[Columbus Dispatch] His legend is other-worldly and now, in his 95th year, that’s where John Glenn has gone.
An authentic hero and genuine American icon, Glenn died this afternoon surrounded by family at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus after a remarkably healthy life spent almost from the cradle with Annie, his beloved wife of 73 years, who survives.
He, along with fellow aviators Orville and Wilbur Wright and moon-walker Neil Armstrong, truly made Ohio first in flight.
"John Glenn is, and always will be, Ohio’s ultimate hometown hero, and his passing today is an occasion for all of us to grieve," said Ohio Gov. John R. Kasich. "As we bow our heads and share our grief with his beloved wife, Annie, we must also turn to the skies, to salute his remarkable journeys and his long years of service to our state and nation.
[Defense One] The four-star Southie boy from Boston brings to DHS the grief of losing friends to America’s drug epidemic and a son to the war on terrorism.
In retired Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, President-elect Donald Trump has nominated for the Department of Homeland Security an outspoken, media-friendly combat veteran who lost a son to the war on terrorism and dozens of childhood friends to the war on drugs.
If you think Gen. Jim Mattis is a gruff talker, wait ’til you get a load of Kelly. The Southie boy from Boston was basically muzzled by President Obama’s Pentagon in his final months as the leader of U.S. Southern Command. But he rose to the top exactly because of that frank talk and advice, previously serving as the three-star senior military aide alongside Defense Secretary Robert Gates and commanding troops through the crucible of Iraq’s Anbar province.
As the commander of all U.S. troops south of Mexico, Kelly called border security an "existential" threat ‐ not for the people crossing but because of the economic instability rife across Central and South America driving trafficking and instability. He begged Congress for more attention to transnational organized crime, trafficking, and the root causes for America’s ills from the south. He was as close with liberal human rights groups as he was with grizzled Marine fighters. And he was motivated at his core by the fallacies of men.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/08/2016 11:34
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#3
This could be dangerous. These guys have a lot of time on their hands.
Posted by: Matt ||
12/08/2016 12:19
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#4
This could be dangerous. These guys have a lot of time on their hands. Of course, if they work as hard at "fighting back" as they do at their actual jobs...
With all due respect to the 20% or so of federal civilian workers who bust their tails making up for the others.
Posted by: Matt ||
12/08/2016 12:22
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Posted by: Bobby ||
12/08/2016 13:30
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#10
Every person in each of the Govt. Departments can be transferred to somewhere like Butthump , Nicaragua or be sent on an important fact finding mission to the Aleutians for "about" eight years.
Take the whole family and live in a trailer. Its a very important job and requires a man of your "unique" talents. Say hello to the Seals and the be sure an give us an accurate count of all the trees within a mile of the beach. We are counting on you.
You can always quit. No need to fire you. But you WILL go. Good of the Service and all that.
#15
Several TDY trips to Boise Idaho & Fairbanks Alaska 90 days and return 30 days and go again. About six of these and any single department will all get theMessage. Pour encourager les autres!
The incoming Senate Democratic leader says his party won't help Republicans with a new health reform plan down the road if they repeal Obamacare without an immediate replacement.
I think Mr. Trump can explain the Dems' pissy attitude in 140 characters...
Sen. Chuck Schumer, who will replace retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid in January, said Republicans will have to "own" the situation if they ditch the healthcare law but don't immediately come up with a way to replace it.
What the Dems are trying to do: delay the repeal of O-Care near indefinitely by stringing out the negotiations on the "replacement" deal. That doesn't work if the Pubs repeal O-Care immediately.
"We're not going to do a replacement," Schumer said of his caucus. "If they repeal without a replacement, they will own it. Democrats will not then step up to the plate and come up with a half-baked solution that we will partially own. It's all theirs." Well, Obamacare is all your party's and is a major reason you and your ilk are in the minority.
Republicans are contemplating an approach to Obamacare that would delay a repeal of the law by two or three years, giving them time to come up with a replacement plan. GOP leaders have said a repeal measure will be first on their task list when they return to Washington next month.
If Democrats refuse to work with Republicans on a replacement plan, that could put them in a political bind, as they could be blamed for depriving millions of Americans of health coverage.
That's the spin message from WaPo.
"They're giving us tremendous leverage," Schumer told the Washington Post. More like giving you enough rope to hang yourselves with.
#5
Do we really think anything Chucky might offer would be helpful? Remember, this dipshit helped sell Obumble care and helped Harry sell it as reconciliation.
[BBC] Life expectancy in the United States has declined for the first time in more than two decades.
Data from the National Center for Health Statistics showed a drop for men from 76.5 years in 2014 to 76.3 in 2015, and from 81.3 to 81.2 for women. The preliminary figures show rises in several causes of death, especially heart disease, dementia and accidental infant deaths.
Life expectancy last fell during the peak of the HIV/Aids crisis in 1993. It has improved slightly in most of the years since World War Two, rising from a little more than 68 years in 1950.
Limit to human life may be 115 (ish)US suicide rate highest in 30 years. What's killing white American women? Cell phones ?
It also fell in 1980, after a severe outbreak of flu.
Overall life expectancy for men and women is now 78.8 years, a decrease of 0.1 year from 2014.
"This is unusual," lead author Jiaquan Xu, an epidemiologist at the NCHS, told AFP news agency. "2015 is kind of different from every year. It looks like much more death than we have seen in the last few years."
[Free Beacon] United Airlines is drawing ire from customers over its recent decision to impose an extra fee on passengers who purchase its lowest-tier ticket to use the plane's overhead bins.
The Chicago-based airline announced last month it was introducing a "basic economy" fare in 2017 that would restrict customers to one small carry-on item that must be placed under the seat, rather than in the overhead cabins. The ticket will also automatically assign passengers a seat on the day of departure, which could separate flyers on the same reservation
United Airlines, one of the world's largest carriers, is the first major U.S. airline to charge passengers to store carry-ons. The company is hoping the move will push frequent flyers toward purchasing a more expensive economy ticket, Reuters reported.
#1
Dear United - May I call you 'United'? Thank you so much - anyways, United...can you say, 'tone deaf'?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/08/2016 7:48
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#2
The price of fuel has dropped since the near 150 dollar a barrel period. Still not making a profit off the extra-fuel cost tax you put on the ticket then and never removed? Maybe you should seek other venues of capitalism.
It's a market that's ripe for someone to copy the original Southwest model (which the suits have now destroyed and made it just another airline). It'll be like what small Japanese cars did to the American Big Three when the Oil Embargo hit in the 70s.
#4
It reminds me of the pre-Embargo time when you'd go to car dealerships and the price listing had a 'tack on' price of extras that nearly went the length of the door.
Then the embargo hit, not only did Americans discover the fuel economy of the Japanese cars and their quality, but the price tag was short, very short. Things the American companies charged extra for came standard. The Japanese said when you put them on everything, the unit price drops dramatically.
#5
If you have never wanted to see some fat, 4 foot tall woman trying to lift a steamer trunk into the overhead storage die on the spot of a hear attack, you must not fly much. Whatever they want to charge, triple it...
Snark of the day, though we'd prefer not to have the visual...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/08/2016 10:04
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#6
They are getting discount tickets, so they get discount conditions. Capitalism means you get to choose what you will, and won't, pay for. The angry people aren't doing it right.
#8
Following the banking model.
Less real estate, fewer tellers, shorter hours, reduced services, no interest, withdrawal penalties and increased account fees to use my money.
#9
Spent a long time at O'Hare a couple of times waiting on United problems. (But at least they didn't break my guitar (search Dave Carroll United breaks guitars (link tool not working for me) - it was at my daughter's.)
#10
Flew on United from Louisville KY to Chicago IL for a CIO conference. About over Springfield IL we turned around, back to L-ville to refuel. Keynote speaker at conference: United CIO, topic: increasing the positive seat mile survey responses. Little correlation between Operations and Management strategies.
#11
I have flown Alaska Airlines for many years. They give all Alaska residents 2 free checked bags. Inside the state they give 3 because people from the bush bring lots of groceries back home. No BS of overhead storage issues, but M. Murcek's comment was just seared, I say seared into my memory.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/08/2016 14:02
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#12
Prefer to fly Alaska, AA is second choice. United and SW tied for last.
#13
but M. Murcek's comment was just seared, I say seared into my memory.
Flew pretty much every week for 14 years...that was no steamer trunk, that was her purse...the steamer trunk was the one with wheels (or was that her lap-top).
#14
I've been flying to India twice a year for 10 years now. First on Continental (may they RIP) then United. I have very few complaints. Before that I flew that trip on AA for a number of years. I'll take United over AA any day. At least for that particular trip.
Posted by: Zebulon Spawn of the Sith6155 ||
12/08/2016 16:36
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#15
Agree with Zebulon, United international flights aren't too bad.
Flying west - Cathay Pacific or Korean Air are about the best. Going east, Virgin Atlantic is better (really miss the old Lufthansa, though).
Won't fly any of the middle-eastern airways, other than El-Al.
UA Domestic services absolutely s*ck, unless you have the Business/First Class upgrade. Then they're mostly tolerable, but not super great.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/08/2016 17:04
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#16
Just remember folks, United breaks guitars....
[Free Beacon] Cadets, parents, and alumni of the Virginia Military Institute are speaking out after the Washington Free Beacon's exclusive report that the prestigious military academy is offering students coloring books to deal with stress.
Many were outraged at the Free Beacon's report, while others were equally bothered that the school would have coloring books for cadets in the first place.
A new photo obtained by the Free Beacon reveals a flyer posted at VMI advertising "Stress Busters" with a cartoon picture of a puppy. The event for cadets, which occurs twice a year before finals, will include Therapets of Roanoke, the new-age meditation technique known as "mindfulness," yoga, games, grab-and-go snacks, a coloring station, and a raffle.
One cadet currently enrolled told the Free Beacon the idea of offering coloring books for stress was an "embarrassment."
"We pride ourselves on being one of the hardest schools in the nation," he said. "Current pressure from the state and outside population has tied our hands and forced us to make many changes in recent years."
"These changes, including the ‘Stress Busters' program are resented and opposed by the majority of the cadet body," he added.
All students and alumni interviewed for this story spoke on condition that they not be named.
A 2010 VMI graduate echoed the sentiment, saying coloring book stations were "embarrassing and shameful."
[Breitbart] Italian security forces have deported an Islamist Moroccan national who had expressed his intentions to carry out a terror attack in the Vatican.
In prison for common crimes, the 32-year-old Moroccan had "confided his plan for the attack to a cellmate," Italy's Interior Minister Angelino Alfano reported Tuesday. The plot included the use of "a car bomb as well as Kalashnikov rifles," which the man claimed he could procure in Rome through a contact there.
The jihadist has been described by those who knew him as "fanatical" and eager to "die in God's name to win Paradise."
"Today we made another deportation on national security grounds, marking the tempo of tireless prevention activities that we consider a pillar in combating violent extremism," Alfano told reporters.
Italy's counterterrorism efforts have indeed been remarkably successful and have been held up as a model for other countries to follow. Last year, a leading military analyst observed that it was no accident that despite the many factors going against Italy, Islamic terrorists have failed to kill a single person on Italian soil.
[Breitbart] On Wednesday's broadcast of "Fox & Friends," Fox News Chief National Correspondent reported, "I'm hearing this morning that, quietly behind the scenes, advisers to President Obama are working on sort of a farewell tour in mid-January."
Henry said, "I'm hearing this morning that, quietly behind the scenes, advisers to President Obama are working on sort of a farewell tour in mid-January. I'm told there's at least three cities, that President Obama will be giving major speeches in arenas. one of them is Chicago, his sort of adopted hometown. they're looking at the United Center there, where the Chicago Bulls play."
He continued, "And what it tells us is maybe President Obama doesn't quite want to leave the stage yet.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/08/2016 9:05
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#4
That is going to be one of Satan's finest moments, smiling and saying, "Sure there are golf courses here, Barack. They are all up hill. You are going to be a caddy..."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/08/2016 10:09
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#5
That is going to be one of Satan's finest moments, smiling and saying, "Sure there are golf courses here, Barack. They are all up hill. You are going to be a caddy..."....
...double looping, one slicer and one hooker 30 hdcps. Oh yeah, the other part of the foursome has a cart.
[Daily Caller] A Turkish-American businessman who is head of the Democratic National Committee's Heritage Council claimed to have paid a former GOP congressman to write a pro-Turkey op-ed last year and also provided secret updates on his own political activities to members of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's inner circle, newly released emails reveal.
The businessman, Murat Guzel, was also interviewed by the FBI earlier this year along with several Turkish nationals linked to its government, other emails indicate. Obviously, Director Comey's FBI could find no 'intent' of a foreign government or it's operatives to enfluence political outcomes. Probably looking for Gulenists.
The bomshell revelations come from the hacked email account of Berat Albayrak, Turkey's energy minister and Erdogan's son-in-law. The emails, which number more than 57,000, were originally released by a hacker collective called RedHack, but they received little attention in the American press until they were published on Monday by WikiLeaks. 'Scant attention' you say? Sort of SOP for the 'American press' is it not ?
The documents, almost all of which are in Turkish, shed light into many secret activities between Erdogan's government and U.S.-based operatives working to further Turkey's agenda.
#1
Found at this (Citizens Against Special Interest) link is a piece written by Congressman Matt Cartwright in support of Fethullah Gulen. Apparently Guzel's contributions to the Cartwright political campaign fell on deaf ears. Guzel's rather lengthy 'I. B. Butthurt' retort is found at the bottom.
Special note: HRC wears Goldfinger mindworm pantsuit in graphic.
[IsraelTimes] Important military airport, installations near Damascus reportedly bombed; several Hezbollah fighters killed, sources say.
Israeli airstrikes hit an important Syrian regime military airport in Damascus, the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese news network Al Mayadeen claimed Wednesday.
According to the report, the planes struck the Mezzeh Military Airport, located in a suburb of Damascus, around 4 a.m..
Other Arabic media, including al Jazeera and al Arabiya, confirmed that a large explosion had occurred at the airport. Some reports say the fire was caused because a weapons depot exploded.
The Al Mayadeen report noted there had been no official confirmation from the Syrian regime that Israel was responsible, but added “it was almost certain” the explosion was due to IAF airstrikes carried out from Lebanese air space.
A video of the explosion at the airport spread through social media.
Video can be seen at the link.
Meanwhile, Syrian sources reported that Hezbollah sites near the Syrian capital were also targeted Tuesday night by airstrikes that killed and injured a number of fighters in the Shiite militia.
Some of the reports, citing eyewitnesses, said Israeli fighter planes were responsible for the airstrikes, in the town of al-Zabadani. However, official Hezbollah and Syrian regime sources didn’t initially blame Israel for that attack.
Israeli officials wouldn’t comment on the reports.
The Kurdish website ARA News, citing an eyewitness, said the alleged Israeli airstrikes Tuesday night struck guided missile sites belonging to Hezbollah. The source told ARA the airstrikes caused “great damage” and killed and injured a number of Hezbollah fighters. The injured were scrambled to hospitals in nearby towns, the report said.
The reported airstrikes come exactly a week after the official website of the Syrian government Sana accused Israel of carrying out bombing raids near Damascus.
A subsequent Israel Times article quotes the official Syrian government news agency SANA accusing Israel of launching surface-to-surface missiles from the Golan Heights at the Mezzah military airport, where the Syrian air force intelligence service is headquartered alongside a prison.
[Breitbart] Wednesday at Politico‘s "Women Rule" event, senior adviser to President Barack Obama Valerie Jarrett said the reactions at the White House to President-elect Donald Trump‘s victory were "like a punch in the stomach" and "soul-crushing." Heh!
Jarrett said, "We were surprised by the outcome of the election. It kind of was like a ‐ I'm not sure what the right analogy would be, but like a punch in the stomach, let's say. Soul-crushing might be another description. But that's the democracy that we have. The people get to decide and the elections matter and we have to get about the business of doing our jobs." Heh! Heh!
#12
If ever someone who served in high public office deserves an investigation to determine if they were an agent of a foreign power, it is this vile, Iranian sympathizer.
Also known as a "Fuck you Gore"
Climate Depot's publisher Marc Morano statement on President Elect Donald Trump's selection of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt pick for EPA chief:
"President-Elect Trump's appointment of Scott Pruitt is a breath of fresh air. No longer do we have to suffer under President Obama's ridiculous EPA ‘climate' regulations. It is also refreshing that a Republican President is not throwing the EPA over to the green activists and the media by appointing a weak administrator. Christine Todd Whitman he is not!
Trump's pick of Pruitt finally means that a Republican President is standing up the green establishment! Historically, EPA chiefs have been among the most pro regulatory members of past Republican presidents from Nixon through Ford, Reagan and both Bushes. Trump has broken the cycle! Putting a muzzle on the tyrannical EPA is always good.
Climate sanity has been restored to the U.S. EPA. No longer do we have to hear otherwise intelligent people in charge in DC blather on about how EPA regulations are necessary to control the Earth's temperature or storminess.
No longer do we have to endure GOP presidents avoiding battle over the green agenda by picking EPA chiefs that were timid at best. We know how bad GOP EPA picks have been in the past because many former GOP EPA chiefs endorsed President Obama's EPA climate regulations.
If climate skeptics were worried about Trump's meeting with Former VP Al Gore earlier this week, the pick of Pruitt is reassuring. Basically Trump listened to what Gore had to say at their New York City meeting and then he exercised his good judgement and did the exact opposite. I think Trump is doing the same thing with Obama I hope he's doing the same thing with Romney.
#3
some negative career justice for the perpetrators of climate change regulatory strangulation, Gold King Mine debacle, anti-fracking assholes, etc. is clearly in order. Clear the stables!
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/08/2016 9:04
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#4
Perhaps it's one of the advantages of having a billionaire in the WH. Bribes and get rich schemes don't seem to work so well.
#7
Interview with Gore only needed a minute to determine if he was serious or a fraud. one quick question. Which is worse:
(a) Storing spent nuclear fuel until we find out what to do with it
(b) Global warming.
Answer (A) and you know they he doesn't take the threat of global warming seriously.
Answer (b) and you don't need him, just double-down on building nuclear plants.
Moscow, Beirut – The expectations of Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were not fulfilled after he was optimistic to reach an agreement with the U.S. – concerning the withdrawal of armed fighters from the city of Aleppo.
Despite the failed expectations, Lavrov continued to threaten that Moscow would crush all armed factions if they do not leave eastern Aleppo, where regime forces and their allies have tightened the noose on opposition fighters after controlling more neighborhoods in the area.
In a press conference held in Moscow on Tuesday, Lavrov said the U.S. abruptly informed the Russians it was unable to send experts to participate in the Geneva talks on Tuesday.
“They have withdrawn their document and have a new one. Our initial impression is that this new document backtracks, and is an attempt to buy time for the militants, allow them to catch their breath and resupply,” Lavrov said.
The Russian foreign minister told Syrian opposition fighters: “Those who refuse to leave nicely will be destroyed. There is no other way.”
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry denied Moscow’s charges that Washington has stalled planned talks on terrorists’ withdrawal from the Syrian city of Aleppo in order to get more time for them, AFP reported on Tuesday.
When asked to comment on Lavrov’s statement concerning the U.S. refusal to participate in the Geneva talks, Kerry said: “I’m not aware of any specific refusal.”
As Russia announced the failure of what it called “the plan” of Kerry to solve the Aleppo crisis, the intensity of fighting in the city has increased on Tuesday.
Syrian government forces and allied militias captured Aleppo’s strategic al-Shaar neighborhood from rebels on Tuesday, according to several informed sources.
Opposition forces still refuse to withdraw from the Aleppo neighborhoods, relying on a possible military reinforcement provided from the countryside. The operation room of Fatah Halab militant group had promised “weighty surprises during the upcoming days.”
Yasser Abdelraheem, head of the operation room at Fatah Halab told Aleppo residents in a voice record broadcasted on YouTube Tuesday: “Few days and we will turn on them the table. We promise you weighty surprised that would tip the scales.”
On Tuesday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the gains made by Syrian forces in the neighborhood of al-Shaar.
Meanwhile, Member of the Syrian Coalition opposition Michel Kilo criticized Russia saying that Moscow was currently benefiting from the ongoing U.S. regression to use the policy of force in Aleppo. Kilo told Ahsarq Al-Awsat: “Unfortunately, Moscow has enough power to force rebels withdraw from their city, despite the courageous resistance shown by these groups.”
[Iran Press TV] The Russian government is about to finalize an agreement on the country’s establishment of a permanent naval base in Syria, a senior politician says.
Viktor Ozerov, the chairman of the Defense and Security Committee at the Federation Council, the Russian parliament’s upper house, made the announcement on Wednesday.
"As far as I know, [it is] at the final stage," he said concerning the procedure for the document’s preparation, which culminates in signing by the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2016
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Just another day on the dangerous streets of Hamas's Gaza. Someone was in the wrong place at the wrong time -- a price must be paid for that.
[AnNahar] A police officer and a youth were hospitalised on Tuesday after Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", forces clashed with hardline Islamists in the Gazoo Strip, a medical source and witnesses said.
Both men suffered bullet wounds during an attempt by Gazoo security forces to arrest two men from a Salafist group, followers of an ultra-conservative form of Islam, a witness said.
The young man, believed to be a Salafist, was at death's door, while the policeman's condition was not life threatening, the medical source said.
The witness said a grenade was thrown at security forces raiding a house in al-Fukhari in the southern Gazoo Strip, sparking festivities.
Hamas, which rules Gazoo, is an Islamist party but is frequently criticised by more conservative Islamists, including hardliners who sympathise with the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group.
The hardliners sporadically fire rockets at Israel, prompting retaliation against Hamas targets.
Israel holds Hamas responsible for all rocket fire from Gazoo, regardless of who launches it.
In an unrelated incident, a fighter of Hamas's military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, was killed accidentally.
"Ahmad Mansour, 30 and from Jabalia in northern Gazoo, died on Monday night when a grenade went kaboom! by accident," a Qassam statement said.
[IsraelTimes] At least two Palestinians were killed and at least one other was injured Wednesday in the collapse of a tunnel in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials said. Local reports said the cave-in occurred in the Shejaiya neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip, around half a kilometer from the border fence with Israel.
The Gaza health ministry identified the two as Ismail Shmali and Rami al-Areir, both in their 20s. It said a third person was injured.
Israeli media outlets identified the men as Hamas members. Tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip are usually used by the terrorist groups to infiltrate into Israel or for moving armed men around without being detected by Israel.
Earlier this week four Palestinians were found dead in a smuggling tunnel linking the Gaza Strip to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, local officials said Sunday, accusing the Egyptian military of flooding it.
[Libya Herald] A military grouping said to be under the command of the Presideency Council’s acting defence minister Al-Mahdi Al-Barghathi and Ibrahim Jadhran are reported to have taken the small towns of Nufliya and Ben Jawad east of Sirte from forces loyal to the Libyan National Army (LNA).
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2016
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[ARA News] Erbil – The Iraqi security forces attempted to seize the al-Salem hospital in eastern Mosul on Wednesday amid raging conflict with Islamic State group (ISIS) in the city. The US-led coalition hit the hospital in renewed airstrikes on Wednesday, saying the hospital was an ISIS base and that no civilians were targeted.
ISIS was using the hospital as a base for operations and command and control headquarters, the coalition said in a statement obtained by ARA News.
After being hit by ISIS’ heavy machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire in a building on the hospital complex, the Iraqi forces requested immediate support from the coalition.
“In support of the Iraqi Security Forces, Coalition aircraft conducted a precision strike on the location to target enemy fighters firing on Iraqi forces,” the US-led coalition said.
“The Coalition complies with the Law of Armed Conflict and takes all feasible precautions during the planning and execution of airstrikes to reduce the risk of harm to non-combatants. We will continue to strike ISIS military targets in support of our partners in order to defeat ISIS in Iraq,” the coalition said in a statement.
Mosul is the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Iraq. The group took over the city in June 2014, and immediately afterward announced its self-proclaimed Caliphate.
On October 17, the Iraqi Army and Kurdish Peshmerga launched a major operation to liberate Mosul city and its surroundings. According to military sources, more than 2,200 ISIS militants have been killed so far.
The Iraqi Army’s 16th Infantry Division, backed by Counter-Terrorism Units, gained more ground in Mosul city on Tuesday. Iraqi forces have reportedly captured 24 neighborhoods in the war-torn city, forcing the Islamic State back towards the downtown core.
“The Iraqi Army now controls 50% of Mosul city,” reported Haidar al-Khalidi, a journalist inside Mosul. “The army has also tightened the siege on the ISIS-held downtown districts.”
Al-Khalidi told ARA News that ISIS is impeding the army’s advance by using civilians as human shields. This tactic has “prevented the army from using its heavy weapons during the clashes.”
“ISIS is using residential buildings as bases for its attacks on the Iraqi forces. Many civilians are located in Mosul’s ISIS-held districts. [They’re] being used as human shields,” al-Khalidi reported.
According to Michael Stephens, the head of the Royal United Services Institute–Qatar, there are a few reasons, mostly tactical decisions taken early on in the campaign, which have led to too many civilians being present in areas of heavy fighting. This has severely limited the ability of the Iraqi forces to use artillery and call in air power.
“Additionally, ISIS militants are well dug in, moving in amongst houses and launching traps and huge numbers of suicide bombers to slow down the advance. To date, ISIS has utilized some 600 suicide bombers to defend Mosul which gives them tactical advantage in small enclosed areas,” Stephens told ARA News.
“There is little doubt that the fight ISIS has put up is more than was expected. The problem is made worse by the lack of available forces that can successfully close the noose around Mosul and get ISIS to divert resources away from defending the eastern side of the city,” he said.
“As such, it’s placing undue pressure on those units operating in the eastern neighbourhoods of Mosul, hugely slowing down the advance,” he said.
Nicholas Heras, a Washington-based Middle East researcher at the Centre for a New American Security, agreed with Stephens. “ISIS fighters are providing far greater resistance inside the city than the Coalition expected,” Heras told ARA News.
“The Coalition, Baghdad, and the KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government] will also be very cautious with the campaign plan to take the more densely populated districts of Mosul, fearing an even greater outflow of refugees from the city,” he said.
“With winter approaching, the humanitarian pressure on the KRG and other areas of Nineveh and further into Iraq could be catastrophic,” Heras concluded.
BARTALLA, Iraq: Iraqi forces battled Daesh militants deep inside Mosul Wednesday, edging closer to the River Tigris that divides the city and looking for a breakthrough in the seven-week-old offensive.
The fighting to retake the Daesh group’s last major stronghold in Iraq has prompted a steady trickle of people to leave their homes, many taking refuge in camps where nighttime temperatures have dipped below freezing.
The 9th Armored Division said it had retaken Al-Salam hospital in a push on Tuesday, the farthest the army has penetrated into east Mosul since the start of a broad offensive launched on October 17.
“We advanced in Al-Salam district but the situation is difficult, there is heavy fighting,” Brig. Gen. Shaker Kadhem told AFP.
“We took control of Al-Salam hospital, which was a command center for Daesh,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State or ISIS.
The five-story building towers above the neighborhood and the jihadists had been using the upper floors and roof as sniper positions for some time, Mosul residents said.
The elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) has spearheaded the drive into Mosul in the past month, retaking several neighborhoods in the east of the city.
The army also punched into Mosul in November but its progress has been slower and Iraqi forces barely control half of the eastern side of the city.
'Surrounded'
Kadhem said the goal of the latest push was to meet up with CTS forces on the banks of the Tigris in the southeast of the city.
A senior CTS officer said the fighting in Al-Salam was fierce and the army had asked for backup.
“The 9th Division’s situation is difficult and they have called for support. We are sending a regiment there,” the officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“They are surrounded now in Al-Salam hospital... we are on the way so we can open a passage for them.”
The Daesh-affiliated Amaq news agency said the radicals had carried out five suicide car bomb attacks in the area during the past 24 hours.
It said the army was holed up in the hospital compound and had suffered heavy losses. Iraqi officers did not provide any casualty toll for the latest fighting.
The Joint Operations Command supervising the fight against Daesh said CTS forces had retaken the eastern Mosul neighborhood of Ilam on Wednesday.
Officers and analysts had expected the eastern side of Mosul to offer less resistance but the going has been tough and Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi’s promise to retake Mosul by year’s end has looked increasingly in question.
Hashed Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) paramilitary forces have retaken significant ground in recent weeks on a western front targeting the town of Tal Afar, which lies on the road linking Mosul to Syria.
Civilians affected
Forces on the southern and northern fronts made quick early gains when Iraq launched its largest military operation in years but progress has been slow in recent days.
One of the main factors hampering Iraqi forces in Mosul is the continued presence of hundreds of thousands of civilians, who either want to stay in their homes or are prevented from leaving by Daesh.
The United Nations on Wednesday put the overall number of people displaced by the offensive at more than 82,000.
That is still less than half the figure the UN expected before the operation was launched.
It its latest situation report, the UN spoke of spiralling civilian casualties as Iraqi forces went house to house in east Mosul, attempting to battle jihadists and protect civilians at the same time.
“Partners are rushing to bring trauma care closer to the front lines to give injured civilians the best chance of survival,” the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
It said work was also under way to repair water and electricity infrastructure in east Mosul, where it described the current water shortage as “critical.”
Hundreds of thousands of people in Mosul have gone days without drinking water and have had to boil water from boreholes to survive.
The conditions for those massing in the camps on the city’s outskirts were hardly better, with the onset of winter bringing freezing temperatures at night.
[Iran Press TV] Fierce festivities have erupted in djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... ’s al-Salam neighborhood, as Iraqi forces make gains against ISISsnuffies deep inside the northern city and advance closer to the Tigris River, which divides the city into eastern and western sides.
The Iraqi army's 9th Armored Division announced the recapture of al-Salam Hospital in eastern Mosul on Tuesday.
However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... fighting continued on Wednesday in the al-Salam neighborhood, where the five-storey medical institution is situated. The ISIS elements were said to have been using the hospital’s upper floors and roof as sniper positions for some time.
"We advanced in al-Salam district but the situation is difficult, there is heavy fighting," said Iraqi Brigadier General Shaker Kadhem, adding, "We took control of al-Salam Hospital, which was a command center for ISIS."
He further noted that the latest push in Mosul was aimed at meeting up with the elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) forces on the banks of the Tigris in Mosul’s southeast.
A senior unidentified CTS officer also said the fighting in al-Salam district was fierce and the Iraqi army had called for backup.
"The 9th Division's situation is difficult and they have called for support. We are sending a regiment there," he said, noting that the soldiers "are surrounded now in al-Salam Hospital... [and] we are on the way so we can open a passage for them."
Meanwhile, ...back at the abandoned silver mine, the water was up to Jack's neck and still rising. And then he smelled the smoke... the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency reported that the Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed... turbans had carried out five boom-mobileings in the al-Salam area over the past 24 hours.
The Iraqi Federal Police also confirmed that several boom-mobiles were went kaboom! while bombers set off their explosives in the flashpoint district around al-Salam Hospital.
According to an unnamed military source, three Iraqi soldiers were killed and 40 others sustained injuries in ISIS attacks on Wednesday.
Advances on the ground
On the same day, the Iraqi forces liberated eight villages in northern Mosul from the grip of ISIS holy warriors.
The Iraq special forces further managed to wrest control of the al-Elam neighborhood in eastern Mosul.
The commander of the Nineveh Liberation Operation, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Yarallah, announced in a statement that the area was "fully liberated" and the Iraqi national flag was raised over its buildings.
Yarallah went on to say that ISISsnuffies "suffered losses" without elaborating further on the subject.
Mosul fell to ISIS in 2014, when the terror outfit began its campaign of death and destruction in the Arab country.
The Iraqi army troops and allied fighters have been leading an offensive to retake Mosul since October 17.
The Iraqi forces made quick gains on Mosul’s southern and northern fronts when the city’s liberation operation was launched.
However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... the Iraqi troops’ advance has been slowed down due to the presence of hundreds of thousands of civilians, many of whom are prevented from leaving Mosul by ISIS.
The United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... said on Wednesday that more than 82,000 people have been displaced by the Mosul offensive.
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[Ynet] Suspected Islamist Death Eaters freed 93 prisoners during an attack on a jail in the central Mali town of Niono early on Tuesday, officials said.
The prison break was the second of its kind in recent weeks in Mali, where myrmidon groups based in the desert north have extended their campaign into central and southern regions.
Five gunnies attacked the jail at around 0115 GMT, injuring two guards, the Ministry of Security said.
Ninety prisoners remained on the lam on Tuesday afternoon after three were captured. The army was deployed in pursuit.
Fog of war uncertainty: a reporter can either know the number of miscreants or the number of black-hearted beneficiaries of their actions, but not both. Herewith another article from Ynet:
A military front man says a dozen gunnies on cycle of violences have attacked a prison in central Mali, freeing prisoners and leaving at least one person dead.
Col. Souleymane Maiga says the attack late Monday took place near the town of Niono in the Segou region. A guard was killed and an unknown number of prisoners fled.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but it bore similarities to other attacks launched by al-Qaeda-linked jihadists in the region.
Jihadists have long operated in northern Mali and have been increasingly active farther south over the past year.
Suspected jihadists stormed a prison in central Mali and freed at least 47 inmates including a jihadist fighter, injuring two guards during the assault, security sources said Tuesday.
"The suspected jihadists attacked a prison with heavy weapons on Monday night in the town of Niono, in the center of Mali, where they freed around 50 inmates and injured two guards," said an official in the town around 350 kilometers (220 miles) north east of the capital Bamako. "(The attackers) seriously injured two members of the national guard before freeing at least 47 prisoners, one of whom was a jihadist fighter."
The details were also confirmed by two police sources in the region.
"Some of the jihadists wore military uniforms, others traditional robes. They shouted 'Allahu Akbar' (God is Greatest). They were very well informed. They knew exactly where to find their fellow fighter who was tossed in the slammer Book 'im, Mahmoud! recently," said one of the police sources. Reinforcements deployed "to secure the town" arrived Tuesday, the source added.
The attackers were seen close to the prison three weeks earlier, an elected local official said without giving further details.
[Dhaka Tribune] Prime Minister the loathesome Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. has said that there is nothing to be worried about the government’s new law to prevent child marriage.
In response to a supplementary question of Jatiya Party ...aka Jatiya Front; a political party established by Bangladictator Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1986 to lend a veneer of respectability to his rule. Since nobody was amused he was forced to resign by popular demand in 1990. The party remains in existence with about a dozen seats in Bangla's parliament... politician Fakhrul Imam, the premier Wednesday defended the Child Marriage Restrain Act 2016 approved by the cabinet on November 24.
The proposed law has drawn severe criticisms from home and abroad for keeping a provision allowing child marriage in special cases; such as if a girl becomes pregnant accidentally or illegally to protect her "honour" ‐ with approval from a court and agreement between the parents.
"The law has been framed taking the reality of our society into consideration," Hasina said, reports BSS.
She also blasted some NGOs and individuals for raising questions about the special provision. "They are far away from reality," the premier said, adding that many western countries allow marriage of girls at 14 and 16 years.
"A law can never be rigid, there must have an alternative in special cases particularly in case of unexpected pregnancy of any girl under 18. Otherwise, it may be disastrous for the society," she said.
Hasina said that her government had been making relentless efforts to make people aware about child marriage. "In view of this, girls are being encouraged for education and provided with scholarship side by side with creating scope for job.
"Girls are being given scholarship for higher studies to lessen the burden of education on their guardians so that the girls and their guardians do not become worried for their marriage at early age," BSS quoted her as saying.
Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, despite a three-decade-old law banning marriage for girls under the age of 18.
Punishment
In case of violation, the law proposes a maximum penalty of Tk100,000 along with two years’ imprisonment.
According to the law, the court will impose a ban on any marriage if anyone claims it as child marriage. The court might reject the ban also.
If anyone violates the ban, he or she will face six months’ imprisonment and Tk10,000 fine or both as punishment.
If the claim is proved false, punishment is maximum six months’ imprisonment and at least Tk30,000 fine or both.
Minors who marry will face maximum 15 days’ imprisonment or Tk5,000 fine.
Any adult male or female will face a maximum penalty of Tk100,000 fine along with two years of imprisonment or both if he or she marries any minor.
If parents are found involved in organising child marriage, they will be punished with maximum six months’ imprisonment and at least Tk50,000 fine or both. If the parents are not capable of paying the fine, the jail term will be increased for more three months.
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Russia said on Wednesday it would restrict the ability of U.S. diplomats based in Moscow to travel if a pending U.S. bill that would do the same to Russian diplomats in the United States entered into force.
The intelligence bill, an annual measure that provides broad Congressional authorization for a wide range of U.S. intelligence activities and agencies, has already been approved by both intelligence committees and the House of Representatives, but not yet by the Senate.
The new U.S. bill would create a special committee to combat clandestine Russian efforts to manipulate foreign opinion and tighten the rules on Russian diplomats in the United States who want to travel more than 25 miles (40.23 km) from their official posts. They would have to give advance notice of such trips and permission would not be granted unless the FBI told Congress in writing that the diplomats had abided by the travel rules in the previous quarter.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told reporters in Moscow the proposed rules would draw swift Russian retaliation if implemented.
"They (the U.S. authorities) should keep in mind that diplomacy is based on the principle of reciprocity. Put simply, American diplomats in Russia will be treated in the same way," said Zakharova.
She said the bill looked like an attempt to confine Russian diplomats to their embassy and make their work harder, and called the proposal for a special committee part of a "witch hunt" by the outgoing Obama administration against Russia.
"We are dealing with another example of clinical anti-Russian feeling," she said. "It's a carbon copy of a scheme used in the Cold War."
President Vladimir Putin has said he hopes that President-elect Donald Trump can oversee an improvement in battered U.S.-Russia ties, something the wealthy American tycoon has said he is keen to bring about.
[DailyCaller] New York magazine reported Monday that many women in Washington D.C. are dealing with President-elect Donald Trump’s victory by cutting or dying their hair.
Julianna Evans, who works for a performing-arts company, told NY magazine that she “cried for three days” following Trump’s win. She said, “it was catastrophic.” What was catastrophic? Trump's election or your inability to control your emotions?
Despite being distraught over Trump’s victory, Evans did not lose her will. NY Magazine wrote that Evans, “put on her big-girl panties and dragged herself to the drugstore.” She then bravely grabbed “Natural Black box by Garnier.” Evans said, “I was like, fuck it! The election deadened my soul. I think I wanted to do something defiant to feel stronger.” Oookay. Buying a product is defiance? Check. Evans added, “For many of us, with this election, it’s like your boyfriend dumped you in a really shocking way with no explanation and then moved in next door.” The voice of experience. Vast experience...
She said, “Now, I feel like my hair says you can’t bring me down. This misogyny will not persevere. The bumper sticker for me is, ‘I am woman, hear me roar.'” I hear you whine, not roar... Marion Jacobs, a former psychology professor at University of California, Los Angeles, spoke to New York about the supposed hair change phenomenon. She said, “People will use all kinds of coping mechanisms, and cutting their hair and changing their look is one way to show or feel that they are doing something over which they have control.”
Nicole Butler, who dyes hair at a D.C. salon, told NY magazine, “When you see that much blonde hair on the floor, you know something is going on.” Butler said her salon has been facing a deluge of appointments for women “asking for a drastic change.” “It was like a mass declaration of independence,” Butler said. “Maybe this is some kind of compensation for not getting what we wanted in the election. By changing our hair, we can control the outcome.”
Another hair stylist Mariangela Moore told New York that women have been trying to become unattractive to rebel against Trump. “One of my clients said, ‘Think of Melania Trump and go in in the opposite direction,'” Moore said.
#4
Well, warm up the Wahls for the wailers,
And retailers, stand by with bailers!
They're crying and buying,
Defying by dyeing
And cussing to chasten gay sailors.
Sigh. The motions. I'm going through em. Voters, boaters... maybe it's time for a longer form?
#6
Remember guys, don't even attempt to have a conversation with those self identified having already sold their souls. You're safer in the long run to go to Craiglist instead or just taking care of it yourself.
[Dhaka Tribune] The Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty handed down to three bully boyz of Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami (HuJI Founded in 1984 by Fazlur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Aktar. The Bangla branch was established in 1992 with assistance from Osama bin Laden. Recruits come mostly from Deobandi madrassahs. HuJI and Fazlur Rehman Khalil are signators of bin Laden's declaration of war on the west. ), including its chief Mufti Abdul Hannan in a case filed over the grenade attack on ex-British envoy to Bangladesh Anwar Choudhury in 2004.
A four-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice SK Sinha, passed the order on Wednesday morning.
The court rejected the appeal filed by Mufti Hannan and Sharif Shahedul Alam alias Bipul seeking a review of the High Court order, reports UNB.
Deputy Attorney General Bashir Ahmed said the condemned convicts can file a review petition within 30 days after getting the copy of the verdict.
Three people, including an assistant sub-inspector of the police, were killed while former UK high commissioner Anwar and 70 others were maimed in a grenade attack at the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal in Sylhet on May 21, 2004.
Born in Sunamganj and a naturalised British citizen, Anwar served as the British high commissioner to Bangladesh from 2004 to 2008. He is currently serving as the ambassador to Peru.
Three bully boyz of the banned group ‐ Mufti Hannan, Sharif Shahedul Alam Bipul and Md Delwar Hossain alias Ripon ‐ were sentenced to death while two others ‐ Hannan’s brother Muhibullah alias Muhibur Rahman alias Ovi and Mufti Mainuddin Khaja alias Abu Jandal ‐ were given life sentences by the Sylhet Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal on December 23, 2008.
The High Court upheld the verdict in February this year. Hannan and Bipul then appealed against the sentences in July.
Mufti Hannan and seven others were sentenced to death in 2014 for killing 10 people during the Pohela Boishakh celebrations at Ramna Batamul in 2001. He is also a prime accused in the August 21 grenade attack case.
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[IsraelTimes] Belgian authorities have charged two Kosovars and a Serb with terrorist offenses over suspicions they helped recruit jihadists for Syria and raised funds for the Islamic State group. A counter-terrorism judge kept in custody three of the eight people who were detained during raids across Belgium on Tuesday but released the remainder after questioning, federal prosecutors say.
“They were charged with participation in the activities of a terrorist group,” the prosecutor’s office says in a statement. It identifies them as Egzona K., a 23-year-old Serb, Kastriot M., a 23-year-old Kosovar, and Mahid D., a 27-year-old Kosovar.
[IsraelTimes] A Dutch anti-discrimination group complained to police about a political party whose Muslim founders said Adolf Hitler was Jewish and that homosexuality is a contagious illness.
...among other nasty absurdities. What odds the complaint has any affect at all, dear Reader?
The Bureau Against Discrimination on Wednesday filed the hate speech complaint against the Free Democracy Party, which was established last week ahead of general parliamentary elections scheduled for March, the De Orkaan news site reported.
[DeutscheWelle] Gambians make up the third largest group of African refugees in Germany. With Gambia on the road to democracy and Germany's goverment getting tough on immigration, will they be allowed to stay.
Deutsche Welle's heart bleeds for the suffering of the unprocessed migrants, while making impossible demands on the bankrupt Greeks to provide otherwise reasonable improvements.
With the onset of winter authorities have yet to fully equip the refugee camps in northern Greece to help withstand the increasingly miserable conditions.
[AnNahar] A Swedish court on Tuesday jailed an Iraqi man for six months for war crimes in a landmark case after he posted photos on Facebook of himself posing with dead bodies in Iraq. The photos posted on Facebook in July 2015, show Iraqi citizen Raed Abdulkareem, 24, who sought asylum in Sweden in October that same year, posing next to a severed head on a plate and decapitated bodies. He claims to have fought for the Iraqi government against the Islamic State group.
On what possible basis could he be seeking asylum?
The police discovered the photos while investigating Abdulkareem over robbery, for which he currently is serving a prison sentence.
*boggle*
The court said even dead people are protected against violation of "personal dignity" under Swedish law and the Geneva Convention. Abdulkareem denied all charges against him, arguing he was forced to pose next to the bodies.
The court ruled Abdulkareem would be deported to Iraq and not allowed to reenter Sweden until 2026.
[Ynet] German authorities say that 100 Bavarian police officers will reinforce federal police patrolling the country's frontier with Austria, paving the way for more thorough border checks. The move comes as police announced Monday that 37 migrants, most of them from Eritrea, were detained in the Bavarian capital, Munich, after entering the country on freight trains.
The state of Bavaria has a conservative government that has long talked tough on the migrant crisis and wants tougher checks, criticizing Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision in September 2015 to let in asylum-seekers who were stuck in Hungary.
Germany reintroduced limited border controls at the height of last year's influx during which hundreds of thousands of migrants entered the country. Many of them were Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans.
Family of EU official's teenage daughter who was raped and killed 'by Afghan migrant' ask for well-wishers to donate money to refugee charity as teenage 'killer' is revealed
07/12/16
Medical student Maria Ladenburger, who had also taken time out to help asylum seekers as a volunteer, was found dead in a river in the south-western German university city of Freiburg in October.
Schoolchildren on a half-term trip to France had to abandon their coach as police searched for illegal immigrants believed to be hiding in the luggage hold
A standing headline for rhe Daily Mail nowadays.
06/12/16
After the drivers contacted French police the coach carrying the party from Highfields School, in Matlock, Derbyshire, was seized and searched
Iranian is almost stabbed to death in Dutch migrant centre after fellow asylum seekers 'discovered he was GAY'
06/12/16
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Police initially thought the attack on the 25-year-old in the town of Bellingwolde in the north-eastern part of the Netherlands was drugs-related.
Italy Breaks Immigration Record in 2016
6 Dec 2016
This week the number of immigrants entering Italy since January 1 shattered the previous yearly record from 2014, moving beyond the 170,000 mark.
German State Media Defends Not Reporting Girl Raped and Murdered by ‘Refugee’
6 Dec 2016
Germany’s leading news programme has been slammed for refusing to report the rape and murder of the 19-year-old daughter of an EU official by an Afghan ‘refugee’.
Police Chief Blames Merkel Migrant Policy for Teenage Girl Murder-Rape
6 Dec 2016
German federal police chief Rainer Rendt has blamed the mass migration policies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the death of Maria Landenburger who was killed by an Afghani migrant.
Undercover Report: Islamic Radicalism Rife in ‘Hotbed of Terror’ Asylum Homes
6 Dec 2016
German-Pakistani journalist Shams Ul-Haq went undercover to several German asylum homes under false identities and found them full of radical Islamic recruiters and believers.
Afghan’s Murder-Rape Arrest Reignites Germany Migrant Debate
5 Dec 2016
The German government pleaded for calm Monday after the arrest of a teenage Afghan asylum seeker for the alleged rape and murder of a German student triggered fresh criticism of the country’s liberal refugee policy
‘New Migrant Route’ Opens Between Algeria and Sardinia, 158 Arrive in One Night
4 Dec 2016
The mass landing on the coast of Sardinia of 158 illegal Algerian migrants has been described by police as well organised and indicative that a new, regular stream of North Africans may be heading for the small Italian island.
Security forces on Wednesday claimed to have arrested 11 suspected militants during an exchange of fire in Balochistan’s Barkhan district.
“The arrested miscreants belonged to an outlawed militant organisation which was operating in the area, said Khan Wasey, a spokesperson for the Frontier Corps.
He added that five commanders of the banned organisation were also among those arrested.
The FC personnel conducted the raid on information provided by an intelligence agency.
Security forces claimed to have recovered eight rocket launchers, fuses and other arms and ammunition during the raid.
The FC spokesperson further claimed that the arrested militants were involved in various acts of terrorism in the area.
Balochistan has been experiencing incidents of violence and targeted killings for over a decade. The largest province of the country by area, is home to a insurgency by ethnic Baloch separatists.
Al Qaeda-linked and sectarian militants also operate in the region. The province shares borders with Afghanistan and Iran.
At least 35 of the almost 60 people who were on board a ship that sank in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Yemen have been rescued, officials say.
The cargo vessel disappeared about 48km (26 nautical miles) north-west of the remote island of Socotra while sailing from the eastern province of Hadramawt.
The government says the incident took place five days ago, but it appears that it was only confirmed on Tuesday. The cause of the disaster is not clear, but a minister said it was an accident.
The government has asked merchant vessels and warships in the area to help search for survivors, some of whom are believed to have escaped in lifeboats.
Fisheries Minister Fahd Kavieen wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon that so far 35 people had been rescued.
He was hopeful that more could be found, but warned that the next few hours would be "very critical" and appealed for helicopter support from the Saudi-led coalition backing his government in its war against the Houthi rebel movement.
Earlier, Mr Kavieen was quoted by the AFP news agency as telling reporters that the ship was believed to have sunk on Friday as a result of an "accident", citing "preliminary information". The government had sent out an SOS after the sinking was confirmed on Tuesday, he added. But the Aden al-Ghad news website quoted a source in the coastguard as saying he had received a notice from authorities in Hadramawt on Tuesday night that contact with the ship had been lost several hours after it set sail from Mukalla.
Socotra, which is home to about 50,000 people, is about 350km (190 nautical miles) south of Yemen and 240km (130 nautical miles) east of Somalia. Flights between the Yemeni mainland and the island were suspended in March 2015, when the conflict between the government and the Houthis escalated and the Saudi-led coalition closed the country's airspace and began carrying out air strikes. There are no regular ferries, forcing islanders to seek passage on cargo vessels.
ANKARA - Turkey's military says the country's military chief has held talks with his U.S. counterpart during a previously announced visit to an air base in southern Turkey.
A brief military statement Tuesday said the meeting took place Monday at Incirlik Air Base where U.S. Gen. Joseph Dunford was paying a "Christmas visit" to American military personnel serving there. The base is home to jets involved in the U.S.-led coalition's campaign against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.
It was the second meeting by the top Turkish and U.S. military chiefs in the past month and came amid the coalition's efforts to dislodge the ISIS group from its Iraqi bastion in Mosul and the development of similar plans for an offensive in the Syrian city of Raqqa.
#2
If the distance to Raqqa is about the same whether from Incirlik or from upgraded Kurdish airbases in Iraq, whey did the Pentagon choose to kiss Erdogan's arse and re-open the Incirlik base?
[Fighter Sweep] On December 6, 1959 US Navy Commander Lawrence E. Flint set a new world’s record when he zoom climbed his YF4H-1 Phantom II prototype to an altitude of 98,561 feet or 30,041 meters.
The previous altitude record for turbo jet aircraft had been held by the Soviet Union (USSR) when in July 1959, Major V.S. Ilyushin flying a Tupolev Tu-431 reached an altitude of 94,658 feet or 28,852 meters.
Project Top Flight
To demonstrate the power and versatility of their new fighter jet the US Navy undertook a series of record breaking flights. The program was called Project Top Flight.
#3
A pedantic snide aside, the F4 was to be all missile fleet protector, so no guns until Viet Nam air combat showed the need for them.
Golf claps will be appreciated.
[TWITCHY] The unstoppable shape-shifting T-1000 from the Terminator films continues to walk present-day earth in the form of Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who refuses to accept the results of the 2016 presidential election, despite legal setbacks and regardless of cost.Stein appeared on Fox News Wednesday afternoon and spoke with Neil Cavuto, who questioned why she wasn’t pursuing recounts in states where Hillary Clinton ... former first lady, former secretary of state, former presidential candidate, sometimes described by her supporters as the smartest woman in the world, usually described by the rest of us as a crook... had won by even slimmer margins than Trump’s wins in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Don’t let that make you suspect she’s trying to flip the Electoral College to Hillary Clinton, though.
Asked by Cavuto how hackers could infiltrate voting machines that aren’t connected to the Internet, Stein went old school, suggesting that people could be walking around with floppy disks and reprogramming the machines.
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#9
Jill is raking in money for the Green party using the guilt and desperation of Dem donors. She also kills the "Greens cost us the election" before it takes root.
Many things describe her but she's not crazy in this.
Security authorities in Aden, the temporary capital of Yemen, announced that they had apprehended a terrorist cell made up of eight people who were involved in assassinating security personnel in different parts of the city that is located in the south of the country.
Aden’s security department mentioned that a number of the cell’s members were arrested in the possession of guns with silencers, identity documents and correspondence between ISIS in Aden and ISIS leaders in Iraq and Syria. It added that the initial confessions of the cell’s members showed that they were involved in murder and killing retired officers who were working for the security service.
Aden’ security department’s media office said in a statement that some members of the cell who were arrested confessed to having received funding and orders to kill from those loyal to the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Houthis and unnamed political parties.
According to the media office of Aden police, the anti-terrorism unit of Aden’s security department was successful in thwarting a large number of plans by terrorist organisations that targeted vital installations in Aden, including the airport, electricity and police departments. It managed, in a short period of time, to arrest those wanted by international intelligence services.
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[AJC] One officer was killed and another was maimed in a shooting in Americus on Wednesday morning, Channel 2 Action News reported.
The suspect was identified as Minguell Kennedy Lembrick, according to the Albany police's Facebook page.
As a precaution, the Georgia Southwestern State University campus was placed on lockdown, officials said. The shooting happened at the Country Club Estates apartments about 10:15 a.m.
The shooter is on the loose and a manhunt is underway, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said. The agency is investigating.
One officer was from Americus police, and one was from Georgia Southwestern police, the Albany Herald reported. It is not known which officer was killed. Both suffered head wounds, Channel 2 reported.
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#1
Perp is a multi-looser with outstanding felony warrants. This was not communicated to the officers :(.
[Iran Press TV] Iran has censured the recent comments made by British Prime Minister Theresa May against the Islamic Theocratic Republic, saying the countries that are fueling violence in the region can not accuse Tehran of meddling in other states’ affairs.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi made the criticism on Wednesday hours after May said she was "clear-eyed" about the alleged threat posed by Iran to the security of the Persian Gulf and wider Middle East.
Speaking in Manama at the 37th annual summit of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC), comprising Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... and Bahrain, May said the UK would contribute to counteract what she claimed to be Iran's "aggressive regional actions". She also said that the UK would invest almost four billion dollars in military investment in the region over the next 10 years.
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Baghdad: An air strike in the jihadist-held western Iraqi town of Al-Qaim, near the Syrian border, killed and wounded dozens of civilians Wednesday, the parliament speaker said.
Speaker Salim Al-Juburi condemned in a statement the air strike “that targeted a market area for civilians and resulted in the death and injury of dozens of them.”
He said he “holds the government responsible for such mistakes” and demanded the immediate launch of an investigation into the alleged strike.
If confirmed, the blunder would be one of the worst cases of civilians being killed in strikes in Iraq since the start of the air campaign against the Daesh group in 2014.
Officials in Anbar, the western province in which Al-Qaim is located, said dozens were killed in the afternoon strike, although AFP could not reach sources in the town to confirm the casualty toll.
A spokesman for the provincial council of Anbar claimed the strike was carried out by an Iraqi aircraft in the afternoon and demanded a government probe.
“The strike hit a market at peak hour, there were retirees queueing up pick up their pension, people collecting salaries and social security payments,” Eid Ammash said.
“Entire families were killed,” Ammash said.
Maath Al-Jughaifi, a tribal leader in Haditha, the nearest city, said “between 70 people and 80 people were killed” in Al-Qaim but claimed the strike was carried out by the US-led coalition that has carried out thousands of strikes against Daesh.
There was no immediate comment from Iraq’s Joint Operations Command supervising the fight against Daesh or from the US-led coalition.
Amaq, an Daesh-affiliated propaganda website, released a video purporting to show the aftermath of the strike and claimed 120 people were killed.
AFP could not authenticate the footage, which showed devastation in a market area and a large number of dead and wounded strewn across the street or being treated.
Al-Qaim lies a few kilometers from the border with Syria, around 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of the capital Baghdad, and is the last major town in Anbar still under Daesh control.
At least six Pakistani sailors have reportedly been killed after a Saudi airstrike targeted their boat off the Yemeni coast.
The Saudi jets targeted a boat carrying 12 Pakistani sailors off Mukha coast in the Yemeni province of Ta’izz on Sunday, Yemen’s Saba news agency said.
According to the report, the other six sailors are still unaccounted for.
The deadly strike comes as the Riyadh regime continues its brutal military campaign against neighboring Yemen, which was launched in March 2015 to reinstall the former Yemeni government.
Yemen’s former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi has ordered a major assault on the country’s Red Sea coast against Houthi Ansarullah fighters and allied army forces, which have been defending the nation against a deadly Saudi offensive.
Reports said on Sunday that Saudi warplanes had intensified their air raids on the province of Ta’izz, which has witnessed heavy fighting on the ground between pro-Hadi militants and Yemeni armed forces in recent days.
[AlManar] Baghdad Operations Command announced that one civilian was killed and another one wounded in a third bombing hitting the Iraqi capital Wednesday.
“A civilian was killed and another wounded when an adhesive roadside bomb placed beneath the wheel (of a car) near Ibn Al-Qaff hospital blew up on the military road east of Baghdad,” the command said in a statement.
“The security force cordoned off the scene and took the injured to a nearby hospital to receive treatment and took the corps to the forensic medicine center.”
In a similar development, Al Sumaria reported that four civilians were wounded in an explosion east of Baghdad, and another roadside bomb placed in the Seven Palaces district, east of Baghdad, exploded this morning without causing casualties.
[DeutscheWelle] A 31-year-old Iraqi migrant has been detained in north west Germany on suspicion of carrying out two sexual attacks in Bochum. He was locked away Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! at a refugee hostel.
The two attacks - both on Chinese students - happened in Bochum in August and in November. Police said on Tuesday that the man, who can not be named for legal reasons, was arrested at his refugee hostel on Monday.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] None of the dozens of people on board a Pakistain International Airlines aircraft that crashed into a mountain in northern Pakistain on Wednesday survived the accident, the airline’s chairman said. I'm leaving this on front page because it's Pakistain and who knows what might have shot it down.
"There are no survivors, no one has survived," Muhammad Azam Saigol told a presser late on Wednesday, about five hours after flight PK661 from Chitral to the capital, Islamabad, crashed near the town of Havelian, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... province.
The airline had earlier announced 48 people were on board the aircraft.
Saigol said the ATR-42 aircraft had undergone regular maintenance and had in October passed an "A-check" certification, conducted after every 500 hours of flight operations.
"I think that there was no technical error or human error ... obviously there will be a proper investigation," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2016
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#1
who knows what might have shot it down.
perhaps Allan threw a lightning bolt at it, or was that Thor?
#2
How many copies of the Koran were incinerated on board? And who is responsible for that?Get a fatwa from the Imam right away. Sharpen the knives. Islam has been insulted. Someone must die.
[Iran Press TV] Democratic politicians will not take issue with an expedited process designed to allow former General James Mattis to serve as US President-elect Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... ’s pick to lead the military, says House Minority Leader Nancy San Fran Nan Pelosi Congresswoman-for-Life from the San Francisco Bay Area, born into a family of professional politicians. Formerly Speaker of the House, but it's not her fault they lost. Really. Noted for her heavily botoxed grimace... "I don’t think that will be an obstacle -- maybe for some," stated the Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, Democrat on Wednesday.
The future president nominated the hawkish commander, known as "Mad Dog," during a "Thank You Tour" stop in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Tuesday.
Apart from confirmation by the Senate, Mattis would also need a Democratic-backed waiver so he can be assigned the post.
The hawkish general, who retired in 2013, cannot be appointed to the post as law requires defense secretaries to be out of uniform for at least seven years before reclaiming the position.
The law is cited as an effort to maintain civilian control of the US military.
"The overriding principal since the revolution of our country has been the civilian control of the military. Only in recent history was that diverted from ... in 1950 when George Marshall was granted a waiver to serve as secretary of defense even though he had not been out of the military for seven years," Pelosi said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2016
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#1
They are just afraid he would knife hand them to death.
#10
The Legislature's aw restricting picks to 7 yrs post-service is unconstitutional. The Senate has Advice and Consent rights but cannot otherwise restrict the Executive from making any picks he or she chooses
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/08/2016 9:09
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#11
"law"
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/08/2016 9:10
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#12
I believe the argument is doing to be more along the line of Congress' authority to make the laws governing land and naval forces. As a GO, even retired, he is subject to recall per that authority.
#13
I thought the Democrats did away with the 60% requirement and now a simple majority is needed. I remember a few Democrats had bit of remorse last week for changing it.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/08/2016 11:39
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They need only 50% on appointments. But they need 60% on waiver of 7 year requirement. Unless it is attached to a CR.
At least 14 anti-government armed militants were killed in separate airstrikes conducted by the Afghan Air Force in northern and southeastern parts of the country, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said Wednesday.
At least 7 of the militants were killed during airstrikes in northern Kunduz province targeting militants in Hakim Bai and Bagh Sherkat villages, MoD said.
The Ministry further added that 7 more were killed in separate airstrike conducted in Zurmat district of Paktika province.
According to MoD, at least three Taliban militants were also wounded in the raids.
The anti-government armed militant groups including the Taliban insurgents have not commented regarding the reports so far.
Both Kunduz and Paktika provinces are among the relatively volatile provinces where the Taliban insurgents and militants belonging to other militant groups are actively operating in a number of its districts.
The insurgents belonging to the notorious Haqqani terrorist network are active in some districts of Paktika province.
The latest airstrikes came as the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) have launched new operations to counter the threats posed by the militant groups.
The new operations were launched amid ongoing annual offensive of the Afghan forces being conducted under the name of ‘Shafaq’ to eliminate the top leaders of the militants.
The continuing saga of the Iranian Quds Force spies caught in lawyer drag.
[Ynet] A Kenyan prosecutor says two Iranian nationals and a Kenyan accused of collecting information to facilitate a terrorist act after allegedly being found with video footage of the Israeli embassy also had filmed the office of Kenya's president.
Duncan Ondimu on Tuesday argued against granting bail to the two Iranians, saying they had filmed restricted government sites.
The two were incarcerated Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! a week ago. Iran says they are lawyers and were in Kenya representing two other Iranians incarcerated Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! for 15 years for terrorism.
[Libya Observer] A coalition of Ibrahim Jodran's so-called Petroleum Facilities Guard, Defend Benghazi Brigades led by Brigadier General Mustafa al-Sharkasi and armed brigades loyal to Defense Ministry of UN-proposed government launched a military operation on Wednesday to retake oil ports in the oil crescent region from Dignity Operation.
The Oil Ports and Fields Liberation Room of UN-proposed government said in a statement the operation aims to uproot the mercenaries, hired by Dignity Operation to seize the ports. However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... the Presidential Council of the government issued a statement disavowing the military escalation in the oil crescent region, stressing that it has not ordered any forces to assault those districts.
Dignity Operation took control of Brega, Zuwetina, Sidra and Ras Lanouf oil terminals last September with the help of rebel groups from Sudan and Chad.
Earlier today, coalition forces captured Ben Jawad and Nawfaliya towns and forced Dignity Operation holy warriors to retreat to Sidra oil terminal.
Hours later, they managed to push Dignity Operation holy warriors out of the port, but they retreated later in the day due to the intensified Arclight airstrikes by Dignity Operation.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Aden, Jeddah – Insurgency government presented its governmental program for the remaining members of the parliament- which is not official- and was hoping to gain the trust-vote on the program.
Meanwhile, forces of the National Yemeni Army advanced on several fronts especially in Saada, Houthis’ stronghold.
The program of the suggested government reveals it’s a war government concerned with establishing defense and supporting fighters as well as developing war production to supply fighters with needed supplies and weaponry.
In the program, Houthis admit to merging the militias within the army and enhancing the living conditions of personnel of the armed and security forces.
Observers of the Yemeni political situations told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that this is part of the Houthis’ plan to worsen the situation amid international efforts to implement peace in the country.
In November 28, insurgents announced the formation of their government which didn’t receive any international or regional support. Most countries condemned this government and considered it a threat for the peace process.
Meanwhile, insurgents transformed the harbor of Hadida city into military training camps, while recruiting children for an amount of $40 compensation for their families.
Military and rights sources told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Houthis are involved in killing dozens of children by forcefully recruiting them in the war despite their parents’ rejection.
Activist Abdul Hafiz al-Hutami told Asharq al-Awsat that parents are persuaded by money to allow their children to join the battles. He revealed that about 20% recruits are less than 15 years old.
Hutami said that Hadida now has five recruiting and training camps including one used to train children on using light to medium weapons. He added that they are also trained on using RPJs and diving to reach farther areas.
Local sources in Hadida pointed out that Houthis are also resorting to adapting the religious texts with what serves its purposes. They added that texts of Hussein Badr Eddine al-Houthis are being taught in training camps as well as prisons.
[PAGESIX] Hillary Clinton ... former first lady, former secretary of state, former presidential candidate, sometimes described by her supporters as the smartest woman in the world, usually described by the rest of us as a crook... and Tim Kaine are throwing a party at the Plaza hotel on Dec. 15 to thank those who donated millions to the campaign.
The party will be held in the Grand Ballroom on the third floor, to honor the Hillary for America finance leadership council.
Guests expected are big bundlers including Harvey Weinstein, Anna Wintour, Alan Patricof, Tory Burch and Marc Lasry.
One insider said, "Hopefully there’s no balconies so nobody can jump."
Posted by: Fred ||
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#9
I know how this soiree ends: And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.
Posted by: regular joe ||
12/08/2016 12:02
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The attendee list might be shockingly less robust with wealthy donors than in years past. Delusional fools seeing the tattered remnants of power might fall to the bite one more time. For the Clinton's might as well tap the Rolodex one last time.
[WASHINGTONEXAMINER] President-elect Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... has tapped retired Marine Gen. John Kelly to be secretary of homeland security, putting yet another general into a key national security post, according to reports.
Trump has already made Marine Gen. James Mattis his defense secretary and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn his national security adviser, and he is considering retired Army Gen. David Petraeus for secretary of state.
Kelly, 66, is not expected to face difficulty being confirmed, according to the Post. He is viewed as a border security hawk who will please Trump backers looking for the president-elect to follow through on vows to limit immigration.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
As the prayer rugs at Langley are converted to crying towels in Alexandria...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/08/2016 10:01
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[Libya Observer] The Misrata Central Hospital has received a number of children who escaped Sirte battle through safe passages provided by the forces of al-Bunyan al-Marsoos in Jiza neighborhood over the last few days.
16 children out of the huge number of children, who managed to leave Sirte into Misrata Central Hospital, lost their parents during the fight in Sirte over the last six months.
The head of the hospital, Alaa al-Hawaik, said the parents of the 16 orphans were fighting alongside IS gunnies and now, after what they have gone through in the festivities, they are being taken care of medically and psychologically by the hospital’s medics.
The front man of al-Bunyan al-Marsoos, Mohammed al-Ghasri, said some of the children, who were saved from Jiza neighborhood, are not Libyan, stressing that it is a priority now that they receive psychological treatment until their families and relatives get identified later.
Al-Bunyan al-Marsoos forces rescued over 100 women and kiddies from the seaside Jiza neighborhood over the last few days.
The civilians were being used as human shields to hinder the advance of the forces and delay the liberation of the neighborhood from IS terrorists.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Iran Press TV] Yemeni army and popular committees have intensified their retaliatory attacks against Saudi military positions, leaving 10 soldiers dead.
According to Yemen’s al-Masirah TV, a sniper of the Yemeni army killed a Saudi soldier in the Faridah military base in the kingdom’s southwestern province of Jizan on Wednesday.
The Yemeni forces also killed nine other Saudi troops in the al-Raboah region of Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... ’s Asir province, and launched rocket and artillery attacks at the military bases of Faridah, Hamraa and al-Ghawya in the same province.
Meanwhile, ...back at the cheese factory, all the pieces finally fell together in Fluffy's mind... a barrage of Katyusha missiles fired by the Yemeni army and Ansarullah fighters hit the Tansab military base in the Saudi province of Najran.
The Yemeni forces also inflicted heavy losses on the Saudi-backed mercenaries fighting in the Arabian Peninsula country.
Yemen’s army also fired a home-made ballistic missile at the mercenaries’ positions in a valley in Khabb & Sha'af district of Jawf province, leaving an unspecified number of them dead and maimed. Three rockets also hit murderous Moslem positions in Mafraq al-Jawf district in the same province.
In Bayda province, several Saudi-backed Lions of Islam were also killed and injured as the Yemeni troops fired artillery shells at their positions in Zi Naem district. The murderous Moslems' military vehicle was also destroyed in the attack.
The Yemeni army also launched rocket and artillery attacks at the mercenaries’ positions in Salb Mountain of Nihm district, northeast of Sana’a province.
The attacks come in retaliation for the brutal Saudi military campaign against its impoverished neighbor, Yemen, which was launched in March 2015 to reinstall the former Yemeni government.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2016
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Gulf Summit has urged implementation of Saudi king’s vision to complete a transition that will see an integrated Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), after wrapping up its 37th session in the Bahraini capital Manama on Wednesday.
"The council has reviewed work in implementing Saudi King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Cutodian of the Two Holy Mosquesand Lord of Most of the Arabians.... ’s vision unveiled on Dec. 9-10, 2015, to consolidate joint Gulf efforts," the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
King Salman’s vision is to see GCC transitioning from mere cooperation to implement more of "joint efforts" in defense, security and economics.
The GCC states - made of Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... and the UAE - also reiterated its stance on Iran when it urged Tehran to stop intervening in the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[BenarNews] In the deadliest violence for weeks, insurgents gunned down six people in a string of attacks carried out Tuesday and Wednesday in southern Thailand. The killings over a 24-hour period were the most in the region since three people were killed and four wounded in gun and bomb attacks on November 2 and 3.
The latest attacks bring to 29 the number of people killed in Thailand's southern border region since September 1, despite ongoing negotiations between the Thai military government aimed at opening formal peace talks with militant groups. Another 67 people were wounded in attacks since then.
Police said the six were killed and two others were wounded in separate shootings in Pattani and Narathiwat provinces. The shootings began when a militia officer and his wife were killed in Pattani. They were gunned down while riding a motorcycle to pick up their daughter.
Later on Tuesday, a village chief in Pattani's Yaring district was shot dead in a pickup truck with his wife, who was treated for her injuries. Police said the couple was heading to the hospital when the shooting occurred. Soon after an employee of the provincial electricity authority, was killed in Panarae, another district in Pattani.
The last incident on Tuesday happened when the bullet-ridden body of volunteer ranger Adul Yamyae was found in Saiburi district, Pattani.
At 2 a.m. Wednesday, police at the Yee Ngor district police station in Narathiwat reported that Alfeesa Yima was wounded while driving to his home.
Later, in the Narathiwat's Janae district Abdulachi Dolah was gunned down while driving home.
The region has seen more than 15,000 gun or bomb attacks and more than 6,700 people have been killed since the separatist insurgency re-ignited January 2004.
[UPI] A front man for 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... said the president-elect sold all of his stockholdings in June, which could help him avoid potential conflicts of interest.
The announcement comes after Trump on Tuesday morning said he wants to cancel the government's order for the development of a new Air Force One, citing a $4 billion cost.
After he was questioned about the Boeing deal, Trump said his administration wants Boeing -- a company he publicly held stocks in -- "to make a lot of money" but not too much.
"Well the plane is totally out of control, it's going to be over $4 billion for Air Force One program," Trump said in Trump Tower, CNBC reported. "I think it's ridiculous, I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money."
Trump had at least two brokerage accounts that held about 150 separate corporate stock and bond investments, including for companies such as Amazon, Apple, Boeing and Visa, The Wall Street Journal reported. But Trump's front man, Jason Miller, said those no longer represented a conflict of interest.
"The president-elect sold all of his stock back in June," he said during a phone call with news hounds.
Trump last week said he plans to leave his business "in total" in order to focus on the presidency, though he is not "mandated under law" to do so. The president-elect has been questioned since winning the presidency over potential conflicts of interest with his expansive business empire. One of Trump's options is to put his assets into an independent blind trust but he will hold a presser on Dec. 15 to announce his solution.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2016
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#1
"Well the plane is totally out of control, it's going to be over $4 billion for Air Force One program," Trump said in Trump Tower, CNBC reported. "I think it's ridiculous, I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money."
Hey, just want to say to the Washington state Senators (D), I'm sure your not going to screw with my nominees.
[al-Manar] Armed groups have withdrawn from remaining districts in the north-east of Aleppo through a 700 m-width corridor located between the Citadel of Aleppo and the Eyes Hospital toward the southern part of the terrorist-held neighborhoods, sources told Al-Manar TV.
The UK-based opposition observatory admitted the progress of the Syrian army in the eastern districts of Aleppo, and his control over the several neighborhoods located between the northern citadel of Aleppo and southern of Hanano barracks.
Moreover, confirmed information stated that substantial disputes are taking place among the armed groups in the eastern districts of Aleppo, particularly among Syrian and non-Syrian militants.
Sources indicated that the Syrians militants want to negotiate to get out of the besieged neighborhoods while foreign militants are pressing to continue fighting and not to reach any solution.
An armed groups media activist reported that gunmen in the neighborhoods of Aleppo unanimously decided to withdraw from the area and authorized their delegates who are in Turkey to communicate with the United Nations to arrange exit procedures.
“This information is still preliminary,” said the activist who declined to reveal his name.
Posted by: badanov ||
12/08/2016
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[FoxNews] DETROIT – A federal judge who ordered Michigan to begin its recount effectively ended it on Wednesday, tying his decision to a state court ruling that found Green Party candidate Jill Stein had no legal standing to request another look at ballots.
The ruling seals Republican Donald Trump's narrow victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton for Michigan's 16 electoral votes.
U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith agreed with Republicans who argued that the three-day recount must end a day after the state appeals court dealt a blow to the effort. The court said Stein, who finished fourth in Michigan on Nov. 8, didn't have a chance of winning even after a recount and therefore isn't an "aggrieved" candidate. Go back to your safe spaces.
"Because there is no basis for this court to ignore the Michigan court's ruling and make an independent judgment regarding what the Michigan Legislature intended by the term 'aggrieved,' plaintiffs have not shown an entitlement to a recount," Goldsmith said. Hey Pubs, see what happens when you get enough spine to stand up to these people?
#1
That effectively ends the Stein Clinton kabuki dance to over turn Trumps election.
Hildawitch needed all three of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin to win the electoral college. With Michigan gone, she's done, even if she gets Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, she's done, Trump still has 276 which is a majority in the electoral college.
#4
I wish they would continue and make that stein pay for it all. I would really like the true electoral pull in that state. Wisconsin recount increasing Trump’s lead
#6
CrazyFool, delegitimizing Trump was the whole purpose of this. There was never any chance that the election would be overturned.
Look at your Alinsky and you'll understand what they were doing. This is all part of the Gramscian march through the institutions, chaos is their friend.
#7
"#6 CrazyFool, delegitimizing Trump was the whole purpose of this. There was never any chance that the election would be overturned.
Look at your Alinsky and you'll understand what they were doing. This is all part of the Gramscian march through the institutions, chaos is their friend.
Posted by: AlanC 2016-12-08 07:47"
Word. There were a few articles I saw that offered the explanation that the idea was to throw the election into Congress, where of course Trump would win...and then the Democrats would spend the next four years refusing to cooperate in any way shape or form, on the grounds that:
1. Malificent won the popular vote.
2. Trump couldn't even win the Electoral vote.
3. Trump was 'selected' President by a GOP-controlled Congress. Therefore,
4. 'By Any Means Necessary' would be perfectly justified.
They learned from 2000 - never let up on the charges that the Winner is illegitimate. This whole idea makes sense, especially when you consider the kind of 'pull-down-the-temple' thinking we've seen in the last thirty days. They would have been perfectly willing to cripple us, domestically and internationally, and use our own institutions to do it.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/08/2016 8:10
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#8
All they seemed to do was discredit themselves.
#11
The only thing that shut them up for a bit after 2000 was 9/11 -- for about 2 days, if that long. I remember scanning the internet on 9/11 & finding the usual suspects plotting against the rest of us even on that day.
[TWITCHY] Another day, another round of misogyny from the anti-women Left. As a reminder, Kellyanne Conway celebrated her historic win at a fun costume party this weekend. The Left? They focused on her body with hateful and hate-filled attacks. They dehumanized her and spewed sexual slurs. You see, if you are a woman who is not a Democrat, you are not a "real" woman. Have independent thoughts not in lockstep with the Left? Heaven forfend! You are then either a "man in a skirt" or a tramp, because no woman could possibly be a success otherwise. THAT is how little they think of women.
There is no sisterhood on the Left. There are only the Stepford Feminists and if you don’t fall into line, you are attacked. Viciously.
Enter Politico’s (partnered with Google and the Tory Burch Foundation) event series Women Rule, which seems to have actually attempted to laud Kellyanne Conway.
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MOSCOW: A Russian military adviser working in Aleppo has been killed by artillery shelling carried out by Syrian opposition rebels, Russian news agencies quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying on Wednesday.
The adviser would be posthumously given a top military award, the agencies said.
The death of the military adviser comes two days after two Russian nurses were killed in a rocket attack on a Russian military hospital in Aleppo.
Russia has become deeply involved in Syria's multi-sided war, giving support to the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad.
Iran had also reportedly lost at least a thousand troops in Syria in the past years since it started sending troops to fight alongside Assad forces.
On Tuesday, the Assad government and Russia issued stark warnings to rebels in besieged eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo, with Moscow’s top diplomat saying the rebels will be wiped out unless they stop fighting and leave the city.
Damascus also said it rejects any cease-fire for Aleppo that does not include the departure of all rebels from the eastern part of the city and that it won’t allow the rebels to use a truce as a chance to “regroup.”
The tough rhetoric comes a day after Russia and China blocked a draft resolution at the UN Security Council demanding a seven-day truce in Aleppo to evacuate the sick and wounded and to provide humanitarian aid workers time to get food and medicine into the city. Russia, a main backer of the Syrian government and supporting the government’s offensive in the city, has repeatedly blocked action in the Security Council over Syria.
“Those who refuse to leave nicely will be destroyed,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Moscow, speaking of the Syrian rebels. “There is no other way.”
In Damascus, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, carried on the state SANA news agency, that the government will not allow rebels a chance to “regroup and repeat their crimes” in the divided city — a reference to rebel shelling of Aleppo’s western, government-held districts that has killed 81 civilians in the past three weeks, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The government’s offensive to take eastern Aleppo killed 341 civilians over the same period and displaced tens of thousands over the past week, the Observatory and other activist groups have said.
Since last Tuesday, a crushing air and ground assault has enabled Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces to recapture more than half of opposition-held eastern Aleppo.
Residents in the city’s east reported heavy shelling and bombardment overnight.
After the Russian and Chinese move at the Security Council, US diplomats accused their Russian counterparts of stalling for time as Syrian government forces advance in Aleppo.
US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Lavrov in Rome last Friday to discuss Aleppo but there has been no evident progress after their meeting on reviving the stalled Syria peace talks.
Two Turkish soldiers were on Wednesday killed in a car bomb attack in northern Syria as the military seeks to help Ankara-backed militants capture a key town from ISIL Takfiri terrorists, reports said.
The attack took place in the region of the town of Al Bab, 25 kilometers from the Turkish border, which has become a key target of the army’s more-than-three-month campaign inside Syria, the private NTV broadcaster said.
Ankara-backed militants have since August captured Jarabulus, Al Rai and the symbolically important town of Dabiq from ISIL.
However, capturing Al Bab — where the Takfiris reportedly regrouped after fleeing an earlier offensive — has proved much tougher in an operation that has already taken several weeks.
After the lightning speed of the earlier campaign, the Turkish army has suffered increasing casualties in the fight for Al Bab, with most the deaths blamed on ISIL attacks.
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[DAWN] Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj PrunefaceAziz ...Adviser to Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on National Security and Foreign Affairs, who believes in good jihadis and bad jihadis as a matter of national policy... on Wednesday informed the Senate that evidence was being collected regarding the role of Indian spy Kulbushan Jadhav in Pakistain.
Aziz was briefing the Senate about Pak-India relations and skirmishes along the Line of Control (LoC).
"So far, we have just statements about the involvement of the Indian spy in terror activities in Pakistain," said Aziz.
The adviser added that further evidence needs to be gathered.
Aziz also told the Senate that 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... has been provided a dossier regarding the involvement of Indian intelligence agency RAW ... India's Research and Analysis Wing, Pakistain's equivalent of the Boogie Man... in Pakistain. He added that the Senate will be informed soon about progress.
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[IsraelTimes] Zakaria Boufassil found guilty of providing funds to suspected terrorist in IS-related attacks that killed 136.
A British man was found guilty Tuesday of providing cash to a key suspect in the deadly Brussels and Gay Paree bombings in a case that linked England to the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group attacks in Europe.
Zakaria Boufassil was convicted of "engaging in conduct in preparation of acts of terrorism" by providing £3,000 ($3,700) to bombing suspect Mohammed Abrini at a secret meeting in Birmingham, England.
Abrini is the "man in the hat" seen on video footage moments before the March 22 bombings at the Brussels airport that killed 16 people. He also is wanted in the multiple attacks in Gay Paree on Nov. 13, 2015 that claimed 130 victims.
Boufassil, 26, and accomplice Mohammed Ali Ahmed, 27, who earlier pleaded guilty, could face life imprisonment when they are sentenced in Kingston Crown Court next week.
West Midlands Police Assistant Chief Marcus Beale said the conviction was important because the money transfer "identified a dangerous link" to Abrini.
Prosecutors said Abrini visited England in July 2015 and received the cash from Boufassil at a Birmingham park.
Boufassil acknowledged meeting Abrini in the park, but said the encounter had nothing to do with extremism.
During his trial, he told the court he was a marijuana user who practiced a "moderate and tolerant" form of Islam. He condemned Islamic State Lions of Islam as "worse than animals."
But a jury believed prosecutors’ claims that Boufassil knowingly provided the money to support Lion of Islam attacks. Prosecutor Max Hill said there is "no doubt" the money -- from a bank account that included overpaid public housing benefits -- was given to Abrini to assist acts of terrorism.
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[MEDIAITE] Clinton ally and liberal Super PAC operator David Brock told news hounds Tuesday that he plans to create a new outlet designed to serve as a counterpoint to alt-right website Breitbart.
What're Huffington Pus and Vox?
A "Breitbart of the Left" -- isn't that like Van Jones forming the "Coffee Party" back in 2009?
Air America 2.0: yet another path by which Mr. Soros donates substantial sums to the national economy without achieving his desired result, while destroying the resumes of all who participate in the endeavour. I think it's a marvelous idea.
Brock purchased liberal website BlueNationReview in 2015, rebranding it in 2016 as "ShareBlue." ShareBlue, he said Tuesday, would be the "Breitbart of the left..." so long as the financial contributions kept pouring.
Brock also confirmed earlier reports that he plan to shift the focus of Media Matters for America away from Fox News and more towards attacking the alt-right
Oooohh yes, do that!
and fake news. "A lot of garbage came spewing out of Facebook, and these companies need to adopt new standards and clean their own house," he told news hounds. "We’ll be involved in a campaign to push them to do that."
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#2
Brock also confirmed earlier reports that he plan to shift the focus of Media Matters for America away from Fox News and more towards attacking the alt-right
Ratings are too high at Fox. Better to attack the individual freedoms of the 'deplorables.'
#3
...It never works, David. Ask the folks who started Air America or Algore's venture.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/08/2016 5:10
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They would have to be factual. They would have to be for sensible economics. They would have to be for reality (individual justice) instead of the sick autocratic collectivist absurdity of "social justice"
So it won't work.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
12/08/2016 6:18
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They really should be encouraged. Keeps them out of other mischief.
#6
A true leftist who starts a business based on his own demand and not driven by the demands of the market will inevitably fail. Unless like NPR and PBS you are subsidized by funds not tied to profits.
#9
Another rathole for Soros' money. It will be a DC centric gay dating site in two years...
As one member of the tribe put it, left-wing advocacy is a racket, used by members and non-members alike to extract money from wealthy members of the tribe:
American Jews have a lot of money, which in theory, can be extracted from them with words. Now they =do= divide into two camps…… we can summarize the constellation of manifestations of which, as: Hillary supporters, and Trump supporters.
The ones who MAKE THINGS HAPPEN are in the latter camp. The big problem with those folks is….. in practice, you cannot get them to write you a check by scaring them them with cootie-encrusted boogymen. They’re too busy saving (say for example) Constitutional Carry in the USA – any resources left over, are spent on saving (say for example) IDF Lone Soldiers
So if you were an enterprising Pro Jew, you’d probably focus on the Hillary supporters – ie, the ones who WATCH things happen and kvetch about it. They will buy tickets to your lectures at the 92nd Street Y, they will send checks to your SPLC. Get yourself a degree in Sociology; you can harvest a few bucks off of them.
The point isn't to set up a new website - it's to milk wealthy left-wing Jews so David Brock can add to the perks he currently enjoys as a key player in Media Matters. Does he worry he'll merely cannibalize HuffPo's traffic? Why would he care? HuffPo doesn't pay him.
[Breitbart] An underage Syrian migrant has been locked away Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! and charged in Cologne ...a lovely city in Germany. They invented perfume there... for having links to 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.... and for plotting a terror attack.
The 16-year-old Syrian migrant, who had come into Germany during the course of the migrant crisis, was arrested in September, Austrian paper Kurier reports. Just cut his head off.
Over the last year, the German Interior Ministry has recorded over 300 cases in which Salafist preachers have directly targeted underage migrants colonists.
Attorney general Ulf Willuhn said that the 16-year-old would officially be charged with preparing serious violence that threatens the wellbeing of the state. Police claim that the migrant was actively plotting to build an bomb and say that he had contact with Islamic State fighters who were instructing him on building a bomb.
Mr. Willuhn noted that despite the migrant being a terrorism suspect, he would be tried as a juvenile because he is underage. If convicted of plotting a terrorist attack, the Syrian can be expected to receive a sentence of community service or possible imprisonment in a juvenile facility.
The case reflects growing fears on behalf of the police and security services in Germany of the radicalisation of underage migrants colonists and underage Moslems. Wolfgang Trusheim, head of the Frankfurt state police, has been one of the most vocal members of the German law enforcement community to speak out on the worrying trend of Salafist parents and preachers radicalising young Moslems.
Radical Islamic Salafist preachers have also been caught actively trying to convert and recruit underage migrants colonists in asylum homes. Over the last year, the German Interior Ministry has recorded over 300 cases in which Salafist preachers have directly targeted underage migrants colonists. The government says that the Salafists ...Salafists are ostentatiously devout Moslems who figure the ostentation of their piety gives them the right to tell others how to do it and to kill those who don't listen to them... disguise their recruitment by bringing food and cash for the migrants colonists to build up their trust before radicalising them.
Several radical Islamist attacks in Germany have been conducted by underage migrants colonists since the migrant crisis. An attack on a train in Wurzburg saw several injured by an underage migrant wielding an axe. Experts were shocked at the rapid speed attacker Muhammed Riyad, also known at Riaz A., was radicalised via Islamic State propaganda on the internet.
In another attack that ultimately failed in Ansbach, a young failed asylum seeker from Syria killed himself and injured a dozen others after the bomb he built went off prematurely. The Syrian planned to plant the device in an open air music festival to cause mass casualties.
[Ynet] Three teenagers have gone on trial in Germany over an explosion at a Sikh temple in the western city of Essen.
Prosecutors say the defendants, who are German-born Muslims, met on social media where they became radicalized and hatched a plan to kill people they considered to be "infidels."
In a statement ahead of Wednesday's trial, prosecutors said two defendants, a 16 and 17-year-old, are accused of detonating a fire extinguisher filled with explosives at the entrance of the temple on April 16. One person was seriously injured and two people suffered minor injuries.
Another 17-year-old defendant is accused of planning the attack.
The teens are charged with attempted murder and serious bodily harm. Their names weren't published and media were excluded from the trial because the defendants are minors.
The youths, who were born in Germany, had met on social media after being radicalized by ultra-extreme Salafist Muslims.
Neriman Yaman, mother of one of the accused, the now 17-year-old Yusuf, has described her torment as she watched her young son become radicalized in the book "My Son, the Salafist".
The Turkish-born author describes how she sought help from mosques and state authorities as her son from age 14 turned to a fundamentalist version of Islam. She says Yusuf started speaking in verses, watched Arabic-language preachers online, joined a group that handed out Korans on the street, and married a teenage girl wearing a burqa.
Yusuf even joined a de-radicalization program run by the German domestic security agency BfV, she recounts, but allegedly went on to commit the attack anyway.
"As parents we were powerless," she later told journalists. "The other side was stronger than us ... The only comfort in this huge misfortune is that no-one has died."
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[Libya Observer] Grand Mufti Sheikh Sadiq al-Gharyani lashed out at UN Mission in Libya on Wednesday and said time has come to call for a change.
Speaking in his weekly Fatwa program on Tanasuh TV, he said the UNSMIL has turned a deaf ear to the victory over ISIS in Sirte despite its frequent reference to war on terror.
"The UNSMIL is cooperating with Satan, it has neglected the victory of Libyan people over ISIS, therefore, it's time to call for replacing it." He indicated.
The Grand Mufti highly hailed the victory over ISIS and urged the revolutionary fighters who took part in Sirte liberation battle to unite and disallow opportunists to exploit the victory.
Misrata-led forces declared the full liberation of Sirte from the terrorist group of ISIS on Tuesday after seven consecutive months of ferocious festivities within the city and on its outskirts.
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Cairo- Despite claims on securing the final group of buildings formerly occupied by ISIS hardliners in the Libyan city of Sirte, Government National Accord military leaders and forces said yesterday said that the announcement of officially liberating the city may be up for delay.
The announcement would be put off for some time until mine fields and booby planted by the extremist organization are neutralized and defused.
Libyan forces backed by U.S. air strikes had made advances against the Sirte ISIS holdout after a near seven-month battle for the militant group’s former North African stronghold.
The Special Representative of the Secretary General for Libya, Martin Kobler, stressed to the Security Council the need to tackle outstanding political questions, noting a path forward should consist of inclusive, peaceful dialogue, and never military escalation. “The only alternative to the Libyan Political Agreement is chaos,” he said. In Benghazi, the Libyan National Army continues to make progress, taking area after area, he added.
United States Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner expressed growing concerns for the escalation of violence among street militias in Tripoli, and urged all warring parties to answer to the GNA’s call for ceasefire.
“First of all, Libya. The United States expresses its deep concern over the escalation of violence between armed groups in Tripoli and calls on all the parties to immediately heed the Government of National Accord’s appeal to cease fighting. We urge all parties to de-escalate tensions in the capital and respect the terms of the Libyan political agreement, including security arrangements for the withdrawal of armed groups from Libyan cities and their replacement with government army and police units.”
“ We reiterate our support – our strong support for Prime Minister Fayiz al-Saraj and the GNA and for the quick restoration of order and security for the people of Libya,” said Toner.
That would be the first official U.S. statement shedding light on fierce clashes renewing lately in Tripoli, Libya’s capital. Tripoli is in a deteriorating and shaky state, Libya Spokesperson Omar Homaydan told Asharq Al-Awsat.
National Salvation Government of Libya Prime Minister, Khalifa al-Ghawil had inspected the areas that recently went under militia attacks.
Ghawil refuses to recognize Sarraj’s GNA, and has been seeking a political agreement with Libya’s eastern Tobruk government. More so, Ghawil announced forming an evaluation committee that would monitor human loss and pursue the legal proceedings necessary to do right by victims of the attack.
Advisor Aguila Saleh Issa, Libyan Head of the House of Representatives, had met for the first time with a delegation from Ghawil’s administration—Tripoli’s parliamentary spokesperson Homaydan later said that the unique meeting amounted to nothing.
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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday the Syrian army seized control of all parts of the Old City of Aleppo which had been held by rebels.
The army began to enter the Old City on Tuesday, part of a rapid advance which has seen rebels lose around two thirds of their besieged eastern enclave over the past two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Syrian government forces and allied militias captured Aleppo’s centrally located al-Shaar neighborhood from rebels on Tuesday, securing nearly three quarters of the besieged enclave less than two weeks after launching a ground offensive, according to the Syrian military.
The Syrian government and its ally Russia rejected a cease-fire for the war-torn city, keeping up the military offensive amid rebel retreats and massive displacement.
Rebels withdrew from al-Shaar under heavy bombardment by pro-government forces to the Marjeh and Maadi neighborhoods, local media activist Mahmoud Raslan told The Associated Press. Several gunmen were killed.
“Morale has hit rock bottom,” he said from inside the city’s remaining rebel-held enclave.
The SANA state news agency said the government captured the entire neighborhood as well as the neighborhoods of al-Qatarji and Karm al-Dada.
A map provided by the Syria army showed a quickly shrinking opposition enclave- a pointed leaf-shaped territory in the center, abutting already government-controlled Aleppo districts. The army media said the new gains bring the area controlled by the government in eastern Aleppo to about 73 percent of its original size, which is estimated to be about 45 square kilometers (17 square miles).
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group also reported the gains.
Al-Shaar was home to at least four hospitals available to residents trapped by the government’s siege of the eastern part of the city. But those hospitals, along the rest of the neighborhood, were bombed by the government’s attacks and evacuated. Broad swaths of the city’s eastern quarters are in ruins.
Ibrahim al-Haj, a civil defense member, said he was in the neighborhood shortly before it fell to the government. “It is totally destroyed,” he said, adding that if he had stayed a minute longer he would have been captured. He said the previously densely populated district had largely been deserted since the government forces first moved in on the eastern districts last weekend.
A government intense aerial offensive had preceded the ground troops’ advances.
Rebel defenses are collapsing under the weight of twin offensives by pro-government forces.
Rebels and pro-government forces fought street-to-street in the city’s southern Saif al-Dawleh and al-Zabadiyeh neighborhoods, according to footage provided by Syrian military media and audio provided by local teacher and media activist Abdelkafi Alhamdo.
The Syrian government and its ally Russia on Tuesday issued stark warnings to rebels in besieged eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo, with Moscow’s top diplomat saying the rebels will be wiped out unless they stop fighting and leave the city.
Damascus also said it rejects any cease-fire for Aleppo that does not include the departure of all rebels from the eastern part of the city and that it won’t allow the rebels to use a truce as a chance to “regroup.”
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[Dhaka Tribune] Prime Minister the loathesome Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. has said that her government is very much sympathetic towards the Rohingyas, but hard against the culprits, who want to use Bangladesh’s land against neighbours.
"Bangladesh has already allowed many distressed Myanmar nationals to enter its territory amid recent trouble in Myanmar but under no circumstances Bangladesh will allow any criminals responsible for recent attacks on the Myanmar Army and border guards [that left nine dead]," she told parliament yesterday.
In reply to a question from Jatiya Party ...aka Jatiya Front; a political party established by Bangladictator Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1986 to lend a veneer of respectability to his rule. Since nobody was amused he was forced to resign by popular demand in 1990. The party remains in existence with about a dozen seats in Bangla's parliament... politician Fakhrul Imam, Hasina said: "Bangladesh’s soil will not be allowed to use for any subversive activities against our neighbours."
According to IOM Bangladesh, an estimated 21,000 Rohingyas arrived in Cox’s Bazar between October 9 and December 2 to escape violence in Myanmar.
She said that her government had been giving all possible supports, including food, shelter and medical facilities, to the Rohingyas fleeing Myanmar. "But we cannot open our gate for their influx on a large scale as it is the matter of two sovereign countries."
Hasina said that the Foreign Ministry had already summoned the Myanmar envoy in Dhaka and asked him to refrain from creating any situation which would aggravate the situation.
"We have taken all steps which we should do. We are careful about both humanity and discouraging any subversive activities in the neighbouring country," she said.
The prime minister said that the government had asked the border guards and intelligence agencies to trace the culprits responsible for the recent attacks on the border guard police and the army in Myanmar.
These culprits are responsible for the current unrest in Myanmar and putting thousands of people into troubles. "We have to find out whether any of those culprits has taken shelter inside our territory. They will be handed over to the Myanmar authorities soon after arrest," she told parliament.
According to IOM Bangladesh, an estimated 21,000 Rohingyas arrived in Cox’s Bazar between October 9 and December 2 to escape violence in Myanmar.
In September, Hasina told Myanmar State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi that the Rohingya issue should be solved by the two next-door neighbours after the latter sought her help.
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[Libya Herald] Terrorists launched a "double-tap" boom-mobileing outside the Benghazi headquarters of Saiqa Special Forces ...Libya's elite army unit, insofar as they have one, formed from a mixture of paratroopers and commandos. The group emerged from a militia with the same name in 2010. It now numbers a few thousand and reports to the Ministry of Defence. It deployed in Benghazi in an attempt to control the carnage. As a result, it has been attacked and several of its officers murdered. The force is popular in Benghazi for its stance against Ansar al-Sharia group... this evening. The first kaboom, heard around the city and described as "massive" was close by the entrance to the barracks. Rescuers were still at the scene when some 40 minutes later a second kaboom tore into the crowd.
Remarkably the two blasts appear to have killed nobody outright but left 18 people injured, some of them seriously, including troops, coppers, civilians and medical personnel. It is understood that the first bomb maimed three soldiers and a civilian.
An army source said reports there had been a third boom-mobile were wrong. There is as yet no indication if the two vehicles had jacket wallahs at the wheel or were detonated remotely. It seems possible that the second bomb may have been driven up in the confusion that followed the first blast. Had the second vehicle been close to the initial detonation, its explosives could have been set off at the same time.
Saiqa special forces have been playing a leading role in the Libyan National Army’s reduction of the terrorist enclave of Ganfouda. It was Saiqa who retook and then bulldozed the iconic Gwarsha Gate three weeks ago, which had for more than two years been a symbol of the presence of Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... snuffies in the city.
This evening Saiqa commander Wanis Bukhamada said that as a result of the bombings, his troops would redouble their efforts to overrun the Ganfouda district.
The LNA assault seems to have slowed after the initial advances last week and renewed predictions that the Benghazi Revolutionaries’ Shoura Council and its Ansar and IS terrorist allies were finally about to be beaten.
It appears that, as Bunyan Marsous forces found in Sirte, when the snuffies are pushed into an ever smaller area, the battle becomes a house-by-house fight. Blasting buildings apart at close range does not make for a swift advance. Indeed, as in Sirte, the ruins create fresh terrorist positions, while actually hampering the progress of infantry.
Footage appeared today of LNA soldiers firing a Mine Clearing Line Charge (MicLic) into Ganfouda. The MicLic is a rocket that trails a tail of high explosives which is dropped in a long line onto locations where mines or IED’s are suspected. Shortly after the line has hit the ground the device explodes. The footage today focused on the launch of the MicLic from behind a wall in an urban street and the cheers of the soldiers after the rocket had soared off with it long tail. There was no visual of the subsequent blast, nor did there appear to be the sound of a major detonation.
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'It rings true to me': Sajid Javid vows the Government WILL tackle problems caused by mass immigration after a bombshell report found 'ghettos' in British towns and cities
07/12/16
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said the report 'rings true' to him and said the Government would press ahead with plans to improve English among new arrivals
DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Censorship and the truth about migration
06/12/16
Yesterday Dame Louise Casey – a senior Whitehall civil servant – published a damning report which, over 200 detailed and carefully considered pages, revealed how right we were to be concerned
'Right on' critics are ignoring problems caused by immigration, government tsar warns after Muslim groups condemn her 'inflammatory call' for newcomers to take a vow of allegiance
05/12/16
Dame Louise Casey says Ghettos have formed in areas like Bradford (pictured) because the pace and scale of immigration has been 'too much'.
Algerian terror suspect who sneaked into Britain 23 years ago is STILL here because we cannot deport him as he refuses to give authorities his real name
04/12/16
Attempts to remove the Algerian have been thwarted after an appeals panel ruled in his favour. Amber Rudd (pictured), the Home Secretary, must now consider what options she has left.
Nowhere but Britain will do: The incredible 3,000-mile journey of the 'laughing migrant' who was rescued from a dinghy in the Channel after vowing to smuggle his way into the UK
03/12/16
Grinning out of the window of a police van, this migrant (centre) is overjoyed at having reached Britain. First interviewed in June he has now spoken about 3,000 mile journey.
Moment a gang of immigrants wielding an iron bar and chain repeatedly jump on and kick man’s head during horrific fight in a city centre
02/12/16
The 20-strong gang from East Timor, southeast Asia, were involved in the vicious assault in Lincoln city centre and eight men have been jailed after their roles in the 'barbaric' attack.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... suffered more than 128 terrorist operations in the last 15 years that killed or injured as many as 1,147 Saudis and expatriates, according to front man of Interior Ministry Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki.
"Since 2001 the Kingdom has been a target for Lions of Islam who also planned to attack housing complexes and vital security establishments," he said.
Turki was speaking on Monday at a symposium on "The role of social service and intellectual security" organized by Princess Nourah University.
He said that Lions of Islam also targeted mosques, foreign embassies and the coppers.
"Even the Grand Mosque in Makkah was targeted and the Prophet›s Mosque was attacked last Ramadan," he said.
The front man said the propagators of devious thought found fertile soil and a safe haven in countries witnessing armed conflicts.
"Their leaders and sponsors clearly announced that their main objective was to destabilize the Kingdom, undermine its values and instigate its youth," he said.
Since the 15th Hijra century, the Kingdom has been subjected to unprecedented terrorist attacks which were aimed at shaking its public order, sowing dissension and undermining its social stability by spreading devious ideologies and recruiting the youth to carry out criminal acts, the front man said.
He said the forces of darkness exploited social media networks to recruit new adherents, establish terror cells, finance their operations and manage their dirty work from a distance.
Turki said Lions of Islam usually target people with no solid religious knowledge playing with their sentiments by narrating to them fake stories about injustices and the suffering of women, children and the elderly.
He said that Lions of Islam also started using women, especially in societies which respect women and give them privacy.
"Extremist organizations were keen to exploit the privacy of women in the Kingdom, the facilities granted to them and their easy movements," he said.
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[al-Manar] Militants in eastern Aleppo have offered the Syrian army a new five-day humanitarian pause as they keep losing ground, Syria’s ARA News reported Wednesday citing a local source.
Over the weekend, the Syrian army backed by the allied forces liberated a number of districts in eastern Aleppo and is leading the offensive further after militants refused to surrender and leave the city peacefully.
“Armed opposition groups located in Aleppo announced their intention to offer… the government forces to impose a humanitarian ceasefire for a period of five days. The pause includes the evacuation of those ill who require emergency care from the city, there are about 500 of them,” a local activist told ARA News.
The activist added that the groups expressed readiness to discuss the future of the city as government forces tight their grip on the eastern part of the city.
Aleppo became major battleground in Syria over recent months, engaging government forces and numerous opposition groups.
Eastern Aleppo is currently encircled by government troops as previous internationally mediated ceasefires have collapsed as militants continued their attacks.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Around a third of the estimated 5,000 European gunnies who went to Syria and Iraq have returned to Europe, and some may have orders to attack, an EU report warned Wednesday.
Up to 2,500 fighters from Europe remained on the battlefield but their massive return in the short term seemed unlikely, according to the report seen by AFP.
Belgium expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... last month that gunnies were increasingly returning to Europe as US-backed coalition forces drive ISIS from territory in Syria and Iraq.
The report said between 15 to 20 percent of the Europeans have died on the battlefield, around 30 to 35 percent have returned and 50 percent remain in the battle theatre, which amounted to between 2,000 and 2,500 Europeans.
As many as 1,750 may have returned, based on the percentages listed in the report which EU counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove will present to EU interior ministers on Friday.
The report said there were two types of "foreign terrorist fighters" returning.
"Those in the majority that will drift back, and those who will be sent back on specific missions, which are of most concern," the report warned.
It said even some European women and kiddies born or raised in the so-called caliphate declared by ISIS in Iraq and Syria could pose a security threat as they may have been radicalized.
Without giving figures, it said some returnees have been convicted and serving prison sentences, while others are being monitored and some are free in their communities.
It recalled that imported muscle who have returned to Europe have staged both foiled and successful attacks, including the slaughter in Gay Paree in November last year and this year’s bombings in Brussels in March.
Both sets of attacks were claimed by ISIS, which is also known by its Arabic acronym ISIS.
"There is also a significant foreign terrorist fighter contingent with ISIS in Libya which might attempt to use their nationality or family connections to return to Europe," the report said.
It said returnees were keeping in touch with ISIS in the Middle East via social media and increasingly turning from mainstream Twitter to the encrypted one-to-one messaging service Telegram.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2016
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[Ynet] A Greek court has agreed to the extradition of three of Turkish servicemen from a group of eight who fled to Greece after a failed July 15 military coup, a day after rejecting The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's extradition request for three others.
All eight helicopter crewmen deny participating in the coup and a plot to assassinate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... . They fled to Greece by helicopter and maintain they will not have a fair trial in Turkey.
The Athens council of appeals judges approved Turkey's extradition request for three of the group Tuesday on charges of being involved in the coup, attempting to impede a parliamentary session and the seizure of a helicopter. It rejected the charge of involvement in an liquidation attempt against Erdogan.
The court is expected to decide the fate of the remaining two officers on Thursday.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... may still appeal the case, and any final decision to extradite rests with the Greek minister of justice.
The two Turkish commanders, four captains and two sergeants requested asylum in Greece after landing a military helicopter in the northern city of Alexandroupoli shortly after the attempted government takeover in mid-July.
The officers are currently also appealing against a Greek refusal to grant them asylum in September.
Ankara has asked Athens to extradite them all to face trial in Turkey for their alleged role in the failed coup, including an alleged attempt on Erdogan's life.
[DeutscheWelle] The Erdogan regime is targeting its own NATO personnel, accusing high-ranking Turkish officers of being coup plotters, ordering them to return home.
[IsraelTimes] NATO’s top military officer says about 150 Turkish officers have been recalled or retired from the alliance’s high command since a failed coup attempt in Turkey, placing a significant burden on his staff.
US Army General Curtis Scaparrotti says losing so many seasoned officers had placed “an extra load on our remaining people” and that “it obviously has an impact on their military.”
“I had talented, capable people here, and I’m taking a degradation on my staff,” he says.
The officers who were recalled or retired from NATO make up about half of Turkey’s roughly 300-strong officer contingent at the alliance’s high command in Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands.
Scaparrotti says that about 75 of them have been replaced so far.
Authorities have arrested close to 38,000 people and purged more than 100,000 others from government jobs, including the military.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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#3
I wouldn't put it past the Russians to try and use ISIS and Turkey as some kind of wedge issue against the West.
Please attach this handy map to your spot on assessment. Add to that the fact that former Soviet states appear to have received the 'don't take any immigrants' warning memo.
#4
To review: Two years ago there were reports that ISIS received $3 million a day in sale of oil. That seemed impossible given the logistics involved, and the fact that the Govt of Turkey would have had to be complicit. Then we found out through Wikileaks that the Govt of Turkey was complicit. Equally complicit in the scheme was Obama who wouldn't bombed the oil convoys because he was afraid the drivers might be injured. When we finally began to bomb the vehicles in truck parks the ISIS cash cow was slaughtered. Unfortunately, Turkey has not been condemned by Washington or NATO for its role in supporting ISIS, and the US media has never bothered to evaluate Obama's foreign expertise vis-à-vis ISIS or the Erdogan octopus.
I am still under the school of thought that ISIS fighting the Iranians and Syrians is a good thing. I see no reason to protect them or their Iraqi stooges. Add to that Sunni oil states are throwing money into the mess is icing on the cake.
I don't mind Russia and Turkey fighting, or Turkey and ISIS fighting. IMO Turkey doesn't belong in the EU or NATO, it is now or soon will be a dictatorship. Turkey is no more an ally than the KSA.
I do have concerns that PE Trump has significant investments in Turkey.
#6
jv, from all I've read that would be HAD significant investments. IMHO NATO has fewer than 5 years left. Between the EU breaking up and Turkey there's little left of the America In, Soviets out and Germany down motivation left.
#7
JVA: What you've written makes sense. I have objected to Turkey involvement in NATO for more that a decade. Erdogan's Muslim Brotherhood credentials cannot be denied, and while he opposes Assad his ideal would be the imposition of a Muslim Brotherhood government in Syria (which would just be another no-win for the West). Finally, I was really pissed when the Pentagon went on hands and knees to re-open the US (overt) presence at Incirlik air base.
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The incoming Senate Democratic leader says his party won't help Republicans with a new health reform plan down the road if they repeal Obamacare without an immediate replacement.
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[Breitbart] On Wednesday's broadcast of "Fox & Friends," Fox News Chief National Correspondent reported, "I'm hearing this morning that, quietly behind the scenes, advisers to President Obama are working on sort of a farewell tour in mid-January."
I suppose quietly motoring on back to Chicago would be too much to ask. 
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[Ynet] Suspected Islamist 
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At least 35 of the almost 60 people who were on board a ship that sank in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Yemen have been rescued, officials say.
Hillary Clinton
I mean floppy wings and things. 
Security authorities in Aden, the temporary capital of Yemen, announced that they had apprehended a terrorist cell made up of eight people who were involved in assassinating security personnel in different parts of the city that is located in the south of the country.
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Nancy 
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[FoxNews] DETROIT – A federal judge who ordered Michigan to begin its recount effectively ended it on Wednesday, tying his decision to a state court ruling that found Green Party candidate Jill Stein had no legal standing to request another look at ballots.
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[Libya Observer] Grand Mufti Sheikh Sadiq al-Gharyani lashed out at UN Mission in Libya on Wednesday and said time has come to call for a change.
The announcement would be put off for some time until mine fields and booby planted by the extremist organization are neutralized and defused.
[Libya Herald] Terrorists launched a "double-tap" 
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] 
[Ynet] A Greek court has agreed to the extradition of three of Turkish servicemen from a group of eight who fled to Greece after a failed July 15 military coup, a day after rejecting 
