#6
Watch for them to really jack up the Russian hacked the election story.
Oh, please, please, please...
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
[The Hill] President Obama on Monday granted clemency to 231 federal inmates, the most in a single day by any president in U.S. history.
Obama commuted the prison sentences of 153 people and pardoned 78 others, a sign he is ramping up his use of clemency power during his final weeks in office.
The president has frequently doled out commutations as his final months in office wane. But he has seldom handed out pardons, which formally forgive prisoners for their crimes and restore certain rights. Commutations simply cut short their sentences.
With Monday’s grants, Obama has more than doubled the number of people he has pardoned as president, according to the White House, a number that now stands at 148. He has now commuted the sentences of 1,176 people, including 395 serving life sentences.
"Today’s acts of clemency -- and the mercy he has shown his 1,324 clemency recipients -- exemplify his belief that America is a nation of second chances," White House counsel Neil Eggleston wrote in a blog post.
The announcement was made during the president's holiday vacation in Hawaii. The grants come as Obama faces pressure from criminal-justice reform advocates to pick up the pace before he leaves office on Jan. 20.
They fear that President-elect Donald Trump, who campaigned as a law-and-order candidate, will scale back or eliminate the use of clemency for large groups of federal inmates. Eggleston said the president will make more clemency grants before he leaves office.
Obama has granted clemency more times than any U.S. president, part of his effort to free inmates serving lengthy sentences handed down during the government's War on Drugs.
A bipartisan push in Congress to overhaul the nation’s sentencing laws sputtered during Obama’s second term. Thus he has relied on his clemency initiative, which began in 2014, to accomplish his goal of shortening sentences he and others view as draconian.
#1
"Today’s acts of clemency -- and the mercy he has shown his 1,324 clemency recipients -- exemplify his belief that America is a nation of second chances,"
Easy bet - 1/2 these guys will be back in jail within the year - is that a 'second chance'?
[Reuters] U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday rejected a New Mexico lawyer's long-shot bid to force a Senate confirmation vote on President Barack Obama's Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland, after Republican senators refused to act on his nomination.
Steven Michel, a Santa Fe environmental attorney, filed suit in U.S. federal court in August, arguing that the Republican-led Senate's failure to act on Garland's nomination deprived Michel of his rights as a voter under the U.S. Constitution's 17th Amendment, which outlines how senators are elected.
The U.S. Constitution calls on the president to nominate Supreme Court justices, with confirmation of the selection in the hands of the Senate. The Senate, in a move with little precedent in U.S. history, simply refused to consider Garland's nomination, saying the winner of the Nov. 8 presidential election between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton should make the pick.
[Guardian] Several people have been killed and as many as 50 injured after a truck ploughed into a Christmas market in Berlin, according to local media reports.
They suggested the vehicle ran into the market outside the landmark Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church on Monday evening. The reports cited police at the scene who said initial indications pointed to a terror attack.
Mirror link on the same story courtesy of Bright Pebbles. Both no doubt will update as new information comes in.
The Guardian's liveblog is here.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/19/2016
15:16 ||
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#1
German media report that the truck had Polish number plates (that doesn't mean the driver is Polish). The driver fled. A person has been apprehended but it's not yet known whether he is the driver.
Up to now at least 9 people dead, more than 50 people wounded.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/19/2016 15:41
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#6
Good. Now to identify him, and whether it was an accident or intentional. If he is a jihadi, I hope the police and politicians will not be so stupid as to try to hide the truth.
#12
European Conservative. Recent reports indicated that people who criticised Merkel on social media were being investigated by the state. Is that true? Is that why people are afraid to step up?
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/19/2016 16:35
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#14
I had to look up Generalbundesanwalt.
For anyone else who doesn't know, I got this:
"The Federal Prosecutor of the Federal Supreme Court is the supreme law enforcement agency of the Federal Republic of Germany in the field of state protection. It shall exercise the office of the public prosecutor in all serious state protection matters which are particularly sensitive to internal or external security.
Domestic security is affected by politically motivated crimes, especially terrorist acts of violence, external security through treason and espionage. The Federal Prosecutor's Office at the Federal Court of Justice is also responsible for the prosecution of offenses under the Criminal Code."
Correcting my ignorance one day at a time.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
12/19/2016 16:37
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#15
They'd be very busy if they investigated everyone who criticizes Merkel.
But I do notice that authorities are stepping up their more or less unveiled threats against Facebook and Twitter.
The former German president of the EU parliament (who wants to become chancellor) has called for making presumed "fake news" illegal (whatever this means).
Not encouraging.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/19/2016 16:40
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#16
Btw I have heard many many words in the last hours.
Guess which word is missing?
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/19/2016 17:20
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#28
The arrogance of German television is quite amazing. A moderator told his audience that it's midnight now and there won't be any more news about the attack until tomorrow morning.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/19/2016 19:16
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#2
I could not believe this was a real headline. Washington Post no less. Good grief.
Posted by: John Frum ||
12/19/2016 16:31
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#3
I read the first couple of paragraphs - I could feel my IQ dropping with each passing word. Hope the condition is reversible. Or maybe I'm just reading more of that 'fake news' they keep telling me about.
#4
The writer concluded that while the president taking the lead is desirable, it is not necessary. States and municipalities, companies and individuals can take over instead of waiting for the president. Let 1000 flowers bloom, let the grassroots take the lead. I think it's a brilliant idea.
#5
tw, if California wants to destroy their economy, I say let them. As long as they don't a) come begging for a handout from the Federal Government, and b)people don't move out but vote for the same policies in their new states.
...Still, Trump might surprise observers. It is already emerging that he does, in fact, have clear preferences in global affairs. It seems he likes Russia (or, specifically, Vladimir Putin) and dislikes China, the two most powerful international actors other than the US. Trump probably admires Putin as a strong, charismatic leader who is intent on making Russia great again. Trump’s nomination of Rex Tillerson, a man with excellent contacts in Moscow, as Secretary of State signals a planned thaw in American-Russian relations.
In contrast, when Trump looks at China, he sees an economic rival that needs to be cut down to size. Trump feels that American industries and jobs have been stolen by China, and that Beijing is playing unfairly with its currency and taxes on US-made products. Significantly, Trump has already departed from America’s qualified "One China" policy (dating back to 1979) by taking a phone call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. This, together with the presence of strong Taiwan backers in the incoming administration, and with Trump’s recent meeting with Prime Minister Abe of Japan, hint that Trump might be heading towards a policy of confrontation with China.
It is possible that these moves are purely tactical, and are aimed at securing a better opening position in negotiations over elements of the US-China bilateral relationship. But Trump will soon hear from his foreign policy and defense advisers that a rising China is a major challenge to "making America great again" in a geopolitical sense.
Acting on his basic instincts, Trump may well be capable of grand Kissingerian diplomacy, without possessing Kissinger’s historic, intellectual and strategic baggage. Trump could be aiming for détente with Russia and the enlistment of Putin against China.
#1
I don't want a new world order. I just want to have strong borders and protection from the State and islamic nutcases. And to be left alone by our own govt.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/19/2016 18:49
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#2
If he keeps just 2 or 3 of his major campaign promises (e.g. repeal obamacare) then he's already one of the better presidents. Why over promise?
#5
So finally under Trump America Inc will really be run by America Inc and not some flim-flam actors. Isn't that an improvement? At least you have an address for any complaints.
[Mirror] Russia's ambassador to Turkey has been seriously wounded in an 'assassination attempt'.
Ambassador Andrei Karlov was rushed to hospital after he was shot as he attended an event at an art gallery in the Turkish capital of Ankara.
Photos published online by Turkish media showed Mr Karlov on the floor in a pool of blood.
The gunman allegedly entered the art gallery with police identification, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.
The attacker allegedly fired a shot into the air as the ambassador spoke and then turned the gun on him, shooting him at least once.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/19/2016
11:42 ||
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WeirdDave at AOSHQ: "Anyone remember what happened the last time the representative of a major world power got shot in a (more or less) Balkan country? It was good, right?"
Snark of the day with diamonds and swords.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/19/2016 11:56
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#2
...Here we go. Our ambassadors might get killed with impunity, but Vlad don't play that.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/19/2016 12:05
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#3
He didn't do anything about the plane that was shot down on Erdogan's direct order.
#13
It is now reported that Karlov has died from his wounds. Picture of the assassin, who is reported to have yelled "We die in Aleppo, now you die here". Assassin killed at the scene by security forces
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/19/2016 13:22
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Saudi/ISIS/al-Qaeda Sunni Islamofascists are trying to drag the US into war against Iran/Russia/Assad in Syria
They KNOW that January 20 President Trump comes to power and will join forces with Russia to crush ISIS. Their only chance is to set these potential allies against each other.
Saudi money and influence has bought operatives in high places everywhere Turkey, US, CIA, Obama administration. They are cunning and well-connected.
We are at HIGH RISK from now to January 20.
PLEASE tell President Elect Trump to get on the phone to Vladimir Putin and say: wait till January 20
Turkey is in NATO: attack on 1 is attack on all. Russia must not retaliate until Trump gets in and we can kick that Sunni Islamist Erdogan out of NATO
Posted by: Bob Cheter2825 ||
12/19/2016 15:10
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#24
Mods please note: Terror attack on Berlin Christmas Market
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/19/2016 15:20
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#25
Sorry Bright Pebbles, missed your posting
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/19/2016 15:21
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#26
At least 9 dead
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/19/2016 15:24
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#27
Rantburgers are fast, European Conservative.
The Mirror article has been updating about the assassinated Russian ambassador as information comes in.
The dead gunman has been identified. An address connected to him and his family is being raided. While the Russian foreign ministry characterized this as a terror attack -- which of course it is -- they will go today to the UN Security Council about it. I can't imagine that accomplishing anything, and in the meantime a scheduled conference between Russia, Turkey, and someone else (Syria?) has not been cancelled, and Turkey is making soothing noises.
Question is, would NATO come to Turkey's aid at this point?
It was made clear after the Turks shot down the Russian jet that NATO would not get involved. The same principle could easily apply here.
We just came back from a Munich Christmas Market. The same thing could easily happen here. No security against trucks.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
12/19/2016 15:31
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#29
Don't worry about Vlad, he knows what is going on and what the game is. He knows what to do. He'll either wait till after the inauguration and smash Turkey like a bug or he'll do it the KGB way and leave a string of heads at key intersections all over Turkey...I bet the KGB is looking at ways to Tango Uniform Erdigon.
#40
I think Putin will be much more subtle about his response than to actually attack Turkey. As someone said, there will be heads posted all over Turkey. The assassin's family and village will suffer consequences. The Russians do not have the same restrictive ROEs that Americans do.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/19/2016 16:33
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#41
The Russians do not have the same restrictive ROEs that Americans do
And they won't claim that their Ambassador was killed because of some cheesy video production.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/19/2016 16:38
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#42
Meanwhile, our Kenyan master enjoys his Hawaiian vacation.
Somebody needs to turn the TV to ESPN and show a bracketology program. Adult things are going on.
A video from Ruptly news agency shows dozens of left-wing activists marching in the streets of Copenhagen on Saturday to protest police brutality. The protesters carried banners reading ‘Stop police violence’, while chanting ‘Stop the police’, ‘Nazi police’. Some also fired flares. The protest follows violent clashes between the law enforcement and two opposing protest groups on December 3.
[RT] Israeli tanks have fired into the Gazoo Strip in response to shots fired from there at Israeli troops, the IDF said, adding that none of its soldiers were maimed in the gunfire.
The tanks aimed at Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, positions, according to the Israeli Army’s statement on Twitter. The fire destroyed a Hamas military post, Ynet news reported.
The IDF launched three tank shells at the post, which is located east of Bureij, according to Paleostinian sources, cited by Ynet.
It comes a day after Hamas accused Israel of killing its drone expert, Mohhamed Zawari nicknamed ’The Engineer’, in Tunisia over the weekend.
The Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, said he had collaborated with them for 10 years, as cited by Rooters.
Tensions between the Lion of Islam group and Israel are running high. About a week ago, a Gazoo-based Hamas official, Fathi Hammad, told al-Aqsa TV channel, that the Lion of Islam group was ready to share its Qassam rockets with any Arab army willing to fight the Jewish state.
#4
There are two kinds of men in this world, my friend: on with a Merkava and the other with a Kalashnikov! The one with a Kalashnikov digs (his grave)!
[Detroit News] Sunrise, Fla. -- President-elect Donald Trump has picked Vincent Viola, a New York businessman, West Point graduate and owner of the Florida Panthers hockey team, as his secretary of the Army.
In a statement Monday, Trump praised Viola, the son of Italian immigrants, as "living proof of the American dream" who has "long been engaged with national security issues."
Viola grew up in Brooklyn, the first member of his family to attend college, and went on to serve in the 101st Airborne Division, attend law school and start multiple businesses. He bought the NHL hockey team in 2013 for about $250 million.
The announcement of Viola comes as electors in all 50 states were meeting to formally elect Trump president, paving his way to take office on Jan. 20.
Trump is at his Palm Beach. Florida, estate, Mar-a-Lago, for the holidays, and is expected to hold more meetings Monday as he rounds out his administration’s team.
h/t Instapundit
In 1961 President Dwight Eisenhower warned of the danger of a military-industrial complex. This powerful public-private collaboration, he said, had the potential to exert "unwarranted influence" over America's democratic processes. A half-century later, there are still those on the left who cling to this fear. But it seems that Eisenhower's warning had its intended effect--and perhaps then some. In 1961 defense spending constituted 9.1 percent of the gross domestic product, and there were 2,483,000 uniformed military personnel. Today, defense spending is 3.2 percent of GDP and 1,390,000 men and women serve in the uniformed military. If this behemoth is threatening America's democratic processes, it is not doing so very successfully.
There is, however, another interlocking public-private collaboration that is at once more insidious, more powerful, and more straightforwardly partisan: the liberal ideological complex. We do not always see this collaboration so clearly, because we tend to view each aspect of it as unique and not part of a larger picture. We look, for example, at public sector unions as a labor issue. We look at funding for Planned Parenthood through the lens of abortion policy. We look at EPA regulations and grants in terms of global warming and job destruction. And so on and so forth, down to the smallest, most narrowly tailored grant awards of the federal government.
Yet in each of these cases, the complex functions in essentially the same way. Federal funds are provided for organizations that carry out liberal policies. In turn, these groups employ like-minded staff and both the leadership and the staff of these groups contribute money, time, and services to the politicians who favor this use of federal funds. This creates a vicious circle in which campaign funds are indirectly skimmed off the top of taxpayer-funded organizations, all in the service of liberal ideology.
When progressives helped to replace the spoils system with government by so-called experts, they aimed to professionalize the government. The goal was to put policy decisions into the hands of intelligent and highly trained bureaucrats who would know the interests of Americans better than average Americans did themselves. Here is the basis for the extraordinary willfulness of progressive government, a matter that has been remarked upon frequently.
What has been less clearly observed is the effect of progressive government upon the governing class itself.
...While there was perhaps never any such thing as objectivity in governance, the belief that there was kept executive branch actions within certain bounds and restrained partisanship and ideological predispositions. So too did the traditional idea that except for national emergencies and wars, government spending and government revenues should be kept in rough balance.
This world is gone. Over the past decades, we have seen the rise of executive branch governance in the service of the liberal ideological state. This kind of governance is marked by four characteristics: (1) a bias toward increasing the size and scope of government across every department and agency, no matter which political party controls the White House or Congress; (2) a nonmilitary executive branch workforce comprised overwhelmingly (though in different degrees in different departments) of liberal officials, who are ideologically disposed to support this growth, and who are no longer representative of the populace as a whole; (3) a broad support system of direct government funding for liberal groups that reinforces the bias toward ever larger and more intrusive government; and (4) the development of a privileged set of rules and rewards for the governing experts (including compensation levels, bonuses, guaranteed job security, defined benefit retirement systems, and a different set of standards by which to measure their own actions as opposed to those of the governed). That's the dragon that Sir Donald will have to take on
#3
President Dwight Eisenhower warned of the danger of a military-industrial complex.
However, in the same speech he also warned -
Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.
The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present and is gravely to be regarded.
Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientifictechnological elite.
It is the task of statesmanship to mold, to balance, and to integrate these and other forces, new and old, within the principles of our democratic system -- ever aiming toward the supreme goals of our free society.
#5
And the Dems used an earlier version of the playbook on his calling Eisenhower, lazy because he delegated work and dumb...can you imagine calling Eisenhower dumb?
They've used that same ploy with every Republican president since. They called Reagan lazy and dumb and they called George W lazy and dumb...
[IsraelTimes] Balad politician Basel Ghattas confronted by police after a jail visit on Sunday, says he has ’nothing to hide’; Liberman: Balad is a party of spies and traitors.
Police have launched an investigation into an Arab politician suspected of undermining state security by smuggling mobile phones to Paleostinian security prisoners.
Basel Ghattas, a politician from the Balad Party, which is part of the Knesset’s Joint (Arab) List, will be investigated for a suspected breach of security, Balad said, adding that the Lahav 433 National Crime Unit summoned Ghattas for questioning.
Ghattas is suspected of smuggling 15 mobile phones on Sunday to two Paleostinian security prisoners at Ketziot prison, south of Beersheba in southern Israel, Channel 2 reported. One of the two prisoners, both members of Fatah, is serving a 37-year term for murder.
Police were waiting for him when he emerged from a jail visit on Sunday, Channel 2 reported. It said police asked him to accompany them, but he refused, citing his Knesset immunity.
Ghattas said on Sunday evening that "Balad is being deliberately targeted" by the Israeli authorities, that he has "nothing to hide," and that he would present himself for questioning as necessary.
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan is considering halting all MKs’ visits to security prisoners, Channel 2 said.
"It is clear that the police are insisting on continuing their political pursuit of Balad MKs and senior party members," Ghattas said. "This behavior shows a policy of political Dire Revenge which has not frightened us in the past and will not frighten us in the future either."
Balad, an acronym for the Arabic for National Democratic Assembly, is part of the Joint List, a coalition of Arab Israeli parties in parliament. The party is especially critical of Israeli policies and one of its members of parliament, Hanin Zoabi, has frequently angered Israeli officials.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pond, Gloria slowly backed away from the eight-foot bull frog. If the creature croaked she would surely be deafened... Nibin Abu Rahmoun, the woman who will head the party’s Knesset list in the next elections, was also questioned by police, Haaretz news site reported on Sunday.
Balad officials were investigated for financial irregularities in September. At the time the party denounced the probe as an attempt to silence Israel’s Arab minority, which accounts for 17.5 percent of the country’s eight million population and is largely supportive of the Paleostinian cause.
Party MK Said Nafa served a year-long prison sentence after being convicted of illegally traveling to Syria.
Balad’s three Knesset members fired up the rubes among Jewish Israelis earlier this year when they met relatives of Paleostinians whom authorities say were killed while carrying out attacks.
In response, parliament passed a controversial law in July allowing the expulsion of MKs deemed guilty of racial incitement or supporting armed struggle against Israel.
Balad founder and then MK Azmi Bishara fled Israel in 2007 amid allegations he advised Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and directed its rocket fire against Israel during a month-long war the previous year.
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said in a statement Sunday evening that the suspicions against Ghattas were "no more than another link in a chain of evidence that the ’Joint List’ is actually the ’spy and traitor list’...
"We will continue in our efforts to ensure that not only will they not be part of Israel’s Knesset, but that they will no longer be citizens of the State of Israel," Liberman said.
The Joint List holds 13 of the 120 seats in parliament and is the third largest bloc in the legislature.
No corner of the country may be left unsubmitted to Erdogan Bey, and through him to Allah in the proper way. Or perhaps it's vice versa.
[Ynet] Germany's Foreign Office has expressed irritation over a ban on Christmas celebrations and songs at a German high school in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... The German news agency dpa reported that the Foreign Office said Sunday it "didn't understand the surprising decision by the school's administration."
Dpa reported that the Turkish administrators of the Istanbul Lisesi, a German high school that was established more than 100 years ago, announced that Christmas traditions and the singing of carols would no longer be part of the curriculum.
The Foreign Office called the decision "regrettable" and said it would seek dialogue with its Turkish partners over the incident.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/19/2016
01:56 ||
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#1
The only surprise is they haven't already banned Christmas at schools in Germany.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/19/2016 11:35
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A large majority of German economists opposes Italy exiting the Eurozone: 61 percent are against an exit, versus 29 percent in favor. These are the latest results of the Economists Panel jointly conducted by the Ifo Institute and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. All they have to do now is make Italians obey German economists.
[IsraelNationalNews] JTA - The head of Israel’s Mossad national intelligence agency made a secret visit to the United States to meet with members of President-elect Donald Trump staff and give them a security briefing.
Mossad Director Yossi Cohen briefed the Trump staff members on the Iranian nuclear deal, the Syrian civil war, terror threats and the Palestinian issue, Ynet reported Saturday. The report did not say when the briefings took place.
The security delegation was organized by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, according to Ynet, and was led by National Security Council head Yaakov Nagel. Israeli ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer reportedly also attended the meetings.
An interesting comparison to what the CIA has to say in a few weeks... and to the content of the private security reports he most certainly must have been getting to properly manage his various investments.
[The Hill] Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) is accusing CIA Director John Brennan of leaking Russian hacking information to the press and is calling for an investigation into "the hit job" that King says Brennan is conducting against President-elect Donald Trump.
"That's what infuriates me about this, Martha, is that we have John Brennan, supposedly John Brennan, leaking to The Washington Post, to a biased newspaper like The New York Times, findings and conclusion that is he's not telling the intelligence committee," King told ABC’s "This Week" on Sunday.
King said while he is "willing to accept" that the Russians hacked the Democratic National Committee, it is "uncertain" whether or not the Russians were responsible for the hack of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta’s emails.
"It seems like to me -- there should be an investigation what the Russians did but also an investigation of John Brennan and the hit job he seems to be orchestrating against the president-elect," he said.
The Washington Post reported earlier this month on a secret CIA assessment that found Russia had meddled in the U.S. election in an effort to help Trump win.
#4
Gotta say it with that New Yawk twang: Petah King, blowhahd...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/19/2016 7:32
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#5
I think the article got it wrong. The CIA Director John Brennan is a Muslim convert and as such he is meddling in the election to try to keep Trump from the presidency. He needs to either show the proof or shut up and retract his previous comments.
#6
Yes Dopey, John Brennan is said to be a Saudi asset
Saudi has money and influence, spent decades getting its allies all the way up the tree in government, intel agencies etc.
Now the Saudis are trying to drag the US into war with Russia so as to defeat Russia/Iran in their proxy war in Syria
Islamofascists are our enemy our leaders are STUPID for not always siding with the secular against the theocrat and dropping the hammer on them after 9/11
Pamela Geller is right: in any war between the civilised man and the savage you back the civilised man. The enemy of our enemy was NOT our friend!!
[Breitbart] Sunday on CNN’s "State of the Union," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said she wish she had not met on tarmac in Arizona during the 2106 presidential campaign with former President Bill Clinton.
Lynch said, "I wish I had seen around that corner and not had that discussion with the former president, as innocuous as it was, because it did give people concern. It did make people wonder is it going to affect the investigation that’s going on, and that’s not something that was an unreasonable question for anyone to ask."
"And my view is and always has been that when you are in public life or even in private life and you make a mistake, you own it, and you talk about it right away," she continued. "You let people know what you’re going to do to deal with the impact of that mistake."
#2
Apparently everything was 'on track' until HRC lost the election. Now she admits the meeting was an error in judgement, an inability to 'see around corners.'
You're done! Clean out your desk. Harold here will see you to the exit.
[Breitbart] Breitbart News National Security Editor Dr. Sebastian Gorka, author of the best-selling book Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War, told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Friday that "the alpha males are back" when President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
When Hannity asked if Dr. Gorka agreed with President Obama’s assertion he had followed the best possible course in Syria, Gorka replied, "No, because I live in the real world, Sean."
"It’s a catastrophe," he continued. "Remember the red lines? The real reason he calls it ISIL and not ISIS is because he doesn’t want to remind people that ’S’ stands for Syria, and that he drew the red lines again, and again, and again. And what happened? Assad kept on marching. The jihadis kept on marching."
"The fact is, this is all going to end on January the 21st. Our foreign policy has been a disaster. We’ve neglected and abandoned our allies. We’ve emboldened our enemies," said Gorka. "The message I have, it’s a very simple one. It’s a bumper sticker, Sean: The era of the Pajama Boy is over January 20th, and the alpha males are back."
#6
From what I've read about Mattis the perfumed princes who have half a brain will leave before January 21. The rest will be riffed by Mad Dog's interview process. Power point commandos are doomed.
[Reuters] Jordanian security forces said they killed four "terrorist outlaws" after flushing them out of a castle in the southern city of Karak where they had holed up after a shoot-out that killed nine people.
An official statement said the four assailants, who shot at police targets in the town before heading to the Crusader-era castle, carried automatic weapons. Large quantities of explosives, weapons and suicide belts were seized in a hideout, the statement said.
It made no mention of their identity or whether they belonged to any militant group, raising speculation they could have been tribal outlaws with a vengeance against the state rather than Islamic State fighters, who control parts of neighboring Syria and Iraq.
A Canadian woman, three other civilians and five police officers were among the nine killed during the exchange of gunfire between the assailants and security forces.
At least 29 people were hospitalized, some with serious injuries.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Social media websites published lately photos of a person called Mohammed Reza Haque, who was said to be the new “Jihadi John” of the Islamic State.
Mohammed Reza Haque, 36 years old, from Bethnal Green in east London, is a follower of the extremist British cleric Anjem Choudary and his personal bodyguard since 2011, and usually seen dressed in black from head to foot.
He was also charged with a public order offence after burning Remembrance Day poppies in 2011.
In a new video released by Amaq, the Islamic State’s media wing, Haque was shown beheading five Western prisoners in the same manner as the murderer Mohammed Emwazi, who was also known as Jihadi John.
In the video, Haque is seen dressed in black and uses a jagged hunting knife to behead a prisoner against a desert backdrop, in a similar act to the one featured earlier by “Jihadi John.”
The victims are shown wearing orange bodysuits and made to kneel, before one of Haque’s fellow jihadis delivers a speech in Arabic.
He said: “These apostates who kneel, disbelieved and fell into apostasy, and championed the Crusaders and helped them against Muslims.
“They thought they were safe, but God shamed them, and they will be slaughtered by the knife which will slaughter those like them,” he added.
The murderers then slaughter the victims, and stand over their bodies.
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12/19/2016
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#1
one solution might be to deport his family.
Another might be to tell the SAS he is a priority target.
Is the Brit government ever going to do anything about Choudary or are they going to let him continue to spout his sewage?
[DAWN] A person was killed and two others injured when mortar shells, reportedly fired by Iranian border guards, hit a vehicle in Panjgoor district of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... near Pak-Iran border on Sunday.
A senior district administration official, who wished not be named, told DawnNews that Iranian border guards reportedly fired nine mortar shells into Pak territory.
"One mortar shell hit a civilian vehicle near the Pak-Iran border in Panjgoor district," he said. The incident resulted in the death of one individual while two others were maimed who were rushed to nearby hospital for emergency medical treatment.
"This was an act of unprovoked firing committed by Iranian border forces," the official said. Without any justification and in complete violation of our territorial integrity Iran fired mortar shells in Pak area, the officer maintained. Frontier Corps ...a provincial paramilitary force. Total manpower is about 80,000. They are tasked to help local law enforcement in the maintenance of law and order, and to carry out border patrol and a..the Antwerp-based Salafist organization that had campaigned to introduce Sharia law to Belgium before single-handedly making Belgium the highest per capita supplier of jihadis to Syria in Europe. There was a big trial in Antwerp in 2015, but most of those convicted were in absentia...nti-smuggling operations.... personnel also reached the spot as investigation into the attack went underway. Security was tightened around the border by Pak security forces after Iranian violation. Iranian border guards have been repeatedly firing mortar shells and rockets into Pak territory for the past few years. Islamabad has repeatedly lodged protest in the regard, but to no avail.
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#1
Pity the poor Pak. Iran on one side, India on the other, Afghanis in the markets, and the Army in Islamabad.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Leb acquired a new 30-minister government Sunday led by Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. , bringing together the entire political spectrum except for the Christian Phalangist party that rejected the portfolio it was offered.
"This is a government of entente," Hariri said of the new line-up formed six weeks after the election of President Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... New portfolios include an anti-corruption post and, for the first time, a minister of state for women’s affairs.
Hariri said the Phalangist party had been offered a minister of state post but had turned it down.
The new government will have "at the top of its list of priorities to preserve security against the fires ravaging our region," Hariri told news hounds.
He stressed that the government would act to "preserve our country from the negative consequences of the Syrian crisis".
On November 3, former premier Hariri was nominated to form Leb’s next government, but the process was seen as likely to be hampered by deep differences with the powerful Hezbollah movement.
Hariri, 46, is anti-Syria and a fierce opponent of Leb’s influential Shiite Hezbollah, members of which have been accused by an international court of involvement in his father’s 2005 liquidation.
But he was forced to throw his support behind Aoun, their candidate for the presidency, in order to secure his return to power as premier.
Hariri’s government will have two ministers from Hezbollah.
His nomination and Aoun’s election after a two-year vacuum have raised hopes that Leb can begin tackling challenges including a stagnant economy, a moribund political class and the influx of more than a million Syrian refugees.
Hariri also announced the establishment of a state secretariat for refugees, and called on the international community "to take responsibility for helping our country bear the burden".
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Zsa Zsa Gabor, the curvy blonde actress known for her intriguing personal life, including nine marriages, her breathy accent and her habit of calling everyone "darling," died Sunday after reportedly suffering a heart attack. She was 99.
Gabor is survived by her ninth husband, Prince Frederic von Anhalt.
The actress was born Sari Gabor in Budapest on Feb. 6, 1917. Her two sisters, Magda and Eva, also became actresses and she followed Eva to America, where she became a popular celebrity -- famous for being famous.
Her lengthy film career began with 1952's "Lovely to Look At," and included spots in a dozen films and television series, including John Huston's "Moulin Rouge" (1952) and the 1958 film noir "Touch of Evil" by Orson Welles.
Gabor's marriages were the makings of endless headlines and among her husbands were actor George Sanders and hotel magnate Conrad Hilton.
"I am a marvelous housekeeper," she once said. "Every time I leave a man I keep his house."
She also noted, "Husbands are like fires. They go out when unattended."
Gabor often appeared as herself on the screen, including a memorable role in the 1991 film "The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear."
She regularly appeared on the talk show "The Merv Griffin Show" during the 1960s and 1970s. Griffin also created the game show "Jeopardy!"
One of Gabor's toughest rounds of medical problems began while she was watching "Jeopardy." She broke her right hip and suffered a concussion in July 2010 when she fell out of bed while watching the U.S. quiz show. At one point, she received last rites.
Her now-deceased publicist, John Blanchette, told NewsCore after her initial fall, "She has been bedridden since her accident in 2002," referring to a car accident that left the actress partially paralyzed and forced her to use a wheelchair.
She also suffered a stroke in 2005.
In November 2011, she was rushed to the hospital after bleeding from the feeding tube in her stomach, according to her husband. That incident came only a month after she was taken to UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center, where she previously had been admitted multiple times, after losing consciousness.
Gabor’s right leg was amputated that same year after powerful antibiotics failed to clear up an infection. She was again hospitalized after screen legend Elizabeth Taylor died in March of that year. Gabor was quoted at the time as saying she feared she would be the next to go.
[AlAhram] Turkish authorities on Sunday detained nine people suspected of involvement in a night of violence against offices of the main pro-Kurdish party in apparent reprisal for a deadly attack blamed on Kurdish Lion of Islams.
All those detained are suspected of staging attacks on the party's buildings in Istanbul, the Dogan news agency said.
Turkish media said Saturday's protesters in Kayseri were supporters of the Grey Wolves, a Lion of Islam wing of the MHP which was hugely prominent in the street fighting of the 1980s and early 1990s.
[RUDAW.NET] Fire brigades failed to extinguish burning offices of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and the police have destroyed evidence, HDP claimed after a wave of attacks on its offices across the country Saturday night.
"Yesterday, 14 district offices, 5 city offices and our HQ were assaulted. Our buildings were completely destroyed or set aflame," HDP tweeted Sunday.
In a presser on Sunday, HDP’s party spokesperson Ayhan Bilgen, levelled several charges against Turkish authorities.
At their burning office in Kayseri, central The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , he said, the fire brigade did not put out the fire but instead removed a sign and hung a flag.
At their office in Istanbul’s Beylikduzu district, the police spray painted over slogans written on the walls by those who had smashed and burnt the office.
"It is the government that is responsible for ensuring the safety of everyone," said Bilgen. "The one who is accountable is the political party that is in power."
Saturday’s attacks are the latest in a string of violent incidents targeting HDP offices.
On Thursday, an armed assailant fired shots at HDPs headquarters. He later surrendered to police. On Wednesday, mobs threw stones at HDP’s office in Adalar, Istanbul. On Tuesday, offices in Buyukcekme, Konya, and Mersin were attacked. On Monday, unknown persons set fire to the door of HDP’s Yalova office and others fired shots at the Balikesir office.
"The government is manipulating public opinion against our party to whitewash its failure and troubles regarding internal and external politics," HDP said in a statement condemning Thursday’s attack.
HDP said they are being attacked because of their continued objection to attempts to amend the constitution and bring in an executive presidency, which would place a lot of power into the hands of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... On Sunday, Bilgen said his party would be afraid and would continue to insist on pursuing democratic politics.
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#1
Saturday's protesters in Kayseri were supporters of the Grey Wolves, a Lion of Islam wing of the MHP which was hugely prominent in the street fighting of the 1980s and early 1990s
The Turks apparently are now letting them fight in Syria instead.
QUETTA - At least five security men yesterday were injured when a convoy of the Awaran assistant commissioner and the district police officer came under militants’ attack, the AC and the DPO, however, had a narrow escape.
According to details, the motorcade of the DPO and the AC was attacked by terrorists in the Jahoo area of district Awaran. The terrorists, resorting to indiscriminate fire, injured five security men, including three police and two levies officials.
The security forces retaliated and forced them to flee. The injured security personnel were immediately shifted to the district hospital. On receiving the information of the incident, a heavy posse of law-enforcement agencies rushed to the site and cordoned off the area.
Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri condemned the terrorist attack on the convoy of the DPO and the AC. He sought a report on the incident and ordered the security forces to bring the perpetrators to justice at all cost.
Balochistan Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti also strongly condemned the attack and sought a report from the authorities concerned.
He directed the health authorities to provide the best treatment facilities to the injured security personnel.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A top police official escaped unhurt from a roadside kaboomkaboom in western Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... province of Afghanistan.
According to the local security officials, the police chief of Obe district, Sher Aqa Alokozay, survived the attack but a policeman sustained injuries.
The officials further added that a vehicle of the police forces also sustained damages in the attack.
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Just like Obammer! [FOX] Saddam Hussein was an inept dictator during his final years in charge, thought 9/11 would bring Iraq and America closer together and took partial blame for his eventual fall from power after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, according to a new book by one of the men who interrogated the ex-Iraqi president.
The revelations are contained in the upcoming John Nixon book "Debriefing the President: The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein." Nixon was a CIA analyst in Iraq who had been assigned the task of finding Hussein, and then getting information out of him. But he quickly found that "Saddam seemed clueless."
"He was inattentive to what his government was doing, had no real plan for the defense of Iraq and could not comprehend the immensity of the approaching storm," Nixon wrote in the book excerpt published by The Daily Mail.
Hussein, who was hanged and killed in 2006 for crimes against humanity, was frequently defiant while being interviewed and even mocked the U.S. rationale for the war: that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.
"You found a traitor who led you to Saddam Hussein. Isn’t there one traitor who can tell you where the WMDs are?" Hussein said shortly after he was found hiding, dirty and grizzled, inside an underground "spider hole" on Dec. 13, 2003.
#1
So the guy seemed clueless and distracted? I dunno. Maybe because his personal empire came suddenly crashing down. The gravy train stopped and he was hiding in a hole. Yeah, that might do it.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) received the first A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft in Kandahar Airfield amid ongoing efforts to boost the airpower of the Afghan forces to suppress a resurgent Taliban. (U.S. Air Force photos by Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Noonkester)
The planes were deployed earlier this month and a ceremony was organized to mark the arrival of the aircraft.
Members of the 738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, participate in a ceremony for the arrival of A-29 Super Tucanos with Afghan Air Force members from Kandahar Air Wing Dec. 1, 2016," according to 438th Air Expeditionary Wing.
The statement further added "The ceremony marked the arrival of the A-29s to KAF. Participants from both the AAF and US Air Force welcomed the arrival of the increased combat capability to the region."
The Afghan Air Force received several A-29 and MD-530 Cayuse helicopters from the United States earlier this year which are playing a key role in providing close air support to the Afghan forces.
"The AAF’s capability to provide airlift, casualty evacuation (CASEVAC),4 and organic aerial fires continue to improve as the Department of Defense (DoD) fields more aircraft to the AAF and as its pilots and crews gain operational experience. With the fielding of 12 additional MD- 530 attack helicopters during the reporting period and several more months of operational employment of the A-29 light attack aircraft, the AAF demonstrated increasing effectiveness in providing aerial fires in support of ANA ground forces," according to the latest Pentagon report, Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan.
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[NYPOST] An impatient U.S. Marshal tired of waiting for his food at a Brooklyn McDonald’s whipped out a rod on a cashier hoping it would expedite service -- but was instead incarcerated Please don't kill me! , cops said Sunday.
Deputy Marshal Charles Brown entered the fast food joint in Bay Ridge around 1:20 a.m. Saturday, according to police.
Soon after, he began to yell at cashier Joanna Diaz, 41, about the long lines and his presumed hunger.
When that didn’t work, an irate Brown whipped out a gun and pointed it at Diaz, before wheeling around and waving it at other terrified customers at the at the 86th St. eatery -- including one who tried to intervene on the cashier’s behalf -- cops said.
While Brown was able to place his order before cops were called, he left his food behind when he fled the joint, a police source said.
The Marshal was later found drunk nearby, the same source said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Probably got the DHS downsizing notice before he went 'Marshal'.
[RUDAW.NET] Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is unlikely to send a sum of 38 billion IQD to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces on a monthly basis, even if it is fixed in the 2017 budget law, said a government official.
Fazil Nabi, Iraq’s deputy minister of finance, told Rudaw that "until now Abadi has not agreed on sending the sum to the Peshmerga," which the Kurdistan Regional Government is entitled to receive outside of funding promises stipulated as part of the Erbil-Baghdad oil agreements.
Out of the portion of the budget dedicated to the Iraqi Infantry Forces, 38 billion IQD is expected to be given to the Peshmerga forces.
Nabi added that "If the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) does not reach an agreement with the Iraqi government on the exportation of oil, Baghdad will not be ready to send the sum to the Peshmerga."
Nabi insisted that he will ramp up efforts to force Baghdad to send the Peshmerga’s share aside from any agreements. However, it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... he explained, "if no deal is struck, Baghdad will undoubtedly make problems even in sending this amount."
The Iraqi parliament in early December passed a 100.67 trillion Iraqi dinars (about $85 billion) budget bill for 2017, with Kurdistan’s two main parties on opposite ends of whether it contains any good for the autonomous region.
The two main Kurdish parties also voiced different views of the budget bill, with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) slamming it as containing nothing good for the Kurds and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) hailing its role in the making of the budget as "a valuable achievement."
MPs in Baghdad approved the budget based on projections of an oil price of $42 per barrel. It forecast a deficit of 21.7 trillion dinars ($19 billion) and spending of 100.7 trillion dinars.
Nabi in an earlier exclusive interview with Rudaw deemed the 2017 budget a "bomb" planted for the Kurdistan Region.
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least 5 bully boyz were killed and 6 others were maimed after the Afghan forces repulsed a coordinated attack on security check posts in eastern Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province.
The provincial police commandment in a statement said the bully boyz launched a coordinated attack on the security posts in Surkh Rod district late on Saturday afternoon.
The statement further added that the offensive by the bully boyz was successfully repulsed by the Afghan forces, leaving at least 5 bully boyz dead and 6 others maimed.
According to the local security authorities, the Afghan forces and local residents did not suffer any casualties in the attack.
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least three people were killed and three others sustained injuries in an attack by gunnies in Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... late on Saturday.
A security official in Paghman district, where the incident took place, said the gunnies managed to flee the area after the attack.
The source speaking on the condition of anonymity further added that the gunnies opened fire on the security forces, leaving three people dead, including a member of security forces.
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[DAWN] Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa called on 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.... bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud on Sunday, said a statement issued by military’s media wing.
The Saudi king and the army chief agreed that both the countries share great history of cordial relations and deep spirit of brotherhood which has transformed into an enduring partnership, read the Inter-Services Public Relations statement.
It was also acknowledged that both Pakistain and Kingdom 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... are vital players in regional stability, "with significant responsibility towards the entire Moslem ummah".
Both leaders re-emphasised the need to continue working to eliminate the menace of terrorism and reinforce the mechanism to roll back extremism with even greater vigour.
General Bajwa met Chief of General Staff of Saudi Forces Gen Abdul Rehman bin Saleh Al Bunyan. --Photo courtesy ISPR
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Several buses en route to evacuate ill and injured people from the besieged Syrian villages of al-Foua and Kefraya were attacked and burned on Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Syrian state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said.
Rebel factions in Aleppo have condemned Jabhat Fateh al-Sham ...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant... 's burning of the evacuation bus.
Activists say snuffies have burned at least five buses assigned to evacuate maimed and sick people from two villages in northern Syria.
The incident could scuttle a wider deal that encompasses the evacuation of thousands of trapped rebel fighters and civilians from the last opposition foothold in east Aleppo.
The opposition’s Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday that the al-Qaeda affiliated Fatah al-Sham Front burned buses assigned to evacuate people from the rebel-besieged villages of Foua and Kfarya.
Hezbollah, the Lebanese turban group fighting alongside Syria’s government, says the buses were burned during fighting between the al-Qaeda-affiliated Fatah al-Sham Front and a rebel group that supported the evacuations.
The Observatory says six buses were burned while Hezbollah’s media outlet put the number at five.
Evacuations to resume
The evacuation of the rebel-held enclave of east Aleppo resumed late on Sunday night after three days of delays, a UN official in Syria told Rooters.
"Evacuations are on. Buses and ambulances are leaving east Aleppo now," the UN official said in an email message, adding that the first people left east Aleppo at around 11 p.m. (2100 GMT).
The official had no immediate information about a planned simultaneous operation to evacuate people from two Shiite villages near Idlib that are besieged by mostly Sunni rebel forces.
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[Libya Herald] The former head of the Transitional National Council Mustafa Abdul Jalil has changed his mind about restoring the monarchy as the only answer to stabilising Libya. He has now decided that as an alternative, Field Marshal Khalifa Hafter could be president.
Four days ago, speaking in a TV interview, Abdul Jalil suggested that the restoration of the former monarchy under Prince Mohammed al-Rida al-Senussi provided the best way of stabilising the country. He appears to still hold that view but says in his latest interview on the Hadith al-Arab channel that if a restoration is not possible, then there are others who would make acceptable presidents.
One is Hafter, another is Jadallah Azzouz Talhi.
Talhi’s name was one of 12 proposed by the House of Representatives to the UN-brokered Libya Dialogue in September 2015 for consideration as Libya’s next prime minister.
However, it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... the twice former General Secretary of the People’s Committee under Qadaffy and then foreign minister until 1990 is said to be in ill health and not interested to become involved in politics again. From eastern Libya but educated in Belgium (and a translator of French books into Arabic), he was appointed minister for strategic industries at the beginning of the 2000s. From the beginning of 2008 to the end of 2009, he was Libya’s UN ambassador.
For his part, Hafter is known to see himself as Libya’s future head of state but while strongly supported in parts of the country he is also seen as a divisive ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled... character who could never unite the country behind him.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] On Saturday, more than 600 bully boyz in Zakiyah and Deir Khabiyah villages in West Ghouta region of Damascus province reconciled with Syrian government as per the offer made by the latter during negotiations over surrender of neighbouring town of Khan al-Shih.
According to the presidential amnesty decree, all the bully boyz who do not want to be evacuated to Idlib province turned in their weapons and can now return to peaceful live and labour activity as their legal status is settled.
The village of Deyr Khabiyah was seized by Syrian Army on October 14 during the West Ghouta military operation. Most of local residents fled to neighbouring Khan al-Shih back then only to return after the reconciliation deal between the government and gangs was settled. Zakiyah, on the other hand, was never seized by government troops. Instead, its residents were persuaded to agree with the terms of reconciliation agreement.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] A field commander in "Ahrar Al Sham" islamist group known as Abu Uday was assassinated on Saturday night in an kaboom near the town of Ma'arrat al-Nu'uman in Idlib province.
According to a military source, Syrian military intelligence agents planted an IED (improvised bomb) under Uday's car and detonated it when he was inside.
This is not the first time when Syrian Army carries out such operations eliminating jihadist commanders in Idlib in a bid to weaken the islamist groups ahead of the upcoming Idlib offensive.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the space pirate fleet to attack Zemblonia... several reports coming from Idlib province indicate growing support for the so-called "Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) among local population. A video from Sarmin town in Idlib countryside shows a demonstration in support of ISIS with the participants chanting "We want Islamic State"
Recently, there were several other reports about similar demonstrations in other locations in Idlib province. Also, some sources claimed that about a 100 turbans from various jihadist opposition groups defected to join ISIS ranks.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] On Saturday, units of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) thwarted another powerful attack of the so-called "Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) southwest of the strategic T4 (Tiyas) Military Airport in the eastern part of Homs province.
According to a military source at the T4 Airbase, the aforementioned terror group launched an attack in the area of al-Fawaraa water wells. Repelling the assault, government forces managed to destroy 3 armoured vehicles, including 2 battle tanks, and 5 technical vehicles while also killing at least 20 ISIS murderous Moslems in the process. As a result, murderous Moslems were forced to retreat.
In the meantime, another SAA unit repelled an ISIS assault on one of the Army's defensive positions in al-Furs hills northeast of the city of al-Qaryatayn. Here, government troops were able to destroy 2 armoured vehicles and 3 technical vehicles mounted with 23mm automatic anti-aircraft guns.
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Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) A roadside bomb killed one civilian and wounded three others in northern Baghdad, security sources said Sunday.
The bomb went off at al-Rashidiya district, said the sources, but no one claimed responsibility.
Violence surged across Iraq as Islamic State extremists captured several Iraqi cities in 2014, and continues even as the group is sustaining defeats during a current wide-scale campaign by Iraqi forces and tribal militias.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said early December that violence during November claimed the lives of 926 civilians and wounded 930 people. It said more than 58000 died in violence since June 2014 and until September 2016.
Observers believe ISIS have begun to target several areas across Iraq to divert security focus on Mosul, where the group fights to defend its last bastion in Iraq under the brunt of continuous advancements by Iraqi government and popular troops.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) One civilian was killed and three others injured on Sunday when a booby-trapped vehicle exploded in eastern Baghdad, police said.
“A booby-trapped car exploded this afternoon at Maared Hubaibia, east of Baghdad, killing one civilian and wounding three others,” Brig. Gen. Saad Maan, spokesperson of the Interior Ministry’s Baghdad Operations said in a brief statement.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack.
Violence surged across Iraq as Islamic State extremists captured several Iraqi cities in 2014, and continues even as the group is sustaining defeats during a current wide-scale campaign by Iraqi forces and tribal militias.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said early December that violence during November claimed the lives of 926 civilians and wounded 930 people.
Observers believe ISIS have begun to target several areas across Iraq to divert security focus from Mosul, where the group fights to defend its last bastion in Iraq under the brunt of continuous advancements by Iraqi government and popular troops.
[IsraelTimes] Suspects are accused of setting fires in West Bank for ’nationalistic’ motives during a rash of wildfires last month.
Three Paleostinians were tossed in the slammer Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! in November by Israeli security forces on suspicion of deliberately setting fires during a wave of blazes that broke out across Israel and the West Bank, the Shin Bet security agency said on Sunday.
The arrests -- which had previously been under gag order -- were carried out in a joint operation by the IDF, the Israel Police and the Shin Bet on November 26, the domestic security agency said.
The three suspects, Joad Mohammad Faiz Dahr, 19, Hamdan Saqr Hamdan Lami, 19, and Yazid Ahmad Hamdan Lami, 24, are all from the Paleostinian village of Iskaka in the northern West Bank.
According to a Shin Bet spokesperson, the three have been accused of carrying out arson attacks next to their village and near an access road to the settlement of Ariel.
Although it was not specified on which date they allegedly set the fires, three suspects were spotted by security cameras on November 25 attempting to ignite a blaze outside of Ariel.
The Shin Bet said that the suspects are accused of committing arson with nationalistic motives.
The cases have been transferred from the Shin Bet to the IDF’s Military Advocate General, where the three are expected to stand trial.
The arrests of the men came at the tail end of a series of fires that ravaged Israel between November 18 and November 26, many of which are believed to have been deliberately set.
According to Fire Services front man Yoram Levy, there were over 2,000 brush fires during this period, with 39 of them considered to be major. Fifty of the fires are currently being investigated as potential arson attacks.
In all, at least 35 people have been arrested in connection with the fires but almost all of them have since been released.
[RUDAW.NET] Thousands of Muslims in the Indian region of Kashmir reacted emotionally as the custodian of a shrine displayed what is believed to be a hair from the beard of Prophet Mohammed.
They have gathered to pray and mark the birth of the prophet on Friday. Real news, not fake.
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#1
But remember, Muslims aren't allowed to have depictions or images or anything else that might amount to *idolatry*. *eye roll*
[Deutsche Welle] Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Friday announced the 100-bolivar note will remain in use until January 2 after pulling the bank note prompted protests and looting across the country.
Maduro said the decision to extend the use of Venezuela's most widely used note came after a "sabotage" campaign from unnamed enemies abroad blocked the arrival of new higher-valued note.
"One plane, contracted and paid for by Venezuela, was told in flight to change direction and go to another country," he said, speaking from the presidential palace. "There's another which was not given flyover permission."
The president's decision on Thursday to pull the 100-bolivar note - worth approximately $0.03 (0.03 euros) - caused chaos across the country, sparking social unrest in at least six cities on Friday.
According to an opposition lawmaker, up to three people were killed during the protests and looting. Authorities arrested at least 32 people in connection with the unrest.
Opposition leader Julio Borges criticized Maduro's decision to pull the bank note, saying it caused needless further suffering for Venezuelans already dealing with an economic recession in a country with the world's highest inflation rate.
"We have a government utterly stupid and destructive in economic managements, whose only goal is to keep power at whatever price," said Borges.
The government also extended the closure of its border with Brazil and Colombia to block "mafias" that hoard Venezuela's currency. However, critics mocked the idea that criminal organizations would keep their wealth in the world's fastest-devaluing currency.
[RUDAW.NET] ISIS has offered a $1 million reward for whoever kills a Kurdish woman who fought the group in Syria and the Kurdistan Region.
Joanna Palan, 21, is originally from Iranian Kurdistan and now carries Danish citizenship.
She returned the Middle East to join Kurdish forces in their fight against ISIS in Syria and the Kurdistan Region.
But this is illegal under Danish law and she was arrested on her return to Denmark. She is now facing a potential prison term as well as losing her Danish citizenship.
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Updated to include revised Ukrainian armor vehicle losses By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Between six and ten Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 20 were wounded Sunday afternoon in an attack in northern Donetsk and Lugansk, according to Russian and Ukrainian language news sources.
According to a report by novorosinform.org, elements of the Ukrainian 54th Rifle Brigade attacked at around 1300 hrs at three points south of the Svetodarsk arc. Among the towns attacked were Logvinovka and Kalinovka.
Kalinovka is northeast of Debaltstevo about six kilometers. Logvinovka sits astride the only major road between Debaltsevo and the regional city of Bakhmut, formerly known as Artemovsk, which serves as a logistical and command hub for Ukrainian forces in the region.
The losses by the Ukrainians were said to be 10 dead, according to Russian accounts. Those casualties and the approximate location of the fighting were confirmed in the Censor.net.ua, by way of a volunteer reporting from his Facebook page, Yuri Mysyagin.
In that report, Mysyagin said six were killed.
According to the Russian account, the Ukrainian also lost three BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles in the exchange.
Serial reports on the fighting through the official Lugansk government website originally claimed 30 Ukrainian troops were killed, but later revised those casualty tolls. A subsequent report said that the Ukrainian commanders who ordered the attacks were drunk.
According to the Russian accounts, fighting continues in the area.
The weather in southern Ukraine has been bitterly cold. Lows expected for Monday are about 30 degrees F.
Late reports by rebel media suggested that Ukrainian forces launched an offensive across a relatively wide front of 16 kilometers, hitting rebel strongpoints in Kalinovka to the east, Lozovoye to the west and Logvinovka in the center.
Rebel media say that Debaltsevo is the prize, because rebel forces in both Donetsk and Lugansk regard it as a critical road/rail hub. Debaltsevo was captured by rebel forces in late winter of 2014-2015 after a bloody campaign that cost Ukrainian forces more than 3,500 troops.
The rebels have never released casualty numbers for their side in the Debaltsevo campaign, but reports at the time suggested they were very heavy as well.
Ukrainian forces attempted a similar attack early last summer with much the same results. According to the report, Ukrainian forces, including the Ukrainian 54th and 58th Separate Rifle Brigades, struck rebel lines with a reinforced rifle company against dug in rebel positions at Logvinovka, Lozovoye and Kalinovka.
At the time it was thought by rebel military journalists that Logvinovka could be used to site artillery observers who could then peer into Debaltsevo.
You can read about last summer's fighting in the area here.
[The Grauniad] The White House is struggling to prevent a crippling exodus of foreign policy staffers eager to leave before the arrival of the Trump administration, according to current and former officials. 'Crippling foreign policies result in 'crippling exodus.' Seems only appropriate. Prevent their departure? We should help them pack...
The top level officials in the National Security Council (NSC) are political appointees who have to submit resignations and leave in a normal transition. The rest of the 400 NSC staff are career civil servants on secondment from other departments. An unusual number of these more junior officials are now looking to depart. Finding 'real' employment will be very difficult. Your former boss has seen to that.
Many are concerned by a proliferation of reports about the incoming national security adviser, Michael Flynn. On Wednesday the Washington Post reported that Flynn had improperly shared classified information with foreign military officers. On the same day, CNN reported that the former DIA chief had this week deleted a tweet he had sent out a few days before the election that linked to a fake news story suggesting Hillary Clinton took part in crimes against children.
“Career people are looking get out and go back to their agencies and pressure is being put on them to get them to stay. There is concern there will be a half-empty NSC by the time the new administration arrives, which no one wants,” said one official.
The official added that the “landing team” sent to the NSC – Trump representatives who are supposed to prepare for the handover to Trump appointees – have been focused on issues of process, how the office functions, rather than issues of substance involving an explanation of current national security threats and the state of the world the new administration will inherit.
The Trump transition team in New York did not respond to a request for comment. The current NSC spokesman, Ned Price said in an email: “The administration has undertaken its national security transition planning with the utmost rigour and seriousness in order to effect the most seamless and responsible transition.” Say Ned, don't forget that non-flowering Bagonya and photograph of your mother.
It is not clear how many of the incoming team have taken up the offer of personal briefings. Flynn himself has been meeting a steady flow of foreign diplomats in New York in recent days. He met the UK national security adviser, Mark Lyall Grant, over the weekend, and French president’s diplomatic adviser, Jacques Audibert, a few days earlier. It is unclear how much contact there is between the embryonic policy teams in New York and the landing teams in Washington, however.
Julianne Smith, a former deputy national security adviser to vice-president Joe Biden, now director of strategy and statecraft at the Center for a New American Security, added: “Many of them are starting to look at other options, some of the younger people are looking to switch careers, return to graduate school, try and go abroad. I have seen and met with a lot of these people and there does seem to be an unusual level of worry and concern and fear.” 'Worry, concern and fear?' After eight years of failure, I should hope so
It could be hard for NSC staffers “detailed” (seconded) from other departments to return to their former positions ahead of schedule. That would require the agreement of their managers and could harm long-term career prospects. Those that do leave however, will leave vacancies that are hard to fill. Their replacements would have to be drawn from career civil servants at other agencies, as the White House does not have the budget to fund the posts if they are filled by political appointees. As a result the process of filling the empty posts could take months. Ultimately, Republicans want to reduce the NSC to 200 staff, but it would have to be restructured if it is to be cut in half. The departures actually assist the Republican staff reduction goal. so there is no downside.
“An understaffed White House is one potential risk right now and another is having a team that hasn’t had the substantive briefing they need from the current team for the hand off,” Smith said. Actually, they should be prohibited from speaking to incoming staff personnel.
Reports from the state department suggest most of its staff are taking a wait-and-see to the prospect of having the ExxonMobil oil executive, Rex Tillerson, at the helm. On Thursday, most of the Democrats on the House foreign affairs committee wrote to the current secretary of state, John Kerry, offering his staff protection against a “witch-hunt” by the new administration against civil servants who worked on Obama policies Trump wants to reverse. The letter was sent after the energy department refused to hand over to the Trump transition team a list of names of staffers who had worked on climate change.
#7
As much as an eight year gap in their CV. Very difficult to explain. Perhaps some generic gov't assignment which cannot be discussed. Be creative for once you vile lizards, but be GONE !
Who the hell says, "Oh, the Levant is lovely this time of year. Let's go for a visit!"
[Dhaka Tribune] Gunmen killed seven people including a Canadian tourist and coppers Sunday in a city in southern Jordan where security forces were hunting down the unidentified attackers.
The shootings took place in Karak, a tourist destination known for one of the biggest Crusader castles in the region, around 120 kilometres south of the capital Amman.
Jordan’s general security department said four coppers, a female Canadian tourist and two Jordanian non-combatants were killed in a series of shootings. Several others were reported maimed.
The first attack took place when a police patrol went to check on a fire that broke out in a house in Karak, the department said.
"As soon as they reached the area, unknown gunnies who were inside the house opened fire on the patrol, wounding a policeman, and then fled by car," it said in a statement carried by the official Petra news agency.
"Shortly afterwards, gunnies opened fire on another patrol without causing any casualties," it added.
Additional information from Al Jazeera:
A senior security source said some people were trapped in a lower floor of the citadel when the assailants took shelter there, but denied media reports that they were being held hostage.
"There are no hostages. But some people who were on a lower floor were afraid of leaving as the gunmen traded fire with the security forces," said the source who did not wish to be identified. He said that the fighters were on a higher level inside the fortress.
The Jordan Tourism Board described the Karak citadel, which dates back to the 12th century and has withstood many sieges, as a "maze of stone-vaulted halls and endless passageways".
The general security department statement said "five or six gunmen" were thought to have been involved in the shootings.
However, Hani al-Mulki, Jordan's prime minister, who was addressing parliament at the time of the shootings, said that "special forces and policemen are surrounding 10 gunmen holed up inside the Karak citadel".
It was not immediately clear who was behind the shootings.
Witnesses posted purported amateur videos and images of the incidents on social media.
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[RUDAW.NET] Twenty-five green buses which have now become a symbol for the evacuation process in Syria entered the rebel-held eastern Aleppo to evacuate thousands of the remaining fighters and their families on Sunday.
The evacuation is expected to resume after the rebel groups agreed to allow simultaneous evacuation of the injured and "humanitarian cases" from two government-held villages they currently besiege.
The number of the buses is expected to reach as many as 100, the official SANA news agency reported on Sunday.
The Syrian regime and the rebels, and their international backers, mainly Russia, Iran, and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , were negotiating the terms of the new agreement for much of Friday and Saturday with the talks mainly focusing on the fate of the pro-regime Shiite villages of Foua and Kefraya, encircled by the armed opposition.
The new deal is also expected to allow a limited evacuation of people from these two villages.
Syrian state TV reported that five buses have also entered the two villages.
2,500 people from the two villages will be evacuated in return for the evacuation of the rebel fighters and their families in Aleppo, Idlib governor told al-Manar, a satellite channel for the Lebanese Hezbollah militia fighting in the country in support of the Assad regime.
The governor added that another 1,500 people will be evacuated in a second stage from these two villages in return for the evacuation of 1,500 people in Madaya, a rebel-held town close to the capital Damascus.
Some 10,000 people were evacuated in several trips on Thursday and early Friday, the International Committee of the Red Thingy stated on Saturday, which, along with its Syrian counterpart, are facilitating the evacuation. But the evacuation was put on hold midday on Friday, with both sides accusing each other of violating the terms.
One bigwig from the powerful Ahrar al-Sham ...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014... rebel group told AFP news agency on Saturday that they are working on simultaneous evacuations in Aleppo and two other places in Syria.
"There will be evacuations from Foua and Kefraya, as well as Madaya and Zabadani, and all the residents of Aleppo and the fighters will leave."
Al-Manar, a satellite channel for the Lebanese Hezbollah militia fighting in the country in support of the Assad regime, claimed that designated buses for the evacuation of "the humanitarian cases" were being prepared to enter the two villages of Foua and Kefraya Saturday night.
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#1
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going!"
[ARA News] Hasakah – At least four civilians lost their lives and nine more were seriously injured on Sunday when a landmine exploded near a residential building. The landmine was one of thousands which were laid by Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah Governorate.
“A landmine exploded in Aliya District, southwest of Hasakah, causing the death of four people,” human rights activist Wael al-Muhssin told ARA News.
“Nine others were wounded in the explosion. They were transferred immediately to the Hasakah National Hospital for treatment,” the source reported.
Eyewitnesses said that the explosion caused destruction to civilians’ houses.
“The mine, that had been planted by ISIS in front of a residential building, exploded when a motorcycle was passing by in the evening on Sunday,” a spokesman for the Kurdish Asayish Police told ARA News.
The Aliya District and other parts of southern Hasakah were liberated by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) last February. While the jihadists are gone, their traps continue to pose a daily threat to civilians.
In most countries, the manufacture and use of landmines and similar indiscriminate weapons is illegal under the provisions of the UN’s Ottawa Treaty. In June 2014, Northern Syria – Rojava (NSR) banned the use of antipersonnel landmines.
Similar detonations have been reported in Kobane and Manbij, resulting in dozens of civilian fatalities. Abdulrahman Hemo, the head of the Kobane reconstruction board, told ARA News that “50% of the civilian death toll in Kobane has been caused by explosives laid in the ground.”
The Islamic State has been on the back foot for months, losing hundreds of villages and towns in northern Syria. As the jihadists withdraw they are planting landmines, near communities and along public roads.
Unmarked explosive devices have killed dozens of people in Hasakah Governorate, especially in the countryside where civilians are often unaware of the danger. The landmines also hamper resettlement efforts and preclude crop cultivation.
Responding to the challenge, Northern Syria – Rojava established the Roj Organization to demine Hasakah Governorate. The organization was established five months ago, with a modest budget and a staff of Kurdish volunteers. Their work is exceptionally dangerous.
Muhammad al-Himas, a member of the Roj Organization, told ARA News that his colleagues have been “encountering mounting difficulties while trying to dismantle the explosives.”
“Operating with such modest equipment affects the progress of our work,” al-Himas said. “We haven’t received any support from the international community.”
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Egypt’s navy seized an Iranian boat on Saturday that was carrying drugs on the Red Sea, attempting to smuggle the narcotics into the country, Kuwait News Agency reported.
During inspection, Egyptian authorities found 171 kilograms of drugs, a number of cellular mobiles, as well as US, Iranian and Pak currencies.
All seven crewmen ‐ whose nationalities were not revealed ‐ were jugged Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! and await legal action against them.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said at a joint presser with US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... , that any agreement in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... must be based on the Gulf initiative and the decision of the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Jubeir added that 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... calls for the world to take tough action to stop Iran’s interventions in the region.
Kerry announced that ISIS is on its way to defeat.
The Secretary of State said the US condemns the terrorist attacks, that took place in the Yemeni city of Aden on Sunday.
He added that the world must end the war in Yemen in a way that will protect the security of Saudi Arabia, urging all Yemeni parties to return to the negotiating table.
From his part, Kerry stressed that, like Saudi Arabia, his country rejects Iranian interference in Yemen.
Prior to the conference, 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.... received Kerry whose trip, come ahead of the inauguration of Republican 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... Kerry held as well meetings with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and other royalty in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
"In turbulent times, it’s good to have solid friends," Kerry told journalists Sunday night.
"That’s why the United States’ partnership with Saudi Arabia is rightly so valuable."
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] At least seven people were killed and eight maimed when a jacket wallah targeted forces loyal to Libya’s eastern government in Benghazi on Sunday, medical and security officials said.
ISIS said it carried out the bombing, in the besieged district of Ganfouda. The area is one of the last pockets of resistance holding out against the Libyan National Army (LNA), a self-styled force loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... Haftar has been waging a military campaign in Benghazi for more than two years against Islamists and other opponents. The fighting is part of a broader, low-intensity conflict in Libya, which splintered into multiple political and armed factions after the uprising that toppled Muammar Qadaffy ...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland and was then murdered by his indignant subjects 42 years later... in 2011.
This year the LNA has made major gains in Benghazi, though fighting and attacks have continued in parts of the city.
All those killed in Sunday’s bombing were from the LNA, a medical source from Benghazi’s main hospital said.
The attack came after the latest advance on Saturday by the LNA, which said following heavy festivities that it had taken control of buildings along the seafront west of Ganfouda, encircling its opponents.
At least three LNA troops were killed in Saturday’s fighting, security and medical officials said. An LNA front man, Ahmed al-Masmari, said 13 fighters from "terrorist groups" had also been killed.
Recently there have been efforts to evacuate civilians trapped by the fighting in Ganfouda but only small numbers of women and kiddies and foreign workers have left the area. Masmari said on Sunday that about 120 families remained inside Ganfouda.
Those fighting the LNA in Benghazi include the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shura Council (BRSC), a coalition of Islamists and self-proclaimed revolutionaries, as well as Lions of Islam loyal to ISIS.
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[IsraelTimes] Gazoo’s terrorist rulers are still providing Sinai Province group with weapons and medical aid, despite a supposed thaw in their relations with Cairo.
Despite an apparent thaw in relations between Egypt and Gazoo and the expected opening of the Rafah Border Crossing in the coming week, Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", is still allowing the transfer of injured 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.... fighters to the Gazoo Strip, while also ignoring the smuggling of weapons to the Sinai Peninsula destined for the murderous Moslem organization’s local branch, according to Arab sources.
Continued on Page 49
[AmericanThinker] Decades ago while in high school I read John Dos Passos’s USA. It was published in the 1930s before television or cable news. But it presaged well the strange mixture of important and ridiculous news we receive today. News today is largely fashioned into narratives by mostly young, unworldly reporters and biased news editors, repeated on TV by well-coiffed, fashionably garbed and cosmetically buffed up news readers, jazzed up by often highly biased photo editors and presented on a plate to passive consumers.
When I read USA, my hometown had -- like most larger cities -- two major newspapers, one liberal, the other conservative, and like most homes we got both and read both so we had a fairer picture of what was happening in the world. The reporters were often grizzled veterans of the world who drank hard, smoked a lot, and believed no one or nothing without evidence.
With the advent of television and the monopolization of print markets it seems to me we lost the ability to forensically analyze the news; we have become passive consumers and got what we deserved -- propaganda, largely megaphoning the increasingly leftward tilt of the Democratic Party and various “nonprofit” organizations who promote scare stories about food, health, and the weather and challenge wars only when a Republican is in office. To be sure, there are some fine people (operating largely online) who take the time to read the accounts with a critical eye. Among the best are James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal, bloggers Don Surber, Glenn Reynolds, Sheryl Attkisson, and Tom Maguire. If you read them daily you may reacquire this lost, but important art.
This week the clash between fake and real news became even more obvious.
Sharyl Attkisson who has sued the Department of Justice and the U.S. Postal Service for matters relating to intrusions on her computer and who is known for her outstanding reportage, took aim this week at the Obama-Clinton suggestion that Clinton lost because of fake news reports. Obama called “fake news” a “dust cloud of nonsense” and Clinton dubbed it “an epidemic”. Much more at the link
#1
In Germany and I suppose in other countries news is currently going the same way as here. Contrary opinion is fake news to the established order of things. Fake News.
Then this; Heiko Maas wants to up to five years in prison for "fake news"? the end of the German Journalists Association (Djv) is coming
Heiko Maas has justice courts calls against fake news in social networks. Should, therefore, the entire image-editing now spend behind bars.
The Spirit of the "Guardianship and Regency Government" - a slogan of the gdr-Civil Rights Movement of 1989-seems to be back. It also fits the recent announcement by the minister for internal affairs Boris Pisto Rius, you'll need in Germany for journalists a new " Official Press Card ", the authorities can guarantee you a professional rapporteur ' years ago ".
The New Id should " by recognised bodies.
It is, that's for sure, and in order. The established want themselves, without interference from other, decide what truth is and who is a journalist. Since they apparently even in this increasingly use of propaganda to further their credibility is waning, which, in turn, increased the pressure of public opinion "under control". There is a vicious circle, a delusional, ghostly staging in whose current act the chief propagandist themselves become fighters for the pure truth.
The audience for this performance is hardly a standing ovation.
A brief look at recent history shows why the worry more than is justified. For example, in 1990, there were almost all newspapers and television stations that Iraqi soldiers in occupied kuwait infants from incubators and cracks on the cold floor die miserably. The news hit, the "International Community" was outraged and George Bush could his long-planned invasion of Iraq started.
What followed was the first Iraq war, sanctions, and around 1.500.000 deaths. It turned out later that the story was a perfect lie the PR Agency Hill & Knowlton on behalf of the Kuwaiti government in exile. A hoax or "fake news", as you can today, so to speak.
Almost ten years later, in April 1999, the German media also showed how far-reaching "fake news" Mingle. In Kosovo, the serbs pursued a " Horseshoe plan "; kosovars in catacombs were rounded up, humanity needs now is a " second " Prevent Auschwitz. Also in the news ran these stories, as in a mirror and all other so "serious" quality media. The Germans believed the stories that were outraged and the red-Green Government could the people on the first German aggression. Since 1945 The truth of these stories? It was lies, "fake news", about 13.000 victims.
That "fake news" are of paramount body, proved us secretary of state Colin Powell on 5. February 2003 in front of the un security council. Would faktenreich - today it looks more like "post" - in fact he presented evidence from which clearly showed that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. And since the source yes beyond any doubt, showed the media worldwide Powell's Powerpoint slides and bush jr., Blair and their ' Coalition of the willing ' to back for the second Iraq war. Weapons of mass destruction were found, Powell's " evidence " were forgeries, the reports of " fake news ".
Sources:
Justice Minister calls for tough action against "fake news"
http://de.reuters.com/article/deutschland-internet-fake-news-idDEKBN1470DO
Part Commentary from the " fake news "- hysteria and the new " Guardian scientific state ". by Paul Schreyer
http://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=36055
Fake news? It's an old hat
http://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=36218
#Fakenews #post in fact
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#2
The reporters were often grizzled veterans of the world who drank hard, smoked a lot, and believed no one or nothing without evidence.
That was the old Master-Journeyman-Apprentice trade times, before academics got into the act and the money flow to 'certify' the process with a piece of paper and indoctrinate along the way. See - Academic-Technological Complex
[ARA News] Kobane – Turkey’s military targeted a headquarters of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) near the city of Kobane in northern Syria, military sources reported on Sunday.
“The Turkish artillery bombed the YPG-held village of Tel Shaeer in Kobe’s western countryside, targeting a YPG security centre,” YPG officer Salih Watti told ARA News.
The attack, which took place in the evening on Sunday, only caused material damage. No casualties were reported.
Continued on Page 49
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[IsraelTimes] Army and border police pelted with rocks in village near Ramallah; one Israeli officer injured.
A Paleostinian teenager was rubbed out early Sunday during festivities with Israeli security forces in the West Bank.
An army front man said the incident occurred in the village of Beit Rima, near Ramallah, after Israeli security services were confronted by Paleostinian youths rioting and throwing rocks.
One border police officer was injured by the rock-throwing.
The army front man said that security forces used riot dispersal means in order to quell the festivities and fired toward the main instigators.
The Paleostinian Health Ministry said that Ahmed Hazem al-Rimawy, 19, was killed in the ensuing fire.
Paleostinian media reports said the teenager was the son of Hazem Atta al-Rimawy, who had spent 15 years in Israeli jail and was released three months ago.
The army said it was looking into reports that another Paleostinian was injured during the riots.
According to reports in the Hebrew-language media, al-Rimawy was shot in the chest. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He's dead, Jim!
#3
Seems like there should be laws against suborning or intimidating electors.
There are 57 50 states. I'd bet that at least one of them classify electors as public officials engaged in official duties and can meet the requirement for suborning. Motor mouth engaged his tongue before his brain.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
12/19/2016 9:57
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#6
Arrange the vote so that a maximum number of electors can vote 'present' while still getting Trump elected president. Take Moore's money and donate it to the RNC.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/19/2016 13:04
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#8
Electoral College
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/19/2016 13:05
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#9
Whether or not the founding fathers of Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and Hamilton thought of it at the time, the Electoral College trumps voter fraud.
Doing away with the Electoral College incentivizes voter fraud. There was obviously massive voter fraud with huge numbers of illegals voting or being voted in favor of Clinton. Committing massive fraud in one state could tip an election.
Because of the Electoral College, the voter fraud in a few Democratic strangle hold states could not undo the fair voting the rest of the country.
For that reason, the Electoral College must be kept. And the Democrats and their machine politics of fraud know it.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi joint security forces attacked on Sunday Islamic State locations at al-Wahda district in eastern Mosul, a special operations officer said.
Anadolu Agency quoted Brig. Gen. Taher al-Sammak, SWAT forces, as saying that a force from the 9th division, assisted by another from the army’s elite Counter Terrorism Service, carried out offensives on al-Wahda district, under an aerial cover from US-led coalition fighter jets.
He said progress remains slow, however, as IS militants continue to fiercely fight back relying on snipers and IEDs.
“The purpose behind that operation is to regain control over al-Salam hospital and move onwards to the district’s center,” he stated, referring to the strategic IS-held facility which Iraqi forces had to withdraw and where they lost many personnel under intense attacks from IS almost ten days ago.
Sammak pointed out that three soldiers were wounded in Sunday’s operations, but said the number of casualties among militants remains unknown.
Meanwhile, IS media agency Amaq reported that 4 Iraqi soldiers died in an attack by the group on security locations at the outskirts of al-Intissar district, also in eastern Mosul.
In western Mosul, al-Hashd al-Shaabi troops’ media service said Sunday that two IS fighters were killed in an attack on an al-Hashd location at Hammoud Abdulaziz village.
Ground operations almost halted over the past three days due to bad weather conditions. The Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said Saturday there was no progress on the operational level except for combing of areas liberated from IS.
Iraqi government forces, backed by US-led fighter jets and popular militias, have been carrying out a major campaign since mid October to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and the last IS stronghold in the country.
Iraqi generals have said they became in control over 40 districts out of 56 in the east, promising to totally liberate that region in the near future. IS remains in control over several areas in the west near the borders with Syria, but popular militias fighting on the government’s side say supply routes from Syria have become under their control.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Saturday IS insurgency cost his country losses worth US$35 billion.
Posted by: badanov ||
12/19/2016
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A jacket wallah killed at least 49 soldiers in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden on Sunday, officials there said, which the ISIS group's Yemen-based affiliate grabbed credit for.
The officials said the soldiers were queuing to collect salaries near a military base in the Khor Maksar district when the attacker went kaboom!.
Abdel-Nasr al-Wali, a Health Ministry official based in Aden, told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that 84 people were maimed in the blast.
The attacker immersed himself among the soldiers at al-Solban base, in al-Arish district, a military official said.
The ISIS affliate grabbed credit for the attack in a statement posted on ISIS-run Aamaq news agency. It identified the bomber as Abu Hashim al-Radfani and published a photo of him smiling and wearing a white vest as he stood next to the group's black flag. It also posted photos it said were of the blast that killed nearly 70. It was not possible to immediately verify the claim.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/19/2016
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[Libya Herald] The terrorist enclave in Benghazi’s Ganfouda district is reported to have shrunk to a few blocks as the Libyan National Army claims continued progress. But today’s advance cost the lives of three more soldiers and a number of maimed including another army commander.
However, some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go... at least five hard boyz were said to have been killed, including Marwan al-Fezani, a former 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... commander from the city’s Leithi district who subsequently joined IS. Another bad boy, Akreem al-Gabali, described as a IS policeman, was captured by troops when he was hiding in a water tower.
The army dead were from the 309 Tobruk Brigade and the injured officer was Marine infantry commander Faiez al-Saal.
Troops have been delayed by booby traps, some of them inter-linked. Such devices were found in some number two months ago on the Garayunis campus of Benghazi University. It was for this reason that sources said it was not possible to retrieve the body of a member of 210 Brigade for three days because of a second unwent kaboom! booby trap close by.
In the last 48 hours the LNA has found vehicles hidden in buildings which were abandoned by the terrorists. Some of them were armoured and one bore the sign "Islamic Police". Troops also discovered more stores of food, which may have been looted from the Customs compound. One army source said that either the hard boyz had been hoarding foodstuffs for themselves or reports of starvation among those trapped within the Ganfouda enclave were inaccurate. There has been no official statement today about any more civilians fleeing terrorist positions.
Meanwhile, ...back at the saloon, Butch got the bill for the damage caused by the fist fight, the mirror broken in the shootout, and drinks for everyone...... there are unconfirmed reports that a Paleostinian alleged to have been an IS photographer has died in jug at Granda prison, 25 kilometres east of Beida. It is claimed that Rami Youssef was detained by LNA forces at Labraq airport. He is supposed to have been based in Derna where he was recording executions. It is not clear when he was locked away Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! nor how he died.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/19/2016
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#1
This water smells like arse. Please have someone go inspect the tank.
[RUDAW.NET] More than five months after the city of Fallujah was liberated from ISIS, not one of its 350,000 residents has returned home. People are still living in the thousands of tents built in the dusty deserts surrounding the city.
Fallujah was the first Iraqi city to fall to ISIS. The Iraqi army and the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi regained control of the city in June, but life has not started to normalize in the city.
Fallujah is of strategic geographical importance due to its being only 60 kilometers away from Baghdad, the capital. It was here that ISIS first imposed its rule early in January 2014, 6 months prior to their invasion of djinn-infested Mosul
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/19/2016
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#1
Fallujah infrastructure and social fabric in ruins post-ISIS
Another trait they share in common with their socialist apologists.
#2
Fallujah was also known as the ’city of mosques,’ home to 220 mosques.
Militants took up positions in some of these mosques when the Iraqi army mounted an offensive to recapture the city; most of them were destroyed in the fighting.
I remember how much effort the Marines put into not damaging those mosques. It's good to see the Iraqis themselves show how all these "sacred places" should be treated.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
12/19/2016 12:06
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The Afghan National Army (ANA) is set to launch a large scale military operation in northern Afghanistan in a bid to eliminate the Taliban who are threatening security in what was once the safest region of the country.
The operation is aimed at eliminating insurgents in northern provinces, said general Mohmand Katawazai, the commander of 209 Shaheen Army Corps.
As part of their military offensives against insurgents in the north, the Afghan army on Sunday started maneuvers in Baghlan in preparation for their upcoming battles.
“As part of Operation Shafaq 2, we are now coordinating with governors, security commanders in the provinces and chiefs of the NDS (National Directorate of Security) to launch joint military operations against the Taliban in northern provinces,” said Katawazai.
“Military practices will help us to enter the battlefield with more potential and better experience,” said an ANA officer in the Baghlan military corp, Mohammad Omar.
“We are determined to defend the nation until the last drop of our blood; but for this we need the support of our people so that we win our battles,” said another officer, Sayed Hussain Hussaini.
Katawazai pledged to recapture Baghlan’s Dahana-e-Ghori district that fell to insurgents four months ago.
This comes as security continues to deteriorate in a number of now volatile areas in the country.
[RUDAW.NET] A Turkish citizen held in La Belle France and charged with the murder of three female members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) three years ago has died in a Gay Paree hospital
A French judicial source said Omer Guney died on Saturday as a result of brain illness, AFP reported.
"He was the only suspect sent for trial, scheduled to start next month, on charges of "murder in relation to a terrorist enterprise" over the killings of the three women, including Sakine Cansiz." AFP wrote.
The bodies of Cansiz, Fidan Dogan, 28, and Leyla Soylemez, 24, were found by the French police inside a Kurdish information center in Gay Paree in January 2013.
"Guney denied involvement in the killings, though Sherlocks said they had surveillance footage of him entering the scene of the crime and one of the victim's DNA was allegedly found on his coat." according to AFP.
The Turkish government and its intelligence service MIT denied any involvement in the triple murders, but "French Sherlocks had concluded that members of the Turkish national intelligence agency MIT were "implicated" in the triple murder, according to an informed source."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/19/2016
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#1
Poor bugger. We tried pain killers, but within minutes of administering, he had flushing, itchy rashes, a blocked and runny nose and severe difficulty breathing quite similar to asthma.
One hundred years ago today, the bloodiest year yet in Europe’s long history was coming to its painful conclusion. On December 17, 1916, the guns fell silent around Verdun, a wrecked fortress-city in northeastern France, for the first time in 10 months.
The catastrophe had commenced on February 21, when German forces launched what was supposed to be a limited offensive around Verdun. The Western Front had grown static by the end of 1914, when the quick, decisive victories that all Europe’s armies anticipated would occur failed to materialize. Unable to achieve breakthroughs, soldiers on all sides dug in to avoid shells and machine gun fire. Soon the opposing trenches ran from the Swiss frontier all the way to the English Channel.
The big missed story for 1916 is the Brusilov offensive, Imperial Russia’s last great success on the battlefield. Named after Aleksei Brusilov, the tsar’s best general and the architect of the victory, it began on June 4—the “glorious fourth of June” in Russian telling.
German help saved Austria-Hungary and its defeated army in Galicia in the summer of 1916, and soon Brusilov’s battlefield triumph devolved into the familiar pattern of offensives begetting counteroffensives, producing nothing but mountains of corpses. By the time the brutal slugfest petered out in late September, the Austrians had lost almost a million men, including more than 400,000 taken prisoner. Brusilov had nearly knocked Vienna out of the war, having taken considerable ground in east Galicia, but not quite.
Moreover, Russia’s losses in the end were as great as Austria-Hungary’s, and morale at home began to suffer as hopes of winning the war gave way to horrific casualties. Brusilov’s victory would be Imperial Russia’s last. Less than five months after the offensive ended, Tsar Nicholas II was deposed, beginning that country’s decades-long nightmare of revolution, civil war and Communist mass repression that would make the bloodbath in Galicia seem small.
France triumphed at Verdun, in a sense, but the cost of that victory dogged the country for decades to come. In 1917, the French army mutinied rather than endure another such victory. The Germans indeed did not pass at Verdun, but the bloodbath required to halt them left France shell-shocked. The less-than-stellar performance of the French military in spring 1940, when the Germans invaded again, this time successfully, can be attributed in no small part to the lingering effects of Verdun.
The British, too, took from the Somme that they must never do it again. The horrific cost—above all the futile July 1 bloodbath—reverberates in Britain today. The 100th anniversary of the offensive’s start was commemorated this summer with sorrow and regret. It says something important that virtually all Britons have heard of the Somme but probably not one in a hundred knows anything about the Hundred Days of 1918, when Haig finally broke the back of the German army in the greatest victories in the long history of British arms, thereby winning the war.
One hundred years ago, Europe was busy killing itself and its civilization. In truth, that self-confident continent never recovered from 1916, when all participants in the Great War became fully committed to final victory—or defeat—so great was the cost of that terrible year. Such unprecedented horror created the world we are still living in today, with lingering consequences great and small.
#1
Maybe if we had taken Jefferson's approach embargo all trade with the lot but offered the offices for negotiation would have been the better choice than getting dragged into the never ending morass so many of our ancestors came here to escape.
[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: In its report on the Aug 8 krazed killer attack on the Civil Hospital, Quetta, the Justice Qazi Faez Isa inquiry commission has underlined the need to make the country’s premier intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence ...the Pak military intelligence agency that controls the military -- heads of ISI typically get promoted into the Chief of Army Staff position. It serves as a general command center for favored turban groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, tries to influence the politix of neighboring countries, and carries out a (usually) low-level war against India in Kashmir... (ISI), accessible to the public.
Even the people wishing to convey information to the spy agency about suspicious activities have no means to contact it, according to the report.
The commission asked them about any mosque or madressah having direct or indirect links with the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami or any other organisation banned under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
The commission received responses from all the wifaqs stating that a total of 26,465 seminaries were affiliated to them. They said they were committed against the spread of hatred and extremism and stated that if any madressah affiliated to them indulged in wrongdoing they would proceed against those running it.
The 110-page report has pointed out that the ISI neither has a website nor an email account. When the commission checked whether the spy agencies of other countries too were inaccessible, it found out that almost all the important agencies had made their contact details, like telephone numbers and email addresses, public.
The Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Intelligence and the National Security Agency of the United States have all provided their contact particulars on their publicly reachable websites.
The Military Intelligence Section 5, Secret Intelligence Service, National Counter Terrorism Security Office and the Counter Terrorism Command of the United Kingdom have also provided their contact particulars on their websites, according to the report.
The commission said that it wrote letters to the government functionaries, seeking information and answers to certain questions. Subsequently, responses were received from the Establishment Division, Finance Division, ministries of interior, religious affairs, states and frontier regions, Federal Investigation Agency, ISI, National Counter Terrorism Authority and office of the National Security Adviser. But none of the responses was on a letterhead. All of them were on plain pieces of paper which didn’t mention any address, email account or even a post office box number.
The responses from the governments of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... , Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... , Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... and Sindh followed the same pattern.
The report said the commission, which was constituted by the Supreme Court, faced considerable difficulty in ascertaining the whereabouts of the ministries, government departments and agencies. One could only sympathise with the poor citizens who might have to interact with these organizations.
"If such nebulousness serves a purpose it could only be to remain aloof and unapproachable and therefore unquestionable and unaccountable," the commission regretted.
The commission also expressed surprise over the role of the Frontier Corps ...a provincial paramilitary force. Total manpower is about 80,000. They are tasked to help local law enforcement in the maintenance of law and order, and to carry out border patrol and a..the Antwerp-based Salafist organization that had campaigned to introduce Sharia law to Belgium before single-handedly making Belgium the highest per capita supplier of jihadis to Syria in Europe. There was a big trial in Antwerp in 2015, but most of those convicted were in absentia...nti-smuggling operations.... (FC) and said it was not clear exactly what its role in Balochistan was and whether it had policing powers.
The report also cited the "confused response" at the highest level, as the chief secretary and commandant of the Ghazaband Scouts of FC said the FC had policing powers whereas the federal interior secretary stated that no such powers had been given to the corps.
Referring to the education boards of seminaries (wifaqs), the commission said it wrote letters to five of them -- namely Wifaq-ul-Madaris-al-Salfia, Wifaq-ul-Madaris-al-Arabia, Wifaq-ul-Madaris-al-Shia Pakistain, Tanzeem-ul-Madaris Pakistain and Rabita-ul-Madaris-al-Islamia -- and their association Ittehad Tanzeem Madaris.
The commission asked them about any mosque or madressah having direct or indirect links with the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ... , Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami or any other organization banned under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
The commission received responses from all the wifaqs stating that a total of 26,465 seminaries were affiliated to them. They said they were committed against the spread of hatred and extremism and stated that if any madressah affiliated to them indulged in wrongdoing they would proceed against those running it.
The Tanzeem-ul-Madaris Ahle Sunnat Pakistain, however, spoke of the difficulty in monitoring each madressah, and said the state was responsible for doing so.
Surprisingly, the ministry of religious affairs said the total number of registered seminaries stood at 11,852, adding that data from the Wifaq-ul-Madaris-al-Arabia was still awaited.
The commission regretted that the ministry did not possess even basic data about the seminaries nor did it appear to have the ability to obtain it. As per the information provided to the commission by the wifaqs, there were 26,465 seminaries in the country.
There is no central depository of the basic data, including the number of seminaries and their particulars, nor is the ministry, or any other authority in Pakistain, even now attempting to obtain and collate it, according to the report.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/19/2016
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[Libya Observer] Security forces loyal to Dignity Operation have apprehended Sheikh Ismaeil Shaban, the head of the committee of Tawergha IDPs camps in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... and the Tawergha municipality member in Saluq, western Benghazi.
Media sources from Benghazi said Shaban was jugged Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! when he was attending the funeral of his nephew in Saluq as a security force stormed into the site and took him from among the mourners to one of Haftar-led security buildings in the district.
The sources added that Dignity Operation militias accused Shaban of terrorism after they found a photo of him alongside the Libyan Mufti, al-Sadiq al-Gharyani, in his cell phone.
Sheikh Shaban is the preacher of the mosque at the Tawergha IDPs camp in Tripoli’s Airport Road and one prominent figure of the national reconciliation commissions as well as the Misrata-Tawrgha dialogue committees.
Dignity Operation forces are accustomed to arresting anyone suspected of opposing them or their leader, Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... , and they usually charge them with ready-made charges like sponsoring terrorism or belonging to Moslem Brüderbund Group so that they can throw them in one of their infamous jails like Garnada Prison, which was hellish for even pro-Haftar figures who later opposed him or his sons and followers.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/19/2016
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[Libya Observer] The front man for Bunyan Marsous ...(al-Bunyan al-Marsous, Solid Base) An operation carried out by Misratan forces loyal to the Libyan Goverenment of National Accord to dislodge ISIS forces from Sirte. 2,500 turbans were reported killed in the operation, which lasted from May through December.GNA's Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj officially announced the end of military operations on 18 December 2016... , Mohammed al-Ghasri, said the number of IS forces of Evil who were killed in the battle of liberating Sirte reached 2500, adding that investigation with the IS captives is still underway.
Al-Ghasri’s statement was made on Sunday in a joint presser with the Health Minister-designate of the UN-proposed government, Omar Bashir and the head of the medical team that was formed by al-Bunyan al-Marsoos operations chamber, Ahmed Haman.
Answering a question about the long time the forces took to declare the liberation of Sirte, al-Ghasri said Jiza neighborhood was the last hideout for the forces of Evil and all the commanders of the frontlines agreed to get the civilians out of it despite the criminality of some women who were disregardful of the fighter’s trust in them by blowing themselves up while being rescued.
"We have rescued more than 100 children and women and they are now at Misrata Central Hospital receiving medical care after being exhausted by war and hunger." He remarked.
He also called on the Ministry of Health and the relevant authorities to take care of the maimed so that they continue to send them for treatment abroad or pursue their treatment inside Libya, adding that they should take care also of the fighters who had their limbs amputated as well as the families of the killed fighters.
The journalist, Abdellateef Shanbira, said a group of al-Bunyan al-Marsoos forces carried out Saturday a combing through campaign included southern Sirte districts as well as a number of valleys and towns on the fringes of Sirte, saying it had busted some dubious trucks along with the drivers near al-Namous valley and another person who had a gun and ammunition on him. He added that the combing through campaign is still ongoing for the second day in a row in southern Sirte.
[Libya Observer] The Military Governor of Sirte, Brigadier Ahmed Abu Shahma, disclosed that he proposed the formation of a military force dubbed "Al-Bunyan al-Marsous Brigade" as per the plan laid for the security of Sirte main entrances and its suburbs.
In a TV statement on Friday, Abu Shahma said demining works are still ongoing in Sirte by the engineering units from Misrata, Zliten and Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... "We have allocated a cemetery for the bodies that are left in Sirte and the Red Islamic Thingy volunteers as well as the Crime Fight Department personnel have started to give a hand in this process.
Only when we finish demining in Sirte areas like Jiza neighborhood and other farms around the city as well as al-Ghribat, Sawawa and other pockets, we would declare the official liberation of the city." Remarked Brig. Abu Shahma.
He also called on the Sirte displaced families not to rush into coming back to their houses, pointing out that they should remain where they are now to avoid any inconvenience and to be safe so that the demining works end smoothly.
[Libya Herald] The UN has sent congratulations to the Bunyan Marsous Operations Room (BM) on its defeat of the so-called 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.... (IS) in Sirte but warned that the struggle against terrorism was not over.
"Libyans should remain vigilant in the face of terrorism," UN Special Envoy Martin Kobler said.
Fears by numerous officials in Libyan that many IS supporters managed to escape from Sirte and could regroup elsewhere.
"I call on Libyans to seize this opportunity to promote national reconciliation and push ahead with the implementation of the interim security arrangements," Kobler said. "This requires the integration and rehabilitation of fighters and weapons’ collection to give way to a professional security apparatus with a unified command."
Nonetheless, the victory in Sirte was "a major step forward in liberating Libya from terrorism, ending the days of the Islamic State controlling territory in the country," a statement from UNSMIL said.
"Defeating terrorism throughout Libya benefits all Libyans," stated Kobler, paying tribute to those Libyans who had died in the fight against IS.
"My sincere condolences to their families and I wish those injured a speedy recovery," he added.
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Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Fifteen Islamic State extremists were killed and wounded on Sunday after an attempted attack on federal police and popular troops, al-Hashd al-Shaabi, at a region between Salahuddin and Kirkuk.
The militants wounded two members of Imam al-Hussein brigade, a militia operating as part of al-Hashd al-Shaabi, after they attacked it at al-Fatha region on the borders of Salahuddin, according to Sabhan al-Jubouri, a senior al-Hashd leader in Kirkuk and chairman of Hawija council.
He said police and al-Hashd forces killed five militants and wounded ten others who fled away.
ISIS fighters have been in control over several regions in southwestern Kirkuk since the group proclaimed a self-styled ”Islamic Caliphate” in several Iraqi cities in 2014. Preparations are underway for a joint campaign by security and popular forces to retake those regions.
Posted by: badanov ||
12/19/2016
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Guardian] Several people have been killed and as many as 50 injured after a truck ploughed into a Christmas market in Berlin, according to local media reports.
[Mirror] Russia's ambassador to Turkey has been seriously wounded in an 'assassination attempt'.
[The Hill] Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) is accusing CIA Director John Brennan of leaking Russian hacking information to the press and is calling for an investigation into "the hit job" that King says Brennan is conducting against President-elect Donald Trump.
[Breitbart] Sunday on CNN’s "State of the Union," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said she wish she had not met on tarmac in Arizona during the 2106 presidential campaign with former President Bill Clinton.
Michel Aoun
Zsa Zsa Gabor, the curvy blonde actress known for her intriguing personal life, including nine marriages, her breathy accent and her habit of calling everyone "darling," died Sunday after reportedly suffering a heart attack. She was 99.
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi police announced, that a car bomb exploded, west of the city of Fallujah, Alsumaria News reported on Sunday.
[FOX] Saddam Hussein was an inept dictator during his final years in charge, thought 9/11 would bring Iraq and America closer together and took partial blame for his eventual fall from power after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, according to a new book by one of the men who interrogated the ex-Iraqi president.
[ALMASDARNEWS] On Saturday, more than 600 
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[RUDAW.NET] Thousands of Muslims in the Indian region of Kashmir reacted emotionally as the custodian of a shrine displayed what is believed to be a hair from the beard of Prophet Mohammed.
[RUDAW.NET] ISIS has offered a $1 million reward for whoever kills a Kurdish woman who fought the group in Syria and the Kurdistan Region.
[The Grauniad] The White House is struggling to prevent a crippling exodus of foreign policy staffers eager to leave before the arrival of the Trump administration, according to current and former officials.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] At least seven people were killed and eight 
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi joint security forces attacked on Sunday Islamic State locations at al-Wahda district in eastern Mosul, a special operations officer said.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A 
[Libya Herald] The terrorist enclave in Benghazi’s Ganfouda district is reported to have shrunk to a few blocks as the Libyan National Army claims continued progress. But today’s advance cost the lives of three more soldiers and a number of 
[RUDAW.NET] A Turkish citizen held in 
Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Fifteen Islamic State extremists were killed and wounded on Sunday after an attempted attack on federal police and popular troops, al-Hashd al-Shaabi, at a region between Salahuddin and Kirkuk.
