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Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou’s arrest may prompt China to retaliate, 'take hostages,' expert says
Today's Headlines
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China-Japan-Koreas
Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou’s arrest may prompt China to retaliate, 'take hostages,' expert says
[FoxNews] China could 'take hostages' and is almost certain to retaliate against the United States, experts say, after the stunning arrest of a top Chinese tech executive for allegedly trying to skirt sanctions on Iran.

Huawei Technologies' chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested Saturday in Canada and faces extradition to the U.S. Meng was taken into custody on behalf of the U.S. while she was transferring flights in Vancouver, the tech company said.

Chinese officials on Thursday blasted Meng's arrest — but experts warn more forceful actions, including the possibility of tit-for-tat detentions of high-profile citizens, could be coming.

James Lewis, the director of technology policy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Axios the U.S. should be prepared for a backlash and warned American tech executives to steer clear of China for now.

"If I was an American tech executive, I wouldn't travel to China this week," warned Lewis, who labeled Huawei "one of the Chinese government's pet companies" and charged the communist country's leaders wouldn't be afraid to "take hostages."

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Thursday called Meng’s arrest a violation of human rights and demanded the “immediate release” of the 46-year-old executive, who also goes by the name Sabrina.

“Detaining a person without providing an explanation has undoubtedly violated her human rights,” Geng said, adding the Chinese government “has made clear our solemn positions to the U.S. and Canada.”

Geng said the U.S. and Canada haven’t provided reasons for Meng's detention. But the Wall Street Journal reported in April that U.S. authorities were investigating whether Huawei violated sanctions on Iran, leading the Chinese government to appeal to Washington to avoid any steps that might have damaged business confidence.

Meng is the deputy chairman of the company’s board and the daughter of its founder, Ren Zhengfei, a former Chinese military engineer. Her stature in Chinese culture has been compared to American tech giants such as Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg.

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CFO ARRESTED IN CANADA, ACCUSED OF VIOLATING IRAN SANCTIONS

An editorial in the pro-government Global Times accused the U.S. of “maliciously finding fault” with Huawei.

“Washington is attempting to damage Huawei's international reputation and taking aim at the tech giant's global market in the name of law,” the editorial stated. “The Chinese government should seriously mull over the U.S. tendency to abuse legal procedures to suppress China's high-tech enterprises. It should increase interaction with the U.S. and exert pressure when necessary. China has been exercising restraint, but the U.S. cannot act recklessly. U.S. President Donald Trump should rein in the hostile activities of some Americans who may imperil Sino-U.S. relations.”
Posted by: 3dc || 12/06/2018 13:10 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [18 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  U.S. President Donald Trump should rein in the hostile activities of some Americans who may imperil Sino-U.S. relations

Otherwise, every American will get a bad score in the Chicom Social Credit database. No hot & sour soup for you!
Posted by: SteveS || 12/06/2018 14:56 Comments || Top||

#2  Yeah, they're going to take hostages too. They already do that, in fact. Many Western business executives have been kidnapped and their companies forced to pay ransom. One such case was a scrap metal dealer. During the transit of the metal, the price tanked and the Chinese company couldn't pay. So they took the man hostage. He escaped from the hotel he was being held in and hailed a taxi to Shanghai airport. The police TRACKED HIM TO THE AIRPORT, arrested him, and brought him back. So this kind of thing is small potatoes for them.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 12/06/2018 14:59 Comments || Top||

#3  Take the CEO of Facebook, Google, and Twitter. Please.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/06/2018 15:33 Comments || Top||

#4  Send George Soros to Beijing immediately.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/06/2018 15:59 Comments || Top||

#5  While they're at it, also send Hillary and Obama to Beijing.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/06/2018 16:00 Comments || Top||

#6  Might have something to do with this;

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46352336

Chinese officials have defended their decision to bar three US citizens from leaving the country, saying they are suspected of "economic crimes". Victor and Cynthia Liu, children of a fugitive businessman, and their mother, Sandra Han, have been detained since June, the New York Times reported. The US Department of State confirmed to the BBC that they are in "close contact" with the adult Liu children. Their father, Liu Changming, is wanted in a $1.4bn (£1bn) fraud case in China.

FYI - Victor, 19, was born in the U.S. The ChiComms are holding a US citizen hostage and then wonder why we grabbed Meng??
Posted by: Bangkok Billy || 12/06/2018 16:55 Comments || Top||

#7  An aspect of the trade war that you don't see much commentary on - Trump is very effectively highlighting who the Chinese are and how they do business.
Posted by: Iblis || 12/06/2018 16:57 Comments || Top||

#8  Ethnic Chinese are always Chinese, no matter where they're born.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 12/06/2018 17:00 Comments || Top||

#9  Re #6:
Fascinating bit a background info, Billy. Thanks.
Posted by: SteveS || 12/06/2018 17:13 Comments || Top||

#10  Dr. Herb, many of the ones born in China have been, thanks to Mao and successors preaching the Gospel of Marx for the past seventy years, modern secular Germans with darker skin and epicanthic folds. Oh, and an ideographic script distantly descended from hanzi.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 12/06/2018 17:13 Comments || Top||

#11  Good ahead and then we'll raise tarrifs even more, hold Xi and the entire chicom party personally responsible and then ban all kinds of exports like steel, shoes, etc.
and soon we'll see no more hostages
Posted by: Solomon Ulavish4305 || 12/06/2018 20:41 Comments || Top||

#12  While they're at it, also send Hillary and Obama to Beijing.


they probably both have very nice homes there already
Posted by: 746 || 12/06/2018 21:02 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Why the U.S. Military Is In Serious Trouble
The report of the National Defense Strategy Commission, released Wednesday, reaches conclusions with profound implications for U.S. national security. The report itself is a rarity for Washington, presenting bipartisan consensus that reflects hard-hitting views rather than watered-down, lowest-common-denominator mush.

In sixty-four pages of plain language, the commission paints an extraordinarily troubling picture of the state of U.S. national defenses, calling our present situation a "grave crisis" demanding "extraordinary urgency." It’s a call we should heed.

The Commission

The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act authorized a commission to "examine and make recommendations with respect to the national defense strategy of the United States." The commission members are all national security experts, half selected by Republican and half by Democrat leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. The bipartisan structure gives the commission’s findings particular weight and credence.

In general, the commissioners agree with the administration’s National Defense Strategy (NDS) published this in January 2018. The strategy focused largely on great power competition and stressed the importance of alliances, increasing readiness and achieving Pentagon reforms.

However, after identifying those areas of agreement, the report proceeds to describe some significant shortfalls with the strategy and the supporting resources and concepts. In a key passage, the commissioners express skepticism that the Defense Department "has the attendant plans, concepts and resources needed to meet the defense objectives established in the NDS."

Insufficient Forces

The report notes that the United States now faces five rising challenges‐China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and transnational terrorism‐yet has fewer military forces than at any time since the end of World War II. "Simply put," it observes, "the United States needs a larger force than it has today if it is to meet the objectives of the strategy."

Numerous defense experts, both inside and outside of government, have been telling us the same thing for years. Today, the navy says it needs 355 ships to execute the NDS; they have 286. The air force says it needs 386 squadrons; they have 312. And the army states it needs 500,000 active soldiers; it has only 476,000.

With five potential adversaries to account for, the report observes, a "two-war force sizing construct makes more strategic sense today that at any previous point in the post-Cold War era." Yet the NDS used only a one-war force sizing construct with an additional undefined ability to "deter" another opponent. Essentially, that construct provides no capability to deter an opportunistic adversary who sees the U.S. engaged in one regional conflict. Moreover, it provides no ability to suffer combat losses or to maintain any forward presence in any area other than the conflict zone.

In sum, the NDS’ one-war force sizing construct understates the amount of forces the U.S. needs to prevail. The commission does not approve.

Inadequate Resources

The commission is unsparing in its description of how inadequate the resourcing is for national defense: "the available means are clearly insufficient to fulfill the strategy’s ends." The report points to the cumulative impact of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which effectively removed $539 billion from the Pentagon budget, causing a series of cascading ill effects on readiness, modernization and force size.

This assessment is spot on. In 2017, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis testified that, to rebuild the military to necessary levels, the defense spending would need to see sustained real growth of 3-5 percent annually. Yet the projected defense budget fell well short of that goal‐even before President Trump announced the Pentagon’s FY 2020 budget would take a 4.5% cut.

The report concludes, ominously but wisely, that "if the United States does not adequately fund its military now and in the future, it risks forfeiting any near-term financial savings with vast long-term costs in blood, security and treasure."

Global Posture

The commission comes down strongly in favor of forward-based forces. It recommends that the army return a heavy division to Europe with a corps headquarters. It also urges establishing a more robust defense-in-depth in the Indo-Pacific.

Both recommendations are sound. Numerous experts favor stationing more U.S. forces forward to provide better deterrence and early defense. As General Breedlove, the former commander of U.S. European Command, testified in 2015, "Permanently stationed forces are a force multiplier that rotational deployments can never match."

Other Useful Insights

The commission wisely picked up on the NDS' failure to flesh out its strategy for confronting China and Russia. Operational concepts, the report notes, "constitute an essential link between strategic objectives, defense policy, and budgetary priorities, and they are sorely lacking in the NDS." It's a subtle point that reflects the remarkable depth of the commission's analysis.

Readiness also caught the commission's eye. It has suffered, the report observes, due to "unfettered high demand on a smaller force, persistent budget uncertainty and inadequate funding." Yet clear assessments of readiness are hard to come by. To remedy this, the commission recommends that the Pentagon "develop analytic tools that measure readiness across the range of challenges from low-intensity, gray zone conflicts to protracted high intensity fights with major power rivals."

The report addresses modernization of the U.S. nuclear deterrent, as well. It says that "all legs of the triad, as well as much of the supporting infrastructure approaching the ends of their service lives, nuclear modernization must receive sustained and predictable funding from Congress."

That's sound advice. But following it will be challenging, given the current defense funding picture.

A Difficult Pill to Swallow

In the end, the commission's report brings but little good news. Rather, it paints a sobering picture of the state of U.S. national defense and the military's ability to execute the NDS. But, despite the bitterness of the medicine, it's a prescription that's needed.

The commissioners and staff should be commended for producing an accurate and thoroughly candid assessment. Everyone with an interest in national security should read this report. In the coming months and years, necessary debates will be had on the relative priorities of defense funding versus other needs. For those seeking to the truth about our defense needs, the NDS Commission's report should serve as an authoritative reference.

The report concludes that "America has reached the point of a full-blown national security crisis." It's a wake-up call that needs to be heard. Unheeded, one of the report's most chilling statements could come to pass, "put bluntly, the U.S. military could lose the next state-versus-state war it fights."

It costs blood and treasure to keep a global trade network. The seas, skies and surface don't get smaller. The UK just couldn't keep it up after WW2 and have collapsed into insignificance. If we don't stay strong to keep the trade lanes open, China will take them from us and dictate our future.
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/06/2018 11:15 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  In sixty-four pages of plain language, the commission paints an extraordinarily troubling picture of the state of U.S. national defenses, calling our present situation a "grave crisis" demanding "extraordinary urgency."

Anything like our grave Climate Crisis and Global Climate Change urgency?

Budget and Appropriation time used to be the fall, now with Congress not engaged in their main job dealing with the purse strings till later and later, the unending call for 'more money, more money, more money' just becomes another chorus at the trough.

I usually don't see in any of these 'studies' the recommendation to seriously cut back on commitments. You don't need as much if you don't cover as much.

The report notes that the United States now faces five rising challenges‐China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and transnational terrorism

To paraphrase Fredrick the Great - he who tries to defend everything, defends nothing.

Make real war. Devastating, ugly, unholy. Your potential adversaries will notice. Make them worried about what you will do.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/06/2018 11:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Ridiculous scaremongering with the Chinese. This is just a ploy to get more money into the military-industrial complex. Bipartisan support, well now there's a shocker. It's like they're both secretly on the same side!

We outnumber the rest of the world put together and it's still not enough for these people. We have spent SIX TRILLION DOLLARS on wars since 9/11 with fuck-all to show for it, and they want to spend even more.
Posted by: Butch Ulilet8032 || 12/06/2018 11:48 Comments || Top||

#3  We keep the trade lanes open for the Chinese for free, at no cost to themselves. It's what's enabled them to crush us. China won't dictate our future because we're not dependent on trade. We are the least connected major nation, and most of the trade that we do have is with Mexico and Canada.

If the US Navy pulled its protection from the seas the Chinese would be screwed badly.
Posted by: Enver Phineque1966 || 12/06/2018 11:50 Comments || Top||

#4  Want to own the oceans? Require every ship coming to a US port with imports be built, owned and crewed by Americans.

Currently, the US Navy is the world's leading provider of welfare for merchant shipping.
Posted by: Fat Bob Thud8929 || 12/06/2018 12:33 Comments || Top||

#5  I am just glad ‘non-establishment conservatives’ were removed from the threat list.
Posted by: Airandee || 12/06/2018 13:18 Comments || Top||

#6  We outnumber the rest of the world put together

Ah, no.
Posted by: Woodrow || 12/06/2018 18:02 Comments || Top||

#7  Outnumber in terms of spending, I think, not population.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/06/2018 18:32 Comments || Top||

#8  Let me shorten that 64 pages to a few words: Debt, corruption, duplication, ignorance, carelessness, mismanagement, politics.

Did I miss anything?
Posted by: gorb || 12/06/2018 18:38 Comments || Top||

#9  It would seem we could work with regional alliances to keep certain areas safe with minimal US involvement.
Posted by: ruprecht || 12/06/2018 21:46 Comments || Top||


Europe
Trump gets the last laugh on Macron with Paris burning after his rebuke of 'America First'
[Business Insider]
*French President Emmanuel Macron rebuked US President Donald Trump last month for putting the interests of US citizens above demonstrating moral values.
*Three weeks later, Paris was set ablaze by thousands of working-class protesters who objected to Macron promoting an environmentally friendly fuel tax.
*Macron is about half as popular in France as Trump is in the US. Macron has set himself up as the enemy of nationalist leaders across Europe, but they're more popular than him.
*The Trump administration on Tuesday called for European countries to ditch the leadership of the United Nations and the European Union and instead to join the US in putting the interests of their own citizens first.
*As Macron backpedals on his high-minded fuel tax without appeasing the protesters, it looks as if Trump is having the last laugh.


French President Emmanuel Macron stood at the Arc de Triomphe last month and rebuked President Donald Trump's "America First" policy at a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.

It was a move that, by all accounts, infuriated Trump.

Trump went home from Paris being roundly mocked for the wide perception that he had let rainfall keep him from honoring fallen soldiers, and he fumed at Macron on Twitter.
Actually, the Secret Service determined it was too risky for the chopper ride, but he should've overriden that
But three weeks later protesters stormed the monument in central Paris in a massive, violent riot that saw it defaced with slogans calling for Macron's resignation and leaving the statue of Marianne, the symbol of France's revolution, with its face smashed in.

"Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism," Macron said on November 11. "Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By saying our interests first, who cares about the others, we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what makes it great and what is essential: its moral values."
*sniff*
His remarks were widely seen as a slap in the face to Trump. But they fell on deaf ears, even among his countrymen.

France's lower and middle classes in the intervening weeks launched a massive mobilization that saw 36,000 marching in colors in the street.
Posted by: Frank G || 12/06/2018 10:47 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [13 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Macron is a brain dead empty suit. There is no satisfaction in beating him, just filthy residue from having wrestled at all.
Posted by: Iblis || 12/06/2018 16:59 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Suicide car bombing kills 2 in southeast Iran, state TV says
[SD Union Trib] A suicide car bomber attacked a police headquarters in the Iranian port city of Chabahar on Thursday, killing at least two police and wounding 28 people, state TV reported. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The suicide attacker driving a vehicle loaded with explosives drove up to the police headquarters, provincial official Rahmdel Bameri told state TV. He said police officers blocked the vehicle and started firing at the driver, who then detonated the explosives.

State TV also aired footage of smoke rising over the city. State television said two police officers were killed, lowering an earlier death toll of three without explanation.

Authorities did not identify who was behind the attack, but Iranian media initially blamed the attack on Ansar Furqan, a Sunni jihadi group.

Ansar Furqan is known to operate in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Baluchistan province, which sees occasional attacks by Baluch separatists and drug traffickers. A year ago, the group claimed to have blown up an oil pipeline in Iran's southern Khuzestan province.

Chabahar, near the border with Pakistan on the Sea of Oman, is home to a newly built port and is an economic free zone.
Posted by: Frank G || 12/06/2018 07:11 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under:


-Lurid Crime Tales-
Woman arrested for reportedly pouring hot grease on victim during fight
[10News] Posting just for the mugshot at link
Posted by: Frank G || 12/06/2018 06:58 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I've seen this in the movies, but it usually involved some indignant locals and some wanton Vikings at the gates of the city.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/06/2018 8:22 Comments || Top||

#2  How do you get hot grease on a flight?
(and yes, that mugshot is almost terrifying)
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/06/2018 9:59 Comments || Top||

#3  Who would fight that woman? I'd take one look at her and run.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/06/2018 10:44 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel says it shared tunnel details with Lebanon and UN, calls for sanctions
[IsraelTimes] Prime Minister Netanyahu calls UN chief Antonio Guterres to update him on Operation Northern Shield, urges international condemnation of Hezbollah.

At a regularly scheduled meeting with peacekeepers and representatives from the Lebanese Armed Forces, Israeli officers "presented the uncovered Hezbollah attack tunnel that had been dug from Leb to Israel," a statement from the Israeli military said, without providing details.

"The IDF expressed its protest to the serious violation of Israeli territory and UN Resolution 1701," the statement said referring to the 2006 UN Security Council resolution calling for Hezbollah to withdraw from southern Leb following the Second Leb War, the last major conflict between the IDF and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group.

The United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
Interim Force in Leb (UNIFIL) said Wednesday it will send a team to Israel to "ascertain facts" and called for full access to all locations along the border. According to Israel’s Hadashot news, some UNIFIL personal were shown the Israeli side of the tunnel.

"I emphasize the critical role of our liaison and coordination mechanisms in mitigating tensions through continuous communication, at the heart of which is the Tripartite forum," said head of UNIFIL mission Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Col.

He appealed to both sides in using the mechanisms to "avoid misunderstandings and ensure that security and stability" along the border is maintained and reinforced.

So far, only the US administration has expressed unequivocal support for Operation Northern Shield. Russia on Wednesday expressed tacit support on Wednesday for the efforts to expose Hezbollah’s cross-border attack tunnels, while calling on both sides to show restraint lest the volatile situation on the Lebanese border escalate.

Russia does not consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

Bolton: US ‘strongly supports’ anti-tunnel operation in Israel’s north

London, Berlin condemn Hezbollah tunnels, back Israeli border operation
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/06/2018 02:37 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  The UN is funding them and the Lebs are helping build them -- what does Israel expect?
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 12/06/2018 16:48 Comments || Top||

#2  Israel is providing sunlight, Rob, and hopes for a bit of scurrying.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/06/2018 19:15 Comments || Top||


Europe
France protests: Fuel tax rises in 2019 budget dropped
[BBC] Fuel tax rises which sparked weeks of violent protests in France have now been dropped from next year's budget, the government has announced.

The move was announced by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who a day earlier had only promised to postpone them for six months.

The "gilets jaunes" (yellow vest) protests have hit major cities over the past three weekends.

Further demonstrations are planned for this weekend. They have grown to reflect more widespread anger at the government.

Who are the 'gilets jaunes'?
Jobseeker: Macron should help me find work.

The "yellow vests" are so called because they have taken to the streets wearing the high-visibility yellow clothing that is required to be carried in every vehicle by French law.

Four people have died since the unrest began and the resulting violence and vandalism have been widely condemned.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 01:55 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
All may not be as it seems as IDF, Hezbollah play hide and seek over tunnels
[IsraelTimes] Army promises more ’surprises’ for the Lebanese terror group as it reportedly expands its tunnel-busting operation to two other locations

Since the launch of Israel’s operation to find and destroy Hezbollah’s cross-border attack tunnels on Tuesday, the Lebanese terror group has been dutifully tracking the Israel Defense Forces’ activities along the border and publicizing them.

The apparent message that Hezbollah is seeking to convey to the Israeli military is they know exactly what the IDF is up to, keeping an eye on things and tracking soldiers’ movements.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/06/2018 01:55 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


-Lurid Crime Tales-
CBS Empoyee Was ‘ON CALL' To Perform Oral Sex on CEO Les Moonves
BLUF:
[Daily Caller] "A number of employees were aware of this and believed that the woman was protected from discipline or termination as a result of it," the report alleges.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 01:41 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It really isn't 'who you know.'
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 1:46 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, I mean, probably more "talent" than any of CBS teevee shows...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/06/2018 5:20 Comments || Top||

#3  Is her name Monica?
Posted by: AlanC || 12/06/2018 9:02 Comments || Top||

#4  Someone has to do it. What a sucky job! 8-)
Posted by: Spoluque Schwarzeneggar4635 || 12/06/2018 9:10 Comments || Top||

#5  assuming the woman was not an illegal immigrant it shows that there are maybe very few jobs that Americans will not do if they are given good salary and benefits
Posted by: lord garth || 12/06/2018 19:13 Comments || Top||


DOJ Indicted Democratic Mega Donor For Defrauding the Military to Win $8 Billion Defense Contract
[Townhall] Three Virginia businessmen were charged with attempting to defraud the United States Military by engaging in illegal commerce in Iran and laundering money internationally in an attempt at winning contracts in Afghanistan.

In 2012, Anham FZCO, a defense contractor based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which maintained offices in Dubai, UAE, Jordan and the United States, was awarded an $8 billion contract to provide food and supplies to U.S. troops stations in Afghanistan. During the bidding process, Anham said they would build two warehouses to provide supplies. According to the indictment, Anham executives knowingly provided false estimates of the completion dates for the warehouses and by providing the government with misleading photographs intended to convey that Anham’s progress on the warehouses was further along than it actually was. The company allegedly took construction materials and equipment to a site in February 2012 when they created the false appearance of an active construction site. Anham took photos, sent them to the Department of Defense as "in-progress," and then deconstructed the temporary site.

According to the Department of Justice, bidders were required to certify that they abide by the Iran Sanctions Act, which prohibits U.S. citizens and companies from engaging in commercial activity in Iran. The company allegedly violated the sanctions by shipping warehouse materials to Iran and then, eventually, Afghanistan. They did this as a means of saving money.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 01:28 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Just out of curiosity, could we also have a look into foreign contracting in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yes, Turkey and Pakistan would indeed be the focus. Well it has been nearly two decades, what could be the harm ?

Oh, time permitting, don't forget to have a look into US State Department 'host nation' contract support to US Embassies and consulates.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 1:32 Comments || Top||

#2  from the end of the post

"Abul Huda Farouki was the chief executive officer of Anham and a major Democratic donor. He had previously donated to Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He was also a former member of the Clinton Global Initiative. Farouki's company was awarded contracts when President Obama was in office and Hillary Clinton served as Secretary of State."
Posted by: lord garth || 12/06/2018 6:08 Comments || Top||

#3  bidders were required to certify that they abide by the Iran Sanctions Act, which prohibits U.S. citizens and companies from engaging in commercial activity in Iran

Ha. Obama did not even follow that requirement.
Posted by: Airandee || 12/06/2018 6:20 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Um, blacks are attacking Jews because they see Judaism as ‘a form of almost hyper-whiteness'?
h/t Instapundit
Online Jewish magazine Forward acknowledges that there has been a string of attacks against Jews in Brooklyn, but are those attacks really about anti-Semitism? Our guess would be yes, but apparently, we’re wrong.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/06/2018 00:53 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [12 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Gee, I thought it was because blacks seem to have something for Islam.
Posted by: gorb || 12/06/2018 1:20 Comments || Top||

#2  And all along I thought it was a.... 'he has many goats and wives and I have none' class envy issue.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 1:25 Comments || Top||

#3  Since the DOJ says blacks can't commit "hate crimes" it's a win-win...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/06/2018 4:55 Comments || Top||

#4 
Posted by: Jack Chaiter7913 || 12/06/2018 6:11 Comments || Top||

#5  What part of the assault upon Judaeo-Christian Western Civ isn't part of the Left's doing?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/06/2018 8:12 Comments || Top||

#6  and Ethiopian Joos aren't authentically Black?
Posted by: Frank G || 12/06/2018 8:32 Comments || Top||

#7  Forward, as its name implies, is a leftist rag with Jewish content.

It is a battleground with some columnists being apologists for the BLM, BDS and other anti Semite infested movements and some columnists criticizing those movements
Posted by: lord garth || 12/06/2018 8:34 Comments || Top||

#8  Lord Garth: Love is a battlefield.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 12/06/2018 17:09 Comments || Top||

#9  It's an old story.

Cain hates and resents Able.
Posted by: The peanut gallery || 12/06/2018 21:15 Comments || Top||


Government
Bush funeral could set taxpayers back a half-billion dollars
[Washington Examiner] The late President George H.W. Bush’s funeral service and related ceremonies could cost American taxpayers around a half-billion dollars in lost productivity and wages for federal workers and other expenses.

Bush, who passed away on Nov. 30 at age 94, will be laid to rest on Thursday at his presidential library in College Station, Texas.

Following tradition for presidential funerals, the federal government shut down on Wednesday and the 41st president’s casket was transported across the country on Air Force One for a public viewing in Washington, D.C.

The paid holiday for federal workers ‐ including Congress and the U.S. Postal Service ‐ could cost taxpayers upwards of $450 million, according to estimates.

A 2008 analysis by the National Taxpayers Union found that federal holidays cost taxpayers around $450 million per day in holiday pay and lost labor. That figure is based on 2004 U.S. economic data. The figure is not adjusted for inflation, and federal salaries and the federal workforce have grown since then, making it almost certain the estimate is low.

Presidential funerals ‐ which take years of government planning ‐ are traditionally expensive affairs.

Taxpayers paid $423 million for federal workers to take the day off for former President Ronald Reagan’s funeral in 2004, according to a UPI report.

For Bush, President Trump authorized the modified Boeing 747 that serves as Air Force One to fly from Washington to Houston this week to pick up Bush’s casket and bring it to the Capitol for a public viewing in the Rotunda.

The presidential plane, which also carried former President George W. Bush and other Bush relatives, made a return flight to Houston on Wednesday. Flight costs for the two round-trip Air Force One trips between Houston and Washington, D.C. ‐ which runs at more than $200,000 per hour ‐ could add up to at least $2 million in travel expenses.

The use of Air Force One is in line with previous presidential funerals. In 2004, George W. Bush authorized the plane to transport Reagan’s casket.

Other ceremonial flourishes for George H.W. Bush, such as a 21-plane military flyover honoring the late president’s service in the Navy during World War II, could tack on another $126,000.

These estimates don’t include other likely costs that will be difficult to assess until after the funeral ‐ such as increased security and Secret Service protection for the high-profile political attendees in Washington, D.C., and Texas.

It also doesn’t include nebulous costs, such as opportunity losses at the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, which both closed shop on Wednesday to honor the late president. The shutdown of the U.S. Postal Service during the busy holiday season could also impact American businesses that rely on its services.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 00:49 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Certainly needs looking into. No disrespected intended. For you and me $255.

How Social Security Can Help You When a
Family Member Dies
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 1:00 Comments || Top||

#2  Yes.

Bush funeral - not a problem, per MSM
Obama travel - not a problem, per MSM
Trump travel - a problem, per MSM
Medicare for all (every dime you have) - not a problem, per MSM
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/06/2018 4:58 Comments || Top||

#3  Different but related: Has Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy Industry balanced out costs to the Republic of Kennedy Assassination?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/06/2018 5:04 Comments || Top||

#4  "lost productivity for federal workers"

Ummmm
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/06/2018 6:09 Comments || Top||

#5  Presidential funeral train will be first in nearly 50 years
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 7:10 Comments || Top||

#6  Nearly all the cost is the day off for the feds and posties. The rest is chump change and media spew.
Posted by: Bobby || 12/06/2018 8:36 Comments || Top||

#7  Funny how Federal spending's been noticed and scrutinized by the MSM over the past two years and not the previous eight...
Posted by: Raj || 12/06/2018 8:46 Comments || Top||

#8  If Leonard Nemoy had been a lifelong government worker of the elite caste when he died, they would have placed his body on ice, sent it aboard the Enterprise, and sailed around the world at flank warp speed.

Marking the day, remembering an era, I get that. This adoration, out wailing the previous adoration, I find embarrassing. Especially for that late merely senator who was for whatever reason akin Liam Neeson being picked as an action hero, had set the bar of wailing.

Public viewing? I hear some sort of whistlestop tour? Leave the man some dignity.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 12/06/2018 12:45 Comments || Top||

#9  As Limbaugh said, liberals love conservatives after they are dead.
Posted by: JohnQC || 12/06/2018 22:27 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
Fearing False Accusations, Men Are Asking Women To Create 'Consent Videos' Before Sex.
h/t Instapundit
Thanks to the excesses of the #MeToo movement, sexual encounters have morphed into an episode of South Park. In the midst of an otherwise romantic night, gals, you might be asked to create a so-called "consent video" so your understandably petrified partner can cover his behind against any future false accusation leveled against him.
p.s. Since when a woman not entitled to change her mind afterwards?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/06/2018 00:49 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Precoital agreements ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 1:13 Comments || Top||

#2  Bragging rights afterwards.
Posted by: Fat Bob Thud8929 || 12/06/2018 2:21 Comments || Top||

#3  "Are you a hooker?"

"Yes."

"Well, let's go..."
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/06/2018 6:01 Comments || Top||

#4  "p.s. Since when a woman not entitled to change her mind afterwards?"

That'll be two videos then. Or a trip to Thailand which would work out cheaper.
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/06/2018 6:06 Comments || Top||

#5  Haha, then the women will just say it was made under coercion. Nice try but it won't work.
Posted by: Butch Ulilet8032 || 12/06/2018 6:13 Comments || Top||

#6  So 4 witnesses will be required
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/06/2018 7:07 Comments || Top||

#7  So 4 witnesses will be required

Yes, but only 3 are required to participate. The 4th will be responsible for the Bärenjäger.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 7:14 Comments || Top||

#8  [snicker] Legally, a consent video would not necessarily give a man blanket coverage cornering an accusation of sexual misconduct, since certain sex acts might not be "covered" in the consent video and consent can be withdrawn at any time, post-consent video included. "Consent is ongoing and can be withdrawn at any time. Therefore, a video may record 'consent' but the situation may then change and consent is withdrawn," Durham University law professor [said].

[gag] But aside from the legal aspects, feminists are not pleased with the idea of consent videos and their "problematic" ramifications.

In the case with Poppy, King complains that the "implication" of a consent video "is that those in a position of power are the ones who need protection, and that’s just not true."

Right. In the olden days, the fella had to promise matrimony before the act.
Posted by: Bobby || 12/06/2018 8:48 Comments || Top||

#9  “...your mileage may vary”
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 12/06/2018 14:43 Comments || Top||

#10  That explains why Bill Clinton is always carrying around a video-camera nowdays.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 12/06/2018 18:51 Comments || Top||

#11  Well, if they're going that far, might as well video the whole thing, then whatever happens won't be a matter of he/she/it said.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 12/06/2018 20:38 Comments || Top||

#12  Women can change their mind and remove consent during the act which in theory makes the videos less valuable, but the videos will still make any kind of legal claims of rape difficult to prove before a jury.
Posted by: ruprecht || 12/06/2018 21:49 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
F-18 jet and tanker crash in mid-air during refuelling near Japan
[Independent] Two US military aircraft have collided off the coast of Japan during refuelling, and search and rescue efforts are underway.

The crash was announced by the United States Marine Corps, and the force said Japanese search and rescue jets responded immediately to the incident.

The crash some 200 miles off the coast involved an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet made by McDonnell Douglas, and a KC-130, a refuelling plane with propellers made by Lockheed Martin.

"Search and rescue operations continue for US Marine aircraft that were involved in a mishap off of the coast of Japan around 2.00 am Dec 6," a Marine Corps news release said.

"The aircraft involved in the mishap had launched from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and were conducting regularly scheduled training when the mishap occurred," according to the release. "Japanese search and rescue aircraft immediately responded to aid in recovery".

Update: Washington Examiner - One rescued after US Marine aircraft involved in 'mishap'
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 00:41 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  C 130 guys were probably feeling just fine until the lawn dart pulled up behind them and then kept on coming...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/06/2018 6:03 Comments || Top||

#2  Is TESLA supplying auto-flying planes?
Screwed the pooch for sure
Posted by: Warthog || 12/06/2018 9:40 Comments || Top||

#3  lawn darts built by boeing, not mac-doug.
so far reports are 2 souls recovered; sar ongoing
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 12/06/2018 9:45 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran’s missile program not in violation of UNSC Resolution 2231, Zarif tells US
[PRESSTV] Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has rejected allegations by US officials that Iran’s missile program violates Security Council Resolution 2231, saying the UN document does not ban Tehran’s missile activities.

"What has been obvious and acknowledged by the Americans themselves both in the current administration and the previous one is that neither the JCPOA (the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) nor (UN Security Council) Resolution 2231 ban Iran’s missile activities," Zarif said on Wednesday.

He made the remarks while speaking to news hounds after a weekly cabinet session, in response to allegations raised by US officials about Iran’s missile program.

He added that former US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman, during the nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers, and US special envoy for Iran Brian Hook, two weeks ago, said that UN Resolution 1929 forced Iran to limit its missile program, but Resolution 2231 had such a demand from Iran on a special type of missile.

The top diplomat said that Iran was not seeking nuclear capable missiles as it did not pursue a nuclear weapons program.

He said "the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran’s missiles have pin-point accuracy" and are solely designed for conventional weapons.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [10 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has rejected allegations by US officials that Iran’s missile program violates Security Council Resolution 2231, saying the UN document does not ban Tehran’s missile activities.

So 0bumhole's legacy has no clothes after all. Why am I not shocked?
Posted by: gorb || 12/06/2018 1:06 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
No progress in Maulana Samiul Haq murder investigation
[DAWN] One month on, the police have not made any progress in the investigation into the murder of Jamaat-e-Ulema Islam Sami (JUI-S) chief Maulana Samiul Haq
...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time...
.

However,
nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits...
an interim charge sheet of the case was submitted by the police in the court of an additional session judge on Monday.

The interim charge sheet contains the statements of the victim’s son and a report on more than 12 individuals, the mobile phone data of the JUI-S chief, the preliminary statement given by the victim’s secretary and a police investigation report.

However,
nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits...
it does not identify a prime accused. The police was to submit an interim charge sheet for the murder case within 14-days of the incident.

The police have been waiting for the DNA report of the samples taken from the victim’s body and those taken from elsewhere at the scene of the crime.

The police have been reluctant to share details of their investigation with the dear departed’s family nor have they made the details public. No cash reward has been offered for information that could lead to the murderer.

"We cannot say anything at the moment because we are still investigating into the murder," a police official close to the investigation said.

The police’s attempts to exhume Maulana Sami’s body for a post-mortem have also been unproductive after the concerned court of law as well as the family refused permission for the exhumation.

The request was made to the additional session judge by the Rawalpindi police which was forwarded to the concerned court in Nowshera which rejected it.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
US Navy preparing to enter Black Sea as tensions rise between Russia, Ukraine
[ALMASDARNEWS] The U.S. Navy is making preparations to enter the Black Sea’s waters as tensions between Russia and Ukraine reach an all-time high over the recent detention of the Ukrainian sailors, a CNN report said on Wednesday.

According to the report, the U.S. military requested that the State Department notify The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
about its potential plan to enter the Black Sea through the Bosphorus Strait.

CNN said that a State Department front man said, "the United States carries out its activities consistent with the terms of the Montreux Convention. We will not, however, comment on the nature of our diplomatic correspondence with the Government of Turkey."
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  *Cough* 4th Division *Cough* Bosporus *COUGH*
Posted by: magpie || 12/06/2018 0:31 Comments || Top||

#2  There is nothing wrong with the Bosphorus,
That couldn't be fixed with a little phosphorous.

OK, so it's not This Week In Poetry.
Posted by: SteveS || 12/06/2018 0:39 Comments || Top||

#3  Nothing but trouble in the Black Sea. We have no dog in this fight. Let the Ukrainians and Russians hash it out for themselves.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/06/2018 0:51 Comments || Top||

#4  We will have a dog in the fight if Russia gets what it wants.
Posted by: gorb || 12/06/2018 1:16 Comments || Top||

#5  Our captain was so good to us
He dipped his prick in phosphorus
It shined a light
All through the night
And steered us through the Bosporus
( via Patrick O’Brien)
Posted by: Grunter || 12/06/2018 2:37 Comments || Top||

#6  SteveS, it may not be an award winner... but I'm stealing it anyway.
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/06/2018 14:53 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian Army hammers jihadist positions across southern Idlib
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) unleashed a powerful assault against the jihadist rebels in southern Idlib, today, after another volatile night around the demilitarized zone.

Led by their 4th Armored Division, the Syrian Arab Army attacked the jihadist defenses along the Idlib-Hama axis, scoring several direct hits on the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham
trenches in this area.

Among the areas targeted by the Syrian Arab Army were the jihadist trenches near the towns of Khuwayn, Sukeek, Khan Sheikhoun, and al-Taman’ah.

In response to the Syrian Arab Army’s big assault in southern Idlib, the jihadist rebels fired several missiles towards the government positions south of Khuwayn.

The situation around the demilitarized zone remains very tense, despite attempts by The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
and Russia to mediate an immediate ceasefire between all parties in the area.

The Syrian Arab Army is pushing to launch a new military operation; however, they are being cautioned by the Russian Reconciliation Center, who wants to give Turkey time to force the jihadists to withdraw from the area.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Syrian Army ambush kills scores of Daesh terrorists in east Homs
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) killed a large number of 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) fighters during a massive ambush in the eastern countryside of the Homs Governorate last night.

The Syrian Arab Army reportedly set the ambush in the Bir Helbeh and Bir Safwaniyah area, where they patiently waited for a large ISIS contingent to pass by.

According to a military source in Homs city, the Syrian Arab Army’s ambush killed at least 23 ISIS fighters, including a number of foreign combatants from the terrorist group.

The source added that at least two vehicles were also destroyed by the Syrian Arab Army troops in this desert region.

This latest ambush by the Syrian Arab Army comes just weeks after they announced the full liberation of the al-Safa volcanic region in southern Syria.

Following the Syrian Army’s liberation of al-Safa, several ISIS forces of Evil slipped away to this desert region in the eastern countryside of the Homs Governorate.

The Syrian Arab Army is now preparing for a major operation against these terrorist combatants in order to retake the vast desert area the terrorist group occupies.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Afghanistan
Taliban commander and his comrades killed in Faryab province
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A local commander of the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
group and his comrades were killed during an operation of the Afghan commandos in northern Faryab province of Afghanistan.

The 209th Shaheen Corps of the Afghan Military in the North in a statement said the Afghan commandos conducted an operation in Garziwan district of Faryab, leaving three gunnies dead.

The statement further added that a local commander of the Taliban was among those killed with his two comrades.

The 209th Shaheen Corps also added that two other gunnies also sustained injuries during the same operation of the commando forces.

The anti-government armed bully boy groups including Taliban have not commented regarding the report so far.

Faryab is among the relatively volatile provinces in North of Afghanistan where the Talibs and other groups are actively operating in some of its districts and often carry out terrorist related activities.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


District police chief killed in Taiban attack in Sari Pul
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The district police chief of Sayad was killed in an attack by Talibs in northern Sari Pul province of Afghanistan, the local officials said Tuesday.

Provincial governor’s front man Zabiullah Amani said the district police chief of Sayad Abdul Malik Nezami was killed in a coordinated attack by Taliban
...Arabic for students...
on Monday night.

Amani further added that two of the security guards of Nezami were also killed in the attack.

The anti-government armed krazed killer groups including Taliban have not commented regrding the killing of Sayad police chief so far.

Sari Pul has been among the relatively calm provinces in North of Afghanistan but the security situation in some of its districts has started to deteriorated during the recent years.

Talibs are active in some of the districts of Sari Pul province where they often conduct terrorist related activities against the government and security institutions.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [12 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Horn
Somali journalist injured in car bomb blast in Mogadishu
[RADIOSHABELLE] A prominent Somali journalist, Ismail Sheikh Khalifa was maimed after a bomb concealed under the sear of his private car went kaboom! in the heart of Mogadishu on Tuesday.

Khalifa who worked as a managing director of Star FM Radio’s Mogadishu Bureau is at death's door after sustaining series wounds in the boom-mobile kaboom.

The motive behind the attempt on his life and who orchestrated the liquidation bid remains unclear as the Somali police are yet to comment on the incident.

Al-Shabaab
... the personification of Somali state failure...
in the past targeted senior government officials and media workers with such kabooms in Mogadishu, the capital of the conflict-recovering Horn of Africa nation.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)

#1  How does an illiterate "journalist" "write?"
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/06/2018 4:54 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Police confirm death of 16 officers in Zamfara
[PULSE.NG] Police in Zamfara on Wednesday confirmed that 16 of its personnel were killed in the Nov. 29 clash between the command and bandidos in the state.

The clash was sequel to a raid on criminals’ hideouts in the state by the police during which 104 bandidos were killed by coppers.

The death of the coppers was confirmed in a statement in Gusau by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Muhammad Shehu, Superintendent of Police.

Shehu debunked media report that 50 coppers were killed in the attack.

According to him, on Nov. 29, 2018, there was serious onslaught on bandidos by the police which resulted in the killing of 104 bandidos.

He said in course of the confrontation, 36 coppers got missing after which 16 of them were found dead and 20 recovered alive.

"After search and rescue operations embarked on by police Joint Intervention Force to rescue the missing coppers following the heavy attack on the bandidos, 16 coppers were found dead while the remaining 20 were rescued alive.

"Over 50 bandidos’ hideouts in three camps had earlier been destroyed while over 500 cattle and 79 sheep were recovered from the bandidos," Shehu said.

He said that Police Special Forces Personnel, Counter-Terrorism Unit, Police Mobile Force, Federal Special Anti-Rubbery Search personnel, with three surveillance patrol police helicopters, had been deployed to the state.

"The Police Joint Intervention Force operations in the state under the command of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Operations, are making progress.

"There is serious ongoing operation by the police to root-out the remnants of armed bandidos and other criminal elements in the identified hideouts in the state.

"The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, condoled the families of the dear departed coppers.

"He directs a befitting burial for the gallant officers, prompt processing and payment of life assurance benefits and other entitlements to their families.

"The IGP is saddened with the death of the gallant officers whom he described as heroes of the force.

"Their demise is a great loss to Nigeria Police Force and our dear nation. The supreme price they paid for the security and safety of the country will not be in vain.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
Egyptian to face trial over hijacking plane diverted to Cyprus
[PULSE.NG] A man accused of hijacking a plane more than two years ago and diverting it to Cyprus will face trial on a string of charges, Egypt's public prosecutor said Wednesday.

Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa, who was extradited in August from Cyprus, is accused of forcing a domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo to divert its route to the Mediterranean island in March 2016.

Egypt's public prosecutor announced on Wednesday the case has been referred to the country's criminal court, paving the way for a trial to begin at an unspecified date.

Accusations against Mostafa include deliberately disrupting a flight, seizing control of an aircraft through threats and intimidation and promoting the ideas of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, the prosecutor said in a statement.

Cypriot authorities handed over Mostafa to their Egyptian counterparts after a court ruling allowed his extradition.

While held in Cyprus, Mostafa fought his extradition on grounds he would not receive a fair trial in Egypt. The Cypriot supreme court however dismissed his appeal last year against being sent home.

His request for asylum was refused as Cypriot authorities deemed him a "perpetrator of serious crimes".

The 2016 hijacking took place a few months after the October 2015 downing of a Russian airliner by the Islamic State group, killing all 224 on board, an incident that dealt a severe blow to Egypt's lucrative tourism industry.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [6 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Horn
Fighter jets bomb Al-Shabaab stronghold in Somalia
[RADIOSHABELLE] Suspected US fighter jets were reported to have carried out a new Arclight airstrike against al-Shabaab
... the personification of Somali state failure...
in southern Somalia on Tuesday night, sources said.

The warplanes have fired several missiles at al-Shabaab bases in the southern town of Awdheegle in Lower Shabelle region, which is situated some 60Km away from Mogadishu.

Reports said Somali special forces assisted their allied American troops to carry out the overnight attack targeting al-Shabaab, which caused unspecified casualties.

The US military stepped up airstrikes in South and central Somalia since Trump authorized a broader operation against al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda ally in East Africa last year.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Turkish-backed rebel commander assassinated in Afrin
[ALMASDARNEWS] Another high ranking rebel commander was assassinated in northwest Syria this week after a roadside kaboom struck the leader’s vehicle.

According to opposition activists via social media, the commander of the Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
’s (FSA) Sultan Murad Brigade was killed on Wednesday when his vehicle struck an IED along a road in Afrin city.

In addition to the death of the Sultan Murad Brigade commander, two of his associates were also among the dead.

No group has grabbed credit for this attack yet.

Recently, the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG) have carried out several attacks against the Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels in the Afrin region.

These attacks have ranged from targeted liquidations to ambushes against the Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [19 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russian tech giant Yandex unveils first smartphone
[PULSE.NG] Russian internet giant Yandex on Wednesday launched its first ever smartphone in a highly anticipated move into hardware that builds on its popular service apps.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Next move will be to bribe a few officials to allow it to be used by the US military.
Posted by: gorb || 12/06/2018 1:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Bribes probably no longer necessary. Glowing write-up in WP will do.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/06/2018 6:08 Comments || Top||

#3  not to worry - it will have Kaspersky pre-installed
Posted by: Frank G || 12/06/2018 8:31 Comments || Top||

#4  It will be just as good as Russian cars.
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/06/2018 10:03 Comments || Top||

#5  That was my first thought, EC.

The security flaws alone make me shudder.
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/06/2018 10:07 Comments || Top||

#6  The flaws will be a feature. But I wouldn't buy a Huawei either, and they are actually good phones.
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/06/2018 10:11 Comments || Top||

#7  "The good news? We backed up all your contacts. The bad? We also backed up copied all your communications, pictures, browsing, passwords, ...."
Posted by: Frank G || 12/06/2018 10:44 Comments || Top||

#8  The FSB cloud
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/06/2018 10:48 Comments || Top||

#9  It's strange, I'm more afraid of the NSA and Google being in my phone than the FSB. The Russians have no motive to mess with my life...but my own government-corporate complex I believe to be the greater threat.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 12/06/2018 13:23 Comments || Top||

#10  Well, after all Herb, you are the 25m target.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 14:08 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Renewed push for peace as Western Sahara talks open in Geneva
[PULSE.NG] The first UN-backed discussions on the disputed Western Sahara region since 2012 opened in Geneva on Wednesday, but expectations remained low, with the meeting seen as just a first step towards resuming dialogue.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: Politix
Deval Patrick bows out of 2020 presidential run
[POLITICO] Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval (Whoa! Nice drapes!) Patrick is calling close allies and informing them he is not running for president in 2020, sources close to the governor tell POLITICO.

Patrick informed staff and advisers of his decision Tuesday, the sources say, with an announcement to come as soon as this week.

A close ally of former President Barack Obama
My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it...
, the Democrat rejoined the private sector at Bain Capital after serving two terms as Massachusetts' governor. But he ramped up his political activity this fall in advance of a possible presidential bid, traveling to a handful of races across the country.
Mini-Me™
Close advisers to Patrick launched a new political action committee in August, the Reason to Believe PAC, aimed at "promoting Governor Patrick’s positive vision for Democrats to rally around in 2018."

Patrick, who was encouraged by members of Obama’s inner circle to run in 2020, met with the former president earlier this year as part of Obama's string of meetings with prospective candidates.

Patrick’s supporters saw him as having the right résumé to challenge 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...
‐ someone outside the fray of Washington politics, with a background in business but also as a seasoned prosecutor, a mix of experiences that could blunt some Republican attacks. His relentlessly upbeat style and lofty rhetoric could serve as an antidote to some of the bitter divisions of the Trump era, they said.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Damn! So the Dems are down to their last 39 or so candidates.
Posted by: SteveS || 12/06/2018 0:58 Comments || Top||

#2  Patrick: "That Kamala b*tch would whip my ass. And I ain't talkin' primaries or debates..."
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/06/2018 5:12 Comments || Top||

#3  Deval Patrick - a lightweight's lightweight. He has one political asset, and that's his skin color.
Posted by: Raj || 12/06/2018 8:47 Comments || Top||

#4  Who?
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/06/2018 9:06 Comments || Top||

#5  Avenatti dropped out, too.
Not that anybody cares.
I guess it will come down to Warren, Harris, Biden and Bernie.
Wild card: Bloomberg
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/06/2018 10:08 Comments || Top||

#6  Harris. Warren has baggage, Biden & Sanders are too old. Wild card O’Rourke.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/06/2018 12:24 Comments || Top||

#7  Harris just crapped the bed:
Harris: Totally unaware of $400K settlement for harassment, retaliation involving longtime senior staffer?

#MetooSometimes
Posted by: Frank G || 12/06/2018 13:03 Comments || Top||

#8  Frank G, that's got nothing to do with Harris. She will just brush it off as some underling getting frisky.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 12/06/2018 13:24 Comments || Top||

#9  What will I do with my crates of Duval/Avenatti 2020 bumper stickers?
Posted by: regular joe || 12/06/2018 13:59 Comments || Top||

#10  What will I do with my crates of Duval/Avenatti 2020 bumper stickers?

Get a rubber stamp that says OFFICIAL BALLOT, stamp the stickers and leave them in the crates at bus stations in Florida and California.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/06/2018 14:03 Comments || Top||

#11  I didn't know he was running, but then what Democrat isn't?
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 12/06/2018 15:14 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Boko Haram kills 8 soldiers in Yobe attack, 10 terrorists also killed
[PULSE.NG] The Nigerian Army has disclosed that eight soldiers were killed in an attack carried out by Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
Death Eaters on a military base in Buni Gari village, Yobe State.

According to a report by AFP, Boko Haram faction, 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....
West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked the military base on Saturday, December 1, 2018.

While the previous corpse count disclosed by military sources indicated that two soldiers were killed, new Army spokesperson, Brigadier General Sani Usman, told AFP on Tuesday that eight died as a result of the attack. The Army spokesperson also revealed that 10 bad boyz were potted by troops during the attack.

"Eight of our gallant troops paid the supreme price while over 10 Boko Haram bad boyz were potted by the troops during the encounter," he said.

The Death Eaters were reported to have destroyed an armoured vehicle during the attack.

The attack follows a recent resurgence in the group's deadly attacks in the northeast region as it has launched several assaults on military bases.

Two weeks ago, Death Eaters overran the 157 Task Force Battalion in Metele village in Guzamala local government area of Borno State during an attack on November 18.

Even though many reports indicated that over 100 soldiers were killed in the attack, with many others missing, the Army disclosed in a statement that 23 soldiers were killed with 31 others injured.

The statement also revealed that Death Eaters staged a series of attacks on Nigerian troops between November 2 and November 17. The attacks took place in Kukawa, Ngoshe, Kareto and Gajiram, all in Borno, but were 'successfully repelled' by troops who killed 'several members' of the terrorist group. However,
if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning...
16 soldiers were killed in the attacks while 12 were maimed.

The Army also noted that despite systematically degrading Boko Haram in the past three years, the Death Eaters are staging a resurgence with daring moves that include the increased use of drones against troops' defensive positions and infusion of imported muscle in their ranks.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [3 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram (ISIS)


-Short Attention Span Theater-
What Would Roosevelt Shoot?
[Forgotten Weapons] Not the cool Roosevelt ‐ we know he liked his .405-caliber Big Medicine. I’m talking about the other one:
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I have a Model 1895 in .405 Me likes. What would a communist infiltrator shoot? WGAF?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/06/2018 5:13 Comments || Top||

#2  the elitist Prig who made it on the "dime" :definitely not the cool one
Posted by: 746 || 12/06/2018 11:34 Comments || Top||


Nearly brain-dead woman survives after being removed from life support
[NBCNEWS] Michele De Leeuw, of Sterling Heights, Michigan, has almost fully recovered after open heart surgery, speech and physical therapy.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [12 views] Top|| File under:

#1  We've dem 2020 candidate?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/06/2018 0:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Almost ....
Posted by: gorb || 12/06/2018 1:11 Comments || Top||


-Lurid Crime Tales-
Drug dealer released from prison, then carjacks woman in parking lot
[TRIBLIVE] A Philadelphia man’s freedom from the Westmoreland County Prison on Tuesday was short-lived.

Moments after Thomas Lee Williams, 36, was released from the Hempfield jail at about 6:15 p.m., police said he attacked a West Leechburg woman in the parking lot, took her sport-utility vehicle and fled with her 1-year-old grandson in the back seat.

Williams crashed 2 miles away in Youngwood about 15 minutes later, ran into a wooded area and was eventually apprehended, according to county Park Police Chief Kirk Nolan.

Williams was back behind bars Wednesday on $250,000 bail.

Investigators will be examining surveillance video from outside the prison Wednesday. It appears the victims and suspect did not know each other, but authorities are continuing to investigate, Nolan said.

"As far as we know, it doesn’t seem there was any relationship," he said.

Both the boy and his grandmother were taken to hospitals to be checked out. The woman had cuts and abrasions, Nolan said.

Court interest in a 2016 drug case against Williams was closed during a bench warrant hearing Tuesday morning. He served 3 to 12 months in that case, but his parole was revoked March 2017 and he was overdue in paying $1,131 costs and fees, according to online court records.

Williams pleaded guilty in January 2017 in that case to dealing drugs at Knights Inn in South Greensburg.

The judge’s ruling Tuesday allowed Williams to be released from the Hempfield Township jail later in the day.

He encountered the 65-year-old victim in the parking lot and allegedly opened the door of her Kia Sorrento, hitting her numerous times in the face, back and shoulders, police said. He took the vehicle and crashed it in the area of Avenue A in Youngwood.

"He tried to get into another vehicle" but was unsuccessful and fled into a wooded area, Nolan said.

K9 officers from park and Greensburg police flushed him out of the woods. Authorities jugged
You have the right to remain silent...
Williams within about an hour of the alleged assault at the prison with the help of numerous police agencies and Youngwood firefighters, Nolan said.

Williams is charged with kidnapping, robbery of a vehicle and two counts each of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. A Dec. 21 preliminary hearing is set.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  i see potential here for a new Farmers Insurance commercial...
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 12/06/2018 9:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Hmmm.. Tag line contest?

"Jacker jugged back into jumpsuit"
Posted by: Warthog || 12/06/2018 9:45 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Afghan Taliban forcing truckers to pay extortion money, Peshawar council told
[DAWN] The Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
district council was informed on Monday that the truckers bound for Afghanistan were being forced to pay Rs5,000 extortion per truck at the provincial city’s fruit and vegetable market in the name of the Afghan Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
.

Speaking on a point of order, opposition leader Syed Zahir claimed that faceless myrmidons were collecting extortion money from the truckers transporting fruits and vegetables to Afghanistan in Peshawar and those not making that payment got threatening calls from someone based in Afghanistan.

He said the truckers had no option but to pay extortion money.

He distributed a receipt of Rs5,000 extortion payment to journalists and councillors.

The receipt carrying the logo of the so-called Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s Economic and Finance Commission had the truck’s number, the amount received, driver’s name and other details on it.

When contacted, several truck drivers and fruit and vegetable traders confirmed the collection of extortion money.

"I don’t know whether the people collecting extortion are the Afghan Taliban or not but it is true that money is being extorted from the people in the fruit and vegetable markets," a vegetable dealer told Dawn on condition of anonymity.

He said the illegal activity had been going on for around two months.

He dealer said two unidentified people riding a cycle of violence collected money from drivers as fruits or vegetables were loaded onto trucks.

"If the motorcyclists miss trucks inside the fruit and vegetable markets, then they catch them on the Ring Road to force drivers to pay extortion money before going away," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  "This is my shocked face"
Posted by: Frank G || 12/06/2018 11:05 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm shocked! Shocked that people who have guns would try to extort money from people who don't have guns.

Shocked I say, did I get that point across?
Posted by: jpal || 12/06/2018 11:59 Comments || Top||


Insurgents kill 4 in attack on Afghan checkpoint
[DAWN] Afghan Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
targeted a police checkpoint in the western 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...
province, setting off a battle in which a policeman and three non-combatants were killed, according to a provincial official in Herat.

Police front man Abdul Ahad Walizada said six of the attackers were also killed in the battle late on Tuesday.

The Afghan Taliban effectively control nearly half the country and carry out daily attacks that mainly target security forces.

Meanwhile,
...back at the hoedown, the fiddler suddenly struck a sour note. The dancing stopped abruptly. Everyone looked at Bob...
in the eastern Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
province, the director of a local television station was kidnapped.

Attahullah Khogyani, the governor's front man, said the TV director, known as Engineer Zelmia, was kidnapped late on Tuesday. Zelmia's driver was shot and killed.

No one immediately claimed the abduction, but the Afghan Taliban and the hard boy 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 are both active in Nangarhar.

In the eastern Paktika
...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo...
province, a suspected United States dronezap killed a local government employee believed to have links to krazed killers, said Shah Mohammad Aryan, front man for the provincial police chief. He said the strike, that occurred late on Tuesday, took place in an area on the outskirts of the scenic provincial capital, Sharan, where Death Eaters have been known to stage rocket attacks on the city.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Arabia
Over 20 Saudi-backed fighters allegedly killed in friendly fire airstrike in central Yemen
[ALMASDARNEWS] Over 20 Saudi- backed fighters were killed in a friendly fire Arclight airstrike in central Yemen, today, anti-government activists reported via social media.

According to these claims, the Saudi-backed troops were killed when a Coalition warplane bombed their allies that were waging an attack against the 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 ...
forces in the al-Bayda Governorate.

The Saudi Coalition has yet to comment on these allegations.

Over the last 72 hours, the Saudi Coalition troops have been advancing in the al-Bayda Governorate after launching a big offensive inside the province.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [11 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Nearly 1 in 3 US physicians were born abroad
[MEDICALXPRESS] At a time when immigration is a hot-button issue, the American health care system is highly dependent on professionals born in other countries, an analysis of U.S. census data shows.

In 2016, roughly 17 percent of professionals in 24 medical fields‐from optometrists to chiropractors to veterinarians‐were foreign-born, and almost 5 percent of them were not U.S. citizens, according to the analysis published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The analysis could not distinguish between professionals trained in their country of origin and those trained in the United States.

The rates were even higher for the most educated providers. About one in five pharmacists, one in four dentists, and 29 percent of physicians‐approaching one in three‐were foreign-born.

Among one of the biggest occupational groups‐psychiatric, nursing and home health aides‐23 percent were foreign-born.

"We rely very heavily in health care on those who were born abroad," said lead author Anupam B. Jena, an economist and physician at Harvard Medical School. "That tells you what would happen if we had a policy that restricted skilled immigration."

Controversy has surrounded the Trump administration's policies aimed at curbing illegal immigration from Mexico, and his ban on travel from six predominantly Moslem countries. But changes that are less well known have chipped away at legal immigration, including new compliance rules, documentation requirements, and visa restrictions for skilled workers and college students.

Jena's interest in the intended and unintended consequences of immigration policy is partly personal. He was born in reliably Democrat Chicago, aka The Windy City or Mobtown
... home of Al Capone, a succession of Daleys, Barak Obama, and Rahm Emmanuel,...
, but his parents‐a physician and a physicist‐emigrated from India.

"People like my mom who are able to make it to this country and perform professionally, these are generally very skilled, very motivated people," Jena said.

Yet doctors trained outside the U.S. are so often perceived as less qualified or less competent that Jena and his colleagues did a study to evaluate the quality of the care they provide. The study found that hospitalized Medicare patients who were treated by international medical school graduates had lower mortality rates than patients treated by U.S. medical graduates.

For another study, Jena looked at the scientific contributions of foreign medical graduates by counting their journal publications, federal research grants, and clinical trials. The conclusion: Physicians educated abroad but working in the U.S. account for nearly a fifth of U.S. biomedical research scholarship.

Jena led the new analysis‐which used data from an annual household survey conducted by the Census Bureau‐to look broadly at the health care workforce. While studies over the past decade have reported that about a quarter of doctors working in the U.S. were born abroad, most other health care professions haven't been examined.

The fields with the smallest percentages of foreign-born professionals were audiologists (5.9 percent), veterinarians (7.3), nurse-anesthetists (8.4) and psychologists (9.5).

About 16 percent of nurses, optometrists, dietitians and dental assistants were born abroad. Asia was the most common region of birth, accounting for 6.4 percent of all U.S. health care professionals. Mexico and the Caribbean were next, accounting for nearly 5 percent.

"As the U.S. population ages, there will be an increased need for many health care professionals, particularly those who provide personal care like home health care aides, a large proportion of whom are currently non-U.S. born," the researchers concluded.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  At a time when immigration is a hot-button issue

The distinction between legal and illegal too subtle for the author?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/06/2018 0:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Nearly 1 in 3 US physicians were born abroad

And the rest were born dudes?
Posted by: gorb || 12/06/2018 1:10 Comments || Top||

#3  gorb, I'm glad I wasn't drinking coffee when I read that.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 12/06/2018 7:39 Comments || Top||

#4  Every one of my VA docs is foreign born.
Posted by: Penguin_of_the_Desert || 12/06/2018 8:08 Comments || Top||

#5  #2 - Snark o' the day. Early winner
Posted by: Frank G || 12/06/2018 8:38 Comments || Top||

#6  funny they didnt mention one of the places really competent Docs come from , at least in my experience Pakistan, Iran and Egypt..... go figure
Posted by: 746 || 12/06/2018 11:31 Comments || Top||

#7  The widespread prejudice against people who speak American English with an accent is showing here.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/06/2018 15:58 Comments || Top||

#8  Not at all AH. I have 3 doctors who are dar-skinned foreigners and they are all very competant.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 12/06/2018 19:34 Comments || Top||


Europe
French farmers to protest as Macron battles 'yellow vest' movement
[PULSE.NG] French farmers said Wednesday that they will stage a series of protests next week, adding to President Emmanuel Macron's woes as the "yellow vest" anti-tax movement rocks the country.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
Putin vows 'support' as Venezuela's Maduro seeks financial aid
[PULSE.NG] Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday voiced support for Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro as he visited Moscow seeking financial assistance for the socialist country's collapsing economy.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  Moral support?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/06/2018 0:37 Comments || Top||

#2  The Madura kleptocracy can do without moral support. Money is welcome. Putin might throw in a few missiles for good measure.
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/06/2018 6:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Always happy for potential adversaries to plow resources into financial black holes.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/06/2018 11:46 Comments || Top||

#4  If Putin is planning on sending technicians to jumpstart the Venezuelan Oil Production... who will pay for it? With all Putin's other foreign adventures...?
Posted by: magpie || 12/06/2018 17:47 Comments || Top||

#5  You've heard of Yellow Aryans?

The Venezuelans, or at least Nicolas Maduro and friends, are just dark-brown slavic-master-race.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 12/06/2018 17:52 Comments || Top||


Europe
Bulgaria not to join UN migration pact
[PRESSTV] Bulgaria's government confirmed on Wednesday that it would not join the United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
pact for better regulating worldwide migration, set to be adopted later this month.

"The government decided that Bulgaria will abstain from joining the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration," said a government statement.

Bulgaria would not send representatives to the December 10-11 conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, at which the pact is set to be formally adopted, the statement added. And it would abstain at the UN general assembly vote to affirm the pact.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


Africa Subsaharan
Durotoye says Boko Haram still alive only because powerful people are making money from counter-insurgency
[PULSE.NG] Presidential candidate of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), Fela Durotoye, believes the only reason Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
's insurgency has not ended after nine years is because there are powerful people making money from the nation's counter-insurgency.

The terrorist group's insurgency escalated in 2009 after its spiritual leader, Mohammed Yusuf, was extra-judicially murdered by coppers. Hundreds of the group's members were also killed during the crackdown by the military.

While speaking during an interview with Pulse on Tuesday, December 4, 2018, Durotoye said the military has not been deliberate in its prosecution of the war because certain people are profiting from it.

He said unnamed military sources have previously told him that soldiers on the frontlines are sometimes ordered to not kill faceless myrmidons in their sights for unexplained reasons.

He further accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of using funds meant to prosecute the war to fund elections instead.

He said, "I spoke with a couple of military guys in the last two weeks and some of them were saying, 'Sir, we don't understand what's going on because sometimes even when you see the people and you want to attack them, they'll tell you not to.'

"This is what they said. They said they'll get orders from above to say, 'Don't kill them, capture them'. But these guys here have guns they want to kill you and you say don't kill them. If you say capture them, then there's a problem.

"I think it's important that we have military that are deliberate about ending this whole terrorism.

"For me, if you see that $1 billion is spent on arms against Boko Haram every four years just before election, you realise that there's more than meets the eye there.

"We know that every war all across the world, there are people, especially in the military, that are making a lot of money from it. In Nigeria, it's no different."

He said the APC and PDP have both used funds meant for financing the military to fight Boko Haram to achieve political means and urged Nigerians to vote both leading parties out in the 2019 general elections to prevent a future recurrence.

He said, "There are people that are making money from this and every war situation because there are people who are there and supposedly buying arms but we saw with Dasuki-gate especially where the money for the arms went. The money for the arms went to Ekiti election.

"PDP did it, APC did it. The only way to make sure it does not happen in the next four years is to make sure that it's not PDP or APC you're voting. That's the only way. We cannot continue to do the same thing the same way and expect different results."
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram (ISIS)

#1  Yup. War is a racket.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 12/06/2018 0:36 Comments || Top||

#2  In past ages, a war, almost by definition, was something that sooner or later came to an end, usually in unmistakable victory or defeat. In the past, also, war was one of the main instruments by which human societies were kept in touch with physical reality. All rulers in all ages have tried to impose a false view of the world upon their followers, but they could not afford to encourage any illusion that tended to impair military efficiency. So long as defeat meant the loss of independence, or some other result generally held to be undesirable, the precautions against defeat had to be serious. Physical facts could not be ignored. In philosophy, or religion, or ethics, or politics, two and two might make five, but when one was designing a gun or an aeroplane they had to make four. Inefficient nations were always conquered sooner or later, and the struggle for efficiency was inimical to illusions. Moreover, to be efficient it was necessary to be able to learn from the past, which meant having a fairly accurate idea of what had happened in the past. Newspapers and history books were, of course, always coloured and biased, but falsification of the kind that is practised today would have been impossible. War was a sure safeguard of sanity, and so far as the ruling classes were concerned it was probably the most important of all safeguards. While wars could be won or lost, no ruling class could be completely irresponsible.

But when war becomes literally continuous, it also ceases to be dangerous. When war is continuous there is no such thing as military necessity. Technical progress can cease and the most palpable facts can be denied or disregarded. As we have seen, researches that could be called scientific are still carried out for the purposes of war, but they are essentially a kind of daydreaming, and their failure to show results is not important. Efficiency, even military efficiency, is no longer needed. Nothing is efficient in Oceania except the Thought Police. Since each of the three super-states is unconquerable, each is in effect a separate universe within which almost any perversion of thought can be safely practised. Reality only exerts its pressure through the needs of everyday life -- the need to eat and drink, to get shelter and clothing, to avoid swallowing poison or stepping out of top-storey windows, and the like. Between life and death, and between physical pleasure and physical pain, there is still a distinction, but that is all. Cut off from contact with the outer world, and with the past, the citizen of Oceania is like a man in interstellar space, who has no way of knowing which direction is up and which is down. The rulers of such a state are absolute, as the Pharaohs or the Caesars could not be. They are obliged to prevent their followers from starving to death in numbers large enough to be inconvenient, and they are obliged to remain at the same low level of military technique as their rivals; but once that minimum is achieved, they can twist reality into whatever shape they choose.

The war, therefore, if we judge it by the standards of previous wars, is merely an imposture. It is like the battles between certain ruminant animals whose horns are set at such an angle that they are incapable of hurting one another. But though it is unreal it is not meaningless. It eats up the surplus of consumable goods, and it helps to preserve the special mental atmosphere that a hierarchical society needs. War, it will be seen, is now a purely internal affair. In the past, the ruling groups of all countries, although they might recognize their common interest and therefore limit the destructiveness of war, did fight against one another, and the victor always plundered the vanquished. In our own day they are not fighting against one another at all. The war is waged by each ruling group against its own subjects, and the object of the war is not to make or prevent conquests of territory, but to keep the structure of society intact. The very word 'war', therefore, has become misleading. It would probably be accurate to say that by becoming continuous war has ceased to exist. The peculiar pressure that it exerted on human beings between the Neolithic Age and the early twentieth century has disappeared and been replaced by something quite different. The effect would be much the same if the three super-states, instead of fighting one another, should agree to live in perpetual peace, each inviolate within its own boundaries. For in that case each would still be a self-contained universe, freed for ever from the sobering influence of external danger. A peace that was truly permanent would be the same as a permanent war. This -- although the vast majority of Party members understand it only in a shallower sense -- is the inner meaning of the Party slogan: War is Peace.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 12/06/2018 0:39 Comments || Top||

#3  Herb, you are absolutely correct. Back when war was black and white Bertholdt Brecht wrote about where it was going in Mother Courage. It is a racket, as inhuman as it might sound, there's no reason to feel sorry for those who insist on living on the edges of it.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/06/2018 5:26 Comments || Top||

#4  "There's war / plague / piracy / tyranny here. I guess we'll just have to stay." I'm supposed to feel sorry for that POV?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/06/2018 5:28 Comments || Top||

#5  We keep getting told we have to "contain" Russian / Iranian / Islamist aggression by means that have been failing for half a century. MAD kept the Soviet Union in check. The ChiComs have a different outlook, may not care about MAD.

Build Prompt Global Strike, het it down around 18 minutes. Design / test / develop / build every possible missile defense technology. No 355 ship Navy. Too damn bad. No 6th generation fighter. Too damn bad. Spend taxpayer dollars to defend taxpayers, not to make Beltway contractors fat on offensive weapons that our politicians won't use anyway.

Start now.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/06/2018 5:37 Comments || Top||

#6  There's a comfortable career, world travel, and prestige in peace processing.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 12/06/2018 6:13 Comments || Top||

#7  Nice dissertation, Hemingway. In the future, you might wanna cite your plagiarism = George Orwell
Posted by: Frank G || 12/06/2018 8:35 Comments || Top||

#8  nice catch Frank
Posted by: 746 || 12/06/2018 11:29 Comments || Top||

#9  It wasn't plagiarism genius, the quote about the Party's slogan being "War is Peace" didn't tip you off?
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 12/06/2018 11:52 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Motorcycle gunman gunned down in Yala
[Bangkok Post] The Border Patrol Police commissioner traveled to Yala province on Saturday to examine the case in which a gunman, who had earlier gunned down a village chief, was killed by the authorities in an exchange of gunfire in Bannang Sata district of Yala.

Abdullateh Yaba was shot and killed by a gunman riding pillion on a motorbike outside a mosque after in Ban Kalang Saturday afternoon. Security officers caught up with the men in a local village. One of them ran behind a house and shot at the officers, who returned fire, killing him instantly. The other man fled.

The body of the gunman was identified as Abadi Sa-eh. A 9mm pistol was retrieved near the body.

BPP chief Sompong Chingduang flew out to the district to check on the probe. He said it was treated as an important security case as the gunman may have been involved in a local drug trafficking network.

A security source said Abadi was a member of the RKK insurgent group based in Krong Pinang district. He was arrested earlier under the emergency decree in Yala but later released.
Posted by: ryuge || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [9 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency


Soldier killed as Indonesia probes mass shooting reports in Papua
[DAWN] An Indonesian soldier was killed while investigating reports that more than two dozen construction workers were rubbed out by separatist rebels in restive Papua province, officials said on Tuesday.

If confirmed, the killings would mark the deadliest bout of violence in years to hit a far-flung region wracked for decades by a low-level independence insurgency.

Citing local police, Indonesian media reported late on Monday that the workers were rubbed out on Sunday in Nduga, a district in the centre of the region on the western half of New Guinea island, just north of Australia.

Police and military teams were sent to the area on Monday when they came under rebel gunfire with one soldier killed and another maimed in the firefight, authorities said.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [1 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
UN chief slams Hezbollah over tunnels built along Israeli-Lebanese border
[ALMASDARNEWS] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to slam Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant movement for digging transboundary tunnels leading to Israel and tighten sanctions against the group.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu updated UNSG Guterres on the details of Operation Northern Shield and said that he expects the UN to strongly condemn the violation of Israel’s sovereignty … The Prime Minister also told the UN Sec.-Gen. that the international community must join in the demand to impose increased sanctions on Hezbollah in the wake of the events,” the statement read.

In the phone talks with Guterres, Netanyahu also blamed Iran for its alleged support to the militant movement that resulted in the violation of the UN Security Resolution 1701, according to the statement.

UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Wednesday that Antonio Guterres condemns Hezbollah’s alleged construction of cross-border tunnels into Israel.

“From the Secretary-General’s point of view, the building of tunnels from one country to another for military purposes is wholly unacceptable,” the spokesman said.

Dujarric noted that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) will send a technical team to the Lebanese-Israeli border on Thursday to investigate the allegations. UNIFIL has called for full access to all locations across the Blue Line, or the UN-demarcated Israeli-Lebanese border, Dujarric added.

On Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the launch an open-ended military operation dubbed “Northern Shield” to find and destroy cross-border tunnels that the Jewish state says Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement built to transport its militants into Israel in any potential future conflict.

Lebanese officials have denied the allegations in comments carried on the country’s state-run National News Agency (NNA).
E pur se muove.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri earlier on Wednesday said Israel provided no evidence to prove its claims, which he dismissed as false, the NNA reported. The Lebanese Army also issued a statement calling Israel’s accusations “mere allegations,” according to the NNA.

Israel traditionally views Hezbollah’s presence in Lebanon and Syria as a threat to its national security as the movement is backed by Iran, which is Israel’s main rival in the region.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which monitors the Blue Line, designated by the United Nations after Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, said on Tuesday that it had increased security patrols at the Lebanese-Israeli border to avoid potential escalation amid Israel’s anti-tunnel efforts.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  A sternly worked note: 413a, maybe even b.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/06/2018 0:33 Comments || Top||

#2  "Oh yeah, we totally condemn that behavior. Totally. But don't expect us to, like, actually do anything about. OK, OK, stop whining. We'll send some more UNIFIL guys to act as human shields for Hamass."
Posted by: SteveS || 12/06/2018 7:42 Comments || Top||


Battle of Hajin heats up as SDF troops attempt to capture Daesh stronghold
[ALMASDARNEWS] Day three of the battle of Hajin commenced this morning with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) attempting to advance deeper into the town.

According to SDF activists, their troops managed to seize half of Hajin on Wednesday after breaking through 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....
’s (ISIS/ISIS/IS/ISIS) lines inside the northern part of this town in Deir Ezzor’s southeastern countryside.

However,
if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning...
pro-ISIS media has denied these claims, stating that the Syrian Democratic Forces do not control any parts of the town, including the local hospital and mosque.

While the SDF’s capture of half the town cannot be corroborated at this point, it does appear that they have seized several points inside of Hajin.

Some SDF activists have released photos of the captured areas in Hajin to corroborate their recent claims; however, no one has posted images of the U.S.-backed troops in the town-center.

One thing that is for sure at this stage of the battle is the casualties are mounting for both parties, as dozens of fighters on both sides have been reported dead and maimed.

For ISIS, losing Hajin would be devastating as they have already conceded all of their major cities (djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
, Raqqa, Mayadeen, Albukamal, Deir Ezzor, Qa’im, et al.) to the SDF, Syrian Army, Iraqi Army, Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels, and Peshmerga forces.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [10 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russia warns Ukraine may use chemical weapons in Donbass
[ALMASDARNEWS] Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Ukrainian security forces may be planning to use "chemical poisonous substances" in the Donbass region, speaking in her weekly press briefing in Moscow on Wednesday.

Citing reports originating from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the spokesperson said that such information "cannot but cause concern."

"We call on the OSCE monitoring mission to intensify its monitoring activities in Donbass. What is required is not fragmentary information but a comprehensive view of the military preparations of the Ukraine’s army," she added.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I see. Preparing for a little false flag operation to go all in?
Ukraine would be batshit crazy to do such a thing.
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/06/2018 10:19 Comments || Top||

#2  I was thinking the exact same thing, "there's a false flag operation coming up".

EC has it right!
Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance || 12/06/2018 11:49 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Fierce clashes breakout between YPG and Turkish-backed rebels in northern Aleppo
[ALMASDARNEWS] A series of intense festivities broke out between the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Ottoman Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA) this evening in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

According to local reports, the YPG and FSA are currently clashing inside the northern Aleppo town of Kaljibrin, which is located near the Ottoman Turkish border.

No advances or casualties have been reported as of yet.

Tensions have recently increased in northern Aleppo between the YPG and FSA after the former launched several ambushes against the Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels in the Afrin region.

The Afrin region was captured by the Ottoman Turkish-backed Euphrates Shield forces in March of this year after they launched a major operation in January.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [15 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Afghanistan
Kabul city standoff ends leaving 2 dead and 10 wounded
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A standoff between the security forces and the irresponsible armed individuals ended leaving at least two dead and ten others maimed.

The Kabul Police Commandment in a statement said at least 19 people who were resisting the security forces were incarcerated
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
after hours of armed clash on Tuesday.

The statement further added that clash started at around 2:30 pm on Monday and continued until 1pm on Tuesday.

According to Kabul Police Commandment, a policeman lost his life in the clash and six coppers and news hound were maimed.

Similarly, one of the gunnies was killed and at least three others were maimed during the exchange of fire with the security forces.

The main perpetrator involved in the clash was arrested along with 18 others after the securiyt forces put an end to the clash, the Kabul Police Commandment said, adding that various types of weapons including rocket launchers were seized by the security forces.

According to security officials, the clash between the coppers and influential gunnies took place due to the evacuation of a house which was ordered by a court.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Pakistani man held as teacher stabbed to death at French university
[DAWN] A Pak man was incarcerated
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
on Wednesday on suspicion of stabbing to death a teacher outside a university in the Gay Paree suburbs, a police source said.

The 66-year-old teacher was stabbed repeatedly in front of the private Leonard-de-Vinci university in Courbevoie, northwest of Gay Paree.

The police source, confirming a report in the Gay Pareeien newspaper, said the suspect was a former student at the university who was born in Pakistain in 1981.

The Gay Pareeien reported that the victim was an English teacher and that he had been stabbed in the throat.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [4 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  Declaration of insanity in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ...
Posted by: gorb || 12/06/2018 1:18 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
No Israeli aggression against Lebanon will go unanswered, Hezbollah warns
[PRESSTV] A Hezbollah official has warned Israel against invading Leb, saying the resistance movement is strong enough to block any military aggression and retaliate against it.

"The days when Israel could simply attack Leb are over, even though the initiative to attack is in Israel’s hands," Hassan Hoballah, a member of Hezbollah’s political bureau, said on Tuesday.

The remarks came hours after the Israeli army launched an operation along Leb’s border under the pretext of "cutting off" what it claims are Hezbollah tunnels near the occupied territories.

Chief of Staff of Israeli military, Lieutenant General Gadi Eizenkot, claimed that the so-called Operation Northern Shield had been launched before the tunnels were operational and "became an immediate and direct threat to northern communities and army bases."
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [8 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


-Lurid Crime Tales-
Mueller Memo's Key Takeaways: No Collusion, Flynn is a Good Man
[SARA] Special Counsel Robert Mueller released his highly redacted and anticipated memo Tuesday, recommending a lenient sentence for former National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn and no jail time. The memo noted that "the defendant’s substantial assistance and other consideration" was the reason Mueller recommended the lenient sentence for the retired Army three-star general.

The six-page memo went on to state that ’a sentence at the low end of the guideline range, including a sentence that does not impose a term of incarceration ‐ is appropriate and warranted."

According to the memo, Flynn sat for 19 interviews with the Special Counsel but the Mueller memo didn’t disclose what "substantial" information the former short-term National Security Advisor provided to the Department of Justice.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-NC, who has been at the forefront of Congressional investigations into the FBI’s handling of the Russia probe, told this reporter late Tuesday that it’s what’s not in Mueller’s recommendations that reveal "they didn’t have anything in the sentencing guidelines that show Flynn colluded with Russia."

"It took nearly two years for Robert Mueller to come to the same conclusion that President Trump got to several months after Flynn was charged ‐ that Flynn is a good man and didn’t collude," said Meadows. Meadows noted that the term "substantial cooperation" is a legal phrase that is necessary to include in the sentencing recommendation "in order to get a reduced sentence from the court."
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [12 views] Top|| File under:

#1  when the Mueller team turned the screws to Flynn and his family and with the cost of defending himself prohibitive, he chose the course of least resistance

Nothing personal, he just got in the way.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/06/2018 0:48 Comments || Top||

#2  He was an early John Brennan target of opportunity.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 0:53 Comments || Top||

#3  IOW, Mueller spent the last 18 months spinning his wheels, wasting taxpayer money, feeding the media empty calories and making a monumental fool of himself.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/06/2018 0:55 Comments || Top||

#4  IOW, Mueller spent the last 18 months spinning his wheels, wasting taxpayer money, feeding the media empty calories and making a monumental fool of himself.

The Clinton's, DWS, the Awan Bros, Comey, MI6, Strzok-Page, and others needed valuable recovery time. Mueller and the media happily assisted.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/06/2018 1:07 Comments || Top||

#5  "It took nearly two years for Robert Mueller to come to the same conclusion that President Trump got to several months after Flynn was charged ‐ that Flynn is a good man and didn’t collude," 

More like 7 seconds.
Posted by: gorb || 12/06/2018 1:23 Comments || Top||

#6  Mueller, being pushed down the hall at Terre Haute: "You can't do this to me. I'm a good man..."
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/06/2018 5:09 Comments || Top||

#7  The Clinton's, DWS, the Awan Bros, Comey, MI6, Strzok-Page, and others needed valuable recovery time. Mueller and the media happily assisted.

What is the statute of limitations on treason?
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/06/2018 10:39 Comments || Top||

#8  For Brutus is an honorable man - Mark Antony
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/06/2018 11:51 Comments || Top||

#9  Abu, according to Google, there is no statute of limitations for treason.

On the other hand, the Constitutionan defines treason as levying war against the United States, adhering to their enemies, or giving aid and comfort to their enemies. Forget treason as a charge.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 12/06/2018 13:17 Comments || Top||

#10  Seems things are winding down, does anyone know when Mueller will drop his report?
Posted by: ruprecht || 12/06/2018 21:51 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Karachi man booked for attempted suicide after climbing electric pole in 'protest'
[DAWN] Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
police on Wednesday started the paperwork but haven't done much else against a man over charges of attempting suicide and others, after he climbed an electric pole in Korangi area reportedly to protest against police’s alleged harsh attitude and to "have other demands fulfilled".

Awami Colony police booked Mohammed Shakir under Sections 325 (attempt to commit suicide) and 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or for shorter terms) of the Pakistain Penal Code.

The area's Station House Officer (SHO) Shahid Khan, said the case had been registered on behalf of the state and the suspect was tossed in the calaboose
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
.

Shakir on Wednesday afternoon climbed a pole of high-tension wires passing through the Korangi neighbourhood.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [7 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
EU pushes euro to break dollar dominance
[PRESSTV] The EU commission on Wednesday presented its plan to reduce the dollar's overwhelming dominance of the global economy and to strengthen the role of the euro, particularly for energy transactions.

European capitals are increasingly frustrated with the global dominance of the dollar as a reserve currency, which hands the United States unparalleled diplomatic and economic power in a globalized world.

Governments, banks and multinationals are at the mercy of US authorities, which have the legal power to switch off access to the world economy if any company or country should run afoul of Washington.

"In the current context of incertitudes -- trade conflicts, extra territorial sanctions by the US -- the market participants are looking for alternative," said EU economics affairs commissioner Pierre Moscovici at a news conference in Brussels.

The most frustrating recent example for the EU is Iran, where international companies that choose to trade or invest with the Islamic Theocratic Republic despite US sanctions are vulnerable to punishment by Washington in part through their use of the dollar.

The single currency -- born on January 1, 1999 -- "should reflect the political, economic and financial weight of the eurozone", the single currency bloc of 19 EU countries, said European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hahaha EU sucks and their people are incompetent. They couldn't knock the dollar off if they tried. Talk, talk, talk is all they do. Plans for the future - the far future.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 12/06/2018 0:38 Comments || Top||

#2  35% tariff on Holy Roman Empire (French and German) goods.
Posted by: Fat Bob Thud8929 || 12/06/2018 1:01 Comments || Top||

#3  You don't understand tariffs, do you?
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/06/2018 4:25 Comments || Top||

#4  The EUSSR doesn't understand economics.

Tariffs are vastly preferable source of state funding then income taxes (including VAT).
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 12/06/2018 7:23 Comments || Top||

#5  Well, it appears they are so strong as to be responsible for their own defense. Time to unass the place, yesterday.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/06/2018 8:14 Comments || Top||

#6  Good luck with that.

The Dollar is dominate because of the trust the world has that the US economy is still good and the US will be around tomorrow to back it up.

The EU is not a solid union, as much as the leaders wish it would be. And there is serious doubts on its ability to keep countries in its union and if the Euro will be around in a decade.

Therefore the Euro will not knock off the dollar until that happens. Or the US descends into Civil War.
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/06/2018 9:10 Comments || Top||

#7  The Euro will not "knock off" the U.S. dollar anytime soon (probably never).

Currently 62.70% are held in dollars, 20.15% in euro (Euro was already at 27% at the height of the financial crisis, but dropped when the euro crisis hit).

I see 30% as an achievable goal in ten years. Of course we don't know what kind of crisis Europe or the U.S. may experience. We also don't know what will happen in China.

People seem to exaggerate the consequences of sanctions. Let's face it: Most sanctions the U.S. prescribes are well warranted.
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/06/2018 9:56 Comments || Top||

#8  prior to the Euro the Pound was pretty solid as was ( is ) the Swiss franc. but thats about as "solid" as they ever got
Posted by: 746 || 12/06/2018 11:39 Comments || Top||

#9  particularly for energy transactions
In other words, "we don't have any energy of our own, but don't want to pay in dollars for yours. Wah!"
Posted by: Spot || 12/06/2018 15:20 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Egyptian court gives life sentence to Muslim Brotherhood leaders
[PRESSTV] A court in Egypt has sentenced to life in prison Moslem Brüderbund leader Mohammed Badie, his deputy Khairat al-Shater, and four others over their alleged role in violence at the time of the ouster of the first democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi in 2013.

Judicial sources said the court issued the ruling on Wednesday as part of a retrial over violence between Brotherhood supporters and opponents near the Brotherhood headquarters in the capital Cairo back in 2013.

The rulings are the latest among several trials and retrials of Badie and other big shots of the Brotherhood that ruled the African country before the military, led by incumbent President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, ousted Morsi following mass protests in 2013.

The court on Wednesday sentenced Badie, Shater and four others to life in prison over violence between Brotherhood supporters and opponents near the headquarters, but acquitted former Parliament Speaker Saad al-Katatny along with a former minister, two prominent Brotherhood figures and two others.

All of the defendants have the right to appeal one final time before the Court of Cassation, Egypt's highest civilian court.

The public prosecution may also appeal the acquittals or the life prison terms that two defendants got instead of death penalty
.

The defendants faced charges of inciting violence against the protesters in front of the Brotherhood headquarters, aggravated battery and possession of firearms.

Authorities had referred 18 defendants, including five who remain on the lam, to trial in the case and a ruling was issued in 2015.
Posted by: Fred || 12/06/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || E-Mail|| [10 views] Top|| File under: Muslim Brotherhood



Who's in the News
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

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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.
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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2018-12-06
  Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou’s arrest may prompt China to retaliate, 'take hostages,' expert says
Wed 2018-12-05
  Jihadists seize more ground inside Idlib deescalation zone as Turkish Army watches from afar
Tue 2018-12-04
  US-backed forces allegedly enter Daesh’s new capital
Mon 2018-12-03
  ISIS leader involved in murder of US aid worker Peter Kassig killed
Sun 2018-12-02
  TLP leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi booked under treason, terrorism charges: information minister
Sat 2018-12-01
  Bush the Elder dies at 94
Fri 2018-11-30
  Around 70 militants killed, wounded in 4-day operations in Kunduz
Thu 2018-11-29
  28 ISIS-K, Taliban militants killed in Afghan and U.S. forces operations
Wed 2018-11-28
  Over 200 TLP activists booked under sedition, other charges in Rawalpindi
Tue 2018-11-27
  Somali Muslim Arrested for Attempting to Mow Down Jews With Car in Front of L.A. Synagogue
Mon 2018-11-26
  ISIS-K spokesman killed in Afghan Special Forces operation in Nangarhar
Sun 2018-11-25
  Federal officials close border into Mexico amid migrant protests
Sat 2018-11-24
  U.S. Airstrikes Kill 50 Al-Shabaab Jihadis in Somalia
Fri 2018-11-23
  Terror attack on Chinese Consulate in Karachi foiled; 2 policemen martyred
Thu 2018-11-22
  PA court sentences Palestinians to 15 years hard labor for selling land to Jews

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