#2
Notice the guy with the Make America Great Again hat? The flipped the image so you wouldn't notice he was a trump supported. Check the sign in the background - it's reversed, too.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/31/2017 20:11
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In an unusual and hastily called briefing for reporters, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee said they would not attend the panel’s planned votes until they could ask more questions about Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., the Health nominee and Steve Mnuchin, Trump’s Treasury selection, who they said had misled Congress about their backgrounds.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said the men would hold positions "that directly affect peoples’ lives every day. The truth matters."...
Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, accused Democrats of "a lack of desire to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities."
"They ought to stop posturing and acting like idiots," he said. All they have left is posturing and being idiots. Their carefully structured power structures and graft machines are threatened and they will do anything, and I mean anything to keep them intact. Trump threatens all of that.
h/t Instapundit
After the election, Democrats could not explain the inexplicable defeat of Hillary Clinton, who would be, they thought, the shoo-in winner in November. Over the next three months until Inauguration Day, progressives floated a variety of explanations for the Trump win--none of them, though, mentioned that the Clinton campaign had proven uninspired, tactically inept, and never voiced a message designed to appeal to the working classes.
When a particular exegesis of defeat failed to catch on, it was mostly dropped--and then replaced by a new narrative. We were told that the Electoral College wrongly nullified the popular vote--and that electors had a duty to renege on their obligations to vote for their respective state’s presidential winner.
Then followed the narrative of Trump’s racist dog-whistle appeals to the white working classes. When it was reported that Barack Obama had received a greater percentage of the white votes than did either John Kerry in 2004 or Hillary Clinton in 2016, the complaint of white chauvinism too faded.
Then came the allegation that FBI Director James Comey had given the election to Trump by reopening the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails just days before Election Day. That fable too evaporated when it was acknowledged that Comey had earlier intervened to declare Clinton without culpability and would so again before November 8.
Then came the trope that Vladimir Putin’s hackers stole the election--on the theory that the Wikileaks revelations had turned off the electorate in a way the Clinton candidacy otherwise would not have. That storyline then evolved into the idea of Russian propagandists and Trump supporters variously peddling "fake news" to websites to promulgate myths and distortions--as a grand plan to Hillary Clinton and give Trump the election.
More specifically, it was alleged that Trump’s exaggerations and fabrications--from his allegations about Barack Obama’s birth certificate to rumor-mongering about Ted Cruz’s father--had so imperiled journalism that the media in general was forced to pronounce there was no longer a need to adhere to disinterested reporting in the traditional sense.
...Yet all politicians fib and distort the truth--and they’ve been doing so since the freewheeling days of the Athenian ekklesia. Trump’s various bombastic allegations and claims fall into the same realm of truthfulness as Obama’s statement "if you like your health plan, you can keep it"--and were thus similarly cross-examined by the media.
Yet fake news is something quite different. It is not merely a public figure’s spinning of half-truths. It is largely a media-driven, and deliberate attempt to spread a false narrative to advance a political agenda that otherwise would be rejected by a common-sense public. The methodology is to manufacture a narrative attractive to a herd-like progressive media that will then devour and brand it as fact--and even lobby for government redress.
...No one has described the methodology of fake news better than Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security advisor for Barack Obama and brother of the president of CBS News, David Rhodes. Ben Rhodes cynically bragged about how the Obama administration had sold the dubious Iran deal through misinformation picked up by an adolescent but sympathetic media (for which Rhodes had only contempt). As Rhodes put it, "The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns. That’s a sea change. They literally know nothing."
...In sum, fake news is journalism’s popular version of the nihilism of campus postmodernism. To progressive journalists, advancing a leftwing political agenda is important enough to justify the creation of misleading narratives and outright falsehoods to deceive the public--to justify, in other words, the creation of fake but otherwise useful news. Don't remember who said it - probably some Russian. "The main difference between Russia and USA is that in Russia Stalin exterminated all the true believers.
h/tInstapundit
The government announced it would spend $50 million to hire lawyers in the United States to defend Mexican citizens there illegally and faced with deportation. This is all about money and a lot more than $50 million. The Mexican central bank tracks how much money Mexicans abroad send home and in 2016 it was $25 billion, almost all of it from Mexicans in the United States and much of it from Mexicans in the United States illegally. That remittance cash accounts for more foreign exchange than Mexican oil exports. The remittance income is rising. It was nearly $22 billion in 2013 and is expected to rise to $28 billion in 2017, unless the United States enforces its immigration laws like Mexico does.
There’s more to it than money. After years of being accused of permitting the abuse of Central American migrants who enter Mexico the government agreed pay more attention to border security on its own southern border. Many of the illegal migrants from Central American are heading for the United States and that was not seen as a Mexican problem. But criminal gangs increasingly robbed and kidnapped the migrants and the government did very little to stop that. The gangsters often attacked Mexican citizens as well. Mexico has more severe laws against illegal immigration and illegal migrants than the U.S. It also enforces them more vigorously than does the U. S.
By mid-2014 Mexico agreed to undertake Operation Sur which was supposed to curb illegal Central American migrants from entering Mexico. Operation Sur increased surveillance operations along Mexico’s southern border and improved border inspections. The government also tried to improve registration of legal migrants. In addition to the criminals, local police forces in southern Mexico have been accused of extorting money from illegal migrants and police corruption has long been a major problem. Despite Operation Sur, Mexico did little halt illegal migration across its northern border.
All this was noticed in the U.S. and politicians there found themselves under increasing pressure to enforce American migration laws as vigorously as Mexico (and Canada) did.
h/t Instapundit
In one of his first acts as president, Donald Trump effectively halted nearly $200 billion worth of regulations, according to a new analysis.
President Trump has taken aggressive action to curb regulations in his first week, promising to cut 75 percent or "maybe more," and signing an executive order Monday to cut two regulations from the books when every new rule is introduced.
The first move came in the form of a memo to all federal agencies from Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, freezing all recently finalized and pending regulations. The American Action Forum, a center-right policy institute, found the action resulted in stopping rules that would cost the economy $181 billion.
[Bloomberg] Tampa, Fla. (AP) -- On any given day at MacDill Air Force Base, web crawlers scour social media for potential recruits to the Islamic State group. Then, in a high-stakes operation to counter the extremists' propaganda, language specialists employ fictitious identities and try to sway the targets from joining IS ranks.
At least that's how the multimillion-dollar initiative is being sold to the Defense Department.
A critical national security program known as "WebOps" is part of a vast psychological operation that the Pentagon says is effectively countering an enemy that has used the internet as a devastating tool of propaganda. But an Associated Press investigation found the management behind WebOps is so beset with incompetence, cronyism and flawed data that multiple people with direct knowledge of the program say it's having little impact.
Several current and former WebOps employees cited multiple examples of civilian Arabic specialists who have little experience in counter-propaganda, cannot speak Arabic fluently and have so little understanding of Islam they are no match for the Islamic State online recruiters.
It's hard to establish rapport with a potential terror recruit when -- as one former worker told the AP -- translators repeatedly mix up the Arabic words for "salad" and "authority." That's led to open ridicule on social media about references to the "Palestinian salad."
Four current or former workers told the AP that they had personally witnessed WebOps data being manipulated to create the appearance of success and that they had discussed the problem with many other employees who had seen the same. Yet the companies carrying out the program for the military's Central Command in Tampa have dodged attempts to implement independent oversight and assessment of the data.
Central Command spokesman Andy Stephens declined repeated requests for information about WebOps and other counter-propaganda programs, which were launched under the Obama Administration. And he did not respond to detailed questions the AP sent on Jan. 10.
The AP investigation is based on Defense Department and contractor documents, emails, photographs and interviews with more than a dozen people closely involved with WebOps as well as interviews with nearly two dozen contractors. The WebOps workers requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the work and because they weren't authorized to speak publicly.
The information operations division that runs WebOps is the command's epicenter for firing back at the Islamic State's online propaganda machine, using the internet to sway public opinion in a swath of the globe that stretches from Central Asia to the Horn of Africa.
Early last year, the government opened the bidding on a new counter-propaganda contract -- separate from WebOps-- that is worth as much as $500 million. Months after the AP started reporting about the bidding process, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service told the AP that it had launched an investigation. NCIS spokesman Ed Buice said the service is investigating a whistleblower's "allegations of corruption" stemming from how the contract was awarded.
The whistleblower's complaint alleges multiple conflicts of interest that include division officers being treated to lavish dinners paid for by a contractor. The complaint also alleges routine drinking at the office where classified work is conducted. The drinking was confirmed by multiple contractors, who spoke to AP and described a frat house atmosphere where happy hour started at 3 p.m.
One of the most damning accusations leveled by the whistleblower is against Army Col. Victor Garcia, who led the information operations division until July 2016, when he moved to a new assignment at Special Operations Command, also in Tampa. The whistleblower contended that Garcia successfully steered the contract to a team of vendors that included a close friend's firm. The whistleblower requested anonymity for fear of professional retribution.
#1
Army-After London based job for Vic? Any questions ?
In this screen grab of a photo from a Facebook posting, Col. Victor Garcia, left, who served as the senior officer overseeing CENTCOM’s counter-propaganda program from 2013 to mid-2016, poses on vacation with his friend Simon Bergman at Gilbert’s Resort in Key Largo, Fla. The photo was removed from Facebook shortly after it was posted on Sept. 16, 2016. Two weeks later, a $500 million contract was awarded to a team of companies that included Bergman’s firm M&C Saatchi. A whistleblower complaint filed with Central Command’s inspector general said the photo created a “clear impression and perception of impropriety.” AP Photo
#2
Colleague of mine is out of Huntsville. Says he thinks he knows the only native Arabic speaker in town and she tutors his kids. Clearly a better location for .GOV contracting than for language talent.
#3
translators repeatedly mix up the Arabic words for "salad" and "authority." That's led to open ridicule on social media about references to the "Palestinian salad."
Fred's text substitution engine should definitely steal that one.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State extremists whipped on Monday four wealthy residents of western Mosul for giving financial assistance to poorer families without the group’s permission, a military official has said.
Army lieutenant Abdul-Salam al-Jubouri was quoted as saying in a press statement that the punishment was carried out at al-Yarmouk district.
The four were found guilty of trespassing the competences of the group’s finance body, Jubouri said, adding that the militants maintained that the convicts should have approached the concerned body to distribute the money according to its discretion.
Since they took over Mosul and several other Iraqi cities in 2014, Islamic State militants have imposed extreme religious rules on Iraqi civilians, occasionally carrying out horrific executions as well as harsh punishments against violators.
IS rule, as well as battles with Iraqi forces, have forced at least 191.000 civilians to flee homes in the eastern side to refugee camps. The United Nations has recently voiced concerns for the fate of 750.000 civilians living in the IS-held west and suffering livelihood shortages besides militants abuses.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State is blocking escape routes to Syria for its fighters and have imposed new taxes on civilians in Mosul to finance its fights against security forces, according to local sources.
A local source told Alsumaria News that Islamic State militants were “surprised” to find they were being denied exit from Mosul to the group’s Syria stronghold town of Raqqa. “IS has issued a surprise decision totally halting departures by its elements from mosul to Raqqa for whatever reason,” said the source, who attributed the measure to an increase in members fleeing to Syria.
Another source told the network that the extremist group imposed new monthly taxes on cab drivers at regions under its control as means ensure extra financial resources to pay the delayed salaries of its militants group. The source revealed that violators were threatened with punishment.
Islamic State has reportedly suffered severe losses in personnel and finances over the past few months of battles, and reportedly punished delinquent fighters with either demotion or execution.
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Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) killed 35 members of the Islamic State in western Mosul on Monday, Iraq’s state TV reported in breaking news.
Al-Hashd’s media service has not yet, however, given count of the number of militants, but only said the forces eradicated a group of IS militants that had attacked PMUs at the 16th kilometer area, west of the city.
Al-Hashd al-Shaabi has been actively involved in the Iraqi government’s fight against Islamic State militants since its formation in 2014.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi military forces have imposed a curfew at districts along the eastern bank of the Tigris River in Mosul to protect civilians from bombardment from the west by Islamic State militants.
Anadolu Agency quoted Saber al-Falahi, a brigadier-general at the army’s Counter-Terrorism Forces, as saying that directives had been made to the residents at districts parallel to the eastern bank of the Tigris River to stay home between 3 pm and 6 am (Iraq’s local time). He said the measure is aimed to protect the residents from projectiles launched by the extremist group, especially during night times when U.S.-led fighter jets become less active above those areas.
Falahi said Katyusha and mortar bombardments killed 13 civilians and wounded 48 last week at liberated areas.
Falahi told the agency the curfew was the only solution to protect civilians, adding that the only means to stop the bombardment are either to ensure an around-the-clock aerial patrols or to speed up with the invasion of the western section of the city, where IS still maintains a majority of territory.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement announced on Monday, that more than 3200 displaced persons have returned back to their liberated areas in eastern Mosul, while pointed out that more displaced families will return to their areas in the coming days.
The Ministry’s IDP Camps’ Official in Khazir and Hosn Sham, Mostafa Hamed, said in a press statement, “Today, the Ministry’s IDP camps received 3,237 displaced persons who returned back to their liberated areas in eastern Mosul.”
“The Ministry allocated 26 buses, in coordination with the Ministry of Transportation, to tack the residents back to their areas, in addition to 11 vehicles provided by the Joint Operations Command to transfer their furniture and belongings,” Hamed added.
“The majority of displaced families will return back to their liberated areas in the few coming days,” Hamed further explained.
Earlier this month, Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement announced that 1200 displaced persons returned back to their areas in eastern Mosul.
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Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Thirty-nine fighters from Islamic State were killed on Tuesday after army forces pushed back an attack on troops at Tal Kusaiba, east of Salahuddin, according to a security source.
“By escalating its attacks against security troops in Salahuddin, the group is seeking to hinder any advancement towards Hawija, Kirkuk,” the source told Alsumaria News.
Since they drove out Islamic State militants from the region mid January 2016, security forces have been in control over Tal Kusaiba, fighting off occasional attacks by IS militants there.
Islamic State has escalated attacks across Iraqi provinces, including Salahuddin, since Iraqi government forces managed to retake a half of its largest bastion in the country, the city of Mosul, since October 2016. Observers believe the extremist group is trying to make up for daily losses in Mosul and to relieve security pressure on that front by attacking security and civilians at other cities.
The group has lost at least 3300 of its personnel in the operations at Mosul, and reports have been recurring about internal divisions and fighters’ escapes since government forces launched the offensives to retake Mosul.
Babel (IraqiNews.com) A security source in Babel Province revealed that an improvised explosive device exploded near a house in al-Iskandariyah area, north of Babel, without causing any casualties or material losses, Alsumaria News reported on Monday.
The source said, “An improvised explosive device exploded, at noon today, near a house in al-Shuhada neighborhood in al-Iskandariyah area (55 km north of Babel).”
“The explosion did not cause any human or material losses,” the source added on condition of anonymity.
The source further added that security forces rushed to the area of incident, cordoned it off and started to search for the perpetrators of the bombing.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) The Ministry of Defense’s War Media Cell announced on Monday destroying a hummer vehicle belonging to the Islamic State, as well as killing its occupants, by an air strike in Tal Afar, west of Nineveh.
The Cell said in a statement, “Iraqi Army Aviation carried out an air strike, destroying a Hummer vehicle belonging to the Islamic State group, and killing its occupants, in Tal Afar area, west of Nineveh.”
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Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi police killed on Monday 5 suicide bombers at two separate regions north of Baghdad, the capital’s security command said in a statement.
A statement by the Interior Ministry’s Baghdad Operations said two bombers clad in explosive belts were killed at al-Salman area, north of Baghdad.
Another trio, also putting on explosive vests, was killed at Sheikh Hamad area after an exchange of fires with the forces, the department said. Grenades were found in their possessions and their explosive belts were defused, according to the service.
Violence surged in Iraq with the emergence of Islamic State militants who took over large areas of the country in 2014. Baghdad has been witnessing almost daily bombings targeting civilians and security personnel. IS militants have said they had been responsible for several bloody explosions that hit the capital in the past weeks, bringing the governorate municipal and security officials under critics’ fire.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said violence in the country left 19000 casualties in nine months of 2016.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) One civilian was killed and four others were wounded on Monday when a bomb blast hit an area south of Baghdad, according to police sources.
“An explosive device exploded this afternoon near a popular market in Suweib, south of Baghdad, killing a civilian and wounding four others,” police sources told Alsumaria News.
Violence surged in Iraq with the emergence of Islamic State militants who took over large areas of the country in 2014. Baghdad has been witnessing almost daily bombings targeting civilians and security personnel.
Nobody has claimed responsibility yet for the Monday bombing, but IS militants have said they had been responsible for several bloody explosions that hit the capital in the past months, bringing the governorate municipal and security officials under critics’ fire.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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(Rooters) The Pentagon was creating a list of Iraqis who had worked alongside U.S. troops, which will be passed to agencies implementing President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... ’s executive order restricting entry for people from Iraq and six other Moslem-majority countries, a front man said on Monday.
A Pentagon front man, Navy Captain Jeff Davis, said that over the weekend the White House had "provided the opportunity" to submit names.
"There are a number of people in Iraq who have worked for us in a partnership role, whether fighting alongside us or working as translators, often doing so at great peril to themselves," Davis told news hounds.
"We are ensuring that those who have demonstrated their commitment tangibly to fight alongside us and support us, that those names are known in whatever process there is going forward," he added.
It was unclear when the list would be complete and how many names it would include.
Trump’s order suspending travel, which he signed on Friday, sparked anger in Iraq, where more than 5,000 U.S. troops are deployed to help Iraqi and regional Kurdish forces in the war against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... krazed killer group.
Iraq asked the United States on Monday to reconsider the travel ban on its citizens, taking a more diplomatic line than the Iraqi parliament, which demanded the government retaliate.
The Iraqi parliament called on the government to impose "similar treatment" on U.S. nationals.
#2
Guess there's no payroll vouchers or collaborator registry for the construction, cooking and cleaning help. Used to be that money(cash) went to the local job boss who gave work to his family at half wages. Sometimes non-family would 'buy-in', giving direct paid wages back to the job boss.
#4
What is most unclear: why hasn't the list already been made (prior to the last election)? Why haven't most of these Iraqi allies been taken care of, years ago?
One would have thought that a 90-day suspension of immigration from seven countries with minimal economic ties to the United States would be minor news. It has to be the best thing an American president has done since Ronald Reagan told Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, because [of] it all the people I dislike have gone bat-guano crazy.
The mainstream press is blaming Trump for everything including a down day on the stock market.
...Then we have Starbucks, Lyft, and the whole Silicon Valley circus denouncing Trump for cutting off their labor supply--as if they employed Somalis or Yemenis.
It's just fake news, folks. Fake news has metastasized from the gossip columns (vicious personal attacks against Trump family members) to the political columns (scurrilous slanders against Trump team members like Gen. Mike Flynn and Steve Bannon, to the financial page.
...The biggest piece of fake news is that Trump is isolationist. It's true that the catchphrase "America First" originated with isolationists. In the 1930s, Charles Lindbergh's "America First" movement opposed intervention against the Nazis. De facto it was an instrument of German foreign policy.
By sharp contrast, President Trump has promised to "eradicate" the contemporary equivalent of Nazism, namely radical Islam terrorism. That means to eradicate it anywhere in the world. It's the polar opposite of Lindbergh's isolationism: It means that America is going use all of its power all over the world to stamp out the present-day version of Nazism. Radical Islam is a lineal descendant of Nazism. See Paul Berman's book The Flight of the Intellectuals for documentation of the common history of Nazism and modern Islamism.
That isn't isolationism. It's an activist foreign policy. It happens to be the kind of activism that the Democratic Party and the McCain wing of the Republican Party don't like. What Trump means by America First is that America will not sacrifice the blood of its soldiers and the security of its citizens in a Utopian quest to save other countries and cultures who, sadly, insist on destroying themselves. Instead, we will insulate ourselves from their failure and take measures to protect ourselves from their hatred and rage against us.
#1
Enjoy the show, and don't believe what you read in the papers.
The author argues that describing Trump's foreign policy as "isolationism" is fake news. It's not that it's an unfair description or even it may be a misguided interpretation - no its fake. And for good measure he goes on to tell you what to believe. We witnessed this level of organized hyper ass-kissing with last administration and we're not even two weeks into the new one.
#2
In the 1930s, Charles Lindbergh's "America First" movement opposed intervention against the Nazis.
We didn't no matter how hard FDR tried to drag us into Europe's second suicide attempt. It took the Germans and Italians declaration of war on the US days after the Japanese attack to get us involved.
#3
Morning news, every other segment was a Trump bash, concern face and everything. Hadn't seen something so poorly done since I was in grade school performing in Stone Soup.
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Diyala Province revealed that an elite leader of the Islamic State was killed in Mutaibaja area by a mysterious blast on the borders with Salahuddin Province, Alsumaria News reported on Monday.
The source said, “The Islamic State group lost one of its senior leaders, known as Abu Taha al-Iraqi, in a mysterious blast in Mutaibaja area on the borders between Diyala and Salahuddin.”
“The reasons and perpetrators of the bombing that kill the leader, along with three of his aides, are unknown,” the source added on condition of anonymity.
Noteworthy, Mutaibaja area is witnessing violent acts and attacks against security forces and al-Hashd al-Shaabi from time to time.
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) The security committee of Diyala Provincial Council announced on Monday, that four members of the Islamic State were killed, while two vehicles were destroyed during two military operations, northeast of Baqubah.
Head of the Committee, Sadiq al-Hussieni, said in a press statement, “Security forces launched two military operations in the areas of Imam Wes and Hud Zolo near Naft Khana, destroying two vehicles belonging to the Islamic State and killing four members of the group.”
Earlier today, Head of Muqdadiyah District Council Adnan al-Tamimi announced launching the biggest military operation in the areas, northeast of Baqubah, from three axes.
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h/t Instapundit
The Daily Caller reports that an activist associated with Black Lives Matter screamed, "F**k white supremacy, f**k the U.S. empire, f**k your imperialist a** lives. That s**t gotta go." She also yelled, "We need to start killing people. First off, we need to start killing the White House. The White House must die. The White House, your f**king White House, your f**king Presidents, they must go!" How's that different from PLO?
#2
She also calls for the seizure of all money and property of whites.
An entitlement and 'wealth transfer' scheme that has been clandestinely in play here for decades. Her approach is a bit more aggressive, more Afrikanized. Should we be surprised ?
Republicans hoped he would turn out to be a conventional conservative. Democrats hoped he would not do anything too drastic, and maybe even strike a few deals.
But the best guide to what Donald Trump would do as president appears to be what he said he would do as president.
..."People are just not prepared for the fact that we’re not dealing with a regular Republican-versus-Democrat battle here, we’re dealing with an administration that in its first week has demonstrated that it doesn’t have much respect for the rule of law," Schneiderman said. "We’re in for a bigger challenge to our constitutional fabric than we’ve faced in a very long time in this country." Of course we know that people like Schneiderman invent "the Law" as they go along
#1
Obama was the first president who did not feel bound by the rule of law. Trump is actually being very careful to follow the rules, but he has the advantage of running an executive branch that the Dims spent 8 years weaponizing.
#2
“As Americans, we have to call out the con early, and actively push back on attempts to demonize undocumented people and to constrict the rights of citizens,” Ellison said.
Attaboy Keith! You don't see a conflict between letting in undocumented people and constricting the rights of citizens? Has it occurred to you the more undocumented people there are, the less of everything is left over for the citizens?
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/31/2017 13:06
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#3
This whole Trump is FDR! deal was pitched to me a couple days ago by someone I actually have some opinion about, so the astroturf has been incubating for a few days now.
I find it interesting, trashing FDR to trash Trump.
Like smashing the statue of Jupiter for a casting of Mormo.
#5
He made a promise to us the voters. He promised to do what he says he would do and not be like the normal politician that blows with the wind. We voted for him and I expect, no I demand he keep his promise. So far he has proven to be a man of his word.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
01/31/2017 19:57
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A Canadian trade school reportedly turned down an Israeli student applicant simply for being Israeli.
Israeli civil engineering student and amateur carpenter Stav Doron told Channel 2 reporter Ido Daniel that he applied to study at the Island School of Building Arts, a Canadian trade school specializing in wood construction and design.
He said in the report that he had wanted to study at the ISBA, located on Gabriola Island in the province of British Columbia, due to its expertise and prominence in the wood construction field.
However, the school turned him down in an email, stating that they "are not accepting applications from Israel." The school official named Pat, whose last name was not given, wrote that the reason was "due to the conflict and illegal settlement activity in the region."
Doron reponded to Pat that "It's very sad that an institution which has a community of students from all over the world would act in this way." He added that he was "sorry I bought your book," referring to the Master's Guide to Timber Framing, written by ISBA founder James Mitchell, which he had purchased from the ISBA website for $69.50.
A representative from the student union wrote back to him that "Yes, it is unfortunate but we act according to our moral compass."
#2
Thank you for fixing the ALL CAPS headline, Bright Pebbles. It's too early in the morning to be shouted at, even by the Jerusalem Post about self-righteous Canadian antisemitism.
[IS News Net] Washington D.C. White House press secretary Sean Spicer announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House on February 15. According to CNN, the White House confirmed it had extended an invitation to Netanyahu last week.
The moving of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem remains a priority for U.S. President Donald Trump but the development is not expected to break ground soon, said a senior administration official.
Netanyahu's last visit to Washington in March 2015, will widely boycotted by over 50 democrats after his polarizing speech to Congress.
Obama's National Security Adviser Susan Rice said at the time that his decision to speak was "destructive to the fabric of the relationship" between Israel and the US.
However, Trump has extended his complete support to Netanyahu, who has angered liberals in the US with his push for new Israel settlements. (ANI)
[Wash Times] NBC’s Chuck Todd confessed that he and others in the mainstream news media played down just how despised Hillary Clinton was in the heartland due to the fear of appearing "sexist." Forgive me father. It has been 57 years since my last confession.
What’s more, he admitted, the mainstream media failed to "tell the stories of all Americans."
"Where I think political correctness got in the way of what we all knew as reporters and didn’t fully deliver was how hated the Clintons were in the heartland," the "Meet the Press" host admitted Thursday to former Bush White House press secretary Ari Fleischer in a interview for the "1947" podcast.
"And I think it was a fear of, ’Oh, is it going to look like it’s sexist, anti-woman if we say that?’" he added, pointing out that on the hustings he saw numerous "Hillary for Prison" signs adorning the front yards of rural America.
"I think we underplayed it a little bit out of political correctness fears," Mr. Todd said. "No member of the press corps wants to look like they’re singling out a group and making a group feel bad, right, whatever that [group] is.
#2
So Chuckie admits they slant the news according to their own political beliefs. They sure pulled one over on Clinton telling her she didn't need to campaign in Wisconsin and Michigan.
#7
No member of the press corps wants to look like they’re singling out a group and making a group feel bad, right, whatever that [group] is. unless they're white, male or Christian."
#8
No member of the press corps wants to look like they’re singling out a group and making a group feel bad, right, whatever that [group] is.
If this were true, there would be no press. Reporting is supposed to focus conflict, change and trend. As for groups, it's "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
This not a case of poor news judgement, it was clearly propaganda.
Worse, they're doubling down again.
Posted by: regular joe ||
01/31/2017 15:39
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[Guardian] A mutiny among US diplomats was gathering steam on Monday as hundreds of state department officials were reported to have signed a memo fiercely dissenting from Trump’s refugee ban.
"We are better than this ban," one leaked version of the memo said, arguing that it would backfire, making the US less safe from terrorism. The executive order, freezing entry for nationals of a list of seven majority Muslim countries, "stands in opposition to the core American and constitutional values that we, as federal employees, took an oath to uphold", the memo said.
The memo is being sent through the state department’s "dissent channel", set up at the time of the Vietnam war to allow alternative points of view to be aired inside the institution. Under its foreign affairs manual, dissenters are strictly protected from reprisals, but the White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, warned the signers they should resign if they did not like the policy.
"I think that they should either get with the programme or they can go. This is about the safety of America," Spicer said during his daily briefing at the White House.
#6
Chaiper Threarong3600, I was thinking the same thing. What if the ban was partially just to shake the tree and get folks to resign in protest. Might save a ton in pensions.
[Wash Times] The Islamic State has planned to infect refugee flows to the West with mass killers, and it has had some violent successes.
The CIA said last year that the terrorist group’s official strategy is to hide its operatives among refugees entering Europe and the United States via human flows out of the Middle East and North Africa.
The Islamic State, also known as ISIL and ISIS, has inspired followers to commit atrocities in San Bernardino, California; Orlando, Florida; and the Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida. Scores of U.S. residents have been charged with or suspected of providing material support to the Islamic State. Some have left the U.S. to commit war crimes in Syria and Iraq.
As President Trump places a 120-day ban on immigration from what he considers high-risk Muslim-majority countries, the history of the mass migration shows that some took part in the Nov. 13, 2015, massacre in Paris -- two posed as refugees from Syria -- and the Christmastime truck carnage in Berlin.
Two of the airport and Metro attacks in Brussels last year had fought in Syria and gained entry back into Belgium.
The German press has reported refugee knife and ax attacks on innocents.
[Wash Times] After spending more than $22 million on the Dakota Access pipeline protest, North Dakota wants to make sure any paid activists remember to submit their state income taxes.
Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger said his office is keeping an eye out for tax forms from environmental groups that may have hired protesters to agitate against the 1,172-mile, four-state pipeline project.
"It’s something we’re looking at. I can tell you I’ve had a number of conversations with legislators regarding this very issue," said Mr. Rauschenberger. "[We’re] looking at the entities that have potential paid contractors here on their behalf doing work."
It’s no secret that millions have been funneled into the six-month-old demonstration via crowdfunding websites, and that more than 30 environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club, Indigenous Environmental Network, Food and Water Watch, 350.org and Greenpeace, have backed the protest.
If national environmental organizations are paying protest personnel, they’re not saying so publicly. Still, Mr. Rauschenberger said red flags will be raised if he doesn’t start seeing W2 or 1099 tax forms from those affiliated with the protest arriving at his office.
#7
Glenmore, probably not, but the payer has to file a 1099 information report with the IRS for each payee who got $600 or more. That will slow them down a bit.
[The Hill] Drudge slams GOP Congress for making Trump 'do everything alone' Drudge Report founder Matt Drudge slammed the GOP-led Congress in a rare tweet Monday, accusing the party's lawmakers of hanging President Trump "out to dry" on issues like taxes and ObamaCare.
"Congress hanging The Donald out to dry. Making him do everything alone! Despicable. No tax cuts, no Obamacare repeal. NOTHING," wrote Drudge, an ardent Trump supporter.
A few minutes later, Drudge took Republican lawmakers to task for not yet repealing ObamaCare, despite holding majorities in both houses.
President Trump has moved at a blistering pace since taking office 10 days ago with a series of executive actions that have ranged from an immigration order that imposed a 120-day suspension of the refugee program and a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. from citizens of seven countries, to withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, to reviving the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access pipelines, among many others.
Repealing ObamaCare and tax cuts, however, cannot be done via executive order and require action from Congress. While lawmakers are expected to repeal ObamaCare at some point through the budget reconciliation process, Republicans worried at their congressional retreat last week that a rushed repeal would hurt the party in the 2018 elections.
[Daily Caller] The Council For American-Islamic Relations executive director Nihad Awad attempted to criticize President Trump’s proposed immigration ban by reminding attendees at a Monday press conference that America was "built on the shoulders of African-Americans who were brought here against their will."
"The Muslim community is a little bit anxious about the recent developments," regarding Trump’s plan for banning travel from seven, Muslim-majority countries, Awad stated. "Not only since Donald Trump became the president, but since Donald Trump announced his candidacy our community has been very concerned."
Awad claimed that "millions of people who love America... are concerned and worried about what this president is doing" before segueing into a bizarre statement on America’s founders.
[Stratford Observer] A college lecturer who was punched and thrown into a freezing canal reasoned with his attackers by speaking Arabic.
Stratford College media lecturer Lee Skinner was jogging in Birmingham along the Acocks Green Canal at around 3pm on Sunday January 15 when he was set upon by five hooded youths.
The 38 year-old, who lives near Solihull, was punched in the face and knocked into the icy cold canal for ’being white’. One of the thugs then crouched by the side of the canal and prevented the former languages teacher from climbing out of the icy water while he battled to stay afloat.
But quick-thinking Lee tried to reason with the Asian attackers by speaking in Arabic, saying ’May God forgive you’.
He says it was only when he began making a declaration of faith and saying ’There Is No God But Allah’ that the gang panicked and ran away.
Lee was left hospitalised with damaged teeth, bruising and injuries to his cheekbones and neck muscles.
Stratford College have spoken out about the teacher, who is currently recovering from his injuries.
A spokesman said: "Mr Skinner is a very highly valued and popular member of the college team, and we’re saddened to hear he has been victim to an upsetting incident. His professionalism and approach to working with his students is exemplary, and we wish him a speedy recovery."
Police are hunting for the suspects, who are believed to be around 17 years-old.
A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "Police were called to the Grand Union Canal in Acocks Green where a jogger was punched by a youth as he ran past him on the towpath.
#2
Moved to War on Terror. Besoeker is a soldier, and thinks of war in terms of professionals, g(r)omgoru. This was just Muslim colonist boys being boys, the "civilian" side of the War in Terror.
#6
Why do I have this skit running through my mind?
"So what did you corporal Gurung?
"I pretended to be a Muslim, Suh!"
"How did you do that, corporal?"
"I took out my kukri and cut off their heads, Suh!"
"Very well, dismissed Sergeant Gurung." .
[Guardian] The ruling party of South Africa has criticised the Victorian opposition leader, Matthew Guy, for saying Melbourne could become "the Johannesburg of the South Pacific" over a perceived increase in crime.
The African National Congress (ANC) released a statement saying Guy’s comments were "unfortunate" and "seek to portray South Africa in a negative manner".
"These comments are regrettable, and feed into lazy stereotypes of African cities as crime havens," it said. "They serve to tarnish the reputation of the City of Johannesburg ‐ known widely as the gateway to Africa; and regularly cited amongst several indices as world-class city.
"Drawing South Africa ‐ with a well established reputation as a leading tourism destination ‐ into the political frays of Victoria state, is unfortunate and unbecoming of a senior Australian politician."
Guy made the comment several times at a press conference in Melbourne on Wednesday after 15 detainees escaped a youth detention centre following a "disturbance" involving 30 inmates, in which one staff member was injured.
The escapees allegedly stole three cars. Six were arrested in cars an hour after their escape and two were found on foot soon after. Four more were found on Thursday morning, and the remaining four on Thursday afternoon.
"Every day we’re seeing riots, we’re seeing crime waves," Guy said on Wednesday. "This is a government who is standing by and allowing Melbourne to become the Johannesburg of the South Pacific."
#2
Sec. 2. Exceptions. (a) No individual who is serving in an office listed in section 1 of this order in an acting capacity, by virtue of so serving, shall act as Attorney General pursuant to this order.
That part? Sally can't be Acting AG?
Trump fired her for failing to enforce the law, I believe.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/31/2017 9:53
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#5
Nah, he has been doing things like this for years.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
01/31/2017 11:29
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#6
Many years ago AD unleashed a righteous rant about the Jew haters who claim to only be against Israel NOT against the Jews. He ripped their moral relevancy argument / double standard into shreds and left them on the floor.
Yes, he is a flaming lib on most issues but this is not new by a long chalk.
[Ynet] Following the rise in anti-Semitic activity around the world, The Jewish Agency’s Emergency Assistance Fund for Jewish Communities has helped over 200 Jewish communities and organizations protect themselves.
110 synagogues, 80 schools and preschools, and 75 community centers are just a few of the projects taken on by the The Jewish Agency’s Emergency Assistance Fund for Jewish Communities, which is revealed here for the first time, on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
115 communities have secured the entrances to buildings, 90 communities installed closed circuit television systems, fences were built around 50 Jewish community facilities, and 30 institutions installed gates and padlocks for the safety of the community's population thanks to the Fund’s support. In addition, protective equipment was donated to numerous communities.
'Preventing another Toulouse'
The Fund was set up following the Toulouse ...lies on the banks of the River Garonne, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Toulouse metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in La Belle France... terror attack in 2012, which claimed the lives of a teacher and three students at a Jewish school. The terrorist entered the school freely, without any security measures--a gate, a camera, a guard, or a screening booth--to stop him. It was Natan Sharansky, the chairman of The Jewish Agency, who initiated the establishment of the Fund.
"We know that a terrorist looking to harm Jews will look for the easiest target, and any security measure standing in his way will contribute to deterrence," explained Josh Schwarcz, The Jewish Agency's secretary-general, who directs the Emergency Assistance Fund.
The Fund decided not to subsidize guards for Jewish institutions for financial reasons: in La Belle France alone there are 700 Jewish institutions, and the cost of hiring guards for each one would be prohibitive.
The Fund decided to distribute challenge grants to schools to encourage the hiring of guards based on a matching system: for every shekel put in by the Fund, the community matched it, and after three years, the community commits to taking the funding upon itself.
[IsraelTimes] Troops arrest 19 Paleostinian suspects, mostly for rock throwing, amid uptick in attacks on Israeli civilians, soldiers.
In raids across the West Bank, the IDF shuttered an alleged gunsmithing workshop, confiscated "inciting" materials and jugged Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! 19 Paleostinian suspects on Sunday night and early Monday morning, the army said.
The operations came amid an uptick in Paleostinian protests and attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers in the West Bank in the past week, including two drive-by shooting attacks and a failed car-ramming.
Army forces, working alongside the Shin Bet and Israel Police, closed a machine shop suspected of being used to manufacture guns in Hebron, as part of an ongoing crackdown on makeshift weapons in the West Bank.
Last week, an IDF intelligence officer told news hounds the effort was already having an effect on the market, tripling the price of Carlo-style submachine guns -- the most popular variety of makeshift firearm -- in eight months.
During 2016, the IDF closed 44 alleged gunsmithing operations and seized more than 450 weapons in the West Bank. Yet the army’s fight is far from over, the officer added, noting that the IDF estimated there to be "hundreds of thousands" of illegal guns still in circulation on West Bank streets.
Also overnight, in Ramallah, the army shut down two printing shops, which it said were publishing "materials being used for incitement to terrorism." The IDF said the two shops also had ties to the Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, terrorist organization.
Israeli political and defense officials have often cited incitement as a central motivator behind the stabbing, car-ramming and shooting attacks that have become routine in Israel and the West Bank since October 2015.
The incitement in question, in print, online and on Paleostinian television, generally glorifies bandidosholy warriors and their actions, encourages others to follow in their footsteps or spreads misinformation.
"The ’fake news’ started here in this burst of violence," the IDF intelligence officer said last week.
In all, Israeli troops arrested 19 Paleostinian suspects in arrest raids throughout the West Bank. Two of them were picked up for allegedly belonging to Hamas. The rest were brought in for so-called "popular terrorism," a catch-all term for rock throwing and violent protests.
The two suspected Hamas members were arrested in Bidu, just north of the Jerusalem, the army said.
On Monday morning, the IDF also released a video and additional information about the arrest of four Paleostinian men who are believed to have thrown Molotov cocktails at the Beit El settlement, near Ramallah, earlier this month.
According to the army, on January 12, a soldier monitoring surveillance cameras near Beit El spotted a vehicle approach the community and someone inside the car lob a Molotov cocktail at its fence. IDF troops gave chase, but to no avail, as the perpetrators abandoned the vehicle and continued on foot.
On January 15, Israeli soldiers arrested four men in the Jalazoun refugee camp, outside Ramallah, who are suspected of throwing the Molotov cocktails. They were handed over to the Israel Police for further questioning, the army said.
[IsraelTimes] Paleostinian officials are demanding an apology from the new United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... chief after he said it was "completely clear that the Temple that the Romans destroyed in Jerusalem was a Jewish temple."
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also told Israel Radio in an interview Friday with its New York correspondent that "no one can deny the fact that Jerusalem is holy to three religions today," including Judaism.
On Sunday, Adnan al-Husseini, the Paleostinian Authority’s Jerusalem Affairs minister, told the Chinese news service Xinhua that Guterres "ignored UNESCO’s decision that considered the al-Aqsa mosque of pure Islamic heritage." He also said Guterres "violated all legal, diplomatic and humanitarian customs and overstepped his role as secretary general ... and must issue an apology to the Paleostinian people."
Xinhua also spoke with an adviser to PA President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... , Ahmad Majdalani, a member of the executive committee of the Paleostine Liberation Organization, who said that Guterres’s comments "undermine the trustworthiness of the UN as a body that should support occupied peoples" and that Guterres "should clarify his remarks that give Israel a green light for more measures against Jerusalem."
Guterres also told Israel Radio that he would not initiate a new grinding of the peace processor between Israel and the Paleostinians, but that he did believe in a two-state solution and would be willing to assist in a grinding of the peace processor if asked.
Following anger from the PA, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely praised Guterres for his comments.
"I praise the UN secretary general for standing up for the historical truth regarding the Temple Mount and the Jewish people’s historical connection to Jerusalem," Hotovely said in a statement. "You cannot cut off the deep 3,000-year connection between the people of Israel and Jerusalem."
[SunStar] Two children were killed and three others were injured in a roadside bombing in a remote village in Basilan province which authorities blamed on the Abu Sayyaf.
Wesmincom chief Carlito Galvez said the blast happened late Sunday morning in the village of Danapah, Al-Barka. He said the children were playing outdoors when they accidentally tripped on the improvised bomb that was placed on a frequently used trail in the area. Galvez said the victims were rushed to the hospital but two of them died. The two children that were killed were two and five years old.
Galvez said the improvised bomb was placed by Abu Sayyaf militants to spread fear among local residents. He said, "This horrendous act perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf goes beyond savagery and stressed that victimizing innocent civilians especially children is simply unacceptable."
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[Breitbart] Cologne ...a lovely city in Germany. They invented perfume there... ’s regional court sentenced the men to between three years and 6 months, and four years and 10 months in prison for the robberies.
Judges say that there’s sufficient proof the men ‐ aged between 24 and 37 ‐ broke into up to five churches and other buildings between 2013 and 2014.
In Monday’s ruling, judges said it was unclear whether the funds they generated were actually used to support armed jihad and if so, to what extent.
An eighth man was sentenced to two years and 7 months for serious bodily harm.
Five defendants are German citizens, two hold German and Tunisian citizenship, and one holds German and Moroccan citizenship.
[ALMASDARNEWS] According to sources in Syria, the Syrian Air Force (SYAAF) assaulted Islamist holy warriors in Homs province today. Specifically, the warplanes attacked the town of al-Rastan, targeting the Fateh al-Sham ...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant... ’s military positions.
Details regarding the operation are still emerging, and specifics are yet to be provided.
Fateh al-Sham was previously part of the al-Qaeda franchise, representing the international terrorist organization in Syria. They ended their ties with the group after they re-branded a few months ago.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Syrian forces intercepted a smuggling car loaded with armament destined for the deignated terrorist group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham ...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant... (formerly Nusra Front) in Dara’a countryside.
The shipment consisted of five US-manufactured TOW missiles, 30 grenade launcher rounds, dozens of RPG missiles, and a large amount of rifle ammunition. According to a Syrian Army source, the military received information about this shipment and its designated destination through an anonymous rebel source (likely a rival faction).
Noticeably, there has been a spike in weapon smuggling in Damascus’s vicinity as the SAA managed to halt a series of TOW missile shipments last of which was in Barzeh district of Damascus. It is not unlikely that a foreign sponsor is invested in initiating a major battle in the capital where rebels find themselves increasingly isolated and choked with every passing day.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A coordinated attack by the Taliban bully boyz was repulsed by the Afghan cops 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 attack was launched late on Sunday night targeting the coordination center of the Afghan cops in Bati Kot district.
The statement further added that the attack was successfully repulsed and a Taliban murderous Moslem was killed during the clash.
According to the statement, the Taliban murderous Moslem killed during the clash has been identified as Qari Naseeb who is hailing from the ssame area.
The Talibs group has not commented regarding the report so far.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Iran Press TV] Russia has expressed readiness to provide the Iraqi government with assistance in the country’s fight against the ISISTakfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed... terrorist group.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the announcement on Monday, saying that Moscow would help Iraq’s anti-terror fight only "with Baghdad’s consent."
"In broader terms, we should not forget that ISIS (ISIS) is operating not only in Syria, but also in Iraq," Lavrov said in a meeting with his Eritrea ...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age... n counterpart Osman Saleh.
"I do not rule out that, if the Iraqi authorities show interest, we will be able to provide additional support to them, at least in terms of intelligence data, but in other forms as well," he added.
Iraqi army soldiers, supported by fighters from pro-government Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by the Arabic word Hashd al-Sha’abi, and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, are currently engaged in joint operations to purge key areas in the country of the Takfiri terrorist group.
ISIS still maintains firm control over the western quarter of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , the terror group’s last urban stronghold in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) received a major boost this past weekend when their forces finally took over the Wadi Barada area of rural Damascus after more than a month of fighting.
According to a military source in Damascus, over 5,000 soldiers from the Qalamoun Shield (3rd Division) and Elite Republican Guard have been freed up as a result of this successful military operation in the Wadi Barada area.
The military source added that the Qalamoun Shield will redeploy to the eastern slopes of the Qalamoun Mountains, while the Elite Republican Guard units from the 104th and 105th brigades will be transferred to the East Ghouta.
This news spells trouble for the Syrian opposition forces, as they are already experiencing shortages in manpower and military hardware.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Residents in Lower Jubba region of southern Somalia say they have seen unknown fighter jets hovering over Al shabaab-held areas, including Kulbiyow town near Kenyan border.
The warplanes which are thought to belong Kenyan military flew over Kulbiyow, Dhobley and Hosingow towns, and no air strike against Al shabaab camps was reported. Kenyan military said it launched air and ground operations in Southern Somalia, in response to last Friday’s Al shabaab attack on Kulbiyow that left at least 67 KDF soldiers dead.
Al shabaab carried out many deadly attacks on KDF camps in southern since their incursion in Somalia in Oct. 2011, including El Adde and Kulbiyow in Gedo and Lower Jubba regions.
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[IsraelTimes] Catalyst behind Muhammad Shinawi’s attacks was girlfriend calling him ’Jew lover,’ Shin Bet says; 2 indicted as accessories.
After his girlfriend called him a "Zionist Jew" and a "Jew lover," an Arab Israeli man allegedly carried out two shooting attacks, which left one man dead and another seriously maimed, in the northern port city of Haifa earlier this month, the Shin Bet security service said.
On Monday, the suspect -- 21-year-old Muhammad Shinawi -- was charged with murder and attempted murder in a Haifa court for the attacks, along with two other men accused of helping him.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Footage from the Yemeni, houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah Channel shows the Saudi Battleship being attacked by Yemeni Coastal Defence. The attack comes in response to the ongoing military aggression against the sovereign Yemeni nation, by a coalition led by Saudi-Arabia, supported by western powers, including the US.
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#1
Attack my ass, they hit it.
An attack is when you shoot at something...and miss.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A group of Taliban bandidos bad boys suffered casualties in a premature bomb kaboom in northern Kunduz province of Afghanistan.
According to the local security officials, the incident took place late on Saturday night in Imam Sahib district.
A front man for the 20th Pamir Division, Gen. Ghulam Hazrat Karimi, said one murderous Moslem was killed as he was planting an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Qerghiz area.
He said two other bully boyz who were assisting the murderous Moslem sustained injuries in the kaboom.
The anti-government armed murderous Moslem groups including the Taliban bandidos bad boys have not commented regarding the report so far.
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Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, has banned state-funded and state-sponsored travel to North Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kansas.
The ban is the result of Assembly Bill 1887, in which the state's legislature determined "California must take action to avoid supporting or financing discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people."
The bill, signed into law in September 2016, went into effect January 1, 2017. It was co-sponsored by Equality California and co-authored by Assemblyman Evan Low, who is gay, in response to discriminatory legislation in North Carolina.
Last year, the Tar Heel State created a firestorm of controversy with the passage of House Bill 2, which among other grievances, prevents transgender people from using restrooms that correspond with their gender identity. In response, California joined several states, businesses, entertainers, and sports leagues in a boycott.
#1
How about throwing in the seven Muslim countries on the immigration ban list in part because they discriminate against these people by killing them?
#4
Funny, I work for a company that is minority owned (Black) with over 60% of the workforce being minority, I am sort of a token white...but then they LOVE veterans and my 20% disability works well in the marketing.
But you know, the entire company from the guy who changes the oil on my pickup truck to the President voted for Trump...they hated the empty suit. AND I've never been treated better by an employer...EVER.
We'd move lock stock and barrel to Texas but we're making way too much money on Small Business set a sides and minority business enterprises.
Thank you to the thumb sucking nebbishes that run Californicate you don't know how many small minority businesses you feed are run by REPUBLICANS...HAHAHAHHAHAH
[Libya Herald] Garabulli municipality says that eight local residents were killed last night when gunnies from Tarhouna attacked the town, 60 kilometres east of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... . Others were maimed, it added, and a further number were still unaccounted for.
The incident followed the killing at a Garabulli checkpoint some hours earlier of two alleged copper smugglers from Tarhouna.
According to reports, the two were stopped at the checkpoint shortly before sunset and were found to be in possession of a load of copper which they were said to be taking to Misrata. Believing it to be stolen, the checkpoint guards attempted to arrest the two. However, those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... they went for their guns and in the ensuing firefight were killed. Fighters from Tarhouna, a town 85kms southeast of Tripoli, then headed to Garabulli for Dire Revenge and a battle erupted.
The alleged copper smugglers and the Tarhouna fighters are said to have been members of the Kani brigade, a powerful militia that controls much of Tarhouna and the surrounding areas. However, those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... the Kani, said to be pro-Islamist, dispute that they were smuggling copper and claim they attacked Garabulli because of its involvement in human trafficking.
Tarhouna’s Municipal Council have echoed this, saying that criminals from Garabulli had "treacherously attacked" its forces who were involved in preventing the smuggling of drugs and people. It said that one of its people had died, naming him as Hussam Barki. However, those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... it put the action near Suq al-Juma, not Garabulli. It also said that it held Garabulli’s civil and military leadership responsible for what had happened.
The Kani forces in Tarhouna have previously been accused of involvement in a number of crimes in the town, including the murder of a local army colonel, rocketing one district whose residents were sympathetic to Saif al-Islam, and blowing up homes of its opponents.
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[Hurriyet Daily News] Ankara prosecutors on Jan. 29 demanded 54 aggravated life sentences for 11 soldier suspects accused of joining the July 15, 2016 coup attempt by pounding police department buildings in the capital and killing 51 people.
The suspects, including six army pilots and five higher-ranking soldiers, are accused of coordinating the attack on the police special operations branch headquarters and the police department air bureau headquarters.
They face 54 aggravated life sentences on charges of committing crimes against the constitution and deliberate killing of 45 special operations coppers, three civilian public employees, two civilians and a holy man on the night of the coup attempt.
In the case, which has around 100 plaintiffs, the suspects are also charged with "membership of an armed terror organization," "harming public property," "causing deliberate injury," and "qualified robbery."
The suspects each face three aggravated life terms for engaging in the coup attempt, in addition to 51 aggravated life terms for the 51 victims killed in the bombardment.
The demanded sentences are the heaviest sentences sought for suspects in probes related to the network of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen ... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world... , widely believed to have orchestrated the coup attempt.
[AlAhram] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... on Monday opened the biggest trial yet over the failed July coup aimed at ousting President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... , trying 270 suspects including, in absentia, the alleged criminal mastermind Fethullah Gulen. The suspects, 152 of whom are in pre-trial detention, include ex high-ranking military officials like former Aegean Army Command Chief of Staff Major General Memduh Hakbilen, the state news agency Anadolu reported.
Also going on trial was ex-NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... Land Commander Chief of Staff Major General Salih Sevil.
The "number one" suspect is US-based Islamic preacher Gulen who is charged with ordering the failed July 15 coup, an accusation he strongly denies. Ankara also accuses the movement Gulen leads of being a "terror organization" although the group insists it is a peaceful organization promoting moderate Islam.
Those on trial in the western city of Izmir face multiple charges including being a member of the "armed terror group".
Turkey has repeatedly asked the United States to extradite Gulen, who has been living in self-imposed exile there since 1999. The previous administration of Barack Obama If you like your coverage you can keep it... had insisted that a possibly slow legal process should take its course but Ankara is hoping for a more eager response to its extradition request from new President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... Gulen previously went on trial in absentia in January last year over corruption allegations that hit Erdogan in 2013. The Turkish justice ministry also sent new evidence to Washington for Gulen's return including the indictment for the Izmir case, Anadolu reported on Monday. The indictment includes witness statements alleging that Gulen was to be presented with the plans for the coup by Adil Oksuz for his approval, the agency added.
Turkish officials have said that theology lecturer Oksuz was the so-called "imam" of the plot and in charge of coordinating between Gulen and the army. Oksuz was detained in the aftermath of the coup but then released and is now on the run.
Other charges against the suspects include seeking to prevent parliament performing its duty as well as attempting to remove the constitutional order, the agency said. The suspects face life imprisonment if convicted in a trial expected to take two months, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.
It said Izmir was believed to be one of the main plotting hubs of the coup with the Aegean city used as a "logistical base".
Memduh was apparently to be declared Izmir's "martial law commander" by the putschists, Anadolu reported at the time.
A special courtroom was built to accommodate the size of the trial and security was tight. Intensive security measures included a drone above the courthouse, bomb-sniffing dogs and commando units.
Previous trials have opened in Istanbul and smaller cases in other provinces in what is expected to be the largest legal process in the country's history.
Some 43,000 people are under arrest ahead of trial in a large-scale crackdown within a state of emergency declared after the coup which remains in place.
In December, 29 coppers went on trial in Istanbul accused of failing to defend Erdogan while 62 rebel soldiers are being tried over claims they attempted to take over Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen Airport on the night of July 15.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/31/2017
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[Iran Press TV] US Democratic politicians have prepared two bills aimed at rescinding President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... ’s entry ban on a number of Moslem countries.
Trump's directive, which was signed on Friday, blocked entry into the United States for 90 days for citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. It also suspended the entry of all refugees for 120 days and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely.
"The first bill immediately rescinds the order. The second limits executive authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act," read a tweet by Senator Dianne Feinstein ...Dem Senator-for-Life from Caliphornica. She has been a politician since about the time she was weaned. Feinstein was the author of the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, and tried it a second time in 2012. Feinstein has chaired the Select Committee on Intelligence since 2009. At age 80, Feinstein is the oldest currently serving United States Senator.... , who was expected to introduce the bills later on Monday.
She said her bills would bar Trump from unilaterally banishing factions of immigrants colonists.
Democrats have a narrow path to victory, however, given that they are outnumbered by Republicans in both Senate and the House of Representatives.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Senator-for-life from New York, renowned for his love of standing in front of cameras. Schumer has been a professional politician since 1975, when disco was in flower. Senate minority leader as of 2017. said Sunday that they had a chance to pass the legislation and overturn Trump’s ban if enough Republicans joined them. Saccorhytus coronarious surely lives.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
I don't see how they can limit Trump's authority without an Constitutional admendment.
Not to mention Trump could simply invoke Obama's example and ignore the laws he doesn't like.
#10
They'll get McCain and Graham to vote with them. Who else?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/31/2017 11:34
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Alexander, Collins, Hatch, Murkowski, maybe Corker, Ernst, Fischer, McConnell, Rubio, Roberts or Toomey. Probably missed some.
House will be a lot tougher though.
#13
Glenmore I see at most three votes from your list. What did Tiberius say about the Senate?
Posted by: regular joe ||
01/31/2017 16:07
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As a signing statement I believe this should be entirely ignored except for the part that states Senator Dianne Feinstein should be forced to wear clown shoes and a rubber nose and glasses while working in the Senate.
[Iran Press TV] US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... ’s lobbying ban sounds good on the surface but is not likely to make a difference since his has put "the bad people" in charge of everything, says Gordon Duff, a senior editor at Veteran Today.
Speaking to Press TV on Monday, Duff said Trump’s new directive to institute a lifetime foreign-lobbying ban for members of his administration once they leave was a "bright spot" amid the disappointing news that come out of Washington these days.
The new executive order, which Trump signed on Sunday, forces his administration appointees to refrain from lobbying their own agency for five years and accept a lifetime ban on lobbying the US government on behalf of foreign governments.
Trump had promised during his election campaign last year to "drain the swamp" of political practices that he said made officials beholden to special interests.
Duff said although the move was welcome, it was still a far cry from what should be done since the new Republican president has filled his cabinet with "the worst people."
"They call it the revolving door in Washington, where you just simply leave your job in the government watching an industry... and the next day, the people that you were regulating--the people you were there to stop-- you are now working for them," he said, arguing that Trump "ostensibly" put a stop to that situation.
"Or has he really?" he asked, referring to some of Trump’s controversial cabinet picks.
For example, he said Trump picked Scott Pruitt, attorney general of Oklahoma and a skeptic of climate change, to head the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
"Well, the guy directing the entire EPA, which protects the environment of the US... has always been an industry lobbyist," Duff said. "he is worse than any of them and he is in charge of everything."
"Jeff Sessions, the new Attorney General of the US, is a Ku Klux Klan guy" who hates Moslems and African Americans, Duff added.
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#6
Well, they don't call it CHARbucks for nothing.
I kinda like the cheap bulk beans you can buy at WinnCo and Stater Bros myself...and its a whole lot cheaper than those grossly inflated prices of CHARbucks
Yep, I've had my last cup of CHARbucks...I think I'll go to Dunkin which makes damn good coffee.
#10
It doesn't take much effort, with the right tools, to roast your own. To top it off, it's much better and cheaper than Starbucks.
Wander over to green coffee sellers like sweetmarias.com
[DAWN] Afghanistan's top envoy to Pakistain Omar Zakhilwal said his government is open to unconditional peace negotiations with the Taliban myrmidons, Chinese media reported Monday.
"We are in contact with the Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... office and also a number of influential individual Taliban leaders and commanders," the Afghan ambassador told Xinhua in Islamabad on Monday, adding no formal negotiations have taken place yet.
These remarks came after reports circulated in foreign and Afghan media that senior Afghan officials had met Taliban members in Qatar.
"Taliban could bring any proposal to the negotiating table but we have ruled out preconditions for talks," Zakhilwal said when asked about the conditions put forth by the Taliban ahead of the talks.
Taliban negotiators have publicly demanded that their political office in Qatar be opened, UN sanctions on their big shots be lifted and their detained members be released.
"We are open to any and all opportunities for peace talks. We can find our way with the Taliban if external support to them stops," the Afghan envoy said.
Regarding the long-standing call of Taliban to have foreign troops withdrawn from the country, Zakhilwal said that the ongoing insurgency in Afghanistan required the foreign troops to stay.
"If there is no war, then there is no reason for their stay in our country. Therefore, if Taliban genuinely want the foreign troops to leave Afghanistan, peace, not war will do that," the Afghan envoy said.
When asked if he thinks violence will rise in the coming spring and summer, Zakhilwal said the security situation will be "challenging", adding that terrorist attacks, especially the ones employing guerrilla tactics, are difficult to prevent in entirety, but the Afghan cops will "endure as they have proven themselves by now."
The Taliban traditionally launch their so-called annual "spring offensive" in April, marking the beginning of the fighting season in the war-torn country.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Inquirer] Three Maute terrorist camps in Butig, Lanao del Sur, have been overrun by Philippine military forces. Military spokesman Restituto Padilla said the encampments were in the same areas hit by the air strike by the Philippine Air Force last week.
Padilla said the camps were harboring both local and foreign terrorists. He said 15 Maute militants were killed and eight others were injured, including its leader Isnilon Hapilon.
The neutralization of the Abu Sayyaf and the Maute group within six months were ordered by President Duterte to put an end to Islamic terror in the southern Philippines.
Posted by: ryuge ||
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[DefeseNews] "Today Jan 18 2017
we're entering a new era; the Arrow-3 era," said Moshe Patel, head of the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO). "We're very proud to deliver to the Israel Air Force the first initial capability of Arrow-3 … [a program] we've worked on for the last ten years, together with MDA and with a lot of help from the US Congress and the US administration."
Designed to fly nearly twice as high up to 60 miles
at half the weight of Arrow-2 ‐ which covers the lower-tier segment of AWS ‐ Arrow-3 is Israel's first line of defense against advanced, maneuvering Iranian Shihab-class ballistic missiles.
Posted by: lord garth ||
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#1
Designed to fly nearly twice as high
at half the weight of Arrow-2
What mass was sacrificed to get the range?
Did they replace HE with NUC?
#4
Well, one really don't need as much explosion energy as one thought before to destroy an incoming missile. One just need to get somewhat near it and a small high flak explosion is all that's needed to knock the incoming missile out.
Below is a picture of an Arrow2:
So image the Arrow3 at half the weight and much greater range. Keep in mind that "half the weight" is not the dame thing as "half the size". This way the Israels can use the existing Arrow2 infrastructure, saving quit a bit of cash.
More information on the Arrow antimissile system (Including pictures of the complete radar and targeting structure) at: Wikipedia Arrow missile article
U.S. President Donald Trump should never settle for a freeze on North Korea's nuclear programs as it amounts to accepting the communist nation as a nuclear power, a senior American expert on Korea said.
David Straub, a former State Department diplomat handling Korean Peninsula issues, also said in an op-ed piece carried by the newspaper The Hill that the Trump administration should ramp up pressure on Pyongyang to force it to genuine denuclearization talks.
A growing number of appeasers experts have called recently for negotiating a freeze on the North's nuclear program as a means to stop the regime from further bolstering its nuclear arsenal, as the regime has significantly accelerated its nuclear development with two nuclear tests last year.
In October, then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper also said that denuclearizing North Korea "is probably a lost cause" and the best possible solution to the North Korean nuclear issue may be "some sort of a cap" on the regime's nuclear capabilities.
The best possible solution is a stern warning that a single use of the weapons will result in the utter annihilation of their mis-begotten state. Tell them that and then start working on regime change...
But Straub argued that a freeze is no different from a cap, which means accepting the North as a nuclear state. That would "destroy U.S. credibility not only with its allies in Seoul and Tokyo but throughout the world," and undermine the global nuclear nonproliferation regime, he said.
"In theory, a freeze now would stop Kim Jong-un short of his goal. Freeze supporters thus argue, as Mr. Clapper suggested, that the United States should give Pyongyang 'significant inducements' for its promise to freeze its facilities and not conduct further tests of nuclear devices and long-range missiles," Straub said.
"In truth, a freeze now would just be a cap in disguise. The entire international community would also regard it as such, unlike in earlier years when the North's nuclear capabilities were not as advanced and their elimination was still considered possible," he said.
The expert also said that even if the North agreed to a freeze of its known nuclear facilities, the regime would still be running its nuclear and missile programs at undeclared facilities. Moreover, Pyongyang would be unwilling to accept full verification by outside experts.
Past nuclear deals with the North were all about freezing the program, but all failed, he said.
"What reason is there to believe that another freeze effort now, with North Korea having in the meantime made clear in the strongest terms that it has no intention of giving up nuclear weapons, would fare any better? And even if North Korea agreed to a freeze, how long would we expect it to maintain it this time around?" Straub said.
"Mr. Trump should not be fooled by this mirage, either. He urgently needs to put in place his North Korea team and proceed to apply far greater pressure on Pyongyang until it is prepared to negotiate genuine denuclearization. Only then might a freeze again be worth considering," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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[RedAlertPolitics] Democrats’ hyper-narrative to call President Trump’s temporary travel restriction as a comprehensive Muslim ban has sent shockwaves through public opinion. Starbucks Coffee has decided to jump right on in and claim their moral superiority in order to posture themselves against President Trump.
The retail chairman and CEO, Howard Schultz, informed Starbucks and the public in a letter, stating:
[W]e are doubling down on this commitment by working with our equity market employees as well as joint venture and licensed market partners in a concerted effort to welcome and seek opportunities for those fleeing war, violence, persecution and discrimination. There are more than 65 million citizens of the world recognized as refugees by the United Nations, and we are developing plans to hire 10,000 of them over five years in the 75 countries around the world where Starbucks does business.
So they are going to provide jobs out there for refugees so that they don't try to come here, and they won't need to be supported by the state providing refuge? That's at least a triple win right there at no cost to American taxpayers -- well done, Starbucks!
Sounds compassionate, right? The one pertinent aspect they are conveniently leaving out is that Starbucks stands to make millions of dollars by specifically hiring refugees.
The United States Department of Labor offers (non-profit and for profit) businesses a tax credit for every adult refugee they hire.
...within the borders of the U.S., surely. Why would the US Dept. of Labour incentivize refugee employment by American companies overseas?
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is an incentive program funded by the American taxpayer.
The tax credit could be worth up to $2,400 per individual. So, if Starbucks plans to hire 10,000 people over the next five years, they have the opportunity to make upwards of $20 million in additional profit.
The purchase of that flat-white or caramel macchiato won’t seem the same after realizing how much someone is actually paying for it.
Even though Trump supporters are calling for a boycott, the tax credit will fill the gap of lost profits.
Instead of prioritizing the 45 million U.S. citizens living in poverty, Starbucks has decided to politicize a business venture that will benefit them more than the people they are claiming to assist.
Something is wrong here. How can serving coffee to customers in Lebanon or Saudi Arabia impact employment in Kentucky?
Hundreds of Somali refugees in Kenya who were days from travelling to the US to start new lives under a longstanding resettlement programme have been told they cannot travel,
...for 120 days while new vetting procedurs are worked out. After that they'll have to be revetted, and then will be permitted to move as originally planned -- unless they don't pass the vetting, of course...
after Donald Trump’s executive order banned migrants from seven Muslim-majority countries for three months.
The refugees, who have all been rigorously screened by US and UN officials, have waited for between seven and 10 years for their resettlement to be approved and organised.
Define "rigorously screened"...
Some had already checked in for the flight to their new homes in the US when they were told they would not be allowed to board the plane. Others had travelled to Nairobi with children ready to leave.
“These are people who have packed their bags, emptied their bank accounts, sold all their goods and said their goodbyes. Then they hear they are not going to the US after all,” said one aid worker in Nairobi.
In all, up to 26,000 people who hoped to travel to the US have been hit by the new measure. The total includes those cleared for imminent travel, as well as those whose applications are under review.
The 26,000 should return to Somalia. Move to a protected zone and work to rebuild life there. Europe, the US and the UN can provide some funding. Perhaps we could get the Italians and the British to provide police protection. The best place for Somali refugees is Somalia. It's their homeland and their culture.
Representatives from UN agencies in the Kenyan capital are scheduled to meet local government officials on Tuesday in an attempt to resolve the problem, and aid agencies are organising counselling for distraught families.
Approximately 3,000 refugees are scheduled to be resettled in the US from camps in northern Kenya this year, the majority from Dadaab, a sprawling tent city where an estimated 300,000 Somalis live. Many of those at the camp had arrived on Friday - the day Trump signed his executive order to restrict Somali refugees and immigrants entering the US.
There are now fears that even those cleared for a new life in the US may face a return to Somalia, a war-torn country where Islamist militants have launched attacks on a multinational military force trying to bring stability and international agencies have warned of famine.
Kenyan authorities have pledged to shut the Dadaab camp and send its inhabitants back to Somalia as soon as May, only weeks after the temporary ban imposed by Trump’s executive order expires.
“We are refugees, we cannot return back to our country, this host country of Kenya is pushing us to move out and the US president does not want us in his country. What can we do? Nothing. If he does not want Muslims, then we hope God will help us,” Ganey said.
You can return to your country.
Ganey has lived in Dadaab since civil war broke out in Somalia in 1991, and applied for a place in the US refugee resettlement programme seven years ago. After a process of rigorous screening by UN and US officials, his clearance for immigration came through last October.
Twenty-five years at the camp? He's not a citizen of Somalia, he's a citizen of Dadaab...
As many as 10,000 Somalis residing all over Africa were to be resettled in the US this year, according to the US State Department. The total was a slight increase on the previous year. Almost all are Muslim.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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[RFE/RL] Authorities say two police officers and three alleged militants have been killed in Chechnya.
Regional warlord Ramzan Kadyrov said on January 30 that the three men opened fire on police officers who asked for their identification documents. He said the exchange of gunfire took place in the central town of Shali overnight.
Kadyrov said authorities believe they were members of a militant group coordinated online by Magomed Rashidov, a Shali native who has allegedly joined Daesh militants in Syria.
Posted by: ryuge ||
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[DAWN] Satirical publication Khabaristan Times on Monday announced its website has been blocked in Pakistain.
In a statement posted to its official Facebook page, KT said the website had been blocked since Jan 25.
"There hasn't been any official notification from any regulatory authority regarding the website being banned," KT said, adding that it cannot be accessed anywhere in Pakistain.
The website does, however, appear to be available to users outside Pakistain.
According to sources in the telecommunication regulatory authority, the website had been blocked after receiving complaints about 'objectionable content'.
A renowned satire and parody website, KT has amassed a loyal social media following ─ 12,156 likes on Facebook ─ with its tongue-in-cheek commentary on Pak politics and the military.
The move comes in the backdrop of disappearances of social media activists earlier this month.
Pakistain is routinely ranked among the world's most dangerous countries for journalists, and reporting critical of security policies is considered a major red flag, with news hounds at times detained, beaten and even killed.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
news hounds at times detained, beaten and even killed
Dead men post no satires.
[AlAhram] Mohammed Abrini, the "man in the hat" bombing suspect caught on camera during the Brussels airport attack, has been charged in La Belle France over the November 2015 Islamist bully boy massacres in Gay Paree, his lawyers said Monday.
Belgium handed Abrini over to the French authorities on Monday for a day so that he could face charges related to the deaths of 130 people in the French capital.
Abrini was captured in Brussels in April over his suspected involvement in the March 22 Brussels attacks and the Gay Paree killings, both of which were claimed by the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group.
Belgian Sherlocks have said the Brussels airport and metro bombers who killed a total of 32 people were part of the same Brussels-based cell that orchestrated the Gay Paree attacks.
The main suspect in the Gay Paree attacks is Salah Abdeslam, a Belgian-born French national believed to be the only survivor of the Islamist bully boy team behind the carnage.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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[Ynet] A 20-year-old Pennsylvania man faces the potential of a lengthy federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to conspiring to help the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group and tweeting out a list that identified and targeted people serving in the US military.
Jalil Ibn Ameer Aziz pleaded guilty Monday in Harrisburg federal court to the conspiracy count and to transmitting a communication containing a threat. Both are felonies.
Aziz is a natural born American who was nabbed You have the right to remain silent... in Harrisburg in December 2015.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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#1
Whatever happened to the "Buy Drugs Finance Terrorism" movement?
[Hurriyet Daily News] A total of 20 Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) holy warriors have been "neutralized" in northern Syria over the last 24 hours as part of the Euphrates Shield operation, the Turkish military said Jan. 30.
Turkish authorities use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply the holy warriors in question were killed, captured, or otherwise incapacitated.
The Turkish Armed Forces also hit 23 ISIS targets in northern Syria, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement on the 160th day of the operation.
Turkish jets destroyed two gun positions, 20 buildings, and 76 handmade explosives.
Since the beginning of the operation, Turkish security forces have defused nearly 3,500 handmade explosives and over 55 mines under controlled conditions.
The Euphrates Shield operation began in late August 2016 to tighten border security, eliminate the terror threat along Turkish borders and support opposition forces in Syria. The Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... is backed by Turkish artillery and jets as part of the operation.
Posted by: Fred ||
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She had one day left in office. It was memorable...
[Iran Press TV] US President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... fires the acting attorney general after she ordered US Justice Department attorneys not to defend the president’s Moslem ban.
"The acting attorney general, Sally Yates, has betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States," the White House said in a statement on Monday. "President Trump relieved Ms Yates of her duties and subsequently named Dana Boente, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, to serve as acting attorney general until Senator Jeff Sessions is finally confirmed by the Senate."
In a letter she wrote to the department earlier in the day, Yates asserted that she is "responsible for ensuring that the positions we take in court remain consistent with this institution’s solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right."
"At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful."
Trump initially responded to the letter by an expected tweet, in which he branded Yates an "Obama AG."
He further complained that "the Democrats are delaying my cabinet picks for purely political reasons... They have nothing going but to obstruct."
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
Funny. She didn't seem to have a problem with it when Obama did it.
They say you can do anything you want on your last day.
I just wish people not stranded - the Visa process in the rest of the world can leave people stranded in the wrong places. At least a weeks notice to make travel plans back home or call someone.
#4
Sure, I remember a expired visa.
The Visa guy said, "You no 10 GI. Can't leave."
I said, "Huh? I'm gonna miss my plane!"
Visa guy, "See, visa too old."
Me, "Dude, that's my bag!"
Me, "How do we fix this?"
Visa guy, "You pay 1000 yuan."
Me, "What! That's $100! Each!"
Visa guy, "OK, 500 yuan. Both."
And I was off to the friendly skies for $50.
Now they call it a bag fee.
#5
A "Muslim" ban would actually be unconstitutional, a "dangerous country ban" probably not.
The ban was a a shot from the hip. To send people back who arrive with a valid visa (and who often invested a lot of money to get to the US) isn't very wise. It affects innocent families.
The media will probably inflate the numbers of people affected but still the ban seems botched.
Before issuing such an executive order it wouldn't have hurt to consult with the DOJ. And wait for a few days until Sessions is confirmed.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
01/31/2017 14:17
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#6
Before issuing such an executive order it wouldn't have hurt to consult with the DOJ. And wait for a few days until Sessions is confirmed.
Posted by European Conservative
Whom at DoJ? The traitorous wench he just fired? He employed a small circle of confidants to minimize the leakage. Some were inconvenienced yes. I have attached a graphic of a fellow who was 'inconvenienced' a damned site worse.
You'll have to forgive me. I mean no disrespect but opinions on politics and governance emanating from the human slaughter houses of Europe don't do much for me.
#8
Eight to ten years ago, Germany took visa and work permit 'overstays' and infractions quite seriously. If my memory services me correctly, if your paperwork and dates were not in order, you could be fined, sent packing, and invited NOT to return for 5 years. Obviously things have changed, perhaps not for the better.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The group leader of the Taliban in Zabul province was killed in a blast triggered by a premature kaboom in this province.
The provincial police commandment said Mawlavi Hamid was a prominent Taliban leader who was in command of the hard boyz in Arghandab district.
According to the police officials, the incident took place around 12:00 pm on Sunday as a group of hard boyz were busy in making of an Improvised Explosive Device.
Mawlavi Hamidi was killed along with two other hard boyz and at least two more were maimed.
The anti-government armed hard boy groups including the Taliban hard boyz have not commented regarding the report so far.
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A top Taliban leader in charge of recruiting for the group in northern Kunduz province was tossed in the calaboose Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! during an operation of the Afghan police forces.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said the detained Taliban leader has been identified as Abdullah and was held from the vicinity of Khanabad district.
MoI further added the operation was conducted by Public Order Police forces on Sunday.
Another senior Taliban leader identified as Abdul Wakil was also arrested during the same operation, MoI said, adding that an automatic rifle was confiscated from the detained krazed killers.
The anti-government armed krazed killer groups including the Taliban Lions of Islam have not commented regarding the report so far.
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Top|| File under: Taliban
Iran will pursue the US President Donald Trump’s executive order to ban entry for nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries in international organizations, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi said.
Qashqavi condemned the measure saying it is against the international laws, Fars news agency reported.
We don't even have diplomatic relations with you: how can it be against international law to ban your citizens from traveling to our country?
To be fair, this should cause problems for all those Iranian-Americans with dual citizenship who want to visit the folks back home. Also their children, who inherited Iranian citizenship from their dual citizen fathers. You know, the naive idiots the Iranian government randomly holds for ransom.
He further said that Tehran will reciprocate the US president’s measure “at any level.”
President Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 27 to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough control on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Iran on Jan. 29 summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents Washington's interests, to protest the measure.
Protest and be damned.
Qashqavi further said Tehran has told its diplomatic representatives across the world to reciprocate the US decision, adding that Iran’s Foreign Ministry will take “strong” decision in this regard without explaining further details.
He added that at least six million Iranians are living abroad,
Ever wonder why that is, exactly?
Some of the 1 million living in the U.S. are spies, but how many?
expressing concern that many of them would face problems due the US administration’s new decision.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/31/2017
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
At last we have a two way travel ban with Iran. They wouldn't do that while Obama was president because they were making $million easy money from ransoming US hostages.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Kurdish media has reported that an infamous ISIS executioner named Abu Sayyaf has been rubbed out in West djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... in northern Iraq.
"Abu Sayyaf was one of the scariest executioners in Nineveh... He was a reflection of the brutality of this terrorist group," Muhammad Yawar, an Iraqi journalist, told ARA News.
"He was known for his huge body and heavy arms. He was one of the notorious faces in the ISIS propaganda videos."
Local media activist Abdullah al-Mallah, a local media activist, has said that a group of unknown gunnies shot at Sayyaf’s car, killing him and another terrorist who accompanied him.
"He was found dead in the Dawassah district west of Mosul city in Nineveh Governorate on Sunday evening. The Isis-led Hisba Police was unable to identify the perpetrators," al-Mallah added.
Fascinating. Yesterday we had a report from Iraqi News quoting Alsumaria News that Abu Sayyaf, the famed ISIS decapitator was stabbed to death in that same location. His killers clearly took their assignment seriously.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
[Libya Observer] All Misrata brigades operating under Misrata Military Council will join the Central Military Zone of the Libyan Army, the council announced on Sunday, a step that aims to unite the most powerful armed brigades in the country under one command.
The inclusion will be according to the laws in force of the Libyan National Army, the military council said in a statement.
The statement pointed out that Misrata brigades would join as regular or reserve forces in accordance with the legislations of the military institution.
"This action could be described as a reaction and attempt to reinstate an authentic version of a military institution, which is universally known to have loyalty to God and country, not private protection units and militias similar to those employed by rogue General 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 his predecessor Gadaffi before him." A military source has explained.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Top|| File under: Arab Spring
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) was surprised in mid-January when the Syrian Arab Army launched a massive offensive in the southern countryside of al-Bab, despite the rumors of a possible government of attack on their other stronghold in east Aleppo.
In approximately 2 weeks, the Syrian Arab Army liberated a large chunk of territory from the Islamic State forces, leaving the aforementioned terrorist group wedged between the government and Turkish Armed Forces in al-Bab.
With the Turkish Armed Forces stuck in a stalemate with the Islamic State in northeast al-Bab, the Syrian Arab Army has taken the initiative to liberate this large city and put an end to the terrorist group’s presence in the area.
According to a military source in Aleppo, the Syrian Arab Army has liberated at least 25 villages since the start of their al-Bab offensive, making this assault their most successful of the year.
As they inch closer to al-Bab, the Syrian Arab Army will find the remaining Islamic State forces much more difficult to overrun due to their well-fortified positions and territorial advantage.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/31/2017
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[ALMASDARNEWS] A framework draft of Syria’s new constitution Russia offered at the Astana talks envisages the establishment of a democratic state with the republican form of government, a top-ranking Russian military said on Sunday according to TASS.
"The draft constitution says that Syria is a modern democratic state with the republican form of government. This state is to be based on the principles of democracy, the supremacy of law and equality of all," Stanislav Gadzhimagomedov, a deputy chief of the main operation directorate of the Russian General Staff, said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.
"The multi-ethnic and multi-religious Syrian people" must constitute only source of power in that country, Gadzhimagomedov stressed. "It is the Syrian people that determines the country’s future by means of nationwide voting ‐ referendum ‐ and via its elected representatives."
The draft however has a framework character and "is called to outline basic principles of a possible state system in Syria as a sovereign state," he said.
"The draft constitution is a neural and well-balanced document which relies on both the present-day democratic principles and norms of a secular state and centuries-long Syrian traditions and habits," he added.
"It will be up to the Syrian people to decide about granting an autonomy status to any administrative entity, including with mostly Kurdish population," Gadzhimagomedov stressed.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Turkish Armed Forces and their rebel allies claimed on Sunday that their fighters captured 2 hilltops from the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) holy warriors in the eastern countryside of al-Bab.
According to a statement released by the Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) on Sunday, their forces and their Turkish allies captured Tal al-Kroum and Point 511 near the town of Baz’ah in eastern al-Bab.
This recent advance by the Turkish Army and rebel forces marks the first time since their al-Sulfaniyah operation that they have advanced in the al-Bab countryside.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
[ALMASDARNEWS] Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) stationed in Tal Afar have managed to kill dozens of Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... bandidosLions of Islam as they attempted to break out into Syria’s bordering Hasakah province.
Since the outset of the Nineveh operations, the Iraqi Security Forces have managed to liberate eastern djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... alongside dozens of nearby villages. On the other side of the Tigris river, the PMU took on the formidable task of enclosing Mosul and separating it from Syria.
Within a few weeks, the PMU forces managed to capture hundreds of villages between Qayyarah Airbase and Sinjar flanking the ISIS stronghold of Tal Afar from three directions. So far, all ISIS attempts to break through the imposed belt have failed miserably choking the terrorist group in a massive butcher house.
Notably, the Iraqi high command has just granted the PMU the permission to proceed with the Tal Afar operation following a long halt due to political reasons. The liberation of Tal Afar would be a massive blow to ISIS in Iraq, which now controls less then 10% of the country’s territory.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) renewed their assault on the al-Sin Airbase tonight, storming this important military installation from two different flanks.
ISIS began tonight’s assault by pounding the airbase with missiles; this followed by a powerful ground attack on the Syrian Arab Army’s defenses.
In addition to the assault on the al-Sin Airbase, the Islamic State attacked the small village of al-Safa Kaziya, which is located in the Dumayr area of rural Damascus.
According to a military source, all Islamic State attacks have been repelled so far; however, they are likely to launch another attack tomorrow morning.
Posted by: Fred ||
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The Navy SEAL killed in a raid targeting senior Al Qaeda leaders in Yemen was identified Monday as Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens.
"Ryan gave his full measure for our nation, and in performing his duty, he upheld the noblest standard of military service. The United States would not long exist were it not for the selfless commitment of such warriors," Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in a statement.
At least three other U.S. service members were injured in the raid. In addition, three service members were hurt in a crash-landing of an MV-22 Osprey sent in to evacuate the wounded, the Pentagon revealed on Monday.
"A lot of female combatants" were part of the resistance the SEALs encountered on the target, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff David told reporters. "Some of the enemy killed in action were female."
Davis said the women took what he called pre-arranged fighting positions when they came under attack by the Navy SEAL assault force.
The Pentagon was "still assessing" reports of civilian casualties in the Yemen operation, Davis said. He would not confirm whether any children were killed as well.
A total of 14 fighters from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula were killed in the assault, and U.S. service members captured "information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots," according to the military. From my initial reading, this operation was a classic airborne vertical insertion not unlike the highly successful raid on terrorists in Cassinga, Angola on 4 May 1978. It is also my understanding that the raid was not surprisingly 'long on the shelf' until DJT took office. If the the news was not so cluttered with refugee stories, perhaps we could learn more. But wait !
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/31/2017
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia
#1
Odd word usage...
Reads like a HVT snatch on a family compound.
Why an Osprey?
[ALMASDARNEWS] Two Lebanese nationals from the northern city of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... were killed in Syria last week while fighting with the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... forces against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA).
The two bandidosmurderous Moslems were identified as Ali Muhammad al-Ajaj and Muhammad Abdul-Majd al-Sa’oud of Tripoli, Leb.
Both bandidosmurderous Moslems were commemorated by locals in Tripoli on Sunday for their alleged "martyrdom" against the Syrian government forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/31/2017
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
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.
In an unusual and hastily called briefing for reporters, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee said they would not attend the panel’s planned votes until they could ask more questions about Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., the Health nominee and Steve Mnuchin, Trump’s Treasury selection, who they said had misled Congress about their backgrounds.
One would have thought that a 90-day suspension of immigration from seven countries with minimal economic ties to the United States would be minor news. It has to be the best thing an American president has done since Ronald Reagan told Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, because [of] it all the people I dislike have gone bat-guano crazy.
[Wash Times] The Islamic State has planned to infect refugee flows to the West with mass killers, and it has had some violent successes.
[Daily Caller] The Council For American-Islamic Relations executive director Nihad Awad attempted to criticize President Trump’s proposed immigration ban by reminding attendees at a Monday press conference that America was "built on the shoulders of African-Americans who were brought here against their will."
[SunStar] Two children were killed and three others were injured in a roadside bombing in a remote village in Basilan province which authorities blamed on the Abu Sayyaf. 
Residents in Lower Jubba region of southern Somalia say they have seen unknown fighter jets hovering over Al shabaab-held areas, including Kulbiyow town near Kenyan border.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Footage from the Yemeni, houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah Channel shows the Saudi Battleship being attacked by Yemeni Coastal Defence. The attack comes in response to the ongoing military aggression against the sovereign Yemeni nation, by a coalition led by Saudi-Arabia, supported by western powers, including the US.
[Hurriyet Daily News] Ankara prosecutors on Jan. 29 demanded 54 aggravated life sentences for 11 soldier suspects accused of joining the July 15, 2016 coup attempt by pounding police department buildings in the capital and killing 51 people.
Senator-for-life from New York, renowned for his love of standing in front of cameras. Schumer has been a professional politician since 1975, when disco was in flower. Senate minority leader as of 2017.
[Iran Press TV] US President 
[DailyNews] Starbucks, Airbnb and other companies come to aid of refugees, donate to the ACLU following President Trump's travel ban.
[Inquirer] Three Maute terrorist camps in Butig, Lanao del Sur, have been overrun by Philippine military forces. Military spokesman Restituto Padilla said the encampments were in the same areas hit by the air strike by the Philippine Air Force last week.
U.S. President Donald Trump should never settle for a freeze on North Korea's nuclear programs as it amounts to accepting the communist nation as a nuclear power, a senior American expert on Korea said.
[RFE/RL] Authorities say two police officers and three alleged militants have been killed in Chechnya.
Before issuing such an executive order it wouldn't have hurt to consult with the DOJ. And wait for a few days until Sessions is confirmed.
[ALMASDARNEWS] Kurdish media has reported that an infamous ISIS executioner named 
The Navy SEAL killed in a raid targeting senior Al Qaeda leaders in Yemen was identified Monday as Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens.
