engine replacement/overhaul would be required after 1,600 flight hours.
[Roll Call] Thirteen Republicans rebuked President Donald Trump on Tuesday, supporting a Democratic effort to block his national emergency declaration to fund a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.
A resolution of disapproval to overturn Trump’s move passed the House by a vote of 245-182, with almost every Democrat and 13 Republicans supporting the measure. Trump declared a national emergency earlier this month when Congress failed to meet his request of $8 billion for a barrier along the southern border. Lawmakers allocated nearly $1.4 billion for 55 miles of barriers in a recent government funding bill.
Five lawmakers did not vote, including two Republicans: New York’s John Katko, who is one of three GOP members in districts that Hillary Clinton won in 2016 and Missouri’s Ann Wagner. Others not voting were Democrats Lois Frankel of Florida, Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Peter A. DeFazio of Oregon
[American Thinker] PwC Consulting forecasts that artificial intelligence’s contribution to world gross domestic product will jump from $2 trillion in 2018 to $15.7 trillion by 2030.
The first artificial intelligence (AI) patents were issued in the 1950s for machine learning and grew steadily to 19,000 by 2013. But the total number of AI patents almost tripled over the last five years to over 55,600.
This does not include another 256,456 worldwide patent publications for AI functional applications for biometrics, computer vision, natural language, information extraction, character recognition, scene understanding, and semantics.
The latest World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reported that two United States companies lead the world in issued AI patents; with IBM holding 8,290 patents and Microsoft holding about 5,930 patents. But China has become the fastest growing competitor by focusing on machine learning techniques of bio-inspired approaches, which draw from observations to develop vector machines and supervised learning.
#2
Like blockchain it will contribute nothing. And the pundits will be surprised but will blame it on whitey.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/27/2019 8:12
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#3
Sounds like someone gonna pay a lot of 'sclarole to mine and analyze your personal data.
Posted by: regular joe ||
02/27/2019 13:39
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#4
Artificial is the only kind of Intelligence Democrats like Alexandia Occasional Cortex can hope for
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2019 15:15
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#5
there are a number of things that AI can do that humans do not do well, for example, continuously modulate the output of devices that improve human hearing, regulate human heartbeat, etc.
these have been and will continual to be gradually introduced
it is likely that a major improvement in automobile and truck AI will constitute over a Trillion by 2030
btw. current world GDP is estimated at about $80T with the US having a GDP of about $ 20T China about $15T and Japan about $5T
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/27/2019 19:41
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[Breitbart] Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) will reopen an idled Detroit engine plant, invest billions into five existing Michigan plants, and create about 6,500 U.S. auto jobs in a move reflecting President Trump’s economic nationalist agenda.
The Plans for Michigan
In an announcement Tuesday, Fiat Chrysler executives revealed their plans to reopen the Mack Avenue II engine plant in Detroit by investing $1.6 billion into the site to convert it into a manufacturing plant for the company’s Jeep Grand Cherokee and a new three-row full size Jeep SUV. The investment to reopen the plant ‐ which was shuttered nearly seven years ago leaving hundreds of American workers laid off ‐ will create 3,850 U.S. jobs.
More leaking from the unknown, well-informed entity:
[DW] A friend of Anis Amri who was deported to his native Tunisia following the 2016 Berlin Christmas market attack may have been in Nice around the time of the Bastille Day truck attack, German media have reported.
According to a German criminal police document seen by the dpa news agency, Bilal Ben Ammar
met with Anis Amri the night before he killed 12 people in a truck attack at Berlin's Breitscheidplatz on December 19, 2016.
Media outlets ARD, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) and the Berliner Morgenpost reported that Ammar may have also been in Nice around the time of the July 14, 2016 truck ramming attack that killed 86 people.
BOARDING PASS TO NICE
RBB presented a screenshot obtained from German police documents that showed Ammar had a boarding pass on his phone for a flight from Berlin to Nice dated July 6, 2016 — eight days before the Nice attack. The name on the boarding pass was an alias.
Ammar applied for asylum in Germany under different names and separately claimed to be from Morocco, Egypt and Libya.
Investigators found the boarding pass on Ammar's confiscated phone after he had already been deported to Tunisia, Amri's home country. Other photos on the phone showed Ammar in Paris with friends in the days before and after the Nice attack.
The Islamist attacker in Nice used a truck to run down people on Nice's beach boulevard and had scouted the area beforehand. Like Ammar and Amri, he was Tunisian.
It's unclear if Ammar had any contact with the Nice attacker, who is suspected of having had accomplices.
INVESTIGATION INTO LAPSES IN BERLIN ATTACK CASE
Ammar's hasty deportation from Germany has come under renewed scrutiny as a parliamentary inquiry examines shortcomings in the handling of Amri and the investigation into the Berlin attack.
Following his deportation, German police had zeroed in on Ammar as a potential terrorism suspect who may have been planning another attack.
There have also been media reports that Ammar worked for Moroccan intelligence, something German authorities have denied.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 ||
02/27/2019
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[REUTERS] India said its warplanes killed “a very large number” of fighters when they struck a militant training camp inside Pakistan on Tuesday, raising the risk of conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors, although Pakistan officials denied there had been casualties.
Pakistan said it would respond at a time and place of its choice, with a military spokesman even alluding to its nuclear arsenal, highlighting the escalation in hostile rhetoric from both two sides since a suicide bombing in Kashmir this month.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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#UPDATE: Local reports Pakistani F-16’s have been cleared to engage (I would assume referring to any Indian aircraft that cross the LoC) https://t.co/nSgqZpFiKi
#6
Two generations later, Hiroshima and Nagasaki recovered from the bombs dropped on them. If Pakistan acts on its threats in that direction, they’re toast.
[KhaamaPress] At least fifteen Talibs have been killed or maimed during the Arclight airstrikes and festivities in North of Afghanistan, the Afghan Military in the North said Tuesday.
According to a statement released by 209th Shaheen Corps of the Afghan Militry in the North, at least two Talibs were killed and two others were maimed during a clash with the armed forces in Almar district of Faryab province at around 11:50pm local time.
The statement further added that the security forces also discovered and defused two improvised explosives during an operation which conducted at around 9:00pm local time in Kotal Sherinak area of Almar district in Faryab.
At least one Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... hard boy was killed and two of their fighting positions were destroyed during an airstrike which was conducted at around 12:30pm on Monday in the vicinity of Sancharak district of SAr-e-Pul province, the 209th Shaheen Corps said.
The statement by 209th Shaheen Corps also added that similar airstrikes were also carried out in Chemtal district of Balkh province leaving six Talibs dead and two others maimed.
[Axios] The New York Times reports that experts from the U.S. played a role in the Chinese government's use of DNA samples to keep tabs on its Uighur population — the largely Muslim ethnic group whose members the government has also forced into camps.
The big picture, per the NYT: Almost 36 million people took part in a DNA testing program in Xinjiang, the part of China where the government's campaign against Uighurs is most pronounced. Many Uighurs were coerced into giving the samples.
An American company, Thermo Fisher, supplied the equipment the Chinese government used to conduct the testing, per the Times. Those tests weren't used for health screenings, as advertised, but as part of an effort to keep track of the ethnic minority population.
China accounted for 10% of the company's business in 2017, and American officials have criticized the company previously for its willingness to sell China equipment that could be used for tracking and monitoring.
Thermo Fisher said this week that it would stop selling equipment in Xinjiang, but not the rest of China.
China also relied on DNA samples from Yale geneticist Kenneth Kidd to help perfect its technology and prove that it could effectively use DNA to identify Uighurs.
Kidd told the NYT he didn't know that had happened, and that he was "not particularly happy" with the way his data had been used.
#5
Chinese trying to find out inactivation of which genes makes a Muslim?
DNA is a good way to ID individuals, as US police investigators have been demonstrating.
An interest sci-fi meme involves the creation of artificial pathogens designed to kill segments of a human population based on specific elements in their DNA, while not affecting others at all.
[IsraelTimes] Illegal painkillers from India smuggled into Paleostinian territory gained popularity after 2009 war with Israel, trapping thousands in hell of addiction with few options for rehab.
An opioid crisis has quietly spread in the Gazoo Strip, trapping thousands in the hell of addiction and adding another layer of misery to the blockaded and impoverished Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,-controlled coastal territory.
The scourge can be traced to the mass import of cheap opioid-based Tramadol pain pills through smuggling tunnels under Gazoo’s border more than a decade ago. A more addictive black-market form of the drug called Tramal has since taken hold.
"I have seen the top elites taking it ‐ university students, girls and respectful people," said Dr. Fadel Ashour, who treats addicts in his dimly lit clinic.
There are no reliable estimates for the number of addicts in Gazoo, a conservative society of 2 million where it is considered shameful to admit to such a problem. A 2017 study by the World Health Organization estimated that 10,047 males over the age of 15 were "high-risk drug users."
By my calculations that is 0.5%, not exactly a flood of addicts.
Ashour, a psychiatrist, neurologist and professor at Gazoo’s al-Azhar University, believes the number is much higher.
Prices have shot up in recent years as a result of tunnel closures and an anti-drug campaign by the ruling Islamic terror group Hamas. Yet for the vast majority of sufferers, rehab isn’t available for those who can no longer finance the habit.
As conditions worsened, a thriving smuggling industry along the Egyptian border pumped in a cheap supply of Tramadol, an addictive painkiller that found a welcome market among the masses of idle youths.
Tramadol, a synthetic opioid analgesic, is considered a controlled substance by the US Food and Drug Administration, in the same category as well-known medications like Valium and Xanax.
Tramal, believed to be a more addictive black market form of Tramadol, arrived later, gaining popularity after the first war between Hamas and Israel in 2009. Tramal was cheap, less than 50 cents a tablet, and people discovered its sedative effects at a time when they were "trying to overcome their anxiety because Gazoo was a very traumatic environment," said Dr. Ashour.
Experts in Gazoo say the drug is illegally manufactured in India and has higher amounts of opioid and possibly hashish and toxic substances. The illicit pills are also much more addictive.
Dr. Elyad Davidson, head of the pain relief unit at Israel’s Hadassah Medical Center, said both drugs in Gazoo are variants of the medication known generically as tramadex ‐ a type of opioid typically prescribed as a painkiller, but which also increases levels of serotonin, like antidepressants. While tramadex is not as potent as morphine, "there is no doubt that it is addictive," Dr. Davidson said.
Some countries don’t view it "really as an opioid," which he called a "mistake" that can lead to wider use and addiction. He said patients who become accustomed to high doses experience painful withdrawal symptoms, such as anxiety, diarrhea, sweating and vomiting.
But in recent months, prices have shot up. A single pill can cost about $20, well beyond most people’s means.
In the meantime, Hamas’s anti-drug police are cracking down on supplies. "Tramal smuggling has become a national security issue," said police front man Ayman Batniji.
The Health Ministry has curtailed Tramadol imports and banned four kinds of over-the-counter drugs, including Lyrica, a potent painkiller for patients who have undergone amputations. Police have seized hundreds of thousands of pills.
Nearly a year of border protests against the Israeli blockade have added a new element to the crisis. Hundreds of young men have been shot by the Israeli army, which says it is defending its border.
#6
Nearly a year of border protests against the Israeli blockade have added a new element to the crisis. Hundreds of young men have been shot by the Israeli army, which says it is defending its border.
See? It's all a Juice Plot™
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2019 9:32
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#7
I would be shocked if Afghan heroin isn't there.
#8
So, the people who attack the border are drug addicted and need the money earned for drugs? Some states are allowing babies born alive to be murdered, why are we treating addicts to prevent them from dying. It is obvious we could allow the people suffering an overdose to expire and society would. E better off.
[KhaamaPress] A top Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... commander who was involved in coordinating high profile attacks has been killed during an operation in Sayyidabad district of Wardak province.
According to the informed military sources, Taliban commander Qari Sahid, known for coordinating attacks high profile attacks in Kabul was killed in an air strike 23 February in Sayyidabad district, Wardak province.
The sources further added another Taliban mid-level commander and attack controller was also killed in an air strike which was carried out on 25 February in Sayyidabad district of Wardak province.
In the meantime, at least 10 Talibs were killed, 2 vehicle-borne improvised bombs, a house-borne improvised bomb were destroyed during the operations of the Afghan Special Forces and Arclight airstrikes in Ghazni and Uruzgan provinces.
A Taliban and ISIS-K murderous Moslem were also killed during separate airstrikes in 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.. and Balkh provinces, the sources said, adding that an air strike in Faizabad district of Jawzjan province killed 1 Taliban fighter and maimed another. "Over the past 48 hours, air strikes have killed 4 Taliban fighters in Jowzjan province, preventing low-level commanders from staging reinforcements prior to the Spring fighting season."
At least 8 Talibs were killed, 5 were maimed, and 3 others were placed in durance vile Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! during the operations in Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... , Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... , and Pashtun-infested Logar provinces, the sources added.
[IsraelTimes] Terrorists were planning bombings, Israeli TV says; PA security official won"t confirm or deny report.
The Paleostinian Authority security forces recently collared a six-person Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",-led cell in Nablus that was preparing to carry out terrorist attacks in Israel employing bombs, Channel 12 news reported earlier this week, without citing a source.
The PA security forces first tossed in the clink Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! the commander of the cell, a Hamas terror group operative whose deputy chief, Saleh al-Arouri, transferred $50,000 through the United Arab Emirates, and then nabbed its remaining five members, the report said.
The entirety of the cell, which was receiving orders from the Gazoo Strip and Leb, did not belong to Hamas, the report added, stating that its commander had recruited persons unaffiliated with the terror group in an effort to make it more difficult for the PA security forces and Israeli intelligence to identify them.
A PA security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he could not confirm or deny the details of the report, but noted Ramallah’s security forces constantly work to crack down on all Hamas terror activity in the West Bank.
"We have very clear orders to stamp out Hamas military activity and we are always making efforts to that end," he told The Times of Israel on Monday. "We confiscate every transfer of funds to Hamas from Gazoo or abroad. We also regularly arrest its members we suspect of planning operations and take away their weapons."
Since Hamas ousted the Fatah-dominated PA from Gazoo in 2007, Ramallah has made substantial efforts to wipe out Hamas’s military and financial infrastructure in the West Bank.
The security official said the PA security forces were taking action against Hamas’s military activities to protect Paleostinians, but also Israelis.
"We are undertaking this work to safeguard our people and make certain they live in a stable environment. We have no interest in allowing the West Bank to turn into another Gazoo," he said, adding that Ramallah also wants to ensure Hamas harms no Israeli.
The official said that recent tensions between the PA and Israel have not affected Ramallah’s willingness to confront Hamas activities in the West Bank.
"We remain committed to doing this work," he said. "We are not politicians, but rather professionals concerned with ensuring safety and stability here."
Israel’s security cabinet decided last week to approve withholding NIS 500 million ($138 million) of tax revenues from the Paleostinian Authority.
The decision was a move to start implementing a new law that permits Israel to withhold tax money from Ramallah over payments the PA makes to security prisoners and the families of dead attackers.
Israel collects sales, customs, and excise taxes on behalf of the Paleostinians every month, and transfers them to the PA’s coffers.
PA President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... has condemned Israel for moving to withhold the funds, arguing that the Israeli decision amounts to "piracy" of Paleostinian funds.
Israeli officials have defended the move, arguing that the PA’s policy of paying security prisoners and slain faceless myrmidons incentivizes violence and terrorism.
Abbas has also said the Paleostinians would not accept any of the taxes Israel collects on behalf of the PA, if it does not transfer the full amount to Ramallah.
If the PA follows through, it could place itself in dire financial straits, as it would be turning down its largest source of income.
Citing Paleostinian officials, Rooters reported last week that Israel currently collects and transfers NIS 800 million ($222 million) in total taxes to the PA every month. Avi Dichter, the chair of the Knesset Defense Committee, has said Israel would spread out the withholding of the tax money over 12 months, meaning approximately 5 percent of each month’s NIS 800 million would be withheld.
[BLOOMBERG] After his militias and national guardsmen attacked aid caravans trying to feed his starving citizens, Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro Venezuela's attempt at producing a Muammar Qadaffy... appeared on state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
over the weekend dancing the salsa. The dictator’s point was clear: I’m not rattled. I’m not going anywhere.
This is the context for U.S. Senator Marco Rubio The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida... ’s cryptic counterprogramming on Twitter. On Sunday he tweeted before and after photos of the late Muammar Al Qadaffy of Libya. In the first he was smiling in sunglasses; in the second he was bloodied and fleeing a mob. Six hours later, Rubio tweeted a similar side-by-side of the late Nicolae Ceausescu ...late Communist dictator of Romania, where he was executed by a firing squad organized by his indignant subjects. While he was alive Old Nick was the subject of periodic mandatory adoring rallies and was respected in Washington because he wasn't Like All the Other Commies... of Romania, first giving an angry speech and then facing a firing squad.
The reaction was fierce. Some Twitter users began a campaign to report Rubio’s account for encouraging violence. Other activists began an online petition urging his resignation. Venezuela’s foreign minister told Democracy Now he was appalled.
For the Latin American left, Rubio’s tweets play into America’s Cold War history of supporting strong men and encouraging coups. The most infamous moment came on Sept. 11, 1973, when Chilean military officers ‐ at the urging of the CIA ‐ toppled President Salvador Allende, who was shot during the coup. (It’s disputed whether he took his own life.) The left watches what’s happening now in Venezuela and sees the American gringos up to their old tricks.
But this analysis crumbles under even the mildest scrutiny. Venezuela in 2019 is nothing like Chile in 1973. Allende won a real election in 1970. Maduro prevailed in a fake one last year. Maduro’s opposition is not a junta of military generals storming the presidential palace. It is the National Assembly, the country’s only institution with any democratic legitimacy. In short: In Chile in 1973, coup plotters sought to nullify an election; in Venezuela today, opposition leaders are seeking a new one.
Most important, at least from the perspective of the U.S., there is no comprehensive military intervention in the offing. It’s true that President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... has asked his advisers about the feasibility of an intervention. It’s also true that senior administration officials like to say "all options" remain on the table; if Maduro sends his thugs to attack the U.S. embassy, for example, there will be a military response.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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#1
The gold standard of dictators - as long as he's alive time is on his side.
[THEGATEWAYPUNDIT] An 81-year-old man was assaulted in a New Jersey supermarket this week over his MAGA hat.
NBC New York reported that according to Somerset prosecutors, the elderly Franklin Township resident was at a ShopRite on Elizabeth Avenue Monday afternoon when a far left lunatic confronted him about his MAGA hat. Prosecutors said that the elderly Trump supporter was left with minor injuries and declined treatment.
The assault is currently under investigation and it is unclear whether it was caught on surveillance tape.
No arrests have been made and prosecutors did not provide any details about the suspect either.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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#1
It's an absolute disgrace the fascists continue to get away with this behavior. If this was a member of an officially recognized victim group instead of a Trump supporter
the attacker would have been arrested, doxed, and fired from their job an hour after it happened. Same thing with that fascist that punched the conservative kid in Bezerkly last week. They got a full face shot of that brownshirt wannabee and they still can't identify him. Yeah right. Open support of the duly elected president is hazardous in blue states.
This double standard will begin to boil over sooner rather than later.
#2
So the police will not release the description nor the store video. Time for a purge. You can see the local news here. Frankly it's shallow reporting and not worth watching.
Last straw for me. I'm going to buy and wear one. Shades of Robert Conrad, 1977 Eveready Batteries. "I dare you".
#3
We are told thinking in terms of symbols is some higher level thinking. From MAGA hat to scary black rifle to orange hair, I'm thinking not so much really. More like oversimplification for very small minds.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/27/2019 6:59
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#4
No arrests have been made and prosecutors did not provide any details about the suspect either.
#5
its fun to wear your MAGA hat, the snowflakes around here just glare but their pussies so far.
report from Blaine County Idaho, home of John Kerry and A vacation ground for the Obamas and Teddy Kennedy.
#6
I am not looking for a fight with anyone. However, I am looking for MAGA bumper stickers. I would love to sneak about parking spots after dark and paste them on cars & SUVS with telltale commie stickers and banners already pasted on them. I think the results would be hilarious.
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) ‐ Iraqi security forces placed in durance vile ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... on Tuesday three 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 while trying to infiltrate from Syria into the Iraqi territories, a security source said.
Security forces spotted three members of the Islamic State terror group trying to sneak into Anbar province in western Iraq coming from Syria to carry out terrorist attacks against Iraqi civilians and troops, the source told the Arabic-language Almaalomah news website.
The source said that the three turbans were successfully arrested and moved to a detention center for interrogation, adding that the security forces acted on precise intelligence data as they made the arrest.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/27/2019
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The leader 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.... (ISIS/ISIS/IS/ISIS), His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ...the head of ISIS, or what remains of it, and a veteran of the Abu Graib jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us. So far he has been killed at least four times, though not yet by a stake through the heart... , may be hiding inside the terrorist group’s last enclave in the Euphrates River Valley region, veteran journalist Elijah Magnier reported on Tuesday.
"There are strong indications ISIS top ranking leaders are in the city, probably including Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi," a high ranking Iraqi intelligence official told Magnier.
Citing the Iraqi official, Magnier said his source relied on intelligence information that was collected from Iraqis that are currently operating inside the Baghouz area of Deir Ezzor.
"There is a serious shortage of food and medicine in Baghuz forcing ISIS leadership to reduce the burden by asking civilians and families of forces of Evil to leave. The 1000 or 1500 forces of Evil remaining in the city can survive longer rationing what is left and are ready to fight to the death. Fighters get used to bombing and ISIS has enough experience in tunnel digging and the setup of underground shelters for command and control leadership and fighters to wait out an infantry assault," the source told Magnier.
The reason for believing al-Baghdadi is still inside this Euphrates pocket is due to the fact that the terrorist leader has not released any broadcasts since August 2018.
According to Magnier, the terrorist leader would most likely release a broadcast to encourage his fighters in the Euphrates enclave if he wasn’t inside this area.
In many previous battles, including djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... and al-Raqqa, the Islamic State leader has released audio messages to his fighters to fend off the opposing forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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[ELUNIVERSAL] The president of the National Assembly (AN), Juan Guaidó, recognized by more than 50 countries as president in charge of Venezuela, said he expects to begin his return to Caracas "in the next few hours," sources confirmed to the Spanish news agency Efe.
These sources stressed that at this moment they are "studying several ways" to reach Venezuela, but they added that "it will be very soon" when he is back in Caracas in order to exercise the functions of interim president, a position he announced that he assumed the past January 23.
"An inmate does not serve anyone, an exiled president either, we are in an unprecedented area (...) And my role and duty is to be in Caracas despite the risks, regardless of what that implies," he said. Guaidó in an interview broadcast on Tuesday by channel NTN24, reported AFP.
Guaidó arrived in Colombia last Friday to coordinate the delivery of humanitarian aid along the border with Venezuela, where he faces a severe economic crisis, with lack of food and medicines that the Government of Nicolás Maduro attributes to the sanctions of the United States. ).
The frustrated activity culminated in festivities with troops loyal to Nicolás Maduro.
Guaidó also participated in the Bogotá meeting of the Lima Group, which promised to tighten the fence against Maduro but without resorting to force.
The countries that do not know Maduro claim that their election was fraudulent. Faced with this scenario, Guaidó, self-proclaimed on January 23 as the responsible ruler.
The head of the Parliament insisted that he will return this week to Caracas to exercise his "functions", even "if they decide to take the step" of imprisoning him.
Colombia denounced "serious and credible threats" against Guaidó and blamed the "usurper" government for what might happen to him. Maduro has said that Guaidó must respond to justice.
On Monday, the vice president of the United States, Mike Pence, insisted in Bogota that "all options" are still open with Maduro, which is well received by Guaidó.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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#1
Someone uploaded a video on Facebook of an aid truck trying to outrun 3 Venezuelan amored cars that were firing on the truck driver. The truck did come to a stop but the firing continued for long time.
Within the blahblah, these nuggets of information:
[Rudaw] A major humanitarian organization warned Tuesday 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’s apparent resurgence in Iraq threatens to create "aid deserts" ‐ areas considered too dangerous for NGO workers to cover.
"The rise in insurgency threatens humanitarian operations in parts of Iraq as access and safety are increasingly precarious," Mercy Crops warned in a statement.
"What we are reading in the media and what we are seeing on the ground in Iraq simply doesn’t add up," said Tanya Evans, Iraq Country Director for Mercy Corps.
"If anything, Death Eater groups are growing in confidence. As the reconstruction efforts continue to stall, groups like ISIS are filling the cracks."
ISIS’s resurrection in areas once under its control has concerned the Iraqi government, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the international community, and local residents.
Their presence has been felt in Anbar, Nineveh, Kirkuk, ... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time... Saladin, Diyala, and the Hamrin mountains.
Mercy Crops, which supports peace-building initiatives in Iraq, has called on the international community to invest in programs that will address the deep divisions created over the past 15 years.
There have been almost 2,000 security incidents involving Death Eater groups since January 1, 2018, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, cited by Mercy Corps.
Mercy Corps has been working on the ground in Iraq since 2003.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/27/2019
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[DAILYTIMES.PK] Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration on Monday reaffirmed to take action against proscribed organizations functioning while altering their original names.
While talking to Daily Times Deputy Commissioner of the territory Hamza Shafaq said that Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) are banned at national level. "They are banned and will not be allowed to work at any cost until the ban is removed by the government", he claimed. The DC said that as per his information, no such outlets of these organizations were currently working in any part of ICT. When asked about his stance about functioning of such organization under other names, Shafaq responded that the administration will investigate that matter and if they are found working with other names, they would also be banned and punished under the prescribed legal provision.
Despite repeated attempts, Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi was not available for comment. Even after the ban imposed on Hafiz Saeed ...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat... ’s Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) by the government, the same are operating throughout Pakistain using new names. These two organizations have recently been banned again, as a part of the government’s other initiatives to accelerate anti-terrorism operations and re-establish the writ of the state. JuD and FIF have existed in Pakistain with other names before, most prominently Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... (LeT). Even today, they continue to operate merely by changing names.
According to a report published in Daily Times, offices of the JuD and FIF have been rebranded and repackaged; the banners outside have changed but the faces inside are the same.
The report stated that the management of these illegally constructed ’outlets’ had no qualms that they were all, indeed, working for Hafiz Saeed and only changed the name due to the government’s weakness against foreign pressure. Some of the names that the proscribed organization has now started using includes ’Al Madina’ and ’Aisar Foundation’. The Daily Times Investigation report maintained that some of the operators at rebranded banned FIF ’outlets’ expressed their feelings that the government and security apparatus were on their side, but all the stakeholders (including FIF and Hafiz Saeed) were making a compromise for the time being. The operators also showed hope that as soon as the current pressure subsides, FIF name will reappear on banners placed on the donation sites.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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[WASHINGTONTIMES] The Vermont House overwhelmingly passed Thursday a sweeping, no-limits abortion bill that makes terminating a pregnancy a "fundamental right" and ensures access to the procedure at every stage of gestation.
H.57 was approved by a vote of 106-36 after politicians defeated a dozen proposed amendments offered by Republicans, including provisions requiring a 48-hour waiting period, parental notification for minors and a cut-off at 24 weeks’ gestation except in medical emergencies.
"I trust women. Therefore I cast my vote in favor of codifying protections Vermonters already have in safeguarding this fundamental reproductive right," said state Rep. Becca White, Hartford Democrat, in her floor speech.
Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, Buford bit the snake and Eloise began speaking in tongues... Vermont Right to Life executive director Mary Hahn Beerworth blasted Democrats for rejecting "common-sense amendments to protect minor girls, to limit abortions on unborn babies in the later states of development, to provide informed consent (including alternatives to abortion), to provide regulation and inspection of abortion clinics."
"It is official. The Vermont Democrat Party now holds the dubious distinction of being the party of unlimited, unrestricted and unregulated abortion-on-demand throughout pregnancy," Ms. Beerworth said in a statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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#1
Today they come for the unborn, tomorrow they will come for the aged, an then they will come for you... Get ready for it..
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
02/27/2019 13:41
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Maple syrup d*ck s*ckers. F*ck them....
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/27/2019 19:44
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[KhaamaPress] The Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan has announced that the Afghan army soldiers have condcutd 6 planned operations jointly with the other security forces, 75 Special Operations and 15 Arclight airstrikes in the past 24 hours to eliminate enemy hideouts and threats while the Air Force has also conducted 160 flights in support of the armed forces.
According to a statement released by the Ministry of Defense, at least 38 Death Eaters were killed, 19 were maimed, and 4 others were detained during these operations.
The statement further added that 11 of the bad boyz were potted and 4 others were maimed in Qarabagh, Andar, and Rashidan districts of Ghazni, 7 were killed in Chahar Bolakand Chemtal districts of Balkh, 3 more were maimed and a cycle of violence was destroyed, 6 other Death Eaters were killed and two others were maimed in Sangin district of Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... , 4 Death Eaters were killed and 5 more were maimed in Meezan district of Zabul, 4 Death Eaters were killed and vehicle packed with explosives was destroyed in Zurmat district of Paktia province.
The statement also added that 3 Death Eaters were killed, 8 others were maimed and two of their fighting positions were destroyed in Sancharak district of Sar-e-Pul ...a city and eponymous province in northern Afghanistan, population about 500,000. Demographically it is majority Tadjik and Uzbek. There are small Pashtun, Arab, and Hazara ...a grouping of Dari-speaking people of Sino-Tibetan descent inhabiting Afghanistan and Pakistain. They are predominantly Shia Moslems and not particularly warlike, which makes them favored targets... communities, of which the Hazaras mostly don't bother anyone... province, another bully boy was killed and one more was maimed in Faizabad district of Badakhshan province, one ISIS-K Death Eaters was killed in Khogyani district of 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 and another bully boy as killed in Syedabad district of Maidan Wardak province.
[PJMedia] Tommy Robinson’s courageous truth-telling about Islam has not only resulted in years of harassment by the British authorities, an endless cascade of death threats, and, last year, a thoroughly unjust prison term that might have spelled his demise, but also, of course, a pattern of coverage by the mainstream media that has been almost uniformly deceitful and poisonous. When he heard that the BBC series Panorama, which is the UK’s answer to 60 Minutes, was planning a story on him with the working title “Tommy Takedown,” and that its producers were collaborating with the vile group Hope Not Hate (HNH), which is Britain’s version of the Southern Poverty Law Center -- i.e., a shady far-left smear machine masquerading as a noble monitor of bigots, fascists, and hate groups -- he decided to go on the offensive.
The key to Tommy’s plan was Lucy Brown, a former employee whose job with him had ended in a shouting match. After their split, she was offered £5,000 by HNH to badmouth Tommy for a cover story, and had to contact a lawyer to prevent a major daily from falsely claiming she’d accused Tommy of sexual allegations. When Panorama reporter John Sweeney asked her to talk to him for what he promised would be a “definitive documentary” uncovering Tommy in all his “horribleness,” Brown got in touch with Tommy and agreed to wear a hidden camera when she met with Sweeney to discuss his plans.
The undercover footage of Brown’s meeting with Sweeney forms the heart of Tommy’s hour-long exposé, Panodrama, which he premiered last Saturday on a huge screen to a huge crowd in front of the BBC’s Manchester headquarters.
Second one because Google owns YouTube and may very well take that copy down very soon. The Rebel website is independent and not as likely to take it down.
[Daily Mail, Where America Gets Its News] Diosdado Cabello, known to be the second most-powerful man in Venezuela behind President Nicolás Maduro, sent two of his three children to China
Airline boarding passes showed different names for Cabello's daughter, Daniella Cabello, and his youngest son, Tito Cabello, raising suspicions
Both children boarded the Havana to Beijing flight as Desiree Contreras and Tito Contreras, apparently using their mother's surname to hide their identities
The siblings left Havana on Friday and made it to Moscow on Saturday before connecting to a Beijing-bound flight that touched down Sunday
In Colombia, U.S. vice president Mike Pence met Juan Guaido, recognized by the U.S. as the legitimate president, along with other regional leaders
Pence announced more sanctions on the regime, singling out four governors, while at the border clashes continued in protest at an aid blockade
Because non-Han children will be so welcome in China?
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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[WASHINGTONTIMES] Wolfgang's ravioli at Disney World lists for $25 on the menu. You can get a 40 ounce can of Chef Boyardee ravioli for $2.50 at WalMart.
But they miss this:
That clever Mr. Maher is revealing his ignorance again. Check out the locations of Chef Puck’s multitudinous ventures listed on his Wikipedia page
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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#1
Punching down. It's amazing how this was totally forbidden - until Americans became the punching bags. Then the strongly-held morals reversed and it's OK to ridicule and shame ordinary people for the crime of eating cheap food from a can.
Go Maher! Speak truth to the powerless!
Posted by: Herb McCoy ||
02/27/2019 0:30
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While you can you better stock up on it because under Socialism you will soon run out of it and toilet paper.
#3
One of my bigger frustrations in China is that I have not been able to locate one of those Chef Boyardee box pizza kits anywhere. Those are perfect movie food, especially with kids. Somehow, Wolfgang Puck hasn't come to mind recently ...
#4
I grew up eating Chef Boyardee stuff and I'm still here. Way too much sugar in it though. When I read a recipe and come to the "two cups of packed brown sugar" line (and it's in a LOT of recipes) I just stop reading and move on.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/27/2019 6:06
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#5
As I like to tell people: If a chuck wagon boss wasted sugar that belongs in the coffee on his chili, he'd wind up staked to an ant hill.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/27/2019 6:08
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Pakistani military spox: "As you all know, Pakistani government has called a meeting of National Command Authority tomorrow. I hope you know what that means."
National Command Authority overseas Pakistan's nuclear weapons.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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#1
...I'm actually not that worried about the Pak government ordering a nuclear strike, for two reasons: First, they may be evil, but they're not crazy. Secondly, you don't really understand just how dangerous to you the damned things are until you've got them.
My worry is that some dumbsh!t Paki lieutenant is going to decide to defend his country's honor all on his own. These people ain't Strategic Air Command circa 1960, with Curtis Lemay at the top, hypertrained professionals down from there, and ironclad regs and procedures inbetween. Their C3 is probably close to nonexistent, and I'd be willing to bet there's nothing even remotely close to the security and Permissive Action Links we take for granted.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/27/2019 6:23
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Find a safe distance and don't forget your SPECS (Special Protective Eyewear Cylindrical System).
[NATION.PK] The top U.S. envoy for peace in Afghanistan met a senior Taliban ...Arabic for students... leader in 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... Monday as the two sides resumed talks to end 17 years of war despite the Death Eaters’ continued refusal to deal with the Kabul government.
Zalmay Khalilzad, named last year to lead the US peace effort, met Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban and the movement’s political chief, for the first time in Doha. Talks were expected to run for at least four days.
"Just finished a working lunch with Mullah Baradar and his team. First time we’ve met. Now moving on to talks," Khalilzad tweeted.
Baradar arrived in Doha on Sunday, but sources said it was not clear whether he would attend all the meetings, which diplomats in Kabul said were expected to focus on clinching a ceasefire before the onset of warmer spring weather prompts an escalation of fighting, as in previous years.
Baradar was released from a Pak jail last year. "There was much confusion whether Mullah Baradar should travel to Qatar or not. Some of our people wanted him to go there but avoid participation in the peace talks. Others wanted him to go and supervise the peace talks," said a senior Taliban leader.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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The surprise being that they took this long to say it aloud.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Iraq’s former prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, told a local TV station on Sunday that the administration of ex-US President Barack Obama How much damage could he do in four years?... Eight, then... had played a crucial role in the creation of ISIS by allowing the terrorist group to occupy Iraqi territories, PressTV reported.
Maliki, who served as prime minister between 2006 and 2014, reportedly said that the United States had provided Iraq with intelligence and aerial images, locating with great precision positions of ISIS terrorists, who had lined up behind Iraqi borders in Syria.
According to him, large groups of fighters were waiting to cross into neighbouring Iraq after what they believed was going to be the impending downfall of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... Maliki elaborated that back then Iraq had shortage of fighter jets capable of attacking ISIS positions, while combat helicopters did not have the range to bomb them.
Therefore, Baghdad turned to Washington for assistance and asked the B.O. regime to deliver "one or two" fighter jets to the Iraqi Air Force under the 2008 security agreement between the two countries.
The United States, however, turned down the request and suggested that the Maliki government ask Jordan for help, the report claims. Given that there was not a military cooperation deal between Baghdad and Amman at the time, it was not an option for the Iraqi authorities.
Nonetheless, the Iraqi Army’s 7th Division was sent to root out the hard boyz without air support and managed to make some progress before finding itself in the midst of a deadly siege that killed its commander and nearly wiped out the whole division.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Scores of Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... fighters were killed inside of Yemen’s Sa’ada Governorate on Sunday after the Saudi Coalition heavily bombarded their training camp.
The Saudi Coalition reportedly began their heavy bombardment on Sunday morning, when their warplanes struck the Houthi training camp inside the al-Ghool wa al-Boqa’I District of the Sa’ada Governorate.
As a result of this Saudi bombardment, dozens of Houthi fighters were reported dead or maimed at this imperative district in Sa’ada.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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[THEGATEWAYPUNDIT] 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 former-attorney-turned rat has been disbarred, reported the New York Post.
The decision, which follows his felony conviction for lying under oath, was announced in documents released Tuesday by Manhattan’s Appellate Division, First Department and the Attorney Grievance Committee.
New York law mandates disbarment for felony convictions.
According to the law, any lawyer "who shall be convicted of a felony ... shall upon such conviction, cease to be an attorney and counsellor-at-law, or to be competent to practice law as such."
Mr. Cohen can file for reinstatement in seven years ‐ or sooner if he were to be pardoned (not going to happen).
Michael Cohen was sentenced to 36 months in prison for lying to Congress and other charges related to his taxi medallion company in December and will report to prison on May 6th.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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#1
Is Mueller investigating Taxi Medallions (admittedly dodgy Rent-seeking) and Russians?
"A legal document published by Courthouse News later on Tuesday declares Cohen disbarred, but bears a date of Feb. 28, 2019 — two days in the future. The document indicated a five-attorney panel found Cohen cannot practice law after his guilty plea."
#5
Democrats tell us the American people have a right to hear him and judge his credibility for themselves...just like we judged Christine Blasley Ford.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
02/27/2019 11:16
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From now on Michael Cohen will do all his lying under Lanny Davis.
India is pulling its troops back on posts at Line of Control due to infliltration of Special Services Group of Pakistan Army via @schaheid and other military sources.
Sadly, sometimes bad things happen to good people.
[ToloNews] At least nine members of the public uprising forces were killed after an Arclight airstrike mistakenly targeted their outpost in Jaghori district in Ghazni province on Monday night, the provincial security officials told TOLOnews on Tuesday.
According to the officials, the public uprising forces had asked for air support in Hootqawl area in Jaghori district, but their own outpost was mistakenly hit by the airstrike.
The officials said three public uprising force members were maimed in the airstrike.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shootout, Butch clutched at his other shoulder...... dozens of Jaghori residents launched a protest against the incident and said the perpetrators should be trialed.
Some residents claimed that the airstrike has left 12 members of the public uprising forces dead and that the airstrike targeted an outpost close to the district governor’s office.
Jaghori district governor Khan Ali Radmanish confirmed the incident and said two outposts of the public uprising forces were targeted by the airstrike on Monday night which left eight forces dead and four others maimed.
Ahmad Khan Sirat, front man for Ghazni police, has also confirmed the airstrike on the public uprising forces outpost in an interview with the BBC.
Understand what is happening on the LoC. While the armies are fighting it out with heavy guns...air forces are flying along LoC on each side but not crossing the LoC. This order must come from the Govt to declare war before PAF will cross the LoC & attack IAF. So, we wait!
[ELUNIVERSAL] President Nicolás Maduro urged the head of the National Assembly (AN), Juan Guaidó, recognized by more than 50 countries as president in charge of Venezuela, to "respect the law" and added that if he returns to the country "he will have to see the face of justice ", since the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) had imposed a precautionary measure where he could not leave the country.
"If a court says that 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... or Barack Obama That’s just how white folks will do you.... can not leave the country during a judicial investigation, if they leave and come back, what should the US law do? Let everyone draw their conclusions, "said the head of state during an interview with ABC News.
He added that "no one can evade the law. In this case, Mr. Guaidó has to answer to justice, not to Nicolás Maduro."
In the interview, Maduro also accused the US government of "fabricating a crisis" to justify intervention not only in the country, but in South America.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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...I got a bad feeling about this. Ferdinand Marcos thought he could get rid of Benigno Aquino with a 'deniable' assassination, and Maduro is just as dumb as ol' Ferd was.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/27/2019 4:25
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[ALMASDARNEWS] For the third day in a row, the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) has launched several Arclight airstrikes over the Idlib Governorate.
Led by their L-39 Albatros, the Syrian Air Force targeted several areas controlled by the jihadist rebels of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham in and around the town of Khan Sheikhoun.
A source from the Syrian military told al-Masdar News this afternoon that these airstrikes were conducted in response to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s missile strike in eastern Idlib last night.
The HTS attack resulted in the death of seven Syrian soldiers and the hospitalization of more than 20 others.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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[KhaamaPress] The Special Forces of the National Directorate of Security ...the Afghan national intel agency... , the Intelligence Department of Afghanistan, conducted an operation against the drugs stockpile of Taliban ...Arabic for students... in southern Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province.
The National Directorate of Security (NDS) in a statement said the operation was conducted jointly and in coordination with the Special Unit of the Counter-narcotics forces in the vicinity of Nowzad district of Helmand province.
The statement further added that the security forces discovered 550 kilograms of narcotics, 30 military uniforms, 2 military steel helmets, and three telephones.
At least three hideouts of the murderous Moslems were also destroyed during the same operation, the National Directorate of Security added in its statement.
The anti-government armed murderous Moslems including Taliban have not commented regarding the operation so far.
[IsraelTimes] The munitions used by Indian fighter jets in a rare strike against targets deep inside Pakistain overnight Monday were Israeli-made SPICE 2000 smart bombs, according to Indian media.
The SPICE ‐ standing for Smart, Precise Impact, Cost-Effective ‐ was created by the government-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The approximately 1,000 kilogram (2,200 pound) air-to-ground missile was launched by Indian Mirage fighter jets.
The powerful missile uses GPS coordinates to locate a target and on-board cameras to ensure that the munition is striking the correct location.
India’s ties with Israel have warmed in recent years, particularly in the area of military cooperation and weapons development, exchanging billions of dollars in defense contracts.
[WASHINGTONTIMES] The United Methodist Church is in danger of breaking up after a small majority of its 2019 conference attendees voted to keep LGBTQ bans in place.
At its general conference in St. Louis Monday, the 800 clergy members held a preliminary vote to accept the Traditional Church plan by 56 percent, which would continue to keep LGBTQ bans against clergy and same-sex weddings.
While the final vote on the plan will happen late Tuesday, continuing with the Traditional plan is worried to cause a schism within the church and lead to supporters of LGBTQ inclusion to split.
An alternate initiative, called the One Church Plan, only received 47 percent support from the clergy, despite being backed by a majority of the Council of Bishops.
This plan would change current language in the denomination’s Book of Discipline stating that "homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching" and would leave decisions about LGBTQ acceptance for churches to decide regionally.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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#2
An alternate initiative, called the One Church Plan, only received 47 percent support from the clergy, despite being backed by a majority of the Council of Bishops.
Really? Disband your Council if you don't believe in "organized religion"...
[IsraelTimes] A German court rules that Germany’s domestic intelligence agency shouldn’t have publicly announced that it is investigating the country’s biggest far-right party.
An administrative court in Cologne ...the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth populated city in Germany.... on Tuesday grants an injunction sought by Alternative for Germany against the BfV intelligence agency.
The agency announced last month that it was increasing its scrutiny of the party, known by its German acronym AfD, amid concerns that it is flirting with extremism.
The Cologne court rules that publicly describing the party as a "case to be investigated" was disproportionate and breached its constitutional rights. The court does not rule on the probe itself.
AfD welcomes the injunction, which can be appealed.
[WASHINGTONTIMES] Lawyers for Vanessa Tyson, who accused Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of raping her, on Thursday blasted the state General Assembly for lacking "political courage" to take action.
Lawyers Debra S. Katz and Lisa Banks urged politicians to launch a special counsel-style probe before the General Assembly adjourns Friday.
"It is unfathomable that the Virginia General Assembly appears intent on ending its current session without addressing this issue in any meaningful way," they said in a statement.
Ms. Tyson, a Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, college professor, came forward two weeks ago to accuse Mr. Fairfax of forcing her to perform oral sex on him when they met as campaign aides at the 2004 Democratic Convention in Boston.
Maryland resident Meredith Watson then went public with allegations that she suffered a similar attack by Mr. Fairfax when they were students at Duke University in 2000.
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02/27/2019
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The leader of the Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... Party Samir Geagea ... Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005 ... , told a French publication on Tuesday that Iran had failed to win over the region.
"It is wrong to believe that Tehran has won in the region," Geagea told L’Orient Le Jour daily.
"The Iranian axis is facing great pressures in the region, as proven by the repeated Israeli Arclight airstrikes on Iran and its allies in Syria, and to which Iran did not react," he explained.
Geagea then turned his attention to Hezbollah, who he heavily criticized during his short interview.
"As to Hezbollah, this party has been present in Leb for 30 years and its militia had not been legalized; on the contrary, discussions today focus on the means to dissolve its military units. So, how can we say that Hezbollah is the master of the game on the Lebanese scene?" Geagea continued.
He added that Hezbollah would not be able to take over Leb due to the country’s particularity.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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#1
Use a remote car starter, dude
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2019 11:59
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[ALMASDARNEWS] A commander from the Ottoman Turkish-backed rebel forces was recently killed in an ambush by the Kurdish-led Afrin Liberation Forces in the northwestern region of Aleppo.
According to reports, the commander of the Sultan Murad Brigade, Anwar al-Hussein, was killed when a bomb planted inside a cycle of violenceexploded near the village of Mashal in the Afrin region of Aleppo.
Al-Hussein was considered 2nd in-command to the leader of the Sultan Murad Brigade Ahmad Uthman.
This latest liquidation by the Afrin Liberation Forces comes just days after they killed several Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels inside the Afrin region.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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A woman who allegedly attacked a man sporting a "Make America Great Again" hat was apprehended Tuesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after authorities discovered she is unlawfully present in the U.S.
*Snicker* Sometimes natural consequences are totally awesome.
"Deportation officers with ICE’s Fugitive Operations Team enjugged Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! Rosiane Santos, an unlawfully present citizen of Brazil, today near Falmouth, Massachusetts," ICE front man John Mohan said, CBS News reported. The Howie Carr Show first reported about the arrest.
"Santos is currently facing local charges for assault and other offenses. She is presently in ICE custody and has been entered into removal proceedings before the federal immigration courts," Mohan added.
Authorities charged Santos, 41, with disorderly conduct after she attacked Bryton Turner at a restaurant in Falmouth, Massachusetts, CBS reported on Feb. 21. Santos batted the hat off Turner’s head and commenced verbally assaulting him, according to Falmouth Police.
So much for all the claims that illegal immigrants are so worried about being caught that they are shy, secretive, and work very hard not to be noticed by the authorities.
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/27/2019 4:22
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So much for all the claims that illegal immigrants are so worried about being caught that they are shy, secretive, and work very hard not to be noticed by the authorities.
Politicians, entertainers and the media (but I repeat myself) tell them it's their country now. Some of them are gullible or arrogant enough to believe it...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/27/2019 6:19
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Who again says illegals aren't criminal? Hello Santos, shades of Logan's Run - No Sanctuary on your sorry rump.
[ALMASDARNEWS] On Monday, the jihadist rebels of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham launched a deadly missile strike that resulted in a large number of casualties within the ranks of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), a source near the Abu Dhuhour axis told al-Masdar News.
According to the military source, the jihadist rebels fired a U.S.-made TOW missile towards a gathering of Syrian Army soldiers in the western countryside of Abu Dhuhour, near the town of al-Sukkariyeh.
The source said the anti-tank guided missile managed to hit its intended target, killing and wounding over 25 Syrian Arab Army soldiers.
He said that seven soldiers were confirmed dead and 22 others were hospitalized as a result of their wounds sustained from the jihadist attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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#1
under Obama beginning in 2015 and until July 2017 under Trump, the CIA and the Def dept sent arms to anti-Assad forces that were thought to be non Jihadi
so the weapon used for that attack is likely from the Obama era
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/27/2019 7:51
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.[The Federalist] New York’s law legalizing abortion after a child’s gestational age of 24 weeks was caught in the crosshairs of President Trump’s state of the union address a few weeks ago. "Lawmakers in New York cheered with delight upon the passage of legislation that would allow a baby to be ripped from the mother’s womb moments before birth," said the president.
Dozens of news outlets rushed to quibble with his words. An NBC "fact check" labeled the statement false. The law allows abortions "after 24 weeks if the fetus is not viable or when it’s necessary to protect the life of the mother," the fact-checker reported.
Defenders of this law and those like it say it is moderate and compassionate, concerned only with making sure women with life-threatening pregnancy complications are not left to die. But if one looks at the medical and legal context for the law and understands what exactly the terms mean, it becomes clear that the reality is much less straightforward‐and much darker
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) ‐ Two Iraqi non-combatants were killed on Tuesday in a kaboom in Fallujah city in the western province of Anbar, a security source was quoted as saying.
Speaking to Almaalomah news website, the source said that a roadside kaboom left by 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.... holy warriors went off when a car carrying civilians was passing by al-Nuaimiya district in southern Fallujah.
The kaboom left two civilians killed and two others maimed, the source added, noting that the security forces sealed off the blast site and started to search for other explosives at the scene.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/27/2019
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Heavy exchange of fire ongoing at LoC between Indian and Pakistani armies. Meanwhile, my Kashmiri sources are once again reporting heavy air activity by Indian Air Force over Jammu Kashmir.
[IsraelTimes] The Dutch Green Left Party becomes the Netherlands’ first mainstream political movement to endorse a boycott of Israel.
The endorsement came in a vote on a motion during the February 16 General Congress of the party, which has 14 seats out of 150 in the lower house of the Dutch parliament.
“BDS is a legitimate means to help Palestinians in their fight for justice,” the passed motion says. It states that Green Left “will be alert and resist forcefully attempts in any country to criminalize BDS.”
BDS is the acronym for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
While boycotting Israeli goods or products is legal in all of Europe and in other countries around the world, promoting such boycotts is a violation of anti-discrimination laws in France and Spain, courts in those countries have ruled.
The Dutch Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, a Jewish group committed to fighting anti-Semitism and performing Israel advocacy work, condemned the resolution.
“Green Left conveniently ignored how, in practice, BDS goes hand in hand with expressions of anti-Semitism and is linked to terrorist groups,” CIDI wrote.
The Likoed Nederland pro-Israel group wrote in a statement that Green Left “has declared itself a racist movement,” noting that the party has passed no other motions on boycotting Morocco, China, Turkey or Russia – all of which are internationally considering occupying powers.
[AnNahar] Hundreds of suspected jihadists and their relatives exited the last 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 holdout in eastern Syria aboard 11 trucks on Tuesday, an AFP news hound said.
The huge double-trailer trucks snaked towards a screening point manned by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces across the plain from Baghouz, the last hamlet still held by IS.
Women could be seen spilling out of the trucks as SDF fighters prepared to screen yet another batch of survivors from the last speck of the jihadist "caliphate".
On Monday alone, 46 such trucks left the IS pocket, bringing to around 50,000 the number of people who quit jihadist-held territory since December.
Among them were thousands of suspected jihadists who tried to blend in with civilians in a desperate attempt to save their lives before a final assault by the Kurdish-led SDF.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/27/2019
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[NATION.PK] A meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... on Tuesday rejected Indian claims of targeting an alleged terrorist camp near Balakot.
The meeting, chaired by the premier in the wake of India's violation of the Line of Control (LoC), was attended by the top civil and military leadership, including Army Chief General Qamar Jawed Bajwa and ministers of defence and foreign affairs.
A handout released after the NSC meeting stated the forum strongly rejected Indian claims of targeting an alleged terrorist camp near Balakot and the claim of heavy casualties. Once again Indian government has resorted to a self-serving, reckless and fictitious claim, the handout added.
This action has been done for domestic consumption given the election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk, the NSC said.
The claimed area of strike is open for the world to see the facts on ground. Domestic and international media is being taken to the impact site, it added.
The forum concluded that India has committed uncalled for aggression to which Pakistain shall respond at the time and place of its choosing.
To take the nation on board, the govt has decided to requisition joint session of the Parliament, the handout released after the NSC meeting further stated.
PM Imran has summoned a special meeting of National Command Authority (NCA) on February 27. PM has directed that elements of national power, including the Armed Forces and the people of Pakistain, to remain prepared for all eventualities.
The premier has decided to engage with global leadership to expose irresponsible Indian policy in the region, the handout further read.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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[WASHINGTONTIMES] CNN analyst Van Jones says the arrest of actor Jussie Smollett is like losing an American "icon" in ways the population doesn’t fully comprehend.
Charges of felony disorderly conduct and filing a false police report have the potential to land the "Empire" actor in prison for up to three years (in addition to a requirement to reimburse the reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown ... home of Al Capone, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel,... Police Department for its investigation).
That development ‐ only weeks after politicians, celebrities, and media outlets disseminated his story far and wide ‐ has left Mr. Jones distraught.
"This is the fall of an icon, and I don’t think people understand how important he has been in the black community," he told a CNN panel Wednesday. "’Empire’ as a show, to have him as a beloved character, I think did a great deal to knock back homophobia in the black community."
Mr. Smollett claimed that he was attacked in Chicago on Jan. 29 by two men wielding a rope and a canister of bleach. He also appeared on ABC’s "Good Morning America" to talk about the incident, which he said included a "MAGA country!" taunt.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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#1
I understand a little more now why those LGBTQXYZ people are so angry. If I had to get up every morning looking to an "icon" like jusseh to get through my day, I'd be bitter too.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/27/2019 6:14
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I doubt Van Jones ever watched the show - Smollett was (!) a bit player on the Empire cast. Seems a bit of a stretch to make him into a 'beloved character', say like Archie Bunker!
[DAWN] The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has issued a warning to the Lal Masjid ...literally the Red Mosque, located in Islamabad and frequented by all sorts of high govt officials. The proprietors, Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi, unleashed their Islamic storm troopers on the city, shutting down whorehouses and beating people up who weren't devout enough. The Musharraf govt put an end to the nonsense by besieging the place. Abdul Aziz Ghazi was nabbed while he was trying to escape dressed up like a girl. BBC reported that the corpse count at 173, but other claims, usually hysterical, say there were up to 1000 titzup. Among their number was Abdul Rashid Ghazi. Everyone then said tut-tut and what a nice guy he had been... administration against illegal construction on the sector H-11 plot allotted to it for the rebuilding of Jamia Hafsa ... the Islamic nunnery maintained by Lal Masjid.... , it emerged on Tuesday.
The CDA's Building Control Directorate sent a notification in this regard to the seminary's khateeb, Maulana Abdul Aziz ...nutball holy man who runs the Lal Masjid in the heart of Pakistain's capital. After instigating a rebellion against the state in 2007, he was caught trying to sneak away dressed in a burka. He rejects democracy as un-Islamic, which it probably is... , on February 22.
"It has [come] to the notice of this authority that [the] following violations of the Islamabad Building Regulations, 1963 and Islamabad Residential Sectors Zoning (Building Control) Regulations, 2005 have been committed on your above-mentioned plot," the notification states.
It highlights that the violation in question pertains to starting "construction work at [the] site without getting approval from [the] authority".
The deputy director of the directorate's building control section (BCS) has directed Aziz, identified as the "owner/occupant" in the notification, to "stop construction work within 24 hours from the date of issuance of this notice and apply for approval along with relevant documents, i.e. architectural and structural drawings".
No action has been taken by the seminary in response to the notice so far, according to DawnNewsTV.
REBUILDING OF JAMIA HAFSA
The Jamia Hafsa building and the library were demolished by the government following the military operation in 2007 against Lal Masjid.
After the operation, the government and the mosque administration, led by Maulana Aziz, reached an agreement under which the CDA would provide an alternative site for the reconstruction of Jamia Hafsa.
The CDA allotted 20 kanals of land for this in H-11, where the Lal Masjid administration is said by the CDA to have begun construction work without getting plans approved in advance.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2019
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[NationalReview] Read recent essays on China. Visit think-tank public symposia. Hear out military analysts. Talk with academics and media pundits. Listen to Silicon Valley grandees. Watch Senate speeches and politicians interview on television.
The resulting new groupspeak is surreal. If one excises the word "Trump," what follows is a seemingly revolutionary recalibration of attitudes toward China that more or less echo Trump’s voice in the wilderness and often crude and shrill warnings dating back from the campaign trail of 2015.
Trump’s second secretary of state, the skillful Mike Pompeo, has been institutionalizing the president’s pessimistic view of China. Insightful but heretofore underappreciated assessments from China scholars such as Miles Yu and Gordon Chang are now being taking seriously. Both have been warning us for years that the Chinese seek domination, not accommodation, and are replacing their erstwhile feigned respect for our strength with an emboldened contempt for our perceived growing weakness, whether real or psychological. Both have warned also that once China achieves military, economic, and cultural parity with the United States, the global order will be quite different from that of the last 75 years.
From the military, one hears more frequently now that we were at a tipping point by late 2016: The Obama Asian pivot had failed ‐ publicly provocative, but in reality without substance, giving the lethal impression of real weakness masked by empty rhetoric. The Chinese militarization of the Spratley Islands was conceded as the inevitable future of the South China Sea. Chinese military and weapons doctrine was aimed at destroying the offensive capability of the U.S. fleet in the Pacific as a way of breaking off allies from America, and then Finlanding them.
From 2009 to 2016, our defense readiness was eroding, China’s increasing. Psychologically, the American military could not reassure the global order that China would not one day soon unleash North Korea, absorb Taiwan, emasculate South Korea and Japan, or isolate the Philippines and Australia. Huge and mercantile Chinese trade surpluses with all its Western trading partners were accepted as normal.
The cash-short Pentagon seemed to shrug that America was the victim of cosmic and historic forces that inevitably would dethrone the United States, analogous to the declinism of the 1930s, when a powerful U.S. 7th Fleet was not able to deter a modern rising Japanese navy from carving out what would become the Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere based on perceptions of American impotence and weariness and spent European colonialism.
In Silicon Valley, the good old news of making trillions of dollars over the last 30 years in outsourcing assemblage to China, opening up a huge new Chinese consumer market, and entering joint partnerships has insidiously been eclipsed by the growing reality that our techie masters of the universe were instead deluded Dr. Frankensteins who had helped to birth an unstoppable monster.
...The idea seemed to be that if a few thousand multimillionaires got even far more fabulously rich by acquiescing to Chinese mercantilism, they could not do real harm to the vast and powerful U.S. Or perhaps, given inevitable American decline, the idea was that they should get their profits in now, before the American golden goose was put out of its misery.
In all these areas and more, a new consensus, among left and right, is now settling in that we are at a crossroads with China. Any more appeasement and acquiescence will lose the West its Asian allies, who will be forced to go with the ascendant superpower, not the declining one.
Either the U.S. military recalibrates or it will return to its 1930s stature of a powerful but vastly overextended Pacific navy and air force. We have reached a cultural nexus at which any more acquiescence would institutionalize the idea that to object to Chinese piracy is to indulge in hurtful stereotypes and therefore should be replaced with appeasement, and that giving away American technology or allowing its expropriation with a wink and nod is not treasonous but simply good business.
The establishment would like to fool itself that it came to its growing about-face on China thanks to a natural exhaustion of patience, or new data, or brilliant new exegeses. And that evolution may be in part true.
But far more likely, Trump’s early and relentless hammering on Chinese mercantilism, systematic cheating, and illiberality finally made the old status quo unsustainable in the face of mounting evidence.
The establishment is adopting Trump’s once-renegade stance toward China, and yet trying to immunize it from him all the same. So the end result seems something like the following: “That idiot Trump somehow now agrees with us on confronting China.”
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
02/27/2019
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#1
From 2009 to 2016, our defense readiness was eroding,
#8
The PRC has many great weaknesses that, if they get worse, will result in financial difficulty &/or civil unrest in China. "Military, economic and cultural parity with the United States" may wind up meaning something hyugely different from what the "best and brightest" are currently cogitating and constipating about.
[WashingtonPost] Unlike North Korea’s Kim Jong Un or Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, Maduro is not a one-man cult or clan leader. Rather, he rules as the public face of an omnipotent political class accused of immense corruption and narco-trafficking. While presenting themselves as red-clad revolutionaries, they have snatched up million-dollar condos in Miami and sent their children to elite international schools.
The global focus has been on Maduro as strongman, an alleged usurper who opponents say staged his own reelection. Yet the re-energized opposition under Guaidó and his international backers, led by Trump, faces a broad network of figures who control food distribution, exchange rates, armories and bribes. Maduro’s fall alone, many observers say, may not bring landmark change.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
02/27/2019
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#1
this is analysis from late January but valid and timely anyway
post Maduro, there will be a truth and reconciliation problem that will be at least as difficult as the financial reconstruction of the company
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/27/2019 10:42
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Trump applies pressure beyond Scotch [10News] A container filled with 90,000 bottles of vodka believed to be for sanctions-hit North Korea has been seized by Dutch customs agents, officials said Tuesday.
Three-thousand cases of the spirit were found by officers at the port of Rotterdam aboard a ship owned by China's Cosco Shipping, said Roul Velleman, a spokesman for the Dutch customs agency.
Velleman said officers decided to check the container based on a "risk profile" provided by the Foreign Ministry.
"We follow a risk profile and we had information that this container could be carrying something," Velleman said. "And it was right. It was vodka -- destination China, probably to go to North Korea."
North Korea has been slapped with a number of international sanctions, which include a ban on the import of certain luxury goods, for its continued ballistic missile testing and violations of UN resolutions.
Those sanctions were the reason behind this particular seizure -- which was ordered by the Dutch minister for trade, Sigrid Kaag -- her spokesman said
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/27/2019
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#1
Dude! The party with the Russians is cancelled!
Posted by: ed in texas ||
02/27/2019 7:47
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[DAWN] Multan Home of the Multan Sultans... Sultans clinched their second victory of the season with a well-rounded performance in both innings, to defeat Islamabad United by six wickets in the 16th match of the Pakistain Super League (PSL) at the Dubai Cricket Stadium.
Daniel Christian was crowned man of the match for his brilliant bowling spell of three wickets for just 19 runs.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] A series of intense clashes broke-out inside the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah after the Saudi-backed Yemeni National Army attacked a group of Houthi fighters, local activists reported on Monday.
According to the activists, the Yemeni National Army attacked the Houthi forces at the southeastern axis of Hodeidah city.
The reports did not indicate why the Yemeni National Army attacked the Houthi forces; however, tensions have been rising lately as the Saudi Coalition accused the Houthi forces of refusing to leave Hodeidah.
At the start of the year, the United Nations announced the start of a ceasefire inside the Hodeidah Governorate.
Since the implementation of the U.N.-sponsored ceasefire, both sides have exchanged weekly hostilities while avoiding all-out war inside Hodeidah.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Pakistani journalist from DAWN says four Pakistani killed while 11 injured in Indian shelling across LoC. A mother and two children reportedly among the dead. #AJKhttps://t.co/aCjvfg3Buj
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.
[American Thinker] PwC Consulting forecasts that artificial intelligence’s contribution to world gross domestic product will jump from $2 trillion in 2018 to $15.7 trillion by 2030..jpg)
[REUTERS] India said its warplanes killed “a very large number” of fighters when they struck a militant training camp inside Pakistan on Tuesday, raising the risk of conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors, although Pakistan officials denied there had been casualties.
[Axios] The New York Times reports that experts from the U.S. played a role in the Chinese government's use of DNA samples to keep tabs on its Uighur population — the largely Muslim ethnic group whose members the government has also forced into camps.
[IsraelTimes] Terrorists were planning bombings, Israeli TV says; PA security official won"t confirm or deny report.
Venezuela's attempt at producing a Muammar Qadaffy...
The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida...
[THEGATEWAYPUNDIT] An 81-year-old man was assaulted in a New Jersey supermarket this week over his MAGA hat.
...the head of ISIS, or what remains of it, and a veteran of the Abu Graib jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us. So far he has been killed at least four times, though not yet by a stake through the heart...
...the 
[WASHINGTONTIMES] The Vermont House overwhelmingly passed Thursday a sweeping, no-limits abortion bill that makes terminating a pregnancy a "fundamental right" and ensures access to the procedure at every stage of gestation.
...a city and eponymous province in northern Afghanistan, population about 500,000. Demographically it is majority Tadjik and Uzbek. There are small Pashtun, Arab, and 
[PJMedia] Tommy Robinson’s courageous truth-telling about Islam has not only resulted in years of harassment by the British authorities, an endless cascade of death threats, and, last year, a thoroughly unjust prison term that might have spelled his demise, but also, of course, a pattern of coverage by the mainstream media that has been almost uniformly deceitful and poisonous. When he heard that the BBC series Panorama, which is the UK’s answer to 60 Minutes, was planning a story on him with the working title “Tommy Takedown,” and that its producers were collaborating with the vile group Hope Not Hate (HNH), which is Britain’s version of the Southern Poverty Law Center -- i.e., a shady far-left smear machine masquerading as a noble monitor of bigots, fascists, and hate groups -- he decided to go on the offensive.
...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...
[ALMASDARNEWS] Iraq’s former prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, told a local TV station on Sunday that the administration of ex-US President 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[THEGATEWAYPUNDIT] 
...the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth populated city in Germany....
Samir Geagea
[WASHINGTONTIMES] CNN analyst Van Jones says the arrest of actor Jussie Smollett is like losing an American "icon" in ways the population doesn’t fully comprehend.
...literally the 
[WASHINGTONTIMES] It would seem obvious that once a judge has died, he couldn’t rule in any new cases.
[10News] A container filled with 90,000 bottles of vodka believed to be for sanctions-hit North Korea has been seized by Dutch customs agents, officials said Tuesday.
